#i got the studs when after finishing 10th grade

[evermoredeluxe]

i never thought i’d be a regular-daily-jewelery-wear person, but im realizing i am. i wear my diamond studs, my gold chain, my bracelet, and now my i’ve started wearing an anklet. like im still not a “wears 10 rings” person, but even this is a lot for me

[beavervan55-blog]

The Linc - Film suggests Drew Brees not the same QB now that he was in November

Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links ...

The All-22: Where did Drew Brees’ game go? - TouchdownWire Brees’ Week 16 interception against the Buccaneers’ sub-par defense was another worrisome reaction to pressure. Here, he’s got openings to his left, and the design of the play implies a screen to the left side, but when Bucs end Vinny Curry goes straight at Brees after left tackle Jermon Bushrod heads out of the formation, Brees throws instead in the general direction of running back Mark Ingram. But Ingram’s head isn’t even turned around to see the pass, and linebacker Adarius Taylor is in the right place at the right time. You don’t expect a throw like this from a quarterback of Brees’ caliber and experience. There’s been a lot of talk this week about how Brees lit Philly’s defense up in November. That would be relevant if Brees was the same quarterback now that he was then, but the tape tells a different story. If he’s not able to correct some obvious mechanical flaws, and the Eagles are able to rock him off his spot as they were generally unable to before, this game could be a lot closer than the Saints would prefer.

Conflicting reports emerge regarding Jason Kelce potentially retiring after Eagles’ 2019 playoff run - BGN It’s not totally implausible that Kelce would hang ‘em up. He turned 31 in November and he’s about to wrap up his eighth NFL season. Including playoffs, he’s started and played 115 games over his career. He’s often played through nagging injuries in recent years, so maybe he just feels like his body can’t take the grind much longer. He also might feel like there’s not much more to accomplish, especially if the Eagles win their second straight Super Bowl this postseason. With that said, there are some conflicting reports about Kelce’s intentions. BGN alumnus Mike Kaye says a decision regarding Kelce’s future has not been made.

The Kist & Solak Show #69: Scoring on the Saints - BGN Radio Michael Kist and Benjamin Solak finish up their preview series of the Divisional Round by shifting their focus to the Eagles’ offense and how they match up with the Saints’ defense? Is Sproles in for a big game? Should the Eagles’ continue to supplant the running game with the quick passing game? What about some deep shots? All that and more on this preview show! Powered by SB Nation and Bleeding Green Nation

Rookie Avonte Maddox’s competitive nature helped him make immediate impact on Eagles’ defense - PhillyVoice “It’s football. You play corner, you’re not perfect. Certain things are going to happen,” Maddox said. “It’s all about how short your memory is, and mine is short. So when somebody makes a play — they’re one of the top athletes in the world, too, so they’re going to make plays — it’s about what you do the next play to make up for it. I definitely don’t dwell on it. I was definitely (too aggressive). I’m going to keep playing how I play. I know (the double moves are) coming. Copycat league. And they already ran a lot of double moves before that.” Maddox likes challenges. He’s been faced with them his whole life.

Running Men - Iggles Blitz The improvement of Nigel Bradham will help. He was outstanding last week. I don’t know what has happened to him in recent games, but Bradham suddenly looks like the stud he was last year. Maybe the training staff finally gave him the Funyuns therapy I’ve been telling them about all year. The NFL doesn’t have rules against Performance Enhancing Snacks. The Eagles played mainly dime defense last week and it worked really well. The Saints have physical RBs so I wonder if Schwartz will go with a nickel look this time out. The Saints don’t have a ton of speed on offense so there is something to be said for this. Schwartz has seen Dallas shut down the Saints. He saw the Panthers hold them to 12 points. He needs to steal an idea or two from those games. The Eagles don’t need to shut down the Saints. They need to slow them down. If you can keep to less than 24 points, the Eagles have a great chance to win this game. That’s a big if to be sure.

Unsung heroes are stepping up on both sides of the ball for the Eagles - PFF Just as the Eagles experienced the unthinkable a season ago under Foles, they’re now one step closer to achieving a similar fate. And a lot of that has to do with young, unheralded players making plays in pivotal moments. Treyvon Hester has quietly been having a stellar season on limited snaps — and he cemented it with a game-winning blocked kick to send his city into an all-too-familiar frenzy. While his 48.2 grade on Sunday was by far his worst grade of the season, what he did in the regular season for a team already filled with stars on the defensive line was unprecedented. His 89.7 grade ranked 14th among interior defensive linemen, and his 87.5 run defense grade ranked 10th. Hester’s grade over the last four weeks of the regular season also ranked 10th, and while the former Oakland Raiders seventh-round pick has seen only 10-20 snaps a game, he’s making the most of it. It’s hard to count anyone out on this Eagles team because as it has shown, anyone and everyone could step up when it matters most in any facet of the game.

