time2rock Posted September 15, 2021 Share Posted September 15, 2021 Eagles stock up, stock down after Week 1 win vs. Falcons: Jalen Hurts, DeVonta Smith rise; Boston Scott falls A complete performance resulted in a 32-6 rout to open 2021 By Jeff Kerr The Philadelphia Eagles couldn't have asked for a more dominant performance in a Week 1 win over the Atlanta Falcons, scoring 30 points in a game for the first time since Week 17 of the 2019 season and racking up 434 yards of offense. The defense shut down the Falcons after the first two possessions of the game, holding them to 114 yards on the final 37 plays and just one play in opposing territory. Philadelphia is alone in first place in the NFC East, as it was the only team to win in the division over the weekend. Carson Wentz also played every offensive snap for the Indianapolis Colts in a loss. (The Eagles need Wentz to play 75% of the snaps to get a first-round pick from Indianapolis for the offseason trade of Wentz). It was an excellent weekend for the Eagles, one that couldn't have went any better for the organization. There's plenty of stock to invest in this Eagles team this week, but there are also some players to sell after just one game. Here's this week's stock report: Stock up Jalen Hurts What else could be said about Hurts that hasn't already? Hurts finished 27 of 35 passing for 264 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions while also rushing seven times for 62 yards. The second-year signal-caller has the last two games where an Eagles quarterback has thrown for at least 250 yards with three touchdowns, no interceptions and 60 rushing yards. Only three times has a quarterback accomplished those numbers in a single game in NFL history in his first five starts, and Hurts is responsible for two of them. Hurts is the only player since 1950 with at least 1,100 pass yards and 250 rush yards in his first five starts. The Eagles are going to use all of 2021 to evaluate Hurts, but the early returns indicate he could be their franchise quarterback. DeVonta Smith Smith lived up to the hype in his debut, showcasing that instant chemistry with Hurts that was discussed the entire offseason. Smith finished with six catches for 71 yards and a touchdown, tying DeSean Jackson for the most catches in franchise history for a player in his first-career game. He's the first player in Eagles' history to record five catches and a touchdown in his first-career game. Smith's first-career catch was for a touchdown, an 18-yard pass from Hurts where he beat Fabian Moreau on a basic corner route. The Eagles appear to have a No. 1 wide receiver for the first time in years. Jason Kelce Kelce is still really, really good. His highlight reel block on Deion Jones was just the icing on the cake on how great the Eagles' Pro Bowl center was against the Falcons. Kelce allowed just one pressure in 41 pass blocking snaps and set the tone for an Eagles offense that rushed for 173 yards on the day. Not bad for a player beginning his 11th year. Jordan Mailata Mailata signed a four-year, $64 million extension less than 24 hours before the Eagles' season opener, then proceeded to show why Philadelphia chose him as its franchise left tackle. Mailata allowed just two pressures in 41 pass-blocking snaps (both hurries) and didn't allow a sack. He also had this monster block on Jalen Reagor's fourth-quarter touchdown. Javon Hargrave Hargrave was a force on the defensive line, welcoming Jalen Mayfield into the NFL by finishing with six pressures, two sacks and three quarterback hits on the afternoon. Philadelphia finished with nine quarterback hits and 23 pressures in the game, the majority of which came in the fourth quarter. Hargrave had four run stops as well to cap a dominant performance. Hassan Ridgeway Ridgeway was a force in Sunday's win, tying Hargrave with three quarterback hits on Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan. He had one sack and should have finished with two if the official didn't rule Ryan for intentional grounding. Ridgeway finished with four pressures and a run stop, which is impressive for a player that logged just 36% of the defensive snaps. Arryn Siposs The Eagles couldn't have asked for a better debut from Siposs, who averaged 47.3 yards per punt -- three of which landed inside the 10-yard line and were downed inside the 20-yard line. The Falcons were buried deep in their own territory the entire second half because of Siposs. Stock down Boston Scott Scott didn't log a single offensive snap in Sunday's win, making it clear he's the No. 3 running back on this roster. Kenneth Gainwell surpassed Scott as the No. 2 back, finishing with nine carries for 37 yards and a touchdown in his NFL debut. Gainwell logged 25 snaps (35%) in the win -- snaps Scott would have received heading into training camp. Scott is a special teams player at this point, while Gainwell is the one who backs up Miles Sanders. The Eagles will certainly use Scott at some point this season, but he's third on the depth chart as of now. Eric Wilson Wilson missed a lot of tackles for the Minnesota Vikings and continued that trend in Philadelphia, leading the Eagles with four missed tackles -- many of which came early when the Falcons were able to get inside the Eagles' 10-yard line on their first two possessions. The Falcons targeted Wilson three times, and the linebacker allowed 33 yards in coverage. Wilson was solid against the pass, but his tackling ability is a concern for the Eagles going forward. And it doesn't get any easier with the San Francisco 49ers coming into town this week. Greg Ward Ward played 16 offensive snaps but didn't receive a single target. J.J. Arcega-Whiteside would have logged more snaps than Ward, but he left Sunday's game early with an ankle injury. Arcega-Whiteside was great as a run blocker and almost got his hands on a punt. Ward wasn't even the top option at punt returner, as Reagor lined up as the first teamer on that unit. Ward is the veteran wideout on this roster. Outside of that, who knows what role he'll have with this team going forward. Genard Avery The starting SAM linebacker on the depth chart played 22 snaps but showcased why he deserves less playing time. Avery just can't stop the run, whiffing badly on tackle that led to a Mike Davis big run -- one of only three run stop attempts he had. Avery is clearly a pass-rushing specialist, which is why he plays. He finished with two pressures and a quarterback hit, but the Eagles run defense is in serious trouble when Avery and Wilson are both on the field. https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/eagles-stock-up-stock-down-after-week-1-win-vs-falcons-jalen-hurts-devonta-smith-rise-boston-scott-falls/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob331 Posted September 15, 2021 Share Posted September 15, 2021 Scott - How can you say their stock is down when they didn't play? He's a deep back up who only played so much last year because they were so bad and had such poor coaching. Ward - Finally, he's being used like he should be. Third string. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
time2rock Posted September 15, 2021 Author Share Posted September 15, 2021 37 minutes ago, Rob331 said: Scott - How can you say their stock is down when they didn't play? He's a deep back up who only played so much last year because they were so bad and had such poor coaching. Had the same thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PoconoDon Posted September 16, 2021 Share Posted September 16, 2021 JJAW? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob331 Posted September 17, 2021 Share Posted September 17, 2021 stock up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UK_EaglesFan89 Posted September 17, 2021 Share Posted September 17, 2021 On 9/15/2021 at 1:35 PM, time2rock said: The Eagles will certainly use Scott at some point this season Yes... Against the Giants... 😁 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Procus Posted September 17, 2021 Share Posted September 17, 2021 Short sighted article. Siranni has not yet run through the playbook. I expect to continue to see new wrinkles to the offense as the season progresses. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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