Win or lose, the Eagles will be a good test to see where the team stands in the NFC pecking order. A loss wont be the end of the world and a win wont mean the team is destined. They still have along ways to go and, hopefully, they can remain free of any major injuries. Who starts at Quarterback does not really matter although by the sounds of things, Wentz will get another start. He seems to be OK with whatever happens which is nice.
I am going to most likely pick the Vikings to win straight up but
will be very nervous.
Minnesota Vikings News and Links
Vikings QB pressers may have revealed the answer to the week’s big question
McCarthy was asked a variety of different questions at his first press conference in a month, but the most notable thing he said had to do with the health of his right ankle.
“Ankle is, you know, it’s getting there,” he said. “I wouldn’t say it’s 100 percent right now, but we’re striving every day to get there as fast as possible.”
Is it at a place where he can play on Sunday?
“Me, selfishly, I’m gonna play if it was off or not,” McCarthy said. “But we gotta be smart here and understand there’s a lot of things that go into place. At the end of the day, I’m just gonna do what I’m told and try to get better as fast as possible.”
Also interesting is that McCarthy said he received timelines ranging from two to six weeks after suffering the injury in a Week 2 loss to the Falcons. By the time Sunday rolls around, he’ll be at five weeks of recovery time. He was officially listed as a limited participant in practice on Wednesday.
“I’ve never felt a high ankle (sprain) before,” McCarthy said. “I’ve had low ankles. But just based off of what a lot of well-respected second opinions have said, they said it’s four to six, two to six (weeks). I feel like it was gonna be in that range, and we’re still in that range. It’s unfortunate and they’re really annoying, injuries, but we’re just continuing to work to get to 100 percent as quick as possible.”
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Wentz is currently dealing with an injury to his non-throwing shoulder. But he was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice and said he’s “feeling good” when asked about the injury. “It’s just one of those things, you just play through it. I’m feeling pretty good right now.
Wentz, who is in his tenth NFL season with his sixth different team, said he’s approaching this week the same way he always does. He’s been a starter and a backup over the years, so this theoretical limbo area between the two roles isn’t going to affect him.
“Even the first couple weeks here when J.J. was playing, I approached it the same,” he said. “I prepare, go through my routine, go through my program of how I watch film, how I study the plays, how I get ready, what I do later in the week, how I take care of my body. That doesn’t really change. That’s the beauty of it, quite frankly. Having done both roles in my career so far, I have what works for me and what gets me ready to play, and that’s what I’ll be doing.”
Wentz also went on to talk about a variety of other things. He said he hasn’t thought much about the fact that the Eagles, the team he spent his first five seasons with, are coming to town this weekend, saying those days feel like “multiple lifetimes ago at this point.” He talked about wanting to clean up some of the little things he’s seen on his tape from the past three games. Mostly, he just kind of sounded like a guy who is planning on playing on Sunday.
What Kevin O’Connell said about the Vikings’ QB decision on Wednesday
The second question he was asked is the one on the minds of Vikings fans everywhere: “Where do things stand as far as your starting QB for Sunday?”
“They stand in the same place they did Monday when I answered that question,” O’Connell replied in much more terse fashion than the vast majority of his presser answers.
The Vikings still have three practices to get to this week, starting on Wednesday afternoon. Both J.J. McCarthy (ankle) and Carson Wentz (shoulder) will get reps in those sessions, their head coach said.
“They’re both gonna get work, both gonna get reps,” O’Connell said. “Very much looking forward to our whole team getting back out there.”
As O’Connell said on Monday, the timing of the coaching staff’s quarterback decision and the timing of when the public finds out the answer are two different things.
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Like this one, on a topic he’s covered plenty in recent weeks: What does he most want to see from McCarthy this week?
“I think the big thing is just getting him back on the grass, in uniform, practicing, getting real live reps of a pass rush and taking drops and applying some of the things that he’s worked really hard on as of late, as he’s kind of gotten to that phase of his rehab,” O’Connell said. “Applying it and then, when he does that, instant dialogue about what he’s able to do and what it felt like.
“I’m having a blast coaching him. It started last week, when he was able to really start ramping up a little bit. That 1-on-1 work, and then obviously the work he does with Josh and Jordan (QB coaches McCown and Traylor) is gonna be critical.”
Asked about the focus on McCarthy’s mechanics, which he’s talked about quite a bit, O’Connell noted that the 22-year-old hasn’t had all that much practice time over his two seasons with the Vikings, due to a pair of separate injuries. He also mentioned that in McCarthy’s most recent game against the Falcons, he finished the night playing through what the Vikings later learned was a high ankle sprain.
