Going For Broke?
Apr 21, 2008 Eagles Rumors
The Eagles are involved in seemingly every trade rumor floating out there. As of right now, the list includes Chad Johnson, Roy Williams, and Dewayne Robertson. It is known that the team has already made a run at Randy Moss and Larry Fitzgerald. There may even be others that the team has managed to keep a secret.
On top of that, the organization has made some big moves — signing arguably the biggest free agent on the market in Asante Samuel and adding another speed rusher to the defensive line in Chris Clemons.
Which brings us to an interesting question — are the Eagles making one last run at a Super Bowl for Donovan McNabb? Is this the Alamo? Is it over after this and is the team in full rebuilding mode?
Before I answer that, let me digress.
There is little in the world of a sports fan that is worse than cheering for a bad team under bad management. There always has to be some light at the end of the tunnel, a plan for the future — something to make the present pain seem worthwhile.
In the Reid era Eagles fans have never had to worry about this. While the fans in the rest of the division have all experienced periods of hopelessness (remember Quincy Carter?), Eagles fans have gone into every season rightfully feeling like contenders.
That’s not to say these guys are infallible. Anyone who gives Darren Howard a $30 million contract is far from perfect. But from a player acquisition standpoint — this team has always had talent and always been in the playoff mix.
Which brings me back to the original question — what happens after this year? All signs point to the Eagles “going for broke” this season. Is this really the case?
A good look at the roster gives you the answer — happily, a clear “no.”
A team enters rebuilding mode when the talent on its roster can’t compete for the playoffs. But it also recognizes the need to shed overpaid veterans and play younger players who, while presently worse than the veterans, have the potential to be a part of the team long enough to contribute to its eventual winning ways.
This situation generally results from years of bad drafting and bad free agent moves. Throw in some bad salary cap management, an injury or three, and a team can quickly find itself in a hole.
The Eagles have continued to avoid these problems. Even when they’ve had a couple of not-so-good drafts (2003/2004), they were bookended by excellent ones (2002/2005/2006 were all fantastic).
This team has also always known the right time to say goodbye to a veteran player and replace him with someone younger. Thanks to those kind of decisions, the team continues to have a good mix of veterans and young players. The players signed this free agent period, Samuel and Clemons, are 27 and 26, respectively.
What’s the final judgement here? Well, this management group (Reid, Heckert, Banner) is never going to be a complete success until they win a Super Bowl. But Philadelphia has been fortunate to have them around. It started with the courage to make the McNabb selection on draft day, and this team has been contenders ever since.
In terms of the present, the management realizes it has the talent on the roster to make a run at the Super Bowl. It knows that only one or two more pieces can turn them from contender to “powerhouse” and isn’t afraid to make the moves when the moves are there to be made. It’s unfortunate that the biggest prize — a Fitzgerald or Moss — has still eluded them (largely because of factors out of their control).
I’m not Dave Spadaro and I didn’t write this post with the purpose of heaping praise on these guys. But the reality is that there are fans around the league whose fates are in the hands of much less capable men. And for all of our complaining, I’m pretty damn happy I’m not one of them.
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