Eagles Blog

The Eagles are 3-1 and off to a terrific start. That’s great, but good teams are never satisfied with the roster. They continually see who is out there that might help the team now, or in the future.

#Eagles worked out LBs Eric Pinkins, Lamar Louis, and James Burgess.

— Adam Caplan (@caplannfl) October 10, 2016

Pinkins was a 6-3, 215 DB that got drafted by Seattle and converted into a LB. He is now in the 230-pound range.

Louis is a UDFA rookie who stuck with the Cardinals this year and then got cut. He started 17 games at LSU. He is 6-0, 231 and is athletic.

Burgess is also a UDFA rookie. He was cut by the Dolphins. He was a good coverage LB at Louisville and goes 5-11, 227.

This tells you the Eagles are looking for LBs that are athletic and cover well. They are looking for guys who could play WLB, where Mychal Kendricks is struggling right now. These guys are on the street for a reason, but they do have potential. We’ll see if the team decides to make a move on any of them down the road.

#Eagles add CB Duke Thomas & LB Don Cherry to practice squad. FB Andrew Bonnet and G Darrell Greene released from practice squad.

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) October 11, 2016

Cherry has been on the PS this year. He is a MLB. I don’t think he’ll ever push for a roster spot, but he obviously must be a good practice player at the least. And that is valuable in the NFL.

Thomas is interesting. He started for 3 years at Texas and played CB and NB. He lacks ideal size at 5-10, 184, but watch him and you’ll see the kind of DB that Jim Schwartz likes. Here are some highlights.

Thomas can hit and tackle. Aggressive player. Plays the ball well. Had 7 career picks and 20 PBUs. Active, emotional DB.

He was injured this summer and the Texans let him go. Looks like he’s healthy now and the Eagles are interested, with JaCorey Shepherd off to the Niners active roster.

As to the cuts, not sure what they mean. This is Bonnet’s first cut. Greene has been on and off the roster all year. The team likes him but also is trying to have another player on the roster so they take turns cutting the guys. Maybe Thomas will take that role. It isn’t ideal for the players, but as long as they are paid, I’m sure they can handle it.

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The Eagles don’t have a great player to feed the ball to. The offense is built for Carson Wentz to find the open guy and get him the ball. There are specific plays for specific receivers,  but most plays are based who gets open vs that specific defensive look.

So how is Wentz doing?

Eagles targets during past 3 games:
Nelson Agholor = 17
Trey Burton = 15
Jordan Matthews = 14
D Green-Beckham = 12
Darren Sproles = 12

— Mike Clay (@MikeClayNFL) October 11, 2016

That’s pretty darn balanced.

You can complain that he’s throwing to Agholor too much, but the Eagles are still trying to get the young receiver going. He’s shown good flashes, but just isn’t consistent right now.

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A lot of coaches believe in breaking down the NFL season into quarters. They preach one game at a time, but looking at 4-game stretches allows you to have some perspective without looking too far back or ahead.

Eagles 3-1

Point differential +64 (best in league)

OFFENSE

Points – 3rd
Yards – 12th
Rushing – 10th
Passing  – 20th

DEFENSE

Points – 2nd
Yards – 2nd
Rushing – 3rd
Passing – 6th

Notable individual stats

Carson Wentz – 6th at 103.5

Fletcher Cox – tied for 10th in sacks with 4

Darren Sproles – 10th in PR average with 11.6 yards per return

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Not bad, for a rookie, I guess.

Carson Wentz has completed 75 percent of his attempts (48-for-64) in Eagles' last two games.

— Paul Domowitch (@pdomo) October 11, 2016

Highest-graded NFL QBs this season:

1. Carson Wentz, @Eagles
2. Derek Carr, @RAIDERS
3. Andrew Luck, @Colts
4. Sam Bradford, @Vikings pic.twitter.com/MmTg7YWWrK

— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) October 11, 2016

The real deal.

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Giants add ex-Eagles linebacker, waive defensive tackle https://t.co/pUZ2E7BF6F

— njd number 1 (@devils201) October 12, 2016

Skinner played WLB for the Eagles this summer. Has the build of a MLB, but isn’t instinctive enough for the middle. Did a solid job, but really seems like a man without a spot. Doesn’t have the speed for WLB and lacks the frame most prefer in a SAM.

