Evolving his game

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鈥?Nick Foles replaced the injured Carson Wentz Cheap Dante Pettis Jersey , and nothing really changed for the Philadelphia Eagles.They got four touchdown passes from their quarterback, like they did a week ago, and won again to secure a first-round playoff bye.Another ho-hum day for the best team in the NFC and NFC East champions.Foles hit four different receivers on touchdown passes ranging from 3 to 13 yards in his first start, and the Eagles (12-2) rallied from an early 14-point deficit to defeat the surprising New York Giants 34-29 on Sunday.“I thought he played well,” Eagles coach Doug Pederson said of Foles. “There are some things he would like to do over. Every game is going be that way. I thought he handled himself extremely well, a lot of poise. He did a nice job.”There was speculation the Eagles would rely on their running game this week against the Giants (2-12) to give Foles time to adjust to the offense. Pederson ruled that out.“With him coming out and saying he’s not changing anything, it says a lot about his confidence in me and his confidence in the players in the offense,” said Foles, who completed 24 of 38 passes for 237 yards and no interceptions.Foles clearly is no Wentz. He is more a pocket passer, and there were times in the game when Wentz clearly would have been scrambling for a first down. Foles carried twice for zero yards.The Eagles made a late stand on first-and-goal in the final minute in edging the Giants for the second time this season, spoiling a three-touchdown, season-high 434-yard passing game by Eli Manning.“We know what he’s capable of and that showed today,” Giants interim coach Steve Spagnuolo said after Manning’s ninth 400-yard game.Manning, who threw for 366 yards earlier this year against the Eagles, said the Giants had a good game plan.“We got the ball out quickly Mike Hughes Youth Jersey , playing fast with some tempo stuff,” said the 36-year-old who finished 37 of 57. “I think that confused them a little bit.”Foles hit Alshon Jeffery, Zach Ertz, Trey Burton and Nelson Agholor on scoring passes ranging from 3 to 13 yards in filling in for Wentz, who tore an ACL last week and was lost for the season after a brilliant year.The Eagles also got two field goals from Jake Elliott and three blocked kicks from their special teams, foiling an extra point, a punt and field goal. The block on the punt set up a touchdown.Philadelphia will play its final two regular-season game at home and then wait for the conference semifinal.“It’s obviously something great,” Foles said of the bye. “I was fortunate to be a part of it last year in Kansas City. We still have a lot of work to do this season. The big thing is you let your body recover.”Manning hit Tavarres King on two touchdowns and Sterling Shepard on one. Orleans Darkwa scored on a short run and Aldrick Rosas kicked a 28-yard field goal.Manning drove the Giants from their 25 with 3:56 to play to the Eagles 9 with about a minute to go. A 2-yard loss on a pass to Shepard, an incompletion in the end zone and 5-yard run by Shane Vereen got New York to the Philadelphia 6 with 48 seconds to play. Right tackle Bobby Hart had a procedure penalty on fourth down, putting the ball at the 11.Manning then threw a pass to Evan Engram at the back of the end zone that was high and incomplete. The Giants complained bitterly after the play that Eagles safety Corey Graham held the rookie tight end’s left arm and should have been called for pass interference.“I definitely thought it was defensive pass interference,” Engram said. “Fourth down. It was really obvious, but no call.”The Giants led 23-21 at the half and the Eagles took the lead for good in the third quarter on a 28-yard field goal by Elliott and a 10-yard TD catch by Agholor.Leading 20-6, mistakes by Manning and special teams got the Eagles back in the game in a less than three-minute span in the second quarter.A 37-yard interception return by Ronald Darby to the Giants 18 set up Foles’ second touchdown pass, a 10-yarder to Ertz, cutting New York’s lead to 20-14. Kamu Grugier-Hill blocked Brad Wing’s punt on the Giants’ next series. Foles found a wide-open Burton on a 13-yard pass to give the Eagles a 21-20 lead.Rosas had a go-ahead 28-yard field goal with 20 seconds left in the half for a 23-21 lead.BLOCKSThe last time a team had a hat trick of blocked kicks was the Buffalo Bills against New England on Nov. 24 Vinny Curry Jersey Buccaneers , 1991.UP NEXTEagles: host Oakland on Dec. 25.Giants: at Arizona on Sunday.
Anthony Miller is trying really hard to follow advice given to him at the NFL combine.

