Philadelphia Eagles Need To Temper Offseason Praise

By all accounts, Howie Roseman and the Philadelphia Eagles have crushed it this offseason. And on paper, the accounts are exactly correct. They made some solid signings with guys like Brandon Brooks and Rodney McLeod, they got rid of DeMarco Murray’s big contract and they even managed to finagle themselves into the top 10 of the draft.  That’s not too shabby for Roseman and company.

But as much as it looks like the Eagles are doing all the right things, I think it’s important to hit the pause button a little bit on the praise.

Again, it’s not that they’ve made bad moves. On paper those moves look really good. But I remember everyone saying the same things last year with Chip Kelly. I remember people jumped all over the Murray signing when Frank Gore backed out the last minute. I remember people loved the Byron Maxwell signing, and the big shocker of a trade that brought Kiko Alonso onto the team. People even warmed up in a big way to the Sam Bradford trade.

At the time, everyone loved those moves. But none of those moves worked out the way fans hoped they would. And now everyone is loving the dismantling of all those moves they spent all that time loving last year.

I’m not arguing that the moves are right or wrong; what I’m saying is that we shouldn’t be so quick to pat the team on their back and give them an A-plus. I don’t really care how the moves look on paper. I’m only worried about how those moves translate onto the field. What happens on the field is the only thing that matters in the NFL. Paper champs mean nothing.

I think Doug Pederson has a team much closer to his vision than when he started. I’m encouraged by that fact, and that’s why I feel optimistic about what’s happened so far. But I remember too well how excited everyone was last year with Kelly getting his team, and how it all ultimately blew up. I don’t really want an A-plus from the pundits, and I don’t really want the expectations that come along with “winning” the offseason. It’s nice and all, but I want the A-plus to come at the end of the season, not before it.