By Josh Liddick, Sports Talk Philly contributor 
On Wednesday, it was reported that Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz had issues with back spasms and would miss Wednesday afternoon's practice session and later, would also miss Sunday night's matchup with the Los Angeles Rams.
Continue reading "Report: CT scan reveals fractured vertebra for Carson Wentz" »
NFC East Week 14 ReviewBy Matthew Kaplan
In a sad week for Eagles fans, their wasn't much action else where in the division. Outside of Amari Cooper and Ezekiel Elliot running all over a banged up defense, the only other game was another divisional game between the Giants and Redskins. This game would be a big test for the Redskins, as they wanted to prove they can still compete with a third-string quarterback. At the same time, the Giants would be going out there for pride as they need a couple of miracles to even think about making the playoffs.
The Giants would start fast scoring 34 points in the first half and 40 before the Redskins even sniffed the scoreboard. The Giants would lean heavily on their star, Saquon Barkley, as he would rush for 170 yards and was three yards shy of having 200 total yards for the game, as he caught four balls for another 27 yards. While Barkley would set the tone of the game, Eli Manning would preform well, completing 63 percent of his passes and throwing three touchdowns. Manning would spread the ball around to seven different receivers without turning it over once. The Giants would go on to win this game, 40-16, and will look to carry this win home to take on Tennessee. Meanwhile, the Redskins will look to avoid a fifth consecutive loss next week in Jacksonville.
The Redskins would find them selves bringing Josh Johnson into this game to replace Mark Sanchez and now find themselves stuck between a third and fourth stringer. The career back-up would find himself taking his first NFL snaps since 2014. With that said, the Redskins would find the bulk of their offense coming through him. Johnson would throw for 195 yards and rush for another 45 and be responsible for both Redskin touchdowns.
By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly Staff
The Philadelphia Eagles playoff hopes are all but over and the team might be moving forward this season without their primary signal caller. At Doug Pederson's press conference on Wednesday morning, he mentioned that Carson Wentz was dealing with some back soreness and that he was not going to practice. When asked if he was a go for Sunday's game against the Rams, Doug said that they will focus on today and see where he is as the week progresses.
Continue reading "Report: Wentz not expected to play vs. Rams, may miss rest of season" »
By Paul Bowman, Sports Talk Philly Editor
The Eagles have signed another cornerback to the final spot on the practice squad. He comes with some experience playing meaningful NFL snaps.
Additionally, the #Eagles have signed CB Josh Hawkins to the practice squad. pic.twitter.com/HJKIcc54Ic
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) December 11, 2018
Josh Hawkins is a former corner for the Green Bay Packers. Appearing in 26 games between 2016 and 2017. He registered 43 tackles, seven defensed passes and a forced fumble in his time there.
Hawkins had spent most of this season with the Carolina Panthers. He appeared in five games before he was released in favor of former Eagles running back Kenjon Barner. He may crack the 53-man roster before the end of the season. Should Sidney Jones hit IR, Hawkins and fellow practice squad teammate Jeremiah McKinnon would likely be the next in line.
Hawkins fills the final spot on the practice squad vacated by the recently re-promoted Bruce Hector.
By Paul Bowman, Sports Talk Philly Editor
The Eagles have officially placed Corey Clement and Josh Sweat on IR, becoming the twelfth and thirteenth players currently on the list. Richard Rodgers and Destiny Vaeao have also spent time on the list.
Roster Moves: #Eagles have signed DE Daeshon Hall and RB Boston Scott and placed RB Corey Clement and DE Josh Sweat on Injured Reserve. pic.twitter.com/g9MCu5pMFQ
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) December 11, 2018
Clement’s season ends with a disappointing 68 rushes for just 259 yards (3.8 yard per carry average), 22 catches for 192 yards (8.7 yards per catch) and a combined two touchdowns.
Boston Scott, a sixth-round pick of the Saints in this year’s draft, takes his place and will look to make an impression on the Birds in a bid to stick around next season. He has appeared in just four preseason games for the Saints, gaining 121 yards on 25 carries and 18 yards on three receptions.
Boston is five foot, six inches tall and weighs only 203 pounds – the same height as Darren Sproles and a mere 13 pounds heavier. The Eagles may bring Scott in with the hope that he could learn from Sproles and be the young replacement for him in the future. Scott did return kicks during his college career, and, with his size, he could learn to hide behind his linemen and make cuts just as Sproles. If he proves to be successful at one or both, expect him to stick around in 2019 as he signed a two-year deal and is an exclusive restricted free agent following that.
Sweat played in only 68 defensive snaps, registering four tackles and two quarterback pressures across nine games. The Eagles hope that Sweat will develop into a larger role player next season
Hall was a third-round pick of the Panthers in the 2017 draft. He has played in only one meaningful game since then and has yet to register any stats. He has spent time with the Panthers, Texans and 49ers this season, but has not appeared in a game. In all four games with the Panthers during this preseason, he registered three tackles, a sack and a defensed pass.
