Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links …
REED BLANKENSHIP: How’s this for being underappreciated? You sign a contract extension, and a local media outlet responds with a write-up about how you could still lose your job as a starter this season. That’s not an outlandish proposition. Though Blankenship led the Eagles in tackles (108), finished third on the team in passes defensed (11) and was the fifth-best defensive-graded player in Philly, per PFF, he was also credited with allowing six touchdowns as the nearest defender last season, tied for ninth-most in the NFL, according to NGS. I’m not here to wallow in Blankenship’s shortcomings, however. What I really want is to call out two facts: 1) Blankenship made bank in performance-based pay last season, and 2) He logged an astounding 116 snaps in Week 12 against the Bills, which is the most in a game since 2012. Being able to handle an extraordinary workload on one late-November day obviously isn’t everything, but it is something. Whatever direction Blankenship’s career takes going forward, his promising 2023 makes me comfortable listing him here at this moment.
Eagles Film Review: Jeremiah Trotter Jr. could have a T.J. Edwards career arc – BGN
I go back and forth on Trotter due to the size and where he was drafted. This is hardly a bold prediction, but after seeing him fall to the 5th round I think he probably will end up as a backup, but there’s still a part of me that thinks he could have a TJ Edwards career arc and end up as an above-average starter. If I go with my gut feeling that I thought pre-draft, I think Trotter could end up as a good starting linebacker. I hope he gets some opportunities to play this year, and I don’t think it’s impossible that by the start of next year, Trotter is one of the Eagles’ starting linebackers. We know that the Eagles organization does not value linebackers that highly, and it is unlikely that Trotter will compete with a high draft pick or an expensive free agent signing over the next couple of years.
So far, Eagles taking to Vic Fangio’s old-school coaching style – NBCSP
There are a lot of ways to describe longtime NFL defensive coordinator Vic Fangio and his coaching style. But Jordan Davis explained it succinctly. “No bulls—,” Davis said. “There’s no bulls—. It’s straight ball.” Fangio, 65, has been doing this a long time. A really long time. Fangio first became a defensive coordinator in the NFL in 1995 — just four of his defensive players on the 2024 Eagles were even alive back then. All that is to say that Fangio is an old-school guy from his on-field fits to his views on practice. And that seemed to rub some players the wrong way during his short year-long stint in Miami before he took the vacant DC job in Philly this spring. While Fangio earlier this month shrugged off a question about not getting along with Dolphins players last year, there have been plenty of reports and examples to illustrate that Fangio in Miami wasn’t a good fit. Heck, just last week, second-year cornerback Cam Smith said, “I feel like I’m free” after the departure of Fangio. Smith barely played on defense in his rookie year as a second-round pick.
NFL minicamp 2024: Teams, rookies and veterans we’re watching – ESPN
One thing to watch: How quarterback Jalen Hurts is adapting to the new offense. After a 1-6 implosion down the stretch last season, the Eagles fired offensive coordinator Brian Johnson — a longtime friend of the Hurts family — and hired Kellen Moore to replace him. The Eagles are implementing a hybrid system that will attempt to fuse Moore’s playbook with concepts and verbiage used by coach Nick Sirianni over the past several years. Hurts has had little schematic consistency through his college and pro career. The one time he had the same playcaller in consecutive seasons was Shane Steichen for 2021 and 2022, leading to a near-MVP campaign for Hurts and a run to the Super Bowl for Philly.
Advice from Eagles GM could lead to more Browns risky moves – Dawgs By Nature
With Patrick Mahomes with the Kansas City Chiefs, having “the best player” is clearly not an option to fulfill Roseman’s quote. Cleveland is clearly a Super Bowl-level roster and a real threat if Watson is a very good quarterback in 2024. Is there a move, risky or not, that would make the Browns significantly better this season? If so, will Berry pull the trigger? It is obvious how much the one year in Philadelphia with Roseman has impacted Berry’s thinking. It will be interesting to watch if another “decision that could cost you your job” is possible as the Browns try to get where the Eagles have… a Super Bowl championship.
What in the hell are the Dallas Cowboys doing? – Go Long
Dallas doesn’t know who to pay, when to pay them and — despite the rhetoric — does not function as an all-in contender. Twenty-eight years have passed since the Cowboys have even appeared in a conference championship game. Maybe everyone else is confused. Not those who’ve seen how the Cowboys function firsthand. This is a perfect time to check back in with those on staff who helped explain Jerry’s World in our 2021 three-part series. Problems outlined then have only lingered, and it’s a shame. Prime opportunities at the Super Bowl fade away. “It is crazy what’s going on,” one former Cowboys personnel says, “and it doesn’t ever really change.”
It stands to reason that Lamb will top Jefferson based on the idea of supply and demand alone. We have seen this play itself out in the NFL market time and time again. But beyond that, there is an argument to be made that Lamb is the better player. It is admittedly not the most robust argument, but an argument nonetheless. You can bet your own bottom dollar that Lamb and his representation will use every bit of this as ammunition to get more than the deal that Jefferson just did. Who wouldn’t? The Cowboys might need that bottom dollar of yours when it is all said and done.
PFF ranks two Giants’ edge defenders in top-30 – Big Blue View
“Thibodeaux’s grades took a step back across the board from 2022 to 2023. And although he recorded 11.5 sacks, his pass-rush win rate dropped from 9.5% in 2022 to 6.4% in 2023, and he produced only three more pressures despite playing 111 more pass-rush snaps. Thibodeaux is still a very talented player, but he needs a bounce-back 2024 season.” This is fair enough. Thibodeaux’s jump in sacks suggests he took a massive step forward, which isn’t necessarily the case. Thibodeaux did improve with cornering and maintaining balance at the top of the pass-rushing arc, but consistency is still something that he can achieve. With that said, Thibodeaux is primed for a third-year leap.
The 5 O’Clock Club: Replacing Brandon McManus – Hogs Haven
The Commanders are suddenly without a kicker, and this is an interesting season with the new rules for kickoffs possibly affecting how teams think about the position. Washington’s previous kicker, Joey Slye, is one of two kickers on the roster in New England, but the incumbent is the Patriots 2023 4th round draft pick, Chad Ryland who hit on only 64% of his field goal attempts in his rookie season. It doesn’t appear likely that Slye will be returning for another go round in burgundy & gold.
NFL’s highest-paid non-QBs, ranked after Justin Jefferson’s record-setting contract – SB Nation
Jefferson’s deal locks up the talented WR for four more season in Minnesota, and is likely an early move at securing the future around rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy. As we have seen over the years, the NFL market for non-QBs continues to rise, and players are reaping the benefits.
