Missanelli: Another Season of Nick Foles? Please, No!
Three things circulate inside my mind for this column. But where would any sports blog in Philadelphia be without first talking about the problems of the Philadelphia Eagles.
ITEM ONE. The Eagles have reportedly expressed interest in re-acquiring Nick Foles as their starting quarterback. This item is courtesy of ESPN’s insider Adam Schefter, who has been tweeting that the Birds are not that interested in putting a franchise tag on quarterback Sam Bradford and would rather try to go to war with Foles. To this I say, “Please God, no.” I don’t want to see Nick Foles anywhere near the Eagles practice facility much less as the starting quarterback next season. That ship sailed a long time ago. Foles wasn’t very good here, save for one fluke season, and was even worse with the St. Louis Rams, where he was benched in favor of Case Keenum. What in hell Doug Pederson sees in Foles is beyond me. But apparently the new Eagles coach likes him — which makes me question Pederson considerably.
I have said it many times before and I’m sticking to my opinion: The Eagles have no other choice but to sign Sam Bradford as their quarterback and then build a defense around him akin to the Denver Broncos. That may take a few years, but at least they won’t be guessing about whom will be the quarterback. Nick Foles? Chase Daniel from the Chiefs? Mark Sanchez? Some drafted third-rounder? Come on people.
ITEM TWO. Terrell Owens was not elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Why not? When you think of the all-time great wide receiver, you think … Jerry Rice, Randy Moss, Terrell Owens. But he wasn’t elected in his crack because some insecure, maggot journalists dot the situation with selective, misguided morality. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Sports writers are a lonely lot, therefore they embrace any situations where they can exhibit power. “I’ll show that Terrell Owens. I’m not voting him for the Hall of Fame because I didn’t like the way he acted on and off the field during his career.” Never mind that he’s the third best wide receiver of all-time. This system smells to high heaven. For the last several years, the same voting committee made a statement keeping Marvin Harrison out of the Hall of Fame for off-the-field indiscretions. I guess enough time has gone by and Harrison has paid enough penance for him to be voted in this year. Weak.
ITEM THREE. LeSean McCoy is in trouble with the Philadelphia judicial system for his alleged role in a nightclub brawl against off-duty police officers. Surprise, surprise, surprise Shady. Those fellows your crew reportedly roughed up happened to wear badges in their full-time employ. That means the heat’s going to come raining down. Apparently, these off-duty cops were in the same club celebrating one thing or another when they ordered several bottles of decently priced champagne. Allegedly a member of McCoy’s crew swiped a bottle off a waiter’s tray en route to the officers. That’s when all hell broke loose. Someone strongly resembling McCoy is seen in the video throwing a wild right haymaker at someone. Uh oh. Remember years ago when Allen Iverson was sentenced to 15 years (he served four months before he was pardoned) for an altercation at a bowling alley? We’re in Philadelphia where race isn’t as polarizing as A.I.’s Virginia home turf. But damn.
Let’s add up the off-field tally sheet for LeSean during his football career. There was the infamous 20-cent tip he left at a hamburger joint. He got involved in Twitter baby mama drama that got violent and vulgar. He threw a woman off a party bus after dousing her with Hawaiian Punch. And now this. We kept saying about Iverson that he was only a kid and he would eventually grow up. Hopefully LeSean McCoy grows up soon.
Mike Missanelli is on 97.5 FM The Fanatic every week day from 2 to 6 p.m. He’s also on Comcast Sports Net’s Breakfast on Broad on Mondays and Wednesdays. Follow him on Twitter @MikeMiss975.