By Paul Bowman, Sports Talk Philly Editor
The Vikings have fired offensive coordinator John Defilippo in the wake of a 21-7 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
John DeFilippo has been relieved from his duties as offensive coordinator.
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) December 11, 2018
Kevin Stefanski has been elevated to Interim Offensive Coordinator and will handle play-calling duties. pic.twitter.com/bI30IP3OV0
DeFilippo (Flip) served as the QB coach for the Eagles during their Super Bowl run last season. He was one of two coaches to leave the staff. With Frank Reich not expected to leave, Flip left for the offensive coordinator job in Minnesota before Josh McDaniels decided he had no need to uphold commitments and the Eagles lost Frank Reich to the head coaching job in Indianapolis.
The Vikings now stand at 6-6-1 on the year. While the Vikings ranked eight in the league in passing yards under Flip, but ranked 30th in total rush yards. It should be difficult to blame Flip for that, however as he is working with Dalvin Cook and Latavius Murray, both of whom have been underachieving. It should also be noted that Flip, much like he did in Philly, has been utilizing the screen game as an extension of the run game. In fact, those top two backs have an additional 350 yards and two touchdowns through the air, much of which has come through the screen game.
The other issue is his quarterback. The Vikings decided to let Sam Bradford, Case Keenum and Teddy Bridgewater walk this offseason to pay Kirk Cousins $84 million in guaranteed money. 6-6-1 is where you should expect to be with the wildly mediocre Cousins at quarterback. Afterall, this is the same guy that knelt instead of spiking the ball to gift the Eagles a win a few seasons ago. The man is now 4-24 against teams with records above .500. In the playoffs, almost every team is a winning team. You can’t expect to win a Super Bowl without beating winning teams.
Due to the Cousins commitment, Flip becomes the first casualty to take a fall for the Vikings not winning with Cousins at the helm. Expect to see more as the Vikings continue to struggle with an “elite QB” who is throwing to a receiving corps of Adam Thelien, Stefon Diggs, Laquon Treadwell and Kyle Rudolph.
For the Eagles, the move is a gift. The Birds could bring him in right away to help with coaching Carson Wentz and he might even be in line to be the team’s new offensive coordinator in 2019.
By Paul Bowman, Sports Talk Philly Editor
The Eagles are planning to sign running back Boston Scott off of the New Orleans Saints practice squad roster, per Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network.
The #Eagles are expected to sign RB Boston Scott off the #Saints practice squad in the wake of Corey Clement’s knee injury, sources say.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 10, 2018
The move likely means that the Eagles got Clement’s MRI back and it was not good. Expect Clement to wind up on the injured reserve to make room for Scott. With three games remaining in the season, the move may only be a precautionary one. The injury could not come at a worse time for Clement, who had finally seemed to be getting over his early season injury to produce again. His season would end with a disappointing 68 rushes for just 259 yards (3.8 yard per carry average), 22 catches for 192 yards (8.7 yards per catch) and a combined two touchdowns.
Boston Scott, a sixth-round pick of the Saints in this year’s draft, would enter with no experience in NFL games that count. He has appeared only in the four preseason games for the Saints, gaining 121 yards on 25 carries and 18 yards on three receptions.
Scott’s teammate, All-Pro defensive end Cameron Jordan, took to Twitter to express his feelings on the potential of losing Scott to the Eagles.
I’ll decline... can I decline? my teammates talented... beat it philly ☹️ pic.twitter.com/kM1MfZSAwZ
— cameron jordan (@camjordan94) December 10, 2018
Boston is only five foot, six inches tall and weighs only 203 pounds – the same height as Darren Sproles and a mere 13 pounds heavier. The Eagles may bring Scott in with the hope that he could learn from Sproles and be the young replacement for him in the future. Scott did return kicks during his college career, and, with his size, he could learn to hide behind his linemen and make cuts just as Sproles. If he proves to be successful at one or both, expect him to stick around in 2019.
By Paul Bowman, Sports Talk Philly Editor
When Doug Pederson met with the media on Monday, he faced many questions that could be anticipated: updates on the injuries to Corey Clement, Isaac Seumalo and Josh Sweat, how he felt about the poor officiating, not going for the two-point conversion and Carson Wentz’s inaccuracy among others. There was one question he did not see prepared for, questions about Sidney Jones.
When asked about the other injuries, Pederson noted that Clement and Sweat were still waiting on MRI results and Seumalo is “day-to-day”, but when asked about Jones, he had a far more puzzling response.
