Philadelphia Eagles 2015 Mistakes To Avoid

Nov 2, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback

(9) is tackled by Houston Texans defensive end

(99) and linebacker

(50) during the first quarter at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

I.  Trading Starting Quarterback Nick Foles

Well, if you haven’t heard the myriad of stories or scenarios about the short term Eagles career of starting quarterback Nick Foles, you’ve been a prisoner of war in some remote part of the world.   In the annual exercise of “Oregon player xxx is rated highly, so how do the Eagles draft that player…” , this year’s speculation has focused on Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota.  The only problem is, the Eagles have a darned good quarterback in Nick Foles, who is young and accomplished in this league.   So what’s the problem?

Well, in a “Chip must get what Chip wants” world, media and fans are quick to grasp at the concept that a Heisman trophy winning quarterback can find instant success in the NFL when it’s a true rarity of the league.  To translate into a believable reality, fans are willing to exercise a full range of “reperscussion less” models to give the Eagles a top five draft selection and Mariota.  In short, they trade our starting quarterback, our first round draft picks for four or five years, some even toss in running back LeSean McCoy, for a hope that Mariota can succeed with no prior NFL experience.

I wish my faith in the future could go to that level.   I just can’t.  As much as I want to see it, to believe it, trading our starting quarterback this year is pretty much tanking.  There.  I’ve said it.   To get to Mariota, we would cripple the present and the future of the team so severely that we would immediately be competing… not for the playoffs nor for first place, but for the NFC East cellar.   But if you insist, and I know some of you do, here’s my take on various trading scenarios of Nick Foles would look like.

Next: Trading Up In Starless Draft