"Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links ...Eagles DE Derek Barnett was very good in 2018 before he got hurt - PhillyVoiceWhen the Eagles traded Michael Bennett this offseason http://www.eagleslockerroom.com/authentic-sidney-jones-jersey , most observers rightfully pointed out that Bennett was the team’s most productive edge rusher in 2018, as he had 9 sacks, 15 tackles for loss, and an impressive 30 hits on the quarterback. With Barnett coming back as the starter at RDE in 2019, many consider that to be a downgrade from Bennett. I disagree. In Barnett’s first four games, when he was healthy, he was a very disruptive player, both against the pass and the run. In fact, if you take Barnett’s numbers during those first four games and extrapolate them over a 16-game season, they would have been better than Bennett’s. “He started out lights out last year,” Doug Pederson said of Barnett at the owners meetings last week. “He was playing well. He was one of our top edge rushers last year. He doesn’t necessarily have to prove anything to us. He just has to be Derek, and he’ll play.”Carson Wentz’s Top 10 Improbable Completions - BGNCarson Wentz has built a reputation for making bonkers plays out of structure. He’s also got the arm to fit bullets through keyholes. What if you could quantify those throws with tracking data and, jeez I don’t know, compile them in a tidy top 10 list? Well that’s exactly what I’ve done using Next Gen Stats. For context, Next Gen defines “Completion Probability” as such.Fletch Lives - Iggles BlitzHe’s quick. He’s fast. He’s powerful. He’s explosive. He’s agile. He’s mean. Are you in love yet? You can’t help but think of Fletcher Cox when you see Jeffery Simmons toss aside blockers. Cox does it at the NFL level, Simmons in college. But Simmons has the potential to be every bit as good as Cox is, maybe even better. That’s all the good stuff. Now let’s talk about the issues. We’ll start with the ACL since that is current. Most guys come back from ACL injuries. Simmons tore his in February so chances are he would miss half of his rookie season, at the very least. He might miss the whole year. I’ve seen some guys come back in six months and others take almost a full year. He is young so that helps him quite a bit. The Eagles took a chance on Sidney Jones in 2017 and that hasn’t come close to panning out at this point. He has been up and down, but it is discouraging that he’s not shown the Top 20 talent that we saw in college. He’s good moments in the NFL have been solid, but nothing where you say “That’s the guy we hoped for!”. Simmons could be Jones, part two.Philadelphia Eagles CB Avonte Maddox will be hoping to build on a promising rookie campaign - PFFWhat is probably most encouraging for Eagles fans is that Maddox had his best performance against the current NFC Champions. He earned an overall grade of 90.5 in the win over the Rams in week 15, leading all Eagles defenders and ranking third among all NFL cornerbacks for that week. On six targets, Maddox allowed just one reception for eight yards, and he also grabbed an interception – not bad for a rookie cornerback going against arguably the league’s best offense. Despite having an elite defense last season, the Eagles’ coverage unit as a whole actually regressed a bit, going from the fourth-best team coverage grade (92.1) in 2017 to the 17th-best coverage grade (77.2) in 2018. But, for an Eagles team that still has a great defense and hopes of winning another Super Bowl, having a young cornerback like Maddox going into his second year is a good thing. Now, it’s no secret that Maddox struggled in the playoffs, but he was going against elite talent. With another year of development, Maddox may be able to help lift the Eagles’ coverage unit back into the elite ranks in 2019.The creative approach the Eagles use to build their roster - PE.comCreativity helps when building an NFL roster, and the Eagles, led by Howie Roseman, are as creative as any team. We’ve seen the Eagles operate for years in a manner that blends conventional with some out-of-the-box thinking that keeps Philadelphia annual championship contenders. The current roster? It’s an interesting mix of veterans acquired in a multitude of ways and younger players being developed by an outstanding coaching staff. The Eagles have 71 players on their roster at the moment, with tight end Richard Rodgers and running back Jordan Howard the most recent additions. As teams turn their full-on focus from free agency to this month’s NFL Draft, it’s worth taking a look back at what the