Former NFL QB has truly miraculously dumb take on Jalen Hurts, Eagles

I can't believe we are about to have this conversation, but here we freaking go... NFL Network analyst and former No. 1 overall pick by the Houston Texans David Carr actually said that until Jalen Hurts is fully healthy, Marcus Mariota should be the starting quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles. Hurts is a limited player when he is injured, but putting Mariota out there sends everyone the wrong messages.

Carr argued that Hurts is not great at reading defenses, which is true to some extent. He is a lot better at it than when he was an underclassman at Alabama, but he is not being tasked with carving up Big 12 pillow-fight defenses in Lincoln Riley's Oklahoma Air Raid anymore. Hurts has to go up against the likes of the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Playoffs. Mariota quit on his former team...

Carr kept saying that the Eagles are trailing the 49ers in the NFC standings, which is not true. They are one game ahead of them at 10-2 to the 49ers' 9-3. Yes, San Francisco owns the head-to-head tiebreaker after last weekend's drubbing at The Linc. However, the instant Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni puts Mariota in for Hurts to start a game, just give the Dallas Cowboys the NFC East crown.

Please applaud the restraint Carr's colleagues had to have to endure listening to his moronic take.

Hurts' health may limit the Eagles' ability to get back to the Super Bowl, but he is not injured beyond repair. What have we seen in the last three seasons that leads us to believe Mariota can be trusted?

David Carr wants the Philadelphia Eagles to fly with Marcus Mariota

Prior to Mariota trying to throw a football from his back in the rain vs. the Carolina Panthers on Thursday Night Football last year for the Atlanta Falcons, there were other red flags I noticed with his decision-making processes dating back to his final season at Oregon. No, this does not include his take about having pineapple on a pizza. He is Hawaiian. Live a little, man. Life is about the spice, bruh!

The first was a clip I saw on ESPN of Mariota showing off the Ducks' brand-new facilities. He was showing off their pretty sweet foosball table, the 11-on-11 type. One set was all Oregon colors, while the other 11 players represented the other Pac-12 schools. Apparently, the foosball table was made in Barcelona. That might as well have been the moon to the Oregon quarterback. I will never forget it.

The other came when he was still the franchise quarterback for the Tennessee Titans. I think they were playing someone like the Pittsburgh Steelers in primetime. I can't remember if it was Monday, Thursday or Sunday night. Regardless, the NFL had a camera on his helmet showing where Mariota was looking. It was nauseating. It looked like a five-year-old picked up an Xbox controller to play Halo.

So we have a Heisman Trophy winner who doesn't know where Barcelona is, how to keep his head steady looking down the field some seven years ago, despises pineapple on pizza, will throw a ball from his back in the rain and then will proceed to quit on his team because of the allure of one Desmond Ridder. Yeah, that is exactly who I want to give the football to to lead the NFC's best team...

On paper, Mariota is a close approximation to Hurts, but he is closer to a stand-in than a leading actor.