Lawlor: How The Eagles Can Beat The Saints - PE.com The Eagles offense’ must help the defense by sustaining drives and scoring points. If the Eagles go three-and-out too often, that will put tremendous pressure on the defense. The one surefire way to stop Brees is to make him a spectator. The Eagles’ offensive line did not play well in the first meeting. Lane Johnson wasn’t completely healthy. Jason Kelce got hurt early in the game and missed some time. Jason Peters was dealing with nagging injuries. Carson Wentz was sacked three times and pressured too often. The line is healthy now and playing its best football of the year. Johnson looks like a dominant tackle once again. Peters is coming off a good game. The interior trio is clicking. The Eagles’ offense has been much better in recent weeks and one of the key reasons is the play of the guys up front.

Divisional weekend preview: Breaking down each matchup - The Athletic Saints 30, Eagles 23. At the risk of being smote for doubting Nick Foles again, I’m afraid the odds are too long this time. The Saints defense is much better than most people think, but the Eagles were able to move the ball with consistency against the best defense in the league last week. Doug Pederson will have some tricks up his sleeve, perhaps dipping back into the 12 personnel well. Without being able to run the ball consistently, the Eagles will probably need a big game from Alshon Jeffery, who has delivered them when called upon during the playoffs the past two seasons. Perhaps Brees and the Saints will come out rusty after several weeks of inaction. This is an Eagles team that wears the scar of their 41-point loss proudly as a reminder of how thirsty they are for revenge. Betting against Brees at home in the playoffs just seems foolish. But who knows, maybe the power of one Saint (Nick) is stronger than 46 combined.

Best bets for the NFL playoffs divisional round - ESPN The last two matchups between these teams are not representative of what we’ll see on Sunday afternoon. On Nov. 18, the Eagles had recently acquired Golden Tate and were trying to figure out how to incorporate him into the offense. They gave him a 76 percent snap rate against the Saints and tried to force him targets. It didn’t work. The Eagles were also without Darren Sproles and had Carson Wentz at quarterback. I expect this game will be far more competitive. Foles is getting the ball out quickly, he’s not taking sacks, he’s throwing to guys who are open, he’s making anticipation throws, he’s not dropping his head in the pocket, he’s keeping his eyes downfield and delivering and he is producing. The Eagles’ defense has not played a very strong starting quarterback since their Week 8 game over in London, though, and they will have their work cut out for them. Drew Brees is incredible at home, posting a 66 percent success rate, 9.5 yards per attempt and a 130 rating with a 21-2 TD-INT rate. Every single one of those metrics is the best in the NFL. Philadelphia will also face Ted Ginn Jr., who was worked into the lineup to close the year after missing most of the season. Ultimately, I envision this game as a back-and-forth affair that will hinge on whether or not Foles can post a clean game from a turnover perspective, because it is very likely Brees will be able to do so.

Playing Props Divisional Round - Rotoworld Darren Sproles Under 47.5 Rushing + Receiving Yards: I bet the over on Sproles’ yards from scrimmage prop last week and watched him come four yards shy of getting there. This week, they raised his line to a total that he’s hit in just one of his seven games played this season. Sproles has hit 40 yards from scrimmage just twice. His former team allows just 96.7 total yards per game to opposing backfields, which was second in the league.

Malcolm Jenkins Foundation lives on in New Orleans - 6ABC As the Eagles prepare to take on the Saints, it’s impressive that the work of Malcolm Jenkins’ foundation is still going strong in New Orleans. Of course, Jenkins used to play for the Saints, but not even the most ardent Eagles fan would begrudge his continuing commitment to the youth of the Big Easy. ”Our foundation is very much alive and active down there,” said Jenkins. “New Orleans is where I started my foundation. It’s where I got drafted. It’s where I’ve got a lot of memories and great friends that are still there.” In 2012, the Malcolm Jenkins Foundation partnered with New Orleans’ organization College Track to help students pursue their dreams of higher education.

Roob’s 10 observations: Jason Peters’ future, Nick Foles stats, give Sidney Jones a chance - NBCSP After watching Jason Peters last Sunday, I want him back at left tackle next year. I don’t care how old he is, I don’t care what his salary is, I don’t care that he left a couple games early during the regular season. The way Peters neutralized Khalil Mack, one of the NFL’s most feared pass rushers, tells me there’s plenty left in Peters’ tank. Doug Pederson has handled Peters perfectly this year, giving him plenty of time off during the week and saving him for games. And Peters has responded, playing through a couple significant injuries — a torn biceps and a nagging quad — to help the Eagles get to the conference semifinal round. At some point, it’ll be time for Peters to hang ‘em up. I don’t think he’s there yet.

