The Linc

Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links …

Eagles’ C.J. Gardner-Johnson fires back at Micah Parsons criticism: ‘Won a lot more playoff games than you’ – CBS Sports
“I don’t know who C.J. Gardner-Johnson thinks he is bro,” Parsons said. “We’ve been dealing with this cat for a while. I think Derek Carr has validated himself way before C.J. has ever done — in the most respectful way. Derek Carr was one the highest-paid quarterback, let’s be real. […] Gardner-Johnson responded back on social media, nothing how many playoff victories his teams have been a part of compared to Parsons in his career. “@MicahhParsons11 !! You can check my track record and how I over came a lot! Won a lot more playoff games than you too my guy ”

Chauncey Gardner-Johnson is bringing swagger and physicality back to the Eagles’ secondary – PhillyVoice
“Wildcat,” Gardner-Johnson said when asked what he saw on the play. “He getting the ball. Downhill. Gametime. Him and me. I’m choosing me every time.” The Saints went for it on the next play, but Zack Baun made another stop for no gain, resulting in a turnover on downs. Four plays later, Saquon Barkley was racing for a 65-yard touchdown. Gardner-Johnson certainly doesn’t lack confidence. “I feel like I’m the hardest-hitting safety in the league,” he said. “I’m just reading my keys and striking what I’m supposed to strike.” Of course, Gardner-Johnson played for the Eagles in 2022, and when he left to play for the Detroit Lions in 2023, the Eagles missed him. They were depleted at times both at safety and at slot corner, and Gardner-Johnson played both positions for the Eagles at a high level. But perhaps even more than his versatility the Eagles may have missed Gardner-Johnson’s swagger and aggressiveness, which was often absent from the Eagles’ defense last season.

Nick Sirianni says he will overtake Eagles play-calling “here and there” – BGN
Sirianni was emphatic about his role in the call to run a fake brotherly shove on 4th-and-1, and said that there was really no follow-up needed. It was a pretty cut and drive situation. He made a call that he thought was in the best interest of the football team, and that’s that. The head coach said that he did expect to have two more plays after the failed attempt, with one more play and then a field goal attempt — but that didn’t happen. He was later asked about how often he makes a decision to call a play, and what determines when he does.

Philly, Philly with Jon Marks – YouTube
For the first time since 2011, the Philadelphia #phillies are NL East champs! Aaron Nola pitched into the 7th inning, and the offense picked up 11 hits en route to a 6-2 win over the Chicago #cubs. Now, the Phillies will turn their attentions to securing a first round bye, as the Magic Number to lock up, at least, the 2 seed stands at 2. Plus, Brandon Lee Gowton joins the show live in studio at 8:25 to continue the conversation on the #eagles Week 3 win in New Orleans over the #saints.

7 NFL coaches on the hot seat, ranked by their chance to get fired – SB Nation
6. Nick Sirianni, Philadelphia Eagles. It might seem odd to have the coach of a 2-1 team on a list like this one, but Philadelphia’s collapse down the stretch last season had Nick Sirianni entering the 2024 campaign firmly on the hot seat. Producers at FOX Sports had a fairly easy time finding booing Eagles fans during last Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Saints, as Sirianni made a few fourth-down decisions that brought out the boo birds. Philadelphia was stopped on a pair of fourth downs in New Orleans territory, first on a 4th-and-1 situation at the Saints’ 15-yard line late in the first half, and then on a 4th-and-3 situation at the Saints’ 34-yard line to open the third quarter. Ultimately, a spectacular run from Saquon Barkley and an impressive performance from the Eagles’ defense helped Philadelphia to a critical 15-12 win over New Orleans. That win probably bought Sirianni another chunk of time, but the seat does remain warm in Philadelphia.

The First Read: Buy or sell five surprise teams off to hot starts? Risers/sliders from Week 3; MVP rankings – NFL.com
1) SAQUON BARKLEY. The only complaint about Barkley this season has been a critical drop that could have clinched a win in a loss to Atlanta in Week 2. He’s currently averaging 117 rushing yards per game, and he produced 147 ground yards and two scores in Sunday’s win over New Orleans. Barkley’s 65-yard touchdown run gave the Eagles a fourth-quarter lead and his 4-yard TD run gave them the game. There was a lot of talk about Barkley not being worth a big investment when Philadelphia signed him in free agency. He is.

