By GORDON GLANTZ

Gordonglantz50@gmail.com

@Managing2Edit

GORDONVILLE — I like Carson Wentz.

Maybe not as much as I like Bernie Sanders or Bruce Springsteen, but I like him enough.

And what’s not to the like about the young man the Eagles have christened their quarterback of the future after trading away a treasure trove of prime draft picks to the draft pick-hoarding Cleveland Browns for the right to select the North Dakota State product with the second overall in the 2016 NFL Draft?

Wentz has all the physical attributes – the size, the arm, the athleticism – to go along with enough intangibles, such as polite and down-to-earth manner, to fill open spaces in both of the Dakotas.

He was valedictorian of his senior class in high school, graduated college with a 4.0 grade-point average and scored a near-perfect 40 on the Wonderlic intelligence test at the NFL scouting combine.

Wentz, who quarterbacked the Bison to a pair of FCS (Division I-AA to us old-heads) titles, endeared himself to coach Doug Pederson and his staff by mastering parts of the team’s intended offensive scheme with a near-photographic memory that may prove to be more of a secret weapon on frosty Linc Sundays in December than a rifle arm that cuts through the wind.

But with all there is to like, let’s not fall in love just yet.

We need to go through a bit of a courtship, maybe even holding off on kissing on the first date. Doing so may give both us and Wentz a bad rep.

And we want this marriage to last.

If all goes according to the best-laid plans – which, in the NFL, often have the lifespan of homes in tornado alley – Wentz will come of age and take the full-time reins sometime in the middle of next season or at the beginning of 2018.

At that point, the rival Cowboys and Giants will be either bathing Tony Romo and Eli Manning in the fountain of youth or bidding them adieu.

With all due respect to Kirk Cousins in Washington, Wentz and his elite skill set – hopefully fine-tuned by coaches like Pederson, offensive coordinator Frank Reich and quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo – should put the Eagles a step ahead of the division.

That should, with the operative word being “should,”  mean free passes to the playoffs, and a path – dare we dream – to not only making the Super Bowl a time or two in his decade-plus under center, but actually winning.

I don’t know about you, but that occurrence would mean I could die – no, not literally – and go to sports-fan heaven.

Anything less, and it is the same purgatory we are in.

Anything less, and the steep bounty paid to Cleveland in draft choices – and you have to attach real names to the players lost in exchange to gain full perspective – was a deal with the devil that set the organization and its tortured fans back for an insurmountable time.

It will likely costly general manager (or whatever he calls himself) Howie Roseman his job, as well as Pederson.

Wentz could be OK, like current place-holder quarterback Sam Bradford (assuming his hissy fit ends before he starts costing himself money), or he could make Pro Bowls and re-write the team’s record books, like another No. 2 overall pick, Donovan McNabb.

It still would not matter.

The NFL graveyard is full of first-round quarterbacks who were either all-out busts (Tim Couch, Akili Smith, Ryan Leaf, David Carr, etc.) who had can’t-miss attributes as well. But there are rare exceptions – Tom Brady (sixth round) and Joe Montana (third) – where a Super Bowl winning quarterback was not of that pedigree.

It was a big step to go there, and it went against the comfort zones of many in the Eagles Nation – myself included – to pull the trigger on Wentz.

By doing so, the stakes were raised to all-or-nothing status.

When you consider the average price of a house in 1960 – the year of the last Eagles championship – was less than $13,000, maybe it was a move that had to be made.

Ironically, Wentz will don uniform No. 11 – forcing Chris Givens to No. 19 after Givens sent Josh Huff to the equipment manager for No. 13 – and there is some symbolism beyond that it is his number of choice.

In 1960, the quarterback, Norm Van Brocklin, wore No. 11. The two titles before that were in 1948 and 1949. The quarterback was Tommy Thompson. Guess what number he wore on his jersey?

So, there it is.

A career that mirrors that of McNabb, who went 1-for-5 in NFC Championship games and 0-for-1 in his one Super Bowl against Brady and the Patriots, is not good enough.

Sorry, but it’s not.

We like Carson Wentz now, and there is no reason not to like him.

In order to fall in love, and get married to his legacy, there needs to be a ring on his finger.

This column originally appeared at http://www.phillyphanatics.com

By GORDON GLANTZ

Gordonglantz50@gmail.com

@Managing2edit

GORDONIVILLE — So much for the best-laid plans, huh?

