AFTER A sub .500 year, the Eagles fired the head coach, and brought in a new one who favors the West Coast Offense. This was after a lackluster season by a Heisman Trophy winning QB who’d peaked in college.
I’m not talking about 2015, I’m talking about 1998. The fired Head Coach was Ray Rhodes, the new coach was Andy Reid and the QB was Ty Detmer. Owner Jeff Lurie didn’t call it a rebuild, but he allowed Reid to come in and scrap everything about the Rhodes era. What shortsighted fans don’t get is that we’ve been here before.
This time around it’s Doug Pederson hired on the heels of a toxic Chip Kelly era. As poisoned as that locker room became, do you really think for an instant that Lurie wants Pederson to do anything short of a total rebuild? And what bigger change could the Eagles make than the very face of the franchise?
You used to be able to drive out I-95 near the Broad Street exit, turn your head and SEE our franchise emblazoned on the side of the stadium. The number of Donovan McNabb Eagles jerseys in circulation probably still outnumbers the combined number of Nick Foles and Sam Bradford Eagles jerseys. The Eagles haven’t had such a guy since 2009. And don’t you dare think for an instant that those things are lost on Lurie.
Fixing the culture and the bottom line are easier to do with a new trigger man running the Offense. It also fits hand-in-glove with inking players like TE Zach Ertz and OT Lane Johnson to new deals. (Also the numbers on Johnson’s deal hint strongly at a coming move from RT to LT, which I mentioned about a week ago.)
In case you’re missing it, the theme for this offseason will be stability. And since you can’t get stability with your fingers crossed over a brittle, underachiever with poor leadership skills… Unless something truly disturbing happens, expect the Eagles to move on from Bradford relatively soon.
EAGLEMANIACAL.com 
I’m looking forward to the idea of the team moving on. Can’t wait for better days!
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How ironic is it that Lurie via Pederson needs “fix the culture” of the locker room?
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I’m sure it’s all that ironic. I think it’s more just fallout from the way the Eagles are organized, and have been organized since even before Lurie bought the team. This will happen again.
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Moving on is for losing franchises. The fact is the Eagles should always commit to being the best year to year. Because building blocks is only part of the equation these days. Most of the time its about talent on the field at any given time and coordinating timing. This is something the Eagles never have timing whether purposefully or not. They are always missing something. Well missing a qualified QB is a big deal. Like it or not Bradford places you in the game. Can a guy like Rg3? Probably but is it going to happen overnite? Doubt it. Now you have Lurie scouting Qbs at the Senior bowl does it get anymore embarrassing? He is not a hands on owner. Really? With a rookie QB we are on a collision course with the bottom of the division. And a bad choice puts us there for years. And then the maturing talent we have gets wasted. I think a smart choice would be to tag Bradford take the cap space hit and draft the best available QB. We have talent and need depth. But going with a rookie QB guarantees us at least one wasted season probably two and potentially a longer term disaster.
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Fans did this same whining act when they booed McNabb’s drafting. How DID that work out? Meanwhile we’ve avoided drafting a franchise type QB since we let go of McNabb and how many playoff wins has THAT strategy yielded? When empirical data meets up with anecdotal data, you have to be fool to ignore it. I refuse to be a fool.
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Mcnabb was not a high risk pick. He was #3 pick in draft and considered a guaranteed pro calibur QB. He was not booed. That was because Eagles passed on Ricky Williams. Our 13th pick does not put us in that elite sure fire pick category. Recent Qbs picked in that range- Geno Smith, Manziel, Bridgewater…etc They may be talented but all three could crap out. At least with Bradford we know we are winning games and probably will have a winning season. You dismiss his pedigree too easily. Its important we build our oline first and develop some more players in other areas for depth. Now is not the time to let this current class get jettisoned to start new. Guys like Ertz , Johnson , Cox and Matthews are primed to compete. I cannot imagine this team will make them objects for a rookie Qbs mistakes. Bad strategy
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McNabb wasn’t booed??? I seem to recall a shit-ton of belly aching for weeks by a considerable portion of this fan base. Despite their disapproval the Eagles enjoyed their best era behind his play. Every player you draft is a risk, but the last 7 years have shown that being afraid of risk has already yielded failure. Taking a QB this year is a wise move. I’ve already said that I wouldn’t go high for one in 2016, but I would certainly get one this year.
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They are signing everyone but Bradford. Thats the big bill.
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Bradford won’t be back.
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You laughed at Kurt Coleman . Leads Panthers defense in INTs. He was a solid player for Eagles.
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I never laughed at Coleman or for that matter Nate Allen. I was also one of a handful that defended Nnamdi. The Secondary’s issue was NEVER the players. Well except for Considine. he sucked.
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He was a hard hitter and played the ball well.
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