The Linc – Hard Knocks sheds light on Giants’ decision to let Saquon Barkley leave

Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 7/3/24.

Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links …

Hard Knocks revealed why Giants let Saquon Barkley go in NFL free agency – SB Nation
This subject is touched on throughout the episode but in the closing minutes Giants GM Joe Schoen is having a conversation with his brain trust and ultimately notes that they are Tim McDonnell, Director of Player Personnel: Take this a step further. We lose Saquon right… what’s our identity going to be on offense now? What’s our plan? What’s the next step of that, I guess is what I’m thinking. We’re losing… our explosiveness, our touchdowns. Quarterback, if it’s Daniel, depends on the run game. Joe Schoen, General Manager: We’ve got to upgrade the offensive line and you’re paying the guy $40M. It’s not to hand the ball off to a $12M back. My plan is address the offensive line at some point here in free agency. We’re sitting at 6, there’s a chance there’s an offensive weapon there. This is the year for Daniel. The plan all along was give him a couple of years. Is he our guy for the next 10 years or do we need to pivot and find somebody else?”

Giants’ Saquon Barkley decision focal point of ‘Hard Knocks’ debut episode – Big Blue View
The Giants’ front office members also seemed skeptical that any team with a $20 million per year receiver would pay Barkley what he was asking. As it so happens, the Philadelphia Eagles were willing to give Barkley that contract. And in light of how the Giants’ brass values the running back position, the Eagles signing Barkley likely came as a surprise. Schoen questioned how Philly would allocate their funds given their own needs. That’s particularly true given that their divisional rival would also have to pay receivers DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown, both who whom would garter far more than $20 million per year.

25 Eagles over/unders for the 2024 NFL season – BGN
Can you believe that Eagles players report to Philadelphia for training camp in only three weeks from today? Perhaps that seems like a long time to you but, for me, summer is flying by. That being said, there’s still time to fill during this slow news cycle. And so I thought it would be fun to preview the Birds’ 2024 season with our annual activity of creating and then picking various over/under prop bets. I normally play this game with Jimmy Kempski for BGN Radio. With our podcast situation currently in limbo, however, we were able to find a home for this show on the PHLY Eagles podcast. Big thanks to Bo Wulf for inviting me to pinch hit for Zach Berman as a special guest on Monday’s episode.

2024 NFL season: Predicting each NFC team’s MVP – NFL.com
This pick wasn’t hard, per se, but I paused for a minute. There has been this strange cloud over Hurts since about December or so, at least in my mind, and if I’m being honest with myself, I felt like he was never quite right in 2023. Coming off his brilliant 2022 season, that was a disappointment. And this season, he’ll have to deal with the retirement of Jason Kelce and will have his fifth play-caller in a five-year span — obviously less than ideal. How Hurts and Kellen Moore will mesh is anyone’s guess. It wasn’t the most natural-sounding pairing I could have imagined, but that doesn’t mean it can’t work, of course. I believe in Hurts, his ability to pick up new schemes quickly and his weapons. There might be a little more balance this season with Saquon Barkley in the mix, and I could see Hurts ultimately rising back closer to the level we saw in his MVP runner-up season.

Kelce Craze: Team 62 at The Ocean Drive event raises $865,000 and counting for Autism Research and Care – PE.com
The two-day celebration concluded on Thursday with the second annual New Heights Beer Bowl at the Yacht Club of Sea Isle City. After raising nearly $500,000 in 2023, the Team 62 at The Ocean Drive fundraiser surpassed that total in 2024, raising $865,000 with donations continuing to come in. “We are so grateful that our fans are literally Eagles Everywhere,” Hammond said. “People have flown in, changed family vacations, and are celebrating milestones with us just to be a part of this event. The response from the community is unmatched and it wouldn’t be a success without them.”

Howard Eskin barred from Citizens Bank Park following unwanted advance toward an Aramark employee – Inquirer
Howard Eskin, the longtime Philadelphia broadcaster, has been barred from Citizens Bank Park for the remainder of the Phillies season after an investigation found that he made an unwanted advance toward a female Aramark employee in May. According to sources, who were not willing to be identified because they were not authorized to discuss the matter, an Aramark employee accused the 73-year-old Eskin of giving her an unwanted kiss at the ballpark, which resulted in an investigation. A spokesperson for Audacy, the parent company of WIP-FM and Eskin’s employer, confirmed the “unwelcome kiss” in a statement, adding that the company takes these matters very seriously.

3 projected starters Cowboys would be wise to have a “Plan B” for – Blogging The Boys
DT Mazi Smith. The 26th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft made minimal impact last year with the Cowboys as a rookie, playing only 304 (28.41%) of the defensive snaps behind the starting one-technique Jonathan Hankins. With Hankins gone though, Mazi Smith’s role as expect to expand significantly, so much so he is now the projected starter this year. Unfortunately, Smith showed very little last year to suggest he’s ready to take on a larger role. And add in the fact he’ll be in a new system under Mike Zimmer, the Cowboys would be wise to have a backup plan in place in case he’s not ready to start. Sadly, right now there is little to nothing behind him on the depth chart that could be considered a “Plan B”. The Cowboys need to add a veteran capable of stepping in along the way.

The 5 O’Clock Club: Player Overs/Unders – Commanders running backs edition – Hogs Haven
TE Zach Ertz and RB Austin Ekeler each struggled with injury, availability and production last year, and the perception of the Commanders roster largely rests on the perception of these players, along with other veteran additions like Bobby Wagner, Nick Allegretti, Clelin Ferrell, and others. If Ekeler and Ertz can run it back to the earlier parts of their careers when they were highly productive, then they will be productive signings. Yet, I find it reasonable to think that many of these veterans — and Wagner, Ertz and Ekeler in particular — were signed for their leadership and mentoring abilities as much as for their potential on-field production.

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