NFL Conference Semifinals (Call It That!): Foles Hasn’t Been Tested Like This, Chargers’ Fatal Flaw - Sports Illustrated There’s no logical reason to think the Eagles can beat the Saints in New Orleans. But then, there was also no logical reason to think Nick Foles would have come off the bench a year ago and become Super Bowl MVP. And there was really no logical reason to think a circumstellar disc would grow out to become the planet Earth and nestle into a gravitational pull 93 million miles for the sun, allowing intelligent life to develop and, eventually, this very column to be written. Unexpected things happen. But keep a few things in mind as we suspend disbelief in regards to Nick Foles. (1) He made two crushing mistakes in the first half in Chicago last week, and a team with a more explosive offense might have left Philly in the dust. (2) Foles was good in the second half of the Bears win, though even with vintage Foles this Eagles team is not what it was a year ago. They have no run game (and the Saints have one of football’s best run defenses by any measure), and their secondary not only leans on young corners Avonte Maddox and Rasul Douglas (both of whom are improving but still shaky), but also continues to be without criminally underrated free safety Rodney McLeod playing that aggressive centerfield spot in Jim Schwartz’s single-high looks. And (3) Last week was Foles’s first true road game in the playoffs, and overall it was probably a B-minus effort. Remember, a year ago when Foles got his only postseason win outside of Philly in Super Bowl LII, that was a very suspect Patriots defense. Sunday will be Foles’s toughest test yet.

New Orleans Saints Divisional Round: Bold Predictions - Canal Street Chronicles It’s a pretty common occurrence for fans and analysts to make bold predictions about a game or season. If the prediction doesn’t come true, then that’s OK - you said it was bold! If it DOES come true, though... now you look like a genius! So in that spirit, some of the Canal Street Chronicles writers were asked to share with me a bold prediction or two for the New Orleans Saints’ first playoff round game of the NFL: a divisional round matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles. This is their chance to look brilliant!

2018 ALEX: Season Review - Football Outsiders Meanwhile, the Eagles ranked second in ALEX after finishing first in 2017, a Super Bowl year for Jim Schwartz’s defense. The Eagles have a banged-up secondary this year, but still ranked fourth in conversion rate allowed. If they can keep the play in front of them against Drew Brees this week, that could help in pulling off a huge upset.

NFL fines Michael Bennett, Adrian Amos for unnecessary roughness - PFT Michael Bennett and Adrian Amos both picked up costly penalties in the Eagles’ win over the Bears last weekend, and they picked up costly fines as well. Bennett was fined $10,026 and Amos was fined $26,739 for unnecessary roughness, the NFL confirmed today.

Cowboys magical season comes to a frustrating end at the hands of the Rams - Blogging The Boys We can feel a painful loss and have a hopeful outlook at the same time. Optimism should be a part of every Cowboys fan’s ‘basket of emotions’ after that loss. We all wanted to win that game, and there’s no excusing some of the issues that cropped up in that game. Looking at context, though, the Cowboys were on the road facing a team that went 13-3 in the regular season. A team that was among the favorites to go to the Super Bowl. There is no shame in losing to that team. It’s frustrating that as bad as the Cowboys played they were still in the game and could have won it. It makes you think that the difference between Dallas and Los Angeles isn’t as big as we, and others, might think. It may be a gap that can be closed in an offseason. This year is over, but it really feels like this edition of the Cowboys is just getting started.

Bruce Allen is here to stay with the Redskins; Dan Snyder is laughing at the #FireBruceAllen movement - Hogs Haven Dan Snyder and Bruce Allen are laughing at the fans who thought posting #FireBruceAllen a million times on social media would do a damn thing. They do not care about dwindling interest and growing apathy from a surprisingly loyal fanbase. Snyder has been bleeding fans dry for 20 years now, and still has no idea how to run a professional football organization.

BBV mailbag: Kyler Murray, a Beckham trade idea, more - Big Blue View That said, I think Dave Gettleman and Pat Shurmur are both solid, capable people. I like their approach, and I like many of the things they did in 2018. I think this is a critical offseason and 2019 a critical year. It’s often said that players often make their biggest improvements from Year 1 to Year 2 of their careers. Can that be applied to front offices and coaching staffs, too? I really don’t know, but I think the offseason will tell us a lot about the eventual success or failure of the Gettleman-Shurmur duo. I would like to see improvement in 2019. I would like to see the team in real playoff contention. I would like to have a clear idea of how they will proceed long-term at quarterback.

The Cowboys are now at 23 straight seasons without a trip to the NFC Championship - SB Nation The Dallas Cowboys won the NFC Championship in January 1996 on their way to a win in Super Bowl 30 over the Steelers. It was the last time the Cowboys got any further than the Divisional Round. With a 30-22 loss to the Rams on Saturday, the Cowboys closed the book on a 23rd consecutive season without a return to the NFC Championship. That’s the seventh-longest active conference championship drought in the NFL: 1) Cincinnati Bengals: 30 seasons. 2) Washington: 27 seasons. 3) Detroit Lions: 27 seasons. 4) Cleveland Browns: 26 seasons. 5) Miami Dolphins: 26 seasons. 6) Buffalo Bills: 25 seasons. 7) Dallas Cowboys: 23 seasons. 8) Houston Texans: 17 seasons.

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Source: https://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2019/1/13/18180736/eagles-news-film-suggests-drew-brees-not-same-quarterback-now-that-was-november-philadelphia-nfl

[yahoo-shutdown-corner-blog]

2017 NFL Preview: Cardinals' time to contend might be running out

Shutdown Corner is previewing all 32 teams as we get ready for the NFL season, counting down the teams one per weekday in reverse order of our initial 2017 power rankings. No. 1 will be revealed on Aug. 2, the day before the Hall of Fame Game kicks off the preseason.