“He’s been here (for parts of two years), but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s been on the grass, practicing, doing the things that help you build a layer of consistency where you can not only take it to the game with you, but then the ebbs and flows of the position, whether it’s the pocket breaking down or maybe it’s, once the injury happened, being firm on that back foot,” O’Connell said. “And what the combination of a lot of those experiences can do to your fundamentals are a very, very normal thing for a young player.”
“That was really a significant injury that he was playing through in that (Atlanta) game,” he added. “That, coupled with how the game had gone and the fact that he had about an hour and 20-minute practice on that Friday after leaving the hospital on Thursday, sleeping there, and showing up here, I mean there was a lot of variables to that one performance that I know, because he hasn’t been out there, we’re taking a lot of looks at, and I understand that. But there’s a bigger picture to playing quarterback and how I view the position.”
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It’s also not the only element that exists. Wentz, who helped lead the Vikings to a 2-1 record over their last three games, is dealing with a fairly significant injury to his non-throwing shoulder. He’s working hard in hopes of being available for the Vikings, whether his number is called as the starter or if he returns to a backup role.
“We’ll work through the week, but he got some good work in Monday, at least feeling positive from a health standpoint to go through and throw,” O’Connell said. “He took a normal amount of throws, there wasn’t any throws he didn’t take because of it. But there’s a layer of working through it, even though it’s his non-throwing shoulder, for sure.”
Checking in with Carson Wentz & J.J. McCarthy as Vikings Prep for Eagles
The Vikings are second in the NFL in EPA/play and first in EPA/drop back. However, the struggles have all come against the run, against which they are 25th in EPA/play. Those struggles are a big issue for the Vikings through five games, including a disaster against the Atlanta Falcons, when Bijan Robinson ran all over them.
The biggest factor here is the trade of Harrison Phillips. It has asked multiple players to play in roles that they aren’t suited for, with the most significant one being Javon Hargrave.
One thing that has been obvious about Hargrave is how he wins. He’s a gap-shooting defensive tackle who thrives rushing the passer. What he doesn’t do well is handling double teams. Defensive coordinator Brian Flores was asked about the attention that Hargrave is getting and likened it to Justin Jefferson being double-teamed.
“He’s a good player, so he gets a lot of attention. And I think as a whole, defensively when we see that, how do we use that to our advantage?” said Flores during Tuesday’s press conference. “Who can we maybe sneak through, if there’s a lot of attention being paid to him, to make them pay attention to somebody else. Essentially, that’s the process we go through.
“I think it’s no different than offensively, if somebody’s getting double-teamed and somebody else has got to open so, whether it’s Hargrave or Allen or Greenard. I think that happens from time to time. And when it does, we just try to, I don’t say, offset it, but make them think about another person, so that we can then free that player up again. But oftentimes, they’re just going to think of, stay on, on, on the one guy, and then, which means somebody else has got.”
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Hargrave has played 177 snaps this season, with 22 coming as the 0T/1T nose tackle. He’s getting bullied consistently in those situations, especially on early downs, in the running game. His Pro Football Focus run defense grade this season is 43.5, which is a significant downgrade from what Phillips brought last season. However, he is still bringing a lot of value as a pass rusher with 13 pressures and 2.0 sacks so far this season on just 95 pass rush reps.
What’s waiting for the Vikings next might be the NFL’s nastiest gauntlet
Up to this point, the Vikings have had the easiest schedule in the NFL. The rest of the way, their schedule is the league’s most difficult. It’s time to buckle up for a gauntlet of games, starting this Sunday against the defending Super Bowl champions.
Those numbers come from Sharp Football Analysis and are based on the “total efficiency” of all 32 teams through the first six weeks of the season. In the graphic below, you can see the Vikings at the very bottom.
On the surface, it’s obviously concerning that the Vikings are just 3-2 so far after playing the schedule they’ve faced. At the same time, the two opponents they’ve lost to — the Falcons and Steelers — aren’t bad teams. The Falcons just beat the Bills on Monday night, and their overall metrics are hurt by an aberration of a 30-0 loss to the Panthers. The Steelers are 4-1. The Vikings had plenty of opportunities to win both of those games, but losing the turnover battle a combined 6-1 was too much to overcome.
