What They’re Saying About the Eagles

Here’s a roundup of what the national media are saying about the Eagles this week.

The Eagles come in at No. 10 in NFL.com’s power rankings:

Opportunity missed by the Philadelphia Eagles, who have far more than Mark Sanchez to blame for their late-season woes. You can start in the secondary; I’ve received plenty of feedback on Twitter about Bradley Fletcher in that regard. I give my regards to Chip Kelly, who said himself, “We have no one to blame but ourselves.”

In ESPN.com’s power rankings, the Eagles fall four spots to No. 13:

Thirteen accepted penalties Saturday, most by Philly since 2010. Two missed field goals in a three-point loss. Season-high four drops. Just a brutal game from the Eagles when it mattered most.

Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com has Fletcher Cox as a Pro Bowl snub:

The immortal Chris Wesseling named Cox one of the best ten best defensive players of the year, rightly noting that only J.J. Watt outplayed him in the second half of the season. We love watching Cox shed blocks with ease and disrupt running plays in the backfield. There are no bad picks at defensive end, but Cox deserves inclusion over Mario Williams and Clay Matthews.

Bill Barnwell of Grantland has Jason Peters as a second-team All Pro:

I went back and forth between Brown, Tyron Smith, and Jason Peters for the second offensive tackle spot. Peters is the guy I notice destroying other human beings most frequently on tape, but he also has 11 penalties this season, which hurts his case in this rarefied air. I think Smith is a better run-blocker than Brown, but he also has a far better line to work alongside, especially with Chris Myers starting to slip at center in Houston this year. Brown was also credited with just two sacks allowed for a mere four total yards by STATS this year. I’m narrowly picking him, but you could pick any of those three and I wouldn’t argue against you.

Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com reviews the most-targeted rookie receivers, including both Odell Beckham Jr. and Jordan Matthews:

Odell Beckham Jr., New York Giants (107 Targets): He is the first rookie to surpass 1,000 yards receiving (1,120 yards) and his 79 receptions and 11 TD receptions are tied for the most among rookies.

Jordan Matthews, Philadelphia (92 Targets): Matthews caught three passes for 58 yards in the Eagles’ 27-24 loss to Washington and has 59 catches for 767 yards and seven touchdowns.

Donovan McNabb (via FoxSports.com) places the Birds at No. 15 in his weekly power rankings:

Future’s in question at quarterback. It’s safe to say Mark Sanchez is not the answer.

The Eagles drop three spots to No. 12 on the FoxSports.com power rankings:

Mark Sanchez is not the answer at quarterback, but the blame doesn’t stop with him either. The Eagles’ secondary and pass coverage as a whole has collapsed over the last month and they were unable to keep up with their ridiculous early season defensive touchdown pace.

In response to Chip Kelly’s decision to play the starters in Week 17:

There are no better headline writers than at Philadelphia Daily New. @PhillyDailyNews @PhillyDNSports #Isityounot pic.twitter.com/AMXAshyYGO

— Michael Barkann (@MBarkannCSN) December 23, 2014

The CBSSports.com power rankings drop the Birds back three places to No. 11:

They’ve lost three consecutive games, and their playoff hopes are done. So much for Chip Kelly’s revolutionary ways changing the league.

Pat Kirwan of CBSSports.com also has Philadelphia in the No. 11 spot:

The Eagles were 9-3 and then the wheels came off. The Mark Sanchez interception was a shame last week because he was playing well before the pick. The season was lost and it is a hard pill to swallow for a team better than a few that will make the playoffs.

Pro Football Talk knocks the Eagles down to 14th:

Philadelphia Eagles (No. 10; 9-6): The only thing worse than a one-and-done postseason appearance is no postseason appearance at all.

Doug Farrar of SI.com has Cox on his list of Pro Bowl snubs:

The NFL needs to split this into 3-4 and 4-3 ends because any Pro Bowl list without Eagles end Fletcher Cox is pretty weird. Outside of Watt, Cox has been the best 3-4 end in the league this season.

Connor Barwin helped break ground on the Ralph Brooks Park in South Philadelphia that he has raised money and awareness for:

And the ground has been broken at Ralph Brooks Tot Lot! Thanks everyone who has worked so hard to make this happen. pic.twitter.com/FQ3XpfRP5a — Connor Barwin (@ConnorBarwin98) December 23, 2014

Matt Cassidy is a journalism student at Temple and an intern at Birds 24/7.