Are the World Champs Now the Second-Favorite Behind the Philadelphia Eagles?

For those of you have not yet heard, the Philadelphia Eagles have signed with the most sought-after free agent of 2011, Nnamdi Asomugha.

The shut-down corner will be joining the team that clinched the third seed in the playoffs last season, along with a slew of other talented players the Philadelphia Eagles managed to acquire or trade for.

With the signing of the league's top free agent, Eagles fans should be rejoicing after such a successful offseason. But sooner or later, reality will have to set in.

The truth of the matter is that the Philadelphia Eagles, even with all their new potential, are not favorites above the world champion Green Bay Packers.

Jason Babin, their newly acquired defensive end is 31 years old, and has had a career full of injuries. It's entirely possible for him to have a fully productive season, but it is very unlikely.

The same could go for Cullen Jenkins, who maybe one of the most underrated players in the league, had multiple injuries last season.

Vince Young is Philadelphia's new backup and in some aspects, he's like a poor man's Michael Vick.

Though Vince Young has had a terrific win-loss record as a starter in the NFL, there's one thing about the young quarterback that goes unnoticed, and that is the fact that most of his career, much of the work has been done for him.

Vince Young never really began to play like a franchise quarterback until he got to play with running back Chris Johnson.

He wasn’t given the starting job again until the middle of the 2009 season, and Tennessee’s offensive line only gave up a total of 42 sacks from 2009 to 2010.

When he's given the chance to play in Philadelphia, there won't be any Chris Johnson to take the load, and he'll be behind an offensive line that added Danny Watkins from the first round of the draft, but also allowed 49 sacks in 2010.

Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, is a solid if not a Pro Bowl cornerback, but he failed to repeat the kind of success he had in 2009.

And even if all their other moves do work out, they're still low on good players in the offensive line and the linebacker corps.

The only offseason move that is guaranteed to work is the signing of Nnamdi Asomugha. If that was their only move this entire offseason, you could make a strong argument that that is the only move they needed to make to become true contenders.

The Philadelphia Eagles have talent, and I mean real talent. Michael Vick at quarterback, DeSean Jackson at wide receiver and now Nnamdi Asomugha at cornerback, this team is now arguably the most explosive offensive and explosive defensive team in the NFL.

But the Green Bay Packers are also one of the most talented teams in the NFL.

The world champions themselves have one of the best secondaries in the NFL with Charles Woodson, Sam Shields, Tramon Williams, Nick Collins and a competition between Charlie Peprah and Morgan Burnett at the strong safety position.

They also host one of the best front seven in the NFL, with the playmaker Clay Matthews, and nose tackle B.J. Raji leading the charge.

Aaron Rodgers is one of the best and most complete quarterbacks in the NFL, and if they can find a replacement for Daryn Colledge at left guard (which they may just have in Derek Sherrod), their offense may have all the potential in the world.

Their running game will now have two featured backs, and a rookie in Alex Green that can fill in as a third-down back. They have a receiving corps that has four very legit players in Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, James Jones, Jordy Nelson and soon to join them, Randall Cobb.

They have a stud at tight end with Jermichael Finley, along with other new young tight ends in Andrew Quarless and D.J. Williams.

When it comes to talent, one could make a very strong argument that both teams are just as talented as each other. But when it comes down to who's the more complete team, you would have to admit that it's the Green Bay Packers that look far more complete than the Eagles.

The Green Bay Packers simply aren't deficient in many areas. The Philadelphia Eagles still got some work to do with their offensive line and their linebacker corps.

All that aside, it should be very interesting to watch how these two teams perform next season. A possible rematch in the playoffs should surely be considered one of the most anticipated games in the NFC this season. They are no doubt the two favorites in the NFC.

Only the New Orleans Saints and the Atlanta Falcons can say they’re close behind.

This author is by no means trying to downplay the success of Philadelphia's offseason, merely trying to offer another perspective. As a Green Bay Packers fan, I'm may be biased, but this author also tries to do his part in making a case that is based on facts.