By: KO Kelly
Thanksgiving is my favorite time of the year. It is a time for family and friends to gather together and share their appreciation for each other. It is a time to reflect on all the good in our lives and forget the bad for at least a day. It is also a time for assessing your NFL team’s playoff chances.
At this point in the season, there is enough tape to know the real contenders vs the great pretenders. This time last year at 9-1 we were firmly in the contenders category with some fans already planning their trips to Minnesota. However, this year our Birds are barely even pretending, which led to a very different atmosphere at the many Eagles’ faithful Thanksgiving tables yesterday.
There was frustration over the lack of offensive production. Sarcastic but somewhat serious offers to suit up in the secondary on Sunday. Shock over OC Mike Groh’s bewildering admission that it has been “challenging” to incorporate Golden Tate into the offense (Mike if you are reading, this is an example of what we call “Things you can think but cannot say out loud”!) Much disgust was expressed over the perceived lack of fight during the Saints’ game.
However, the most common sentiment was the disappointment in watching the “New Normal” play out a lot more like the dark days of Rich Kotite and Ray Rhodes than the beginning of a dynasty in the mold of Walsh, Noll, and yes even Belichick.
After last year’s magical season, we never anticipated having to deal with this type of reality so soon. Would we eventually lose? Yes. Would we eventually lose multiple games, in a row, at home? Yes. Would we eventually get blown out? Yes. But not this year, not all before week 12.
Or so we thought. However, that is the thing about any given football season, they are each surprising and unpredictable in their own special way, much like the seasons of our lives. These past two seasons, especially, offer two important lessons:
• When a group of individuals band together for a common cause in the face of immense adversity – immortal greatness can be achieved
• No matter what you have achieved in the past, nothing is given to you today or tomorrow
While our playoff chances still hang ever-so-slightly in the balance, let’s not focus on what we wanted this year to be. Instead, let’s remember why we watch football in the first place: for entertainment. We were thoroughly entertained last year and while it’s fair to get upset during the games this year, once it’s over – let’s just leave it at that. Remember, the highs would not feel as good without these lows.
Thankfully, this week our Birds will show a little more life and urgency as they put forth their best performance at home for the first time since September with a somewhat tense but definitive win against the Giants.
Eagles Win 24 - 17
Record 5-6
Saturday, November 24, 2018
Sunday, November 18, 2018
Eagles Back to the Role of Underdogs Against the Saints
The Eagles go on the road this Sunday as touchdown underdogs against the surging New Orleans Saints and for good reason. Their season is at the crossroads with a disappointing 4-5 record facing a team that has won its last eight games.
Things are so dire that Eagles Lincs sent KO Kelly on the road with the team to try and shake things up in the Big Easy. I am sure he will have some great insight into Sunday's game in next week's post win or lose.
For some added insight into the state of the Birds heading into this game, below in an email he sent me before he took off for New Orleans:
Hi Dave,
Hope your Saturday is going well. Please find below my post for this week:
This Sunday will mark the first time I attend an Eagles game and the opposing team's stadium. My college buddies and I planned this trip before the season and this was presumed to be a heavy-weight match with significant playoff implications.
Oh how the times have changed. One team is poised for a deep playoff run but unfortunately it does not looking like it will be our Birds, who are circling the proverbial bowl.
To be honest, this scenario plays out better for my nerves. If this was a playoff level game I would be stressed and unable to enjoy the experience. Instead, with a win being borderline miraculous, I can sit back and enjoy the game with my buddies.
Having said that, I will still be rooting my heart out for our boys but my hopes for this game are the lowest they have been in awhile.
They have the offensive weapons to go toe-to-toe with Brees & Co but do they have the gameplan? Our defense has been Swiss cheese recently and there's a good chance they give up more than 40 points. So while I do not like what I am about to do - I am predicting my first official Eagles loss of the season 45-24 and a chunk of those points will come in garbage time.
I am hoping this reverse psychology play will work with the universe and we will find ourselves refreshed and back on track. However, they have not shown consistency and it may take a season long march into the darkness to reclaim their position as a top tier team next year. The Patriots missed the playoffs after their first Super Bowl win, so all is not lost if this year goes the direction it appears to be heading.