Eagles have done in the last three weeks and view the actions as a microcosm of how to build a roster.While the crowds cheer for Phillies and Sixers, Eagles lay groundwork for loudest season of them all - InquirerThe funny thing, however, is that the Eagles have been quietly filling the vacuum with a series of very smart offseason moves, and are setting themselves up to still be the big local story of 2019. It won’t start in earnest until September, when the Phillies are marching toward the playoffs, of course, but don’t be surprised if by season’s end, the football team is the talk of the year again. It isn’t that Howie Roseman has generated anything close to the headlines that followed the arrival of Butler Womens Rasul Douglas Jersey , Harris or Harper. He brought back DeSean Jackson, and that was more than a blip on the radar, and somehow kept Brandon Graham from slipping away in free agency, but, in general, the beauty of the Eagles’ offseason lies in the pattern of all the moves taken together.Malcolm Jenkins, Players Coalition find jobs for former inmates - ESPN“At the end of the day, we are wasting a ton of people behind bars simply because we refuse as a society to recognize their capacity to change, and [therefore] won’t get a second chance. What we’re trying to do is show people that incarceration is not the way that we make our community safer, it’s not the way that we make our communities stronger,” Jenkins said. ”I think our greatest contribution to this movement as athletes is the ability to storytell. And not storytell through our own mouths, but to bring those who are most impacted to the microphone. To be able to show people who can say, ‘Look, because I had these supports and because I have these people give me a second chance, I’m now being a productive citizen. I paid my debt to society with the time I did and I want to come back and make amends.’ Oftentimes what we hear the most is guys want to come out and be productive. But oftentimes we rob people of that.”Daniel Jeremiah’s top 50 prospects for 2019 NFL Draft 4.0 - NFL.com8) Josh Jacobs, RB —Jacobs is one of my favorite players to study in this draft class. He has a thick, compact build, and I love his combination of power, elusiveness and versatility. In the run game, he possesses excellent vision, burst and wiggle. His change-of-direction quickness is off the charts. He runs low to the ground and powers through tacklers in every game I studied. Jacobs has the speed to get to the perimeter -- he’s a weapon when lined up as a QB in the Wildcat and when he’s used on fly sweeps from the slot. In the passing game, Jacobs runs crisp routes and possesses natural hands; he’s a make-you-miss specialist in space. He does need to improve in pass protection. He must come to balance as a blocker and avoid lunging at blitzers. Overall, Jacobs is a special talent, and his light workload at Alabama (251 carries in three seasons) should be viewed as a positive, not a negative.One final look at how former Eagles fared in AAF - NBCSPWR Greg Ward Jr. (San Antonio Commanders): The former Houston QB caught 22 passes for 214 yards (9.7). I couldn’t find punt return stats, but he returned at least one for a TD.As AAF suspends operations, let’s take a look at 10 players who’ve earned an NFL shot - CBS SportsRashad Ross, WR, Arizona Hotshots: He’s been the most consistent deep threat in the Alliance and leads the league with seven touchdowns. He has speed to burn, but he’s a gritty, tough wideout who has shown he can play through injuries. With his ability to catch short passes and go deep, he has a full route tree at his disposal. Someone will pick up this speedster in the summer.AAF players left stranded with nowhere to live - PFTRich Ohrnberger, a former NFL player who was working as a radio analyst in the AAF, wrote on Twitter that “Players in Memphis came back to their hotels after news came down, and had their personal items waiting in the lobby. Kicked out of their lodgings.” Memphis fullback Anthony Manzo-Lewis wrote on Twitter that he had already been kicked out of his hotel room and had no idea where to go. Teammate Brandon Silvers replied that he had a few more days at his Airbnb and would let Manzo-Lewis crash with him.3 easy ways the NFL could turn practice squads into a development league - SB NationAnother spring football league bites the dust. The Alliance of American Football (AAF) is shuttering operations for the moment and might soon fold, as no agreement with the NFLPA and/or the NFL is within distance. Majority investor Tom Dundon, owner of the