Which four faces of the 2015 team belong next to one another, symbolizing who this football team is and what they are all about.
Does the list start with the head coach/general manager and ruler of all that is related to the Eagles, Mr. Chip Kelly? As long as he is part of the Eagles, he will be the first and last person that I think of in regards to this football team, so he gets a spot on my list.
As for the players, this gets tricky with so many new faces since the 2014 season. There are guys that I really think will be studs this year like DeMarco Murray, Kiko Alonso and Jordan Matthews who could certainly be names I think of for the 2016 Mount Rushmore. Young and promising players in Nelson Agholor and Zach Ertz are the future, but don’t necessarily have the pedigree I’m looking for to fill out the other three spots.
My three are left tackle Jason Peters, tight-end Brent Celek and outside linebacker Connor Barwin. Taking Peters is no surprise, and my guess he would be majority favorite, an absolute beast since his arrival in Philadelphia. Peters is a quiet guy when it comes to speaking with the media, but he demonstrated last season against Washington that if you come after his quarterback, he is going to hunt you down and make you regret it. Pro Bowl player with some grit, how can you not love the future Hall of Famer?
Brent Celek is as tough as they come. I’ve seen the guy take some of the most brutal hits and pull himself up and hustle back to the line of scrimmage as if nothing ever happened. Celek by no means is the most talented player; he was at time a borderline Pro Bowl receiver who has transitioned himself into a respectable blocker per the request of Chip Kelly. He is a team first guy, and is the longest tenured player on the team, a guy the coaching staff, fellow teammates, media and fan base ultimately respects.
With my last pick, taking a guy like Barwin over a Fletcher Cox was difficult. Cox is a dominant player and if he played in a 4-3 defense I could see him registering double digit sacks, but he has transformed himself into an absolute beast in his 3-4 defensive end role.
Barwin was a guy I coveted when he was with the Houston Texans. I was not surprised by the season he had last year as he knew he was heavily relied on in 2013 to play multiple roles with the team transitioning into a 3-4, which did not allow him to be as aggressive with his pursuit of the quarterback. I could easily see another dozen sacks this season, an invite to the Pro Bowl and a spot in the top 50 when the NFL network reveals its top 100 players for the 2015 season.
Maybe it’s the haircut, the fact that he takes public transportation around the city or that he is always volunteering in the community, Connor Barwin has become my favorite player on this football team.
So there it is; Chip, Peters, Celek and Barwin as the faces on my current Philadelphia Eagles Mount Rushmore. I’m interested to hear the combinations that you the readers would construct.
I would go with Peters,Celek,Barwin & Malcolm Jenkins for this 2015 Squad as all 4 Represent what Chip Kelly wants from his Players, which is 100 % Effort & Commitment, Intelligence, Toughness and Natural Leadership…
I like Jenkins thrown into the list. He is certainly the leader of the secondary, which is really going to be needed considering that the safety next to him and cornerbacks in front of him are all new this season. His experience going from corner to safety is really going to help Thurmond.
MJ is definitely a Leader and Spokesman for the Eagles D and Franchise.. He’s well spoken, intelligent and a great representative of what Chip Kelly’s Eagles are all about..
Jason Peters, Fletcher Cox, Connor Barwin, Jason Kelce
A group that has not won a playoff game doesn’t get a Mt. Rushmore …stupid
Agree cigar
Although the more I see and read the more I think Kiko is my Statue of Liberty if healthy
Hac couldn’t agree more ..tough to canonize a coach that hasn’t won a playoff game.I can’t recall in all my years ,a coach as pinnochipio ,who seemingly is in a protracted honeymoon.We booed them all ,but so far ,chip has us all in a state of cautious optimism .Mount Rushmore is reserved for Shula ,Lombardi ,Walsh ..also with all the all pros we jettisoned. Who deserves to be an Eagle in granite ..? Pman ..any last years backend player ,belongs nowhere near a mount Rushmore. Maybe Mount Passmore ..
Probably a better Title for this article is to list the 4 Faces of This Current 2015 Team that best represent Chip Kelly’s Culture
Jonathan Papelbon……. I’m not going to support “how” he is campaigning to be traded…. but…is his take on how much of a mess this organization is as a whole, something that we want to hear more of?
this all should have started after last season- I guess middleton didn’t have control at that time. A new president should have been hired with a new GM– having a lame duck GM when you have so many trades is unexplainable to me.
But another take on the Pap comments- it is further proof what kind of jerk he is… apparently he is a cancer and teams are staying away from him.