EAGLEMANIACAL.com

EAGLES fans are at each other’s throats in regards to whether Nick Foles or Mark Sanchez is the QB of the future for this team. Fans of one QB are outright attacking the guy who isn’t their QB of choice. It’s to the point now where fans are showing more respect for Dallas QB Tony Romo than whichever guy they aren’t backing. Let me hip you to a few things that too many fans keep missing:

1. Both of our QB’s have won more games than they’ve lost this year.
2. You shouldn’t be rooting against either one of them.
3. Sanchez is here on a one year deal. While he could resign with the EAGLES next year, it is far more likely that he’ll want to go somewhere and start. Dallas, Washington, Tampa Bay and Tennessee are all far more likely to give him that opportunity.
4. If you’ve been looking at it as “Foles OR Sanchez” as our future options, you’ve missed the point entirely.

Here’s the point: We’re drafting a QB in the Spring of 2015.

Why now and not before? 

1. Most NFL head coaches hired out of college with no (even positional) pro coaching experience, do poorly. So when Jeff Lurie hired Chip Kelly on a 3-year deal, it was a gamble.
2. You don’t compound that gamble by risking a high draft pick to run an experimental Offense.
3. Every QB Kelly has had except 4^th rounder Matt Barkley has been a re-tread.
4. With Kelly doing this well in his first two years, you can bank on him getting an extension next season.
5. That extension will NOW give him the carte blanche and more importantly the time to groom his flagship QB. And what offensive minded head coach doesn’t want that? Make a list. You’ll find way more do’s than don’ts.

I’m on record here as saying that Foles isn’t a franchise QB, and I said that because he isn’t. True franchise QB’s put in work during the offseason. Foles didn’t. The results were evident. Blame his turnovers on the line or the run game if you like, but know these three facts:

1. Sources (that’s multiple) inside the EAGLES say that GM Howie Roseman and others soured on Foles  even before his injury.
2. Kelly may control the roster, but Roseman controls the purse strings. If Roseman isn’t sold on Foles, he will not give him a huge deal. Roseman has made too many mistakes already with throwing money around and with the coming cap crunch, he will have to be much more cautious with every dollar he spends.
3. With the new CBA and rookie salary cap, even an expensive rookie QB taken in the 1^st round would still be much cheaper (from 2015 through 2018) than Foles would be starting in 2016. (e.g. Blake Bortles was #3 overall in 2014 and has a 4 year 20.6M$ deal.) That alone makes drafting a QB a no-brainer for us.

It’s my thinking that Kelly would want Oregon QB [Marcus Mariota] as his guy. There’s a school of thought that says Mariota would be out of our reach pick-wise. I find that hilarious.

1. Since Kelly’s system was instituted at Oregon in 2007, every QB that started in it has put up gaudy numbers. Thing is, with the NFL long being leery of System QB’s, not one of Oregon’s was drafted high. And that’s if they were drafted at all (Dennis Dixon 5^th round, Jeremiah Masoli UFA, Darron Thomas UFA).
2. Mariota has yet to have a pro day, an interview, or a Combine showing. But I won’t bet against him. In fact, what the hell, I’m generous. Let give him the benefit of the doubt: Let’s say he does go in the top 10.
3. Considering the teams who’ll have a high pick that could use a star player to help put asses in the seats and who also don’t need QB help (Oakland, Jacksonville, Carolina), a trade could help the EAGLES both move up significantly and save some serious cap space in one master stroke.

You have to keep in mind that the EAGLES are first and foremost a business; and that what they’re doing is investing huge amounts of money, time, and even their own jobs in human capital. There are drivers to this QB situation that go way beyond who you may or may not like.

It’s high time that was recognized.