Philly Front Office

I don’t play fantasy football anymore and I don’t gamble, so what the hell am I supposed to do with the rest of my Sunday when it’s not Eagles time? Encourage pain upon my enemies of course and look to sell their bones! Here is your Eagles focused rooting guide for the weekly NFL slate:

Sunday Morning

• Minnesota Vikings at (officially) Cleveland Browns in London, England at 9:30a
  • Sunday morning football when you have kids and are up at 6:30 regardless??? Sign me up! This is going to be a laugher. No, not because the Vikings are going to win, but because Carson Wentz is going to be running for his life. Myles Garrett may threaten Derrick Thomas’s single game sack record. I’m only half joking.
  • I’m on the fence about this one. As much as the Browns losing fits the narrative and helps them get to the trade deadline, the Vikings continuing to flounder because of their QB situation is not only funny, but might lead them to start selling too. If they lose here, things get dicey quick with the Eagles, Chargers, and Lions coming before the trade deadline. Things don’t get easier from there either thanks to their tough division and meetings with the Ravens, Commanders and Seahawks. Isaiah Rodgers reunion anyone???

Eagles Postgame Week 4: Why Are You So Upset?

1PM Games

• Las Vegas Raiders at Indianapolis Colts
  • I do not believe for a second that the Colts and Danny Dimes are any good, but I am all for rubbing it in on Giants fans. With this division being so terrible, they do have the inside track to making a surprise playoff run though. At the very least, I do not expect them to sell at the deadline. The more distance they can put between themselves and the Texans the better. I want them to trade Danielle Hunter
  • The Raiders stink. Just full stop stink. I’m not sure what Pete Carroll was doing not only coming back but insisting on Geno Smith as his QB. Anyway, they are in the tank and getting worse. I have been hyping the Michael Mayer train for weeks now, but it’s time to figure out who else on this team might be of use. As much as I would like to have Maxx Crosby, he’s not moving anywhere with his new contract.
• New York Giants at New Orleans Saints
  • I love the Giants overconfidence right now, ready to crown Jaxson Dart thanks to his not bad play against the Chargers and now against the Saints. Without Nabors though, things could get rough since he does not have a safety blanket. The Giants would probably never trade with the Eagles, but a loss here would at least start to jar loose one of their pass rushers.
  • Keep the losses coming in New Orleans. 2 games against Carolina and one against the Titans might be their best bet at a victory all year if they can’t get to Dart. It’s too bad Chase Young isn’t playing in this one, he is someone who should be n the trade block.
• Dallas Cowboys at New York Jets
  • It is kind of hard not to feel bad for the Jets. They are like an old divorcee whose kids don’t even text him on his birthday anymore. There’s no life here at all. It’s time to quietly tank now. Collect your wins against Carolina and New Orleans and settle into the #3 or 4 pick in the draft. Sell off anything that you can, especially Jermaine Johnson
  • Oh Dallas. A tie against your old boyfriend? Delightful! They are currently 1-2-1 which basically means they lose all tiebreakers to everyone the rest of the year. Well, except the Packers. Expect them to start feeling like they got themselves back on track because they play the Jets and Panthers, but this is still a bad defense and an offense run by a QB you shouldn’t trust. They will be just good enough this season to not go anywhere.
• Miami Dolphins at Carolina Panthers
  • The Dolphins won last week, but things really went from bad to worse. Tyreek Hill is done for the season, which means his chances of getting traded are done too. Mike McDaniel may have been coaching for his job last week. If he loses this week, he’s done. Bradley Chubb, Jaelan Phillips, and Minkah Fitzpatrick should all be gone by November 4th if this team knows what’s good for it (they do not).
• Houston Texans at Baltimore Ravens
  • Are the Ravens toast??? I don’t think so. I wrote earlier in the week that their first 6 weeks were some of the worst matchups possible, but the schedule really opens up after their bye week. Even if they lose without Lamar this week, they won’t be looking to sell off anything. If anything, they should be looking to buy.
  • Now the Texans on the other hand, that’s different. If they fail to beat the Ravens without Jackson and with the rest of their injuries, their season is on life support. Will Anderson is going to get a huge extension this offseason so don’t expect him to be traded, but Danielle Hunter should be on everyone’s mind. He’s the prize of the deadline to me.

