Quarterback Nick Foles has been consistent this offseason when it comes to expressing his happiness about being a member of the Eagles even if staying in
Philly means he is back to being a backup this season.Foles didn’t stray from that path during a conversation with Peter King for his inaugural
Football Morning in America column for NBC Sports. Foles called himself “very happy” about his situation and said that going to a team
that traded high draft picks for him “might not have been the best fit for
me
Jeff Heath Jersey ,” but none of that means Foles didn’t notice other people cashing in this offseason.“It was hard to watch other players — quarterbacks in particular — sign massive contracts in the weeks following the Super Bowl. On a daily basis, I
have to fight the internal battle to keep my priorities straight,” Foles wrote
in his new book
Believe It: My Journey of Success, Failure and Overcoming the Odds.Foles reworked his contract for 2018 to position himself to make more money in the event he is back in the starting lineup and he can hit free agency in
2019, which Foles said he likes because “you have a choice” in your future that
doesn’t exist if you get traded. You also have a chance to sign one of those
massive contracts even if you’re further removed from a starring role in a Super
Bowl win.In combining for 42 goals in five regular-season games and 25 in their first three playoff games, the Nashville Predators and Winnipeg Jets often put on what
coaches and players alike have described as a track meet on skates.In Thursday night’s 2-1 win at Winnipeg that equaled the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinals at two games each
Michael Gallup Jersey , the Predators never let the Jets get out of the starting block. It used two personnel changes, plus renewed commitments to
defense and puck support, to stifle the NHL’s second-highest scoring team during
the regular season.With home-ice advantage back in its grasp for Game 5 on Saturday at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., the Predators will probably stick with
the defense-first approach that pushed them into the Stanley Cup Finals last
year.“It was something we really focused on, playing solid defensively
Dion Dawkins Jersey ,” Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne said. “That was an amazing team effort. We played a really solid game throughout the 60 minutes and
it’s obviously a big win for us.”Many Twitter coaches scoffed at Nashville coach Peter Laviolette when he scratched Kevin Fiala, who scored the double-overtime game-winner Sunday night
in Game 2, in favor of the older, slower Scott Hartnell. But Hartnell’s 98th
playoff appearance was a good one, as he gave the Predators a physical presence
while neutralizing Winnipeg’s top defenseman, Dustin Byfuglien.Inserting Yannick Weber for Alexei Emelin on the third defense pair with Matt Irwin added some quickness and reduced the Jets’ chances of power-play
time
Adam Gotsis Jersey , as Emelin tends to take penalties.Nashville used a more conservative forecheck and steered puck-carriers away from the ice’s center, forcing Winnipeg to settle for longer shots at times. And
when the Jets did produce high-danger chances, Rinne stood tall in his best game
of the series with 32 saves.That included an improbable stop with the knob of his stick, which denied Josh Morrissey the game’s first goal about midway through the first period.Winnipeg center Bryan Little described his team’s attempts to attack the Predators’ defensive scheme as “skating into a wall.” The Jets will have to come
up with some adjustments for Game 5.“When they’re defending that well,” Winnipeg right winger Patrik Laine said, “we just have to get pucks in deep and get a lot of O-zone time. Just try to
shoot a lot and create some loose pucks.”Laine was one of the Jets’ few bright spots from Game 4
Josh Malone Jersey , snapping a six-game scoring drought with his marker in the last minute of the match. Laine could have had a hat trick were it not
for two quality saves by Rinne, one late in the first period and another in the
third period.Simply put, the matchup of the league’s best regular-season teams has turned into point and counterpoint. Both Jets wins have been answered by Nashville
victories, and the teams are now in best-of-three mode.“We’re heading home playing in front of our fans in a big game,” Nashville defenseman P.K. Subban said. “We know they are going to get better as the series
goes on. This is exactly what the teams expected it to be. Now we got home ice
back.”
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