Iggles Blitz

by Tommy Lawlor

Injuries Starting

Posted September 24th, 2025 | 3 Comments »

Teams have been dealing with a lot of injuries this season. The Eagles had been pretty lucky in that department, but the luck finally ran out.

Smith had arm issues this summer so this isn’t a surprise. One of the problems with going to the Super Bowl is that players are in more games and then have a shorter period to get healthy for the next season.

Smith is the notable loss. Bennett and Cooper are backups so losing them isn’t as big a deal. Still, Bennett was the top veteran backup at CB. Cooper was purely a role player.

There are other players who are banged up.

The Eagles need Baun on the field. They do have good depth at ILB with Jeremiah Trotter Jr and Smael Mondon. Lane Johnson still isn’t 100 percent. He suffered a stinger on Sunday. Johnson is hoping to play on Sunday. Adoree Jackson has a groin injury and didn’t practice. With him down, Kelee Ringo will have a chance to play.

Injuries hit every year. You just hope they don’t overwhelm you (see 2020 for that). The Eagles have a lot of talent and a deep overall roster so they should be able to work past this.

With Nolan Smith out for a month, there is a good chance Za’Darius Smith will start in his place. Za’Darius has 96 career starts so he should be ready for the opportunity. Josh Uche will be #3 in the rotation. This will give Azeez Ojulari a chance to finally get on the field.

The Eagles were tested last year. Here are some of the key guys who missed time.

Jalen Hurts
AJ Brown
DeVonta Smith
Britain Covey
Dallas Goedert
Lane Johnson
Jordan Mailata
Brandon Graham
Nakobe Dean
Darius Slay

If you’re a good enough team, you find a way to overcome injuries. The Eagles did that with Lane Johnson out on Sunday. This week will present another challenge.

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There was some interesting news on Tuesday. The Texans released CJ Gardner-Johnson. That was a bit of a shocker. He started for them in the first three games, but this move was more about off-the-field than how he played.

CJGJ is a talented player. He can be a solid teammate, but needs things to be going well. When the going gets tough, it brings out the worst in him. No team has shown interest in him so far. Would the Eagles have interest in bringing him back? Nick Sirianni was asked about this at his press conference. He gave an indirect answer, focusing on the fact he likes the safety room as it is currently comprised.

You wouldn’t want to give CJGJ his job back and bench Drew Mukuba. Reed Blankenship is someone they want on the field. You don’t want to bring CJGJ back as a role player. That would not bring out the best in him. If there is an injury down the road, give CJGJ a call. Sticking with the current guys makes sense for now.

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Crazy Day

Posted September 22nd, 2025 | 3 Comments »

Games like Sunday’s insane comeback win over the Rams can lead to a lot of bad analysis and takeaways. Games like that are an anomaly. Neither team should make any sweeping conclusions.

Let’s start with the one that bugs me the most.

The Eagles were awful in the first half. They finished with 33 yards. Give the Rams defense some credit for that, but also give the Eagles coaches and players a lot of the blame. They stunk. That’s not happening again. The Rams could have a halftime lead on the Eagles in a future game, but they will not shut down the offense to that extent. Like I said, anomaly.

Someone on TV made the point that if the Rams just clean up the blocked FGs they will win the game next time. Ugh. Again, you can’t count on the next game playing out like that. Such bad analysis. If this was a game of high level execution, that’s different. This was anything but normal.

That is about as crazy a stat as you’ll ever see.

So how about things from the Eagles perspective? I’ve seen some people who think the offense is now fixed after the second half performance. Maybe. But not for sure. The Eagles played a lot of 11 personnel and went up-tempo. They can certainly try that next week and it might work. But there is a sense of urgency that comes when you’re down 26-7. I don’t know if the offense will play the same way next week even if they try to do the same things.

Being down big also gives you a sense of freedom. If you make a mistake, big deal. You’re getting your ass kicked. We see teams do this all the time. They dig a hole and then start playing with more confidence. The Eagles kept that confidence when the game got close and then kept it as they took the lead. That is encouraging. Still, counting on anything from Sunday would be fool’s gold.

If there is a key conclusion to take away from yesterday’s game it is that Sean McVay still has limitations as a coach. He is a brilliant play-caller. He seems to do a great job with culture. He adapts to personnel very well. But game management is still an issue. McVay told the FOX broadcasters he was going to be aggressive. Oops.

McVay went for it on a single fourth down (which got stuffed). With his team up 16-7 late in the first half, the Rams got to the Eagles 15-yard line. They faced 4th & 3. McVay settled for the FG. Huh? You already have a two-possession lead. The Eagles offense can’t do anything. Go for it. If the play is blown up, you still have a good chance to get the ball back near midfield.

I get that some people go overboard with analytics and being aggressive. They want to go for it on almost every fourth down. There is room for nuance. McVay is too cautious. He’s got a star QB. He’s got a pair of stud receivers. He has a good defense. McVay has the pieces to convert fourth downs or then to deal with them if they do get stuffed.

Are you playing to win or are you playing to extend the lead? Eagles fans should be thankful McVay isn’t better at this part of the game. The Rams are really good even without having some strategic advantages. McVay was 0 for 1 on fourth down. The Eagles went 4 for 5. Advantage Eagles.

Even when Nick Sirianni went for it on 4th & 6 and the play didn’t work, I think that helped the Eagles to stay aggressive. Sirianni didn’t pull his foot off the gas. The more you go for it, the more confident your players become in those situations. Sirianni usually has a great feel for when to go for it. McVay might be a better overall coach, but I definitely want Sirianni making the choices when the game is on the line.

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The Eagles made a move on Monday, claiming WR/RS Xavier Gipson and releasing OG Kenyon Green.

Tank Bigsby struggled with the Rams crazy kickoffs on Sunday. Gipson gives them another option. Karty’s KOs are a real weapon for LA, as the Eagles found out the hard way.

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