No Real Magic

Life is good for Howie Roseman. He built a Super Bowl winning roster back in 2017 and then built a team that got back to the big game in 2022. He found a star QB outside of the 1st round and just signed him to a huge extension. He’s the king of good trades in the NFL and he’s hit on a lot of key free agents.

Is there a secret to all of this?

No, not really. Joe Banner offered his thoughts on Howie and the Eagles.

Months after a Super Bowl loss, the #Eagles once again look like a team destined to make a run

Former NFL executive @JoeBanner13 on how a deep-rooted philosophy, emphasis on coaching and a perpetual aggressive front-office mind set continues to steer Philly#FlyEaglesFly

— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB) May 2, 2023

I agree with a lot of what Joe says in his piece.

The parts that stuck out to me:

• Be aggressive
• Take chances
• Don’t be afraid to fail

Most people don’t realize how close NFL teams are to each other in terms of talent. One or two key players or a good coaching staff can make all the difference in the world.

The 1998 Eagles went 3-13. They scored 161 points for the whole year. They lost five games by 20 or more points. They were awful with a capital A. But that team had its share of talent.

RB Charlie Garner
RB Duce Staley
FB Kevin Turner
LT Tra Thomas
OL Jermane Mayberry
OL Bubba Miller

DE Hugh Douglas
DT Hollis Thomas
DL Brandon Whiting
LB William Thomas
LB Mike Caldwell
LB Ike Reese
LB Jeremiah Trotter
FS Brian Dawkins
CB Troy Vincent
CB Bobby Taylor
CB Al Harris

That’s a lot of talent for an awful team. They didn’t have a good OL. They didn’t have offensive playmakers. Most importantly, they didn’t have a QB. Ray Rhodes coaching staff did a great job for the first couple of years, but struggled with developing young players.

Andy Reid came in and fixed those issues. He built the OL. He drafted Donovan McNabb. Jim Johnson turned Dawk and Trot into stars. The offensive staff got Tra Thomas to be a stud LT. They got the most out of Duce Staley. The 2000 Eagles went 11-5 and won a playoff game. They dominated the NFC East for the next several years.

In order to go from 3-13 to 11-5 the Eagles took some chances. They hired Andy Reid, who had never been an OC in the NFL. They spent the #2 overall pick on McNabb, despite the fact the supporting cast wasn’t good enough to really help him. They gave a huge contract to Jon Runyan in 2000, hoping he would bring stability to RT and a fiery attitude to the OL room. Check and check. They signed Brian Mitchell to help on STs. They took a chance on a young kicker named David Akers. They took chances on under-the-radar free agents like Paul Grasmanis, Carlos Emmons and Jeff Thomason. They built a team and focused on young talent, knowing that would be cheaper and more sustainable.

Down in Washington, they were signing QB Brad Johnson, QB Jeff George, FB Larry Centers, DT Dana Stubblefield, DE Bruce Smith and CB Deion Sanders. Washington went 8-8 in 2000. They collected stars and big names. The Eagles built a team.

Let’s jump back to today and think about those ideas.

Be Aggressive

Jalen Carter fell to pick 9 on Thursday. The Eagles could have waited for him to fall to 10. Howie traded up to 9 to get him. He didn’t want to risk losing a player with Carter’s talent. Howie was willing to pay the price to get his guy. You can’t obsess on wanting to win every trade/signing/situation. At a certain point, you pony up and seal the deal. If Carter turns out to be the player the Eagles think, a mid-round pick will be meaningless.

Right after the Lions took Jahmyr Gibbs in the 1st round, Howie had the coaches watch tape of RB D’Andre Swift. Howie thought Swift would be trade material and wanted to be ready to go after him. The coaches agreed that they wanted him and Howie was able to finalize the trade in a timely fashion.

Take Chances

The Eagles had pick 10 in the 2021 draft. The player I wanted was DeVonta Smith, but there was a nagging question. He weighed between 165-175 and was rail thin. Could he handle the physicality of the NFL? Smith was dominant in college so this wasn’t some crazy risk, but the team did take a chance. And boy did it pay off.

A year later the Eagles traded the 18th pick in the draft for AJ Brown. 1st round picks are seen as precious resources. Howie felt it was worth it to trade the pick and then give AJ a big contract. That would give the Eagles a pair of elite wideouts and help Jalen Hurts in a big way. This is another move that paid off in a big way.

Don’t Be Afraid To Fail 

The Eagles fired Doug Pederson and hired…Nick Sirianni. Who the heck is that? Never heard of him. The rest of the NFL was looking at the same candidates. The Eagles went with a wider net and took a big chance on an unknown candidate. This was a risk that really involved the potential for failure. Most coaches don’t work out. When you hire someone that no other team was looking at, you’re rolling the dice.

The flip side is that the other teams are all thinking the same way. If  you want to get ahead of them, sometimes you have to take a chance and go in a different direction. They did that by hiring Sirianni. The Eagles organization and players have bought into his ideas and the results have been special.

Howie traded a 4th round pick to the Bears for Robert Quinn in the middle of last season. Quinn wasn’t putting up big numbers, but Howie wanted another pass rusher just in case anyone got hurt. Quinn did virtually nothing and this ended up being a waste of a pick. The only way to find out is to make the deal and take the chance. If you fail, you lost a pick. If it had worked out, maybe Quinn could have made a key play. You can’t be afraid to fail.

***

The Eagles aren’t magically smarter than other teams. They find small advantages and exploit them. Here are a few examples:

Not obsessing on draft picks. They are a resource to be used. Move up, move down. Trade for veterans.

Mastering the cap. The Eagles do arguably the best job in the league at manipulating salary cap rules to get every advantage possible.

Load up on QBs. Since March of 2021 the Eagles have had Hurts, Joe Flacco, Nick Mullens, Gardner Minshew, Carson Strong, Reid Sinnett, Ian Book, Marcus Mariota and Tanner McKee. That’s a lot of resources for the QB Factory. You have to keep looking in order to find good QBs.

Always be shopping. Roster building is constant. Always be on the lookout for upgrades. Don’t be afraid to use your resources. It helps to always have a bit of cap room in case the Giants cut James Bradberry. Deal a draft pick if CGJ is available from the Saints. Always be looking and be prepared to buy if the deal is right.

Stay flexible. Nick Morrow might start for the Eagles at LB. He could also get cut. They didn’t give him guaranteed money. The Eagles feel he can be an effective starter, but they left themselves the flexibility to move on from him if a better player becomes available. If you’re getting a high end player, pay them. If you’re adding fringe talent, be smart. You just might find someone better to add later on. One of the other keys to this is not to add a lot of mid-tier guys. You don’t want to waste money on mediocre talent.

***

There will be a bump in the road. Maybe even two. That’s life as an NFL GM. Howie is smart and he’s performing at a high level right now, but there’s a Jalen Reagor or Eric Wilson in his future. You have to know that not all moves work, not all picks pan out.

Keep finding Hurts and Mailatas and Reddicks and things will be just fine.

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