How does the Philadelphia Eagles signing of cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha shake up the NFL balance of power?

Last year there was all sorts of talk about how Andy Reid was on the verge of losing his job, then Vick came in and saved their season.  Now they go out and make a huge splash in free agency, doesn't that just put a lot more pressure on a club that was overly reliant on a few players before?  They have a first year defensive coordinator, with only one DE and one corner (Samuel) with experience with the team.  They bring in Jenkins (who is injury prone,) Cromartie (who has skills, but is limited in coverage,) Asomugha, who is good and will shore up one side of the field, and bring in Vince Young to back up Vick.  Does that make them Super Bowl favorites?  I don't think so.  What happens when they put the pieces together?  I look back at all the times that teams have tried to "win right now" and the history really doesn't bode well for them.  And if they don't go to the Super Bowl, isn't Andy Reid gone as the scapegoat?

It really is a big deal. Essentially because the eagles have been playing blitz happy football without great corners and with a weak secondary. Now they no longer have that weakness. They should become a top 5 defense with these acquisitions. Weakness against the pass in 2010 The Eagles were ranked 14th against the pass giving up 216.8 yds/game. To keep this in perspective the JETS were 6th. The Eagles gave up 377 points against the pass last year - ranking 21 out of 32 teams. By contrast the JETS were again ranked 6th in this category with the Chargers (1st) giving up 232 "passing" points. The most glaring problem is that the Eagles defense gave up 31 passing TDs. There are only 2 teams which did worse - the Cowboys and the Texans. Ie the Eagles ranked 30th out of 32 teams in points given up against the pass. Given these stats the teams secondary was middle of the pack at its best and a complete embarrassment at their worst. For example, they were scored on during the regular season by a QB named Stephen McGee. Do you know which team Stephen McGee plays for? Another glaring fact is that in their postseason game against the Packers, all 3 touchdowns were passing touchdowns. Loving to Blitz The Eagles being a blitz heavy team rely heavily on the secondary even though they only had a middling secondary at best. In 2010 they ranked 10th in the number of sacks. Not bad but not top 5. They should be able to get more sacks this year because of the combination of Nnamdi and DRC. Big stars dont necessarily make a great team. Having two great corners is only useful if they can play well together and with the rest of the team.  If they cant communicate then the middle of the field is gonna be an issue. We'll have to see what happens in this respect. So What Does All This Mean Instant Impact - The reason that I think this will be a big big deal is because the defense doesnt have to change the way it plays. Naamdi and DRC will fit immediately into the Eagles present scheme and vastly improve the present blitz happy scheme so much more effective. This is key. A top 5 defense. The team should have similar success in the secondary to the 2010 JETS who had one great corner and one pretty good one. This will allow you to threaten blitzes more than they have in the past (is that possible?) and make blitzes much more effective. It also means the Eagles will allow a lot less passing touchdowns. Sack totals should improve and effective yards/game allowed should decrease. NFC East Domination Being in a division with three pass happy teams (Giants, Redskins, Cowboys) makes the Nnamdi + DRC combo even more appealing. Making the teams in your division play from other than their strengths is always a good thing. I believe if they stay healthy and the players play like they played last year in this new setting, the Eagles will take the division. Defense That Puts Away Opponents. If this does happen and if Vick can keep up his explosive form, this team will be one bitch to play. If Vick can keep the scoreboard ticking, the defense (if it stays healthy) should be able to keep opponents counting the number of times they punt and put them away. Defense wins championships they say. The eagles were 15th against the run (Yds/Carry) and think they'll probably stay this way as more offenses will choose to run more than pass against them. Kudos to Eagles management on figuring out one the most glaring weaknesses ont he team and improving a decent defense into a great one with just 2 players. Caveat: Of course the new additions have to play well together and the team needs to gel and stay healthy but I think this is a phenomenal addition to the team. Cant wait to watch them play.

For the regular season, I think the Eagles were already favorites, so signing Asomugha probably just reinforces their status as the front-runner in the division. I do think it helps when the playoffs roll around, in that 3 quality corners will be key in shutting down a team like the Saints or Packers (look what happened to the Steelers in Super Bowl XLV). If I'm worried about anything with the Eagles, it's that teams re-adjust to Vick or he comes back to earth -- last year was lightning in a bottle for him, can he do it again? The Jets will be fine. They already had a very good team; while putting the two best corners in the game together would've made them fun to watch, it doesn't kill them to "only" have one lockdown corner. True, Rex relies on quality corner play with the rest of his defense being SO aggressive, but he's still got Revis as his #1 and the money they were going to give Asomugha can shore up that other corner. I don't even know that the bridge is totally burned with Cromartie -- it might be insulting if they made an offer to another guy at the same level, but is kicking the tires on (by most accounts) the top corner in the game really an insult? The Giants definitely could've used him -- their corners were nothing special --  but they did draft Prince Amukamara and they could still add another free agent. The Cowboys seem like the big losers in this. They did a lot of cap clearing presumably to land Asomugha, and didn't get it done. Especially for an owner like Jerry Jones who likes to make a splash, it's going to be tough to regroup from that.

No. No single player can change the balance of power within the NFL. Although Nnamdi Asomugha is an outstanding player and a potential Hall of Famer, he is still on a team with more than 40 other people that he doesn't coach. He's also not the owner, so beyond making plays he has limited" into the direction of the organization. The Philadelphia Eagles will certainly be a strong team this year but whether or not they will be postseason contenders, especially considering that this is a lockout shortened season, remains to be seen.