Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles news and links …
Which NFL teams could dethrone Super Bowl champion Seahawks? Ranking top 8 candidates – NFL.com 4) PHILADELPHIA EAGLES. Last season ended with a thud, as the injury-plagued 49ers knocked the Eagles out of the playoffs on Wild Card Weekend. The last two times the Eagles were bounced from the first round of the playoffs, they played in the Super Bowl the following season. So, go ahead Philly fans, book your flights to Los Angeles in February! Obviously,
that pattern is only going to hold if the team gets better play from Jalen Hurts, who was a net negative in EPA (-10) during the final nine games of the regular season, per Next Gen Stats. GM Howie Roseman has given the QB a much different receiving corps, with Hollywood Brown, Dontayvion Wicks and Makai Lemon joining the team and A.J. Brown officially leaving town. There’s good news on the offensive line, with OT Lane Johnson and OG Landon Dickerson returning after considering retirement, but Philadelphia will need them to stay healthy to reap the benefits. Vic Fangio’s defense isn’t without question marks (at safety, primarily), but it has the potential to be elite once again after allowing the fewest yards and second-fewest points in the league last season. Philly gets to host Seattle on a short week (Saturday game) in mid-December, which might give Nick Sirianni and Co. an edge in a game that figures to be pivotal in determining playoff positioning. No team has won more games than the Eagles since the start of the 2022 season. They’ve earned a spot in this conversation.
Happy 4th of July – BGN
We ask you: what are you getting up to today? Seeing fireworks? Having a barbecue? Doing some normal Saturday stuff because you live outside of America? Feel free to use this comment section as an open thread to hang out today.
Things to watch for at Eagles training camp: Offensive tackle edition – PhillyVoice
With Johnson sitting out OTAs, third-round rookie Markel Bell got to play with the starters at RT, when it would have been easy to just insert Fred Johnson in there. And then when Lane showed up for minicamp, Bell played LT with the second-team offense. Obviously the team hopes that Bell can develop long-term, but it also appears that they are trying to prepare him for an immediate role as a key backup this season. There’s only so much you can tell in spring practices without pads and very limited contact, but Bell is a massive 6’9, 346-pound OT, and in my opinion he moved well. He also didn’t look unnatural at RT, which is noteworthy considering he really only played LT in college in games, though Bell did note during rookie minicamp that he was cross-trained during practices at Miami at RT. Some guys can easily move back and forth between LT and RT. Some guys (cough, Andre Dillard) can’t. The Eagles’ hope is that Bell can develop into a legitimate successor for Johnson. And if so, that’s a future first-round pick that can be used to address some other position.
Appreciating Vic Fangio – Iggles Blitz
The Eagles have run a version of the Vic Fangio scheme since Nick Sirianni took over as coach of the Eagles. It wasn’t until 2024 that they were able to hire Fangio himself that anyone knew how good he and the scheme are. Having the playbook is one thing. Knowing how to teach it and call defenses during the game is quite another. That’s what makes Fangio special. Fangio has coached in the NFL since 1986. He’s been a LBs coach, defensive coordinator and head coach. Some coaches struggle to evolve with the new trends in football, but that isn’t the case with Fangio. He came in as the 3-4 was taking over the league, saw the rise of the zone blitz and came up with his own theory on the light box in recent years. Fangio might be old, but his scheme stays young. Secondary coach Joe Kasper explains part of that.
Travis Kelce Has Brother Jason as His Best Man for Taylor Swift Wedding as They Go Without a Bridal Party – People
Travis Kelce had his brother Jason Kelce standing by his side as he and Taylor Swift tied the knot. PEOPLE can confirm that the Kansas City Chiefs star and music icon said “I do” on Friday, July 3 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, and Jason, 38, was right by his brother’s side as Travis’ Best Man in the ceremony. Swift and Kelce opted not to have a bridal party at their super-secret ceremony, with just Jason serving as his brother’s Best Man and Swift’s brother Austin serving as her Man of Honor. “The ceremony joined both families together and was officiated by friend Adam Sandler,” a rep for Swift said.
NFL offseason leads to summer reading – ESPN
Some players say they try to read a little bit every day. Minnesota Vikings quarterback Carson Wentz said he has been reading the Bible and has been going through the text and journaling for the past year or so. In early June, Wentz said he was “still in the Old Testament, in the book of Psalms, moving slow with the journaling.” “I really just write down, OK, what happened?” Wentz said. “Like, what’s God saying? What’s the storyline in each chapter, but then also what’s the heartbeat of God and what am I learning? How do I apply this? “I found myself over the years just reading the words on the page. I might get something out of it, I might not.”
Honoring the Founding Fathers of the Dallas Cowboys – Blogging The Boys
If you ever find yourself staring at a painting of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and thinking that those guys look like they could draw up a mean flea flicker, you are not alone. History and football have a funny way of connecting. The men who wore powdered wigs and the men who wore metallic helmets aren’t all that different when it comes to building dynasties from scratch. To celebrate Independence Day, we thought we’d pay homage to our founding fathers while having a little fun as we match them up with important Dallas Cowboys figures.
Most Commanders fans want to sign Aiyuk if 49ers cut him this month – Hogs Haven
There is certainly some fatigue surrounding the topic of Brandon Aiyuk potentially being cut by the 49ers and signed by the Commanders — a possibility that has been fed plenty of fuel by Aiyuk himself in the form of non-cryptic social media posts in which he has pretty much dared San Francisco to cut him, and literally danced with delight as he proclaimed that he would soon be on the Commanders roster. One thing that struck me as I read comments from Commanders fans over the past couple of weeks, as the social media tempest continued daily, was that every fan — whether that fan thought the team should sign Aiyuk, or whether the fan was dead set against it — seemed to think the answer was obvious and one-sided.
Survey: John Michael Schmitz most likely Giant to get second contract – Big Blue View
Every team says that they want to build through the draft, but that’s easier said than done. Not only does it mean properly developing draft picks into the type of player you want to build your team with, but also keeping them in the building and not leaving via free agency. This week we asked you which Giant in the last year of his rookie deal is most likely to get a second contract, and asked you to choose between edge defender Kayvon Thibodeaux, center John Michael Schmitz, and cornerback Deonte Banks. The answer was pretty emphatic, with Schmitz dominating the results.
Flyers offer sheet Leo Carlsson, would make him the highest-paid player in NHL history – SB Nation
With just one day before July 4, the Philadelphia Flyers chose violence. On Friday the team signed Anaheim Ducks mega-star restricted free agent Leo Carlsson to a staggering five-year, $18M AAV offer sheet, which would make him the highest-paid player in the NHL by yearly earnings and do it by a substantial margin. The figure for Carlsson eclipses that of Kirill Kaprizov, who the Minnesota Wild signed to a $17M AAV contract last year, which was the previous highest mark. Swelling NHL contracts are a sign of the times, with the sport’s popularity meaning increasing TV deals, growth in the salary cap, and whispers of expansion on the wind.
USA vs. Belgium, 2026 World Cup: Scouting Belgium – Stars And Stripes FC
The United States Men’s National Team continues to advance at the 2026 World Cup, having taken down Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32 by a 2-0 margin. The tournament field continues to narrow, and the opponents grow more daunting, with Belgium hoping to spoil the co-hosts’ party and advance to the quarterfinal. The European program is looking to improve on a third-place finish in 2018, which would be quite the welcome surprise well after a golden generation. Seattle, Washington’s Lumen Field – a 72,000-seat multi-purpose stadium with a temporary stitched natural grass surface – hosts the fixture.
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