Tag: BRANDON GRAHAM
Eagles to wear Kelly Green uniforms two times in 2023
The Philadelphia Eagles will wear the Kelly Green throwback uniform and helmet two times this season. On October 22, the team hosts the Miami Dolphins on Sunday Night Football and again in Week 12 when they welcome the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, November 26.
“We are thrilled to bring back the Kelly Green uniform and helmet this season, and are equally excited to celebrate our team’s history with Eagles fans everywhere,” said Jeffrey Lurie, Philadelphia Eagles Chairman & CEO said in a press release. “This is something we have wanted to do for a long time, and from the feedback we have gotten from our fans, we knew they felt the same way.”
In collaboration with Nike, the reimagined version of the vintage uniforms will pay homage to the club’s storied past, while also appealing to a new generation of fans. Inspired by the classic look from an era that produced a number of legends and historical moments, the uniform’s latest rendition has been intricately designed to evoke special memories amongst the fanbase.
The classic Kelly Green shade accentuates the base of the jersey and is complemented by white numbers with black trim on the front, back, and shoulder pads. The letters on each player’s nameplate are displayed in white and the retro Eagles logo rests below the Nike swoosh on the side shoulders. Gray pants are accompanied by Kelly Green, white, and black striping down the side of the legs, with white socks featuring Kelly Green and black striping to round out the uniform’s aesthetic. The Kelly Green helmet displays the legendary gray Eagle wings with white trim and a gray facemask.
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni is excited about the jerseys.
“I think they look pretty cool,” he said on Sunday. “I look forward to — I won’t do it, but my wife will buy my kids jerseys, and I’m sure that they’ll have Kelly green ones when they have an opportunity to buy them.
“I think they look cool. I think the one Eagles jersey I have is a Mike Quick jersey that just so happens to be Kelly Green, I think they’re cool. Yeah, I’m excited that the fans are able to get those.”
While the Eagles have made minor alterations to their uniforms over the years, the 2023 season marks the first time in nearly three decades that the team will return to the early ‘90s era Kelly Green uniform. The Eagles most recently donned a similar style of Kelly Green in Week 1 of the 2010 season to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the team’s 1960 NFL Championship.
Eagles’ Graham: ‘At the end of the day, the ultimate thing is to get a ring’
The Philadelphia Eagles(12-1) not only beat the New York Giants(7-5-1) on Sunday at MetLife Stadium, but they also beat them down.
Philadelphia jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first half and led 24-7 at halftime. After a Jalen Hurts 10-yard touchdown run, the Eagles led 34-14 at the end of three quarters. Ultimately, the Eagles would rout the Giants 48-22. With the win, the Eagles became the first team in the NFL to clinch a playoff berth this season.
Hurts shined again for the Eagles as he was 21/31 for 217 yards and two touchdowns, and he rushed for 77 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Running back Miles Sanders had a career-high 144 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries. Sanders also went over 1,000 yards rushing on Sunday for the first time in his career.
In total, Philly rushed for 253 yards. In short, the Eagles did anything they wanted on offense. On defense, they had six sacks, which gives them, 13.0 sacks in the last two weeks, and in those two games, the Eagles have outscored their opponents 83-32.
“I think that we’ve got really good players on this team, we’ve got really good coaches on this team, and we’ve shown these last three weeks that we keep getting better,” Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said after the win. “That’s just got to be the goal here, and that’s how we go about our goals during the week.”
Like Sirianni, Hurts wants the team to focus on getting better.
“It’s good that we prepared in a way that we have been able to execute at a high level,” Hurt said. “We just want to continue to do that. That’s the name of the game. Never get too high; never get too low. Just stay true to what’s important and keep the main thing, the main thing. The main thing for me is the daily deposits. Chasing the growth, Putting the work in, and being consistent. I think that’s our main thing as a team as well.”
