ESPN's Trent Dilfer went on 97.5 the Fanatic with Jon Marks and Sean Brace (audio here) to discuss the possibility of Marcus Mariota landing in Philly, which Tim McManus of Birds 24/7 transcribed:
"I personally don't think Marcus is a pro-ready quarterback," said Dilfer. "I don't think he's a guy that can play right away. I think he's a guy that has to sit for a year or two, learn an NFL system. I think as this process goes on you're going to see Marcus Mariota's stock drop a little bit because he is not pro-ready.
"He's a phenomenal talent. He's a great kid. But he's not ready to play in a traditional system. I am not completely from the school of thought that Marcus is going to go in those top two, three, four, five picks. I think there's a chance he may slide a little bit as this draft goes. And if he gets into the eight, nine, 10, even early teens, there may be an opportunity for Philly to move and get him if they want him that bad. If Chip feels like he has a plan to integrate him into his offense sooner...then I think it's worth making a play on it."
JimmyNote: The only way the Eagles can land Mariota is if NFL personnel evaluators agree with Dilfer that he is not an elite QB prospect, and slides in the draft. Otherwise, as noted here yesterday, the Eagles will simply won't have the ammo to move high enough up in the draft to get him.
Other Eagles news, notes and analysis from around the web:
The rise and fall of Howie Roseman as Eagles GM: Zach Berman, Inquirer
"Perhaps Roseman's crowning achievement as general manager was helping to land Kelly. Lurie lauded Roseman's persistence in the pursuit. The irony is that decision began the end of Roseman's time as general manager, because it was Kelly's desire for a new front-office structure that ultimately led to the change."
JimmyNote: Love Zach's "Five Best Decisions" and "Five Worst Decisions" during Howie's tenure at the end of his article. The five worst are kind of depressing.
Eagles receive draft pick from Bills via Bryce Brown trade (seo gobbledygook removed): Brandon Gowton, BGN
"When the Eagles dealt running back Bryce Brown to the Buffalo Bills during the 2014 NFL Draft, the terms of the trade were a little complicated. The conditional pick that the Bills sent to Philadelphia was the conditional pick that Buffalo received from the San Francisco 49ers in the Stevie Johnson trade. At the time, the Eagles could have earned one of three picks.
Now that the 2014 season is over, the pick has been revealed: the Eagles will receive the Bills' 2015 fourth-round selection. This means that both Johnson and Brown did not meet production-based conditions in 2014. It's unclear what exact stipulations they failed to achieve."
JimmyNote: This was a great trade by Howie Roseman, or perhaps even more accurately stated... What a stupid trade by the Bills. Running backs have minimal value in today's NFL, and while Brown has good physical gifts, it's not like he was a player worth a mid-round pick. His numbers on the season: 7 games, 36 carries, 126 yards, 3.5 YPC, 0 TD. Oof.
The Candidates: Tommy Lawlor, IgglesBlitz.com
"Rumors so far say these are the candidates:
Ed Marynowitz – PHI – Assistant Director of Player Personnel
Sheldon White – DET – VP of Pro Personnel
Eliot Wolf – GB – Director of Player Personnel
Chris Polian – JAX – Director of Pro Personnel
Chris Grier – MIA – Director College Scouting
Brian Gaine – HOU – Director of Pro Personnel"
JimmyNote: Tommy has some analysis on those guys. I'm not even going to pretend I know a thing about the "VP of Pro Personnel" from Detroit.
In case you missed it at PhillyVoice:
- We ranked the Eagles' offseason team needs from most glaring to most stable.
- We said the Eagles aren't getting Marcus Mariota, unless the NFL doesn't think he's as good as we all do at the moment.
- We identified some quarterbacks who may make sense for the Eagles this offseason.
- We reviewed the performances of the Eagles' rookies in 2014.
- We began to review where the Eagles season went wrong in 2014. (Hint: Turnovers)
- Aaaaand... We showed the Eagles' 36 turnovers in 2014 in less than 35 seconds.
And then we passed out.
Follow Jimmy on Twitter: @JimmyKempski