Eagles News: Is Fletcher Cox playing his final games with Philly?

[time2rock]

Eagles News: Is Fletcher Cox playing his final games with Philly?

Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 12/25/21.

By Brandon Lee Gowton@BrandonGowton  Dec 25, 2021, 6:00am EST  

Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images

Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles (-10) links ... 

Are Fletcher Cox’s days with the Eagles nearing an end? - Inquirer
Sideline tirades happen, but Cox had another the next week and couldn’t contain his annoyance afterward in the press room. Internal conversations ensued, some of them bitter, and Cox was given permission to talk with other teams, Eagles sources said. Several suitors called, with the Steelers having the best offer, two sources close to the situation said. But general manager Howie Roseman’s demands were steep, mostly because the Eagles would have had a $37 million dead money cap hit after restructuring his contract before the season. The remaining money on Cox’s reworked deal seemingly makes it difficult to move him next offseason, although Roseman has worked wonders before. Both parties may ultimately agree upon a mutually beneficial parting. Cox may not be the force he once was, but he can still make an impact, as evidenced by the Washington game. And if his relationship with the Eagles has been momentarily repaired, as he suggested Thursday when asked if Gannon has earned his trust, maybe another year together can be salvaged. But with Hargrave likely back, rookie Milton Williams in line for a larger role, and the Eagles armed with three first-round draft picks, Cox’s tenure in Philly could be nearing its end. A late surge could entice another team. He said he can still play at an elite level.

What if the Eagles had run the ball all year? - BGN
In their last seven games the Eagles have run the hell out of the ball, becoming the first team since the 1985 Bears to have at least 175 rushing yards in seven straight games. That it has been 36 years since anyone has put up those numbers for less than half a season shows that it is next to impossible to keep that up for a whole year. But just for fun, what if they had? How absurd would the Eagles offense look if they had played the way they have over the past seven games over the full 14 games? The short answer is that it would be ridiculous.

Eye On The Enemy #78: Eagles vs. Giants Preview & Nick Sirianni Coach of the Year? - BGN Radio
On Episode 78 of Eye on the Enemy, host John Stolnis breaks down this week’s rematch with Ed Valentine, Editor-in-Chief of SB Nation’s Giants site Big Blue View. Also, the Eagles’ offensive turnaround over the last seven weeks has been nothing short of remarkable. If the Birds make the playoffs, where does Nick Sirianni rank among NFL Coach of the Year candidates?

Eagles vs. Giants: Five matchups to watch - PhillyVoice
As you can see, they remain in the bottom half of the league in rushing yards allowed per game and per attempt, and they give up a healthy number of rushing first downs. Interestingly though, they have not allowed many explosive plays in the run game, as their three rushes of 20+ yards allowed is tied for the best in the NFL. That’s sort of similar to the Eagles’ rushing offense, by the way. The Eagles are averaging 5.1 yards per carry on the season, and they don’t have a single rush of over 40 yards. Still, the Eagles can run on any team, and they sure as hell can run on this team. Don’t overcomplicate it. Just run the damn ball.

The Eagles’ Running Game Has Made Them a Potential Playoff Spoiler - The Ringer
It would be easy to believe that the Eagles’ running game is good solely because of Hurts, but this doesn’t fully capture the picture. The Eagles are tied for fifth in the league in EPA per attempt on pure handoffs—no read options added, no designed quarterback runs. Even though the Hurts’s keeper will always float in the corner of the defense’s mind, the running game is working for the Eagles outside of Hurts’s influence. And here, some of that credit now goes to Miles Sanders, the Eagles’ third-year running back who has shown improvement in two key areas: decision-making and vision. Sanders is still good for a couple of runs a game in which he careens into the back of his own blocker, or rushes a decision and puts his blocker in a bad position. You can see center Jason Kelce, on this viral play, throw up his hands in frustration that Sanders didn’t wait for him to make the final block and pave the way to the end zone.

Best veteran contracts for all 32 NFL teams: Stefon Diggs, Cooper Kupp, James Conner among the most valuable deals - ESPN+
Philadelphia Eagles: C Jason Kelce. Age: 34. Remaining contract (cap hit, percentage of cap): 2021: $5,574,000 (2.6%), 2022 [Void]: $5,999,000 (2.7%). If the Philadelphia Eagles do one thing really well, it’s run the football. They’re third in Football Outsiders’ run offense DVOA, and sixth in adjusted line yards. In addition, the Eagles are third in adjusted line yards running in the middle or between the two guards. Kelce has been the linchpin in that rushing offense, as the veteran’s consistent ability to get out and move has sparked a diverse run game in Philadelphia. The best part about Kelce? His contract is extremely workable. He signed a reworked contract this offseason, but his future money can also be voided if the Eagles go in a different direction. If they stick with Kelce, his cap hit will go down every year until he’s a free agent. The veteran has given his all to the city of Philadelphia, and his contract remains team friendly as he gets older.

