The Linc

Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links …

Eagles at the bye: Is it time to panic? – ESPN
According to ESPN Analytics, the Eagles have the fourth-easiest remaining strength of schedule. Their next four games after the bye are against the Cleveland Browns (1-3), New York Giants (1-3), Cincinnati Bengals (1-3) and Jacksonville Jaguars (0-4). For all the hand-wringing, they could head into the second half of their season several games over .500. And the NFC East remains a winnable division. The Dallas Cowboys (2-2) and Giants (1-3) have their own flaws, and it’s to be seen whether the Washington Commanders and their impressive rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels can keep a hot hand. The path to the postseason doesn’t feel all that arduous.

Eagles Film Analysis: Defense takeaways from the loss to the Buccaneers – BGN
I could have taken ten clips from C. J. Gardner-Johnson from this game. I’m unsure if something was up with him, but he was abysmal in this game. I will rarely ever question someone’s effort on the field, but if I am really honest, he had plays where he looked disinterested in tackling or coming downhill. If Sydney Brown was healthy and on the bench, I would have asked for CJGJ to be benched. He really did not play well. This is another example of the Eagles’ cornerbacks being too far off. Avonte Maddox is so far off that it’s easy for the Bucs to check it down to the slot receiver, and the tight end can easily come across and block Maddox. CJGJ has to get downhill quicker here. Nolan Smith saves a touchdown here with a very athletic play.

Film review: The Eagles’ tackling sucked against the Buccaneers – PhillyVoice
I had Nakobe Dean down for four missed tackles; Reed Blankenship accounted for three. The Eagles missed a lot of tackles against the Packers Week 1 as well, so this wasn’t exactly a new issue, though they did tackle well Week 3 in New Orleans against the Saints. “A lot of times, we left our feet too early,” Fangio said. “Sometimes, we didn’t wrap up well enough.” The Eagles don’t tackle in practice, either in training camp or during the regular season. Most teams don’t. However, the Eagles are on the far more cautious end of the spectrum when it comes to playing starters during the preseason games, when players might benefit from getting some tackling reps.

The Other Side – Iggles Blitz
At the same time, things might be getting overblown a bit. AJ Brown has missed three straight games. With him on the field, I don’t see the Eagles losing to both Atlanta and Tampa. Heck, if Saquon Barkley makes an easy catch, the Eagles would have beaten the Falcons and would be 3-1 going into the bye. Not having Brown, DeVonta Smith and Britain Covey against the Bucs proved to be too much for the offense. It also hurt not having Lane Johnson at RT. The Eagles will get back Brown, Smith and Johnson for the next game. That will give the offense a big boost. Beyond getting healthy, the bye week will give the coaches time to study what’s gone wrong. The Eagles have not scored a single point in the first quarter. That’s a big problem. Offensive coordinator Kellen Moore said the coaches will attack that problem this week. You can’t afford to play from behind every week. Even if you’re just down 7-0 or 3-0, you don’t want to deal with that for every game. The 2022 team scored early and then controlled games. It was a great formula. Doing that is easier said than done, but the coaches need to figure a way to get off to faster starts.

Eagles’ 5 big questions for the season revisited: Jalen Hurts-Kellen Moore partnership has been a mixed bag – Inquirer
Hurts’ time to throw — and what it suggests about how often he’s in rhythm with the structure of the scheme — helps explain the regression. According to Next Gen Stats, his 3.17-second average is the slowest in the NFL this season and is compounded by how few of those lengthy attempts actually result in his taking shots downfield. Hurts has thrown short of the first-down marker on 35% of his attempts according to NGS, which is the lowest rate of his career. Translation: Hurts is extending plays only to find underneath options rather than making quick decisions within the framework of his progressions. That combination isn’t a sustainable one given the turnovers. For Hurts to truly regain his MVP-caliber form, Moore will need to find ways to help him work more efficiently within the offense instead of relying on him making plays out of structure. That should lead to fewer turnovers and a closer resemblance to the version of Hurts that finished second in MVP voting in 2022.

