In Roob’s Eagles Observations: Could we see Jeremiah Trotter Jr. replace Nakobe Dean? originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
It’s time for Roob’s 10 Random Eagles Observations, and that means we’re about to discuss Nakobe Dean’s future, Josh Sweat’s resurgence and everything you’ve ever wanted to know about Eagles running backs Bosh Pritchard and Clarence Peaks.
1. Replacing Avonte Maddox with Cooper DeJean in the slot paid immediate dividends and proved that Vic Fangio won’t be shy about putting the best 11 guys out on the field, no matter how long they’ve been here. Which brings us to linebacker. Nakobe Dean has not played well. Or more accurately, he’s been wildly inconsistent. He’s been very up and down, and the missed tackles and coverage breakdowns are concerning. For every positive play, we’re seeing a negative one. We all saw Dean bite badly on that Deshaun Watson pump fake Sunday, and Fangio agreed that Dean is struggling when he’s forced to make plays in space: “Some of those, particularly with Deshaun Watson in space, he’s got a long list of guys that have missed him in space. So it’s a tough duty. I do think he can do better, not bite on the pump fake, etc. But those are hard tackles, and it’s definitely an area that he needs to improve on.” Dean had a good training camp and earned the starting middle linebacker job ahead of Devin White. But he’s been disappointing so far. And I do wonder how close Fangio is to giving Jeremiah Trotter Jr. a shot and seeing what the rookie can do. You don’t want to put a young kid out there if he’s not ready, and Trotter’s size is a concern. But he has the confidence and presence of a veteran and in camp he was able to use his instincts to make up for being 6-foot, 225 pounds. Usual caveat with Pro Football Focus – you always take their rankings with a grain of salt. But out of 86 linebackers who’ve played at least 100 snaps, he ranks 83rd so far overall – 80th in coverage, 71st in tackling, 74th in pass pressure. Now, Dean hasn’t played a ton of football – nine career starts so far. He could get better, more consistent. He’s still a young, 23-year-old with limited experience. But he has to start improving soon or it wouldn’t be surprising if Fangio makes a switch.
2. Jeff Stoutland is big on 1-for-1 changes when one of his guys gets hurt. He rarely will start moving pieces around on the o-line. But with Jordan Mailata expected to miss multiple weeks with that hamstring injury, I would consider swinging Mekhi Becton out to left tackle and going with Tyler Steen at right guard. Fred Johnson is a decent two-way backup tackle, but if you want your five best guys out there, that would be Becton, Landon Dickerson, Cam Jurgens, Steen and Lane Johnson.
3A. With Saquon Barkley returning to MetLife to face his former team, I was wondering what the most rushing yards is by a former Eagle running back against the Eagles. LeSean McCoy had 74 yards for the Bills in 2015, Ricky Watters had 81 yards for the Seahawks in 2001, and James Allen – who had been in training camp with the Eagles in 1997 – had 87 yards for the Bears at the Vet in 2000. But the record is actually held by Clarence Peaks, who had been the Eagles’ 1st-round pick – seventh overall – in 1967. Peaks spent his first seven years with the Eagles, rushing for 2,927 yards with a 3.7 average and also catching 175 passes for 1,658 yards. His 4,585 scrimmage yards are still 11th-most by an Eagles running back. He finished his career with the Steelers and on Oct. 25, 1964, he ran 11 times for 101 yards in a 34-10 Eagles win at Pitt Stadium (which was demolished in 1999). That was only the second 100-yard game of Peaks’ career and his only one with the Steelers. Peaks remains the only player to rush for 100 yards against the Eagles after playing for the Eagles.
