Good morning, Eagles fans! The Birds are back in the building looking to put last Sunday's overtime loss in the rear-view mirror before a consequential matchup against the Minnesota Vikings. The team will speak with the media at 1:20 p.m., and defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz and offensive coordinator Mike Groh will hold press conferences starting at 1:45 p.m. which we will bring to you live. Here's what you need to know in today's Morning Roundup presented by Microsoft.
1. Getting Back To Eagles Football
The Eagles sit at 2-2 with a pivotal game against the Minnesota Vikings approaching. This Sunday's game could be a turning point in the season as the Eagles search for their 2018 identity in the early portion of the season.
Head coach Doug Pederson is not worried. There is a lot to be figured out but the Eagles are talented and have plenty of football to be played. Eagles' Insider Dave Spadaro broke down the strengths and weaknesses of this Eagles team and highlights what Pederson had to say yesterday:
"I feel like we could easily be 0-4 and I feel like we could be 4-0. It's just a matter of a couple of plays," Pederson said. "Honestly, I think it's exactly where we expected ourselves to be and at the same time, we've got a lot of things to fix. The exciting part of it is that there's still three-quarters to go of this football season. Obviously, nobody makes the postseason in September.
"You try to figure out who you are as a football team usually in that first month."
2. Jenkins Is Key To Community Betterment
Eagles' safety Malcolm Jenkins received a distinguished honor yesterday for his work in the community with the Malcolm Jenkins Foundation. Jenkins was awarded the key to the City of Camden as well as several other commendations in a ceremony at Camden City Hall.
In May, Jenkins helped provide hundreds of families with 25 pounds of food, 10 pounds of essential items, as well as health and wellness products in an event at a local baptist church. His foundation also offers Camden residents access to health-related services including screenings for blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, asthma, eye and dental check-ups, GED classes, job training, and veteran/youth services:
"I've received a ton of awards over my lifetime in sports, but this is one that's a huge honor for me," Jenkins said as he addressed the crowd. "As I look into this room, this is what really inspires me because the majority of people who are here are the ones who do the work day in and day out, and I have the ability to just bring it together."
3. Eagle Eye: Struggles On Offense Begin On First Down
In the Eagles' 26-23 overtime loss in Tennessee, the offense had trouble finding a rhythm often including on important drives late in the game. Inefficiency on first down, setting up second and third downs with long yardages, forced to the offense to be one-dimensional at times have trouble converting. Fran Duffy went through the tape and broke down the offensive execution in his Eagle Eye column:
The Eagles were one of the best third-down teams in football in 2017. Right now, they rank 17th in the league, but on Sunday, they were just 5-of-15 on the day. Wentz completed just 4 of 11 passes, was sacked once, and posted a quarterback rating of 89.2. Why were the numbers so bad? Look at this stat.
On 15 third-down snaps on Sunday, the Eagles needed to gain an average of 9.67 yards for a first down. That means they were looking at third-and-10. That's not a winning formula, and it certainly impacted the Eagles in this game.
