Philadelphia Eagles Continue Adding Intriguing Puzzle Pieces
COMMENTARY | You remember that 2011 offseason spending spree all too well, I'm sure.
Vince Young's two-word description of the Philadelphia Eagles, after they got aggressive and spend-happy in the free-agent market, became profanity for Philly fans after all the investments and expectations proved worthless.
Fast forward to what general manager Howie Roseman and new coach Chip Kelly are doing ahead of the 2013 NFL season, and one thing's for certain -- we don't have to worry about Young saddling this bunch with the "dream team" label.
That's not to say the Eagles are making bad moves; far from it. They're just not making overly bold moves. Or ridiculously lavish moves. Or stupid moves.
They're going after low-risk players with a lot of upside, and they're not really spending a lot in the process.
The latest of those acquisitions came on Saturday, when the Birdsannounced they had signed 6-foot-7 wide receiver Ifeanyi Momah.
No, that's not a typo -- the dude's 6-foot-7, and he weighs in at 239 pounds.
Momah suffered a season-ending injury during the 2011 opener his last year at Boston College. He had eight catches for 157 yards in the game against Northwestern before a torn ACL ended his college career. He wasn't healthy enough to work out for scouts last spring and went undrafted.
Now, a year later, Momah looks healthy and moves well, having run as fast as 4.4 in recent workouts for NFL scouts. The Eagles liked what they saw, and gave Momah a three-year deal.
A wideout who's big and fast and can snag balls from the sky? We haven't seen that in Philly for a while.
Momah has five inches on the second-tallest Eagles receiver -- 6-3 Riley Cooper -- and he becomes the team's 13th wideout and the fourth the Birds have signed this offseason, joining Arrelious Benn, Nick Miller and DeMarco Sampson.
Height isn't everything, of course, and Momah may be a bit of a project for Philadelphia, particularly since he hasn't played in a game since September of 2011.
But it's tough to look at his recent workouts and his past accomplishments and not see a ton of potential that could pan out in a big way for the Eagles.
The signing is not anything that's going to inspire any "dream team" talk, and that's a good thing. Roseman and Kelly are assembling a roster that won't break the bank and could include more than a couple of surprising gems. Momah may very well be one of those.
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Adam Sparks has followed the Philadelphia Eagles since the 1980s, and has written about the team |