Sirianni optimistic he’ll be back for Sunday; Eagles ready if he’s not - NBCSP
Throughout the week, Sirianni has coached the Eagles virtually from his hotel room. The Eagles have a plan in place if Sirianni can’t coach the team on Sunday, but he’s still hoping he’ll be cleared in time. "I feel great,” he said. "Just waiting for my test to come back and get good news, hopefully.” The Eagles have had a few cases of COVID go through their team this week, but Sirianni said the rest of the coaching staff is healthy and ready to coach on Sunday. The only question is whether or not Sirianni will be with them. And he doesn’t have any sort of timetable in mind. "Whenever they tell me I can, I’m ready to go,” he said. "If they tell me a minute before the game, I’ll be there. If it’s two days before the game, I’ll be there. When they tell me I can go, I’m ready to go. Prepared the same way obviously as if I was in the building all week. The sooner the better.”

Eagles-Giants Week 16 cheat sheet: News, matchups, players to watch, more - The Athletic
Berman: This game isn’t as much of a gimme as it might seem, considering the Eagles are playing on a short week, have injury questions and might not have their head coach on the sideline. Plus, the Giants already beat them. Still, oddsmakers made the Eagles double-digit favorites for a reason. They’re the better team, the hotter team and they’re playing at home. The Eagles will win this game along the lines of scrimmage. They’ll continue to run the ball effectively, Hurts will take better care of the ball and the defense will have a banner performance. The Giants have scored two or more touchdowns just once in the past five games. It won’t be much better this week. The Eagles will have their first winning record since Week 1. Eagles 20, Giants 10

2021 Fantasy Football Rankings: Wide Receivers for Week 16 - Fake Teams
WR37) DeVonta Smith. It’s hard to trust WRs on PHI while Jalen Hurts is at QB but Smith remains the only one to start in fantasy. Gets a NYG defense that gives up the 11th most PPG to WRs.

Bears to start Nick Foles at QB vs. Seahawks - Windy City Gridiron
Foles appeared in 9 games for the Bears last season, starting in 7 as he split the starting quarterback role with Mitchell Trubisky. The team went 2-5 with him in the starting lineup, excluding his comeback win against the Falcons for which he started as a backup. He finished with 1,852 yards, 10 touchdowns and 8 interceptions with a 64.7 completion percentage. With the signing of Dalton and the draft selection of Fields, Foles has been inactive for much of the 2021 regular season and has yet to play a snap this year. He will be tasked with taking on a Seahawks defense which has allowed the most passing yards in the NFL through 15 weeks.

https://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2021/12/25/22853439/eagles-news-fletcher-cox-playing-final-games-philadelphia-defensive-tackle-contract-nfl-trade-rumors

[UK_EaglesFan89]

Its an interesting hypothetical regarding the run game and what things would look like if they'd gone run heavy all year. The reality though is I don't think it would have made a difference to the win loss record. I guess maybe they would have beaten the Niners? But they wouldn't have won any of the others. 

[PoconoDon]

I think moving Cox while he still has pretty good value is a wise move. As far as compensation goes, personally I'd look to the 2023 draft for that. Extra pick(s) that year seem very important to me.

[nipples]

21 hours ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

Its an interesting hypothetical regarding the run game and what things would look like if they'd gone run heavy all year. The reality though is I don't think it would have made a difference to the win loss record. I guess maybe they would have beaten the Niners? But they wouldn't have won any of the others. 

I think they’d have possibly beaten the Raiders if they’d given Sanders more carries. Or brought Howard up before then to take some of Scott and Gainwell’s runs. 

[UK_EaglesFan89]

27 minutes ago, nipples said:

I think they’d have possibly beaten the Raiders if they’d given Sanders more carries. Or brought Howard up before then to take some of Scott and Gainwell’s runs. 

The Raiders game was a blow out was it not? I can't give them that one. 

[nipples]

6 minutes ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

The Raiders game was a blow out was it not? I can't give them that one. 

They lost 33-22, hardly a blowout. And you have to consider that running the ball effectively would have kept the raiders offense off the field more. 

[time2rock]

2 minutes ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

The Raiders game was a blow out was it not? I can't give them that one. 

That was an 11 point loss (33-22).  Really, any of the games could have gone either way had we run the ball at the rate we are now ... controlling the clock to minimize the opponents' scoring opportunities and far less 3-and-outs by our offense likely would have led to more scoring opportunities for us.  But whatever, I've said all along I viewed 2021 as a season to learn ... Sirianni and the rest of the coaches to learn what works, how to game plan and hone in their play calling skills, Hurts to develop his game, etc.  Hopefully these lessons carry over to 2022 ... and with a good crop of draft picks and an opportunity to add some much needed young talent (knock on wood), we could be more in the thick of things next year.