Eagles News: Fantasy football advice recommends to keep away from Saquon Barkley
The 2024 Shy-Away 30: Barkley, Diggs lead list – Rotoworld Saquon Barkley (Yahoo ADP: 13.1). When I’m taking a running back at the top of the second round, I’m looking for high-value touches – goal-line carries plus targets — and great efficiency. Does Barkley have either of these things? Since the Eagles had a free touchdown play with Jalen Hurts and the Tush Push, they ranked 26th in running back carries inside the three-yard line. Hurts hasn’t been one to throw to his backs, either. Last year, the Eagles’ backfield sat at 21st in targets per game. Barkley’s efficiency has left a lot to be desired in recent years, as well. Over the past three seasons, he has never finished higher than 30th in yards after contact per carry. His numbers will improve behind Philly’s top offensive line, but the change of setting needs to turn back time half a decade for Barkley to seem like the superstar he once was. Parlaying a return to form, a shift in goal-line habits, and an improvement in running back targets is too much to ask for inside the first 15 picks.
With the Eagles, ‘cocky’ Saquon Barkley can’t wait to expose how the Giants stifled his brilliance – Inquirer
Six years ago it galled Eagles supporters to watch Barkley — who donned Whitehall High School’s maroon and gold, then Penn State’s blue and white — cram his thunderous thighs into the red, white, blue, and gray of the New York Giants. In the marshes of East Rutherford, N.J., Barkley wasted the first six seasons of his career. “You’ll definitely get a better sense [of my abilities] in this offense,” Barkley said. “Not trying to sound cocky — the tape speaks for itself.”
5 things to be excited about the 2024 Eagles – BGN
Saquon Barkley is supposed to be “the guy” in the new Eagles offense. Head coach Nick Sirianni stated this week the squad was ready to fully unleash the former Giants star and Pro Bowler, adding “He can go for it here” after watching a Barkley run in practice Monday that made him do a double take. I’m also intrigued to see if the Eagles can finally deploy a running back out of the backfield as a pass-catcher, and how much it will help Jalen Hurts. I’m interested to see what Barkley can do running behind a real quarterback in a real offense with real weapons that teams have to focus on other than him. In New York, all eyes were on him. In Philadelphia, he may be option No. 3 or 4 at times. Some feel the offense will go through Barkley, but whether that’s true or not, I’m most thrilled about a possible huge season from him.
Game Week – Iggles Blitz
I am most excited to witness Saquon in action. I watched him for three years at Penn State. He was a fantastic player there and has done some extraordinary things while confined as a member of the Giants. Saquon finally gets to be part of a solid team. He has good blocking. He’s part of a good passing offense. All of this could bring out the best in him. Saquon might have a fantastic season. Special Teams is an x-factor every season. With the new kickoff regulations it could be especially true. Michael Clay did a tremendous job with the STs last year. Let’s hope he can repeat that. This club should once again be a Super Bowl contender. They need to stay generally healthy. They need Jalen Hurts to play like he did in 2022. And they need the defense to be good enough. This offense can be amazing, but they can’t be in a shootout on a weekly basis. 2024 should be a good season. At the very least, it will be interesting.
Eagles-Packers player matchups to watch in Week 1 in Brazil – NBCSP
Jalen Carter vs. Jordan Morgan. The Eagles are expecting great things from Jalen Carter this season. Carter flashed enough last season to show an All-Pro ceiling. There’s a good argument to be made that he’s the Eagles’ most important defensive player in 2024. And Carter will likely get to face a rookie in Week 1. The Packers chose Jordan Morgan with the No. 25 overall pick in April and shifted the former Arizona left tackle to right guard this summer. Morgan didn’t get to participate in the preseason because he was suffering with a shoulder ailment. So not only is he flipping sides of the line and changing positions, but Morgan missed some time in training camp and wasn’t able to participate in the preseason. His first game action in the NFL is coming at a new position and against a guy who could be an All-Pro in 2024.
NFL QB Index, Week 1: Ranking all 32 starters entering 2024 season – NFL.com
10) Jalen Hurts. Here’s where I’m going to end up drawing the ire of Dolphins fans (again), who, honestly, have a case for their QB being in the top 10. But I feel confident in placing Hurts here for one crucial reason: We still don’t know what on earth occurred with the 2023 Eagles. I definitely believe that, by the end of 2024, we’ll be able to draw one of two conclusions: The back half of last season can be tossed off as an oddity, or it was the first hint of the Eagles’ decline under Nick Sirianni. At this point, I’ll rely on historical evidence and say they’ll get it right this season, with Hurts returning to the elite tier he held through 2022 and into the first half of 2023. When empowered and composed, Hurts is a superb quarterback whose talent is deserving of the $51 million he’s making per year. He’s only 26 years old and has his whole career ahead of him — and I, for one, can’t wait to watch it unfold.
