Eagles Notes: Ben Roethlisberger Praises Philadelphia’s Defense
Ben Roethlisberger. (USA Today Sports)
A few quick Eagles notes to share this afternoon.
BIG BEN PRAISES THE EAGLES’ DEFENSE
Ben Roethlisberger was very effusive in his praise of the Eagles’ defense during a Wednesday morning conference call. Roethlisberger said Jim Schwartz’s unit is “really good.” He went as far to say that Philadelphia has “one of the best front sevens” in the NFL.
Statistically speaking, the Eagles have the best defense in the league right now. They’ve allowed the least points of any team. Philadelphia has recorded four turnovers and six sacks.
The Steelers will obviously present a bigger challenge than the Bears and Browns. Pittburgh’s offense is averaging 31.7 points scored in their last 10 regular season games.
Roethlisberger also talked about Eagles rookie standout Carson Wentz. He said the two quarterbacks, who share the same agent, had dinner together and worked out prior to the 2016 NFL Draft. Roethlisberger joked that he expected to be playing against Wentz twice a year since the Browns had the No. 2 overall pick before trading it to the Eagles.
VIKINGS INJURIES IMPACT THE EAGLES
Vikings running back Adrian Peterson is expected to be out for at least “several months” after he undergoes knee surgery this week. This means he’ll miss the Eagles’ Week 7 game against Minnesota on Sunday, Oct. 23.
The injury bug doesn’t stop there for the Vikings. Starting left tackle Matt Kalil was placed on injured reserve. Minnesota will also be without him against the Eagles.
Another reason why these injuries are significant is because the Eagles own Minnesota’s 2017 first round draft pick due to the Sam Bradford trade. If the Vikings falter without their key players, the better the Eagles’ pick will be.
EAGLES MAKE A ROSTER MOVE
The Eagles signed JaCorey Shepherd to their practice squad and released undrafted rookie free agent Darrell Greene.
Shepherd was selected by Philadelphia in the sixth round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He was projected to be the team’s starting slot cornerback last year before he suffered an ACL injury in training camp. Shepherd failed to stand out this summer but the Eagles are light on corners due to the Leodis McKelvin injury.
The Eagles gave Greene more guaranteed money than any other UDFA received this year. Philadelphia already has 11 lineman on the 53-man roster (and another on the practice squad) so Greene became superfluous.
Here’s an updated look at Philadelphia’s 10-man practice squad.
FB Andrew Bonnett
LB Don Cherry
RB Byron Marshall
QB Aaron Murray
C Aaron Neary
CB JaCorey Shepherd
DT Aziz Shittu
CB C.J. Smith
WR Paul Turner
WR David Watford
EAGLES = PLAYOFF BOUND?
Interesting note from Football Outsiders (hat tip to Patrick Wall): “Since the 2003 Kansas City Chiefs, every team ranked No. 1 in DVOA after Week 2 has made the playoffs and finished at least 10-6.”
The Eagles currently rank No. 1 in DVOA.
Of course, it must be noted their wins have come against teams ranked 29th (Bears) and 32nd (Browns) in DVOA. It also must be noted how the Eagles have the lowest DVOA ever for a team ranked No. 1 after Week 2.