From Dianna Russini’s Athletic article…

An opposing defensive coach said he actually understands Brown’s frustration.

"Hurts struggles against zone,” he said. "That’s when A.J. goes MIA. There are times it looks like Hurts doesn’t fully trust what he’s seeing, so he checks it down and plays it safe. It’s either a deep shot or a checkdown — not much in between. The timing is just off. And you can see it on the field — the communication between Hurts and Brown just isn’t there right now.”

When teams blitz and don’t drop seven in coverage, they are doing us a favor.

The key difference is the loss of Brown has a far more impact on the game and its outcome. It has less impact on the game plan.

7 hours ago, jwill2420 said:

So NBA got hit with a gambling scandal I’ve been trying to tell you all this crap is rigged Nobody really wants to believe it. Whats going on in the nba is the tip of the iceberg, but don’t worry they’ll find a way to save face too much money involved.

I'm 100% sure the NFL has buried officiating scandals. That's not to say the outcome of every game is rigged but with prop bets and over/unders it's so easy to manipulate an outcome. An official can call a game tight againt the OLs on both side to keep the scoring down or can call DPI tight to get scoring up. There are a lot of ways to do it and I'm sure it's been done

2 hours ago, we_gotta_believe said:

^This

The whole notion that DC's tear up their game plans and start over from scratch because of an injured player is so mind-numbingly ridiculous. It would be one thing if it were Hurts being held out, and now a different type of QB like McKee steps in, but that's not the case here.

Love AJ and what he brings to the offense, but he's not having that large of an impact on what the DC is prepping for outside of some specific coverages in the red zone or 3rd down.

1 hour ago, eagle45 said:

I've been saying for 3 years that AJ was not going to age well on this team, especially with the combination of physical traits that he relies on, playing style, and personality.

I do think the triad of Howie/Hurts/Siri (plus a more seasoned Lurie as owner) are about as equipped as any team can be to handle the personality issues with AJ. None of them are itching to make this team worse. But I do sense that both sides of this disagreement are "over it."

I think his production decline is more on Hurts and the OC rather than his age. Last year Barkley was lighting up the league and taking most of the targets

Both the Eagles and AJ need the Birds to destroy the Giants this weekend. The optics will be helpful for all involved.

52 minutes ago, DaBirds said:

Both the Eagles and AJ need the Birds to destroy the Giants this weekend. The optics will be helpful for all involved.

Have no doubt about it, AJ is hoping for an outcome where the Eagles struggle and lose without him and he would not at all be happy with an outcome where the offense thrives without him. Either outcome will result in a social media post by AJ to throw the spotlight back on him.

55 minutes ago, DaBirds said:

Both the Eagles and AJ need the Birds to destroy the Giants this weekend. The optics will be helpful for all involved.

Giants are not getting destroyed this weekend. Even though they are more battered than the Eagles. This is going to be a tight game with Dart. If it was a washed up Russell Wilson, maybe a different story. They are a hot team right now that should have won last week in Denver, if not for a collapse in last 5 minutes. Gonna need guys like Dotson and Goedert in this one and a semblance of a running game. The fact that I'm not confident about beating the Giants, at home is kinda sad. Regardless of what's happening.

3 minutes ago, jojodancer said:

Giants are not getting destroyed this weekend. Even though they are more battered than the Eagles. This is going to be a tight game with Dart. If it was a washed up Russell Wilson, maybe a different story. They are a hot team right now that should have won last week in Denver, if not for a collapse in last 5 minutes. Gonna need guys like Dotson and Goedert in this one and a semblance of a running game. The fact that I'm not confident about beating the Giants, at home is kinda sad. Regardless of what's happening.

Disagree

Just now, DaBirds said:

Disagree

Again, I like trusting my eyes. That's what this is shaping up as an NFC East tilt, especially with no AJ. & Brett Toth as your starting center. Talk Sunday evening....

If I take my bias away for a sec, Dart and Skattebo are awesome to watch. Seems like both are gonna battle injuries their whole careers though.

3 minutes ago, Saltpeter said:

If I take my bias away for a sec, Dart and Skattebo are awesome to watch. Seems like both are gonna battle injuries their whole careers though.

Both can wear out a defense in their own ways and keep defenses on the field for long drives.I think they are fun to watch. 22 & 23 years old. They aren't going away.

That Skattyboo RB won't be in the NFL for more than 3 to 4 years with the way he's playing. Running head first into Defenders. He will spend half his career in the sidelines Blue Tent.

Dart is looking promising. Nice draft pick for the Giants. Same with the D player they drafted early, Carter.

8 minutes ago, LacesOut said:

That Skattyboo RB won't be in the NFL for more than 3 to 4 years with the way he's playing. Running head first into Defenders. He will spend half his career in the sidelines Blue Tent.

Dart is looking promising. Nice draft pick for the Giants. Same with the D player they drafted early, Carter.

