Philadelphia Eagles News & Notes: Is Team Better or Worse With DeMarco Murray or LeSean McCoy?
The Philadelphia Eagles have been stealing offseason NFL headlines with head-scratching decisions, questionable trades, and big additions. The team even worked out former playoff-winning quarterback Tim Tebow.
It's been a complete shakeup in the City of Brotherly Love.
Some fans believe head coach Chip Kelly is making a mistake with so many drastic decisions, and favoring so many former Oregon players, where he used to coach. The Eagles have gone 10-6 the last two consecutive seasons with a playoff appearance and an NFC East championship.
Many ask, "So why change what isn't broken?"
The trading of LeSean McCoy to the Buffalo Bills certainly had many shaking their heads. McCoy is one of the best running backs in the NFL today, and all the Eagles got back was Kiko Alonso, who didn't even play last season because he tore his ACL. Yes, Alonso went to Oregon, Kelly's former team. What makes this trade so questionable is the fact that the Eagles didn't even get back a draft pick in return for McCoy.
Not being able to re-sign their best receiver Jeremy Maclin didn't help things either.
Keeping the surprises going in Philadelphia, the Eagles then traded away their starting quarterback Nick Foles to the St. Louis Rams for Sam Bradford. This has been by far the most criticized move thus far because Bradford has torn his ACL the last two seasons with the Rams, and Foles has done a lot of great things for the Eagles. Why on earth would you trade away your quality starting quarterback for Bradford, who has played just seven total games the last two seasons?
On the flip side, the Eagles have made some favorable moves that are expected to help them next season very much.
Easily the biggest addition has been running back DeMarco Murray, who had an incredible season last year with 1,845 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns, both of which led the NFL. Murray and the Dallas Cowboys couldn't come to terms this offseason on a new contract, but the Eagles were able to persuade him to join their roster. Is Murray better than McCoy? Maybe, maybe not. What makes this addition so good is the fact that not only do the Eagles get their star running back, but the Cowboys no longer have theirs.
In addition to signing arguably the best running back in the league today, the Eagles were also able to sign one of the best cornerbacks in Byron Maxwell. In 2013, the Eagles ranked dead last in pass defense, and last season they ranked 31st overall in passing yards allowed. This signing was absolutely crucial. Maxwell helped the Seattle Seahawks make it to two consecutive Super Bowls being part of the "Legion of Boom" defense.
Maxwell very often guards the best opposing wide receiver, because that said wide out doesn't want to lineup against Richard Sherman. Time and time again, we saw Maxwell do a great job against elite receivers. This was without a doubt the Eagles' best addition so far.
As far as working out Tebow, many believe that experiment has just begun. Bradford is injured so often, and Mark Sanchez isn't a quality starting quarterback. Tebow could be the perfect fit for the spread offense that Kelly loves to run.
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