Eagles News: Sean Mannion says “the screen game’s going to be a big part of what we do”
· Yahoo Sports
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Maybe it’ll eventually get better but it’s hard to feel good about the Eagles running a successful screen at this point in time. Probably shouldn’t try to lean heavily into them!
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Eagles refuse to stop running play that hits a brick wall every time: ‘We’re close’ – NJ.com
For the second consecutive week, the Eagles did not make any positive plays on screens. But that won’t stop Eagles offensive coordinator Sean Mannion from calling more of them. “I think we’re close on a few of them,” Mannion told reporters on Wednesday. “I think there’s some fundamental things to clean up a little bit. I think we had a couple that were fundamental based, a couple that were just execution based, but the screen game’s going to be a big part of what we do and called a couple of them that were close and a couple that I think will across the season be more productive plays moving forward.” During the Eagles’ Week 1 victory over the Washington Commanders on Sept. 13, Lemon lost three and five yards on two screens. Lemon was tackled instantly on both attempts because they weren’t blocked well. Until the Eagles improve their timing and blocking on these plays, they won’t work.
The Eagles Have Thrown Seven Screen Passes This Season for -15 Yards – Crossing Broad
With that caveat, the Eagles have now run seven screen this year for a total of -15 yards. They’ve completed 5 of these 7 passes and the other two were blown up by defensive linemen. They’re averaging -2.1 yards per screen attempt. […] In conclusion – yes. The Eagles are horrific in the screen game. Abhorrent and ghastly. The numbers confirm what you have witnessed with your own eyeballs.
6 thoughts on Zach Ertz’s return to the Eagles – BGN
So, how does Ertz factor in here? The Eagles need to be honest with themselves about where their running game is at right now. Maybe it’ll improve down the line. For now, though, their strength is throwing the ball. Hurts looks great. The wide receivers are inspiring confidence. The offense should be leaning into their passing attack. Ertz can be one of the targets to help contribute to this approach. Also, if Nick Sirianni and Sean Mannion are truly as insistent on “staying on schedule” by getting to third-and-manageable as they purport to be, they can sub out ineffective running plays with short targets to Ertz that are likely to be more fruitful.
Can the Eagles’ Jordan Davis keep the Bears’ 2 running backs in check? – Windy City Gridiron
While the Bears no longer have Dalman, and Garrett Bradbury has not yet proven to be a perfect replacement, the duo of Jackson and Thuney in the middle should go a long way to help open up holes in the middle of the line. In looking at Davis’ snap count last season, he found himself on about 66% of snaps in most games, including the Bears. So far this season he is hovering around 50%, so I would expect the Bears to test his conditioning in the middle early and often with a power running attack. If the Bears can wear down Davis in the middle, we could see another big day from the rushing attack. If Monangai and Swift are unable to break loose — it’s going to be a long day at the office for Keenum.
Eagles-Bears preview: 5 things to watch – PhillyVoice
5) Can the interior of the Eagles’ offensive line start playing better? In Week 1, an obviously not-right Landon Dickerson gave up pressure all day to a bad Commanders defensive line. In Week 2, after Dickerson was placed on IR, Cam Jurgens moved from C to LG, and Drew Kendall filled in at C. The interior of the line struggled yet again, with Jurgens having an alarming game. Of course, part of the reason for Jurgens’ poor performance was because he was trying to block the best interior defensive lineman in the game in Jeffery Simmons. The Bears don’t have any players along their defensive line anywhere remotely as good as Simmons, which presents an opportunity for improvement. And certainly, if the Eagles are going to contend for a Super Bowl this year, the offensive line has to be a lot better.
Coming and Going – Iggles Blitz
Kenny Moore has spent most of his career playing in the slot. He was with the Colts when Nick Sirianni was there so they have experience together. Vic Fangio was asked about Moore in his PC today and said he knew nothing about him and hadn’t watched Moore. This is a Howie move, not something the defensive coaches pushed for. The addition of Moore could mean Michael Carter will focus on playing safety. He’s been the top backup at slot and safety to this point. We’ll find out more about the plan for Moore and the other DBs in time. We can only speculate for now.