A year ago, I believed in the Arizona Cardinals. From last year’s preview:

“I really like this Cardinals team and think the Chandler Jones addition was perfect for them. It’s crazy that five teams are getting better Super Bowl odds than the Cardinals. This might be the best team in football.”

Yeah, about that. It didn’t work out that way. The Cardinals weren’t the best team in football. They were 7-8-1.

Still, I don’t think that was a sign the Cardinals are on their way out. I think they’ll bounce back to some extent in 2017. What’s beyond this season for a team with some aging stars is anyone’s guess.

A year ago in the Cardinals preview, I laid out the case that Carson Palmer would be just fine after a tough finish the season before. He was an MVP candidate in 2015 until he hurt his finger late in the season. It seemed reasonable that the injury would heal and Palmer would play well again in 2016. He didn’t, but a late surge gives some hope for 2017.

Palmer looked like an old quarterback through November, but turned it around over Arizona’s final five games:

September-November: 252-414, 2,913 yards, 15 TD, 11 INT, 83.3 rating December-January: 112-183, 1,302 yards, 11 TD, 3 INT, 95.9 rating

At 37, Palmer is a year-to-year proposition. He could totally lose it at any time, and it looked for a while like he had already. Going back to the last few games of 2015, including playoffs, Palmer had a long stretch of average (and, sometimes bad) football. However, he also has mostly played well under Bruce Arians and finished last season strong. Palmer considered retirement but came back for another season, which shows how close he is to the end. He’s a mystery going into this season. That’s scary for Arizona.

He’s not the only Cardinals star who might be nearing the end. Larry Fitzgerald has said he’ll talk about his playing future only once, as training camp starts. Every season could be his last, and the Cardinals will have a tough time replacing him. Arians’ health problems and his age (64) also makes you wonder how long he’ll coach.

If this Cardinals season was a movie, Palmer, Fitzgerald and Arians would win a Super Bowl this season and ride off into the sunset. That might be asking a lot, but a return to a playoff level isn’t. Stud running back David Johnson and a strong defense form a good foundation.

Johnson had an incredible 2016 season. The Cardinals coaches talked him up all last offseason and he delivered with 2,118 yards from scrimmage and 20 touchdowns. Had Arizona posted a better record, he might have won NFL offensive player of the year. The 373 touches he received are scary, but any cumulative effect of an insane workload shouldn’t take hold yet. And Johnson isn’t shying away from Arians’ proclamation that he could get 30 touches a game.

Arizona also had a defense that didn’t get as much credit as it should have. The Cardinals allowed the second fewest yards in the NFL, finished third in net yards per attempt against the run and the past, tied for fourth with 28 takeaways and led the NFL in sacks. That’s a heck of a defensive season, though some key pieces left via free agency.

The offense wasn’t good enough to match that. The Cardinals relied on Johnson too much because Palmer struggled. The offensive line and an unreliable set of receivers didn’t help either.

The Cardinals were still in the championship contender bin a year ago. They won 34 games from 2013-15 and made an NFC championship game. It seemed in 2016, as they fell out of the playoffs, the window was closing. Maybe they have one more shot before the window closes for good.

Carson Palmer and Larry Fitzgerald will try to lead the Cardinals back to the playoffs. (AP)

Repeating that great defensive season will be tough without defensive end Calais Campbell, safeties Tony Jefferson and D.J. Swearinger and cornerback Marcus Cooper. They all left in free agency. The loss of Campbell, a longtime leader of the defense, is especially tough. And Jefferson was coming off a great season. The Cardinals can replace some of that talent – they really need 2016 first-round pick Robert Nkemdiche to get it together in a hurry to fill Campbell’s spot – but that’s a lot to lose in one offseason. Safety Antoine Bethea and kicker Phil Dawson were the only players that got more than $3 million per season from the Cardinals in free agency. Dawson should help a kicking game that really stung Arizona last season. The draft was strong, as linebacker Haason Reddick and safety Budda Baker should immediately help fill some holes on the defense. Still, it was a tough offseason. Grade: D

The Cardinals became way too dependent on David Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald last season. Michael Floyd was unreliable, and eventually cut. That might be addition by subtraction. The hope is that positive reports on receiver John Brown carry over. Brown played last season with a cyst on his spine and through symptoms from sickle-cell trait, and his play suffered. Reports say he is healthy again, and he’s a 1,000-yard receiver if he is. Then maybe there’s more production coming from J.J. Nelson or rookie third-round pick Chad Williams. But there should be more options in the Cardinals offense this season, and that would help tremendously.

If David Johnson goes down – and any running back is at risk of that, especially one with an extreme workload – I don’t know what the Cardinals would do. The drop-off from starter to backup at tailback for the Cardinals has to be one of steepest in the NFL. Kerwynn Williams has been solid in a reserve role but has just 98 career carries. Andre Ellington has done very little since his promising rookie season, and spent the offseason bouncing between receiver and running back. Johnson is a top-three NFL running back and the Cardinals have little depth behind him. If he went down, it seems like the Cardinals season would take a nosedive.