A.J. Brown says the vibes are normal and Eagles are motivated ahead of matchup vs. Vikings
The Eagles lead the league in red zone offense (87.5%), scoring touchdowns on 14 of 16 red zone opportunities. That is the best red zone touchdown efficiency by an NFL team through six games since at least 2000. That’s where the good vibes stop from a statistical standpoint.
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Philadelphia is 30th in total offense, 25th in rushing offense, and 29th in passing offense entering Week 7.
Things are looking up offensively for Brown, and since Week 2, the All-Pro wide receiver is tied for 3rd among NFL wide receivers with four games of 5+ catches, behind Ja’Marr Chase and Amon-Ra St. Brown (five each). Brown had 80 yards on six catches in Week 6 at N.Y. Giants.
Brian Flores has the key to stopping Jalen Hurts, and it plays right into the Vikings’ hands
Brian Flores’ defense is the worst nightmare for Jalen Hurts
One of the biggest struggles that Jalen Hurts has as a quarterback is playing against zone coverage. He thrives against man coverage more than anything, especially when teams blitz him. Out of 34 qualifying quarterbacks per TruMedia:
Vs. Man: 13th in EPA/play
Vs. Zone: 28th in EPA/play
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It’s quite simple: Hurts shreds man coverage, and especially does so against the blitz. It helps that the Eagles have great wide receivers in A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith to exploit man coverage. It’s harder to win against zone because Brown and Smith do a better job attacking people than space, and it makes it much easier for Hurts to see in open space. He struggles mightily to see things develop, especially when pressured.
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When you look at the Vikings, they attack quarterbacks frequently. They rank first in EPA/dropback when they run zone at -0.33, and 12th in man coverage at -0.01. It looks significantly more impressive when you see how well they run zone coverage.
Elite Speed Only Part of Isaiah Rodgers’ Acceleration with Vikings
n Week 3 this season, the 5-foot-10, 180-pound cornerback emerged from the secondary and shadows of his past as the first NFL player with a pick six, a scoop-and-score and two forced fumbles in one game.
He “played out of this world,” said Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores, “for the lack of a better term.”
Really, there is nothing more on-the-nose to describe the game Rodgers savored Sept. 21 against Cincinnati. He intercepted a pass and sprinted 87 yards for his first career defensive score. Shortly after, he forced and recovered a fumble and dashed 66 yards to the opposite end zone for his second defensive touchdown. Rodgers also rejected a jump ball while on an island against Tee Higgins, who has a 6-inch height advantage, and canceled a 15-yard catch by Ja’Marr Chase with one of his knockouts.
Grizzled vet Harrison Smith suggested an asterisk in the record books since Rodgers did all that in a half.
“What makes this story more interesting is my wife,” former Vikings cornerback Xavier Rhodes offered. “She called my phone, she was like, ‘Oh my God, I thought he had your record! I was about to get upset, but he didn’t. I’m good. All right, I love you,’ and she hung up the phone. I’m like, she is something else!”
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The three-time Pro Bowl honoree and 2017 First-Team All-Pro Rhodes was hanging in a stadium suite when Rodgers lived out “every corner’s dream,” gave Rhodes’ wife a scare and made his mentor proud.
“He was always willing to learn,” Rhodes said of Rodgers, who entered the NFL with the Colts the same year Rhodes went from Minnesota to Indianapolis. “You have some guys that come in the game and think they know it all and think you can’t really tell ’em anything, or they would sit there and act like they are listening to you and still do their own thing. But with him, he was a student of the game. He wanted to get better.”
Upon their initial meeting, Rhodes said he thought “Isaiah was a great breath of fresh air.”
“It’s no ego with him. Zero ego. Like, he doesn’t have an ego,” Rhodes shared repeatedly. “You can go, ‘Isaiah, I need you to be the kicker’ – ‘OK’ – and he’s gonna do it with a smile on his face. It’s hard to find players like that, man. It’s hard to find someone that’s gonna give it his all no matter where you put him.
“That’s why we gravitated to one another because that’s someone you need around you,” Rhodes said. “That’s someone you need in your life, ’cause we’re all gonna have bad days, and you’re gonna need a guy like Isaiah that’s gonna be around you to joke around with you, make you laugh and lift your day up.”
