See, the Eagles were a playoff-caliber team last year even after they lost a whole slew of starters to injury. With the development of some of their younger players, I think they could have expected to be competitive in 2010 even if they brought back an identical roster. Also, since they weren't part of the "final 8" teams who finished ahead of them in the playoffs last season, they had a distinct advantage over 8 superior rosters- they could go out and sign any free agent they desired while those other teams were very limited on acquiring new talent. If the Eagles sold the farm in an uncapped year and grabbed bigtime free agents to fill roster holes, they could have made themselves favorites for the 2010 crown.
They didn't do that. They didn't want to be quite that bold, even though fortune would have surely favored them.
Why not shoot the moon? I think there were two major factors. First, they would have had to choose a quarterback to pilot the 2010 dream team and then given him a contract extension. Both the incumbent McNabb and the upstart Kolb were in the last year of their contracts, and the Eagles would risk losing both if they couldn't get one to sign an extension. Quarterback is the toughest position to fill in free agency and in the draft, so the Eagles would be taking an unacceptable risk if they didn't sign one of the two QBs to a long term deal.
It would have created a clubhouse-shattering media storm to lock up one QB long term while starting the other. So, the Eagles would have had to make a tough choice- extend the contract of an aging McNabb, a fragile player whose career could end at any given snap, or give the Kolb kid the keys to a Ferrari.
Eagles brass would have had to make a choice, then, that they didn't care to make. Both options would have been too risky for them if they'd invested in building a dream team in '10. McNabb could be counted on to perform well, but only as long as he could stay on the field. Kolb would seem to have many years ahead of him, but hasn't proven his gridiron mettle- if he sucked then the Eagles wasted a ton of money on a lost season.
You might argue that Brett Farve and Kurt Warner proved last season that quarterbacks can age well, and the Eagles could extend McNabb five more years without worry. That's a good point. Or, you can say, Kolb threw for 300 yards in his only two starts last season, and Andy Reid seems to have a lot of confidence in the whippersnapper- he sounds like a capable enough quarterback to run a playoff-bound offense. Sounds reasonable to me.
This brings me to the second factor that influenced the Eagles decision making.
The second reason the Eagles chose to rebuild over loading up the team for a super bowl run in '10 is that nobody knows how the outcome of the new collective bargaining agreement will shape the financial landscape of the NFL. Golll-eee, there is a chance that there won't even be an NFL season in 2011. If the Eagles spent like mad, they might have doomed the franchise with financial inflexibility for years to come. More importantly for them, there's a chance of losing money (gasp!) if there isn't a season in 2011, or if they miss a chance to utilize new collective bargaining spending loopholes.
Something tells me that the money matters more than the QB pickle, but I'll concede that the two factors conflated to make building a superbowl winner in '10 unpalatable for Eagles management.
So, we're left with an apocalyptic post glory-decade roster of fresh faces. It stings that the team that reached the playoffs 8 of the past 10 years- going to five NFC championship games and one superbowl in that span- is officially kaput. It's the end of an era.
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Here's a rundown of how the Eagles reshaped their roster this offseason:
Below is a list of the aged players who departed the Eagles and the young boys who joined up or signed extensions. Ages in parenthesis. The small text is from Scouts Inc scouting reports from 2009.
Flown the Coop:
Donovan McNabb (33)
Traded for a 2nd rounder in 2010 and a 3rd or 4th rounder in 2011
CB Sheldon Brown (31)
one of the league's most consistent corners since 2002, has had excellent durability throughout his seven-year career. He is a smart, instinctive player who leverages receivers well and understands route progressions. Brown has good strength to jam and reroute receivers off the line of scrimmage. He's also a solid run-support defender. He doesn't have great pure speed and can get beat deep at times.
LB Chris Gocong (26)
Gocong has good power when rushing the passer of the edge. He needs to improve his hand use and ability to leverage defenders to maintain body position. He is a hard-nosed, aggressive linebacker who is best attacking the line of scrimmage. He lacks great agility and quickness in man coverage and lacks great awareness in combination zone coverage. Cocong is a very productive special-teams contributor who has the tools to develop into a consistent linebacker.
Traded to Cleveland for Alex Hall and 4th and 5th round picks
DE Jason Babin (29)
UFA let go to Titans
S Sean Jones (28)
UFA let go to Bucs
DE Darren Howard (33)
WR Kevin Curtis (31)
OG Shawn Andrews (27)
LB Will Witherspoon (29)
RB Brian Westbrook (30)
LB Jeremiah Trotter (33)
All released
Comments: Sad to see Trotter, McNabb, Westbrook, and Sheldon Brown go. Only Westbrook was cooked of the four, Trotter was effective as a role player and the other two have good football left in them. Sheldon Brown, I think, is actually a better corner than Asante Samuel, who takes too many risks fishing for interceptions and gets burned frequently. Sheldon was dependable in coverage and a sure tackler; his only weakness was against taller players who could make catches over him. Too bad the Eagles didn't trade Samuel instead of Brown.
Shawn Andrews can still be a dominant player if he can get on the field. Some people say he doesn't like playing football, so I'm not sure we'll see him again.
I'm not sure why the Eagles let Gocong go. I guess he wasn't working in the defensive system.
