Quite a few football experts are questioning the validity of Philadelphia being a legitimate contender for this season's NFC title and a possible run to a Super Bowl Championship despite being tied for the best record in the conference at 4-1. I will have to admit that after the Eagles almost blew a 27-point lead over St. Louis last Sunday, I have a few questions in my mind as well, but you are what you are in this league and this team is still 4-1.
The rubber meets the road this Sunday night at the Linc with the 3-2 Giants coming to town. If the Birds go on to win this game in some kind of convincing fashion then it will once again be standing room only on this bandwagon. If they lose this game, the stock in this team will sink like a lead balloon. That is the way it goes in a league where you live and die on a weekly basis. The fact of the matter is that a win on Sunday would be huge, but a loss would not be devastating.
Think back to last year at this time. Through the first six weeks of the season the Eagles had lost as many as games as they won and by the time Week 8 was said and done they would fall to 3-5 through the first half of the season. With a bye week on the horizon and road games against Arizona and Houston to cap-off the first half of this season, they are already guaranteed to have a better record no matter what happens. There is also a good chance that they wrap things up with a record of 6-2 or possibly even 7-1. It is all matter of how you view things with this team and you all know that I have my rose-colored glasses on right now.
The biggest difference between this season and 2013 so far has been the health of the offensive line. The same five starters played every game together last season, while this year it has been a revolving door at a number of spots in the front five. The good news is that eventually Philly will have all five of its starters back in the lineup barring any further injuries. LeSean McCoy is still one of the premier running backs in the NFL so it is just a matter of time before he starts piling-up the rushing yards and Nick Foles has simply showed that he is human after his ridiculous run last season.
I reserved my spot on this year's bandwagon just minutes after last season's loss to New Orleans in the playoffs and I have no intention of giving-up my spot. As for the rest of the teams in the NFC East, be careful about drinking the cool-aid for either New York or Dallas. While right now it is standing room only on those bandwagons, something tells me there will be plenty of room on both as the long, grueling NFL regular season wears on!
As far as this week's games in our favorite division in the league, the following is a link my weekly preview and pick for the NFC East as part of an ongoing series for Doc's Sports.
Expert NFL Betting Picks: Weekly NFC East Predictions Week 6
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