LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Philadelphia Eagles‘ recent struggles aren’t providing any comfort to the Los Angeles Rams.The NFC West champions have
a few problems of their own for perhaps the first time this season.With three
losses in their past five games
http://www.ravenscheapstores.com/ben-powers-jersey-cheap , the Eagles (6-7) are facing an uphill challenge just to earn the opportunity to
defend their Super Bowl title in the playoffs. Their offense can’t get rolling,
the defense can’t defend the pass, and quarterback Carson Wentz’s fractured
vertebra sits atop a bulging list of injury problems.Article continues below
...But the Eagles’ gritty performance in a 43-35 win at the Coliseum last season
is still fresh in most football minds in Los Angeles. The Rams (11-2) would
never take the champs lightly heading into the teams’ Sunday night showdown.“I
still look at them like a Super Bowl-caliber team,” Rams receiver Robert Woods
said. “Still the defending champs. We get a chance to play them in prime time.
We get to play at home. We get to play well and redeem ourselves from last
week.”The Rams can’t spend any time thinking about the Eagles’ woes, either. Los
Angeles is coming off a dispiriting 15-6 loss in chilly Chicago during which it
failed to score a touchdown for the first time in coach Sean McVay’s
tenure.McVay has never lost consecutive games, and no team has beaten the Rams
twice during his two seasons — but Philadelphia has a chance to do both. The
coach has no trouble getting his players’ attention this week with the
combination of their second loss and a visit from the champs.Wentz did not
practice Wednesday or Thursday and on Saturday was declared out for the Rams
game. Wentz’s second NFL season ended at the Coliseum a year ago when he tore a
ligament in his left knee, but Nick Foles relieved him and led the Eagles to
that win over his former franchise, clinching the NFC East in the process.Along
with his Super Bowl MVP award, Foles always has motivation against the Rams: He
started 11 games for the team in St. Louis in 2015, but he asked to leave after
the Rams drafted Jared Goff in the ensuing spring.“Doesn’t affect
much
Iman Marshall Jersey , because Carson is a great football player, but they also were able to win a Super Bowl with Nick playing really high-level football,”
McVay said.More things to watch when Mike Trout’s favorite team visits him in
Southern California:DEFENDING HOMEA huge contingent of Eagles fans undoubtedly
will turn out at the Coliseum, but the Rams are finally building a home-field
advantage that everyone felt during their 54-51 win over the Chiefs last month.
The Rams are 6-0 at the Coliseum this season after going 4-11 in their temporary
arena during the first two years.HARD TO SUBOne of the overlooked challenges for
defenses that have to face the Rams and their high-powered offense is the
difficulty in trying to rotate defensive players into the game because Los
Angeles uses the same personnel group — three receivers, one tight end, one
running back — almost the entire game.“The Rams don’t substitute very often,”
Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz said. “Even in short yardage and goal
line, they’re in the same personnel group. It does make it a little bit more
difficult to sub. We’re going to have to be surgical with our substitutions,
particularly on third down.”The Eagles struggled against the Saints, who also
use an up-tempo offense. New Orleans beat Philadelphia 48-7 last month.“We
didn’t react very well to it against the Saints. That had to do with a lot of
the big plays we gave up in that game
http://www.ravenscheapstores.com/trace-mcsorley-jersey-cheap ,” Schwartz said. “But we have a little bit more experience with it now. We have to
do better.”GURLEY’S GAMETodd Gurley’s 28 yards rushing in Chicago were his
fewest since his rookie season in 2015, and Dallas’ Ezekiel Elliott edged in
front of him in the NFL rushing race . McVay blamed himself for not getting the
ball into the hands of his franchise running back more often, and he seems
determined to rectify that oversight.Rather than testing Fletcher Cox and the
Eagles’ statistically stout run defense, the Rams may be tempted to throw
excessively against the Eagles’ injury-riddled secondary, which likely means
more targets for Gurley in the passing game.SPREADING IT AROUNDSince receiver
Golden Tate arrived in Philadelphia, coaches have struggled to incorporate him
into the offense. Tate only had one catch last week and played just 20 snaps.The
offense has various options, including tight ends Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert
and receivers Alshon Jeffery and Nelson Agholor.But the Eagles traded a
third-round pick for Tate, so he was expected to be a major part of the game
plan each week.“It’s just trying to find the right balance and get those guys in
the right position so that they can make the plays we need to help us win,”
offensive coordinator Mike Groh said. HOUSTON (AP) — The former security
coordinator for the Houston Texans has filed a discrimination complaint with the
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, alleging his firing by the team was
racially motivated.Jeff Pope
David Montgomery Jersey , who worked for the team for nearly three years, was dismissed last month. The 11-page complaint was provided to The Associated
Press by his attorney, N. Lucy Chukwurah. In it, Pope alleged that former Texans
general manager Brian Gaine unjustly initiated the firing of Pope and eight
other black employees during his 17 months on the job.Gaine was abruptly let go
last week . The Texans said his dismissal was unrelated to Pope’s claim, but
spokeswoman Amy Palcic said the team would not comment specifically on pending
litigation. Palcic added: “The Houston Texans do not tolerate personal or
professional discrimination of any kind.”This has been a tumultuous offseason
for the team’s front office. ESPN.com reported this week the Patriots had filed
tampering charges against the Texans for illegally contacting New England
director of player personnel Nick Caserio for their GM vacancy.According to the
report, the Patriots complained after Texans executive vice president of team
development Jack Easterby, a former Patriots chaplain, attended the team’s Super
Bowl championship ring ceremony at the home of owner Robert Kraft. The Texans
fired Gaine the next day.