Eagles DE Brandon Graham, who had a career-high tying three sacks on Sunday, and was a part of the 2017 Super Bowl team, says things are great now, but it’s all about winning a title.
“At the end of the day, the ultimate thing is to get a ring,” he said. “I’ll just say it’s a great season so far. Let’s just stay focused on the task at hand, and that’s getting that ring.”
To Graham’s point, the season has been great after 13 games, but none of this matters if the Eagles don’t win a Super Bowl.
The journey continues next week in Chicago against the Bears.
Notes:
-A.J. Brown, who finished with four catches for 70 yards and a touchdown went over 1,000 receiving yards on Sunday.
Brown(10 TDs) and Sanders(11 TDs) are the second Eagles duo to reach 1,000 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards with 10 touchdowns each, joining Ricky Watters (1,411 yards, 13 TDs) and Irving Fryar (1,195, 11 TDs) in 1996.
-Josh Sweat and Haason Reddick each reached milestones during New York’s first series.
Sweat tied his single-season career high in sacks (7.5, also 2021) when he brought down Giants QB Daniel Jones on first-and-10 for a 7-yard loss on the opening drive.
Reddick sacked Jones on third-and-17 to force a New York punt, marking his 10th QB takedown of the season. Reddick, who has double-digit sacks in three consecutive years, became the first Eagle to reach 10+ sacks since Fletcher Cox in 2018 (10.5).
Reddick is the first NFL player with 10+ sacks in three straight years with three different teams (12.5 with Arizona in 2020; 11.0 with Carolina in 2021).
-Punter Arryn Siposs(ankle), Reed Blankenship(knee) went out in the first half and did not return, and Lane Johnson(abdominal injury) left late in the game.
Eagles’ Sirianni on win over Titans: ‘That was a pretty complete game for us’
In last week’s win over the Green Bay Packers, the Philadelphia Eagles(11-1) ran for 363 yards. Hurts had a team-record 157 yards rushing. The running game led the way for Philadelphia.
This week, against the Titans(7-5), Hurts and the Eagles found a different way to win. Hurts was 29/39 for 380 yards and four touchdowns, including one on the ground, as Philadelphia rolled over the Titans 35-10 at Lincoln Financial Field to move to 11-1.
“Nothing good ever gets done if every man doesn’t do their job and dominate their box, and that’s what we strive to do. I come up here, and I give these analogies about steakhouses or whatever, but that’s our reality,” Hurts said after the win. “We work really hard, and we prepare really hard, and sometimes it just looks different. Regardless of how we’re attacking a defense, we just want to execute in whatever it is we’re doing.”
The offense scored 35 points and had 453 yards of total offense. Conversely, the defense was relentless as they recorded six sacks, held the Titans to 209 total yards, and limited Derrick Henry to just 30 yards on 11 carries.
However, Philadelphia did have 12 penalties, despite that, the Eagles played a complete game for the first time this season.
“Obviously, we played well at every phase of this game: offense, defense, and special teams. Offensively, we have things we have to clean up, some pre-snap penalties,” Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said. “So, we’ll get better from that. There are some ways we can do that and clean that up. I have to do a better job coaching it, and we’ll clean that up.
“But that was a pretty complete game for us, and I think that is a really good football team. I have a lot of respect for the players and coaches over there, and I just think that is a good football team.”
A subplot of this game was A.J. Brown going against his former team. Brown got revenge after catching five passes for 119 yards and two touchdowns; the two touchdown receptions were 40 and 29 yards.
“This one meant a lot to me,” Brown said. “Early on, I had mixed emotions about the trade and everything, and I’d be lying to you to say I didn’t circle this game.”
Before his first touchdown, Brown appeared to have caught a touchdown, but he was ruled out of bounds. On the next play, after a collision with Titans corner Kristian Fulton, Brown broke wide open and Hurts connected with him to give the Eagles a 14-7 lead in the second quarter.