NFL execs rate NFC teams: 49ers still reign, but may the Packers overtake the Lions? – The Athletic
One exec noted that new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio offers a strong personality to a staff led by a head coach (Nick Sirianni) whose seat warmed last year. Another noted a motion-heavy system under incoming coordinator Kellen Moore could not mix neatly with respected incumbent line coach Jeff Stoutland, who might prefer simpler approaches for blockers to execute cleanly. “The new system also could put more on (quarterback) Jalen Hurts,” one exec stated. “Without (retired center) Jason Kelce being that bridge, that is pretty interesting to me as to how all those pieces come together.” It everything looks nice – on paper. “I have a lot of respect for Kellen Moore and Vic Fangio,” one of the execs projecting Philly third stated. “That offense was broken. To get someone with a solid track record with his Dallas offenses, to add Jahan Dotson and Saquon Barkley to DeVonta Smith, A.J. Brown and (Dallas) Goedert, they might have the best armament in football.”
This Eagle’s mother happy to see her son smiling again after tough times with former squad – NJ.com
“He’s still adjusting,” Mailata told NJ Advance Media. “I’m not going to sit here and blow smoke up his a** and say he’s figured it all out — he hasn’t. It’s a major adjustment. He’s come a long way, though. Oh my God, he looks terrific, he looks great. But just like me, there’s always space for development. That’s really where we have to keep coming in here. That’s where I hold Mekhi on that standard. … He had a wonderful week this week, man. We talk about coming out of camp and coming into the first week, we’re stacking some days now. That’s what you want to see coming into the first game. I’m excited.”
Spadaro: Eagles-Packers an overlooked rivalry – PE.com
1960 NFL Championship Game: Eagles hang on to beat the Packers. The game at Franklin Field the day after Christmas in 1960 literally ended with Eagles linebacker Chuck Bednarik laying on top of Green Bay running back Jim Taylor as the clock ticked to zero and the Eagles won their first NFL Championship since the 1949 season. The 17-13 victory was a thriller, featuring a Tommy McDonald touchdown catch and a Ted Dean touchdown run as the Eagles pushed away a Green Bay club that subsequently sent 11 members of the team (including Head Coach Vince Lombardi) to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It was the only postseason loss of Lombardi’s spectacular career.
Packers Injury Report: TE Tucker Kraft has back injury – Acme Packing Company
If Kraft is unable to suit up against the Eagles, there’s a potential that fullback Andrew Beck, who can play a hybrid role at 6’3” and 252 pounds, could be promoted off of the practice squad. Beck is one of the more senior players on the Packers’ practice squad, as he’s played in 66 games (22 starts) over his NFL career.
Cowboys, Mike McCarthy are pretty familiar with Browns DC Jim Schwartz – Blogging The Boys
This familiarity goes both ways, of course. Schwartz has schemed against QB Dak Prescott lots of times and had success against him. Some of Prescott’s lowest-rated efforts in those first four years were against the Eagles, so Schwartz understands how to frustrate him. While Prescott is an older and smarter passer today, and he’s not running Scott Linehan’s playbook anymore, we’ve also seen tendencies that have never left him since entering the NFL. This will be just the seventh encounter between Dallas and Cleveland since the year 2000, thus a lot changes between each game. The Browns are practically a totally different squad now than the one we saw in 2020, but Jim Schwartz provides at least one known aspect for the Cowboys and Mike McCarthy. We’ll find out shortly how that knowledge advantages one side or the other.
Did Hard Knocks catch Joe Schoen scouting quarterbacks? – Big Blue View
Scouting the upcoming quarterback class is smart for various reasons. And we know that Schoen scouted last year’s class very intensively, witnessing everyone of the top talents in person at least once. But we also should be careful not to read too much into this. Just because Schoen is scouting quarterbacks doesn’t indicate the team will draft a QB. Jones could thrive in his refurbished circumstances, or the team could conclude that an imperfect Jones is still better than their options in 2025.
Film Session: Why Commanders WR Olamide Zacchaeus’ ability is being underrated – Hogs Haven
In its newest unofficial depth chart, the Washington Commanders designated Olamide Zaccheaus as a starting wide receiver. Sure, there will be a lot of rotation amongst the receivers on a given game day, but Zaccheaus can profit heavily on the opportunity he has earned with Washington. Last year was a wasted season for Zaccheaus, hauling in just ten catches on 20 targets in 17 games played. However, in his previous two seasons before making the terrible decision to sign in Philadelphia, he had demonstrated to be an ascending talent for the Atlanta Falcons.
Commanders punish VP for comments on players, Jones, Goodell – ESPN
The Washington Commanders have suspended an employee who made statements about the team’s players being anti-gay, accused Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones of being racist and anti-gay and branded NFL commissioner Roger Goodell a “$50 million puppet.” The team said it had suspended its vice president of content, Rael Enteen, who has been with the organization for four years, for statements he made to an undercover reporter for the O’Keefe Media Group.
The Jaguars’ 2020 draft class is actually the worst in NFL history – SB Nation 4th round, No. 137: CB Josiah Scott, Michigan. Scott lasted one season on the Jaguars before being cut. He signed with the Eagles, played in numerous games — but today he’s unsigned.