“Yeah, Amari is obviously a tremendous receiver and he has done some great things there for Dallas. Yeah, ok. Yeah, um… I gotta be careful because… yeah. Amari is a great receiver. He is hard to defend and, early on in the game, I thought Sidney did a nice job defending a couple passes, a couple tackles in there, so you’ll have to continue to ask Sidney on the rest of it. ”
you'd think he was answering a question about Amari Cooper with that response. When asked follow-up questions about Jones, he replied with an answer about how he was a “tremendous” player in college and then, after another question, about how the secondary was thin and that they think they can get Avonte Maddox back this weekend. Nothing more was shared about Jones. I might argue that Doug shared nothing at all other than he made a few plays early in the game Sunday.
Pederson seemed to be caught off-guard for some reason and commented that he needed to be careful there. His simply saying that raised eyebrows. That is not a response that is typically given for an injured player. It was no "we need to wait on MRIs" or "I haven't talked to the doctors yet". Why does he need to be careful? Was Jones lying to staff and hiding an injury that the staff was unaware of? Had the medical staff missed something and allowed an injury to get worse? Maybe it is some combination of the two and maybe there is a whole different reasoning. No matter the case, something is going on in the Eagles clubhouse.
Jones started the Cowboys game off pretty well making some nice tackles and breaking up a couple of passes prior to being removed from the game. Following halftime, Jones returned to the field, but he was more of a liability than a help. Jones was obviously favoring one leg for the entire second half and, as a direct result, he was not making plays. Jones could be seen visibly limping by the fourth quarter, so it’s no surprise that the Cowboys kept throwing at him.
It seems like Jones never really got over that hamstring injury he suffered early in the season yet he has returned to the field twice now. At this point, the Eagles may be better off sitting Jones out of games until he is actually healthy. A practice squad level player in DeVante Bausby or Chandon Sullivan still has a better chance than a corner running on one leg every play. Who knows, maybe one of the two new guys can develop and become a long-term backup option.
The team is doing itself no favors allowing Jones no time to heal from his physical injury and leaving him in the game to confidence shattered throw after throw. Philadelphia Phillies fans often argue that the way that some prospects like Dominic Brown or Darin Ruf have been handled stunted their development and kept them from reaching their potential. If the Eagles continue to allow Jones to run on an injured leg and be a target for opposing offenses, the same might soon be said of Jones.
By Tucker Bagley
The Eagles season is in shambles after yesterday's overtime loss to the Cowboys. There is a lot to get through, from inept officiating to an exhausted defense and an under-performing offense. We'll start by trying to find the true cause of the Eagles' struggles yesterday before figuring out where the team goes from here.
Going Deep
Officiating
Clete Blakeman's crew will be discussed in earnest this morning as fans grumble about the inexcusable calls that put the Eagles in a tough spot. The first and most ridiculous occurred on the opening kickoff when Malcolm Jenkins forced a fumble that was recovered by Kamu Grugier-Hill.
However, the officials blew the play dead, unaware the ball was loose on the ground. Doug Pederson challenged the call, and despite the officials admitting there was a fumble on the play, they couldn’t confirm a clear recovery. The video replays clearly showed the Eagles piling on top of the ball and Grugier-Hill handing the ball to the referee following the play.
Continue reading "Eagles Armchair: Assigning blame for a season-crushing loss" »
Post-Game Recap: Cowboys Win In OTBy Matthew Kaplan
In a game that came down to the wire, the game was not as close on the box score as it was on the scoreboard. The Cowboys, on both sides of the ball, out-classed the Eagles. Dallas had the ball for a total of 45 minutes and 33 seconds, they had twice as many first downs (32-16) and twice as many yards (576-256). Prescott, despite throwing two interceptions, played well when it counted, finding Cooper three times between the fourth quarter and overtime for touchdowns. Cooper would also catch seven more passes for a grand total of 10 catches, which would gain him 217 yards. Then to add insult to injury, Elliot would run the ball 28 times and catch 12 balls for a grand total of 192 yards. Ultimately, the Cowboys stars would be the main reason for the Eagles downfall, 29-23.
While the Cowboys will look to take this win into next week as they go into Indianapolis to battle the Colts, the Eagles will chew on this while they take a trip to L.A to take on the Rams. In my opinion, the Eagles biggest issue in this game was not the defense, Carson Wentz, the offensive line or the injuries. The biggest issue for the Eagles was the lack of patience in the run game. They only ran the ball 14 times. Adams (our best back right now), only touched the ball seven times. When Adams did touch the ball, it moved as he had a yards per carry average over five (5.14 per carry). Considering it was a close game the whole time, a run game could have made a difference.
In the big picture, the Eagles now need a miracle to win the division. They will now move the focus more to the Wild Card race, which means they need wins and they need the Vikings and/or the Seahawks to struggle down the home stretch. As of right now, the magic number for losses by either of those teams is two. That is assuming the Eagles win out. Luckily for us, they do play each other tomorrow night on ESPN in a big Monday night match-up.