Wake-Up Call: An Eagles Slant To Sunday’s Games

Cam Newton. Courtesy of USA Today

Like you, we spent a good part of our Sunday taking in the games. Here are a few notes/thoughts with an Eagles slant:

*The most significant news stemming from Sunday’s action is that the Eagles will move into first place in the division with a win over the Giants. The only NFC East team that played was Washington (the Cowboys are on their bye), which dropped to 2-4 with a 34-20 loss to the Jets.

The standings now look like this:

NEW YORK (3-2)
DALLAS (2-3)
PHILADELPHIA (2-3)
WASHINGTON (2-4)

The first division tie-breaker is head-to-head, so it will be the Eagles on top of the Giants should they pull out a win.

*Kirk Cousins threw a pair of picks in the loss and finished with a 57.9 QB rating, but head coach Jay Gruden said the “intent” is to have Cousins remain the starter for the rest of the year.

*Next week’s opponent, the Carolina Panthers, remained undefeated with a 27-23 come-from-behind win in Seattle. Cam Newton hit Greg Olsen for a 26-yard touchdown with 32 ticks left to put the Panthers ahead of the Kapadia-led Seahawks, who have struggled to hold onto second-half leads and now sit at 2-4.

This Panthers game looks more daunting than it did when the schedule first came out. The Eagles will have to rebound from what promises to be an emotional divisional matchup and get ready for a road tilt against a 5-0 club on a short week. You can argue that Carolina might be set up for a letdown after such a big win over the defending NFC champs, and maybe it will prove out that way, but the Eagles will have their hands full.

*The good news for NFC hopefuls is that it does not appear that the postseason road will go through Seattle. The bad news is that it could very well go through Green Bay. The Packers held on to beat the Chargers to improve to 6-0. Aaron Rodgers is now 49-10 as the starter at Lambeau Field. He became the fastest QB ever to 30,000 yards in the win. He’s good.

*Updating the Eagles’ remaining opponents’ records with Week 6 all but in the books:

Giants (3-2)
Panthers (5-0)
Cowboys (2-3)
Dolphins (2-3)
Bucs (2-3)
Lions (1-5)
*Patriots (5-0)
Bills (3-3)
Cardinals (4-2)
Washington (2-4)

*How can we not include this?

The Colts ran quite possibly the worst trick play in NFL history. It was beautifully bad. http://t.co/g61K9oCmyw pic.twitter.com/ixen4linkt

— SB Nation NFL (@SBNationNFL) October 19, 2015

WHAT YOU MISSED

A national roundup of predictions for Monday night’s game.

“For them to have that type of faith in me…it’s big.” Jordan Hicks gets chance to call the shots.

Full Eagles-Giants injury report. 

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

Jay Glazer stood up for Chip Kelly during an appearance on Colin Cowherd’s show. From Philly.com.

“He’s just a dude from New Hampshire who drinks Coronas,” says Jay Glazer, an NFL Insider for Fox who told Colin Cowherd on Friday that people just get Kelly wrong.

“Chip treats his guys with respect,” Glazer said. “He’s not trying to embarrass anybody or beat you down. His entire system is predicated on pace. Pace beats talent every day of the week when you are exhausted.”

Glazer was directly involved with some Eagles players during the offseason. DeMarco Murray, Zach Ertz, Lane Johnson and John Moffitt all worked with Glazer and his unique MMA-style training during the offseason at his Sunset Boulevard Gym called Unbreakable.

Cowherd seemed to agree with Glazer’s assessment that Kelly isn’t the elitist he’s being perceived as.

“I think he’s intellectual,” Cowherd said. “I like the system. I think he fits the NFL.”

Tommy Lawlor writes about the play of Malcolm Jenkins and Walter Thurmond.

Jenkins and Thurmond are playing at a high level. The Eagles might be getting the best Safety play of any team in the entire NFL. I know that sounds crazy, but it’s true.

Jenkins leads the Eagles in tackles. Thurmond is second. Jenkins has 7 TFLs. Thurmond has 3 INTs. Jenkins has a pair of FFs. Both guys have been outstanding in coverage. They have each played in the slot, as well as sitting deep in centerfield.

Chip Kelly and Bill Davis don’t use Safeties in the traditional way. You used to want a SS that was like a LB and then the FS was more of a centerfielder type. The Eagles had this with Michael Lewis and Brian Dawkins from 2002-2006. Kelly and Davis prefer interchangeable players that both have outstanding cover skills. Jenkins and Thurmond both played CB in college. Neither guy is a big hitter. That’s gone (which is probably smart due to the current NFL rules).

COMING UP

Eagles-Giants from the Linc. We’ll have you covered.