I still remember it like it was yesterday.
It was my first year at Eagles' training camp, when I was still an intern with Garry Cobb for GCobb.com. I was lucky enough to get to make the long drive each morning from Philadelphia to Lehigh University to cover the Eagles' 2011 training camp.
It was a dream come true — my first time around an NFL team. Heading in, I knew it would be a special experience.
I didn't know I'd be walking into the most debated team in the history of Philadelphia sports.
As we spend the month of May on 94WIP settling some of the most important debates in the history of Philly sports for "Once and For All" week, there is little debate in my mind that when it comes to controversial teams, the 2011 Eagles' "Dream Team" tops the list.
There have been some disastrous teams in the history of Philly sports, but there has never been a team that put fans through a better, or more traumatic, combination of hype, drama, disappointment and anger than that group of Eagles.
And it all started with Vince Young.
I remember sitting in the make-shift press conference tent at Lehigh University that day when Young, recently signed as a backup, gave the team their official "Dream Team" nickname. At the time, many agreed with Young's declaration. After all, the Eagles had spent all offseason adding some of the best free agents available, ignoring fit or chemistry as Howie Roseman played fantasy football with the team's roster.
That offseason the Eagles added Nnamdi Asomugha, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Jason Babin, Ronnie Brown, Cullen Jenkins and Young. This talent was added to a team that already have Michael Vick, DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin and LeSean McCoy arguably all at the peak of their careers.
It is easy to look back at some of these names with distain now, but as a result of all the moves, the Eagles went into the season with an over/under of 10.5 — second highest in the NFL.
They would end up winning just eight games, and half of those wins would come in the final month of the season.
Even though we all remember the Dream Team as a disaster, looking back, it really was much uglier than most remember.
After a Week 1 win over the St. Louis Rams, the Eagles would proceed to lose four straight to drop to 1-4. The losing streak included a 29-16 loss at home to the Giants that saw the defense give up 15 points in the fourth quarter. The following week was the famous Ronnie Brown pass attempt, and a 24-23 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
Things hit rock bottom in Week 5 against Buffalo. The Eagles fell behind 31-14 to the Bills, and would end up losing 31-24, but the game will always be remembered for Juqua Parker jumping offsides on a 3rd-and-3 to help the Bills seal the win.
Looking back at that team, some of the final stats were truly laughable.
Vick had 18 touchdowns to 14 interceptions. Brown would end the season with just 136 yards rushing. Asomugha had three interceptions, Rodgers-Cromartie didn't pick off a single pass. Babin got his meaningless sacks (18), but his back-and-forth with fans questioning their loyalty will always be what he is most remembered for during his time with the team — and it would create an epic Rob Ellis rant.
As for Mr. Dream Team himself? Well, Young finished with almost twice as many interceptions (9) as touchdowns (4) in his limited playing time.
The fall out from the Dream Team wasn't instant, as Andy Reid and Roseman returned for the following season. Looking back, however, it was in some ways the beginning of the end for both.
Reid would be gone by 2013. Roseman's disastrous offseason and terrible draft that year — that was the Danny Watkins draft — was a stain on his resumé until he was removed from the top of football operations in 2015. Babin was cut midway through the following season. Asomugha played just one more year with the team. Brown wasn't re-signed at the end of the season.
Vince Young would never play in the NFL again.
That "Dream Team" season would be a cautionary tale for the Eagles, and is still brought up to this day by fans when too-many big moves are made by any of the four teams.
There have been other controversial teams in the city's history.
There had never been a team like The Dream Team — and hopefully, there will never be another one like it.
You can reach Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks or email him at esp@94wip.com!
