Eagles Sign Quarterback Taylor Martinez

Taylor Martinez is an American football quarterback, currently a free agent. He played college football at Nebraska.The Martinez played his senior year of high school football at Centennial High School in Corona, California, where he was a teammate of Vontaze Burfict and Will Sutton. At Centennial he passed for over 3,000 yards, including 28 touchdowns with a 61 percent pass completion. 

Today Taylor Martinez, the former Nebraska quarterback who went undrafted over the weekend, will be joining the Philadelphia Eagles in training camp. However, he will not be competing with Mark Sanchez and Matt Barkley for a backup quarterback job. Martinez, who was ranked as the 5th highest-rated undrafted player, also worked out as a safety and wide receiver during his pro day at Nebraska. Martinez is a “tweener” with a high athletic upside and a long list of accomplishments during his tenure as the Cornhuskers’ quarterback. He averaged 5.1 yards per carry at Nebraska and ran a 4.41 40-yard dash at the combine at 6’ 1’’. He was one of the most athletic players at the combine, as he led quarterbacks in 40 time, vertical, and shuttle and was second in the cone drill. Philadelphia Eagles Taylor Martinez, The Eagles have four quarterbacks on their roster already; starter Nick Foles, backups Mark Sanchez and Matt Barkley, and practice squad thrower GJ Kinne, so he probably won’t even be considered as a QB. Instead, Chip Kelly must have liked what he saw during the receiver and DB drills, and signed him to play safety or wide receiver. His speed and athleticism will be a huge asset on special teams, Philadelphia Eagles Taylor Martinez, as the Eagles struggled to contain players like Darren Sproles on returns last season, Philadelphia Eagles Taylor Martinez.

