PHILADELPHIA – The Eagles have two excellent wide receivers, a position in the NFL that often has become synonymous with diva. Earlier this week fourth-year wideout DeVonta Smith joined A.J. Brown in the $25 million club after agreeing to a contract extension that keeps the Alabama product tied to Philadelphia through the 2028 season. To date, the two have coexisted beautifully with Smith serving as the 1A to Brown, who is in the conversation as one of the top-5 wideouts in the entire NFL. Both have crossed the 1,000-yard barrier in consecutive seasons and will enter 2024 as perhaps the best d ..read more

PHILADELPHIA – It could be anything from injury to, sickness, suspension, or a legal entanglement. Even the more mundane problems like clashing personalities or weather issues. The life of an NFL head coach was best described by Hall of Fame mentor Bill Parcells in his advice to his one-time defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer when the latter became a head coach in Minnesota. “Four or five things happen in pro football every day that you wish wouldn’t happen,” Parcells opined. “If you can’t handle those, you need to get another job.” That’s where my mind went when talking with former NFL Executi ..read more

PHILADELPHIA – Quez Watkins, Julio Jones, and Olamide Zaccheaus all got opportunities to complement the Eagles’ dynamic receiving duo of A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. None delivered to the point that they will be expected back in the 2024 season. The Eagles will again be looking to uncover and develop productive backups at receiver and have already started that process with futures deals for 2023 undrafted rookie Joseph Ngata, late PS addition Griffin Hebert, and newcomers Shaquan Davis, Jacob Harris, and Austin Davis. One name who is rarely mentioned is punt returner Britain Covey but that mi ..read more

PHILADELPHIA – Less than an hour after his season finished disastrously, Nick Sirianni stood in the bowels of Raymond James Stadium and acted the part he was hired to play. An almost inconceivable 32-9 beatdown at the hands of the middling Tampa Bay Buccaneers had many questioning Sirianni’s job status when the most pointed question came: “What gives you the confidence that you can fix some of the problems?” Sirianni spoke with the kind of conviction only belonging to one of the world’s most exclusive clubs can generate. “We believe in ourselves,” Sirianni said. “I’m not sitting in this room f ..read more

PHILADELPHIA – Sydney Brown raced down the field at MetLife Stadium and aimed at New York Giants’ returner Gunner Olszewski. In the blink of an eye, the athletic rookie defensive back’s season was over. “You learn so much about yourself, the climb, the journey, when you love the game because the game can be taken away so fast,” Brown said earlier this week at Eagles cleanout day. “It was a non-contact injury. It was taken away from me just like that. It could have been any play.” Brown, 23, suffered a torn ACL in Week 18 of his first NFL season and will undergo surgery next week to repair the ..read more

The most disconcerting part of the Eagles’ 27-10 loss to the Giants last week was the inability of Jalen Hurts and the offense to cope with the Giants’ relentless blitzing. Wink Martindale’s defense sent extra rushers after Hurts on 14 of 19 dropbacks (73.7%) before Nick Sirianni pulled him late in the first half. Hurts completed just seven of 16 passes against the Giants and left the game with the third worst passer rating of his career (26.8). He was just 5-for-12 for 41 yards and an interception when the Giants blitzed him. The Eagles expected the Giants to blitz a lot. It’s what Martindale ..read more

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – Many independent film analysts have looked at the Philadelphia Eagles defense in recent weeks and questioned what is going on with the unit which seems to be Benjamin Button-ing things in the 2023 season regarding communication. Generally, the on-field connection between players improves as any season wears on. But, things have gone off the rails when it comes to the back and forth on the Philadelphia defense, something perhaps exacerbated by the late-season change in play-callers from Sean Desai to Matt Patricia. Former Eagles linebacker and current FS1 analyst Emmanuel ..read more

The Eagles have used 11-personnel with three wide receivers nearly 71 percent of the time this season (708 of 1000 offensive plays). But they have gotten minimal pass-catching production from the third wideout in those personnel packages. Olamide Zaccheaus, Quez Watkins, and 34-year-old Julio Jones, who all have taken snaps with A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, have been collectively targeted by Jalen Hurts just 39 times in the first 15 games and have combined for only 22 catches, 220 yards, and three touchdowns. That’s a significant drop from the 48 catches, 504 yards, and four TDs they got last ..read more

PHILADELPHIA – The highlight of Jonathan Gannon’s short tenure in Philadelphia was not the No. 2 ranked defense he piloted in 2022 or even the top 10 group he cobbled together with far less talent a year earlier as a rookie defensive coordinator. It was his drive to the NFC Championship Game last January when he lowered the window on his SUV to finally connect with the city’s fanbase. “We’re going to f@#$ing gut these guys,” Gannon boasted. Haason Reddick made sure Gannon’s trash talk was prophecy with a game-wrecking performance that knocked both Brock Purdy and Josh Johnson out of what turne ..read more

PHILADELPHIA – There is some good news and bad news on the injury front as the Eagles get set to halt a three-game skid against a limited New York Giants team on Christmas Day. The best developmental unfolded Saturday when DeVonta Smith made it back to practice Saturday and indicated he would play on Monday. Smith fought through a knee injury during the week and missed practices on Thursday and Friday as the organization tried to manage him for the game. The Eagles, of course, have one of the top receiver duos in the NFL in Smith and A.J. Brown but the dropoff has been steep to WR3 whether the ..read more