Eagles News: Jeffrey Lurie says Philadelphia will compete for the division title

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Lurie expects Eagles to contend for NFC East title - Inquirer
The Eagles re-signed Sam Bradford and committed more than $140 million in guaranteed money this offseason, and owner Jeffrey Lurie expects the team to be a playoff contender in Doug Pederson's first season. He said the moves were made, however, to improve the team's long-term outlook. "We expect to compete for the division title," Lurie said Tuesday at the NFL's annual meetings. "But at the same time . . . it's maximizing short term, maximizing mid-term, maximizing long term. One of the reasons for . . . making those trades was a change in the preference of how we wanted to allocate the resources.

Lurie On QBs And Accountability - Birds 24/7
Reasons for lack of transparency on these subjects earlier in the offseason can be debated, but nevertheless, the truth that had been apparent for some time was finally verbalized by the owner: Roseman is in charge. "Yes, without question," responded Lurie, when asked if Roseman will be held accountable for the moves made this offseason. "And he’ll be accountable for how well the player personnel department does in the future because that’s an important hire going forward. It’s not just one person, it’s a department, but he’ll be responsible for the quality of that department."

Former coaches discuss the Eagles' free agent acquisitions - PhillyVoice
Houston Texans head coach Bill O'Brien discussed former Texans (and current Eagles) RG Brandon Brooks. "The Eagles are getting a big guy, an athletic guy for his size," said O'Brien. "This guy is big all the way through. He is an enormous guard. 340 pound guy, good guy, really smart, played some really good football for us. Philly's getting a good guard."

Outside the 1st Round - Iggles Blitz
I have no interest in Cardale Jones. He has the physical tools to be a starter in the NFL, but he’s incredibly raw and you’d be building him from the ground up. QB is a position where physical tools aren’t as important as positional skills and intangibles. Matt Cassel barely played at USC, but he was in a pro-style offense. You didn’t have to teach him mechanics or the subtleties of the position. The thing he lacked was game experience. Jones has 10 or so starts, but played in a spread system and made plays more on talent than refined skills.

Jeffrey Lurie: Giving Chip Kelly power wasted time, not money - CSN Philly
"The expense of the lesson is just time, it’s not money," Lurie said on Tuesday at the annual NFL owners meetings. "We’re all about wanting to win big. No amount of money will ever prevent us. We’re all in, as you know. It’s all about winning championships for Philadelphia. So we lost some time, we didn’t lose in the classic way of expense. It was a time expense." Basically, the Eagles lost at least the year they had Kelly in power, and possibly more, depending on how irreparable the damage turns out to be.

Titans coach Mike Mularkey sees nothing but goodness in former Eagle DeMarco Murray - Morning Call
"I think he still has a lot of juice in the tank still, I really do. I'm not going to comment on [possible shortcomings of] other offensive schemes or how they use players, but we believed, [general manager] Jon [Robinson] and I, when we were looking at him, that he's got a lot left. And in our offense, we'll be smart with how we handle him during the year. We're going to manage him correctly. But he is going to run the ball. … He'll be used extensively."

2016 NFL Draft: Mixed reviews on Michigan State tackle Jack Conklin - NJ.com
Michigan State's Jack Conklin is one of the more mysterious players in this year's NFL Draft. The consensus among the draftniks is that Conklin, 6-6, 308, is the No. 3 tackle in the draft behind Laremy Tunsil, of Mississippi and Ronnie Stanley, of Notre Dame. Not everyone agrees, especially some of the men who actually make the picks. Some like him more and some like him less. "He's a tough guy,'' a top NFC personnel man said. "He's strong, he's big. I know I'm in the minority here, but I like him better than Stanley. Why? I think when you look at the whole picture, the combination of what he can do, he's better (than Stanley).''

Eagles Theme: More Work To Be Done - PE.com
The national reviews are positive, encouraging and consistent: The Eagles have done a fine job in this offseason of cleaning up the salary cap, lopping off some unsavory contracts, locking up good, young talent and improving draft positioning. But as Jeffrey Lurie said on Tuesday, so much hard work remains ...

Expanded horse collar 1 of 7 rules passed by NFL competition committee - SB Nation
The NFL competition committee has voted to expand the horse collar rule. Defenders are now prohibited from bringing down a runner by grabbing onto or above the name plate of his jersey. The rule is one of a number of safety-related changes the NFL has voted to institute this week during the annual owner's meetings, which this year are taking place in Boca Raton, Fla. The league also voted to eliminate all chop blocks. Below are the seven new rules instituted by the competition committee on Tuesday.

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