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Philadelphia Eagles: The Future Is Now

With their Super Bowl victory, the Eagles have joined the Patriots, Steelers, and Seahawks on the list of teams that have won the Super Bowl in year two of their current franchise quarterback’s career.

  • In 2001, New England won the Super Bowl in Tom Brady’s (and Bill Belichick’s) second season.
  • In 2005, Pittsburgh won the Super Bowl in Ben Roethlisberger’s second season.
  • In 2013, Seattle won the Super Bowl in Russell Wilson’s second season.

Since then, these franchises have had obvious success.

The Patriots have won fourteen division titles, have a playoff record of 24-10, have made seven more Super Bowl appearances (twelve AFC Championship Game appearances), and have hoisted the Lombardi trophy four more times. In that span, the Patriots have only missed the playoffs twice, and never in consecutive seasons.

The Steelers have won six division titles, have a playoff record of 8-7, have made two more Super Bowl appearances, and hoisted the Lombardi trophy again in ‘08/‘09. They have missed the playoffs four times in that span, including back-to-back in 2012 and 2013.

The Seahawks have won two division titles, with a playoff record of 4-3, and have another NFC Championship Game and Super Bowl appearance. They missed the playoffs for the first time in Wilson’s career this past season.

Like these teams, the Eagles will eventually have to sign their franchise quarterback to a mega-deal. This is why this off-season and every off-season thereafter is of increased importance. New England got lucky with Brady, as they signed him to a team friendly deal after the 2002 season, but then re-did his deal in 2005. Big Ben signed his monster deal before the 2008 off-season, signing a 6 year $87.9 million dollar extension. Wilson signed his before the 2015 season, a 4 year $87.6 million dollar extension, with $60 million guaranteed.

Here is where things start to differ between these franchises…

Seattle is now in COMPLETE rebuild mode, something New England and Pittsburgh have never had to endure.

Already this off-season Seattle has traded Michael Bennett, they are in the process of releasing Richard Sherman, and are “open for business” in regards to Earl Thomas.

Roster turnover is inevitable, but Seattle is completely unprepared for the next phase of their franchise.

Let’s not give them a pass just because they had to pay Russell Wilson.

Since 2012 the Seahawks have only drafted one player in the first round, offensive guard Germain Ifedi in 2016. Overall they have drafted extremely poorly, and that’s putting it nicely. The only players of any significance that they have drafted since 2012 are Paul Richardson in 2014, Frank Clark, and Tyler Lockett in 2015, and Shaquill Griffin, Nazair Jones, and Chris Carson last year.

(You can see just how bad it really is by clicking HERE .)

They have made terrible decisions, like trading the 25th overall pick in the 2013 draft and a 2014 3rd round pick for Percy Harvin. Or trading the 31st overall pick in the 2015 draft and their starting center Max Unger for Jimmy Graham.

Their offensive line has been an issue for years, they have had no running game since Marshawn Lynch left town, and have been unable to prepare for the departure of their defensive stars.

I understand that the Patriots level of success is something that we may never see again.

I understand that the Steelers have had bumps in the road along the way. But they were able to win a second Super Bowl with their franchise QB, and still remain a Super Bowl contender in 2018.

I also understand that the Seahawks have had an amazing run as well. Hell, they haven’t even had a losing season since drafting Russell Wilson. But even so, their blueprint isn’t the one that the Eagles should be following.

I don’t want the Eagles to be rebuilding in 2023, when Carson Wentz is in the middle of his prime.

I want sustained success!

There is going to be a point in time when Malcolm Jenkins, Brandon Graham, Jason Peters, and others will have to go. Unlike the Seahawks, the Eagles need to be prepared for the departure of key contributors from their Super Bowl-winning team.

That preparation starts now!

Could the Seahawks turn it around sooner rather than later?

Sure, it’s the NFL.

But they had a chance to become the NFL’s next dynasty, and failed. I don’t want the Eagles to make that same mistake. I want the Eagles to become the NFL’s next dynasty!

Speaking of dynasties, here is my final hot take.

If trading Nick Foles can help the Eagles achieve sustained success, or even a potential dynasty, then you have to do it. The same goes for nearly any other player on the roster. Regardless of how the Foles situation plays out, I have full faith in Howie Roseman and Joe Douglas.

Unlike what Seattle has been unable to accomplish, I believe that Roseman and Douglas will put this team in a position to not only repeat as Super Bowl Champions, but have sustained success throughout Carson Wentz’s career.

But it starts now…

This article was originally posted at MouthPiecesSportsTalk.com

 Editorial credit: dean bertoncelj / Shutterstock.com

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