Tommy Lawlor’s first mock draft of 2016 has the Eagles taking QB Jared Goff in the 1st Round… I would assume that would entail a trade-up scenario from the #8 position.
“I don’t know about that,” head coach Doug Pederson said at the owners meetings. That would rule out Cal’s Jared Goff, North Dakota State’s Carson Wentz and Memphis’ Paxton Lynch — unless Pederson was bluffing.
The Eagles have two third-round picks and moved up near the top of the fourth round by trading DeMarco Murray to Tennessee. One of those three picks — the 77th, 79th and 100th overall — should land the Eagles a quarterback. Penn State’s Christian Hackenberg and Mississippi State’s Dak Prescott could be available in that range. So could Ohio State’s Cardale Jones.
Our own resident analyst ~Broz has the Eagles selecting Stanford QB Kevin Hogan (6-4, 228) at overall pick #100.
Okay, I get it—we need to develop a young quarterback for “DA FUTURE”.
But while that guy is fermenting on the sidelines as QB#3 for a few years, let’s remember why we play the games that count on Sundays.
It’s about stacking W’s… I’m all in on “Sammy”— and they can’t take that away from me!
Pederson has been very clear about that, too. Sam Bradford is his guy. Sammy will not be in an open competition in camp for the job. It’s his job to lose. Bradford should also be comfortable in Pederson’s offense, having played under offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur as a rookie in St. Louis in 2010.
Chase Daniel’s role as a backup will include tutoring Bradford. Daniel spent the last three seasons with Pederson in Kansas City, so he can help translate the offensive play calls for Bradford.
I love this about the new head coach— he’s transparent and completely open about his strategic intentions. Those obtuse Chip Kelly mind games are a thing of the past.
Pederson has gone out of his way to reassure Sam Bradford that he will have the power to change plays at the LOS or call his own plays. I dig that. Part of that evolution is Pederson’s own experience as an NFL quarterback.
Some of you don’t like Phil Sheridan as a Philly sports journalist, but I think he nails it with this description: “Pederson values the element of control for the guy running the offense on the field. He thinks Bradford has a good grasp of what he sees on the field and will benefit from being able to get the team out of an unfavorable play call. By huddling and having pre-snap time at the line of scrimmage, Bradford will be able to communicate with his teammates. It was Arizona head coach Bruce Arians who critiqued Kelly’s hurry-up offense, saying it prevented the quarterback from taking a leadership role. In Pederson’s offense, Bradford will have every opportunity to assert himself.”
Man, that says a lot about moving on from the Kelly experience. Bless his heart because I know Chip meant well, but you need to move on from boys to men. Before we theorize about replacing Sam Bradford at QB, it will be a relief to discover just how capable he really is at responding to the opportunity to be himself. Imagine Bradford taking charge of “his” offense like the man he is, without those silly “S 8” cheat sheets running his life. That’s my kind of party!
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A footnote to the recent tragic death of Kevin Turner:
Turner was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis — also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease — in 2010. After his diagnosis, Turner was active in research looking for links between the degenerative brain disease CTE, ALS and head trauma related to football. He started the Kevin Turner Foundation to raise funds for ALS research. He said he was sure football contributed to his condition and became a lead plaintiff in the massive lawsuit retired players filed against the NFL regarding concussions.
“Football had something to do with it,” Turner said in 2011. “I don’t know to what extent, and I may not ever know. But there are too many people I know that have ALS and played football in similar positions. They seem to be linebackers, fullbacks, strong safeties. Those are big collision guys.”
Turner’s struggle was the subject of a 2012 HBO documentary called “American Man” and a music video for the song “Journey On” by Ty Herndon. In 2011, Turner and Herndon presented a $4.3 million check to the ALS Therapy Alliance at a ceremony at Fenway Park.
Attorneys representing Turner and retired players issued statements last Thursday evening, noting Turner’s brain will be donated for research. “Despite the difficulties he faced, he was always concerned about his NFL brothers and ensuring they had the care and support if faced with similar circumstances,” said Steve Marks, Turner’s attorney and an attorney for the NFL concussion settlement. “As selfless as Kevin was in life he is in death, as he agreed to donate his brain and spine for research into concussions and ALS. We will miss Kevin greatly, but know he is at peace.”
Turner is survived by his former wife and three children. His son Nolan, 18, committed to play football at Clemson for Dabo Swinney, an Alabama teammate of Kevin’s.
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