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Ryan Mathews was great for part of the 2015 season. Things aren’t going as well this year. He was injured this summer and hasn’t been 100 percent this season. He has been the least dynamic RB for the Eagles this year.

Ryan Mathews has just 2 runs of 10 yards or more in 44 carries. Eagles' other 3 RBs — Sproles, Barner, Smallwood — have 12 in 58 carries.

— Paul Domowitch (@pdomo) October 11, 2016

Circumstances play a part in that, but the tape shows he isn’t in top form.

Jason Peters display of overwhelming power to wash down. Make a hole. #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/PiEjDXLUnz

— Brandon Thorn (@VeteranScout) October 11, 2016

That’s not ideal running.

The coaches are sticking with him for now. Mathews late fumble and mediocre numbers could cause them to re-think that if he doesn’t get better.

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The Eagles liked CB JaCorey Shepherd quite a lot in the spring of 2015. Chip Kelly was the head coach and Bill Davis ran the defense, but Corey Undlin was the DBs coach and he remains in place.

The Eagles showed long term interest in Shepherd, despite a spring/summer where he wasn’t fully healthy and his play suffered. They signed, cut and re-signed him several times since cutdown day. It felt like they did this so they could keep paying him without having to dedicate a spot to him.

No more of that, unfortunately.

Eagles can't play Musical Practice Squad Chairs with CB JaCorey Shepherd anymore. He signed with the 49ers.

— Paul Domowitch (@pdomo) October 10, 2016

Shepherd had a great reputation off the field so hopefully the young man does well in the future. Chip was a big fan of his and with a recent CB injury they had an open roster spot.

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One interesting question right now is just how desirable is the Eagles coaching job. Sam Bradford isn’t under contract so the QB situation is somewhat open. There are questions about the power structure with the return of Howie Roseman and the addition of a personnel executive to the mix.

In alphabetical order, here are the job openings:

Browns
Dolphins
Eagles
Giants
Niners
Titans

The Saints job could come open. Beyond that, things now look pretty stable.

NFL.com writer Gregg Rosenthal ranked the openings. He had the Eagles 3rd, behind the Titans and Giants.

3. Philadelphia Eagles: The Eagles have more overall talent than their NFC East rivals in New York, but the quarterback situation is murkier. There is also an open question about how Chip Kelly’s talent acquisitions will fit into a new system. Still, we were tempted to put the Eagles ahead of the Giantsbecause the roster is stocked better at every level of offense and defense.

Owner Jeffrey Lurie has a good reputation and the Eagles have been a winning organization throughout his tenure. Howie Roseman, who is running the personnel department again, has been at odds with the previous two head coaches and still remains. That’s a bit of a red flag. Patience will be at a premium here. Chip Kelly got the boot despite a winning record through three seasons.

I think that is fair. Tennessee has an elite young QB in Marcus Mariota. That’s huge in building a strong team. The Giants have great owners and a veteran QB in place.

There is a lot to like about the Eagles job, but there are legitimate questions as well.

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How can you not love this guy?

Connor Barwin gets a beer from a fan after beatingthe Patriots pic.twitter.com/ktOGVA1fhm

— Jason (@parlayjay) December 8, 2015

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Tom Coughlin is out as the Giants coach.

It was fun to pick on him. Seeing his bewildered look when things went wrong was glorious. And his face turned awesomely red when it was very cold outside. The Eagles owned the Giants for much of the past few years, sweeping the Giants in 2009, 2010, 2014 and 2015.

Mike Garofalo wrote a great piece on Coughlin for FOX Sports.

As fun as it is to pick on Coughlin and hate him for being a part of the Giants, he was a terrific NFL coach for a long time. He had great success in Jacksonville, but could never get over the hump and make it to the Super Bowl.

Coughlin did win 2 rings in NY, but neither was a great team. They got hot at the right time and matched up very well with the Patriots.

He doesn’t want to retire yet, but will be very picky about potential jobs. He’s older and doesn’t need the job or the money, but would be interested in the right opportunity.

I’ll miss making fun of Coughlin and his crazy faces. I’ll also miss having him as a high quality part of the NFC East. Good coaches are tough to come by. Still, much like with Andy Reid after the 2012 season, it was time for a change.

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