The Eagles Offseason Signings

Start The Philadelphia Eagles entered their second offseason under Chip Kelly without any glaring holes on the team. Philadelphia Eagles The offense was one of the best in the NFL in 2013, Philadelphia Eagles setting a single-season franchise record for points scored. Philadelphia Eagles The defense was one of the NFL's most improved during the second half of the season, Philadelphia Eagles at one point surrendering 21 or fewer points in nine straight games. Philadelphia Eagles That means the Eagles didn't have to look to fill four or five starting spots for the future this offseason. Philadelphia Eagles They added one new starter on the defensive side of the ball and took away one starter on the offensive side of the ball. Philadelphia Eagles The rest of their additions were purely value pieces, Philadelphia Eagles and that's what you like to see a contending team do during the offseason. Philadelphia Eagles The following slides will highlight six different acquisitions for the Eagles, Philadelphia Eagles three underrated moves and three overrated moves. Philadelphia Eagles The Eagles may or may not have added an extremely valuable offensive weapon in multi-talented running back Darren Sproles, who was acquired for a fifth-round draft pick. Sproles, 31, isn't an ordinary running back. He's never carried 100 times in a season and at 5'6'', it's highly unlikely that he could carry the load if LeSean McCoy went down with an injury. Sproles was signed for his abilities as a receiver and a return man. Chip Kelly's offense is all about creating mismatches and a shifty, elusive player with Sproles' speed will be a nightmare for defensive coordinators. My only concern is that Sproles is past his prime, maybe even significantly past his prime. It's hard to imagine a 31-year-old running back not being on the decline and Sproles' numbers in 2013 indicated that he is. Although he caught 71 passes, he averaged just 4.2 yards per carry and scored just four total touchdowns. He also averaged just 6.7 yards per punt return and 21.3 yards per kick return. Those are easily the worst combined return numbers of his career. Sproles benefited from a top-10 quarterback in NFL history and an offensive genius in Sean Payton. He still plays with a very good quarterback and a potentially brilliant offensive mind. It's just a stretch to think that Sproles doesn't see his numbers decline again in 2014. Flash back to the postseason in the wild-card round after the 2013 season. With the Saints clinging to a 13-7 lead midway through the third quarter, Drew Brees and company faced a 3rd-and-12 from their own 42-yard line. Brees promptly hit rookie receiver Kenny Stills for a 14-yard gain and a first down, beating little-used Roc Carmichael for the key gain. Carmichael had only been inserted into the game when Bradley Fletcher had to leave with an injury just a play earlier. That one play led to the Saints' second touchdown of the game, giving them a 20-7 lead in a game they would eventually win 26-24. Although the Eagles chose to keep veterans Cary Williams and Fletcher as their starters for another year, they greatly increased their depth by adding Nolan Carroll from the Miami Dolphins. In 2013, Carroll allowed just a 47.8 completion percentage and a 65.0 passer rating. Only one cornerback in the NFL bettered both marks last year. Although Carroll has an outside chance to defeat Fletcher and earn the number two starting cornerback spot, he'll likely be the fourth corner (Brandon Boykin has the nickel spot locked up). The difference between a seasoned veteran like Carroll and an unproven player like Carmichael is tremendous. In fact, if Carroll had been covering Stills in that playoff game, there's a chance the Eagles would have stopped the Saints and won the game. The Eagles tried everything they could to convince their fan base that they made the right decision in signing veteran safety Malcolm Jenkins instead of Pro Bowlers Jairus Byrd or T.J. Ward. I'm certainly willing to give the franchise every benefit of the doubt. But at this point, I remain unconvinced that Jenkins will be able to cure the Eagles' woes at safety. In 2013, Jenkins rated as one of the worst safeties in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus. He surrendered a 103.3 passer rating and missed 16 tackles. No safety in the league rated worse on both marks. Jenkins' biggest asset is his versatility. Originally drafted in the first round as a cornerback, he switched to safety after his rookie year. The Eagles will be able to use Jenkins to cover in three and four wide receiver sets instead of replacing him with another defensive back. While I appreciate Jenkins' versatility, I still remain largely skeptical about the signing. He's just not very good at safety. Let's hope Billy Davis' scheme is able to bring out the best in him. The Eagles signed outside linebacker Bryan Braman with the intent of using the 27-year-old to improve their special teams. After all, the Eagles allowed arguably their best special teams player from the past few seasons, Colt Anderson, to walk in free agency this offseason. Braman's biggest asset is his abilities on special teams but he's been a very pleasant surprise on the defensive side of the ball during OTAs. At least one Eagles writer, Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com, thinks Braman could push for serious playing time as Connor Barwin's backup at the "jack" linebacker position. The Eagles lacked serious depth on defense in 2013, but they managed to stay relatively injury-free. If Barwin, one of the most important defenders on the team, suffers an injury, Braman is going to need to be able to step in and fill the void. The Alex Henery hate reached a breaking point following the team's postseason loss to the New Orleans Saints. The third-year kicker missed a 48-yard field goal in the team's eventual two-point playoff loss, capping off easily the worst year of his short career. In 2013, Henery proved to be inconsistent. He couldn't handle any field goals of longer than 50 yards. And his distance on kickoffs consistently ranked among the worst in the NFL. Naturally, the Eagles brought in competition for Henery this offseason. The new kicker, Carey Spear, is known as Murderleg. and a cool nickname is about all he brings to the table. Spear has been thoroughly outplayed by Henery in camp, to the point where Henery appears to have the job all but locked up for a fourth straight year. It's been bad enough that the Eagles should look at bringing a veteran into training camp because Spear clearly can't give Henery the competition he desperately needs. Philadelphia Eagles The Jordan Matthews bandwagon has been through the roof since the Eagles drafted the Vanderbilt wide receiver in the second round of the draft. Matthews, a cousin of the legendary Jerry Rice, Philadelphia Eagles has already been called the best wide receiver at camp by Eagles reporter Jimmy Kempski. Philadelphia Eagles He's big, fast, strong, intelligent and an extremely hard worker. Matthews is expected to open the season as the slot receiver, per Chip Kelly, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him emerge as the go-to receiver for Nick Foles by the end of the season. Philadelphia Eagles I'll go as far as to say that Matthews has almost no bust rate. Philadelphia Eagles He could easily win Offensive Rookie of the Year. He'll be a Pro Bowler within three years. Philadelphia Eagles I wouldn't be surprised to see him become the best receiver in the draft. Philadelphia Eagles The sky is the limit for Matthews, especially if remains in Kelly's offense, Philadelphia Eagles.