The Cardinals had seven picks in this year’s draft, and none of them were used on a quarterback. Arizona had the 13th pick in the first round, and watched as Mitch Trubisky, Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson were selected ahead of them. Mahomes and Watson went 10th and 12th after teams traded up and ahead of the Cardinals. Apparently the Cardinals didn’t like Davis Webb or Nathan Peterman or any of the other quarterbacks who went after the first round, either. Spending a valuable draft pick on a quarterback when you still have championship hopes is tough. But Carson Palmer will turn 38 years old before the end of the season, and he wasn’t great most of last season. Drew Stanton isn’t a top-level quarterback. Blaine Gabbert isn’t either. Neither one is a reasonable replacement if Palmer retires. You don’t want to have to be searching for a quarterback when you desperately need one but by putting off getting their quarterback of the future, the Cardinals will soon find themselves in that bind.

Defensive back Tyrann Mathieu has never been shy.

“Any time I’m healthy I feel like I’m the best defensive player in the NFL,” Mathieu said, according to the Sporting News.

The Cardinals hope they see that healthy version of Mathieu. Since tearing his ACL late in the 2015 season, it’s been a tough road for one of the league’s best playmakers. He played just 10 games last season due to a shoulder injury, and his numbers were well off his All-Pro season of 2015. With the Cardinals losing so much defensive talent over the offseason, they need Mathieu to be back to his dominant self. Mathieu’s issues last season are a big reason the Cardinals missed the playoffs.

From Yahoo’s Dalton Del Don: “John Brown is coming off a nightmare season in which he posted career-low numbers across the board while dealing with multiple injuries, including a cyst on his spine. As a result, his current ADP sits as the WR41. Brown had the cyst removed during the offseason and reportedly feels much better, and remember, this is a receiver who topped 1,000 yards with seven scores (in 15 games) as a sophomore two years ago, when he also got 9.9 yards-per-target, which was the second highest in football (minimum 100 targets). Michael Floyd is gone, and Larry Fitzgerald is 34 years old, so there isn’t a WR going so late with near the amount of upside as Brown.” [Check out Yahoo’s Pressing Questions for the fantasy outlook on the Cardinals.]

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The Cardinals went from first in the NFL in net yards per pass attempt in 2015 (7.8) to 23rd last season (6.0). That’s a massive drop. It can be blamed on Carson Palmer, his receivers (particularly John Brown’s health issues) or an offensive line that allowed 14 more sacks than the season before. Whatever the cause, the Cardinals need to find a way to fix it. Bruce Arians’ offense relies heavily on taking shots downfield. Larry Fitzgerald is great in his new role from the slot. David Johnson is a tremendous receiver out of the backfield. But they aren’t deep threats, and the Cardinals desperately need that for the offense to function properly.

DO THE CARDINALS HAVE ENOUGH AT CORNERBACK OPPOSITE PATRICK PETERSON?

Peterson is one of the NFL’s best, a corner who can shadow the opponent’s best player and fare well. But when the Cardinals don’t have a quality No. 2 cornerback, nobody throws Peterson’s way. Peterson was the least-targeted NFL cornerback last season, with a ball thrown in his way once every 8.5 passes according to the Arizona Republic. That might repeat this season. Marcus Cooper, who started 13 games last season, signed with Chicago. Brandon Williams, who lost his job to Cooper early last season, and Justin Bethel, referred to as a “failure in progress” by Bruce Arians late last season, are the two favorites for the No. 2 cornerback job. Maybe someone further down the depth chart will rise up during preseason. But having a world-class cornerback like Peterson doesn’t matter quite as much if opponents just pick on the corner on the other side.

I’m not going to say Arizona can go to a Super Bowl, but we’re starting to get to the point in the countdown where these teams all have a puncher’s chance. The Cardinals came close two seasons ago. David Johnson gives the team a superstar at running back. If Carson Palmer’s late-season revival carries over and a receiver other than Larry Fitzgerald has a big year – we’re talking about John Brown here – then Arizona has a lot to be excited about. Go back and watch last season’s impressive 34-31 Week 16 win at Seattle. That’s what Arizona is capable of.

A lot of this falls on Carson Palmer’s shoulders. He looked like he had really fallen off most of last season. If the Palmer from the first three months of last season shows up in 2017, it’s hard to see the Cardinals going very far. It’s possible that Arizona has another losing season, Palmer and Larry Fitzgerald retire and Bruce Arians follows them. Then we’re looking at the Cardinals going from an NFC championship game in January of 2016 to starting a long rebuild two years later.

Arizona wasn’t that bad last season. The Cardinals outscored opponents by 56 points, which is rare for a team with a losing record. The defense was outstanding and David Johnson was a revelation. I think Arizona will play very well this season. The schedule is among the easiest in the NFL, too. The NFC is really tough and deep so I’m not picking the Cardinals to make the playoffs, but it wouldn’t be a big surprise if they did. This is still a supremely talented roster.