A day after I worked out a mock draft for the ages – yes, a roadmap to Utopia for the Philadelphia Eagles – they have done what they have done to me since I got into this Draftnik business.

Made a mock of mockery (even though, through my tears of seasons ended in disappointment, I often have the last laugh).

For the sake of posterity, I want it put into the Kangaroo court record that my original mock went like this: First round (8th overall), Myles Jack, LB, UCLA; Third Round (77th overall) – Vernon Butler, DT, Lousiana Tech; Third Round (79th overall) – Alex Collins, RB, Arkansas; Fourth Round (100th overall) – Tyler Matakevich, LB, Temple; Fifth Round (153rd overall) – Willie Beavers, OT, Western Michigan; Fifth Round (164th overall) – Jordan Payton, WR, UCLA; Sixth Round (188th overall) – Mike Jordan, CB, Missouri Western; Seventh Round (233rd overall) – Daniel Braverman, WR, Western Michigan and Seventh Round (251st overall) – Mike Bercovici, QB, Arizona State.

Quickly, the rationale for my PF (Posterity File).

I saw Jack as a top-five talent, and maybe the best defensive player – if not linebacker – in the draft. A knee injury that sidelined him for most of last season pushed him out of the Top 5 and most reputable mock drafts, much to my surprise, still had him on the board at pick no. 8. With Conner Barwin and Brandon Graham moving to defensive end, the chance was there to line up three young studs – Jack, Jordan Hicks and Mychal Kendricks at linebacker. Because all three have injury histories, I doubled-down on Matakevich, whose exploits at Temple should be well-known to all, in the fourth round.

With the futures of both Fletcher Cox and Bennie Logan in doubt after this year, Butler was a gift from the football gods in the third round. Most years, a player with his size (6-foot-3½, 325 pounds) and raw ability would go earlier, maybe as early as the late first round, but the depth of the defensive line in this draft class would have pushed him into the Eagles’ laps in the middle of the third.

Collins is hard-charging, decisive runner with more than 3,700 career yards – including close to 1,600 last season – to his credit. Coming out after his junior year, there is plenty of fuel still in his tank.

Beavers has the feet to play left tackle but the girth to project to the right side. He would have been a project worth the investment.

Payton was the all-time leading receiver in UCLA history whose only knock is lack of a “wow” factor. Jordan is a Division II standout with good size (6-foot-½-inch, 200 pounds), speed (4.48 in the 40) and production at the Division II level. He would be a special-teams standout from the jump, with upside to help in the secondary down the line.

Braverman is a slot receiver cut from the Edelman-Welker-Amendola cloth and will make somebody’s roster, so why not ours? Only an ACL injury in his past is hurting his stock. And if this is not the year to draft to a quarterback of the future, why not the ideal backup quarterback of the future in the strong-armed but undersized Bercovici?

Then, well, Wednesday happened.

Trade changes everything

Not only did the Flyers avoid a sweep at the hands of the Washington Capitals, the Eagles mortgaged the farm for a farm boy, moving up to the second overall spot held by the Cleveland Browns. The price was steep. The eighth overall pick and the first of two third-rounders – the 77th pick – and the fourth-rounder this year, plus a first next year and a second the following year.

Cleveland was gracious enough to toss in its fourth-round pick next year.

With that, let’s start this thing all over again. While I could mail it in – and deploy my wife’s logic of just keeping all the picks the Eagles still have the same – one with a true football brain knows it is more complicated than that. The dominos, in terms of wants and needs, fall completely differently.

So here, until Howie Roseman busts my groove again before Thursday, is my revised 2016 full mock draft for a Philadelphia Eagles franchise that has been flagless since 1960.

First Round (2nd overall): Carson Wentz, QB, North Dakota State

Listen, it’s not that I don’t like Wentz. To the contrary. I was one of three people watching practices at the Senior Bowl on the NFL Network, and he was throwing darts through the strong winds in that morning session. Watched him some more on You Tube, and there was nothing not to like. I have always maintained that if you are going to draft a franchise quarterback, he needs to have it all – size, arm strength, mobility, smarts (he has a 4.0 GPA at a school where basket-weaving is not an acceptable major) and the ability to win (two FCS titles).