Adoree Jackson is still in the NFL and loves to mimic a battering ram out there. 😁

Sadly the Eagles have a losing record without AJ (2-3). With that said, Jalen really, I mean REALLY trusts Devonta. People forget Devonta almost had 1,000 yards his rookie season. Devonta is our best route runner (AJ is more about power and one on one). I think we can still have a good offensive performance. Again AJ is very important to this team and people acting like we are better without him I do not agree at all. AJ got here and the Birds were in the Bowl his 1st season. He miss the Bucs playoff game and we got blown out. He comes back and we go to the Super Bowl again. With all that said, I trust Devonta to be a #1. Also Saquon forget about these first7 weeks. It's about Sunday. Let's get this 100 yards rushing. Let's go.

2 minutes ago, KINGnabb said:

Sadly the Eagles have a losing record without AJ (2-3). With that said, Jalen really, I mean REALLY trusts Devonta. People forget Devonta almost had 1,000 yards his rookie season. Devonta is our best route runner (AJ is more about power and one on one). I think we can still have a good offensive performance. Again AJ is very important to this team and people acting like we are better without him I do not agree at all. AJ got here and the Birds were in the Bowl his 1st season. He miss the Bucs playoff game and we got blown out. He comes back and we go to the Super Bowl again. With all that said, I trust Devonta to be a #1. Also Saquon forget about these first7 weeks. It's about Sunday. Let's get this 100 yards rushing. Let's go.

Barkley is going nowhere with Brett Toth, Steen and a 50% Landon Dickerson, who can barely move, leading the charge. Just like keeping things real.

DL needs to be disciplined this week. Mush rush against Dart to keep him in the pocket. Gap discipline against Skattebo to keep him from getting up to ramming speed

If Skattebo wasn't white, quirky, and have scruffy hair, he'd just be considered another guy. Which he is. In terms of talent, he's pretty average. Not explosive, doesn't have breakaway speed, is not a great receiving back. He can run people over and he likes to flex. Cool.

1 minute ago, RememberTheKoy said:

As much as he means to the team, with AJ its always been abou the money. Even with some his jealousies with Hurts. And if he's not getting the stats he will ****! Problem now is he's unhealthy the last couple of years and breaking down. I'm still not go on here and devalue his talents to the team. I wouldn't be surprised if he was looking for a contract extension already and he knows he can get it from a desperate team. He also probably knows he may he washed by then. Like Embiid.

I don't even understand AJ's obsessive need to be the focal point of the offense every game when he has shown throughout his career when had consistent injury issues in Tennessee and now the past 3 seasons has also been having injury issues. He isn't built to be able to handle all of that.

27 minutes ago, jojodancer said:

Barkley is going nowhere with Brett Toth, Steen and a 50% Landon Dickerson, who can barely move, leading the charge. Just like keeping things real.

Eagles need to get "out of the box” thinking on running plays. 3 TEs, have an OL man report as eligible receiver. Anything to throw off gmen D. Get creative.

Just now, Talkingbirds said:

Eagles need to get "out of the box” thinking on running plays. 3 TEs, have an OL man report as eligible receiver. Anything to throw off gmen D. Get creative.

Agreed. Last year it was Mano a Mano because we were nasty and healthy and just bigger than the opposition. Different line this year in so many different ways.

3 minutes ago, RememberTheKoy said:

3 things from that article:

1. Translation: The Eagles are using him when they are in trouble, but not involving him consistently enough for his liking.

   He’s clearly losing patience.

2. From the article:

   An opposing defensive coach said he actually understands Brown’s frustration.

   "Hurts struggles against zone,” he said. "That’s when A.J. goes MIA. There are times it looks like Hurts doesn’t fully trust what he’s seeing, so he checks it down and plays it safe. It’s either a deep shot or a checkdown — not much in between. The timing is just off. And you can see it on the field — the communication between Hurts and Brown just isn’t there right now.”

3. Bottom line: Brown can be frustrated all he wants, but this team plays for the ring first. However, GM Howie Roseman will always listen, and if the Eagles get an exorbitant offer? Nobody is untradable in Philadelphia.

The first part makes sense because when they do get into trouble, they tend to go his way. But this has kind of been an issue since last year. I brought it up last year when they faced the ravens and then the Panthers. He had one target over the span of 4 quarters. It is ridiculous for a top 5-10 wide receiver in the NFL. And they did it this year as well. It’s been an issue

Second the advanced analytics for this year have shown they’re not good against zone coverage. Sheil, Seyed and BLG routinely discuss this. It’s a problem. Teams are going to keep continuing to play heavy zone until we show that we can adapt and actually beat zone consistently

Third everyone in the NFL is tradable for the right price except for Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen. Even with cap and dead money hurting them. If somebody came to the Eagles and offered them for 4 1st round picks and a starting Wr for AJ Brown, I am guessing the Eagles probably make that move even with the cap/dead money ramifications. unless you’re Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes, everybody in the NFL has a price that a team would be willing to trade them for.