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Health & Fitness

Give the Eagles Their Ten Minutes -- Green Bay Has All Season

The Eagles are the talk of the NFL the past few weeks. Despite their star-studded roster, they'll get less mileage from their team than the Packers in 2011.

When the Green Bay Packers started their playoff journey last season, the Philadelphia Eagles were the first of four teams to stand against them. That first-round game was hard fought, ending in a last-second interception that closed the door on any thought of an Eagles comeback attempt.

The Packers, while far from perfect during that game, found and exploited weaknesses in both the Eagles’ offense and defense. It stands to reason that those issues that plagued the Eagles in their final game of the season would be a matter of concern that that franchise needed to address. Between the draft and this year’s free agency free-for-all, that’s exactly what they did.

With the Lombardi trophy in Green Bay, the Packers are the team to beat this year. Yet, somehow, the Eagles’ off-season acquisitions have been the talk of the NFL. When you look at the show the Eagles have put on, such talk comes as no surprise.

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The Eagles got the job done in the draft, selecting rookies that would simultaneously generate excitement and plug big holes – including LB Casey Matthews, the latest pedigree in the Matthews bloodline to join the NFL. With CBs Antonio Rodgers-Cromartie and Nnamdi Asomugha, and DEs Jason Babin and Cullen Jenkins coming on board to help buttress an ailing defense, some big names have joined the team this year. The Eagles stand strong behind QB Michael Vick and an offense that has been further powered by acquisitions such as RB Ronnie Brown. Listen to sports talk on any network and it seems that serious Super Bowl contention from this team is a foregone conclusion.

Despite the buzz the Eagles have produced, they’ve built their team on a house of cards. Remove one, and the whole thing will come crashing down.

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When the Eagles went on their free agent acquisition spree, they looked toward the immediate future with no concern for the medium- and long-term consequences. Names like those listed above don’t come cheap – and with a $120 million salary cap in place, the money to pay all of those stars has to come from somewhere. This year, it comes at the expense of the rest of the team.

Take a look at the remaining Eagles who will take the field as starters this year. You’ll be able to identify most of their names. Then, when the roster has been whittled down to 53 men, take a look at the depth chart. How many of those names will be recognizable?

The Eagles have fallen into a trap that blindsides teams year after year, the same trap that Ted Thompson has somehow managed to eschew. Throwing a lot of money at just a few players is a great way to build a team with easy recognition value and some guaranteed great plays on the field. What those teams who rely heavily on free agency seem to compulsively forget, however, is that beneath the polished surface of a team of stars is a team that will be constantly in danger as the season progresses.

The Eagles learned a lesson from the Packers last year – they’ve demonstrated this by remedying gaping holes on both offense and defense. But it seems that that’s all they’ve managed to learn.

A team full of big names is a team full of big egos. In a sport already overcrowded with testosterone, bringing this many high profile players into one place is bound to create drama. In a year with no offseason team building, shortened training camps, and fewer practices than in previous years, you also have the additional (and very real) probability that on the field, these players will choose to go with their instincts and rely on their own athleticism to carry them through instead of doing whatever’s best for the team.

While that has the potential to create spectacular plays, it also has the potential to backfire horribly. And that’s not to say anything about injuries. In 2011, backup players will become more important than ever as starters fall to injuries that perhaps could have been prevented by longer pre-season preparation.

The Packers have set an example to the entire NFL, one that has been ignored by the Eagles along with many other teams who jumped into free agency with a wad of cash and a lust for some star power. Ted Thompson has chosen not to pay for a few big names to bring a touch of greatness to his team. Instead, he has given his own players a chance to prove their worth, taking the time to build the Packers an empire of homegrown talent with an embarrassment of riches on the roster. The core of that talent is already locked into long-term contracts that will keep them in one place for years to come, bringing yet another level of depth, not to mention consistency, to the table.

Look again at the Eagles’ depth chart. What do they have, once you look past their handful of overpaid (and injury-prone) talent? Certainly not enough to anticipate their 2011 season progressing into February.

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