Finally, A Howie Roseman I Like!
Full disclosure, I’ve never been a Howie Roseman fan. Maybe he’s a likable guy behind the scenes and his douchebag vibe is just his shtick. I hope so. But for me, he’s a guy who comes across as extremely smug with smartest-guy-in-the-room energy and relies on hot buzzwords or ridiculous similes to convince us all he’s cool. Like this quote about JJ Arcega-Whiteside:
“You know, there was one play in training camp where there was a deep ball and he was able to just box out like he was a freaking rebounder. He’s Joel Embiid down in the box, boxing these guys out.” via NBC Sports
He’s like our own McLovin, just not as affable.
The post-Chip Howie 2.0 helped bring us a Super Bowl. There ain’t is no denying that, but let’s not kid ourselves. Super Bowl LII is all about Nick Foles playing out of his mind like a man playing with the Divine Intervention that chronically eludes Carson Wentz. Honestly, I think that Patriots team beats the Eagles nine out of ten times. It was just one of those years, luckily. Howie was a part of it and you can’t take that away from him.
That doesn’t take away the fact that he hasn’t drafted a Pro Bowler since the Broad St. Bullies won the Cup. He preaches emotional intelligence but had zero clue—after spending hours and days with a pre-draft Carson Wentz—that Wentz didn’t have the mental makeup to hack it here in Philly . He also didn’t have the emotional intelligence to realize the damage that drafting Jalen Hurts would have on Wentz’s psyche. Howie routinely tried to out-smart everyone with picks like JJAW and Reagor.
Third time is a Charm
The worst of Howie may have been the two years after the Super Bowl. Maybe he was smelling himself a bit more than normal after winning the Lombardi. After those abysmal years, something changed. A new Howie emerged. Howie 3.0. Maybe he joined Aaron Rogers on some self-realization journey and did some ayahuasca a couple of years ago
Howie 3.0 seems to have acknowledged his inability to judge amateur talent. He’s relying more on the likes of Offensive Line Coach Jeff Stoutland and Jason Kelce for offensive lineman evaluation. Howie has been disastrous in drafting wide receivers so what did Howie 3.0 do? He drafted DeVonta Smith. Luckily, he was the only top-tier WR prospect left on the board and a Heisman Trophy winner from Bama. That was a foolproof pick and the city would have erupted had he not picked Smith. He didn’t go PAC-12. Remember this great PAC-12 quote from Howie after drafting Arcege-Whiteside?
“Sometimes these West Coast guys who play late, they get a little underrated because people aren’t watching those late games. This guy’s a baller. He’s got a very good skill set and I think when our fans get to know him, they are going to be really proud. He symbolizes Eagle mentality, Eagle football.” – NBC Sports Philly
Howie 3.0, now seemingly aware of his wide receiver ineptitude, went proven veteran in AJ Brown Instead of trying to draft another WR. Love it!
What other positions has Howie been unable to draft productively? Cornerback. Safety. Linebacker.
What’s Howie 3.0 done at cornerback? He’s gone proven commodities in Big Play Slay and James Bradberry. Safety? Traded for Gardner-Jones, who may not be a traditional safety but we know he’s an NFL talent. Linebacker? Signed established LBs Hassan Reddick and Kyzir White.
Howie 3.0 recognizing that he’s been brutal at drafting certain positions and leaning toward proven commodities instead is music to all Eagles fans’ ears. If that’s not enough to make it move for you, check this out.
Howie 3.0 is now doing what the fans have spent years pleading for—drafting players from Alabama and the SEC. DeVonta Smith. Jordan Davis. Nakobe Dean. Landon Dickerson. Davis and Dean haven’t proven anything yet, but they look good on paper and we would all rather bet on SEC players than kids from any other Conference.
RECAP
Let’s recap Howie 3.0. He relies on Stoutland and Kelce for evaluating Offensive Linemen. He trades for or signs established players in positions that are traditionally his blind spots—WR, CB, LB. And, he’s drafting players from SEC, particularly Bama!
Damn! Howie 3.0 is one sexy m*otherf*cker! I never thought that I’d say it, but I like Howie Roseman…version 3.0 only, though.
Go Birds.