Poor Sports GM: NFL Free Agency Pt. 2

Picture this scene: Your favorite NFL team is coming off a season from which they rallied and won themselves a playoff spot by winning the very last game of the season over a hated division rival also poised for the post season. They beat a team with the best running back in the NFL then take down the reigning champion, another bitter division rival, to move on to the NFC Championship.

After a tough loss, your favorite team finds themselves with the 3rd most available money to spend, a few veteran free agents-to-be and a few positions in need of an upgrade. 4 days later, your team is without their 3 veteran leaders, has lost their backup running back and strong safety and has only signed 1 player to fill the 2 empty tackle positions (and he's coming off a knee injury).

If your favorite team is the Eagles, then you don't need to picture it. You can see it happening in front of your eyes. And all because they wouldn't listen to me. I asked, nay, instructed the Eagles to do a few things before free agency started, so let's take a look back at my advice and see where we are now.

I SAID RESIGN: Tra Thomas, Brian Dawkins, Correll Buckhalter, Sean Considine

WHAT HAPPENED: All but Tra signed with other teams for contracts that, in all honesty, seemed unmatchable. 2 years, $3 mil for Considine? No, thank you. A 4 year deal for Buck isn't horrible, but remember he's 30 just like BWest. Let's wait to hear how much he'll be paid (still undisclosed) before getting upset.

Lastly, the Brian Dawkins deal has been widely discussed, from the700Level to BleedingGreenNation, and no matter what anyone says, your opinion will not be changed. As much as it hurts to lose a leader like that, he is replaceable ON the field and you can't blame him for taking the deal in Denver even if it turns out to be just a 2 year, $9 mil deal. To put it in perspective, Dawkins made about $32 mil in 13 years with the Eagles (less than $3 mil a year).

Tra could still sign with the Birds. Word is he spoke with Jacksonville, so maybe he's testing his market value before coming back to talk with Philly. If he doesn't sign, the Eagles WILL start with 2 new tackles going into next year.

I SAID LET GO: LJ Smith, Nick Cole, Willie Reid, Hank Basket, Tank Williams

WHAT HAPPENED: The Eagles made tender offers to retain Basket, Nick Cole and Tank Williams. LJ Smith visited with the Falcons, but is still available to any NFL team with a love-affair for spin moves and fumbles (UPDATE: This team may be the Lions). Willie Reid is...well, he's Willie Reid, so he's still available. Good moves to get some value out of the players worth anything to the Eagles (Cole, Basket, Williams) and dump extra weight (Reid, Smith). I can't argue with any decisions here.

I SAID GO SIGN: Jason Brown (Ravens C/G), Leonard Weaver (Seahawks FB), TJ Houshmandzadeh (Bengals WR), Derrick Ward (Giants RB)

WHAT HAPPENED: Jason Brown left for St. Louis minutes after FA started (grumbling of tampering from the Eagles FO here), Housh's agent played games with the Eagles, saying he was cutting them a deal when in fact he was asking for more from them than any other team. On that principle alone, I'd have stopped talks all together (which they did) and now TJ gets to play in beautiful Seattle for 5 years,$40 mil (more and longer than I'd want to pay him).

Ward signed a 4 year, $17 mil deal with the Bucs to become their starting RB. While the money/length of contract isn't terrible, Ward wanted to start and he got his wish in Tampa. The Eagles probably didn't want to invest another $4-5 mil/year in another running back anyway.

Leonard Weaver is still out there, though he's visiting the Saints (via BleedingGreenNation) and could work out a deal shortly. The Eagles could greatly benefit from his skillset, and after last year's FB debacle, I'd have thought the Eagles would want a comfortable option there. I guess Kyle Eckle really is who they want in the backfield...

But the news isn't all bad. The Eagles did sign Stacy Andrews to take Runyan's spot next to his little brother, thus forming the Great Wall of Philadelphia. Let's hope his injured knee recovers nicely and he can resume the same level of play he achieved before getting hurt. This fills one of the 2 tackle spots, leaving some mystery as to how the Eagles will fill that hole. Herremons? Another free agent? Tra? The draft?

All I know is that the Eagles have not listened to a word I've said, and at the moment, still sit with a lot of money and no one to spend it on. They've lost both starting tackles (replacing one with a FA), the free safety who was the heart and soul of the team, a tight end, a backup running back, and a backup safety and special teams standout.

If you're counting, the Eagles stand to lose at least 6 players who started or saw the field on a regular basis while only adding 1. A trade must be in the works to improve the team or else we'll all be cheering for a much worse team than the one that came one game away from reaching the Super Bowl. For a glimpse into the talent(less) pool, SportsOnBroad offer their insight on what leftovers are still available for the Eagles to pick at.