NFC Notes: Jason Kelce, Daniel Jones, Eagles, Giants

Eagles

Eagles veteran C Jason Kelce reflected on them losing five of the last six games, saying they don’t need to make any overhauling changes to their offense. 

“I don’t think we need to do a whole complete shift or revamp of the offense,” Kelce said, via the WIP Morning Show. “I think we need to do some things better and put ourselves in better situations — coaches and players. The reality is the plays that we have in and have been doing all year are ones that we can have success with and have had success with.”

• Eagles QB Jalen Hurts said he still hasn’t thrown since suffering a dislocated finger in Week 18 and playing as a ball carrier is also difficult with his injury: “I think everything is a challenge when you have a finger out of place,” via Zach Berman. 

Giants

• FOX Sports’ Ralph Vacchiano lists some candidates for the Giants to replace DC Wink Martindale. Martindale was popular with players, so Vacchiano notes promoting DB coach Jerome Henderson might be one way to ease the sting of him leaving in the locker room.
• Given the circumstances, there’s a good chance Giants HC Brian Daboll will want someone he has more familiarity with, so along those lines Vacchiano highlights former Bills DC Leslie Frazier, Eagles DC Matt Patricia, Bills DL coach Eric Washington and Giants DL coach Andre Patterson as some options.  
• Vacchiano doesn’t entirely rule out a reunion with Raiders DC Patrick Graham, who was the DC in New York previously, but notes some bridges were burned when Graham left and he might stay in Las Vegas. 
• If the Raiders don’t keep interim HC Antonio Pierce, Vacchiano says his history with the Giants makes him a candidate to monitor, even though he hasn’t called a defense in the pros. 
• Vacchiano mentions current Eagles assistant Sean Desai, who lost the coordinator job to Patricia and is not expected to be retained, was a finalist for the Giants’ defensive coordinator vacancy two years ago. However, his performance in Philadelphia this past year might make him a hard sell. 

Daniel Jones

Giants GM Joe Schoen admitted QB Daniel Jones may not be ready for the season opener and they’ll have another option on the roster that can fill in for him if he can’t go.

“There’s a chance he’s not ready Week 1,” Schoen said, via Giants Wire. “Plan for the worst, hope for the best — like you plan for him not being ready, so you’re going to need somebody that can hopefully win you some games early on if he’s not ready.”

Jones addressed his past injury history and said that the goal is to be back and fully healthy in time for training camp.

“The goal is to be back by training camp,” Jones said. “I feel like I’m making good progress. Each of those injuries are different circumstances and situational things that come up, but I’m confident I’ll be healthy.”