It’s Tom Brady Week as the man who can’t stop thinking about the “Philly Special” comes to town. The seven-time Super Bowl champion holds a special place in the hearts of Eagles fans, one symbolized best by Brandon Graham’s strip-sack in 2018.
Brady is still going strong at the ripe age of 44 years old. He leads the NFL in passing yards (1,767) this season and his 15 touchdown tosses rank second. But the future Hall of Famer showed up to his post-game press conference on October 10 with a protective wrap on his throwing hand. He was seen icing it on the sideline during Tampa Bay’s 45-17 win.
Is Brady in danger of missing the Week 6 matchup versus the Eagles? It doesn’t appear so. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that the Buccaneers quarterback is dealing with a thumb injury, but he’ll be good to go for kickoff on Thursday, October 14. Perhaps Brady’s hand was sore from overuse after throwing for 411 yards and five touchdowns against Miami.
“In my younger days, I probably would have never showed you guys,” Brady said of his injury, via ESPN’s Jenna Laine. “I’d probably try to keep it a secret. But, I think, at my old age, I don’t care so much. It’s just kind of a football injury, so I’ll do my best to get ready for this game – we’ll see what happens.”
#eaglesnation this one’s for you. #brandongraham ‘s famous strip sack against #tombrady for a win in Super Bowl 52 #nfl
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Nick Sirianni Explains Pass Interference Call
It has been amazingly frustrating to see so many offensive pass interference calls on Nick Sirianni’s team. Remember, the first-year honcho was a wide receivers coach for many years prior to arriving in Philly. You would think crisp route-running and staying away from dumb penalties would be drilled into the players.
THIS COACHING STAFF…..ANOTHER TD TAKEN OF THE BOARD!! ALL GREG WARD HAS TO DO IS HOOK UP THERE AND THERE’S NO PENALTY!! HOW DOES THE SAME ERRORS KEEP HAPPENING? THAT’S A COACHING ISSUE, SIMPLY!! #ADDRESSTHEMISTAKES 🤯🤯🤯
Yet the Eagles have seen five touchdowns erased due to either a receiver stepping out of bounds or setting an illegal pick. It happened again in Week 5 when Greg Ward negated a DeVonta Smith score. Sirianni attempted to explain why during an appearance on SportsRadio 94WIP where he blamed himself.
“I have to do a better job of teaching the techniques,” Sirianni told Morning Show host Angelo Cataldi. “I’ve been teaching the techniques that Greg Ward used yesterday for 12 years now in the NFL. What happened yesterday was the defensive back initiated the contact — but that is hard for the referee to see.”
Quez Watkins Out-Snaps Jalen Reagor
Fans and media had been clamoring for Quez Watkins to see an increased role on offense. The second-year burner from Southern Miss saw his snaps jump up from 43 against Kansas City to 55 versus Carolina. Watkins out-snapped starter Jalen Reagor (47), plus his 53-yard highlight-reel catch proved to be the catalyst to a comeback win.
“I told you before he wasn’t a secret. Big time play, big time player.”
-Hurts on Quez Watkins
“To hit that play, it almost breathed new life into the offense, and it’s alright, ‘Let’s go'” Sirianni told reporters. “And then you get a pass interference [call] and then we get on the goal line and then we sneak it in and get points there and make it a new game. And it felt different after that, and so that was a great play in the game.”
Quez Watkins put the safety in a blender. Phew.
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Eagles Closely Watching Injury Report on Tom Brady’s Thumb