Gruden: A Lot Of Teams Would Trade For Foles

Last night, some Eagles got to show off their talents in Glendale, Az., albeit a week earlier than they would have liked. Nine players ended up getting selected to participate in the Pro Bowl, but because of injuries and other reasons, six actually played in the game.

Below is a roundup of Eagles-related news and notes from the event.

Before the game, Jon Gruden gave Comcast SportsNet’s John Clark his thoughts on Nick Foles’ future as the Eagles quarterback:

“Foles can execute and make plays in this offense if he’s healthy,” Gruden said. “He’s been hurt two years in a row. That’s the number one obstacle with Foles, staying on the field. Chip Kelly is sure going to be looking for quarterbacks [in the draft], we all do, and I’m sure that he has Marcus Mariota on his speed dial.

“Two years ago, 27 touchdowns to two interceptions, the kid can play. He’s a young player, a lot of teams in the league would trade for Nick Foles. Philadelphia is very fortunate to have a tough guy who’s got massive size.”

Clark kept busy and asked Cowboys tight end Jason Witten and running back DeMarco Murray for their thoughts on the Eagles-Cowboys rivalry:

“It’s the greatest rivalry out there. They hate us. I think we hate them,” said Witten. “It’s just two really good teams, so it’s always a fight, and it’s fun to be a part of the rivalry because it’s so deep”

“Obviously they have a lot of great tradition over there, and so do we,” said Murray. “To come here and have a couple of those guys on your team and to learn from a guy like [Darren] Sproles, it’s awesome.

Les Bowen of the Daily News caught up with kicker Cody Parkey after the game and asked him about the Pro Bowl’s kicking experiment:

Eagles rookie kicker Cody Parkey successfully navigated the narrower Pro Bowl goal posts – 14 feet, instead of 18 ½ — and the longer Pro Bowl extra point distance of 33 yards three times for Team Carter. Adam Vinatieri, who beat Parkey out for the Colts’ kicking job last summer, missed twice, so we probably should have led with the “PARKEY REDEEMED!!!” angle. Evan Mathis and Jason Kelce worked together on the Team Carter line. Jon Dorenbos longsnapped for Team Irvin.

“It makes it a lot harder,” Parkey said of the extra point experiment. “It’s pretty obvious, after the results today. All those kicks Adam missed (including a 38-yard field goal) would have been good on a real upright. I don’t know why we’re doing it, or whatever.”

Colts safety Mike Adams played for new Eagles defensive backs coach Cory Undlin in Denver. He talked to Zach Berman of the Inquirer about Undlin’s strengths:

“It’ll definitely be an improvement, because Cory’s very detailed,” Adams said. “Sometimes he can be annoyingly detailed, because as a player, when a coach keeps reminding you of something and drilling it in your head, it’s a good thing, but sometimes you don’t want to hear it. But it sticks with us. And we know not to let the ball go over our head. So that’s a plus.”

Connor Barwin and former Oregon standout Kyle Long talked to Clark about Chip Kelly’s power in the organization:

“I always thought that he ran the show and I guess that was just a confirmation of what was going on,” said Barwin.

“It’s scary that Chip pretty much has full control because he’s got a football mind,” Long said. “He’s such a bright football mind, and if he has the leeway to do what he wants to do, it can be scary in a good way.”

Tucker Bagley is a Temple student and an intern at Birds 24/7.