East Rumors: Eli, Eagles, Jets, Brady

Despite the incredible durability he’s shown in his 12-year career, Eli Manning is unlikely to play out the four-year contract extension he signed with the Giants last week, Bryce Johnston of OverTheCap writes. Manning’s estimated contract value, a tool used by OverTheCap, produced a slightly lower figure than his 2004 draft class peers Ben Roethlisberger and Philip Rivers, younger than the 34-year-old Manning by 14 and 11 months, respectively. Cam Newton tops this value-based chart.

Here’s what’s going on across the Eastern divisions on Friday night.

  • Third-year Eagles defensive coordinator Bill Davis‘ aggressiveness puts Philadelphia’s cornerbacks in difficult spots, writes Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The pressure-centric schemes often place Eagles corners in one-on-one spots, and that didn’t go well for Byron Maxwell against Julio Jones in Week 1. With Chip Kelly bringing in Maxwell for $63MM to play this kind of coverage while Cary Williams, who ended up replacing Maxwell in Seattle, and Bradley Fletcher weren’t asked back. McLane opines Maxwell must acclimate to this scheme far better to justify his $10.5MM-per-year salary.
  • Kelly’s attempt to maximize the Eagles’ play count may be affecting his defense, writes Rainer Sabin of the Dallas Morning News. With the Eagles trailing only the Broncos and Patriots in number of offensive plays run since Kelly assumed command in Philadelphia in 2013, Kelly’s teams are just 5-4 in December and ranked last (26 minutes, 40 seconds) in average time of possession in 2014.
  • Despite assuming the Jets‘ starting quarterback job via unrelated locker room violence, Ryan Fitzpatrick is taking his commitment to new heights in constantly texting Eric Decker and Brandon Marshall videos, notes and quizzes to form a chemistry with the wideouts, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News reports. “It’s energizing,” Marshall told Mehta. “It’s something I’ve been waiting for for the past five or six years … to play with a quarterback who approaches the game that way.” Fitzpatrick connected with both for scores in the Jets’ Week 1 win.
  • Geno Smith hasn’t taken snaps in team drills yet, just 7-on-7 scout-team work the past two days in practice, per Mehta (on Twitter). Unseating Fitzpatrick could be a task for Smith after two uneven seasons.
  • According to SI.com’s Greg Bedard in an interview with Tyler Dunne of the Buffalo News, Tom Brady looks more drained for this point in the year after spending the offseason consumed by Deflategate. Bedard adds, however, that he doesn’t sense the 16-year veteran carrying added motivation like he did after last season’s proclamations of his demise following the Patriots‘ blowout loss to the Chiefs.
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