Philadelphia Eagles 2011 Predictions: Do Asomugha, Young Equal a Dream Team?

Nnamdi Asomugha and Vince Young have highlighted the key signings of a busy offseason for the Philadelphia Eagles.  Over the weekend, Asomugha signed a five-year, $60 million deal while Young agreed to a one-year deal.  Throw in the long-term signings of defensive linemen Jason Babin and Cullen Jenkins, and the passionate fans are already calling this squad a "dream team" thanks to remarks made by Young.

Now, while I will admit that the Eagles have had a great offseason thus far and that I am very excited to see how these signings pan out in the upcoming season, it still seems a bit premature to call this squad a "dream team."

Let's start with the signing of Asomugha.  This man is easily the best cornerback in the NFL, as teams are simply afraid to throw to him.  He has great size at 6'2" and 210 pounds and with the fairly average quarterback class in the NFC East, against whom Asomugha will play six games, the Eagles are sure to flourish within the division.  Throw in newly acquired cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, and Philadelphia's secondary is just plain dangerous.

Yet, after Asomugha, the team's free agency ventures seem very hit-or-miss.  The signing of Young is very justified, as Kevin Kolb was traded to Arizona to bring in Rodgers-Cromartie.  Yet, it's still hard to be sold on the former Texas Longhorn.

Let's not forget that Young was expected to be a great NFL quarterback after leading Texas to a national championship over USC in the 2006 Rose Bowl.  The Tennessee Titans drafted him third overall in that year's draft, and in five seasons he failed to impress as immaturity and supposed emotional issues caused him to fall out of favor with team management.  Still, he is still young (no pun intended) at age 28 and a one-year deal is pretty harmless for the team.

That just leaves the signings of Babin and Jenkins, and to be honest, I'm skeptical on both.  Jenkins is still an effective player, but he's reaching football middle-age at 30 years old.  Babin, at 31 years old, is coming off a great season in which he registered 58 tackles and 12.5 sacks for the Tennesee Titans.  Still, it was his first great season in terms of pass-rushing and signing him to a five-year deal worth $28 million just seems a bit much.

Still, despite the uncertainty surrounding Young, Jenkins and Babin, the Philadelphia Eagles have truly done a good job in improving their roster.  It will certainly be interesting if they face off against the Green Bay Packers in the postseason again, as the Packers have already lost key players like Jenkins and linebacker Nick Barnett to free agency.  Still, Aaron Rodgers is a top quarterback and Mike McCarthy is a great coach, so the Packers will find a way to be effective.

As I mentioned before, Young said that the Eagles would be a "dream team" this year.  Let's examine that term.

A "dream team" is a squad that just clicks from the get-go.  There is no drama while they play nor in the locker room.  All in all, they just gel perfectly and it shows through in their play.

However, the Eagles currently do have some drama on their hands as star wide receiver DeSean Jackson is holding out for a new contract.  Last I checked, that behavior is the exact opposite of a "team first" attitude.  Thus, while good on paper, I wouldn't call the Eagles a "dream team" just yet.

Combine that with the uncertainty surrounding Babin and how Young will fit into the offense, and it's hard to say just how well the team will do.  Still, the NFC East is a weak division and when push comes to shove, the Eagles are still the team to beat after last year's surprise season.

2011-2012 Season Prediction: 11-5, 1st in NFC East