“Yeah, I think that was huge,” Brown said of the touchdown. “I just think that shows the faith [Eagles QB Jalen Hurts] has in me. Just to come right back to me. I had regular out, but Jalen told me when I was leaving the huddle, he said, ‘pump it.’ So, I was like, ‘let’s do it.’”
Regarding the defense, they held Titans running back Derrick Henry in check, which, according to Eagles DE Brandon Graham, was the defense’s attitude coming into the game.
I felt like everyone’s attitude was to stop [Titans RB] Derrick [Henry]. That is all we kept hearing. That is what they are going to do. They are going to run the ball, screen us, and play quick ball with play-action and deep shots. That is exactly what we got, and I feel like we started from the jump with meeting them at the line and making tackles.”
The Eagles hope to keep the winning going next Sunday at MetLife Stadium against the Giants.
Notes:
Philadelphia (363 rushing on 11/27/22 vs. Green Bay; 386 passing on 12/4/22 vs. Tennessee) is the first NFL team to throw for 350+ yards after rushing for 350+ yards the previous week since the 1987 Los Angeles Raiders (356 rushing on 11/30/87; 360 passing on 12/6/87).
Overall, the Eagles produced 453 total yards (386 passing; 67 rushing), marking the second time this season that they registered 450+ total yards in consecutive games (also 9/11/22-9/19/22). Philadelphia is one of only three NFL teams to have at least 4 games with 450+ total yards this year, joining Kansas City (5) and Miami (4).
The Eagles have scored 35+ points in back-to-back games for the first time since 11/5/17-11/19/17 (also 2).
Eagles DC Gannon talks life without Brandon Graham
On Sunday, in the Eagles’ loss to the 49ers, Philadelphia lost the heart and soul of their defense and the team in defensive end Brandon Graham, who is out for the season after he ruptured his Achilles tendon.
Before this injury, the 33-year-old Graham had missed only one regular-season game in the last five seasons with the Eagles.
Now, it’s next man up for the Eagles, and fortunately for them, Philadelphia has decent depth on the defensive line. They have Josh Sweat, Ryan Kerrigan, and Tarron Jackson, who will have to step up in Graham’s absence. However, replacing a Pro Bowl defensive end is never easy.
On Wednesday, Eagles defense coordinator Jonathan Gannon discussed the loss of Graham.
“Yeah, I talked to our guys yesterday about the void that has taken place with [DE] Brandon [Graham],” Gannon said. And, obviously, not being able to play with us the rest of this year.
“You know, from a leadership and a character, and an attitude standpoint, I think collectively we have to – everyone has to, you know, try to fill that void collectively because not one guy is going to be able to do that. We do feel good with the leaders that we still have within the defense, really good about the leaders that we have.
“And from the standpoint of him, the roles that he was playing, you know, other guys are going to have to step in and fill where he was playing at, and we feel good about the guys that are going to do that.”
Tough break for the Eagles, and hopefully for Graham, he can make a full recovery.
Eagles’ Graham: ‘We know the offense is going to get it right’
It has been a struggle for Carson Wentz and the Philadelphia Eagles(3-7-1) in 2020, and on Monday night against the Seahawks, the struggles continued. The fifth-year quarterback was 25/45 for 215 yards, two touchdowns, and a costly interception in the red zone late in the fourth quarter. Ultimately, Philly would fall to the Seahawks(8-3) 23-17 at Lincoln Financial Field.
Wentz has a lot of bad attached to his name this season. He has thrown the most interceptions(15)in the NFL, he is the most sacked(46) quarterback in the league, and he leads the league in off-target incompletions(95). You add that all together, and you could argue that Wentz is one of the worst starting quarterbacks in football right now. With Wentz’s poor play, the talk has been about the possibility of rookie QB Jalen Hurts getting more time on the field or even possibly starting for Philadelphia. However, according to Wentz, he’s not concerned about losing his job.
