Throwback Thursday: The Dream Team

Free agency in the NFL has been around for about twenty years. This open bidding on football talent has seen mixed results. There have been a few hits but there have been a whole bunch of misses. Even the most aggressive of teams show some restraint. They might drop a ton of money on a player or two. Then they might add a few lower tier players. Basically, they don't go all in and sign every player with a pulse. Even the most aggressive teams don't attempt an entire team makeover. Perhaps due to the inactivity of an offseason shattered by the lockout, the Philadelphia Eagles showed absolutely no restraint when it came to the free agency class of 2011. It was the most ridiculous bit of team-building that I've ever seen. General manager Howie Roseman should have been tested for drugs. If nothing else, owner Jeffrey Lurie should have taken away the keys to his team. Vince Young said that his new team was a "Dream Team." This new Eagles team was more like a nightmare.

The end of the lockout condensed the NFL offseason in 2011 to about two weeks at the end of July. It was a frantic time and the Eagles seemed to be announcing a new signing each hour. It was nuts. Free agency is usually an exciting time for the fans of NFL teams. When the dust cleared even Eagles fans were probably wondering what the hell their team was doing. In a matter of a few days, seemed like a few hours, the Philadelphia Eagles signed the following:

QB  Vince Young

CB  Nnambi Asomugha

DE  Jason Babin

DT  Cullen Jenkins

TE  Donald Lee

G    Evan Mathis 

RB  Ronnie Brown

T    Ryan Harris

S    Jarrad Page

Traded for Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie

Young was the first signing but the spending spree really started with Asomugha. The Eagles let other teams court the All-Pro corner before they swooped in and grabbed him. In one of the most publicized free agency tours in recent memory the Eagles really seemed to come out of nowhere to land Asomugha. Then they went after seemingly every free agent available. Babin, Jenkins and Lee all signed two days later. The media was probably called back to the team facilities before they even got to their cars. It probably got to the point where they just didn't bother leaving. 

Asomugha was the biggest signing but he never really fit into the Eagles defense. His impact has been slight during his two years in Philadelphia. The only player that did much of anything is Babin. He was terrific in 2011 earning Pro Bowl recognition and racking up 18 sacks. It didn't last. The Eagles released him during this past season. Babin wasn't alone. Out of that great free agency frenzy only Asomugha and Mathis are still with the team. Asomugha may not be there much longer. 

I didn't understand then and I certainly don't understand now what Roseman was possibly thinking. That's it, really. He wasn't thinking. Asomugha is the most obvious example but it doesn't seem that there was much thought involved as to how all these players would fit with their new team. It's not like the Eagles were lacking in talent. They were 11-5 and a playoff team the year before. They might have needed an upgrade or two on defense but they didn't need to bring in an excess of seemingly random players. There was absolutely nothing dreamy about this attempt at building a team. The man that brought the "dream team" notion to Philadelphia, Vince Young, is so far removed from the NFL that he's taking part in the upcoming Texas Pro Day. He's pretty much begging for some football attention. The Eagles have fallen off at much the same rate as Young. From 11-5 to 8-8 to 4-12 since the 2010 season. Head coach Andy Reid lost his job. So did Roseman. That was probably about two years too late. It might be a stretch to blame all of the Eagles' recent troubles on that free agency spending spree but things haven't been the same since. It's mostly been a mess. The Eagles showed then that it might always be best to approach free agency with some restraint.