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NFL Week 7 picks, schedule, odds, injuries, fantasy tips
Eagles (3-2) at Giants (2-4)
Eagles storyline to watch: It’s the Saquon Barkley game. The running back returns to MetLife Stadium for the first time as an Eagle after six years as the marquee player for the Giants. He has been as advertised for Philadelphia so far with 482 yards and five total touchdowns. He’s unsure of what the environment will be like toward him but said whatever it is, he hopes “it gives me a little extra juice” to help his team win. — Tim McManus
Giants storyline to watch: The Giants’ run defense has been a problem this season, allowing 5.2 yards per carry. Only the Bills have allowed more (5.3). Defensive coordinator Shane Bowen noted that with Barkley it’s about avoiding the home run. They’ll have their work cut out for them in this revenge game. — Jordan Raanan
Stat to know: Eagles QB Jalen Hurts has 43 career rushing touchdowns, which is tied with Hall of Famer Steve Young for the third most in NFL history.
Bold prediction: Giants QB Daniel Jones will set a season high for passing yards. Jones’ highest yardage game (281) was against the Cowboys in Week 4.The Eagles rank just 26th in EPA per dropback, and I can see New York falling behind and playing catchup through the air. — Walder
Fantasy X factor: Giants WR Wan’Dale Robinson. He continues to be a reliable target for Jones. Robinson has seen eight or more targets in four straight games and has scored 10-plus fantasy points in each of those contests, including two with 16 or more. See Week 7 rankings. — Moody
Betting nugget: This is the 16th straight meeting the Eagles have been favored in, including the playoffs, which is the longest streak by either team in this matchup in the Super Bowl era. Read more.
Matchup must-reads: How Barkley went from ‘Giant for life’ to Eagles
Bleeding Green Nation
Eagles-Giants Final Injury Report: Jordan Mailata to injured reserve, Darius Slay questionable
Week 7 game status updates.
The Eagles ruled three players OUT: Jordan Mailata, Dallas Goedert, and Byron Young.
The Eagles officially placed Mailata on injured reserve, which means he’ll automatically miss the team’s next four games. He’s eligible to return in Week 11 at the earliest.
Goedert’s absence means the Eagles are currently down to two tight ends on the active roster: Grant Calcaterra and Jack Stoll.
Young was unexpectedly added to the injury report on Thursday. The Eagles might also put him on IR to free up a roster spot
Bleeding Green Nation
Eagles opposing player to stop, Week 7 edition
New York Giants’ defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence is a problem. The 6-foot-4, 340-pound game-changer is a problem for the entire NFL. He is second in the NFL in sacks with seven, half a sack behind Aidan Hutchinson’s NFL-leading 7.5. And he will be a big problem for the Eagles this Sunday at 1 p.m. at MetLife Stadium.
In nine career games against the Eagles, Lawrence has 13 tackles and 15 combined tackles, which for Lawrence is second lifetime behind the 38 combined tackles he has had against Washington.
Lawrence will be a lot to handle for Eagles’ center Cam Jurgens, left guard Landon Dickerson and right guard Mekhi Becton. Lawrence is huge, though what makes him highly unique is his quick footwork for someone so large. As a team, the Giants lead the NFL with 26 sacks.
To keep Lawrence off Jalen Hurts, they will need to double team him, and be willing to make a sacrifice somewhere on the offensive front, where someone will be counted on to block one-on-one without help.
Big Blue View
Giants’ WR Malik Nabers ready to get back to football
Nabers pushes back against concert criticism, says he is “ready to go”
“I’m ready to go,” Nabers said on Friday, the first time he has spoken to media since suffering the concussion Sept. 26 against the Dallas Cowboys.
Nabers was, of course, asked about the reaction to attending a Travis Scott concert at MetLife Stadium last week while he was still in the league’s concussion protocol and unable to play.
“That’s my business,” Nabers said. “What I do outside this facility has nothing to do with what the media thinks or whatever they got going on, so that’s my business. So, I’m going to keep that in the house.”
Nabers pushed back against those who theorized that he risked setting his recovery back due to the bright lights and pounding noise from the concert.
“If they research about what caused the concussion, what makes it worse on the Internet, if they say it’s the lights, hearing, then that’s on them,” Nabers said. “I didn’t face anything with the lights. They [the Giants medical staff] asked me if I had a problem with the lights. I told them no. Having problems with the sound, I told them no.
“So, Isaiah [Simmons] asked me any kind of questions that I needed, if my head was going to be hurting while it was going to be loud, the lights, and I said no. I said I’ve been playing loud music since after the concussion in the car. I go out with the lights on. I play the game with lights. So, I didn’t have anything with lights. It wasn’t making my head hurt. The sound wasn’t making my head hurt, so I was fine.”
Nabers understands the spotlight that he is under, on and off the field.
“I’m going to always be myself. That’s the life that I chose to live. That’s what comes with the job,” Nabers said. “But at the end of the day, I still got my own life. I still got my own personal life. So, I’m going to continue to have my own personal life. I’m going to still continue to watch my back wherever I go, but I’m going to still continue to have my personal life.”
Big Blue View
Giants-Eagles: What to expect when the Giants have the ball
Can the Giants finally score some points at home?
The Eagles’ defense ranks 20th in yards against per game, surrendering 341.4 YPG. The Giants rank tenth in that category at 314 YPG. The Eagles’ defense surrendered 22.4 points per game, 14th in the league. The Giants rank ninth overall, surrendering 20.2 PPG.
