Category: Eagles Game Day

NFC East news: Washington Redskins could have a new nickname before 2020 season opener vs. the Eagles

NFC East news: Washington could have a new nickname before season opener vs. Eagles

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In a move that has been discussed for decades but never fully materialized, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com is reporting that the Washington Redskins will undergo a nickname change and sooner than you think.

According to Schefter, Washington has taken the steps to undergo a shift in its historic brand, starting with the end of the Redskins nickname.

According to Les Carpenter of the Washington Post, head coach Ron Rivera has been in discussion with team owner Dan Snyder and that nickname change will likely take place before the season and home opener against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, September 13.

“If we get it done in time for the season, it would be awesome,” he said. “We came up with a couple of names—two of them I really like.”

The urgency for a name change stems from the increased pressure on Snyder from billionaires to change the team’s nickname recently. FedEx, which has sponsored Washington’s home stadium since 1999, requested the nickname be changed in a strong statement that was followed by similar requests from Nike, and PepsiCo to end their business relationship with Washington unless the team agreed to change its nickname.

Nike has removed all Washington team merchandise from its online store.

The team moved to Washington D.C. prior to the 1937 season and has utilized that nickname ever since.

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3 potential trap games for the Philadelphia Eagles during the 2020 NFL season

3 potential trap games for the Philadelphia Eagles during the 2020 NFL season

The Philadelphia Eagles will enter the 2020 NFL season with championship aspirations and the hopes of repeating as division champions.

The key to any postseason success will be the Birds’ ability to avoid losing to teams that they are clearly better than. The Eagles can’t afford to have two or three games this season where they play down to the level of their competition.

With several heavyweight matchups on the 2020 NFL schedule, here are 3 potential trap games for the Eagles this season:

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Eagles overall record vs. Redskins (80-85-6)

WEEK 1: @Washington Redskins Sun 09/13 · 1:00 PM EDT

While the Redskins are rebuilding, the Eagles will enter the game with expectations, a fully healthy offense, and the best quarterback in the division under the center. The only thing worse than a significant injury happening in the season opener would be an embarrassing road loss to a Washington team starting a second-year quarterback and undergoing a complete rebuild.

With a home game against the LA Rams looming in Week 2, the Eagles can’t get caught sleeping during the season opener in what will likely be an empty FedExField.

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7 Philadelphia Eagles who need to step up for Carson Wentz in 2020

7 Philadelphia Eagles who need to step up for Carson Wentz in 2020

The Philadelphia Eagles will enter the 2020 NFL season with championship aspirations and a quarterback on the hunt for his absolute respect around the league.

Wentz is one of the top-5 quarterbacks in the game, but all critics talk about are his eight games missed over the past three seasons including his first postseason start against the Seahawks last year.

Wentz can’t win another division title alone and in this breakdown, we’ll look at the seven Eagles who need to step up and do their part for the MVP candidate.

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Matt Pryor

1.  Matt Pryor, Right Guard

Pryor spent two seasons learning the Eagles’ offense for this moment and was the Eagles’ choice to replace Brandon Brooks in the Birds Wild Card loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

Originally selected by the Eagles in the 6th round (206th overall) of the 2018 NFL Draft, Pryor actually made his first career NFL start in place of an injured Brooks in that Wild Card game vs. Seattle.

An All-Big 12 honoree at TCU, Pryor will be called upon to help the Eagles maintain the distinction of being in the top-3 annually in both pass and run blocking. Pryor won’t be able to match Brandon Brooks’s production, but he’ll definitely need to hold up in the interior so Wentz can work his magic.

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Eagles Lane Johnson lands in the top-2 of the highest-graded offensive tackles

Philadelphia Eagles Lane Johnson lands in the top-2 of the highest-graded offensive tackles

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Lane Johnson was not feeling a recent CBS Sports ranking of the top offensive tackles in the NFL and this recent evaluation from Pro Football Focus proves it was “fake news” as the Eagles right tackle referred to it.