Carolina Hurricanes, invested in the league with the idea it would eventually partner with the above entities to become the official developmental league for the NFL. That hasn’t happened, and now the AAF appears to be near its finish. This brings up the question that’s been asked repeatedly: Does the NFL need a true developmental league, like the now-defunct NFL Europe? Yes and no. I’ll explain both — and my idea for a developmental league....Social Media Information:BGN Facebook Page: Click here to like our pageBGN Twitter: Follow @BleedingGreenBGN Manager: Brandon Lee Gowton: Follow @BrandonGowtonBGN Radio Twitter: Follow @BGN_RadioAll Twenty Take: Rodney McLeod, Box Safety It started off in training camp on a 10-10-10 day. Those days, which feature 10 plays for offensive install against a soft defense, then 10 for the defense against a soft offense, then 10 special-teams reps Mack Hollins Jersey , can give onlookers a little insight as to the new wrinkles/adjustments that coordinators are focusing on.During a portion of the practice, Doug’s offense got uber college-y. Not just the usual bits and pieces — it was straight option offense, bubble screens galore, pre-snap motion for days. If you’ve ever watched a Matt Canada offense (current HC at Maryland), think that.But Pederson was only running those looks because Schwartz had asked for them. The emphasis was on Schwartz’s secondary being able to communicate and adjust through the various pass-catchers re-aligning and releasing in curious ways.The big note from Schwartz’s defense during that install: how much he asked of Malcolm Jenkins, Rodney McLeod, and then-SAF3 Tre Sullivan. All three safeties had to play reps as the deep middle safety, deep half safety, cover man over the slot, cover man over the tight end, cover man over the running back, curl-flat defender, et cetera. Lots o’ hats.The surprising carryover into the first two weeks of the season? The usage of Rodney McLeod in the box, even when no pre-snap motion or funky alignments have forced him there. Schwartz seems more willing this season to deploy McLeod in roles other than centerfielder — the sample size is still small, of course, but early returns are incredibly promising.The Eagles have generated two interceptions so far this season. The first was the Rasul Douglas pick on the sideline against Julio Jones, which was a rather terrible throw to a poorly run route. The second was this play, on which McLeod plastered Tampa TE O.J. Howard and popped the ball into the air.McLeod is not in his typical high alignment because he’s peppering the edge, threatening QB Ryan Fitzpatrick with a blitz to hopefully force him to shift protection or audible to a hot route. As he peels off, he has flat responsibility, sinking outside of the numbers to sit underneath the deep comeback route that had been hurting Philadelphia’s Cover 3 early in the game.There’s a bit of discontinuity in the interior zones, however. Faced with the choice of two vertical stems coming his way, the middle hole defender (Malcolm Jenkins) takes the #2 receiver to the trips side, leaving the #3 defender, O.J. Howard, to work across the open middle of the field, as LB Nigel Bradham is forced to close down on the RB release.McLeod, watching all of this unfold from his flat responsibility (Fitzpatrick never looks his way) makes the play of an instinctive free safety. A corrective position that has to anticipate the if-then causality between route concepts and zone coverage, free safeties regularly have to fly to the most likely choice and begin attacking the throw before the quarterback even begins the process. That’s what McLeod does here.McLeod abandons his post in the flat, which leaves the comeback open, because he sees Fitzpatrick processing the middle of the field and feels the hole in the defense. Howard, rightfully, does not expect the flat defender to come at him so immediately and with such velocity — he is unprepared for the body-check, and McLeod creates a turnover.Now, it’s easy to conclude via results and not process, which is why it’s important to talk about this play: the O.J. Howard 75-yard touchdown:While the Eagles rotate in a different manner in order to get into their Cover 2 on this play, this is again a shell that looks like Cover 3 early but changes late to Cover 2. McLeod is again threatening the backside edge as a blitzer, and again peels off to sink underneath the comeback route that Tampa had been cashing in on.But McLeod doesn’t come off the flat to attack the crosser; O.J. catches this ball and scores a touchdown. That