If he fell to the Eagles when they were still at 13, which is more around where he was slotted until the recent league-wide lovefest, I would have pounced. To the No. 8 spot, where the Eagles moved in a deal with Miami? With Jack still on the board? I don’t know. I just don’t know. What I do know, is that it offends my draft-geek sensibilities when any team gives up too much for one player. This it is my team, so it only makes it worse.

There is a small chance that the Los Angeles Rams, who traded up to No. 1, take Wentz. However, the loud whispers in the league winds have it that California’s Jared Goff will be their franchise quarterback of choice. I don’t think the Eagles would have made their move had they not been pretty certain that Wentz would be there at No. 2, as he is reportedly their first choice to build around.

At No. 2, I would take Ohio State defensive end Joey Bosa, but there is no point in going there, right?

Wentz it will be, so Wentz it is.

Third Round (79th overall): Alex Collins, RB, Arkansas

Collins, despite being part of a rotation with the Razorbacks – and only being the “starter” one year – posted the production cited earlier, doing it with more than 1,000 yards in each of his three seasons. In fact, only Herschel Walker and Darren McFadden have more rushing yards in the history of the SEC. At 5-10 and 217 pounds, with 4.59 speed, Collins has the type of physical and instinctive running style that translates well into the NFL. He was not asked to block or catch much in college. While it doesn’t mean he can’t accrue those skills, the lack of tape in those areas will likely hurt his stock enough to leave him on the board toward the end of Day 2. He would be an ideal stunt double for oft-injured starter Ryan Mathews.

It wasn’t easy choosing him over Butler, but the Eagles need another first- and second-down runner in their stable and they may as well make a talented one.

Fifth Round (153rd overall): Hassan Ridgeway, DT, Texas

He lacks the upside of my first choice at this position, Butler, but he is probably more shovel-ready. A two-year starter for the Longhorns, Ridgeway lined up all over the line. At a shade over 6-3 and 303 pounds, he projects more inside in a 4-3 front and has an intense style of play to go along a quick first-step. While breaking up was hard to do with Butler, the Eagles are lucky that the defensive line depth in this draft will have a guy like Ridgeway left on the board.

Fifth Round (164th overall): Joe Haeg, OT, North Dakota State

Hey, if you are going to take Wentz and bring him to the big city, you may as well have a best buddy for company. And it doesn’t hurt that Haeg, a walk-on who played ice hockey in high school, emerged as the dominant offensive lineman – albeit on the FCS level. At 6-6, he will need to add a good 15-20 pounds of bulk to a 304-pound frame that was more than enough, with his advanced footwork, to make him an immovable object in front of Wentz. The four-year starter, who moved from right tackle to left tackle over the course of his highly-decorated career, would be an ideal candidate to develop at right tackle for when Lane Johnson moves to the left side.

Sixth Round (188th overall): Mike Jordan, CB, Missouri Western

Yes, the Eagles could have used a corner earlier – even though I didn’t have one in my original mock – but the reality is that may be able to get by without one as raw-but-exciting as the physical Jordan, who could even be looked at as a safety.

The only knock on Jordan is that he played on the Division II level and easily locked down the top receivers on opposing teams (collecting five interceptions last year, despite not much coming to his side of the field). He wouldn’t be the first late-round corner from a small school to make an impact, and he won’t be the last.

Second-year man Eric Rowe, last year’s second-round pick, will start at one outside spot and Nolan Carroll will likely man the other corner while Leodis McKelvin handles the slot. Another free agent signed out of the Buffalo, Ron Brooks, is likely to press for time. Behind them, likely battling for one or two roster spots, would be several young guys who are roster holdovers. That list includes Jaylen Watkins and Denzel Rice, the only undrafted rookie to make last year’s roster, and 2015 sixth-round selections JacCorey Shepherd and Randall Evans. Add Jordan to the mix and see which one or two – depending on how many safeties are kept – earns it in camp.

Seventh Round (233rd overall): Daniel Braverman, WR, Western Michigan

For the reasons stated above, I can’t quit on this guy. The fact that he is a shade under 5-10 and 175 pounds works to his benefit, as he uses his deceptive 4.52 speed to dart in and out of spaces in the middle of the field. And you can’t knock this production last season: 109 catches for 1,367 yards (12.6 average) and 13 touchdowns. He can also return punts and kicks.