So with that, let's focus on three positives:
We still have one of the best young QBs in the league
We still have a chance to sneak into the playoffs (queue Jim Mora screeching)
We are still the defending Super Bowl champs!!
As the chief editor for Eagles Linc, I decided to respond with some insight of my own:
Hey Kevin,
When Gramps (KO's grandfather and my dad) first signed on as a season ticket holder in 1961, he went into every Eagles' game with blind optimism that they would win because that was the result he expected. He always wanted to be a winner; win or lose. He never took into consideration that the Eagles were not good enough to win the games they were destined to lose.
I came into the picture at a very young age and always knew that our home team's capabilities as a perennial doormat in the NFC East were rather limited. I also quickly learned that wins were rare in the late 60's, early 70's even in the friendly confines of the Vet.
The 1980 NFC Championship against Dallas is still at the top of my list of the Bird's greatest hits (even above last season's SB win) given how this reversal of fortune changed the direction of the franchise moving forward.
Blind optimism is like fool's gold. As another gem of wisdom from your favorite uncle; Super Bowl hangovers are a bitch.
We still have a great team that is learning this fact the hard way. I am not closing out the book on this season, but the harsh reality of the situation took hold with Monday night's loss to a Cowgirls, who still stink.The Redskins are more than capable of imploding, but that has no real bearing on the Eagles' perplexing 4-5 start.
Bottom line, the Birds need nothing short of a miracle to pull off a win on Sunday on the road against the hottest team in the league. Conventional wisdom dictates they do not have a chance, but faith is a tie that binds!
The betting line has the Eagles listed as eight-point road underdogs. Super Bowl Champions eight-point underdogs! It just does not add up, but it is what it is.
At the very least, I am betting the Birds to cover. One interesting incident that has to be taken into consideration is Gramps' recent invocation into the matter with a cryptic 407 message that I received from his lofty place in Heaven. This tells me that Philly has a strong chance to actually win this game.
While I am preaching to the choir with the Deacon attached to this email, keep the faith!
I am channeling Jules on Sunday afternoon with the K-Man in the Big Easy. The end result of this crazy Bayou Voodoo is a wild Eagles' 34-31 victory that puts the Birds back in the NFC East title race with a Redskins' loss to Houston and the Cowboos' falter against Atlanta.
Kev, regardless of the outcome in the Big Easy have fun! This place kicked my ass more than once and it resulted in an Eagle tattoo on my left thigh that is a whole other story into itself.
Always remember...Keep the Faith,
Dave
Things are so dire that Eagles Lincs sent KO Kelly on the road with the team to try and shake things up in the Big Easy. I am sure he will have some great insight into Sunday's game in next week's post win or lose.
For some added insight into the state of the Birds heading into this game, below in an email he sent me before he took off for New Orleans:
Hi Dave,
Hope your Saturday is going well. Please find below my post for this week:
This Sunday will mark the first time I attend an Eagles game and the opposing team's stadium. My college buddies and I planned this trip before the season and this was presumed to be a heavy-weight match with significant playoff implications.
Oh how the times have changed. One team is poised for a deep playoff run but unfortunately it does not looking like it will be our Birds, who are circling the proverbial bowl.
To be honest, this scenario plays out better for my nerves. If this was a playoff level game I would be stressed and unable to enjoy the experience. Instead, with a win being borderline miraculous, I can sit back and enjoy the game with my buddies.
Having said that, I will still be rooting my heart out for our boys but my hopes for this game are the lowest they have been in awhile.
They have the offensive weapons to go toe-to-toe with Brees & Co but do they have the gameplan? Our defense has been Swiss cheese recently and there's a good chance they give up more than 40 points. So while I do not like what I am about to do - I am predicting my first official Eagles loss of the season 45-24 and a chunk of those points will come in garbage time.
I am hoping this reverse psychology play will work with the universe and we will find ourselves refreshed and back on track. However, they have not shown consistency and it may take a season long march into the darkness to reclaim their position as a top tier team next year. The Patriots missed the playoffs after their first Super Bowl win, so all is not lost if this year goes the direction it appears to be heading.
