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Eagles Execute Super Bowl Plan

The Eagles franchise, I dare to say, went to another level. It was a remarkable sequence of events, a glorious day, an epic confluence of moves and strategies that came together to produce the greatest offseason day in this history of your Philadelphia Eagles.

My brain is still swirling. You know, to go from zero miles per hour on Monday to, what?, 200 miles per hour once the news went down that training camp would open, to now, How can you even begin to explain a day when the Eagles agreed to terms with the top free agent on the market, cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, added a Pro Bowl defensive end in Jason Babin, brought in a couple of role players in wide receiver Johnnie Lee Higgins and tight end Donald Lee and then, after everybody's heartrate returned close to normal, announced a one-year agreement with quarterback Vince Young.

The Eagles have, in a span of a couple of days, added three Pro Bowl players to the defense -- Asomugha, Babin and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie -- and a couple of pieces for depth on offense and then, in the exclamation point on Friday night, Young, a Pro Bowl quarterback who had his career derail last year in Tennessee.

This is amazing. I know there are a bunch of questions that relate to, almost exclusively, what happens next. We have time to talk about that. How the Eagles fit all of this into the salary cap, how they stayed under the radar during the whole process, how they envision two outstanding cornebacks into a mix that includes Pro Bowl cornerback Asante Samuel ... I'm with you. I have questions.

For now, though, I am just amazed at the progressive thinking and the execution of a plan that was hatched many months ago. The Eagles clearly used their time well during the work stoppage. They launched dozens of models, worked on scenarios and came out as the center of the NFL's free-agency storm.

"It was a lot of fun," said general manager Howie Roseman, who in, what, 17 months as the general manager, has pulled off some of the biggest trades in team history. "We had a lot of pieces we worked on to make this all come together."

The Eagles aren't done. No way, no how. There are positions on the team that can be upgraded, but I caution you that to think the Eagles are going to have an experienced veteran, or a Pro Bowl-caliber player from top to bottom here is asking a bit too much. The Eagles are going to be aggressive as they always are, and they are going to keep their options open. Even now, there are so many balls in the air.

I want to say this, with all due respect to Eagles fans everywhere: If I hear anybody say the Eagles "don't spend money" or don't "go for it," I'm going to dismiss you as someone who has no clue about reality. The Eagles have signed the "top" free agent before -- Jon Runyan, 2000; Samuel, 2008; Jason Peters (in a trade, and then he was signed to a new deal), 2009. They have been as aggressive as any team for many years.

This deal, I think, was more astounding than the one that brought Terrell Owens to Philadelphia in 2004, the headliner of an offseason that added Owens, defensive end Jevon Kearse and linebacker Dhani Jones. That offseason catapulted a good team that needed a boost into the Super Bowl.

This has the same feeling.

Give so much credit to everyone in the front office -- Jeffrey Lurie, Joe Banner, Andy Reid, Howie Roseman. Amazing deal. Did the Eagles really go out and get a superstar cornerback to team to give the Eagles the best trio that anyone can remember?

I'm amazed.

The last three days have been as remarkable as I have ever seen. Making the trade for Rodgers-Cromartie and a second-round draft pick -- by the way, the Eagles have an extra second-round pick, an extra fourth-round pick and two extra sixth-round picks next year? -- was one thing. It was a great trade. Loved it. Then to bring in Young to essentially trade Kevin Kolb for a starting cornerback, a second-round pick and a former Pro Bowl quarterback, was tremendous value. Then to sign Asomugha and Babin and Higgins and Lee .. I'm blown away. Impressed isn't the word.

You are sitting there and you want to know what is next. That is the nature of the sports fan these days. The Eagles have a young secondary, a lot of pieces still hoping to fit into the puzzle at linebacker, a couple of rookies at punter and placekicker and questions along the offensive line. They have to figure out how to work three starting-level -- and Pro Bowl level -- cornerbacks into the rotation and make everyone happy.

It's a great situation. It's the thrill of the offseason. After all of these months, all of this waiting, the Eagles delivered on the promise of being "aggressive" in their plan. Did you believe they would go out and do this?

Hey, it isn't over yet. We're three days into the season, into training camp. I don't know what the Eagles have up their sleeves. How many Pro Bowl players can this front office pull out of its sleeve?

That's something to ponder for the days to come. This is the team to watch in the NFL. The Eagles have executed a lofty plan with amazing precision. It is a great feeling to have right now, to tune in and know your team is going all in to win a Super Bowl now. They are positioned well now, with more pieces to fit in ahead.

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