Seventh Round (251st overall): Jatavis Brown, LB, Akron

OK, let’s dispense with the only major negative first. Other than he is not Myles Jack – or Matakevich, for that matter – Brown measures at 5-11½ and 219 pounds. However, he is the type of intense player – with sideline-to-sideline quickness and outstanding read-and-react skills – that will make a roster and help as a situational role player and special-teams ace. On that alone, he is worth the shot. And this is the pick acquired from Arizona for Matt Barkley, so consider it a steal after his first tackle.

Priority Free Agents: Sorry class, we are not dismissed yet. Unless Roseman can weave some hidden magic and come up with some extra picks, the Eagles will be active after the draft. While Chip Kelly rarely gave undrafted players a shot to do much more than make the practice squad, new coach Doug Pederson’s mentor, Andy Reid, almost went too far the other way and put undrafted rookies on a level playing field with later-round draft picks.

Who to look for? Start local, with the only football team playing out of the Linc last year to actually have a winning season: Temple. Matakevich – along with defensive lineman Matt Ioannidis and slot corner Tavon Young – are likely to be drafted. Lanky wide receiver Robby Anderson and center Kyle Friend, who wowed scouts at his pro days with his bench-pressing prowess, would be nice additions. Defensive lineman Hershey Walton won’t be drafted, but he is a high-character guy who would bring intensity to the practice field. Nate D. Smith, the brother of Reid-era tight end L.J. Smith, is an undersized pass-rushing specialist worth a look.

Since we are going all out on North Dakota guys, fullback Nick Bonnet could be brought to battle for that spot. Considering the best option at fullback could be third tight end/special-teams beast Trey Burton, the Eagles should look hard at an undrafted tight end like David Grinnage of North Carolina State or Henry Kreiger-Coble of Iowa.

At linebacker, Don Cherry of Villanova runs a better 40 time (4.71) than most inside linebackers. Nick Kwiatkowski of West Virginia would be another heart-and-soul type to push for a roster and position where depth is a concern.

In the secondary, Kansas State corner Morgan Burns is worth a look just on speed (4.38) alone. A safety job could easily be wrestled away from Ed Reynolds or Jerome Couplin, and someone like Mississippi’s Trae Elston – four interceptions, including two for touchdowns, last season – or Connecticut’s Andrew Adams could be the guy to do it.

So there you have it, long-suffering members of the Eagle Nation. A plan that is too big to fail – at least until the “experts” screw it all up.

This column originally appeared at http://www.phillyphanatics.com

By GORDON GLANTZ

Gordonglantz50@gmail.com

@Managing2Edit

GORDONVILLE — Give Doug Pederson credit for one thing. He has managed to unite the entire Eagles Nation before even donning a team visor.

Everyone seems to hate the idea of the one-time Bird and longtime NFL backup and assistant coach being named as the title-starved franchise’s 21^st head coach.

Everyone, minus one.

That would be me.

In the face of the universal backlash that is almost to the same level they loved the firing of No. 20, Chip Kelly, I neither hate it nor love it.

All I am saying – and all you should be saying – is to give Doug a chance.

While prone to as much sky-is-falling hysteria as the next person who bleeds Type G-negative blood, I am not climbing to the top of City Hall and threatening to jump from the top of William Penn’s hat.

That would seem odd, since I came to despise Andy Reid, and Pederson fell into the Eagles’ basket – seemingly with Reid’s blessing – from his coaching tree.

I’m just trying to cut the crap and be real, though.

I’m not quite sure how a bunch of people who were not able to see into the future well enough to win the recently gargantuan Power Ball jackpot became so clairvoyant that they are certain we are doomed with Pederson, a Reid mentee, at the helm.

To get to the bottom of this, I need be harsh. We are going to have to use some four-letter words. We’ve already talked about “hate,” which is as overused as “love” (no one should have loved the hiring of any coach, including those with proven track records, either, because you are only setting yourself up for heartbreak).

Another is “plan,” because people are silly enough to buy into the theory that a billion-dollar operation like this franchise really didn’t have a cogent one in place for their search for a coach.

Rising above all is “fear,” because that is what this is all about.

Fear fuels all negativity, poisoning many trees at their root, including the tree of hate.

Pederson represents the fear of the unknown. Nobody – himself included – knows how it will play out. I will admit that my wish list was topped by a names who took away some of the unknown – Bill Cowher. Other found their bippies and dreamed sweetly of coaxing Brian Billick, Jon Gruden and Mike Shanahan out of cushy retirements.

The Eagles even interviewed relic Tom Coughlin.

But here is a fact – another four-letter word – to consider: no coach has ever won a Super Bowl with two different franchises.

