Roseman Magic

I think its fair to say that when Howie Roseman became the Eagles' GM last year, most of us were slightly concerned because he was such an unknown commodity. Most people weren't sure how a guy from a "number crunching" background would fare as the youngest GM in the NFL, especially when it came to football matters. I believe that this past weekend has given us the strongest indication yet that Roseman knows what he's doing.

I have to say that in general I have been happy with the way in which the Eagles have handled personnel matters since Roseman took over. Of course, Andy Reid still has the biggest say in these matters, but there is no doubt that Roseman has built up significant clout during his short 18 months. And on Friday, Roseman engineered what we are all hoping was the Steal of the Century for the Eagles, when he signed Nnamdi Asomugha at a time when nobody was really expecting it. Not even Roseman himself.

Peter King describes the fascinating details of how it all played out:

On Sunday, Roseman told me the Eagles were sure they were out of the Asomugha sweepstakes after dealing for Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie in the Kevin Kolb trade Thursday. He even told Dogra Thursday night they were out of it, and he was sorry it didn't work out.

Then, at precisely 12:38 a.m. Friday, Dogra pressed the button on a text message to Roseman that said: "Are u sure ..... be bold. Best deal in history.''

At almost the split second that Dogra sent the message, one time-stamped 12:38 a.m. popped into his phone from Roseman, sent obviously before Roseman had read Dogra's text. "Thanks for taking the time today. I appreciate the process. We need more of ur guys here.''

Dogra thought it was eerie that their texts passed in the ether. And he wanted Roseman to not think it was over, because he knew how much Asomugha wanted to play in Philadelphia. It was true Asomugha liked the Jets too, but he thought the Eagles gave him the best chance to win a Super Bowl in the next three or four years.

Dogra picked up the phone. No sooner did Roseman say hello than Dogra's cell phone beeped in his ear. Call-waiting. Asomugha.

Dogra let it ring to voicemail because he had a message to deliver to Roseman first. "Don't you think it's strange we haven't communicated in five or six hours, and all of sudden we send each other texts at exactly the same time? Are you sure we don't want to explore this one last time?''

And they did explore it, even though Roseman knew he already had two Pro Bowl-caliber corners on the roster. He said Sunday that he and Dogra negotiated until 3 in the morning. And it got done the next afternoon.

Dogra's no mystic, but he'll always believe there was something eerie going on when two texts were sent simultaneously, and two phone calls made within 10 seconds of each other, all by the three people involved in making a deal happen. 

Firstly, I believe this clearly shows that Nnamdi really did want to come to Philadelphia. But it also shows that Roseman was able to bait Dogra perfectly. His timing was perfect. He knew that he wanted Nnamdi, and he played his hand perfectly by ensuring that absolutely now word was leaked about it.

And then there is this nugget about what Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum had to say after Roseman snatched Asomugha away from him:

"Nobody bats a thousand in this league. When something like this happens, I try to learn from it and get better as a general manager. And I think I will."

There is some serious respect being shown for Roseman in that quote. And he deserves all of it after the way he handled the entire situation. Between Andy Reid's prowess as a coach, Mike Vick's allure as a player and teammate and Roseman's ability as GM, I think its safe to say that Philadelphia is a pretty attractive place to play football in. I'm not sure how many conclusions one can draw from Roseman's 18 months and the personnel moves he has made so far, but I'm sure it would be a pretty favourable analysis at this point, including the Vick signing and the McNabb trade (which I'm sure was mostly Roseman's doing, given Andy's favourable predisposition towards Donovan). But the Nnamdi Asomugha signing may very well be remembered as the day Roseman really put his stamp on the NFL. It was one hell of a move, and I for one salute him for having the guts and the know-how to pull it off like he did.