Why has Jahan Dotson been a complete non-factor so far? – NBCSP
A 3rd-round pick? For this? After watching Parris Campbell and John Ross compete for the 3rd outside receiver spot all summer, Howie Roseman knew it wasn’t enough. So he shipped a 3rd-round pick to Washington for Jahan Dotson in late August. He gave up a 3rd-round pick for situations exactly like this. A.J. Brown out? DeVonta Smith out? Now the Eagles have a guy who was a star at Penn State, the 16th pick in the draft just two years and caught 89 passes and 11 touchdowns in two years playing with Taylor Heinicke, Carson Wentz and Sam Howell in Washington. So far? Disaster. Like a bunch of Roseman’s offseason moves.

What was Nick Sirianni’s message for the bye week? – PE.com
Head Coach Nick Sirianni reviewed the key moments from the loss to the Buccaneers with the players during Monday’s team meeting and wrapped it up with a simple message. “We went through adversity here already after the Atlanta game and we got better from it,” Sirianni said. “Use it. Get better from it. We’re going to get better from this.” The Eagles enter the early bye week with a 2-2 record and get to watch next week’s opponent, the Cleveland Browns, travel to Washington to square off against the NFC East rival Commanders. Philadelphia will get the benefit of rest and a boost from the home crowd in their only game at Lincoln Financial Field this month (although several road games feel like home games at this point).

Stevie Nicks on the Eagles Christmas Album is Dope – Crossing Broad
The real question is how they pulled this off. Did Taylor Swift call in a favor? You don’t just phone Stevie Nicks and ask if she can collaborate with a bunch of Philadelphia Eagles on a Christmas album. This would be like Pagan and myself collaborating on a blog post with Ernest Hemingway. Is Stevie Nicks secretly a Birds fan? There’s gotta be a backstory here. What a pull.

Jayden Daniels wins FedEx Air Player of the Week – Hogs Haven
Jayden Daniels has won his first FedEx Air Player of the Week for his performance against the Arizona Cardinals. Daniels is the first rookie to win this award this year, and has clearly been the best quarterback from this year’s draft. He led the Washington Commanders to a 42-14 win, and continues to play at a very high level. Daniels had 26 completions on 30 attempts (86.7%) for 233 passing yards and 1 TD while adding 47 rushing yards and 1 TD on the ground. Daniels is the first Washington QB to win a FedEx Award since Kirk Cousins in Week 11 of 2016.

Cowboys injury report: Brandin Cooks & Micah Parsons do not practice – Blogging The Boys
Brandin Cooks was not practicing Wednesday as the team expects him to miss this week’s game and likely more because of an infection to his knee. Also as anticipated, Micah Parsons did not practice with his ankle injury and is expected to miss a few games. Lawrence was placed on injured reserve with a Lisfranc injury to his foot and will miss at least four games. Markquese Bell (ankle) practiced Wednesday and was a full participant. Calen Carson, who, like Bell, missed the game against New York, also practiced but was a limited participant today. Per usual, Malik Hooker, Eric Kendricks, Zack Martin, and Jourdan Lewis were given a day off Wednesday. Although eligible to return from injured reserve, DaRon Bland and Chuma Edoga were seen at today’s practice working with the rehab group but did not partake in team activities.

Giants-Seahawks Wednesday injury report: Malik Nabers not practicing – Big Blue View
Wide receiver Malik Nabers, dealing with a concussion suffered last Thursday against the Dallas Cowboys, will not practice Wednesday for the New York Giants, per multiple reports from media in attendance at coach Brian Daboll’s Wednesday media session. Nabers is said to still be in the “early stages” of the NFL’s concussion protocol. Another injury that could be significant for the Giants belongs to running back Devin Singletary. He will not practice on Wednesday due to a groin injury.

NFL secret superstars of Week 4 include Joe Flacco and a boatload of 49ers – SB Nation
Here’s a fun trivia question for you: Which NFL quarterback leads the league with six straight games throwing two or more touchdown passes? The player name above you is a dead giveaway, but yes, it’s 39-year-old Joe Flacco, who stepped in for the Indianapolis Colts after the Pittsburgh Steelers beat up on Anthony Richardson, causing multiple injuries. Going back to his 2023 season as one of Deshaun Watson’s injury replacements for the Cleveland Browns, Flacco has six straight games with two or more throwing scores. Some quarterbacks can just fall out of a boat and look good on the field no matter how old they are, and Flacco – who completed 16 of 26 passes for 186 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions, a passer rating of 105.9, and a Passing EPA of +7.0 in the Colts’ 27-24 win — is apparently one of them. Who woulda thunk it?