Running Wild – Iggles Blitz
That play doesn’t happen if the Eagles go bargain shopping. D’Andre Swift’s long run last year was 43 yards. This year Swift has found that life away from Philly can be brutal. He has 37 carries for 68 yards for the season. Barkley almost matched his season with one run. Yikes. Howie changed his mind on pursuing a RB when the market shifted. Barkley feels like good value right now. He’s not cheap, but you’re getting a difference-making player. He’s absolutely worth the money. The Eagles offense is second in the league in yards. AJ Brown has only played one game. DeVonta Smith missed half of the Saints game. The OL was missing two starters for most of the Saints game. Jalen Hurts and Barkley have made the offense go. There are still some red zone issues to work through, but you have to be excited by the potential this group has shown. It will be fun to see how the offense comes together over the course of the season.

Eagles film review: So far, Jalen Hurts and the offense show improvement against the blitz – Inquirer
The most significant difference between Moore’s scheme and the one authored by former offensive coordinator Brian Johnson (along with head coach Nick Sirianni) has been the presence of underneath “hot” options for Hurts when the defense sends more rushers than the offensive line can handle. There have been several examples this season of Hurts diagnosing the free rusher more effectively than he has in the past and getting the ball out of his hands quickly in response. On back-to-back plays in the Eagles’ season-opening win against the Green Bay Packers, Hurts anticipated an unblocked rusher closing in on his blind side and completed passes to A.J. Brown and Saquon Barkley on out-breaking routes to the other side of the field.

What if A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Britain Covey all miss the Eagles-Bucs game? – NBCSP
The Eagles didn’t sign Dotson until Aug. 22, so he missed all of training camp. Wilson was here for camp, but he’s a rookie 6th-round pick and still learning. Campbell was here for camp but released with final cuts on Aug. 27 and signed to the Eagles’ practice squad a day later. Ross spent the summer with the Eagles but was also released Aug. 27. He was out of football until the Eagles signed him on Tuesday. Dotson and Ross are former 1st-round picks and Campbell was a 2nd-round pick. Also on the practice squad are Danny Gray, a one-time 3rd-round pick of the 49ers; Kyle Phillips, who caught 23 passes for the Titans last year; and Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint, an undrafted rookie. And maybe Brown will be able to play Sunday. He’s missed the last two games after suffering a hamstring injury at practice before the Falcons game. If not? Expect lots of Goedert and Barkley, plus whatever the Eagles can cobble together out of everyone else.

Spadaro: Where does Saquon Barkley’s superlative start rank in Eagles history? – PE.com
Good things are indeed happening for Barkley, who has had the kind of start that puts him at the top of many outstanding opening three games for Eagles running backs. Let’s take a look at some of the other first three games for Eagles running backs, including some of the seasons for LeSean McCoy, who will be inducted into the franchise’s Hall of Fame in November and who rushed for more than 1,000 yards in four of his six seasons in Philadelphia.

The Best NFL Bets for Week 4 – The Ringer
Hurts has improved numbers against the blitz in 2024, with 7.2 yards per attempt and a 72.7 percent completion rate. However, he hasn’t faced a defense that will be nearly as aggressive as Bowles’s will be on Sunday. The only way for the Eagles to be successful offensively is to avoid obvious passing situations that will enable the Bucs to man up and stress Hurts, who has made six turnover-worthy plays when under pressure this year. Expect Philadelphia to use heavier formations with an extra tight end, lean on Saquon Barkley and the run game, and shorten the game with methodical drives. Now that the Eagles’ defensive line has shown some real signs of life in Week 3, including the interior domination and game-wrecking from Jalen Carter, I’m willing to bet on the game staying under 45 or better. Tampa Bay is also one of my favorite teaser legs of the week at +8.5.

2024 NFL offensive line rankings ahead of Week 4 – PFF
5. Philadelphia Eagles (Down 3). Right guard Mekhi Becton and right tackle Lane Johnson both exited Week 3’s game against New Orleans with injuries. They were replaced by Tyler Steen and Fred Johnson, who earned PFF overall grades of 79.6 and 68.9, respectively. Landon Dickerson had a rough outing in Week 3, giving up six pressures — including two sacks — which is tied for the second most in a game over his career. Dickerson is allowing pressure on 10.4% of dropbacks this season. His previous worst rate was 6.4% as a rookie.Best player: Lane Johnson. Although Johnson played just 18 snaps, he was Philadelphia’s highest-graded offensive lineman in Week 3. He did not allow a single pressure on 13 dropbacks and has yet to allow a pressure this season.