“As a quarterback – ever since you were a kid – you’re prepared for any of those. Nothing is ever guaranteed.,” Wentz said after the game. “So, for me, I don’t think about that, though. I just try to go out and be the best player I can be. In practice, I prepare my tail off, compete my tail off, and hopefully, we can get this thing turned around. I don’t think about those things. I’m going to give it everything I got every time I step on the field.”
While the Eagles’ offense struggled against Seattle, Philly’s defense came to play. They got consistent pressure on Russell Wilson and held Seattle, who third in points per game(31.0) to 23 points. Although the offense has sputtered, Eagles DE Brandon Graham believes things will get better on that side of the ball.
“We just have to figure out a way to keep on encouraging each other,” Graham said after the game. “Keep fighting. Make sure we stay consistent on defense. We know the offense is going to get it right. I just saw [Eagles QB] Carson [Wentz]. It means something to all of us. Obviously, things haven’t been happening the way we want it to, but at the same time, there is no quit in us, and we have five games left.”
Right now, the Eagles are a bad football team, but they play in the NFC East, so at 3-7-1 after 11 games, Philly is 0.5 game behind the first-place Giants(4-7), so if they can find a way to turn it around, they could win the division, which Wentz discussed.
“We’re frustrated, we’re frustrated,” Wentz said. “I know I’m frustrated. I hate losing, and it’s very frustrating to have this result these last couple weeks and be where we’re at this season. But the crazy thing about this league and this division, especially, is it’s still wide open, and guys know that. Guys know that, and we’re looking ahead to next week and getting this thing turned around, getting it going in the right direction and, hopefully, surprise some people.”
Philly does have a chance in the NFC East, but it does not matter if they can’t win games, so for that to happen, Wentz has to be better, and that starts against the Packers at Lambeau on Sunday. If Wentz does not improve, the Eagles might not win another game in 2020. it’s that simple.
Eagles’ Wentz, Sanders, Graham, Mills react to tie against Bengals
They say in the NFL that a tie is like kissing your sister, and on Sunday, both the Cincinnati Bengals(0-2-1) and the Philadelphia Eagles(0-2-1) kissed their sisters. For the second time in their all-time series, the Bengals and Eagles ended a game in a tie. The last time these two teams ended a game in a tie was in 2008 when the Bengals and Eagles finished the game tied at 13. This time around, al Lincoln Financial Field, the two teams ended the game tied at 23.
Both teams came into the game winless, and both teams left the game winless. After the tie, Philly’s Carson Wentz, Miles Sanders, Jalen Mills, and Brandon Graham reacted.
Miles Sanders:
“Man, right off the bat, okay. I don’t see it as bad or good. Both teams have to look at the film and just see what we could have done better to get a W.”
Brandon Graham:
“For me, I am not happy about it. But I am more proud of how we fought in the end because the goal line stance to keep them to three, that was big. We could have easily folded right there. We could have been talking about a loss right now. I look at it that we have a lot of work to do, but at the end of the day, we are going to stay together. I am not really worried about it. I know the Bengals were going to come in, and they were going to fight. Every team we match up against, they are going to fight. There are no easy wins and no easy games. I just love that we stuck together through all the stuff that happened. We just messed up in the end. We can’t do that.”
Jalen Mills:
“At that point, say we do try to kick a field goal, and we miss. Now that team has the opportunity to get field position back, and there’s still time on the clock, and maybe they get in a position to kick a field goal, and we do take the loss. There’s a lot of different ways the scenario could have went. At the end of the day, I mean we tied, and we just have to live with that. Come in on Tuesday, watch the film, look at the mistakes. Because at this point, you don’t care about any good that we did. The result wasn’t what we wanted. Look at the mistakes – offense, defense, special teams – and get them corrected.”
