October 03, 2017
Are power rankings completely dumb and meaningless? Yes. Yes, they are. However, personally speaking, whenever I see them, I click. And now that I've sucked you in with promises of many power rankings, you'll read it and like it.
Here's where people around the country have the Birds ranked:
The Eagles have allowed the fewest points in the first three quarters of games this season but have allowed the second-most in fourth quarters. Philadelphia has three wins, but the past two were by a combined five points. If the Eagles can tighten up in the fourth quarter, they could start winning more comfortably.
#JimmySays: Yep, 52 points allowed in the fourth quarter, 40 in the other three quarters combined.
High ranking for the Eagles. However, with what we know at this point in the season, how can Philadelphia not be here? Doug Pederson's outfit is tied for the best record in the NFC, leads the East and seems to have fixed the glaring weakness that every fan, blog and LinkedIn piece was fixated on during the preseason: the ground attack. In Week 3, the Eagles ran the football 39 times -- the most in three years. Against the Chargers, Philadelphia eclipsed that total while piling up 214 yards rushing. Glad the coaching staff took my advice and actually started using Leggie Blount.
#JimmySays: The Eagles are a promising football team that is getting better, but they aren't one of the top three teams in the league yet.
They won a tough road game at Los Angeles with a bunch of injuries on defense. That's impressive.
#JimmySays: Uh oh, 3rd again? A new challenge for Doug Pederson will be to transition from drowning out the negative attention, get his players to ignore to the accolades as well.
The Eagles have a pretty deep offense. Three backs got 10 or more carries on Sunday. Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith had 38 yards combined, but Zach Ertz and Nelson Agholor had solid games. The Eagles lead the defending NFC East champion Cowboys by a game, and it doesn’t seem like they’re going away anytime soon.
#JimmySays: That's a point that maybe has been overlooked by some. The Eagles are indeed getting contributions from a wider assortment of players than they have in the past.
It was a nice bonus for the Eagles to have that home-away-from-home game at StubHub Center. They already have beaten the Redskins and Giants and are the early front-runner in the NFC East. Few expected that. But with the Giants winless and the Cowboys not living up to expectations, their chances cannot be discounted.
#JimmySays: It really shouldn't be a surprise anymore that the NFC East is wide open every year. There hasn't been a repeat NFC East champ since 2004.
Carson Wentz may get some help from a strong running game after all, as the combination of LeGarrette Blount and Wendell Smallwood look ideal. The Eagles will need to hold up somehow defensively as long as Fletcher Cox and Ronald Darby are out.
#JimmySays: The Eagles are better than the Bills and Rams, who are listed ahead of them here.
Run game has improved every week, culminating with 214 yards Sunday. Looks like LeGarrette Blount has settled in after zero carries two weeks ago.
#JimmySays: I think eighth is a fair spot, for the record, That's about where I would have them as well.
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