Ideas on the well being of Jalen Hurts, the ironic reality of Jason Kelce and the true Eagles single-season receiving report holder.
This is our bye week version of Rob’s Ten Random Notes for the Eagles.
1. The most important query dealing with the Eagles per week earlier than they begin enjoying the postseason is what sort of Jalen Hurts ought to we count on? Will or not it’s the man we noticed towards the giants who was so restricted in every thing he did? Will or not it’s the Jalen Hurts we noticed earlier than the damage in Chicago? Someplace in between? This is why I feel will probably be nice. By the point the Eagles play subsequent weekend, Hurts shall be 5 weeks away from struggling a shoulder damage on December 18th. I do not assume something occurred within the Giants sport to return in an enormous method. The Eagles went into that sport with one objective: to win the sport with the least quantity of vitality expended whereas conserving the offense as vanilla as potential and defending Hurts as a lot as potential. Whereas he was credited with 9 speeding makes an attempt, 4 have been kneeling makes an attempt, and within the others, he was as cautious as he might be whereas enjoying skilled soccer. It was heartening to see Hurts observe throwing Friday, and he nonetheless has one other week to relaxation, heal, and get better. Hurts and Nick Sirianni are getting fuzzy on goal, however my hunch is that we’ll see a really shut approximation of the Jalen Hurts we noticed within the first 13 weeks of the season by subsequent weekend. And if they’re going to make a deep playoff run, the Eagles want Jalen Hurts who has all of his skills at his disposal. When he does, this crime is virtually unstoppable. When he would not, we all know what that appears like, too. The pains is not going to be one hundred pc. However I might be stunned if it wasn’t quickly.
2. The Eagles have by no means misplaced at house within the semi-final (or “division”) spherical. They went 5-0 over the Vikings in 1980, the Falcons in 2002, the Packers in 2003, the Vikings in 2004 and the Falcons once more in 2017. They went 3-7 within the Convention Semifinals on the highway with the wins coming. Pittsburgh in 1947, Chicago in 2001 versus the Giants in 2008.
3. Congratulations to AJ Brown for surpassing Mike Fast’s membership report for yards in a single season, however let’s not overlook that Ben Hawkins remains to be the Eagles’ true single-season report holder and has been for 55 years. Hawkins led the NFL with 1,265 yards in 14 video games in 1967. That is 90.4 yards per sport, and that is the very best in Eagles historical past. Kwik was second at 88.1 whereas Brown was third at 88.0. Pete Behaus (87.4), Terrell Owens (85.7 in 2004) and Pete Retzlaff (85.0 in 1965) are additionally speeding 85 yards per sport or greater. The Browns maintain the report for many yards, however in the case of yardage per sport, essentially the most correct illustration of a participant’s efficiency, Newark, NJ, remains to be one of the best in Eagles historical past.
4. Jason Kelsey earned his fifth first-team All-Professional honor this week, which is superior. What’s much more outstanding is that he did not get his first season till his seventh season. As a sixth-round draft choose from Cincinnati, Kelsey entered the league with none hype, fame, or title recognition. Guys like which are routinely ignored within the Professional Bowl or All-Professional voting early of their careers as a result of not like first-round draft picks everybody has heard about for years and entered the league as high-ranking rookies, it takes years earlier than the NFL even notices. With them. Kelce is one in all solely two gamers in NFL historical past to make 5 All-Skilled groups regardless of not making any in his first six seasons. The opposite was Bears quarterback Chuck Hawley, a rookie in 1958 and a five-time professional from 1966 via 1970. Kelsey is actually probably the greatest soccer gamers of all time.
5. Over the previous 30 years, the Eagles have been 2-12 within the postseason towards Corridor of Fame quarterbacks (or future H-of F QBs) and 14-4 towards non-Corridor of Fame quarterbacks. The one Corridor of Fame QBs they’ve overwhelmed over that span within the postseason are Brett Favre within the 2003 Convention Semifinals and Tom Brady in Tremendous Bowl LII. The one non-Corridor of Fame QBs to lose to are Kerry Collins of the Giants within the 2000 wild card spherical on the Meadowlands, Brad Johnson of the Bucs for the Vet within the 2002 NFC Championship Sport, and Jake Delhomme of the Panthers in Hyperlink on the 2003 NFC Championship Sport and Tony Romo on the 2009 Wild Card Sport at AT&T Stadium. The one Corridor of Fame locks they get to see within the postseason is Tom Brady and also you doubtless already put Patrick Mahomes in that class as nicely.
6. If the Eagles face the Chargers within the Tremendous Bowl, Cameron Decker shall be assured a Tremendous Bowl ring earlier than the sport even begins. Decker, who made a game-winning area objective for the Playing cards in his solely sport as an Eagle, completed 21-for-22 for an NFL-best 95.5 %. That is the very best area objective proportion by an undrafted rookie in NFL historical past. The earlier report was 93.8 % by Michael Badgley, additionally of the Chargers, in 2018.
7. The Eagles haven’t had a 100-yard receiver of their final 14 postseason victories. The final time they’d one was a 58-37 win over the Lions in 1995, when Fred Barnett caught eight catches for 109 yards.
8. Within the 47 years earlier than Chip Kelly employed Jeff Stotland because the Eagles’ offensive line coach, the Eagles had two first-team gamers – Shaun Andrews in 2006 and Jason Peters in 2011. -Line coach, the Eagles had 9 first-team offensive linemen Peters as soon as, Evan Mattis as soon as, Jason Kelsey 5 instances and Lynn Johnson twice. The Eagles are the one NFL workforce to have three completely different All-Professional offensive linemen since 2013, and the entire of 9 All-Professional offensive linemen since 2013 can be the very best within the NFL. Stotland is a satyr deity.
9. Within the Eagles’ final eight house playoff video games, their quarterbacks have thrown 11 landing passes and one interception – Michael Vick’s INT finish of the Packers’ wild card loss in 2010. That is one in all 228 postseason move makes an attempt (by Donovan) McNabb, Jeff Garcia, and Michael Vick, Foles, Carson Wentz, and Josh McCown).
10. I used to be pleasantly stunned that James Bradbury bought Darius Slay accredited by the professional workforce. Though he typically did not face the opposing workforce’s greatest receiver, he performed higher, was extra constant and deserved it. Since Week 10, Slay has allowed 24 completions on 32 targets for 298 yards and three touchdowns with a no-INT. That is a 134.6 opposing passer ranking, and it was the second-worst within the league amongst beginning basemen over the past eight weeks of the season. For the complete season, Bradbury had an opposition passer ranking of 49.4—second greatest within the league—and Slay completed at 79.9, which ranked twenty seventh out of 91 cornerbacks (minimal 30). The Eagles undoubtedly must slay the primary half within the postseason moderately than slay the second half.