Eagles’ hopes, Rob Gronkowski returns and NFL coaching changes

The Philadelphia Eagles are decided underdogs in Super Bowl LII, but they have the goods to beat the New England Patriots for a storybook ending.

In 1960, Chuck Bednarik tackled Jim Taylor at Franklin Field. Bednarik, the last 60-minute man in NFL history, laid on top of Taylor until the final seconds clicked off the manual clock atop the manual scoreboard, signaling a championship for the Philadelphia Eagles.

Over the following 56 seasons, the Eagles have not been able to replicate that success, leaving them as one of 10 pre-merger franchises to be without a Super Bowl title.

Now, in one of the most unlikeliest playoff runs we’ve seen in decades, Philadelphia is one more upset victory away from tasting elusive glory.

Behind backup quarterback Nick Foles, the Eagles defeated the Atlanta Falcons in the Divisional round, becoming the first top-seeded team to ever be an underdog in that stage of the postseason. Then, Philadelphia trounced the favored Minnesota Vikings at Lincoln Financial Field, with Foles throwing for more than 300 yards and three touchdowns.

In Super Bowl LII against the New England Patriots, the Eagles are once again getting points from Vegas. Philadelphia is a 4.5-pont underdog, something it ought to be familiar with by now.

Going into the season, few believed the Eagles would be a threat in the NFC. The Dallas Cowboys were getting a majority of the attention in the East, with Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott seemingly ready to dominate for a decade. The Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks were the consensus favorites behind Hall of Fame quarterbacks, while the Falcons had the roster built for another January run.

Just when the Eagles were becoming a team too great to ignore, Carson Wentz needed to be helped from the field in a Week 13 win over the Los Angeles Rams. Wentz, the league-leader in touchdown passes and the MVP frontrunner, had torn his ACL. Season over, for both him and Philadelphia.

Going into the postseason, there was considering buzz about the wide-open NFC, with little love for the No. 1 seed and its backup quarterback. Now, the Eagles are showing how complete their team is, and why the Patriots should be fretting about their upcoming duel.

Philadelphia has the same recipe that the New York Giants had in their two Super Bowl wins over New England. The Eagles can rush the passer without blitzing, using an endless array of stunts, twists and exotic fronts to cause confusion up front. Nobody on Philadelphia has 10 sacks, and the team has just 38 total, but the pressure is both consistent and effective.

The Eagles will have to harass Tom Brady into sacks and misfires with only four rushers, dropping the linebackers and safeties to help the suspect cornerbacks. Philadelphia will rely heavily on Fletcher Cox, Chris Long, Brandon Graham and Derek Barnett to hit Brady. Long and Graham have been particularly great, ranking seventh and ninth respectively in pass-rushing productivity among 4-3 defensive ends, per Pro Football Focus. Of all interior defenders, Cox slotted fifth, getting pressure on 10 percent of his snaps.

Offensively, Philadelphia has to pound the ball at New England’s suspect front seven. Without Dont’a Hightower, the Patriots are down their best — and only impact — player in that group. The result is New England ranking 31st in rushing yards allowed per attempt (4.7) during the regular season.

Last week, the Patriots stiffened against Leonard Fournette, holding the bulldozing rookie to 76 yards on 24 carries. Defensive coordinator Matt Patricia stacked the box against Fournette, firing into run gaps and daring the Jacksonville Jaguars to make Blake Bortles beat him. The same strategy could well be implemented on Sunday, but Foles is more prolific than Bortles, and his receivers are better than Jacksonville’s weapons.

In essence, Philadelphia’s defense needs to get stops and win the turnover battle. The offense needs to run with Jay Ajayi and LeGarrette Blount, forcing New England to creep up toward the line of scrimmage. Then, Foles has to make a few plays to take the Eagles to a championship.

It won’t be easy, even if the general outline is simple. If Philadelphia can do it for 60 minutes, it will finally have its Lombardi Trophy.

Power rankings

Top 10 snakebitten franchises in NFL history

1. Minnesota Vikings
2. Buffalo Bills
3. Cleveland Browns
4. Kansas City Chiefs
5. New York Jets
6. Detroit Lions
7. Cincinnati Bengals
8. Atlanta Falcons
9. Philadelphia Eagles
10. Los Angeles Chargers

Quotable

"“I believe today, standing here this morning, that Eli is going to start the 2018 season as the Giants’ starting quarterback,” co-owner Steve Tisch said."

– New York Giants owner Steve Tisch on Eli Manning’s future with the team

Manning is 37 years old and has two years remaining on his deal for a total value of $45.4 million, making him difficult to trade. The Giants are likely making the wise decision of holding onto Manning, provided they use the second-overall pick in the draft to select his successor.

Look for this situation to play out similar to Alex Smith and the Chiefs. While Smith is four years younger, Kansas City allowed him to play one more year while allowing Patrick Mahomes to learn in practice and meetings. Fast forward to the present, and Smith will be dealt for picks, with Mahomes taking over as the starter. Manning, much like Smith, is the consummate professional who can help a youngster along.

New York fans should expect the same for Manning and whoever his replacement ends up being.

Podcast

Join Matt Verderame and Josh Hill for their weekly Stacking The Box podcast, uploaded every Monday. Starting after the Super Bowl, the podcast will also be recorded live on the FanSided Facebook page!