Pro Football Focus recently revealed the highest-graded offensive tackles in the NFL during the 2019 season and the Eagles star landed at No. 2 behind the Saints Ryan Ramcyzk.

Last season at right tackle for the Eagles, Johnson participated in 423 pass-blocking reps, allowing just one sack.

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Philadelphia Eagles deferring payments for season ticket holders

Eagles deferring season tickets payments amid the coronavirus pandemic

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The NFL season will likely be played as scheduled but we could be facing the first regular-season played without fans because of the risks surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the likelihood of fans not being in attendance, the Eagles are among teams around the league that have given fans the option of opting out of their season tickets for 2020 without losing their ticket privileges beyond this season.

According to NBC Sports Philadelphia, the Eagles communicated the NFL’s refund policy in a previous letter to season ticket holders, deferring payments for this season.

“Previously, you had deferred your 2020 season ticket payment to July 1st. We do not plan to process this payment as scheduled and will communicate additional information regarding the 2020 season following the Fourth of July.”

The Eagles are scheduled to open the preseason on Aug. 13 in Indianapolis, with the first home preseason game scheduled for Aug. 27 against the Patriots. The NFL is currently weighing playing only two preseason games.

The regular-season home opener is Sept. 20 against the Rams.

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T.J. Edwards named a surprise starter who could emerge for the Eagles in 2020

T.J. Edwards named a surprise starter who could emerge for the Eagles this season

The Philadelphia Eagles linebacker corps is either extremely underrated or a serious problem for a talented defense based on which analysts or NFL expert you choose to listen to.

The Eagles got extremely faster and athletic at the position after they signed Jatavis Brown in free agency and then drafted Davion Taylor and Shaun Bradley.

Even with the new moving parts, one name continues to emerge as a breakout candidate and that’s second-year linebacker T.J. Edwards who made the Eagles roster last season as an undrafted free agent out of Wisconsin.

Bleacher Report recently highlighted a surprise starter who could emerge in 2020 and Edwards was named the Eagles candidate.

Philadelphia Eagles: LB T.J. Edwards

The Philadelphia Eagles’ linebacker corps is concerning. A projected starting group of Nathan Gerry, Jatavis Brown, and possibly Alex Singleton doesn’t inspire much hope.

The younger options on the roster present some upside, though. The Eagles may be better off moving forward with T.J. Edwards, Duke Riley, and this year’s third-round pick, Davion Taylor.

Of the previously mentioned linebackers, Brown has the most starting experience. The 2016 fifth-round pick has also battled injuries throughout his four-year career. As such, Edwards could easily find himself running the Eagles defense as its “Mike” linebacker.

“He’s the kind of player that nobody in our scouting department gets excited about because he’s not fast or splashy, but he knows how to play,” an NFC linebackers coach told NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein before the 2019 NFL draft.

With the Eagles sometimes utilizing five or six defensive backs, Edwards’s savvy ability to sniff out the run and make stops at the point of attack could give him the upper hand in a position battle that will highlight the early portion of training camp.

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Ranking the defenses Eagles QB Carson Wentz will face during the 2020 NFL season

Ranking the defenses Carson Wentz will face during the 2020 NFL season

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NFL offenses sell all the tickets but everyone knows that “Defense wins championships.”

Carson Wentz is a talented quarterback and he’ll face several talented defensives capable of leaving the best signal-caller confused.

With training camp just around the corner, here is a ranking of the best defenses Wentz will face in 2020.

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13. New York Giants

The Giants added cornerback James Bradberry and former Green Bay Packers linebacker Blake Martinez, who is a tackling machine.

Bradberry should improve the secondary while defensive coordinator Patrick Graham should improve the defense as they switch to the 3-4.

Second-round pick Xavier McKinney, a safety out of Alabama, should add a playmaker to the secondary as well.