3B. What about the most rushing yards by an Eagle against his former team? Nineteen of the Eagles’ 21 all-time leading rushers began their career with the Eagles, but there was a running back named Bosh Pritchard who played one game for the Cleveland Rams in 1942 before joining the Eagles. Pritchard stayed with the Eagles through 1951, although he missed the 1943, 1944 and 1945 seasons while serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II. But he rejoined the Eagles in 1946 and was a key player on the 1948 and 1949 NFL Championship teams, netting 1,460 scrimmage yards and 11 touchdowns during those two seasons, rushing for 67 yards in the 1948 NFL Championship Game against the Chicago Cardinals at Shibe Park and leading the NFL with 6.0 yards per carry in 1949. On Nov. 6, 1949, the Eagles beat the Rams – Pritchard’s former team – 38-14 at Shibe Park to improve to 6-1, and Pritchard ran 13 times for 99 yards and also caught a 34-yard TD pass from Tommy Thompson. And that’s the most rushing yards ever by a Philadelphia Eagle against his former team. LeGarrette Blount came close with 90 yards against the Patriots in Super Bowl LII.
4. The Eagles’ current streak of four straight games with 21 or fewer points is their longest since a four-game streak late in 2020 – Doug Pederson’s final year – and matches the longest in meaningful games since an eight-game streak in 2005. If they fail to score more than 21 points against the Giants, their five-game streak would be their 2nd-longest in the last 25 years. Their 72 points since Week 2
5. Josh Sweat has finally started to look like his old self the last couple weeks. After going 11 straight games without a sack, he’s got one in each of the last couple games as well as two tackles for loss, three quarterback hits and six tackles. I never question Sweat’s effort, but the lack of production was getting concerning. The last two weeks have been his best back-to-back games since the Jets and Dolphins a year ago. Sweat doesn’t have a contract beyond this year and it’s fair to assume his value has plunged since his 11-sack season in 2022. Sweat is in his seventh season but still only 27 years old, and if he can string together a few more productive games I wouldn’t be surprised if Howie Roseman tries to get him signed at a budget price. If Nolan Smith and Bryce Huff don’t give the Eagles much as edge rushers and B.G. retires, then what? The Eagles will need to bring Sweat back and if they can do it at a reasonable number they should.
6. Daniel Jones has only thrown one interception over 112 pass attempts in his last four starts against the Eagles
7. In his 61 career starts, the Eagles are 18-6 when Jalen Hurts doesn’t commit a turnover and 21-16 when he does. They’re 16-2 the last 18 times Hurts doesn’t either fumble or throw an interception. Hurts didn’t commit a turnover in 19 of his first 37 career starts. Since then, he’s only had five games without a turnover in 24 starts, including Sunday vs. the Browns. Last time Hurts went back-to-back games without a turnover was the 2022 conference semifinal win over the Falcons and NFC Championship Game against the Vikings.
8. From 2019 through 2022, Miles Sanders averaged 5.0 yards per carry, 4th-highest among running backs with at least 500 carries (behind Nick Chubb, Tony Pollard and Jonathan Taylor). Since 2023, Sanders has averaged 3.3 yards per carry, tied for worst among running backs with at least 150 carries (tied with Kareem Hunt and Dameon Pierce).
9. The last eight games in which the Eagles had a 10-point lead, they blew the lead. Last year, they led the Jets 14-3 and lost 20-14, they led the Dolphins 17-3 before Miami tied the game (which the Eagles eventually won 31-17), they led Washington 38-24 and won 38-31, they led the Cowboys 28-17 and won 38-23, they led the Seahawks 10-0 and lost 20-17, they led the Giants 20-3 and won by 33-25, they led the Cards 21-6 and lost 35-31 and on Sunday they led the Browns 10-0 and won by four. Last time they led by 10 points and never lost the double-digit lead was the first Tampa game last year, when the Eagles took a 13-3 lead on a Jake Elliott field goal just before halftime, scored the first 12 points of the second half and led 25-3 before a late Bucs touchdown made it 25-11.
10. DeSean Jackson had six seasons with 20 or more catches and a 17.0 average or higher. The only players in NFL history with more are Hall of Famer James Lofton (10) and should-be Hall of Famers Harold Jackson (8) and Stanley Morgan (7).
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