Despite the Philadelphia Eagles boasting an impressive 10-2 record and holding the top seed in the NFC, former NFL quarterback David Carr has raised eyebrows by suggesting it may be time for a change at the quarterback position.
During an appearance on “NFL Total Access,” Carr expressed his opinion, stating: “Clearly, Jalen is uncomfortable reading through a defense in a drop-back pass scenario, some would say he’s not even good at it,” he said.
“You have to have a serious conversation if you’re Philly and you have to really say ‘Is it better for us to play Marcus Mariota right now and let Jalen get fully healthy?’”
"I'd say he's probably better at playing quarterback for the Philadelphia @Eagles, right now he'd be more productive."@DCarr8 emphasizes Marcus Mariota should be the QB1 over Jalen Hurts. 😳 pic.twitter.com/rGgp6WZjIG
— NFL Total Access (@NFLTotalAccess) December 6, 2023
Despite their stellar record, it’s clear that the Eagles are a flawed team and are nowhere near as good as last year’s conference champion squad.
Carr thinks a main reason is because Hurts is hurt – and that Philly would be better off letting him heal while the veteran Mariota takes the snaps under center.
“I feel like we started with good rhythm, good tempo, good execution for the most part … We just kind of weren’t able to connect and execute like we wanted to in the end zone. When you’re playing a good team like that, every little thing matters,” Hurts said following the embarrassing 42-19 blowout loss to the dangerous San Francisco 49ers.
Jalen Hurts with 2 torn ACLs is better than David Carr also
— Ben Kukainis (@benkdigital) December 6, 2023
Despite the Eagles currently holding the top seed and home-field advantage in the NFC, Carr believes the dominant performance by the 49ers warrants consideration for a change.
“It does not matter if the Eagles are the top seed and have home-field advantage because of the way the 49ers dominated this past week,” Carr added.
Unless something radical changes, it’s hard to imagine the Eagles beating the 49ers in the playoffs – no matter where the game is played.
He still thinks his brother is QB1 in the entire NFL.
— David Ballew (@DavidLBallew) December 6, 2023
“Put Marcus in there, win a couple of games, maybe you have the #1 seed still, you might have it … I’d say (Mariota) is better at playing quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles right now … Right now, he’d be more productive,” Carr said.
No Marcus looked good when he came in. He’s definitely a better passer than Jalen.
— All in Tesla (@bridges_issiah) December 6, 2023
Mariota, the #2 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, has had a disappointing career as a starter.
He’s 34-40 as a starter with 15,672 passing yards, 92 touchdowns, and 54 interceptions.
However, he’s an experienced veteran who is hungry to contribute in a winning environment.
— BamaBruin2 (@BamaBruin2) December 6, 2023
Carr’s take was a controversial and largely unpopular one.
It’s hard to imagine Nick Sirianni and the Eagles actually benching Hurts in favor of Mariota … He would have to be injured to the point where he’s really hurting the team – and that’s just not the case yet.
What do you think of Carr’s take?
Looking at the big picture, what are your thoughts on the Birds going forward?
Do they have any shot to beat the Cowboys in Dallas on Sunday?
What do they need to do to regain their swagger and become the team they were last season?
Is that even possible with this current group???