Go to the chalkboard and write that 100 times.

OK, I’m dating myself here.

Go to your iPad and type it 100 times.

Go ahead, I’ll wait.

Done? Good.

I’m not.

Why would that change, especially here in Philadelphia? I mean, Coughlin won two Super Bowls, but do you really think a ball would Velcro itself to the helmet of Seyi Ajitotutu (affectionately known by Kelly as “Tu”) the way it did to the dome of David Tyree in Super Bowl XLII?

We don’t win championships like that in Philly. We do it “fo-fo-fo” style or wait decades in vain trying and lament the close calls. On that magical day, in some magical place where it never gets cold, It’ll be a 44-10 victory. All doubt will be removed. No “Leon Stickel” schtick to ruin it.

Why, in a sport where the statistical probabilities are weighed before each and every decision is made, would it be worth it to buck the trend just to ease the temporary fear of the unknown by going out to the recycling bin and coming back with a known entity who we know would be bucking historical trends?

In the same spirit of telling you doubters and haters to go fact yourself, the one common thread between every Hall of Fame – or pending – NFL coach is one thing: they were all unknown entities, on some level, until someone gave them a chance.

But you won’t give Pederson a chance? I thought this town had bigger, and more open, hearts than that. Guess I was wrong.

The thought process that the Eagles hierarchy of owner Jeffery Lurie, Howie Roseman (back in charge after a year in exile) and Don Smolenski were not “football guys,” and, therefore, played a gloried game of Pin the Tail on the Random Offensive Coordinator, is almost too stupid for a response.

They most definitely had a plan. Perhaps too much of a plan, causing some paralysis by analysis, but the homework was done. Perhaps, just perhaps, the full plan has yet to be revealed. If Pederson is surrounded with venerable coordinators and position coaches, his relative inexperience won’t be so glaring.

And once he gains experience, he’s not inexperienced anymore. Funny how that works. Just like Whiz wid – or wid-out – makes it a Philly Cheesesteak.

The problem is that Pederson is being consumed – and spit back out – by a ravenous fan base that has been trained by the digital and talk-radio media that is supposed to serve as a conduit that any move involving Roseman is automatically going to give you a rare and incurable disease.

Hard to believe it is the town where a fictional boxer, Rocky Balboa, is worshipped for being given a chance as an underdog and becoming a champion (albeit in “Rocky II,” not “Rocky”).

But we better believe it because it is happening. Fear and hate are running the day.

No one hates seeing teams representing less passionate bases win Super Bowls – and fears that the Eagles won’t win a Super Bowl in their lifetime – more than I do.

But all of you – and I don’t use the term “all of you” loosely – need to douse the fire of your ire before it consumes you.

Roseman is guilty until proven innocent. He may not be Ron Wolf (whisper: also not a “football guy”), but he was a better GM than Kelly, was he not?

And Pederson has been pre-judged by virtue of guilt by association.

The news of his hire trickled out Thursday. That means that the weekend that followed saw many of his doubters enter houses of worship and exit ill-prepared to practice what had been preached.

The Chiefs lost Saturday in the playoffs, so the Pederson hire can now be official.

Hopefully, the anxieties – the frustration that it wasn’t a sexier name – are somewhat out of the systems of the common fan.

Of all the four-letter words we are throwing around here, “Doug” should not be considered a curse, too.

Certainly not if you consider “Chip” to be one, as Pederson – with his resume being Exhibit A – appears to be the anti-Chip.

Most Iggles fans only remember Pederson as the underwhelming quarterback who kept then-rookie Donovan McNabb’s place warm for half a season – which most felt was half a season too long.

He spent 13 seasons in the NFL, starting 17 games. That’s 13 more seasons, and 17 more starts, than Kelly – or a lot of other lauded coaches – ever played.

That was a lot of offensive meetings, under the likes of Don Shula and Mike Holmgren, and he likely developed a cerebral grasp of the game while serving as an understudy to the likes of Dan Marino and Brett Favre, both of whom were able to play more on instinct and natural ability.

His coaching journey began at the high school level. He came back to the Eagles in 2009 to coach under Reid for four seasons – two as offensive quality control coordinator and two as the quarterbacks coach – before following Reid to Kansas City, where he has been the offensive coordinator since 2013.

It’s not a slam dunk resume, but not one for the round file, either. A steady ascension, albeit all under Reid, is worth noting.