32. New York Jets 31. Cleveland Browns 30. San Francisco 49ers 29. Chicago Bears 28. Los Angeles Rams 27. Jacksonville Jaguars 26. Detroit Lions 25. Houston Texans 24. Buffalo Bills 23. Indianapolis Colts 22. Baltimore Ravens 21. Los Angeles Chargers 20. Minnesota Vikings 19. New Orleans Saints 18. Washington Redskins 17. Philadelphia Eagles 16. Miami Dolphins 15. Cincinnati Bengals 14. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab

[singbox13-blog]

The Linc - Film suggests Drew Brees not the same QB now that he was in November

Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links ...

The All-22: Where did Drew Brees’ game go? - TouchdownWire Brees’ Week 16 interception against the Buccaneers’ sub-par defense was another worrisome reaction to pressure. Here, he’s got openings to his left, and the design of the play implies a screen to the left side, but when Bucs end Vinny Curry goes straight at Brees after left tackle Jermon Bushrod heads out of the formation, Brees throws instead in the general direction of running back Mark Ingram. But Ingram’s head isn’t even turned around to see the pass, and linebacker Adarius Taylor is in the right place at the right time. You don’t expect a throw like this from a quarterback of Brees’ caliber and experience. There’s been a lot of talk this week about how Brees lit Philly’s defense up in November. That would be relevant if Brees was the same quarterback now that he was then, but the tape tells a different story. If he’s not able to correct some obvious mechanical flaws, and the Eagles are able to rock him off his spot as they were generally unable to before, this game could be a lot closer than the Saints would prefer.

Conflicting reports emerge regarding Jason Kelce potentially retiring after Eagles’ 2019 playoff run - BGN It’s not totally implausible that Kelce would hang ‘em up. He turned 31 in November and he’s about to wrap up his eighth NFL season. Including playoffs, he’s started and played 115 games over his career. He’s often played through nagging injuries in recent years, so maybe he just feels like his body can’t take the grind much longer. He also might feel like there’s not much more to accomplish, especially if the Eagles win their second straight Super Bowl this postseason. With that said, there are some conflicting reports about Kelce’s intentions. BGN alumnus Mike Kaye says a decision regarding Kelce’s future has not been made.

The Kist & Solak Show #69: Scoring on the Saints - BGN Radio Michael Kist and Benjamin Solak finish up their preview series of the Divisional Round by shifting their focus to the Eagles’ offense and how they match up with the Saints’ defense? Is Sproles in for a big game? Should the Eagles’ continue to supplant the running game with the quick passing game? What about some deep shots? All that and more on this preview show! Powered by SB Nation and Bleeding Green Nation

Rookie Avonte Maddox’s competitive nature helped him make immediate impact on Eagles’ defense - PhillyVoice “It’s football. You play corner, you’re not perfect. Certain things are going to happen,” Maddox said. “It’s all about how short your memory is, and mine is short. So when somebody makes a play — they’re one of the top athletes in the world, too, so they’re going to make plays — it’s about what you do the next play to make up for it. I definitely don’t dwell on it. I was definitely (too aggressive). I’m going to keep playing how I play. I know (the double moves are) coming. Copycat league. And they already ran a lot of double moves before that.” Maddox likes challenges. He’s been faced with them his whole life.

Running Men - Iggles Blitz The improvement of Nigel Bradham will help. He was outstanding last week. I don’t know what has happened to him in recent games, but Bradham suddenly looks like the stud he was last year. Maybe the training staff finally gave him the Funyuns therapy I’ve been telling them about all year. The NFL doesn’t have rules against Performance Enhancing Snacks. The Eagles played mainly dime defense last week and it worked really well. The Saints have physical RBs so I wonder if Schwartz will go with a nickel look this time out. The Saints don’t have a ton of speed on offense so there is something to be said for this. Schwartz has seen Dallas shut down the Saints. He saw the Panthers hold them to 12 points. He needs to steal an idea or two from those games. The Eagles don’t need to shut down the Saints. They need to slow them down. If you can keep to less than 24 points, the Eagles have a great chance to win this game. That’s a big if to be sure.

Unsung heroes are stepping up on both sides of the ball for the Eagles - PFF Just as the Eagles experienced the unthinkable a season ago under Foles, they’re now one step closer to achieving a similar fate. And a lot of that has to do with young, unheralded players making plays in pivotal moments. Treyvon Hester has quietly been having a stellar season on limited snaps — and he cemented it with a game-winning blocked kick to send his city into an all-too-familiar frenzy. While his 48.2 grade on Sunday was by far his worst grade of the season, what he did in the regular season for a team already filled with stars on the defensive line was unprecedented. His 89.7 grade ranked 14th among interior defensive linemen, and his 87.5 run defense grade ranked 10th. Hester’s grade over the last four weeks of the regular season also ranked 10th, and while the former Oakland Raiders seventh-round pick has seen only 10-20 snaps a game, he’s making the most of it. It’s hard to count anyone out on this Eagles team because as it has shown, anyone and everyone could step up when it matters most in any facet of the game.