The Eagles allow 123 rushing yards per game and 218.4 passing yards per game. The Giants are better in each category. The Eagles have only 11 sacks on the season, placing them in the bottom third of the league. The Giants lead the league with 26 sacks.
Philadelphia blitzes at a 25.1% rate and gets pressure on just 17.1% of their opponent’s dropbacks. Their blitz rate is middle of the pack, and their pressure rate is 25th in the league. It’s safe to say the Eagles’ defense is not a vaunted unit that helped them earn an NFC title two years ago.
Sweat leads the team with 21 pressures. Sensational second-year defensive lineman Jalen Carter is second on the team with 18 pressures. No one else on the team has double-digit pressures, and no one has more than two sacks. Sweat, linebacker Zack Baun, and IDL Milton Williams have more than one sack.
Blogging the Boys
5 questions and answers surrounding the Cowboys’ short- and long-term future
It feels like the bye week has only brought questions for the Cowboys and no answers.
5) How many of the following will be in Dallas next season? Mike McCarthy, Mike Zimmer, DeMarcus Lawrence, Zack Martin, and Will McClay.
Howman: Will McClay isn’t leaving Dallas. He has the perfect gig right now, getting loads of credit for good draft classes but rarely getting blamed when things go wrong. After that? I don’t know. Lawrence’s contract is up and they just drafted his replacement; Martin hinted at retirement before he started showing his age on the field; and it’s going to take a huge turnaround out of this bye for McCarthy to get a new contract with the way things are going right now. Ditto for Zimmer. If I had to put money on it right now, I’d anticipate they’re both shown the door.
Holleran: Things can always change, but at this moment it’s hard to find any way that Mike McCarthy is still the head coach of this team next season. If that’s the case, there’s about a 99% chance Mike Zimmer will be out the door with him. As for Will McClay, I don’t see him leaving the position he’s in. Yes, the Cowboys’ last two draft classes haven’t been great just yet, but he’s built himself an outstanding reputation with his work over the past decade or so. On the player side of things, I think we are seeing the end of Zack Martin’s time in not just Dallas, but the NFL. I believe the future Hall-of-Famer will retire at season’s end. As for DeMarcus Lawrence, it would be amazing if the Cowboys could keep him, but he’ll likely demand more money than they are willing to pay. If I had to put money on it, I’d say McClay is the only one back in Dallas next year.
Poland: The only one on this list I see here for the foreseeable future is Will McClay. McCarthy and Zimmer always looked as though this was going to be a one-year situation. Lawrence and Martin both look long in the tooth now and like it’s time for them to retire. McClay has been excellent in his role albeit a few hiccups along the way. I’ve spoken to him numerous times and he’s a smart guy and really knows how to talk to the front office to get them seeing things the same way.
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The Athletic (paywall)
When will we see a 70-yard field goal? NFL kickers have gotten so good, it may be this year
Through the first six weeks of the season, we have seen all-time highs in 50-plus-yard field-goal attempts (103), along with makes (77) and conversion rate (74.8 percent). Since 2019, kickers have nearly doubled their attempts from 50-plus (55) and tripled their makes (29) in the opening six weeks.
60-yarders have become more weaponized, too. Since 1960, there have been 40 successful field goals of at least 60 yards. An astonishing 33 of those (82.5 percent) have occurred since 2009, and half have come since 2019.
Dallas Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey, who trains with [John] Carney, has made three from 60-plus since December, including a 65-yarder in Week 3 against the Baltimore Ravens. Aubrey was prepared to attempt a 71-yarder in the regular-season opener against the Cleveland Browns before head coach Mike McCarthy changed his mind — drawing boos from Browns fans who wanted to see Aubrey shatter Justin Tucker’s 66-yard record.
The improvements at the position have started with coaching. [A]thletes at all levels can find private coaches, offseason programs and camps as well as coaches like Carney who can keep them sharp year-round — whether they’re refining their mechanics or trying to stay in shape while circling the free-agent workout circuit.
And then there’s the technology. For starters, kickers can blast their workouts all over social media. That might sound mundane in this day and age, but it’s important for coaches — private, college or professional — who can watch a player with a click and determine whether he’s worth a longer look. That’s exponentially widened the available talent pool. And more specific to in-house tech, kickers have appreciated the chance to slow down the replays of their kicks, frame by frame, to understand where they can find technical improvements.
The individual equipment is wildly superior, too. Kickers used to wear cleats made from kangaroo leather, but they’ve since moved to synthetic leather that doesn’t stretch, feels more lightweight with more support and has a better lace pattern and with the traction to improve grip.
The footballs themselves have also played an integral role. Since the NFL has allowed more time for teams to condition the K-balls — balls only used for kicking — before games, kickers have been able to specify them to their liking.
Like any other position or major sport, players are far superior athletes nowadays.
Nowadays, trainers understand strength work extends far beyond squats and the bench press. Kickers need to work on explosiveness, balance, agility, mobility, flexibility and range of motion. Trainers like Carney ensure their athletes focus on exercises like jumping vertically, laterally and horizontally while mixing in enough plyometrics and hip flexors. Balance is also paramount to performance.
And there’s the recovery aspect. Carney laughed at the notion that they basically had a cold tank and a hot pool. Now, they’ve got compression booths, cryotherapy, float tanks, Theraguns and compression shorts that will increase post-workout circulation while flushing out lactic acids. Add targeted supplements and science-based diets, and athletes have a literal recipe to increasing production.