The Ravens Will Be Fine and other NFL Scheduling Answers

4PM Games

• Tennessee Titans at Arizona Cardinals
  • The Titans are not watchable right now, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have talent. DT Jeffery Simmons is killing it right now and probably should move at the deadline, but not to the Eagles. L’Jarius Sneed and Roger McCreary on the other hand, they could be interesting in our secondary.
  • The Cardinals are just about the most average team possible. They won close games against bad teams Carolina and New Orleans, they lost close games to good teams SF and Seattle. They will probably win a close one this week then lose a close one to Indy next week. I have Budda Baker on my list of possible trade targets, but they will never move him. They are kind of just…there.
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Seattle Seahawks
  • This is easily the game of the week which doubles as one of the farthest flights possible in the league (for anyone who cares about such scheduling oddities). Both teams are in the race for the NFCs best record, but since the Eagles already have the tie breaker over the Bucs because of last week, let’s go for them this week. It’s really that simple.
  • Just because the Seahawks are good doesn’t mean they won’t be sellers at the deadline. They have a glut at DB and might look to trade one of my favorites Riq Woolen. He has not been good this year and doesn’t have a contract for next year, but he is a 6’4″ CB who is fast as all hell and has played at an elite level before. I would love to get him with Uncle Vic.
• Detroit Lions at Cincinatti Bengals
  • The Lions are our chief rivals in the NFC. We need them to lose. Unfortunately, there is absolutely no chance they lose this game to the Bengals. They do have Detroit and Tampa the next 2 games though.
  • I have my eyes firmly on the Bengals in terms of a trade target. They are 2-2 but will likely lose their next 3 games since they do not have a QB. Maybe go wildcat? Anyway, keep an eye on Dax Hill, Myles Murphy, and Trey Hendrickson obviously.
• Washington Commanders at Los Angeles Chargers
  • Jayden Daniels is back this week but he might not have anyone to throw to. Terry McLaurin is still out, Noah Brown is out, and Deebo Samuel hasn’t yet practiced this week. Chargers have a good chance of knocking them out especially considering Washington’s secondary stinks.
  • I really don’t like Justin Herbert, but he should thrive against a rough Washington Defense. We need him to run up the score. The only problem is that he keeps losing linemen. LT Joe Alt went down last week and likely will not play this week. If that happens, old friend Mekhi Becton moves over to LT leaving them with a hole at guard. This is the time for Herbert to earn his money…which he probably won’t.

NFL Trade Deadline Primer Week 4: Pre Extension Targets

Sunday Night

• New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills
  • Buffalo’s early season cake walk continues with the 2-2 Pats. Buffalo should be coasting into at least a 7-0 record by the time they have to face the Chiefs in a few weeks. As much as I would like them to lose before then, their schedule is just too easy.
  • New England lost to the Raiders. That’s just unforgivable. I can’t take them seriously with that hanging over them and no good wins. They also do not have much to trade. Most of their older talent, they just signed this offseason. Their younger guys aren’t going anywhere.

Monday Night

• Kansas City Chiefs at Jacksonville Jaguars
  • Are the 3-1 Jaguars for real??? No. No, they are not. They have difficult matchups in 3 of the next 4 weeks before the deadline, but I don’t think that will be enough to get them to start trading. I would love to get one of their pass rushers, but I don’t think that will happen in-season, especially within this trash division.
  • KC needs this win too much. Yes, they beat the Ravens last week, but they need to start showing off against bad teams again. They have the Lions next week in KC, so they can’t be staring down the barrel of 2-4 by letting an easy one against Jacksonville get by them.

That’s it for Week 5. There are not too many good matchups this week, just Washington vs LA and Tampa vs Seattle. At least both are in the 4pm hour after the Eagles game. Another bonus is that the Phillies play on Saturday and Monday, leaving our Sunday just with its regular lethal dose of anxiety. That will last all of 4 days. Both teams play on Thursday, probably at the same time. Yikes.