The addition of defensive end Leonard Williams was huge as well.

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Former Eagles great Tra Thomas weighs-in on whether Jason Peters could replace Brandon Brooks at RG

Tra Thomas unsure Jason Peters could replace Brandon Brooks at RG

The Philadelphia Eagles seem prepared to move forward with Matt Pryor in place of the injured Brandon Brooks, but that hasn’t stopped fans and some analysts from clamoring for the return of Jason Peters.

Peters has openly discussed playing guard if it would extend his career and with Brooks lost for the season due to a torn Achilles, the question has been asked about Peters possibly switching positions.

Former Eagles great and Pro Bowl left tackle gave his opinion on the matter recently and told 97.3 ESPN, that Peters would have a hard time making the adjustment.

“The skill isn’t the problem, it’s the wear and tear on the body,” Thomas explained. “If you are getting beat up out there playing defensive ends, you’re definitely going to get beat up playing offensive guard when you’re dealing with defensive tackles.”

“Everyone just thinks you can mix-and-match and just move around – it’s not that easy, to just move to different positions like that,” Thomas stressed. “Especially when you have been in a left-handed stance for so long, its takes a long-time to get that muscle memory to change.”

Pryor, the likely choice to replace Brooks, has experience from the NFC Wild Card matchup against the Seahawks last January and his physically similar to the All-Pro in size.

Thomas liked what he saw from the former TCU star.

“I thought Matt Pryor came in and held his own,” Thomas said. I thought he was really good at protection, to me I don’t feel there was a major drop-off.”

The third-year guard has the chance to make himself a lot of money this season and could put himself in-line for a big deal on the open market or for potentially replacing Brooks if the Eagles decide to move on.

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Eagles RG Brandon Brooks doing Jiujitsu training despite tearing his Achilles

Eagles RG Brandon Brooks doing Jiujitsu training despite tearing his Achilles

Brandon Brooks suffered a torn Achilles this week but it hasn’t stopped the Eagles star from putting in the work to keep his body in tip-top shape.

Brooks hasn’t had surgery yet, so he’s still taking part in MMA and jujitsu training with a walking boot, despite the torn Achilles.

In the video, courtesy of ESPN’s Eagles reporter Tim McManus via Ricardo Migliarese of Balance MMA, Brooks looks perfectly healthy while getting his ground and pound on.

Brooks will likely face backlash from some fans, but the injury is what it is and just sitting around won’t help the Eagles All-Pro heal any faster. He’s looking at a nine-month recovery regardless.

Brooks tore his left Achilles tendon while running during a rehab session at NovaCare Complex on Monday.

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Eagles’ Miles Sanders omiited from CBS Sports’ ranking of the top 10 running backs for 2020

Eagles’ Miles Sanders left off CBS Sports’ ranking of the top 10 running backs for 2020

The Philadelphia Eagles have one of the top running backs in the NFL with Miles Sanders, yet it appears second-year bias and the slow start as a rookie has some disrespecting him early on in 2020.

CBS Sports released a ranking of the top-10 running backs in the NFL entering the 2020 NFL season and Sanders was left off the list in favor of players like Chris Carson, Todd Gurley, and Leonard Fournette.

The bulk of the criticism stems from Gurley being ranked ahead of Sanders despite the former Rams and current Falcons star slipping in his play.

Gurley racked up 1,064 yards from scrimmage and 14 touchdowns in 2019 on a team that didn’t make the playoffs.

Fournette racked up 1,674 yards from scrimmage last season but hasn’t lived to his selection as a No. 4 pick.

The numbers from Sanders rookie year and the offensive additions suggest that the former Penn State star should have a monster 2020 season.

Sanders amassed 1,327 yards from scrimmage and six touchdowns as a rookie while splitting time with Jordan Howard. After Howard left the lineup with a pinched nerve, Sanders flourished, mixing explosive plays in with tough running.

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