Lawlor: How The Eagles Can Beat The Saints - PE.com The Eagles offense’ must help the defense by sustaining drives and scoring points. If the Eagles go three-and-out too often, that will put tremendous pressure on the defense. The one surefire way to stop Brees is to make him a spectator. The Eagles’ offensive line did not play well in the first meeting. Lane Johnson wasn’t completely healthy. Jason Kelce got hurt early in the game and missed some time. Jason Peters was dealing with nagging injuries. Carson Wentz was sacked three times and pressured too often. The line is healthy now and playing its best football of the year. Johnson looks like a dominant tackle once again. Peters is coming off a good game. The interior trio is clicking. The Eagles’ offense has been much better in recent weeks and one of the key reasons is the play of the guys up front.

Divisional weekend preview: Breaking down each matchup - The Athletic Saints 30, Eagles 23. At the risk of being smote for doubting Nick Foles again, I’m afraid the odds are too long this time. The Saints defense is much better than most people think, but the Eagles were able to move the ball with consistency against the best defense in the league last week. Doug Pederson will have some tricks up his sleeve, perhaps dipping back into the 12 personnel well. Without being able to run the ball consistently, the Eagles will probably need a big game from Alshon Jeffery, who has delivered them when called upon during the playoffs the past two seasons. Perhaps Brees and the Saints will come out rusty after several weeks of inaction. This is an Eagles team that wears the scar of their 41-point loss proudly as a reminder of how thirsty they are for revenge. Betting against Brees at home in the playoffs just seems foolish. But who knows, maybe the power of one Saint (Nick) is stronger than 46 combined.

Best bets for the NFL playoffs divisional round - ESPN The last two matchups between these teams are not representative of what we’ll see on Sunday afternoon. On Nov. 18, the Eagles had recently acquired Golden Tate and were trying to figure out how to incorporate him into the offense. They gave him a 76 percent snap rate against the Saints and tried to force him targets. It didn’t work. The Eagles were also without Darren Sproles and had Carson Wentz at quarterback. I expect this game will be far more competitive. Foles is getting the ball out quickly, he’s not taking sacks, he’s throwing to guys who are open, he’s making anticipation throws, he’s not dropping his head in the pocket, he’s keeping his eyes downfield and delivering and he is producing. The Eagles’ defense has not played a very strong starting quarterback since their Week 8 game over in London, though, and they will have their work cut out for them. Drew Brees is incredible at home, posting a 66 percent success rate, 9.5 yards per attempt and a 130 rating with a 21-2 TD-INT rate. Every single one of those metrics is the best in the NFL. Philadelphia will also face Ted Ginn Jr., who was worked into the lineup to close the year after missing most of the season. Ultimately, I envision this game as a back-and-forth affair that will hinge on whether or not Foles can post a clean game from a turnover perspective, because it is very likely Brees will be able to do so.

Playing Props Divisional Round - Rotoworld Darren Sproles Under 47.5 Rushing + Receiving Yards: I bet the over on Sproles’ yards from scrimmage prop last week and watched him come four yards shy of getting there. This week, they raised his line to a total that he’s hit in just one of his seven games played this season. Sproles has hit 40 yards from scrimmage just twice. His former team allows just 96.7 total yards per game to opposing backfields, which was second in the league.

Malcolm Jenkins Foundation lives on in New Orleans - 6ABC As the Eagles prepare to take on the Saints, it’s impressive that the work of Malcolm Jenkins’ foundation is still going strong in New Orleans. Of course, Jenkins used to play for the Saints, but not even the most ardent Eagles fan would begrudge his continuing commitment to the youth of the Big Easy. ”Our foundation is very much alive and active down there,” said Jenkins. “New Orleans is where I started my foundation. It’s where I got drafted. It’s where I’ve got a lot of memories and great friends that are still there.” In 2012, the Malcolm Jenkins Foundation partnered with New Orleans’ organization College Track to help students pursue their dreams of higher education.

Roob’s 10 observations: Jason Peters’ future, Nick Foles stats, give Sidney Jones a chance - NBCSP After watching Jason Peters last Sunday, I want him back at left tackle next year. I don’t care how old he is, I don’t care what his salary is, I don’t care that he left a couple games early during the regular season. The way Peters neutralized Khalil Mack, one of the NFL’s most feared pass rushers, tells me there’s plenty left in Peters’ tank. Doug Pederson has handled Peters perfectly this year, giving him plenty of time off during the week and saving him for games. And Peters has responded, playing through a couple significant injuries — a torn biceps and a nagging quad — to help the Eagles get to the conference semifinal round. At some point, it’ll be time for Peters to hang ‘em up. I don’t think he’s there yet.

