What They’re Saying About the Eagles

Here’s this week’s roundup of national media coverage.

Cris Carter references his time in Philly when speaking on the Josh Gordon situation, Chris Wesseling of NFL.com writes:

Hall of Fame wide receiver Cris Carter, who was cut by the Philadelphia Eagles in the midst of his own substance-abuse problems, believes the Browns should take the same approach with Gordon.

“I feel for the kid,” Carter told ESPN’s Mike & Mike on Monday. “My situation was very, very similar. If I’m the Cleveland Browns — and it’s gut-wrenching for me to say this — I really think that the only thing that’s going to help the kid is if they release him.”

Carter pointed out that he had a great support system in Philadelphia, but he simply wouldn’t stop drinking until coach Buddy Ryan gave him a wake-up call. Taking away football was the “catalyst” to recovery.

Phil Sheridan of ESPN.com introduces the first of three plays nominated as the best in Eagles history:

The Eagles were on their way to a 17-12 loss to their NFC East rivals after a Giants interception late in the game. New York quarterback Joe Pisarcik took a knee on first down, but Eagles linebacker Frank LeMaster crashed through the line and hit him. The Giants didn’t like that, so they responded by calling for a handoff to bruising running back Larry Csonka on second down. Csonka ran for 11 yards. That made it third-and-2, and the Giants again called Csonka’s number.

It was an all-time mistake. Pisarcik bobbled the snap and, turning toward Csonka, lost the ball. Pisarcik dived for the bouncing ball, knocking it right to Eagles cornerback Herman Edwards. The future NFL head coach and ESPN commentator scooped the ball up and ran it 26 yards for a game-winning touchdown.

Michael Fabiano of NFL.com ranks Nick Foles as the No. 9 quarterback in fantasy football:

People may think that’s a little too low for Nick Foles, especially after he scored so many fantasy points once he took over as the starter for the Eagles, but I want to tap the breaks on that. DeSean Jackson is gone. I think he’s going to be a very good quarterback, but this is more about how deep this position is than anything to do with Foles. I do say this: he’s not going to have 20-plus touchdowns and single digit interceptions again. That’s just not going to happen.

The Eagles have the second-best rushing attack in the NFL, according to Mike Tanier of SportsonEarth.com:

The Eagles would rank higher if Nick Foles could run. Foles does not have to be able to run like Wilson or Cam Newton. He just has to be able to run about as well as Andy Dalton. Unfortunately, Foles runs like Joe Flacco trying to carry Philip Rivers up a flight of steep stairs. This would not be a problem in other systems, but Chip Kelly needs those 32 designed carries from his quarterbacks, plus a few more. Foles averaged 3.95 yards per carry on 21 designed keepers, which is not terrible, but it sometimes looked like 39.5 yards were available before the lumbering commenced.

Zach Ertz is one of the most undervalued players in fantasy football, says Adam Levitan of Rotoworld.com:

Chip Kelly didn’t dump DeSean Jackson and Jason Avant without a plan to replace them. A big part of that comes in the form of Ertz, who projects to continue a long tradition of elite tight ends who began their blowup in Year 2 (Gates, Graham, Gronk, Witten). He’s been the apple of every beat writer’s eye this offseason, and has also drawn Shannon Sharpe/Ozzie Newsome comps from his position coach. At 6’5/250 with unique route-running ability, Ertz creates the kind of mismatches Chip Kelly knows how to exploit. The key here is for Ertz to continue his progression as a blocker so he can be an every-down player, allowing the offense to remain multiple. He played on just 41 percent of the snaps as a rookie.

Tim Rossovich, the Eagles’ 1968 first-round pick, was selected for USC’s Athletic Hall of Fame, Mike Huguenin of NFL.com notes:

Rossovich made his presence felt with his play and his outsized personality; he was known for chewing glass and (we’re serious about this) setting himself on fire. He was a three-year letterman (1965-67) and was an All-American defensive end on USC’s 1967 national championship team. He played seven seasons in the NFL, with Philadelphia, the San Diego Chargers and Houston Oilers. He was one of five USC players taken in the first round of the 1968 draft.

Charles Ashe of ProFootballFocus.com wonders whether Mychal Kendricks calling out plays in OTAs means anything:

Ryans called the plays last season, but Kendricks is learning how to at least help out. While this could simply be the Eagles preparing themselves for injury or the future, if it means that Ryans will lose any snaps this season it would be huge. Ryans was a top 10 linebacker in many formats last season, and a lot of that had to do with the fact that he played more snaps than any other ILB in football.