Sitting at 8-1 through their first nine games while taking in some much needed rest during their bye week, the Philadelphia Eagles have not only captured the full attention of their rabid fan base in the City of Brotherly Love, they are now playing to a national stage as the top -ranked team in the league according to numerous NFL power ranking polls.
On one hand, some could feel that this early and unexpected success might be a case of too much, too soon. There are some actual concerns among a few NFL so-called experts (that shall remain nameless) that Philly is peaking too early in the season. In the famous words of former Eagles’ cornerback Herm Edwards “You play to win the game”! I guess these same football geniuses would feel better if the Birds would have dropped a few more of those first nine games so they would have more to shoot for in the second half of the season. Yea, I would much rather be in the 5-3 Cowboys or the 4-4 Redskins’ shoes of being a few games back in the chase for this season’s NFC East title.
Moving on, I am already giving Philly the division title at 13-3 or possibly even 14-2. Looking at the current standings in the NFC, this should also give the Birds a first round bye in the playoffs. Dallas went 13-3 last season as the top seed in the conference and then promptly lost to Green Bay at home in the Divisional Round of the playoffs. This only goes to prove that an impressive record in the regular season only gets you a primo spot in the dance. It does not guarantee that you are going home with the trophy.
Right now it looks like Philadelphia might have to face a team like Seattle, Minnesota or New Orleans in this season’s second round. All three games are winnable on its home field, although I would be a bit leery about facing the Saints given their current form.
Being the home-town fan that I am, I will go ahead and advance the Eagles to the NFC Championship either at home or on the road. The other big surprise in the NFC this season has been the Los Angeles Rams at 6-2 through their first eight games. There is a chance that we could see a rematch of the 2001 NFC title game in which the Rams squeaked out a 29-24 victory on their way to a Super Bowl title with our buddy Dick Vermeil at the helm as head coach.
The current standings in the NFC heading into Week 10 are filled with any number of playoff scenarios given the fact that there are seven teams with a winning record and four more at an even .500 at 4-4. Regardless of which of these teams the Eagles face in the conference title game, I am putting on my homer mask again to predict that they will get to the Super Bowl in Doug Pederson’s first playoff run as head coach. It took his mentor five tries in the postseason to get to the big game, but Andy Reid did not have Carson Wentz as his quarterback.
The Eagles have gone to two Super Bowls in franchise history with losses to Oakland in the 1980 season and to New England following a 13-3 run through the 2004 season. While there is a very good chance that Philly could draw the Patriots again in Super Bowl LII this February, I am going with a flair for the dramatic by predicting an in-state showdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers. It would be cool to see the Eagles get another shot at Reid’s Chiefs in the biggest game of the year, but I do not see Kansas City advancing out of the gauntlet that both New England and Pittsburgh present in the AFC.
This epic Hollywood plot would star Big Ben as the grizzled veteran gunslinger trying to take down the new kid in the Keystone State in what could very well be the last game of his highly successful NFL career. The plot thickens in light of the fact that this new gunslinger from Wenztlvania via the great state of North Dakota is obviously stronger, sharper and quicker to the draw then his counterpart 300 miles to the west on I76.
It is far too early in the movie to reveal how everything does play out in this ultimate dream showdown, but this blog post should officially serve notice that I am ‘All In’ when it comes to the question of how far Philly can go this season.
No comments:
Post a Comment