Welcome to the Jalyx Hunt Show, right on schedule for the Eagles – The Athletic
Jordan Mailata practiced against Hunt every day this summer. He saw the strides Hunt made — and when asked what’s different with Hunt this year, he referenced the exact lesson that Hunt took from top pass rushers. “Baby Jalyx and Jalyx now?” Mailata said. “One, I think he’s bigger, faster. He’s stronger. But then two, the confidence he plays with, and I think that attributes to his hard work, the coaching, and the style of player that they ordered him to be. …Now we have this product — now we’re still chipping away at that — but his confidence is probably the biggest game-changer, knowing that he can play with the best of them.” It’s unlike Hunt’s first training camp. Put him against a young tackle, and he’s the one hard to block. Hunt isn’t near Johnson’s status, but it’s said that rookie linemen might one day call home marveling going against Jalyx Hunt. “I don’t know when that will be,” Hunt said. “I don’t know what that will look like. But the day someone’s like, ‘Oh, snap, you’re Jalyx Hunt,’ you’re excited to be in the room with me? That’ll be pretty cool. And I’ll flash back to this moment when somebody asked me in my third year.”
Fantasy playbook: NFL Week 3 Shadow Reports, lineup locks and projected scores – ESPN
Fantasy scoop: Caleb Williams (hamstring) is likely to miss this game, which positions Tyson Bagent (who is in the league’s concussion protocol) or Case Keenum to start. It would be the first start for either quarterback since the 2023 season. Bagent played four full games that season (the only four of his career) and failed to impress, throwing three touchdowns and averaging 11.9 fantasy PPG. Keenum has a grand total of 60 passing attempts over the last four seasons and hasn’t produced 13-plus fantasy points in any game since 2019. Regardless of who is under center, it’s fair to expect a substantial dip in Chicago’s offensive production. Luther Burden III (8-95-0 receiving this season), Rome Odunze (5-95-0) and Colston Loveland (1-3-0) have all struggled, even with a healthy Williams. None of the three can be considered lineup locks against a good Eagles defense.
NFL QB rankings, Week 3: Patrick Mahomes, Dak Prescott, Matthew Stafford heating up – NFL.com
Wild that they dropped Hurts one spot in these rankings.
13) Jalen Hurts tossed a couple of interceptions against the Titans, but he also pushed the Eagles to victory with his late-game heroics. With A.J. Brown no longer in the mix in Philly, Hurts’ rapport with DeVonta Smith is among the most enjoyable developments of the early portion of 2026.
‘Nowhere near ready:’ Fangio says Greenard not close to taking on full workload – NBCSP
Jonathan Greenard may be getting closer to playing, but Vic Fangio sent out a warning Wednesday that it’s going to take a while before we see the Jonathan Greenard we’ve been waiting for. Greenard, a Pro Bowl edge rusher for the Vikings in 2024, hasn’t played yet after the Eagles signed him to a monster four-year, $98 million contract in March. Greenard suffered a pectoral muscle injury lifting weights at the Jefferson Health Training Center before training camp began. He missed all of camp and only returned to practice on Sept. 9. He’s practiced the last two weeks but has been listed as limited after each session, so he hasn’t been a full participant yet. With the long week, the Eagles return to practice on Thursday, and if Greenard is a full participant it would be a sign that he may be ready to make his Eagles debut against the Bears Monday night at Soldier Field. “We’ll see how he does,” Fangio said. But Fangio said even when he does finally play he’ll be on a pitch count and is a long way from taking on a full workload. “He’s definitely not ready for a full workload,” Fangio said Wednesday. “You know, he’s not only coming off inactivity, he’s coming off an injury.”
South Jersey native Carmen “Big Carm” Conti has been tailgating Eagles games for 10 years. And every year, the 38-year-old has set up in the exact same spot in F Lot. Just this past season opener, Conti’s tailgate welcomed about 75 to 100 people with a wing competition and a rotating DJ set — but that may have been the tailgate’s big send-off. Last Monday, Conti took to social media to express concerns about the tradition’s future. In a post that read “Save Philadelphia Tailgating,” Conti explained the changes that could be coming to the South Philadelphia sports complex. “Increased restrictions in the parking lots threaten the larger tailgates that have become part of the Eagles game-day experience,” Conti wrote on Facebook. “We are being told that tailgating should be limited to the space directly in front of or behind a vehicle. But larger, organized tailgates often require four to six parking spaces for tents, tables, grills, food preparation, entertainment, equipment, and most importantly, room for people to safely gather.