Also, aside from the high school stint, he was been playing alongside – and coaching – professional athletes his whole adult life. After Kelly, it will be a welcome change.

Does all this mean Pederson will be good or great coach, the Moses figure who leads us to the Promised Land?

Of course not.

But it’s doesn’t mean he won’t – or can’t – be that, either.

We really know nothing about the man and if he has the qualities needed in a head coach.

If you know the answer to those questions, go become a fortune teller.

If not, cut the crap and get real.

This column also appeared at http://www.phillyphanatics.com

 

By GORDON GLANTZ

Gordonglantz50@gmail.com

@Managing2Edit

GORDONVILLE – Be quick but don’t hurry.

The source of that quote was famed UCLA basketball coach John Wooden. A deeply religious man, the late Wooden would likely bristle at what I am about to assert, which is that “be quick but don’t hurry” should not only be one of the 10 commandments, but probably one of the top five.

In a world of false idols, it is a truism that transcends the world of sports. If more people followed it – while being careful of not crossing the border between the wise choice of being quick and the fool’s gold found in hurrying – a lot of problems would likely work their way into solutions.

This certainly holds true in the rise and fall of Chip Kelly, who didn’t even last the full five years of his contract as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles – even after taking over a 4-12 team and going 20-12, with a division title, in his first two seasons.

The break-neck, no-huddle offense Kelly made so lethal at Oregon is the obvious example of the difference between being quick and hurrying.

At its best, it ran like a well-oiled machine fueled by coaches and players being so decisive that the opponent could not keep pace. At its worst, the Eagles were unable to keep pace with themselves, becoming their own worst enemy and suffering self-inflicted wounds.

The same quickness that made Kelly 19-9 in his first 28 games turned to the hurrying that made him 7-12 in the last 19 before suffering the ultimate indignity of being fired with a game left in his third season.

It wasn’t so much the style of play that made Kelly’s team go from quick and lethal to hurried and harried, but an unwillingness to pay attention to detail that would have made Wooden cringe.

Known as the “Wizard of Westwood,” Wooden would spend whole practices having his charges lace up their sneakers properly. The reasoning was simple: If one of his high-school Americans, who came to Los Angeles from all corners of the nation, were to trip at key point in a game – hurting themselves and/or the team – he would not have done his due diligence.

Kelly’s Eagles, in a league that demands cohesion, became the antithesis of this approach. The result of what seemed to be a focus of some big picture to prove he is the smartest person in the room turned into a failure to deal with devil that lurks in the details.

The Eagles not only led the league in dropped passes, but were also near the top – or bottom – in penalties, of which many were unforced (false starts, illegal shift, etc.). There were also turnovers, including many in the all-important red zone, where the team was never consistently effective.

Going the other way, Kelly never seemed to care about the pressure he was placing on a defensive unit that wasn’t overly skilled in certain spots – like the vital cornerback position.

If his offense clicked, which it intermittently did, a scoring drive would still only take – at most – two or three minutes off the clock. Not only is that not sufficient time to recharge – particularly as a game wears on and a season wears on – but not enough time to pull together any meaningful adjustments.

And that’s when the offense worked. When it didn’t, a possession would be a matter of seconds, which is not long enough to get to the bench and suck down some Gatorade and even make eye contact with a defensive coach.

The defense missed tackles, missed assignments and dropped a few too many interceptions to keep them in games. For the first half of the 2015 season, the Eagles were near the top of the league in forcing turnovers, getting to the quarterback with sacks and pressures and stuffing the run.

The second half was the polar opposite. The bottom fell out. While no one knows what went on, there was the appearance of quitting, which does not play well in a town that identifies itself more with a fictitious boxer named “Rocky” than its vaunted orchestra.

Kelly was quick in 2013, and took the NFL by storm. But the NFL, for all its blunt force trauma and bottom-line brutality, is quite sophisticated. The league responded, and it was Kelly’s turn to respond back. His solution? Keep doing what he was doing, which equated to hurrying, in lieu of being quick.

We are only left to wonder what would have been had the Eagles huddled up, being able to put opponents back on their heels because they wouldn’t know when the no-huddle was coming (think of the Marv Levy-coached Buffalo Bills that seemed to lose in the Super Bowl every year).

Kelly had the personnel to line up with the quarterback under center, with two tight ends, and pound teams. At any time, he could flip the script. That would have instantly added a second trick to a one-trick pony.

