American Football

The Linc – Bench James Bradberry?

December 21, 2023

Philadelphia Eagles v Seattle Seahawks — Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images

Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 12/20/23.

Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links …

In Roob’s Bonus Eagles Observations: Is it time to bench James Bradberry? – NBCSP
1. Is it time to bench James Bradberry? You can sure make a case for it. Bradberry isn’t remotely the same player he was last year, and his struggles on that last drive Monday night really crystallized what a tough time he’s been having. It’s not easy benching a guy who was a 2nd-team all-pro last year, but last year is ancient history, cornerbacks can lose it fast and quarterbacks are attacking Bradberry week after week. Bradberry’s defensive passer rating the last three weeks: 149.3 vs. the 49ers, 139.1 vs. the Cowboys and a maximum 158.3 Monday night in Seattle. QBs in those three games were 15-for-17 for 230 yards with three TDs and no INTs when targeting Bradberry. His opposing passer rating for the season is now up to 117.7, 5th-worst in the league among 58 cornerbacks who’ve faced 50 or more targets. He’s allowed 11 passing TDs, most on record since Stathead began tracking cornerback coverage stats in 2018. Conventional wisdom says if the Eagles are going to make a change at corner they’d have to wait until Darius Slay returns after getting his knee scoped. But honestly, I’m close to the point where I’d rather take my chances with Kelee Ringo and Eli Ricks, two young guys who are lacking in experience but are fast, have good size and don’t seem to shy away from those big moments that decide games. For the record, Ringo on Monday night didn’t allow a completion on two targets in his first NFL start and Ricks didn’t allow a completion on three targets. It may be time.

Frustrated Eagles players are starting to speak out – BGN
Despite an inconsistent start to the season, there wasn’t a whole lot of discourse among players — at least not publicly — while the team was 10-1, and then 10-2. But now that they’re 10-4 and coming off a loss that was somehow uglier than the two in the weeks prior, the discontent from within the locker room is starting to show. That’s never a good sign. Last week, before it was revealed that Darius Slay underwent arthroscopic knee surgery, he posted a video in which he responded to the fans who put two trash cans outside NovaCare, one with his name on it. Slay explained that he actually had a great game against the Cowboys, but the team played poorly.

NFC East Mixtape Vol.143: Literally everybody lost – BGN Radio
Brandon Lee Gowton and RJ Ochoa recap the Week 15 action in the division.

2023 NFL Playoff, Super Bowl probabilities for all 32 teams – PFF
The Eagles once had a 26% chance of winning the Super Bowl, but losses to the 49ers, Cowboys and Seahawks have dropped that chance to 9%. However, they now have the easiest remaining schedule in the NFL. They are projected to go to the Super Bowl 18% of the time.

A Gift From the Eagles – Iggles Blitz
Happy Holidays from the Philadelphia Eagles. They got you a gift and you didn’t even ask for one. I’m sure some of you are questioning if I got hold of some spoiled egg nog or I’m suffering from PTSD after last night’s brutal loss. What gift did the Eagles give us? Freedom. When your team is going through a magical season, there is all kinds of pressure. A loss can be devastating. An injury can be soul-crushing. The goal is to win the Super Bowl. Anything short is disappointing. The loss to Seattle took away pressure and expectations. The Eagles gave you freedom. If they win, great. If they lose, the season is already blown. There’s nothing to lose sleep over. If the team does win out and takes the division, that’s great. Enjoy it. If they win a playoff game, that’s great. Enjoy it. This team isn’t winning the Super Bowl. There is just something that isn’t clicking this year. Don’t obsess on trying to figure it out. There are a lot of different contributing factors. There is coaching. Execution by the players. Roster construction. Health. Regression. Age. Brutal schedule. Selfishness. Just accept the issue for now. We can dissect it in the offseason, but even that might be a tough exercise. The NFC Championship Game losses in the Reid era were tough. Brutally tough. Every year you thought “This is finally our year.” And then poof, another kick in the nads in January. The Eagles loss in Seattle means you won’t get your hopes up this year. Just watch the games and try to enjoy them. Freedom.

Best NFL players at 101 different skills: Top QBs, WRs, CBs – ESPN+
Best open-field tackler: Reed Blankenship, Eagles. Blankenship is the gatekeeper of the Eagles’ defense when a run breaks. He can quickly eliminate the distance to the ball carrier, creep the feet and shoot/wrap to finish. Blankenship has 85 tackles this season. Best punt returner: Britain Covey, Eagles. Fearless and hard to tackle, Covey catches it clean and gets vertical with the ball. He’s averaging 13.7 yards per return this season.

Spadaro: 10 takeaways from a tough loss in Seattle – PE.com
1. Ten plays, 92 yards. That was the touchdown drive that gave Seattle the win. Quarterback Drew Lock completed 3 passes to wide receiver DK Metcalf for 58 yards, one a 34-yard gain on a third-and-10 play. On the second third down of the drive, third-and-10 from the Philadelphia 29-yard line, Lock dropped a dime to rookie wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the right corner of the end zone for the winning touchdown. Stunning ending. 2. Metcalf had only two receptions and three targets prior to that drive. Crazy.

