No Blank Check

Posted: February 23rd, 2022 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | Comments Off on No Blank Check

Quarterback is the most important position in football. If you don’t have the right QB, you aren’t going to win the Super Bowl. You might not even be a playoff team. The 1991 Eagles had one of the best defenses in NFL history and didn’t make the postseason, in large part due to bad QB play. The flip side is also true. If you only have a QB, your team is going to have limitations. Matt Stafford played in three postseason games in 12 years in Detroit. He played in four postseason games this year as the Rams won the Super Bowl.

You need the right QB and the right team.

The Eagles should absolutely talk to teams about any star QBs that are available. They should not write a blank check to these teams.

Cowherd says the Eagles should give up 4 first rounders and Darius Slay if that’s what it takes to get Russell Wilson.

No thanks.

The whole point in getting Wilson is for him to make you a Super Bowl contender. Seattle has gone seven straight years without getting to the NFC title game despite having an elite QB. The supporting cast has gone downhill in a big way since their Super Bowl appearances in 2013 and 2014.

The Eagles have a solid team right now, but with aging stars like Jason Kelce, Lane Johnson, Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham, there is a need to keep draft resources and re-stock for the future. If the Eagles can use a pair of first round picks to trade for a QB, I’m fine with that. Three? That just feels like too much. The idea of giving up four and a star player? No way.

I do get the temptation.

Adding a star QB to this team would make a difference. Jalen Hurts did some good things this year, but he didn’t play well against good teams or in the biggest games. Wilson, or some other star, could change that.

A top flight QB would help DeVonta Smith become a star receiver. I think Quez Watkins would improve as part of a more consistent passing game. Dallas Goedert would also benefit. If the offense was equally dangerous when passing and running, the Eagles would be a bigger challenge for opposing defenses.

Would they be a Super Bowl team? That’s the key question. The Rams went all in this year because they were so close. The Eagles did make the playoffs this year, but they never felt like a true title contender. There were just too many holes in the lineup.

QB aside, the Eagles need to add talent this offseason. They have holes at DE, LB, S and WR. There are other spots that could be upgraded or addressed.

It will be interesting to see what the Eagles do when free agency starts in a couple of weeks. That will give us some idea of what they think of the roster and where they think the biggest needs are. Receiver and safety make the most sense based on need and players available, but the Eagles have thrown us some curve balls in the past. Not many people had Javon Hargrave pegged as a target in 2020, but the Eagles went after him.

Sheil Kapadia put together his list of the Top 75 free agents. The Eagles should have interest in a few of them.

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Some of you might be wondering about my oddball Player Development post.

I was going through a notebook recently and found an old depth chart I wrote out. I had Phillip Hunt as one of the back up DEs. I remembered how we hoped Hunt might turn into a valuable situational pass rusher. He ended his NFL career with 4 sacks in 24 games.

That led me to start thinking about all the guys we had hopes for in the past who never panned out. It was fun to think about these guys, even though they were NFL failures. That still means they made it to the top of the football world and that’s nothing to be ashamed of at all.

Not everyone can be an elite star like Reggie White, Brian Dawkins or Derek Landri.

I had fun putting the list together. I hope you enjoyed seeing some forgotten names. I left out plenty of guys so we might do this again next year.

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One of the great catches you’ll ever see.

And even better with the jazz hands celebration. That was also Andy Reid’s final win as coach of the Eagles.

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