Weekend Reading: Tom Gamble’s Future

Some links to pass along this weekend…

ESPN’s Adam Caplan has a list out of the top GM candidates in the NFL. He has Eagles vice president of player personnel Tom Gamble at No. 1:

The son of former Eagles president Harry Gamble, Tom started his NFL career with the Eagles in 1998. And like his late father, he is a rarity in NFL scouting departments these days: He not only has extensive pro and college scouting experience, but he has experience with contract negations and the salary cap, and he even has coaching experience in his résumé (defensive assistant/quality control coach with the New York Jets for two seasons: 1995-1996). Over the years, several teams have shown interest in him for general manager jobs (most recently last year — Miami Dolphins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers).

And it’s worth noting that Gamble has worked closely with some of the best evaluators in the NFL such as Bill Polian (with Carolina Panthers and Indianapolis Colts) and Trent Baalke (with San Francisco 49ers). And most recently, Gamble has had a hand in the turnarounds with the 49ers and Eagles, where he has worked closely with head coach Chip Kelly.

Albert Breer of NFL.com has Gamble on his list of potential GMs also:

Carries a big stick as an evaluator for Chip Kelly and played a major role in the Niners’ recent revival. The Jets interviewed him in 2013 and could circle back.

Tim wrote last month that Gamble and Chip Kelly remain tight. What would the Eagles do if other organizations tried to pluck Gamble this offseason? It’s a question that very well could require an answer in a few weeks when teams start making offseason moves.

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Peter King of The MMQB writes about whether the Cowboys’ offensive line can redeem itself Sunday night:

In the next game, though, Philadelphia’s interior strength was a big factor. Cox and Bennie Logan will be a load, again, for the interior three to handle this weekend. What’s most important is for Dallas to control the ball so Philadelphia can’t make this a track meet. With how fast Philadelphia plays (the Eagles ran 75 plays in the first meeting), Dallas has to play an old-fashioned, Bill Parcells-clockball game, controlling time of possession as much to wear down the Eagles as to keep the ball from the dangerous offense’s hands.

“Every time we play Philadelphia, it feels like a playoff game,” said Frederick, who has learned this in all of three games of the rivalry. “It’s the next game on our schedule, but we know how important it is.”

Important, too, for a very good offensive line to redeem itself.

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No Eagles angle on this one, but one of my favorite football writers, Seth Wickersham of ESPN The Magazine, has a tremendous profile out on Scot McCloughan, one of the league’s best talent evaluators who doesn’t currently work in a front office.

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Stephen White of SB Nation provides an Eagles-Cowboys preview. I agree 100 percent with this point:

One thing that became apparent to me from the Thanksgiving Day game is that no matter how well the Cowboys run the ball, they are still going to have to take and make some shots down the field from time to time to keep up with the Eagles on the scoreboard. Oh, they can take a lot of time off the clock with their running game, but if the passing game isn’t producing chunk plays and helping them convert third downs, the Cowboys will lose again on Sunday … and it won’t be pretty. I don’t think Romo needs to throw the ball 40 times, but I do think he needs to make the most of when he does throw the ball down the field.