Slow down, just enough to stay focused and avoid making a mistake simply because the wide receiver is moving too fast.

That's easier said than done for the man who had no offers from any FBS college coming out of high school and chose to walk on at Memphis. Miller is in a hurry to prove he's the best wide receiver in the 2018 NFL draft.

"There's not anything in my game that somebody can say that I don't have," Miller said. "I feel like I bring a lot to the table, and I feel like I deserve a chance. That's really all I need is a chance. Say I go first round or third round, if I get that chance I'm going to remain on that team. They're going to love what I bring to the table."

Miller comes by that self-confidence naturally. That's why he ignored a couple of offers from Football Championship Subdivision schools in order to walk on at his hometown university. And he left with a handful of receiving records: 238 catches for 3,590 yards and 37 touchdowns for his career. He topped his own single-season marks with 96 receptions for 1,462 yards, helping Memphis rank No. 25 in the final Associated Press poll.

"It's just fun to me," Miller said of playing football. "I feel like a person shouldn't do anything if they don't enjoy doing it. Whenever I step on that field, I see it as fun. I'm blessed to have this talent that I have, and every time I step on that field I'm just going to give it my all because it's created so many opportunities for me as well."

Kevin Locastro has seen Miller's love of football. Locastro first met Miller when the receiver was in the seventh grade and headed to Christian Brothers High School. Miller came in as a freshman, undersized and maybe 105 pounds, but always the first player on the field for practice and the last to leave. He saw someone who enjoyed football so much that Miller's work ethic was infectious, even in the sticky heat of summer weight workouts.

"You don't see much of his humility when he's playing, to be honest with you Hayden Hurst Color Rush Jersey ," said Locastro, now athletic director at Lausanne Collegiate School. "Not that he's an in-your-face, trash-talking type kid all the time. He plays with a certain level of confidence, and he wants to compete with the best. As soon as he steps off the field, he's just a really good young man. He's a yes sir, no sir kid. Very polite."

Miller had one edge, even as a high school freshman: big hands. Locastro says it seems Miller's hands are still growing, and Miller had some of the largest hands measured at this year's combine at 10 inches.

"The other day I visited my grandma, and we put our hands up next to each other. I saw that her hands were pretty big as well," Miller said of his mother's mother. "She's like, 'That's where you got your hands from.' I said, 'maybe so.' But my dad has big hands as well. So do my uncles. I guess it runs in the family a little bit."

Miller also lifted 225 pounds 22 times at the combine. Memphis coach Mike Norvell, who calls Miller one of the greatest wide receivers he's been around, said that combination allows Miller to do so many things.

"When he gets those mitts on you, it's a challenge for most defensive backs Youth Jalyn Holmes Jersey ," Norvell said. "But then some of the catches that you see him have, the one-handed catches, the reaction catches where he's only able to get one hand up, having the size hands that he has and the strength that he has in them really allows him to do some special things catching the football."

Miller answered one question about himself on April 3. He broke his right foot in the Liberty Bowl when Memphis lost 21-20 to Iowa State , but Miller ran the 40-yard dash at Memphis' pro day , where he was told scouts clocked him at 4.46 and 4.52 seconds.

That has kept him very busy visiting with teams. The Minnesota Vikings showed interest, as did Carolina and Atlanta. He grew up rooting for the Cowboys like his father, but Miller only wants to be drafted.

"Like I said," he repeated, "I just need an opportunity."

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