July 23, 2024
It's the calm before the storm in Philadelphia, as the Eagles will hold their first training camp practice on Wednesday morning. Philly is a 24/7, 365 football town, but that Birds frenzy will be kicked into overdrive over the next several weeks ahead of the 2024 NFL season.
Before then, as I do here at PhillyVoice, here are five thoughts I currently have on the Eagles...
Much has been made about Saquon Barkley, now in midnight green, going from the Giants' historically awful offensive line to a perennially elite unit with the Eagles. 2023 was a bit of a down year for Barkley, going from 4.4 yards per carry in 2022 to 3.9 in '24. Expect that rate to pop up when he's running behind bruisers like Landon Dickerson and Lane Johnson. An overlooked aspect of Barkley's skillset upon signing with the Eagles is his skillset as a receiver though. Will Kellen Moore's offense maximize that?
Barkley looked like the second coming of Marshall Faulk as a rookie in 2018, leading the NFL with over 2,000 yards from scrimmage and catching 91 balls for 721 yards. Those numbers have tailed off for Barkley, as he caught only 41 passes while totaling just 280 receiving yards in 2023.
During Moore's lone season as the play-caller with the Chargers in 2023, running back Austin Ekeler was targeted 74 times, hauling in 51 receptions in 14 games. That's on the heels of being targeted a whopping 127 times the year prior under a different offensive coordinator. Ekeler is a better fantasy football player than an on-field player. He racks up short catches, but Barkley is unquestionably more talented. The Eagles should make use of him.
The reason Barkley won't put up receiving numbers akin to his rookie year is that he's, at best, the No. 4 target in the passing game behind A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert. The last two years have showcased that Jalen Hurts really doesn't trust any players in the passing game other than those three. He's also allergic to dumping the ball down to backs and loves to air it out downfield. That's all well and good, but there's a stark difference when it comes to hitting Miles Sanders and D'Andre Swift on quick passes than a player of Barkley' ilk.
Different looks where Barkley lines up in the slot, perhaps in 21 personnel looks with Kenny Gainwell or Will Shipley lined up at running back, would be a welcomed wrinkle in an Eagles offense that grew unbearably stale in 2023 despite the unit's star power.
Depending on your age, you may call this the "Na Brown Award," the "Ifeanyi Momah Award" or the "Paul Turner Award."
Every summer brings an unheralded wideout who looks the part and captures the imagination of Eagles fans. Veteran Parris Campbell has a leg up on the No. 3 receiver gig behind Brown and Smith in the Birds' offense, but it's not set in stone that he'll be the guy behind those two stars.
Who will be the fan-favorite in 2024?
The initial thought would be 6'6", 233-pound sixth-round rookie Johnny Wilson out of Florida State. Eagles fans are always drawn to big-bodied wideouts who are red zone threats. He fits that archetype.
John Ross, the oft-injured former first-round pick with blazing speed, is with the team for camp. People remember his 4.22 40-yard dash at the 2017 NFL Combine. It will take just one tweet from beat writers about Ross burning the Eagles' secondary for a deep touchdown before fans start to get amped about Ross finally putting it together in Philly.
One last player I'll throw out is Joseph Ngata. Ngata was undrafted in 2023 out of Clemson, a school known for producing quality pro receivers. He had a pretty good camp last summer, but didn't shine enough in live-action preseason games to crack the roster, being relegated to the practice squad. Will having a year of experience in the NovaCare Complex give him the fuel to break through to the 53-man roster? We shall see.
The defense knows it's coming. Everyone in the stadium knows it's coming. Everyone watching at home knows it's coming. Despite the obvious play setup, the Eagles' Tush Push remains the league's most effective play. Over the last couple of seasons, it's clear that the Birds use it time and time again to great success, but the numbers are staggering how little the Eagles actually pass when inside the 10-yard line:
pass rate inside the 10-yard line
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) July 17, 2024
73% - NYJ
72%
71%
70% - MIN
69%
68%
67%
66%
65%
64% - WAS
63%
62% - TB
61%
60%
59% - KC
58%
57% - DAL
56%
55% - DEN, GB
54% - JAX, LAC
53%
52% - HOU, CHI
51% - NYG, LV
50% - CIN, LAR
49% - CLE, CAR, MIA
48% - TEN, ARI
47% - SEA
46% - ATL, IND…
This is a wholly selfish call. I completely understand the Eagles fans who want a traditional Week 1, particularly with home game tailgating festivities, but as a reporter not making the trek to Brazil, this is great. I'll make some late-afternoon coffee on Friday, stay up late for the big matchup with the Packers, write a couple day-after stories for Saturday, and then relax with college ball before a huge Sunday slate. I'm quite thankful for the job I have. Even then, I'm going to revel in the situations where I can have a "normal" NFL Sunday and be a general fan of the sport. I'm eyeing a dozen wings for the 1:00 PM games.
This is more general NFL talk rather than something Eagles specific, but the league and the NFLPA are reportedly having discussions about adding another game to the regular season schedule. This felt inevitable. They added a 17th game. "What's one more?" is their rationale, I assume. Fans aren't going to complain about more real football to watch on their televisions, but the league's attention to player safety is an absolute crock.
More injuries were certainly pile up. Things will get wonky. Adding a second bye week needs to be a requirement to offset this if it's going to happen. I'm sure we'll all get used to it eventually, but the NFL says one thing when it comes to the health of their players and always does another.
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