Seahawks host 42-year-old Jason Peters – Field Gulls
The Seattle Seahawks are hosting a familiar face. Field Yates reported on Tuesday that 42-year-old offensive tackle Jason Peters is being hosted by Seattle. Peters played in eight games for the Seahawks last year, starting in two of them (all at right tackle.) This workout may be somewhat surprising for Seattle as Peters is 42 years old (if signed, Peters would be the oldest active NFL player, with Aaron Rodgers second at 40.)

Jaguars vs Bills: Winners and losers from Week 3 – Big Cat Country
Where do you even begin? For a so-called offensive coach and quarterback whisperer, the only thing that has come of Pederson’s time with Lawrence is subpar play and that one time the team won a playoff game after a four-interception half. Looking back on it, was that Los Angeles Chargers’ game much of a win given the circumstances the team put itself in? Pederson at this rate will not make it through the year. It would be shocking to see him ever head coach a team again after wasting assets in Jacksonville. His stubbornness with offensive coordinator and protege Press Taylor got him run out of Philadelphia and will soon see both of them out of Jacksonville. You cannot blame defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen, but you certainly can blame the guy who has been around for three seasons and has yet to do much of anything outside of blow games away and lose. After last night, Pederson has won just four more games than he has lost in his head coaching career. Maybe it is time to forget that miracle Super Bowl run and look at things truthfully.

Film Session: A Closer Look at Jayden Daniels’ First Primetime NFL Game – Hogs Haven
Washington Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels’ NFL primetime debut proved to be fun to watch. The dynamic former Heisman trophy-winning signal-caller had a nearly flawless performance in Monday night’s 38-33 win over the Cincinnati Bengals after the national media gave the team zero chance of winning. For Daniels, it was a chance to prove to a national audience that he’s more than just another mobile quarterback trying to cross over to the NFL game. His initial introduction was a success, as you can literally see his game growing with every snap.

5 points: Observations from the Cowboys loss in Week 3 – Blogging The Boys
First Point: The offensive line struggles against Baltimore. There is enough blame from Sunday’s loss for everyone sharing a piece of it. Dak Prescott finished the game strong but was not without fault for some of the errors in the first half. However, Prescott was under duress from the Ravens’ pass rush and didn’t seem to trust his pass protection. Tyler Smith graded out as one of the better players on offense, but the entire offensive line had their turnstile moments. Tyler Guyton, Smith, Cooper Beebe, Zack Martin, and Terence Steele allowed at least two pressures each. Guyton showed slight improvement from his performance against the Saints but still gave up a sack for a second consecutive week and had his share of rookie mistakes. The Cowboys have been having trouble getting their running game going, partly because of the rotating running backs. A lack of push from the offensive line didn’t leave the backs enough room to run either. For the first time this season, none of the linemen received a Pro Football Focus run-blocking grade higher than 62.

The most confusing team of the season is _______? – ESPN+
Graziano: “At Houston” is a tough place to start a turnaround! A short-week road game coming off another road game is the last thing the Jaguars need. Right now, they’re a disaster. And I agree, Pederson is a strong candidate for in-season hot seat status if things don’t start looking better. How about the Dallas Cowboys for this one? Are they simply this bad on defense? Is it coaching or personnel? I would think they get right Thursday night against the Giants, but if they don’t there’s going to be panic in the streets. And even if they do, are they trustworthy enough to where they can carry some momentum into October? The Eagles are weathering their early season issues a lot better than the Cowboys, and if quarterback Jayden Daniels is what we saw Monday, the Commanders could be a factor in that division as well. The Cowboys need to get something figured out quickly.

Giants-Cowboys injury report: Dru Phillips, Adoree’ Jackson might be out Thursday night – Big Blue View
The New York Giants’ Tuesday injury report provided a mix of good and bad news at the cornerback position in advance of Thursday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys. The — possible — good news? Cornerback Nick McCloud, who has missed two games with a knee injury, might be able to play on Thursday. “That’s my hope,” head coach Brian Daboll said on Tuesday. The — probable — bad news? It looks like starting slot cornerback Dru Phillips and backup outside cornerback Adoree’ Jackson are going to be unavailable due to calf injuries sustained Sunday against the Cleveland Browns. Both were listed as ‘Did not practice’ as the Giants held a walkthrough.