is objectively bad, but it doesn’t mean the process was bad at all. Again, Philly has forced Fitzpatrick into a second read and a middle-of-the-field throw, protecting their struggling corners.But this play is after the Darby interception, and clearly the team has adjusted on the sideline. This time, the middle hole defender (Jordan Hicks) is quick to get attached to Howard’s crosser and carry it into space. There is no longer confusion in the middle zones — they know how to handle this familiar concept from a few drives ago. As such, in terms of process http://www.eagleslockerroom.com/authentic-brian-westbrook-jersey , this is a great situation. Fitzpatrick needs to thread this throw right over Nigel Bradham (who didn’t close as hard on the running back this time) and jam it into Howard’s chest to prevent Hicks, in a decent position, from attacking the catch point. And even then, Howard needs to shed Hicks and break another tackle or two to get all the way downfield.At this point in the play, this rep is a win for the Eagles’ defense. Now, both of these reps saw McLeod initially down in the box, as a potential blitzer and, if not a blitzer, a likely short-zone defender. The fact that McLeod offers that interchangeability is quite nice, in that it allows Jenkins and McLeod to be more fluid pre-snap handling those motions we discussed in the intro.However, for deception’s sake, teams will quickly come to key on McLeod’s alignment. When he’s down, the Eagles are far less likely to run true Cover 3 than when he’s up high. As such, working McLeod down into the box from a high alignment pre-snap is important for Schwartz’s defense.And he’s checked that box off as well. It goes back to the coulda woulda shoulda been third interceptions of the Eagles’ young season:This coverage shell should seem familiar. It’s essentially the same back-end coverage as the first clip — the Darby interception.(You will notice that a lot of the Eagles’ early ball production this season on defense has come from this shell. Makes you think!)This shell is basically Inverted Cover 2, and it’s a natural compliment to Cover 3 coverage. At the snap, they look rather similar — the corners are in off coverage, and there’s a single-high rover covering the middle of the field. At the snap of Cover 3, everyone begins slowly gaining depth; at the snap of an inverted Cover 2 rep, the free safety closes down, to become the middle hole defender of the Cover 2.Really, Inverted Cover 2 is closer to a Tampa-2 coverage than a true Cover 2. A true Cover 2 is a five-under, two-over coverage: five defenders handle the underneath areas, two defenders handle the deep areas. Philly’s inverted Cover 2 doesn’t ask the middle hole defender — that dropping free safety — to really get all the way into the underneath zones. He plays more of a robber role — a rat defender, some would call it. He’s allowed to roam in the barren land between underneath and deep zones, feeling the route concept and adjusting accordingly.And that’s what you see from McLeod here. Similarly to the first rep, he plays with his eyes in the backfield, feels the space QB Matt Ryan wants to attack, and undercuts the route. Everything is solid but the execution.And that’s really what we have, here: an interception, an incompletion, and a touchdown. I could throw in the DeSean Jackson touchdown — McLeod rotated into man coverage on Mike Evans at the snap, which allowed Philly to generate a free blitzer — that would be two touchdowns on four total plays. If you were to just look at the stats, McLeod down in the box seems rather a poor idea.But even on that DeSean touchdown, Philly was at a great position in terms of X’s and O’s on the chalkboard: they had DeSean double covered and a free rusher baring down on Fitzpatrick. One mental mistake — albeit an egregious one — was enough to tip the scales.If and when Schwartz moves McLeod into the box, he’s typically moving away from the base Cover 3 defense. In the past, when moving to different shells, Schwartz still made an effort to keep McLeod as a high safety. In 2018, he seems far more willing to use McLeod in unexpected ways, and it’s paying off early for the Eagles’ defense.McLeod’s instincts and sharp mind for the game translate down into underneath zones, and he has either directly or indirectly put the defense in plus situations with his versatility. The more frequently Philadelphia deploys McLeod as a middle hole or flat defender, the further they can confound opposing offenses, force longer processes in the pocket, and generate turnover-worthy plays.