Time For The Philadelphia Eagles To Tank
By Bret Stuter
Stop Kidding Ourselves
How did we lose Andy Reid? How did we lose Chip Kelly? How do we lose coaches? Why did Tom Coughlin withdraw his name from consideration? It starts with believing that our team was better than the record turned out to be. If the truth is that Andy Reid was the problem, explain how he’s managed to place the Kansas City Chiefs into the playoffs two of three times he’s been there? I would not be surprised to see Chip Kelly do the same thing now that he’s been hired by the San Francisco 49ers. . They can coach teams to win if the talent is there.
The problem with teams who are aging or not realistic is this belief that one trade, one signing, one draft pick will place that team over the top and into the playoffs. Those teams sign, hype, struggle, cut, fire office staff, hire new office staff, rinse and repeat. Without knowing the coaching staff, there is no way to know what the Eagles are capable of next year. So let’s presume the worst? If we are not entering the playoffs with reasonable expectations, why push ourselves to sign the best free agents who have made their reputations on other teams? We’ve seen first hand that signing free agents does not work in our city.
But if we accept a two year rebuild, then we can use that knowledge to our advantage. We can target the team for that two season rebuild. 2016 should prioritize wide receivers and offensive line in the draft. If a high value pick drops to us, do it. Otherwise, hang the shingle to let other teams know we would consider trading out of 13 for a bevy of draft picks. Tanking is a term that alludes to a team intentionally losing. I’m not really saying that. I’m suggesting that the team look at this rebuild as a multi-year project, and run it as such. Focus our draft resources to bolster the team in those areas where two years make all the difference in the world.
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