Iggles Blitz

by Tommy Lawlor

Let’s Get Sneaky

Posted July 21st, 2026 | No Comments »

The Tush Push gave the Eagles a definitive advantage in some previous years. It wasn’t nearly as effective in 2025, for a couple of reasons. Landon Dickerson and Cam Jurgens, two of the key components, weren’t healthy. Also, teams really studied the play and came up with some unique strategies to try to stop it. A once dominant play became merely good.

Should the Eagles stop using the Tush Push? That’s debatable, but if they do go away from it they don’t have to go far. They simply would go to just a normal QB sneak.

Ryan Paganetti and Nick Underhill have a new football show and spent the first episode focused on the QB sneak and what a high percentage play it is.

Ryan tells a few Eagles stories and provides great numbers and info. You’ll come away knowing more about the QB sneak (or TE sneak or RB sneak) than you ever would have imagined. Great information.

It will be interesting to see if the team goes back to the Tush Push this season now that Dickerson and Jurgens appear to be healthy. Or do they pivot and go to more of a traditional sneak. Heck, you can get creative. Ryan tells the story of Chip Kelly using a T-formation look at UCLA and all three guys went forward at the snap and pushed the QB.

I guess we’ll find out in September what the Eagles plan to do.

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Speaking of Jurgens, PE.com had a piece on him.

“You get surgery and then you don’t have any of that offseason to train and you’re just behind the 8-ball,” Jurgens said. “I felt like that throughout the season. And just every week I was trying to get better and get the body right, but it was like that at the start.”

Coming off a type of season where his body was always behind schedule, this offseason has been a “fresh, clean slate” for Jurgens as he has been able to train and heal in preparation for Training Camp later this month.

“I always find myself just thinking in perspective like, ‘Hey, how do I feel today versus how I felt a week ago or a month ago or where was I at a year ago,'” Jurgens said about his health progress. “And it’s just so much better.”

“We have so many things in this building. We’ve got red light, cold tubs, and so you’re just finding ways to help your body.”

Getting Jurgens healthy will make a world of difference for the OL and overall offense. Give him credit for gutting it out last year, but he really struggled to be effective. This season should be very different.

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Interesting stuff here from Mina.

Lemon does check a lot of the boxes that were an issue last year. He could end up being a significant part of the offense this season.

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If the Eagles are interested in adding a veteran safety, they have a new option.

Whitehead has 11 career INTs so he’s more of a playmaker than Marcus Epps. He’s also physical and a good run defender.

We’ll see if the Eagles talk to him or stick with the guys they already have in place. Whitehead is 29 and has 101 career starts.

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Sean Mannion is hungry to prove himself and I think that is important. I have done a good amount of hiring in my day job and people that are hungry have succeeded at a pretty high level. They are driven to succeed. The NFL requires more than desire, but that is still an important trait. The more I hear about Mannion, the more I like him.

Mannion’s offense will be based on the McVay/Shanahan system. Here is an interesting video that shows a breakdown of a run play and all the subtlety involved in getting the blocking assignments correct.

Run blocking by Eagles skill players wasn’t good last year. That must change this season for plays like this to work.

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Changes

Posted July 19th, 2026 | No Comments »

Modern sports are all about change, both on and off the field. Coaches and GMs come and go. Players come and go. Heck, this is even true at the college level these days. Changes, changes, changes.

Teams that handle change well can have continued success. I talked about Howie Roseman’s ability to replace O-linemen in my last post. Reuben Frank went a step further, talking about Roseman’s ability to replace star players at various positions.

But the over-riding trend is that Roseman knows exactly when it’s time to move on from veterans. And he’s been remarkably successful replacing the stars who do leave.

That’s the only way a team can have this kind of sustained success and keep winning year after year. The Eagles and Bills are the only teams to reach the postseason in each of the last five years, and the only way that happens in a salary-cap era is if the G.M. has the ability to replenish the roster with elite talent year after year.

Roob goes through the numbers and talks about guys who leave not having as much success post-Eagles. I didn’t realize how few players had success after leaving.

Handling change goes beyond the GM. It takes a whole organizational commitment. You need the college scouting staff to find young talent to replenish the roster. You need good pro scouts to make sure free agency is another good source of outside talent. Ownership has to be willing to spend money, on both staff and players. You also need the coaching staff to embrace young and/or new players.

The Eagles check all of these boxes.

Some people are concerned this offseason because the Eagles lost AJ Brown, Jaelan Phillips, Nakobe Dean, Reed Blankenship and Jahan Dotson. Roseman anticipated the players moving on and had contingency plans for them. That doesn’t mean all the moves will work as planned. Roseman has been around long enough to know there will be misses. Andre Dillard didn’t work out as Jason Peters replacement. Bryce Huff didn’t pan out as a difference-making pass rusher.

You can’t be afraid to miss.

You just keep looking for answers.

Jordan Mailata turned out to be the star LT of the future. He was All-Pro in 2024 and is regarded as one of the best OTs in the league.

Jalyx Hunt looks like the pass rusher they hoped Huff would be.

Hunt is an ascending player who could become a star if he continues to grow his game from where it is now.

Roseman didn’t want to lose some of these guys, but you can’t afford to keep everyone. Roseman knew the financial realities involved and prepared accordingly. We’ll have to wait and see how these changes pan out. Based on Roseman’s track record, the Eagles should be in good shape.

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Did you watch the 3rd place WC game between France and England? It turned out to be far more compelling than I anticipated. Jimmy Bama as well.

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This is good news.

Lemon has a chance to be an impact rookie so him having a healthy summer and getting a lot of practice reps is critical.

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