Lurie said he was 99.99% confident

[slag]

They didn't take any gamble ... they signed Bradford as franchise QB tryout for a shit ton of money ... then they overpaid a backup ... and THEN lucked the fuck out to transform from looking like clueless boobs into guys who have you and Drama thinking they were planning it all along.

Please.

I'm all happy an' shit but I'm not buying their revisionist version of what they say they were doing for a minute.

But frankly, it doesn't make any difference if they were or they weren't ... it's how they play it from here ... because, like they say in golf after your ball hits a tree and bounces up on the green for a tap in birdie ... "they don't ask how, they ask how many."

[Kelly Pat]

Who knows, for once the iggs got lucky. Allready talkin with my buds about football. Then they sit me on my ass an say we got 162 phills games to play.

[The Duck]

They didn't take any gamble ... they signed Bradford as franchise QB tryout for a shit ton of money ... then they overpaid a backup ... and THEN lucked the fuck out to transform from looking like clueless boobs into guys who have you and Drama thinking they were planning it all along.

Please.

I'm all happy an' shit but I'm not buying their revisionist version of what they say they were doing for a minute.

But frankly, it doesn't make any difference if they were or they weren't ... it's how they play it from here ... because, like they say in golf after your ball hits a tree and bounces up on the green for a tap in birdie ... "they don't ask how, they ask how many."

I thought from the moment they signed Bradford that the purpose was to protect the asset and ultimately buy themselves a draft pick. I said it here on multiple occasions last offseason. Not because I think Howie is some great mastermind, but because it seemed like the most logical play at the time. Bradford had proven himself to be exactly the same player he was in St. Louis. A capable, average, uninspiring, eight win (at best) QB. He didn't need a tryout. The guy's mediocrity was settled science. It was inconceivable to me that anyone who'd watched the same guy I watched for two seasons would put their faith and the future of the franchise in the hands of Sam Bradford.

The one thing I got wrong is, I thought the return would be a second, from Denver, on draft day. That's what I though they were angling for all along. And if it's true that they turned down that very offer, I'd still say it was a mistake and they were damn lucky to have gotten away with it.

So it's not really revisionist. Things played out close enough to my theory that the reality reenforced my hypothetical in my own mind to the point that I saw it as being proven. Lurie's public comments to that effect sealed it for me (or fortified my confirmation bias, you might say).

Could I be wrong, and Jeff Lurie's just lying his ass off? Yeah, I guess. I just don't see the logic in anything that you're suggesting. If they signed Sam Bradford to be their franchise QB (unthinkable), then made Chase Daniel the highest paid backup in the game to sit behind him (beyond idiotic), and THEN went head over heels for Wentz and did a total 180 on their entire off-season strategy with no regard for the dollars or the assets they were sinking into the position, then this team is in the hands of idiots with no strategy, no vision, and no hope. I choose to not believe that. It allows me to maintain some hope for the future, so I can actually enjoy the games.

[IronEagle]

I think the Bradford signing may also have been a hedge against not being able to get a deal done with the Browns. It also gave them some leverage from credibly being able to walk away if the price was too high.

[The Duck]

I think the Bradford signing may also have been a hedge against not being able to get a deal done with the Browns. It also gave them some leverage from credibly being able to walk away if the price was too high.

That would imply that they were gearing up to make a run at Wentz prior to signing Bradford (on March 1) and Daniel (March 9). Which I agree with.

I didn't consider the leverage angle, but you're right. From Cleveland's perspective, they did have other options at QB.

[slag]

Are you suggesting they were thinking Wentz when they signed Bradford?

I'm a Nigerian prince seeking help in transferring large sums of money out of the country and will handsomely pay you for your assistance.

[nerd]

Are you suggesting they were thinking Wentz when they signed Bradford?

I'm a Nigerian prince seeking help in transferring large sums of money out of the country and will handsomely pay you for your assistance.

maybe not wentz...but maybe qb in general?

[The Duck]

Are you suggesting they were thinking Wentz when they signed Bradford?

I'm a Nigerian prince seeking help in transferring large sums of money out of the country and will handsomely pay you for your assistance.

They were.

http://www.csnphilly.com/philadelphia-eagles/report-qb-prospect-carson-wentz-meet-eagles

[The Duck]

maybe not wentz...but maybe qb in general?

I think it was Wentz from very early on. They though he'd be there with their natural pick. When he started rising up the board, they started moving up the board.

[slag]

Right ... they brought in a qb prospect who's draft position was unclear when Bradford hasn't been signed.

That proves it.

[The Duck]

Right ... they brought in a qb prospect who's draft position was unclear when Bradford hasn't been signed.

That proves it.

It proves they were giving serious consideration to a first round QB prospect (who they ultimately drafted) five weeks before locking up Sammy Franchise.

It also shows that as Wentz moved up the board, so did they.

[Loki]

Honestly. You give Howie way too much credit.

You actually believe that there is some sort of master plan in place?
Just the Daniel and Curry signings alone dispute that.
He's flying by the seat of his pants every single offseason.
There is no continuity with the moves he makes from one year to the next.

[slag]

I don't see that ... I see them kicking the tires on a qb like a team with an unsettled qb situation should.

Then they committed to Bradford ... then they didn't while saying they still were ... then they were stuck with too many qbs ... then they weren't.

And all of this was driven by the Browns being stupid ... the Rams being stupid ... and Bridgewater fucking up his knee ... and you see this as the product of some master plan to hedge all eventualities?

Sorry ... maybe if it wasn't Howie Roseman you're talking about I'd consider that as more of a possiblity than lucking out.

But, as I wrote before, who cares? They are where they are ... yay ... now, it's all about what they do from here.

[The Duck]

I don't see that ... I see them kicking the tires on a qb like a team with an unsettled qb situation should.

Wouldn't they have kicked the tires on Goff too, if that were the case? The earliest meeting I can find any reference to is on March 28, more than two months after they'd met with Wentz.

[slag]

IDK ... I don't follow that shit ... when you can meet ... who's still in class blah blah.

Although there is a scarcity of off-season subjects on which to wax, I think maybe we've beat on this dead horse enough.

Bottom line is that, going forward, we want them to be either as good and/or as lucky as we respectively think they were.