Carson Wentz:
“I don’t think I’ve ever been in a tie, so it’s just kind of an awkward way to end the game. [It’s] frustrating when you have a chance there to kick the [game-winning] field goal. Even with our drive offensively, a couple times, we felt we were in field goal range, and we had plays [then] we had penalties and things just kept backing us up. The fight was there; the effort was there from guys. We just have to play smarter, play cleaner. I have to be better, as well. It was a frustrating way to end the game, for sure.”
Pederson on Graham: ‘He’s a Philadelphia Eagle first, and he’s the player second’
Eagles DE Brandon Graham has been around Philadelphia for a long time. He is the longest-tenured Eagles player on defense. But, things did not start out that great for Graham, who was the 13th pick by the Eagles in the 2010 NFL Draft. Graham struggled earlier in his career, and many criticized the Eagles for passing on S Earl Thomas and selecting Graham in that draft.
However, over time, Graham got better, and ultimately, made one of the biggest plays in franchise history when he stripped Tom Brady in Super Bowl 52, which led to the Eagles defeating New England 41-33.
Now in his 10th season, Graham, 31, who led the team with 8.5 sacks this season, has become one of the leaders, and on Sunday, Philadelphia will need his leadership as they battle the Seahawks in the Wild-Card game at Lincoln Financial Field.
Eagles head coach Doug Pederson has been impressed with the way Graham has been encouraging his teammates before games, and because of that, Graham will be one of the team captains on Sunday.
“He’s a great leader,” Pederson said about Graham on Friday. “In fact, he’s going to be one of my captains this weekend just because of that. It just says a lot about who he is. He’s a Philadelphia Eagle first, and he’s the player second. He leads more by example than anything else.
“And on top of that, he plays through injury, he plays hurt, and we get a lot of production out of him. To be able to play at a high level that he has throughout his — the last — since I’ve been here anyway — the last four seasons, he’s another one that’s pretty special to have on the team.”
Philadelphia ended the 2019 season on a roll, as they won four straight to end the season. Although injuries have decimated this team, they seem to have a lot of confidence entering the playoffs, and maybe with Graham’s leadership, Philadelphia can get past the Seahawks and keep their season alive on Sunday.
Foles: ‘I did have elbow issues in 2017’
Eagles DE Brandon Graham raised a few eyebrows recently when he said this about his former teammate and current Jaguars QB Nick Foles earlier this week:
Brandon Graham on Nick Foles telling him prior to 2017 season that he was planning to retire at end of year. pic.twitter.com/zMWPkfKBHK
— Tim McManus (@Tim_McManus) August 13, 2019
As we know, Foles went on to have a magical 2017 season as he led the Eagles to a victory in Super Bowl 52 against Tom Brady and the Patriots.
Today, Foles addressed Graham’s comments. Here is what he had to say:
(On Brandon Graham’s comment that 2017 might be Foles’ last season because of elbow issues):
Foles: “Yes, B.G. texted me afterwards saying, ‘I didn’t mean [to start] all that.’ I had some elbow issues that were well-known at that time and documented in Philly, so I missed training camp. The elbow issues, Dr. [Eon K.] Shin is there, a lot of guys go see him. He’s a wonderful guy, so I was able to get everything cleared up. I felt good. It was one of those things where when I was in St. Louis, it was also well-documented that after that, I was going to step away from the game. It was sort of a combination of both of those moments. But, yes, I did have elbow issues in 2017 that were very difficult at the beginning of the season and got better as the season went on.”
(On if he is having any issues with his elbow now):
Foles: “No. My body feels great. Obviously if you play football you’re going to have bumps and bruises and get soreness. But my body feels great. I do everything I can to monitor [my health] – a clean diet and do great recovery.”
Well, based on how things ended in 2017, and based on what we saw out of Foles last season in Philadelphia, it is safe to say that the elbow looks good. in reality, Jacksonville probably does not give him a four-year contract worth $88 million if his elbow was not in good shape.
In the end, this story just makes what happened with Foles and the Eagles in 2017 even more magical.