To compare the team-building philosophies of the Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles and classify them as similar would be to miss the point.
Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones did just that.
“I’m real hesitant to bet it all for a year,” Jones told reporters at the Senior Bowl on Wednesday. “There’s a lot of things that can happen for that year. In essence, we’re seeing a couple of teams that have had some real success putting it all out there and paying for it later, in Philadelphia and Los Angeles.
“That’s pretty impressive to have two teams in the last two years empty the bucket and get to the Super Bowl. But if you miss, it is a long go.”
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There is a difference between mortgaging the future and having a foundation for continued success in place. The Rams, quite literally, employed a “(expletive) them picks” strategy. The Eagles have a pair of first-round picks in the 2023 draft and Jalen Hurts, an MVP-level quarterback on a rookie (second-round selection) contract.
Perhaps if Jones were more like his counterpart in Philadelphia, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, the Cowboys would have advanced to the Super Bowl (or within one game of the Super Bowl) more than zero times in the last 27 years.
Not satisfied
Leadership starts at the top. Knowing the right time to push the chips toward the middle is essential to winning it all, and Lurie has given general manager Howie Roseman, who has been with the organization since 2000, the latitude – and payroll – to be aggressive. .
“Well, it’s not just going for it,” Lurie said after the Eagles defeated the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC championship game. “We thought we had the opportunity to bring in some outstanding players. And at the same time be aggressive both in the draft, moving up for (defensive tackle) Jordan (Davis), and at the same time procuring an extra number one (pick) next year. It’s kind of like you want to maximize the present and at the same time have an eye toward next year’s opportunity, too. But again, you know, it’s like ‘uno más.’ We have one more to go.”
Roster turnover
Philadelphia is five years removed from its first Super Bowl title in franchise history and has returned to the game with eight players remaining from that roster. Roseman completed the “teardown-rebuild” blueprint in that span, firing coach Doug Pederson three years after winning the Lombardi Trophy after a 4-11-1 2020 season and disagreement with management.
Roseman tabbed Nick Sirianni, who was the Indianapolis Colts’ offensive coordinator, as Pederson’s successor. Roseman also traded QB Carson Wentz in March 2021 – three years after Wentz finished third in MVP voting – which required the Eagles to take on $33.8 million in dead cap charge and cleared the way for Hurts to assume the starting role.
In Super Bowl 57 against the Kansas City Chiefs, Roseman’s fingerprints will be all over the field.
Starting with the secondary that Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes will have to attack, corners Darius Slay and James Bradberry are among the best duo in the league. Neither was on the team two seasons ago. Roseman traded for Slay ahead of the 2020 season and rewarded him with a three-year, $50 million extension. With the New York Giants in a cap bind, Bradberry was cut last May and signed with Philadelphia nine days later.
When injuries befell the defensive line this season, Roseman wasted little time shoring up the interior of the front by signing Linval Joseph and Ndamukong Suh.
In 2021, the team traded up in the first round of the draft to snag reigning Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith, a former weapon at Alabama of Hurts’. On draft night the next year, they traded for one of Hurts’ closest friends in football, receiver A.J. Brown, and signed him to a four-year, $100 million extension.
Haason Reddick, signed to a three-year, $45 million contract last year as a free agent, led the most prolific pass rush (16 sacks) the league had seen in nearly 40 years, dating to the famous 1985 Chicago Bears. Even with edge rushers Reddick, Josh Sweat, Fletcher Cox, Brandon Graham and Javon Hargrave on the roster and producing, the team traded for Robert Quinn before the trade deadline.
“It lets us know that we’re going in the right direction,” Graham said. “They’re being led by great leaders. The owner, first off, by bringing in great people.”
Run of success
Since Lurie bought the team in 1994, the Eagles have won 10 NFC East titles, tied with Dallas, and have advanced to the conference championship game seven times in 17 playoff appearances.
“We thought we had an opportunity to be really great. It was taking advantage of a perception that we thought we had a chance to be an outstanding team,” Lurie said as players smoked celebratory cigars around him. “And a mix of veterans in their eighth, 10th, 12th year with a lot of wonderful young players, including the quarterback.
“We really felt it was a great opportunity but you have to get the right players. And we have the right players.”
Follow Chris Bumbaca on Twitter @BOOMbaca.
Story Credit: usatoday.com