It also would have given his own defense a little bit more of a fighting chance to not be steamrolled by any team with a running back over 220 pounds and willing to give a second effort.

The fact that the Eagles were 7-9 this past season – and not 2-14 – shows they weren’t that far away. All they needed was a bit of ingenuity.

But Kelly does not get all of the blame here. He was an employee, albeit an important one, who had someone signing his checks.

As the Eagles search for his successor, we have to ask if they hurried into hiring him so that another team wouldn’t. And did they hurry into allowing a shift of the draft focus toward players from Oregon or the PAC-12?

Did they fail to be quick, instead hurrying, by granting him full control of personnel before his final season – without any system of checks and balances – as the runaway train that was the Chip Kelly era ran off the tracks with some dubious personnel moves that are too painful to recount again?

We in Eagles Nation must hope that Jeffrey Lurie, who fancies himself as being prudent, also follows the commandment Wooden carved in stone and handed down to anyone charged with pursuing any form of success.

As for Kelly, and where he goes from here, he best be quick about it.

But we have seen enough of his act to realize that this leopard who refused to change his spots will likely continue to hurry.

That’s bad news for him, and whichever pro or college team – or network – that hires him.

The good news for us is that it is not our problem anymore.

By GORDON GLANTZ

Gordonglantz50@gmail.com

@Managing2Edit

GORDONVILE — Should he stay or should he go?

That was the bottom-line question facing Eagles Nation in the wake of being made into turkeys in front of a national audience on Turkey Day.

What do to with coach/general manager Chip Kelly, who has seemingly run out of all the mojo he showed while taking the league by storm in 2013?

As of Thursday morning, this die-hard was firm that Kelly should man up and coach out at least four years of his five-year deal, if only out of principle.

By the time the sun set and I was stuffed with stuffing, I wasn’t so sure.

One game should never determine the fate of a coach, but this is more about the big picture than one game.

I’m feeling a bit like a detective looking at all his evidence, finally having an epiphany and reaching a startling conclusion.

I know what I would do. Hold a press conference Monday morning and fire Kelly and defensive coordinator Billy Davis.

Offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur can finish up as interim head coach and defensive line coach Jerry Azzinaro can run the defense.

If they fail, they fail. So what? Probably better anyway, as it will help draft positioning as yet another rebuild commences.

But I’m not Jeffrey Lurie (as confirmed by my bank statement). He will probably wait and assess the damage after a season that very well could end up with, at best, one more win.

But why?

With the sad reality that you can’t “fire the whole team,” the team needs to be sent a clear message. You can’t wear Eagles green and lay down on successive weeks.

There are three home games remaining in December, and it is going to get as ugly as it can get – if anyone even shows up – unless something isn’t done as a preemptive strike.

It’s clear the league has figured out Kelly’s offense and Davis’ defense, and something has to be done about it.

Kelly’s Eagles find themselves 4-7 and hopelessly devoted to living in the NFL sewer system just three weeks after the optimists within felt the overtime win in Dallas coming out of the bye week could spark a winning streak that would put them at 7-4 – and in control on the NFC Least, a division where 8-8 might just be enough to back into capturing the flag.

They came out of the Dallas game and shot out to a 16-3 lead against the visiting Miami Dolphins, only to fall, 20-19. Still, with Tampa Bay Buccaneers coming to town and a trip to the Motor City against a Lions’ team that started the year 1-7 (they are now 4-7) on tap, the schedule seemed to smile on the Eagles.

Instead, the Eagles spat upon the schedule’s smiling face, laying twin eggs. In the 45-17 drubbing at the hands of the Bucs, rookie Jameis Winston threw five touchdown passes.  That feat was matched by Matthew Stafford in the Thanksgiving Day massacre.

No need to run for the calculators. In two must-win games, against two “eh” opponents, the Eagles were out-scored, 90-27, and yielded 10 touchdown passes to quarterbacks not named Marino and Montana.

And, in both games, we saw something that can’t be quantified.

The Eagles flat-out quit. It was clear in their body language, in the way they sat on the bench with stupefied looks on their faces, in the way they grinned after screwing up and the way they laughed it up with their tormentors between snaps.

The Eagles were 10-6 in 2013, and won the division, a year after going 4-12. For his encore in 2014, Kelly’s version of the Birds started off 9-3 but finished 10-6 and out of the money for the postseason.