NFL Conference Semifinals (Call It That!): Foles Hasn’t Been Tested Like This, Chargers’ Fatal Flaw - Sports Illustrated There’s no logical reason to think the Eagles can beat the Saints in New Orleans. But then, there was also no logical reason to think Nick Foles would have come off the bench a year ago and become Super Bowl MVP. And there was really no logical reason to think a circumstellar disc would grow out to become the planet Earth and nestle into a gravitational pull 93 million miles for the sun, allowing intelligent life to develop and, eventually, this very column to be written. Unexpected things happen. But keep a few things in mind as we suspend disbelief in regards to Nick Foles. (1) He made two crushing mistakes in the first half in Chicago last week, and a team with a more explosive offense might have left Philly in the dust. (2) Foles was good in the second half of the Bears win, though even with vintage Foles this Eagles team is not what it was a year ago. They have no run game (and the Saints have one of football’s best run defenses by any measure), and their secondary not only leans on young corners Avonte Maddox and Rasul Douglas (both of whom are improving but still shaky), but also continues to be without criminally underrated free safety Rodney McLeod playing that aggressive centerfield spot in Jim Schwartz’s single-high looks. And (3) Last week was Foles’s first true road game in the playoffs, and overall it was probably a B-minus effort. Remember, a year ago when Foles got his only postseason win outside of Philly in Super Bowl LII, that was a very suspect Patriots defense. Sunday will be Foles’s toughest test yet.

New Orleans Saints Divisional Round: Bold Predictions - Canal Street Chronicles It’s a pretty common occurrence for fans and analysts to make bold predictions about a game or season. If the prediction doesn’t come true, then that’s OK - you said it was bold! If it DOES come true, though... now you look like a genius! So in that spirit, some of the Canal Street Chronicles writers were asked to share with me a bold prediction or two for the New Orleans Saints’ first playoff round game of the NFL: a divisional round matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles. This is their chance to look brilliant!

2018 ALEX: Season Review - Football Outsiders Meanwhile, the Eagles ranked second in ALEX after finishing first in 2017, a Super Bowl year for Jim Schwartz’s defense. The Eagles have a banged-up secondary this year, but still ranked fourth in conversion rate allowed. If they can keep the play in front of them against Drew Brees this week, that could help in pulling off a huge upset.

NFL fines Michael Bennett, Adrian Amos for unnecessary roughness - PFT Michael Bennett and Adrian Amos both picked up costly penalties in the Eagles’ win over the Bears last weekend, and they picked up costly fines as well. Bennett was fined $10,026 and Amos was fined $26,739 for unnecessary roughness, the NFL confirmed today.

Cowboys magical season comes to a frustrating end at the hands of the Rams - Blogging The Boys We can feel a painful loss and have a hopeful outlook at the same time. Optimism should be a part of every Cowboys fan’s ‘basket of emotions’ after that loss. We all wanted to win that game, and there’s no excusing some of the issues that cropped up in that game. Looking at context, though, the Cowboys were on the road facing a team that went 13-3 in the regular season. A team that was among the favorites to go to the Super Bowl. There is no shame in losing to that team. It’s frustrating that as bad as the Cowboys played they were still in the game and could have won it. It makes you think that the difference between Dallas and Los Angeles isn’t as big as we, and others, might think. It may be a gap that can be closed in an offseason. This year is over, but it really feels like this edition of the Cowboys is just getting started.

Bruce Allen is here to stay with the Redskins; Dan Snyder is laughing at the #FireBruceAllen movement - Hogs Haven Dan Snyder and Bruce Allen are laughing at the fans who thought posting #FireBruceAllen a million times on social media would do a damn thing. They do not care about dwindling interest and growing apathy from a surprisingly loyal fanbase. Snyder has been bleeding fans dry for 20 years now, and still has no idea how to run a professional football organization.

BBV mailbag: Kyler Murray, a Beckham trade idea, more - Big Blue View That said, I think Dave Gettleman and Pat Shurmur are both solid, capable people. I like their approach, and I like many of the things they did in 2018. I think this is a critical offseason and 2019 a critical year. It’s often said that players often make their biggest improvements from Year 1 to Year 2 of their careers. Can that be applied to front offices and coaching staffs, too? I really don’t know, but I think the offseason will tell us a lot about the eventual success or failure of the Gettleman-Shurmur duo. I would like to see improvement in 2019. I would like to see the team in real playoff contention. I would like to have a clear idea of how they will proceed long-term at quarterback.

The Cowboys are now at 23 straight seasons without a trip to the NFC Championship - SB Nation The Dallas Cowboys won the NFC Championship in January 1996 on their way to a win in Super Bowl 30 over the Steelers. It was the last time the Cowboys got any further than the Divisional Round. With a 30-22 loss to the Rams on Saturday, the Cowboys closed the book on a 23rd consecutive season without a return to the NFC Championship. That’s the seventh-longest active conference championship drought in the NFL: 1) Cincinnati Bengals: 30 seasons. 2) Washington: 27 seasons. 3) Detroit Lions: 27 seasons. 4) Cleveland Browns: 26 seasons. 5) Miami Dolphins: 26 seasons. 6) Buffalo Bills: 25 seasons. 7) Dallas Cowboys: 23 seasons. 8) Houston Texans: 17 seasons.

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