Peter King: Eagles will be "disappointed" in Byron Maxwell
What Peter King and other national commentators are saying about the whirlwind currently enveloping the Eagles' roster.
What they're saying about Chip Kelly and the whirlwind currently enveloping him and the Eagles' roster:
"I would call it an uneducated decision, that's what I would call it. You trade a guy like LeSean McCoy, who is a known commodity — probably a top three back in this league — production speaks for itself — for a kid that's not only coming off an ACL injury but a kid that had — you call them a one-hit wonder — but he was playing [on] Buffalo with one of the best d-line's in the league.
"Let me be clear. Kiko [Alonso] will hopefully be a dominant linebacker in this league and good luck to Chip Kelly. I just fundamentally disagree with pretty much everything Chip does as a football mind...
"His thinking is flawed. His system of how to win a championship and how to win games in our league is flawed. Oregon's yet to win a championship at the college level with that system. It's not about tempo."
— NFL Network's Heath Evans, on 97.5 The Fanatic
"Across the NFL, coaches and team executives are calling Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly a fool, a genius, arrogant, 'futuristic,' a slave to a system, 'someone who sees human beings as drones,' football's best mind and in the words of one agent, 'a human hand grenade.'
"Here's another description of Kelly: Jimmy Johnson-esque.
"We're about to find out which fits best."
— Mike Freeman, Bleacher Report
"The Eagles did what you should never do with a decent player on a championship team: vastly overpay him. Cornerback Byron Maxwell agreed to a six-year, $63 million deal [a $10.5 million average]. I get it, and free agency is good for the players, so good for Maxwell. But in paying Maxwell — the 45th-rated cornerback in the league last season by Pro Football Focus — so much, the team and fans will expect him to be a shutdown corner, which he most decidedly is not. He's a physical, tall, competitive corner, but not a great one. The Eagles will end up being disappointed, the same way Dallas was disappointed in Brandon Carr.
"I recall the words of the late Giants GM George Young: No player ever plays better because you pay him more money. Unfortunately, Philadelphia will be an unforgiving market if/when Maxwell gets beat a few times."
— Peter King, mmqb.si.com
"...[T]he Eagles don't have to worry about who their new running back will be. It will be [Frank] Gore, who will turn 32 in May.
"Gore is the type of locker room leader that Eagles coach Chip Kelly covets. Gore is coming off four straight 1,000-yard rushing seasons and has rushed for over 1,000 yards in eight of the past nine seasons. The only season over the past nine in which he failed to reach that threshold was 2010, when he missed five games with a broken hip. Gore is considered an excellent pass protector as well."
— espn.com
"It's almost as if the Eagles coach wants to show everyone he can win without any of Andy Reid's players. In the same week that he dealt away LeSean McCoy, the Eagles will allow [Jeremy] Maclin to leave via free agency. We can't blame Kelly for this one. Maclin is expected to sign with the Chiefs for money in the range of Randall Cobb's $10 million per season. Maclin has been in the NFL six seasons, and has one 1,000-yard campaign. Kelly is going to spend on defense [Maxwell], and trust his scheme to win the day on offense.
"The more surprising Eagles item Sunday: Frank Gore is expected to join the team. He gives them an incredible between-the-tackles runner and a consummate pro that excels on any down. They won't need him for 300 touches. As the President of the Gore for Canton Committee, I couldn't have picked a better landing spot for the end of his career."
— Gregg Rosenthal, nfl.com