Ideas on the well being of Jalen Hurts, the ironic truth of Jason Kelce and the true Eagles single-season receiving document holder.
This is our bye week version of Rob’s Ten Random Notes for the Eagles.
1. The most important query going through the Eagles every week earlier than they begin enjoying the postseason is what sort of Jalen Hurts ought to we anticipate? Will or not it’s the man we noticed in opposition to the giants who was so restricted in all the things 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 it will likely be positive. By the point the Eagles play subsequent weekend, Hurts will probably 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 manner. The Eagles went into that sport with one objective in thoughts: to win the sport with the least quantity of power expended whereas protecting the offense as vanilla as attainable and defending Hurts as a lot as attainable. 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 may very well be whereas enjoying skilled soccer. It was heartening to see Hurts follow throwing Friday, and he nonetheless has one other week to relaxation, heal, and get better. Hurts and Nick Sirianni are getting fuzzy on objective, 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 are going to make a deep playoff run, the Eagles want Jalen Hurts who has all of his talents at his disposal. When he does, this crime is virtually unstoppable. When he does not, we all know what that appears like, too. The pains won’t be one hundred pc. However I would be stunned if it wasn’t quickly.
2. The Eagles have by no means misplaced at residence 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 street 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 document for yards in a single season, however let’s not neglect that Ben Hawkins remains to be the Eagles’ true single-season document 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 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 increased. The Browns maintain the document 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 the most effective in Eagles historical past.
4. Jason Kelsey earned his fifth first-team All-Professional honor this week, which is superb. What’s much more exceptional 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 can be routinely ignored within the Professional Bowl or All-Professional voting early of their careers as a result of in contrast to 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 every of 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 top-of-the-line soccer gamers of all time.
5. Over the previous 30 years, the Eagles have been 2-12 within the postseason in opposition to Corridor of Fame quarterbacks (or future H-of F QBs) and 14-4 in opposition to non-Corridor of Fame quarterbacks. The one Corridor of Fame QBs they’ve crushed 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 Recreation, and Jake Delhomme of the Panthers in Hyperlink on the 2003 NFC Championship Recreation and Tony Romo on the 2009 Wild Card Recreation at AT&T Stadium. The one Corridor of Fame locks they get to see within the postseason is Tom Brady and also you seemingly already put Patrick Mahomes in that class as effectively.
6. If the Eagles face the Chargers within the Tremendous Bowl, Cameron Decker will probably 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 p.c. That is the best area objective share by an undrafted rookie in NFL historical past. The earlier document was 93.8 p.c 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 that they had 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 group to have three completely different All-Professional offensive linemen since 2013, and the whole of 9 All-Professional offensive linemen since 2013 can also be the best within the NFL. Stotland is a satyr deity.
9. Within the Eagles’ final eight residence 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 every of 228 postseason go 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 acquired Darius Slay authorized by the professional group. Though he typically did not face the opposing group’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 score, and it was the second-worst within the league amongst beginning basemen during the last eight weeks of the season. For the total season, Bradbury had an opposition passer score of 49.4—second greatest within the league—and Slay completed with a 79.9, which ranked twenty seventh out of 91 cornerbacks (minimal 30). The Eagles positively must slay the primary half within the postseason slightly than slay the second half.