Again, keep those calculators turned off. After a 19-9 start, Kelly’s Eagles are 5-10.

Looking back on better times, quarterback Nick Foles had a career year in 2013. His play was a bit off in 2014, but was still 7-2 as a starter before going down with a season-ending injury.

LeSean McCoy led the league in rushing in 2013 with 1,607 yards. He was not a good in 2014, with a dinged-up offensive line a big part of it, but still ran for 1,319 yards and became the franchise’s all-time leading rusher.

DeSean Jackson, the mercurial wide receiver who previous coach Andy Reid didn’t seem to utilize to his fullest potential, had a career year in 2013 (82 catches, 1,332 yards, 9 TDs). He was then cut, outright, with no compensation. The Eagles also seemed to let it float out there that Jackson had gang affiliations. He signed with the rival Washington Redskins and, at the time this is being written, still isn’t charged with any crime.

Fellow receiver Jeremy Maclin, who missed 2013 with a knee injury, played on a one-year deal in 2014 and had a career season (85 catches, 1,318 yards, 10 touchdowns). He was jettisoned in the offseason, leaving the Eagles with no real weapons at receiver (second-year man Jordan Matthews seems best suited as a No. 2 and some of the others on the team are barely worth discussing).

It’s worth noting that Kelly’s title went from coach to coach/GM this past offseason, just two years out of the college ranks.

He traded Foles to St. Louis for Sam Bradford. Despite assuming the injury risk and taking on the significantly larger contract, the Eagles also gave up the worst of the draft-pick exchange (including a second-round in the upcoming draft).

Foles has since been benched in St. Louis, but he would have been in his third year in the system here and made a fraction per year of Bradford’s $13 million salary. That money could have been used for other pressing needs.

Stats and quarterback ratings are nice (Foles led the league in QB rating in 2013), but it is all about winning and losing.

Foles was 14-4 as a starter under Kelly. All others – Michael Vick, Mark Sanchez and Sam Bradford – are a combined 10-15.

It should also be noted that once Sanchez started in Foles’ stead at the end of last season, Maclin was less of a factor because the deep ball was not a serious threat.

In a stunning development, Bradford has gotten hurt. Ditto for Kiko Alonso, the linebacker coming off injury – and apparently playing at about 50 percent – who was acquired, straight-up, for McCoy.

Kelly let guards Evan Mathis and Todd Herremans walk without adequate replacements.

The list could go on and on.

Even though former GM Howie Roseman was sent out for coffee and has never returned, it is not fair to blame him for drafting blunders (like last year’s whiff with Marcus Smith). Looking at the number of Oregon players drafted, and PAC-12 players drafted if no former Ducks are on the board, it is pretty obvious that Kelly’s fingerprints and DNA were all over the first two drafts.

Bringing us to the question of the day: Should he (Kelly) stay or should he go?

Lurie – prior to dissing Roseman – is not known for being prone to rash decisions (he kept Reid around two seasons too long), and it’s his call.

Yes, he can sit down with Kelly and have a heart-to-heart discussion.  If Kelly is willing to change, maybe his tenure here can be salvaged.

The question would be if he is too prideful, and stubborn, to realize that one-trick ponies don’t survive in this league.

The hurry-up offense is fine, but it loses effectiveness when deployed from wire to wire. He has two good backs – DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews – in McCoy’s stead, but they both need to run behind a fullback (none even on the roster) and with the quarterback under center. And Davis would have to go. Period. End of story.

As for the GM thing, there is speculation that removing the title could null-and-void Kelly’s deal. How about a venerable person in the personnel mix – a consultant – who has to sign off on all moves going forward? Kelly can keep the title but needs someone other than Ed Marynowitz picking up his dry cleaning.

If the Eagles come out of their self-induced coma a bit, and he agrees to these changes, maybe he salvages a second chance and fourth season to get it right.

But once Philadelphia turns hostile, it is nearly impossible to win back trust.

That’s what we are looking at.

Ask me, he should go – and go now.

For the next coach – and we are getting ahead of ourselves – there is no need to reinvent the wheel. I start with Bill Cowher and Jon Gruden and go from there, maybe with successful coordinators.

Hard to believe we are talking about this? Yeah, me too. But when a marriage goes bad, just file those divorce papers. No need to stay together for the sake of the kids, especially when they are an angry mob hungry for a long-elusive Super Bowl.