Egg Teeth:
LB Ernie Sims (25)
Sims had another excellent season in his third year in the league. He is an undersized linebacker who plays at a high level due to excellent athletic ability, toughness and instincts. He is a natural football player who reacts quickly as plays unfold. He is adept at slipping blockers and getting to the pile. Ernie has great fits to the line of scrimmage and his front four. He leverages the ball well using his hands to work through trash and staying alive to the ball. He has great range in pursuit with excellent lateral agility, quickness and speed inside out to the play. He is a solid pass defender getting excellent leverage in both man and zone schemes as he reads route progressions well. He is an excellent rap tackler with great pop and power on contact. He is better in coverage than attacking the line of scrimmage in blitz packages. Sims is a good football player who continues to improve and though he lacks great size has been durable early in his career.
Acquired for 5th round pick
G Max Jean-Gilles (26)
Re-signed
LB Alex Hall (24)
Hall didn't make an impact in 2008, his rookie season, but he has a lot of ability and could be a surprise pass-rusher who bursts onto the scene in 2009. He is also a top-notch special-teams player who has made an immediate impact in that regard.
LB Omar Gaither (26)
Gaither is instinctive player who reacts quickly as a run defender and has a good understanding of route progressions versus the pass. He has excellent lateral agility to maintain leverage in his gap responsibilities. He is more effective playing the edges rather than stacking at the point of attack. He can be effective in both man and combination zone coverage. Gaither has the ability to be a productive linebacker for years to come.
CB Ellis Hobbs (26)
Hobbs is a short, well-built player with good athletic skills and excellent toughness. He is a fierce competitor who plays bigger than his listed size. Despite his size, he has been a durable defender and consistent performer. Ellis is an aggressive run defender who will throw his body around and insert in piles. He has deceptive pop and power when tackling as well as a strong upper body to ward off blockers. Larger backs and receivers can exploit his size, but for the most part Ellis is physical enough to be an effective perimeter defender. He is an active defending the pass and gets his hands on lots of balls. He has great vision and anticipation jump break points in zone coverage. He does a nice job leveraging the ball and takes proper angles when closing to the play. He has good foot agility, quickness and balance to transition well out of his pedal. He maintains excellent body position while in his pedal as well as redirecting to plant. Hobbs doesn't have outstanding pure speed to match up well in pure man coverage, but can be effective in combination man and zone schemes. He has been a solid kick returner.
LB Akeem Jordon (24)
Jordan is an undersized linebacker with good athleticism and toughness. He runs well and has good range in pursuit. He lacks great power to hold the point versus the run and needs lots of work on his route progression reads as a pass defender. Jordan has the tools to develop, but his size limitations will likely relegate him to a back up role.
DE Darryl Tapp (25)
He was an 11-game starter last year and played both RDE and LDE. Tapp is a good athlete who has good burst off the ball and he can turn the corner with above average speed. He is a developing better hand use to change give different looks and has started to show an increased ability to counter. His burst allows him to gain the quick advantage up field and when changing direction. He is explosive with his movements and can closes hard to the QB once he clears contact. As a run defender he is slightly undersized to control the point of attack. He can be overpowered at times but when he plays off contact quickly and shows good hand uses to shed, he has a good closing burst to the ball his quickness. Tapp is a better pursuit player versus the run than a true take on guy and will need to be rotated at times in short yardage and goal-line situations.
DB Marlin Jackson (26)
Jackson is a good-sized corner who has been a starter for the past two seasons. He missed the final nine games of the 2008 season due to a knee injury. He has good initial quickness and above average straight line speed. He builds to speed more than being explosive and will flash a decent burst of acceleration to close on the play. He tends to be a bit upright in his pedal and often has to bail out early to avoid getting beat deep. He can be a little sloppy in transition and takes extra steps to redirect to break on the ball.
WR Jason Avant (27)
Signed a 5 year extension.
FB Leonard Weaver (27)
Weaver is a good overall athlete with adequate size and strength. He is an adequate run blocker who can identify and adjust on the move. He is still developing his overall technique to secure angles quickly and create movement after contact. He will get overextended at times, which limits his ability to finish. He is a good athlete with the ball in his hands and is versatile enough to be effective as a runner or receiver out of the backfield. He runs with good vision, but is primarily a one-cut runner who will get up field quickly. He doesn't always pluck it cleanly and will try to body catch, when possible. After the catch, he does a good job of making subtle moves in space. He is more of an athletic FB than a power, smash-mouth one, which makes him a good fit in a West Coast system.
Comments: Avant and Weaver are good football players. The rest on this list are serviceable players with potential. Ernie Sims, in particular, was a first round pick for the Lions who didn't live up to his draft position and might have some star in him. ESPN's Scout's Eye says this about the trade for Sims:
This was a very good trade for the Eagles, as they were able to get a player who will make an immediate impact in their defense. Sims is an undersized LB who will play on the weak side. The Eagles have a solid front four, which is key for a player like Sims, who lacks size and bulk and needs to be covered up and protected at the second level. Sims is an excellent athlete who has sideline-to-sideline speed and range. He makes a lot of plays outside the tackle box. He is athletic in coverage and is an every-down player. In his first three seasons in Detroit, the Lions were extremely vanilla on defense. Last season they were a little more exotic, but Sims was not healthy and had his worst NFL season. In Philadelphia, look for the Eagles to ask more of Sims, who totaled 100-plus tackles in each of his first three seasons before a down season last year. The Eagles will ask him to blitz more and play more man coverage, areas that are strong suits for the athletic and undersized Sims.
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