Twas the night before the draft and all in Chip’s house, rumors were stirring, much louder than a mouse. The Titans didn’t like number 8, but Chip surely did. Marcus would play for Chip yet again, just like when he was a kid. When in Nashville arose such a clatter, that franchise removed their head from their ass to see what was the matter. A franchise quarterback, who didn’t steal crab legs at two? Well that sounds pretty damn good to me, how about you!?
That’s right, it’s over. I’ve said this from Day 1, my ultimate fear is that Chip Kelly spends a few years here and never truly gets to run “his system, with his guy”. It’s 2:00 AM Thursday night/Friday morning and I’m beyond depressed with the Eagles draft. Not only did Chip Kelly not make the “impossible” move from pick number twenty, to pick number two, but he failed to land a player worth the number twenty selection in general. Do you want the reality? This draft sucked. This offseason was exciting, but kind of sucked. And this team kind of sucks…ok, they don’t suck. But are they any closer to competing to a Super Bowl? I really don’t think so, and I’ll tell you why.
Reason #1, Sam Bradford
Go ahead, tell me how he was the number one overall pick, former Heisman Trophy winner, and ran this offense at Oklahoma. Ok. I give you Jamarcus Russell, Matt Leinart, and Landry Jones. Bust, bust, washout. Good story. At some point, you are what you are. I’m a 26 year old salesman, and a damn good one, but I won’t be running Microsoft anytime soon. Sam Bradford is an injury riddled quarterback who will never bring this team and this city to the ultimate goal of hoisting a Lombardi Trophy.
Have you ever heard of a lose/lose situation? If you haven’t, you’re about to. Let’s say Sam Bradford plays awesome, lights up the sky with 35 touchdowns and 8 interceptions! Pretty good, right!? He plays all 16 regular season games and gets us to the NFC Divisional Playoff round, but we lose. Now what? Do you give him (the guy with 2 rebuilt ACLs and his first full season since 2010) a 5 year deal worth 100 million? Or, what if he plays 8 games and gets hurt and the Eagles go 7-9, do you resign him, or start over? Chip has backed himself into a corner in which he can’t get out of unless Sam Bradford is our franchise QB.
Reason #2, WE CAN’T DRAFT
I’ve gotta be honest, at this point, I blame myself. Every, single, year, I say it will be different. It’s never different, we overvalue certain players, outsmart ourselves, and end up on the short end of the stick. Say what you want about the Marcus Smith selection, but Kelvin Benjamin was on the board, Deone Buchanon was on the board, but as per usual, the Eagles know best! To hell with the experts and draft pundits, let’s go down the board and take someone ranked 10, 20, or even 30 slots lower, because we know better!
I’m over it. Breshad Perriman sat on the board at 20, literally fell into the Eagles lap. Instead of drafting the 4.24 40 yard dash running phenom, Chip and the birds decided that Nelson Agholar was the better choice. I immediately hated the selection and my thought was only confirmed when the Baltimore Ravens decided to jump up and snag the physically superior Perriman with the 26th selection. Ozzie Newsome is widely regarded as one of the top personnel evaluators in the NFL, thus confirming my disdain for the Agholar selection.
Reason #3, Contradictions
Ok, bear with me here. Let’s break down what bill of goods we’ve been sold here:
Chip Kelly says, “your best ability, is availability!” Ok? So let’s get Sam Bradford, Ryan Mathews, Miles Austin, and Walter Thurmond. That makes a lot of sense?
“Big people beat up little people.” 6’0 Nelson Agholar isn’t that big, Josh Huff isn’t that big, Kiko Alonso isn’t that big…
“I’ll adjust my scheme to fit personnel.” Jackson, gone for nothing. Foles (and a 2nd round pick) traded for Bradord. McCoy gone for a linebacker. Anyone following?
Reason #4, Culture
Chip has tried to be unconventional and tried to shake up conventional wisdom in the NFL. He’s been recorded as saying, “culture beats scheme”. Ok, fine, I’ll buy in. But what if your locker room doesn’t? Everyone in that room, including your quarterback (Bradford) and best defensive player (Cox), know that they were on the trade block for Mariota. The NFL is a business, that’s for sure, but how are you going to convince the entire trade package for Mariota, that it was all just “hearsay”, and that you wanted them here all along?
Conclusion
Look, I think Chip Kelly is one of the best minds in all of football, I really do. But if he’s going to try to win with Sam Bradford and an island of misfit toys, I can’t help but question all of this. I truly believed this was part of a greater plan to get Marcus Mariota, but that dream has died. My ultimate fear is being realized, this is Chip’s “first stop”. Bill Belichick and Pete Carroll had “first stops” too…
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