Philadelphia Eagles: The Case for Having a Quiet Offseason

Remember last offseason, when the Philadelphia Eagles made a flurry of moves in the span of a few days to sign every free agent in sight?

For eager fans, that may have been the remedy for an offseason filled with lawyers and labor negotiations.

For the Philadelphia Eagles, it wasn't the solution.

With NFL free agency set to begin on Tuesday at 4:00 PM, the Eagles would be wise to remain quiet. They have built a very solid team that needs only slight tuning. Perhaps a linebacker here and a wide receiver there might help, but even that isn't necessary.

I would argue, as would just about every Eagles fan, that the team's top priority should be to obtain a veteran linebacker through free agency. In particular, Stephen Tulloch seems to be an answer.

Tulloch has experience playing in the wide-nine defense in his time in Tennessee and Detroit. What's more, he's a tackling machine, something the Eagles could desperately use.

Other than that, what else is truly necessary? They could go out and sign a big-name safety like LaRon Landry, but that might not be a practical solution.

Perhaps the best solution this offseason is to stand pat.

With a full offseason of OTAs and minicamps, the Eagles will finally be given an extended opportunity to jell.

Players like Nnamdi Asomugha, Nate Allen and Kurt Coleman will all learn how to communicate better within Juan Castillo's scheme, and the defense should show the cohesion they lacked last season.

As for the offense, what's really necessary?

Michael Vick is the team's franchise quarterback despite speculation surrounding the team's pursuit of Robert Griffin III. They're set at wide receiver and running back, and the offensive line—under the tutelage of Howard Mudd—is now one of the league's best.

It makes sense to go after a guy like Plaxico Burress, but that's as far as I would go.

Burress fills a need as a red-zone target for Vick, and that's all he should be. DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin and Jason Avant are a perfectly good trio of receivers, and that unit doesn't need to add big names like Vincent Jackson or Marques Colston.

Tulloch and Burress seem like pretty good prizes to me. Those two combined with a handful of draft picks should be just what the Eagles need.

Let the national media gush over Peyton Manning and his new team. The Eagles would be wise to lay low this offseason and improve under the radar.