Seahawks practice squad player faces potential fine for throwing shoulder at A.J. Brown – PFT
Monday night’s game between the Eagles and Seahawks included a sideline altercation capped by someone not in uniform throwing an accidental-on-purpose shoulder at Eagles receiver A.J. Brown. The two men then exchanged words, with the non-player and player giving it to each other in roughly equal measure. Per the NFL, the person on the sideline is not susceptible to getting the same kind of ban applied to Eagles’ security chief Dom DiSandro. In this case the person not in uniform is a player. Per the Seahawks, it was practice-squad center Joey Hunt.

NFC East update: Cowboys, Eagles’ losses make things even messier – Blogging The Boys
It’s the unique wins, the teams that one club’s beaten and the other hasn’t, which will decide SOV. For Dallas, those would be the Jets, Chargers, Panthers, Seahawks, and Lions. For Philadelphia, SOV would be based on the record of the Vikings, Buccaneers, Chiefs, Bills, and Cardinals. Currently, the combined records of the Cowboys’ five teams is 29-41. The Eagles’ teams are 34-36, so right now Philly has a stranglehold on the SOV tie-breaker. While anything is possible and the Cowboys opponents they’ve beaten could get hot (and Philly’s falter), it seems highly unlikely that the Cowboys could jump ahead of the Eagles in the SOV tiebreaker scenario. Unfortunately, Dallas would be relying on the weaker batch of teams. The Chargers have games against Buffalo and Kansas City still to come. Do we realistically expect them to upset even one of those two? Do we think Carolina’s going to go beat Tampa Bay in Week 18 when the Bucs could still be fighting for the NFC South?

NFC Hierarchy/Obituary: Week 16 edition – PhillyVoice
The Cowboys are 7-0 at home with a point differential of +171. They are 3-4 on the road with a point differential of -4. The Cowboys’ loss on the road to the Bills Week 15 significantly damaged their chances of winning the NFC East. If they end up being the 5 seed, here’s what their schedule will look like over the next seven weeks, including their loss in Buffalo: Week 15: At Bills, Week 16: At Dolphins, Week 17: Lions, Week 18: At Commanders, Wildcard Round: At NFCS winner, Divisional Round: At some other division winner (likely Eagles or 49ers?), Conference Championship: At 49ers, maybe Eagles? My #analysis here? That’s a lot of road games.

NFL playoff picture: Postseason probabilities entering Week 16 of 2023 season – NFL.com
Although the model hasn’t completely ruled out a Giants playoff bid (0.60% isn’t zero!), the team’s biggest contribution to this season’s playoff picture is more likely as a massive spoiler. With two games against the struggling Eagles sandwiched around a matchup with the Rams, the Giants could influence three different postseason races over the final few weeks: the NFC East, NFC Wild Card and the NFC’s No. 1 seed.

Giants-Eagles Week 16 storylines: What is going on with the Eagles, Tommy Devito, more – Big Blue View
DeVito has had his moments, highlighted by the game-winning drive against the Green Bay Packers, but the more information the Giants can get about DeVito entering the offseason the better. And if he is going to be part of the quarterback room in 2024, and there is no reason to think he won’t, the more snaps he plays now the better. DeVito has swagger. His teammates love him. The fans love him. He can deliver the ball on target when he has time, and can make an occasional play with his feet. He has completed an acceptable 64.4% of his passes and has a nice 91.5 passer rating with eight touchdown passes to three interceptions. There are warts, though. He has been sacked on 17.7% of his dropbacks, and a number of those have been on him for holding the ball too long. He has an average time to throw of 3.07 seconds, 36th of 41 quarterbacks with at least 125 dropbacks this year. Maybe that improves with experience.

Washington Commanders Tank Tracker 2023 – Week 16 – Hogs Haven
The Commanders are currently trailed by five 5-9 teams. While they were enjoying the bye in Week 14, they gained control of their destiny by becoming the only remaining 4-win team. The only way they can drop below fourth in the draft order is by winning another game. The only game on the Commanders’ remaining schedule in which their opponents will not be heavily favored is this week’s matchup with the Jets. So, if it is going to happen, it is most likely to be this week. If the Commanders do upset the 5-9 Jets, and no other 5-9 team wins a game, they will drop to seventh in the draft order, based on current strength of schedule projections. However, in that scenario it is possible for them to drop as far as ninth if opponents of the Chargers and Titans suffer any upset losses for the remainder of the season and/or if Washington’s opponents score any upset wins to alter the strength of schedule.

Every NFL quarterback as a Christmas movie character – SB Nation
Jalen Hurts: Howard Langston, Jingle All the WayIs built like a freight train. Will run you over to get what he wants.

Taking the Points #16: The Rams will roll over the Saints because the NFC South stinks – The SB Nation NFL Show
Chris Dunnells (Canal Street Chronicles), JSpence the King (Buffalo Rumblings), and producer Rob “Stats” Guerrera break down the Saints and Rams from a betting perspective. Each week, you’ll get spread advice, same-game parlays, our Thor of the Week Award, fantasy advice, and more! Each and every episode is brought to you by DraftKings. Taking the Points on the SB Nation NFL Show is presented by DraftKings Fantasy Sports. Check out what DraftKings has to offer this season with code SBNFL. Because life’s more fun when you’re in on the action. DraftKings – the crown is yours. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER. Age and eligibility restrictions apply. Void where prohibited. See DraftKings dot com for details.

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The Linc – Bench James Bradberry?

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