November 14, 2022

Who won the week in Philly sports: Howie Roseman has the Eagles on a path to the Super Bowl

By Shamus Clancy
PhillyVoice Staff

When the Eagles play on Monday rather than Sunday, a wrench gets thrown into my normal "who won the week" schedule. Sixers star Joel Embiid would be an easy candidate coming off a 59-point performance, but our own Sixers writer Kyle Neubeck has done multiple articles on the big fella's dominance already. I'm going to take a macro approach and give props to the Birds' general manager: Howie Roseman.

As you'll see with our below leaderboard, this week's nod for Roseman has him at the top of the Philly sports scene since I started writing this feature in March. No one has ever been as good at cleaning up their own messes as Roseman. With the Eagles as NFC favorites and on a path to the Super Bowl, Roseman has constructed an incredible roster and coaching staff in Philly.

Star Power ⭐

It's only been eight games, but we're already close to this past offseason's A.J. Brown deal being one of the greatest trades in Eagles history. As of right now, I'd rank the team's best trades ever as follows:

1. The Rams trade QB Norm Van Brocklin to the Eagles for OL Buck Lansford, DE Jimmy Harris and a first-round pick before the 1958 NFL season. Van Brocklin played three seasons in Philadelphia, making the Pro Bowl every year. He won the league MVP award in 1960 while leading the Birds to an NFL Championship, beating Green Bay at Franklin Field. It was the Packers' only playoff loss under coach Vince Lombardi.

That's a tough one to top, but the Eagles got Brown for his age-25 season. Van Brocklin was 32 when the Eagles brought him to Philly.

2. Ahead of the 2009 season, the Bills traded left tackle Jason Peters to the Eagles for a first- and fourth-round pick. Peters spent the next 11 years in Philadelphia, making seven Pro Bowls and picking up two First-Team All-Pro selections. He will be enshrined in Canton one day.

3. After a convoluted two weeks of deals, the Eagles brought in Terrell Owens in a three-team trade with the Ravens and 49ers, parting with DL Brandon Whiting and a fifth-round pick. Owens played just 21 games in midnight green (plus one legendary Super Bowl outing), but those 21 games were spectacular. The T.O. era went up in flames, as we all know, but he was the driving force of the best pre-2017 Eagles team of my lifetime and turned in perhaps the most dominant offensive season in franchise history.

If February brings another parade down Broad Street and Brown spends the next half dozen years through his prime with the Eagles, he's going to shoot up those rankings with swiftness.

Howie's draft history is suspect, but the dude wins trades.

Come next April, depending on where the Saints' 2023 first-round pick lands, we may have yet another Roseman trade going down in the Eagles' history book. The Saints, given the current standings, would give the Eagles a top-five pick. Jalen Carter or Will Anderson on this team next fall? Scary stuff.

In It to Win It 🏆

Overall for the NFL in 2022, it's been pretty lackluster. The Eagles are clearly the best team in a weak NFC. They smoked an 8-1 Vikings team at home in September. Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady can rest on their all-time great laurels, but neither QB has a winning record this season. The defending champion Rams are falling apart with OL woes and injuries. A Geno Smith-led Seahawks squad could possibly be the second-best team in the conference!

Roseman, in building this roster, gave the Eagles key cogs this offseason that have been paying off big time. I already discussed the Brown trade, one that makes the Titans look more foolish by the week. They may have added two defensive backs who'll make the Pro Bowl this year in James Bradberry and C.J. Gardner-Johnson. The former has been a stud in coverage and the latter is tied for the NFL lead in interceptions. Haason Reddick has been the Birds' top pass rusher this year with 5.5 sacks and eight QB hits. Reddick oozes juice.

Whether he realized it fully or not, Roseman has stacked this team during a huge down year for competition. Timing is everything and Roseman played his hand perfectly.

Shutting Up the Haters 🤫

I have been a critic of Roseman in the past, a very vocal one. After the disastrous 2020 campaign, I believed it was time for the Eagles to part ways with Roseman, though that was unlikely given his strong connection with owner Jeffrey Lurie. I would've kept Doug Pederson, let Roseman and QB Carson Wentz go and started over with the Pederson/Jalen Hurts combo.

I was not alone in being out on Roseman, the whole city seemed to be. He's, however, proven himself able to put the Birds back in a position to win the Super Bowl. As I alluded to earlier, those Eagles downturns in 2012 and 2020 have a lot to do with Roseman himself, but he's showcased that he can retool the Eagles on the fly and make them a legitimate threat.

If Roseman adds a second Super Bowl ring to his name in Arizona in 2023, it'll be impossible to criticize the guy. Teflon.

Who won the week runner-up: Joel Embiid 5️⃣9️⃣

Who won last week: Jalen Hurts 1️⃣

Who Won the Week 2022 Tally:

Howie Roseman: 5

Bryce Harper: 4

Rhys Hoskins: 4

Jalen Hurts: 2

Rob Thomson: 2

J.T. Realmuto: 1

Phillies: 1

Haason Reddick: 1