Release McCoy and Jackson

Philadelphia Eagles Jackson, the undersized wide receiver from Cal, and McCoy, the running back from Pitt, earned Pro Bowl appearances during the final, Philadelphia Eagles declining years of Andy Reid's tenure. Then they returned to Honolulu after putting up big numbers in their first season under new coach Chip Kelly. Within a few months, Jackson was gone, unceremoniously released. It's no wonder that move gave McCoy plenty to think about. "For myself, I took out of that, no matter how good a player is, it's a team," Philadelphia Eagles McCoy said Wednesday. "If you can't buy in, anything is possible. I'm not sure what the rest of the team took out of that. I was speaking for myself." McCoy told the NFL Network last week that Jackson's release sent a message to the rest of the team. "A player like that, who's done so much for this franchise -- even the year Chip was here, the stuff he did some players may think, 'Well, he produced on the field. That's the only thing that matters,' Philadelphia Eagles " McCoy said. "But it's small things I take out of everything, and that's what I took out of that." Not that McCoy saw a need to change very much. If Jackson's behavior or attitude indicated he wasn't buying in to Kelly's approach, McCoy has been a model citizen. "I like to do things the right way, anyway," McCoy said. "I don't think it changed too much. But it's the small things that you think about, that you think nobody cares about, when in reality, they do. Take care of the small details, do your work and have fun doing it." McCoy led the NFL in rushing in Kelly's first season. The Eagles have added some offensive weapons, including running back Darren Sproles and wide receivers Jordan Mathews and Josh Huff. There is a chance McCoy won't amass the kind of rushing yards he did in 2013. "I never think about that," McCoy said. "I'm productive. I look to make plays and be productive. I look forward to those things. I think Coach Kelly knows the type of guy I am, Philadelphia Eagles the player I want to be. If it does change, I know whatever role I get, I can be productive in it. "The most important thing is the value you bring to the offense. I feel like my value is high. I'll do whatever it takes to be productive. If it's running more, catching less, or catching more and running less, whatever that role may be, I know what type of player I am." With another typical season, McCoy would break Wilbert Montgomery's franchise record of 6,538 rushing yards. McCoy is 1,065 yards behind Montgomery. "Nothing's a given," McCoy said. "That's another goal to put on my list of things to get done. The guys up front will block the way they did the last two years, and this offense will get it done", Philadelphia Eagles.

Need to replace Jackson

Philadelphia Eagles Jordan Matthews, the second-round pick from Vanderbilt, has gotten a fair amount of attention during the past two weeks of OTA practices. He’s gotten quite a bit from quarterbacks, who like throwing to a 6-foot-3 target with good hands. He’s gotten attention from defensive backs, who go where the ball is going. And Matthews has gotten a fair amount of attention from reporters working the who-will-replace-DeSean-Jackson angle. That is understandable enough. The release of Jackson, a Pro Bowl receiver in his prime, was the most puzzling move yet during Chip Kelly’s tenure as head coach. Whatever you think of the move, and the explanations or lack of same, the Eagles created a need for themselves and Matthews is the draft pick destined to be seen as the solution to that problem. But that’s not really fair. The truth is, the Eagles have to replace the element of speed that Jackson provided. They can do that a number of ways. Matthews might not have quite that elite speed himself, but he can be part of the mix in Kelly’s offense. “I can see Matthews has a quick first step,” veteran cornerback Cary Williams said. “I can see him being very explosive out of breaks. And once he gets his hands on the ball, he looks like someone who can break a couple tackles and take a simple, six-yard curl into an 80-yard play.” For now, Matthews is running with the second team as the slot receiver. That has more to do with Kelly’s approach to teaching rookies than anything. Chances are, Matthews will replace Jason Avant in the slot, with Jeremy Maclin, back from a torn ACL, stepping into Jackson’s spot on the outside. Maclin has good speed, but not Jackson speed. The Eagles added elite speed when they acquired Darren Sproles in a trade with New Orleans. But as Kelly was quick to point out last week, Sproles is a running back. He’s not a wide receiver. Still, Sproles’ speed can have the same effect on defenses as Jackson’s did. He can force defensive coordinators to account for him, and that is half the battle. Kelly’s ability to deploy his other weapons, to take advantage of the space created by that speed, is the other half. “We knew [Sproles] was a really, really talented player, and when he got here, he showed that right from the jump,” Kelly said. “We heard from the coaches that coached him what an intelligent football player he is and learned that from the first day he was in this building, and how sharp he is and how dedicated he is. “I talked to Norv Turner (who coached Sproles in San Diego) and he remarked to me when I saw him at one of the pro days, he said, ‘You'll have to slow him down because he only knows one speed.’ And that's the same thing you see. Darren practices and trains at one speed. It's awesome. He fits in with the culture that we want in terms of preparation, but it's everything we wanted when we got him here.” Kelly’s ability to move Sproles around, and to mix and match all his other offensive weapons, will give the Eagles plenty of versatility this season. It is that, more than Matthews or any other one player, that will replace Jackson’s speed. Good luck to him.