The beginnings of this blitzkrieg were plotted years earlier when eagle-eyed GM Howie Roseman and club president Joe Banner anticipated the possibility of a torrent of unrestricted free agents coming to market, which happened as the NFL dropped the minimum service requirement for free agency to four years, instead of the six required in 2010. While most of the NFL was sleeping (Bill Belichick never sleeps) Jeffrey Lurie’s bold Eagles swooped down on free agents with even more urgency than Rex and Rob Ryan at an all-you-can-eat buffet. Because when the smoke clears, there are always winners and losers.

Cigar Aficionado is here to keep score, and we present an in-depth analysis of the 20 teams that did the best and worst jobs in free agency.

For others, it was the Super Bowl, a win-at-all costs philosophy with one goal in mind-a Lambeau Leap to the Lombardi Trophy. For some, free agency was an afterthought, a resource to fill in pieces of the roster.

That gave all 32 front offices the green light to engage in an unprecedented Wild West gold rush on 433 unrestricted free agents, a Last Chance Saloon for adrenaline-fueled general managers with pressing needs. The NFL lockout ended barely in time for the start of training camp. When NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and players’ head DeMaurice Smith announced on July 25 that the owners and players of pro football had reached agreement on a 10-year collective bargaining agreement that would keep the $9.3 billion golden goose fat and growing fatter, they might as well have fired a starter’s pistol into the air and shouted: “Gentlemen, start your checkbooks.”

Frenzy by Rex Miller