Caleb Williams or not, the Eagles’ defense won’t change its preparation – PhiladelphiaEagles.com
After Williams and the Bears put up a whopping 59 points against the Panthers in Week 1, they only managed to score three against the Vikings in Week 2. The 56-point dropoff is the second-worse differential from Week 1 to Week 2 by a team in NFL history. Worse, Williams suffered a non-contact hamstring injury in the fourth quarter and had to be carted off the field. The former first-overall pick has been labeled as a “week to week” decision by Head Coach Ben Johnson – not ruling him out of Monday’s contest completely. Backup quarterback Tyson Bagent’s availability is also questionable as the former NCAA Division II star deals with a concussion. Third-string option Case Keenum is the only Bears quarterback whose status for Monday is not currently in doubt. While Fangio said that the team “doesn’t have enough information yet” to know which quarterback they will be facing, the veteran coordinator isn’t fazed by the uncertainty. “We’re preparing for Chicago’s offense. I don’t think their offense will change a whole lot schematically, so that’s what we’ll prepare for,” Fangio said.
Rams poach safety Maximus Pulley from Eagles – Turf Show Times
Pulley can make an immediate impact on special teams and pass coverage in underneath zones. The fact that the Rams must now keep Pulley on the roster indicates they like what they see in the young man.
Jaxson Dart injury changes the story of 2026, and perhaps beyond, for the Giants – Big Blue View
Can Harbaugh guide this team, this organization, that has become so used to failure, and keep it on the track? The Giants have games coming up the next three weeks against the Tennessee Titans and Arizona Cardinals at home, and the likely Jayden Daniels-less Washington Commanders on the road. All are winnable, and could largely tell the story of how well or poorly this season will turn out. They will turn to Jameis Winston as their quarterback for the foreseeable future. They signed Winston to a two-year, $13 million contract extension just a couple of weeks ago, so the idea that they would already be looking for a better option seems ludicrous. As does the idea that teams would be willing to trade a good backup quarterback right now, considering how many starters — and backups — have gone down in the season’s first two weeks.
Jaxson Dart’s injury could reverberate around the NFL – SB Nation
But the bigger questions focus on what other moves could follow, and how Dart’s injury impacts New York’s 2027 plans. Would New York try and swing a trade for another quarterback, perhaps J.J. McCarthy, who has fallen out of favor with the Minnesota Vikings? And what about the 2027 NFL Draft? While results to date have been mixed from the highly anticipated 2027 quarterback class — although both Drew Mestemaker and Trinidad Chambliss have impressed so far — with Dart now missing time in a second consecutive season, the Giants could at least consider addressing the position yet again.
Cowboys injuries: Both teams “hamstrung” to start the week – Blogging The Boys
The Dallas secondary is impacted, especially today. Cornerback Cobie Durant (hamstring) did not participate in team activities. Also not practicing were P.J. Locke (foot) and Malik Hooker (forearm). DeMarvion Overshown (hamstring) also did not practice and the team said he is progressing, but is currently unlikely to play Sunday. For the Ravens, they are also dealing with injuries to prominent players. Zay Flowers (hamstring) was sidelined. Also not practicing were Ronnie Stanley (toe) and Trey Hendrickson (finger). Stay tuned for more updates as the week progresses.
Commanders vs. Seahawks Wednesday injury report: 14 players limited or not practicing – Hogs Haven
The Commanders are starting this practice week with some similar issues to what they faced heading into the last game. Linebacker Franie Luvu and tight end Chig Okonkwo remain out with injury. Guard Sam Cosmi remains in the concussion protocol. And safety Nick Cross has already been ruled out of Sunday’s Week 3 home opener against the Seattle Seahawks. And we’ve got the whole quarterback situation.
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