By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Breaking his silence for the first time in over a year, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie spoke to the media on Tuesday night at the owners' meetings in Phoenix.
Lurie mainly focused on the direction of the team moving forward after a season that showed clear signs of rebuilding.
Lurie said he "couldn't be more excited" about the Eagles direction moving forward and focused on the moves that helped the Eagles land Carson Wentz in the Draft last offseason.
"I give ours guys a tremendous amount of credit for identifying a very special player and person and athlete who has a lot of the ingredients we're looking for," Lurie said. "We made the move, and the rest is history, and we'll all see how it all plays out over the years, because you never know. You don't fool yourself into thinking you have something until it all happens and it all gets put together."
The credit from Lurie is going to Howie Roseman and Joe Douglas, the two primary members of the Eagles front office. The pair spoke on the first day of free agency after the team signed Torrey Smith, Alshon Jeffery and Chance Warmack. The Eagles added Chris Long and Patrick Robinson on Tuesday as well.
Even with a lot of additions this offseason, Lurie did not mince words when it came to the current state of the Eagles. While there is excitement in progress, patience is a virtue with things like this, and that's what the Eagles owner focused on.
"We're not one player away. We have lots of holes," Lurie said. "And you've got to recognize that first. We've got lots of holes. We have to draft really well over the next few years to accomplish what we want to accomplish early on in Carson's career."
In the same sense, Lurie focused on the upcoming Draft, noting that it takes multiple drafts to build talent around a franchise quarterback. With the focus again on being patient, Lurie highlighted the blueprint to getting back into contention for a Super Bowl.
"It takes a very patient, disciplined approach," Lurie said. "Short-term solutions to get to 10-6 without a quarterback are non-sustainable. You've got to draft well. You've got to have multiple drafts in a row, hopefully, where you're surrounding that quarterback on all sides of the ball. That's the formula. It's not that complicated."
Lurie followed that up by saying that accomplishing that feat is not easy.
Lurie also praised head coach Doug Pederson for bringing the locker room back together. Lurie admitted that when the Eagles dismissed Chip Kelly after Week 16 of the 2015 season that the locker room was "fractured."
Among the other topics Lurie discussed were the possibility of returning to Kelly green jerseys full-time — something still on the table in Lurie's mind — as well as his confidence in Howie Roseman and how the Eagles one-year deals for Jeffery and Smith do not mean they are "band-aids" for the team. That said, the main focus remained about building this team up around Wentz.
So the Eagles head into the draft in another month with the focus on continuing to surround Wentz with options on the field and trying to improve the team. For now, the Eagles feel they have the quarterback. Now they put the focus on the rest.
