One thing every Philadelphia Eagles fan forgets about Howie Roseman

Love him or not, there’s one memory we can’t shake as Philadelphia Eagles fans about Howie Roseman.

Call it fickle, objective, or just plain zany. The typical Philadelphia Eagles fan’s love for vice president and general manager Howie Roseman runs both hot and cold. Many moons ago, there was hesitancy, but he was welcomed as the G.M. Then, there were the dark moments.

Remember, it was former Eagles head coach Chip Kelly that buried him in the equipment room (and no one campaigned on Roseman’s behalf). Howie would eventually get his reprieve, and he’d craft a roster in 2017 that helped the Eagles to their first Super Bowl victory. Shortly thereafter, he’d be named the NFL‘s executive of the year, and he’s the toast of Philadelphia.

Heading into the 2020 offseason, it’s as though many believe that he’s forgotten how to do the job we’ve all seen him excel at. Philly’s regressed in each of the past two seasons (a divisional-round loss in 2019 and a Wild Card loss this past January). Now, you can’t even log onto Twitter without someone saying he’s ‘stupid’ or he ‘sucks’. Seriously?

The long and the short of things is this. Much of the Philly fan’s frustration over the past two offseasons stems from an inability to stay healthy, from seeing too many bad players or guys who are past their prime getting big deals, and from seeing Philly fail at landing big-time talent when it’s been available.

Roseman is in an impossible position, making everyone happy, but that’s part of the deal when you take the career path that he’s chosen. On the other hand, if he can craft a winning roster this offseason, all will be forgiven by the fans and members of the media who are angry with him. Sure, it’s ridiculous that this is a discussion, but it is what it is.

In 2020, Philly’s projected to have both a potential ten draft picks and possibly more than $40 million to spend in free agency. While that’s exciting and while it’s unfair to make broad statements like ‘Howie sucks’, it also needs to be stated that his track record isn’t spotless.

Despite the number of available resources, it doesn’t make any difference if Philly makes bad decisions like the ones Roseman made in 2011. Remember that? Yes, that was the ‘Dream Team’ debacle, and Howie was the guy behind all of those bad draft picks and free-agent additions.

Philly had 11 draft choices, and they wound up with guys like guard Danny Watkins, safety Jaiquawn Jarrett, and linebackers Casey Matthews, Brian Rolle, and Greg Lloyd Jr. The only saving grace from this draft class was the center and Eagles all-time great Jason Kelce.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, some of the worst free-agent additions in team history were signed. Sure, they found guard Evan Mathis and quarterback Vince Young. The latter helped them beat the New York Giants that year and started the whole ‘Dream Team’ thing in the first place.

Still, that isn’t going to stop anyone from bringing up names like Jason Babin, Ronnie Brown, Cullen Jenkins, and quite possibly the worst free-agent signing in Eagles history, Nnamdi Asomugha.

In fairness, Roseman is a much better G.M. now than he was then, but to the die-hard Eagles fan, it’s hard not to think about the similarities between what the Eagles are now, and what they were in those days. Philadelphia has an opportunity to really improve their roster. Let’s all hope the 2020 offseason doesn’t eventually lead to results that are similar to the product Philly put on the field in 2011.