Random stat

Last year’s Super Bowl was the first to go into overtime. We’ve never seen double overtime on Super Sunday. In fact, the last time any NFL game went to double overtime was a 2003 NFC Divisional, with the Carolina Panthers besting the St. Louis Rams.

Info learned this week

1. Early offseason has seen litany of coordinator movement

Most years, the worst teams in the NFL changes coaches and philosophies, hoping to improve their fortunes. While we’re only a few weeks into the offseason (for 30 teams, anyway), a new trend is emerging.

In an intriguing development, some of the best teams in football are changing coordinators. The Seattle Seahawks fired Darrell Bevell and Kris Richard, replacing them with Brian Schottenheimer and Ken Norton Jr. The Green Bay Packers moved on from defensive guru Dom Capers to hire Mike Pettine, who learned an aggressive 3-4 at the knee of Rex Ryan. The Pittsburgh Steelers allowed Todd Haley to walk, deciding another direction was best.

It has historically been uncommon for winning teams to make such moves, but it’s refreshing to see the willingness to change in the pursuit of excellence.

2. Senior Bowl gives insight on quarterbacks

Watching some clips from the Senior Bowl practices, we’re seeing some of the top quarterback prospects in the upcoming rookie crop. Both Baker Mayfield and Josh Allen were down in Mobile slinging the ball around on the North team, coached by the Denver Broncos.

Denver has to be evaluating both closely, holding the No. 5 overall pick in April’s draft and with a clear need at the position. With Sam Darnold and Josh Rosen likely going to the Browns and New York Giants, respectively, Allen and Mayfield could be the decision for Broncos general manager John Elway. Allen made his case in the contest, hitting on 9-of-13 passes for 158 yards, while Mayfield went 3-of-7 for nine yards.

So where could the fourth signal caller land? The Jets pick sixth, so either Mayfield or Allen probably won’t wait in the green room for very long.

3. Titans aim to lure Pees out of retirement

The Tennessee Titans are assembling a new coaching staff under head coach Mike Vrabel, and they might land a surprising defensive coordinator. After announcing his retirement at the end of this season, former Baltimore Ravens coordinator Dean Pees is reportedly interested to work under Vrabel in Tennessee. The two know each other from their days with the Patriots, where Pees coached Vrabel as the linebackers coach.

Pees has a well-earned reputation as one of the finer minds in the business, something backed up by Baltimore’s recent success. The Ravens ranked 12th in yards against and sixth in points allowed last year, despite having little help from the offense.

4. Gronkowski back on the field

After sustaining a concussion in the AFC Championship Game, it appears All-Pro tight end Rob Gronkowski is all systems go for the Super Bowl. Gronkowski, who missed the entire second half in New England’s comeback win over the Jaguars, was practicing for the Patriots in a limited capacity on Saturday.

Having Gronkowski back against the Eagles is obviously a significant boost for a team looking to claim its sixth Super Bowl. This year, the former University of Arizona standout caught caught 69 passes for 1,084 yards and eight touchdowns.

5. Pro Bowl continues to underwhelm

The AFC beat the NFC 24-23, with Derek Carr overcoming two earlier interceptions to toss the game-winning touchdown to Delanie Walker. Alright, enough about the details.

This section is more of a quick complaint about the idea of the Pro Bowl. The NFL is trying to become safer, all while continuing to be entertaining. The Pro Bowl accomplishes neither of those tasks. Perhaps the time has come to simply name the teams and give the players bonuses for making it, instead of going ahead with this farce of football.

When approximately half the players who get the Pro Bowl nod either can’t attend (Super Bowl teams) or simply decline, you know it’s time to move on.

History lesson

The largest margin of victory in league history took place in the 1940 NFL Championship Game, with the Chicago Bears beating the Washington Redskins, 73-0.

In the Super Bowl era, the biggest postseason blowout took place in the 1999 AFC Divisional round. In what would be the last game of both Jimmy Johnson and Dan Marino’s career, the Jaguars won 62-7, forcing Marino to the bench.

Parting shot

In little more than a month, there;s going to be a feeding frenzy among quarterback-needy teams. The Arizona Cardinals, Redskins, Jets, Bills, Jaguars, Broncos, Vikings and others are going to be aggressively trying to fill that void on their rosters, in many cases spending tens of millions in hopes of remedying the issue.

Kirk Cousins is going to be the proverbial gem of free agency, likely drawing a record deal. The 29-year-old could realistically attain $100 million in guarantees, breaking the record of $87 million doled out by the Indianapolis Colts to Andrew Luck. He might exceed the $125 million total that was spent on Derek Carr by the Oakland Raiders.

Of course, the Colts and Raiders thought they were putting the finishing touches on a contender. They have yet to see anything close to that in return for their investments.

None of that is to suggest that a team should withhold any resources while in search of a quarterback. For example, if the San Francisco 49ers believe Jimmy Garoppolo wasn’t a mirage, they should open up the vault. In today’s NFL, you need a top-end quarterback to win big. Without one, you’re hoping for extraordinary circumstances to play out in your favor.

Still, free agency is historically a poor way to build a franchise, and spending lavishly on a player halfway through his career is a foolish endeavor. Cousins will top the market, and someone will cut a gigantic check before trotting him out as the presumed savior.

Just remember that while the gamble may feel necessary, it doesn’t mean that answers will have been found come September.