Nnamdi Asomugha Eagles: Is Philly the New Favorite to Win It All in 2011?

After a whole four days of rampant speculation and journalistic pontification, Pro Bowl cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha has finally decided where he will be playing football in 2011 and beyond.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the lucky winner of the Asomugha sweepstakes is the Philadelphia Eagles, who swooped in to nab the former Oakland Raiders corner with a five-year, $60 million deal.

The phrase "out of the blue" comes to mind. While many fans and pundits across the nation had mentioned the Eagles as a good fit for Asomugha, four other teams emerged as the frontrunners to land his services this week.

The New York Jets tantalized us all with a potential Asomugha-Darrelle Revis tandem, the San Francisco 49ers made a bid for him to stay in the Bay Area, and the Houston Texans and Dallas Cowboys came calling with Texas-sized piles of cash.

But nope. Asomugha is taking his talents to Philadelphia. And in case you have not yet noticed, Asomugha's talents are going to have plenty of company.

If there was one thing we knew heading into this week, it was that Philly's offense is just fine, thank you very much. Quarterback Michael Vick is arguably the most dangerous player in the league, running back LeSean McCoy is coming off his first 1,000-yard season, and wide receivers Jeremy Maclin and DeSean Jackson (who is holding out) are two of the best in the business. Hard to ask for more, but the Eagles went out and picked up Vince Young just for good measure.

The defensive side of the ball was another story. I say "was," of course, because this is no longer the case. In the last few days, the Eagles have gone out and shored up the defensive line by signing defensive end Jason Babin, and they also got Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie in the Kevin Kolb trade. And now Asomugha.

Take a step back, if you will, and take a look at Philly's secondary. Yes, it is missing safety Quintin Mikell, but the Eagles now have a ridiculously enviable trio of corners if Asomugha, Rodgers-Cromartie and Asante Samuel. Combined, they have nine Pro Bowl appearances between them. Four of those belong to Samuel, who is probably the odd man out in this particular rotation.

If I didn't know any better, it would seem that somebody in the Eagles front office figured out that the team allowed a franchise-record 31 touchdown passes in 2010. And if I had to make a guess right here and now, I'm going to say that number is probably going to come down some in 2011.

In all seriousness, though, there's no arguing that we are looking at the best secondary in the league. Those who would pass on the Eagles are going to find it mighty difficult to find open receivers. And because the Eagles share a conference with quarterbacks like Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Matt Ryan and Josh Freeman, this should serve them well.

In fact, Philly's shiny new secondary should serve them very well. If sirs Asomugha, Rodgers-Cromartie and Samuel can stay healthy, it wouldn't be at all surprising if the Eagles made it all the way to the Super Bowl. It also wouldn't be surprising if they won it.

Do you doubt it? Heck, we're talking about a team that was a trendy pick to win it all in 2010, and that was despite the fact their defensive ineptitude was very much on display. The offense, many people felt, was good enough.

Once again, that offense is still in place. Essentially, what the Eagles have done this week is balance the equation.

Now that they have, it's Super Bowl or bust.

-Zachary D. Rymer