Rhodes continued, “You tend to forget [about your blessings in life], but a guy like him, he’s always gonna remind you, ‘Bro, we’re here in the NFL, we’re part of the less than 1 percent, let’s live it up.’ “
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Five games into his first season as a full-time starter, Rodgers is a Top 4 cornerback in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus (min. 100 snaps). His 82.2 overall grade is boosted by the top score in coverage (86.1), as well as the first “perfect” game grade (99.9) since PFF started data collection in 2006. According to PFF numbers, he’s allowed only 11 receptions on 21 targets for 96 yards, zero touchdowns and a 44.9 passer rating against.
“Personally, I just feel like he’s going to do more,” Rhodes said. “And once he’s (even) more consistent, we’re going to have a conversation of him being one of the best Vikings players or DBs they’ve ever had.”
The success was anticipated by people close to Rodgers, like Rhodes, and college teammate Jordin Hamilton, who was a junior at UMass when Rodgers – “this super, super skinny kid” – materialized.
“He may have been all of 5-9, a buck 35 soaking wet, if that,” Hamilton said.
“Seriously,” Rodgers’ good friend to this day emphasized, “he was tiny.”
Hamilton said he doesn’t think he saw Isaiah, or ‘Zay’, squat over 185 pounds in the lead up to his freshman season. He remembers training camp that summer vividly, though, because Rodgers was a blur in conditioning tests and zippy on defense, capturing passes left and right – as if he was the target.
“I’ll never forget,” Hamilton reminisced. “We had Andy Isabella on our team at the same time, who ended up being a second-round draft pick [in 2019]. He was by far the fastest player on our team. And then we’re running 40-yard sprints and this new kid is not just beating Andy; he’s dusting him. So we’re like, ‘Hold on, who is this little guy? Like, Isaiah, where are you from? Like, how are you fast like this?’ “
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When Rodgers was ready to swap UMass’ logo for an NFL shield, he was already firmly on the radar of Flores, whose pathway from scout to assistant with New England (90 odd miles from campus) drew him to Rodgers making plays in multiple phases, as he was entering his first year as the Dolphins head coach.
Both men had to wait – Rodgers to hear his name late in the sixth round with the 211th selection, and Flores to coach someone he believed was an ascending talent. Historically, good things are well worth it.
“I was all in,” Flores said this summer, rehashing his desire to acquire Rodgers in free agency.
“I’m happy we got him,” the defensive coordinator added. “He’s got a great football IQ and acumen.”
Hamilton and Rhodes are elated, too.
“I was talking to him the other day, and I was just like, ‘I’ve had so many people reach out to me about [your playmaking] you would think that my name is Isaiah Rodgers and I was the guy out there doing it,'” Hamilton joked. “I’m just happy for him. I think that truly the sky’s the limit for him. I know that people say that all the time when it comes to people’s success and things of that nature. But truly, I think that this year for him, whether it’s this late in his career or not, I think this is gonna be a major turning point.
“If I could say anything about him, he’s the class clown, but the class clown that would get straight A’s, which is not typical of a quote-unquote class clown,” Hamilton added. “He’s always been a guy that makes light of certain situations even when things aren’t going the best, and I think that translated over to the field ’cause in order to succeed as a cornerback you gotta have that mentality. Everybody’s gonna get caught on at some point in time. It’s just all about how you kind of bounce back and react to that.”
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On the heels of his historic NFC Defensive Player of the Week performance, Rodgers responded to a question – What’d Flo’ tell you after the game? – with frankness: “I told him, that’s why I came here.”
“I just knew, once I finally got my shot, whether it was Year 6 or Year 10, whenever that time came, I was going to be the best Isaiah Rodgers I could be,” the 27-year-old said humbly. “I just think everything happens for a reason, and I think it’s perfect timing for it to be now rather than earlier in my career where I was more of an immature player and don’t think I would’ve meshed [with Flo’] and this system.
“So I think everything is perfect timing,” Rodgers reiterated, flashing a radiant smile. “I’m in the right state of mind, and I just want to go out there and make plays like he expects the whole entire unit to do.”
Wes Phillips Pounds the Table for Unlikely Viking
Blake Brandel Might Be Best at Center of all His Experiments
Phillips spoke to the media on Tuesday and said about Brandel, “The way Blake handled this game, I think we might be looking at a situation where this could be his best position of all five across the line. And getting Jurgens back into practice is just a plus for us. And we’ll see where all those guys are at throughout the week as we assess.”
“Going back to years past, Blake hasn’t played a lot of center, but they’re always working those guys because of these situations, the interior backups particularly, have to at least be swing guards. Having some center flex centers that are only centers, kind of limit you with your roster. Generally, they have to at least function at guard. So those guys get worked in throughout the offseason.”
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