So with that, let's focus on three positives:
We still have one of the best young QBs in the league
We still have a chance to sneak into the playoffs (queue Jim Mora screeching)
We are still the defending Super Bowl champs!!
As the chief editor for Eagles Linc, I decided to respond with some insight of my own:
Hey Kevin,
When Gramps (KO's grandfather and my dad) first signed on as a season ticket holder in 1961, he went into every Eagles' game with blind optimism that they would win because that was the result he expected. He always wanted to be a winner; win or lose. He never took into consideration that the Eagles were not good enough to win the games they were destined to lose.
I came into the picture at a very young age and always knew that our home team's capabilities as a perennial doormat in the NFC East were rather limited. I also quickly learned that wins were rare in the late 60's, early 70's even in the friendly confines of the Vet.
The 1980 NFC Championship against Dallas is still at the top of my list of the Bird's greatest hits (even above last season's SB win) given how this reversal of fortune changed the direction of the franchise moving forward.
Blind optimism is like fool's gold. As another gem of wisdom from your favorite uncle; Super Bowl hangovers are a bitch.
We still have a great team that is learning this fact the hard way. I am not closing out the book on this season, but the harsh reality of the situation took hold with Monday night's loss to a Cowgirls, who still stink.The Redskins are more than capable of imploding, but that has no real bearing on the Eagles' perplexing 4-5 start.
Bottom line, the Birds need nothing short of a miracle to pull off a win on Sunday on the road against the hottest team in the league. Conventional wisdom dictates they do not have a chance, but faith is a tie that binds!
The betting line has the Eagles listed as eight-point road underdogs. Super Bowl Champions eight-point underdogs! It just does not add up, but it is what it is.
At the very least, I am betting the Birds to cover. One interesting incident that has to be taken into consideration is Gramps' recent invocation into the matter with a cryptic 407 message that I received from his lofty place in Heaven. This tells me that Philly has a strong chance to actually win this game.
While I am preaching to the choir with the Deacon attached to this email, keep the faith!
I am channeling Jules on Sunday afternoon with the K-Man in the Big Easy. The end result of this crazy Bayou Voodoo is a wild Eagles' 34-31 victory that puts the Birds back in the NFC East title race with a Redskins' loss to Houston and the Cowboos' falter against Atlanta.
Kev, regardless of the outcome in the Big Easy have fun! This place kicked my ass more than once and it resulted in an Eagle tattoo on my left thigh that is a whole other story into itself.
Always remember...Keep the Faith,
Dave
Friday, November 9, 2018
Eagles’ Act II Begins on Sunday Night
By: KO Kelly
After the mind-boggling fourth quarter collapse against Carolina a couple weeks ago, I needed to take two bye weeks myself. When I left the stadium after that game, I was not even angry. I was completely dumbstruck. Luckily, they were able to pull out the win against the Jaguars in merry old London but it was not nearly as convincing at times as we would have liked.
Nevertheless, I am hopeful last week’s bye gave the players a chance to rest, unwind, and prepare for a new half. Same for the coaches. The chemistry of last year’s brain trust of Pederson/Reich/DeFillipo has been absent all season. I severely underestimated the effect of losing both in the off-season. Granted there have been health issues across the offense but even so, the play-calling has not lived up to the potential of Wentz & Co. With any luck, Pederson used the bye to travel back in time a la Austin Powers to retrieve his mojo.
On the defensive side, we may see Jernigan return within the next couple weeks, which is a more significant game-changer than the Tate acquisition. We won the Super Bowl last year in no small part because of the strength and depth of our defensive line. Schwartz’s defense is predicated on getting pressure from the front four. With injuries and a weaker supporting cast this year (bring back Beau!), the defensive line has not been as disruptive, which has a trickle-down effect on our linebackers and secondary. Mills getting burnt is not as bad when the QB is already on his back.
Luckily, the NFC East is still very much up for the taking and with our hated rivals - the Cowboys - coming to town this Sunday night, we can start laying our claim to that title.
After their magical run in 2016, the Cowboys have reverted back to their old ways of losing. Always highly touted by the national media, they will continue to be perennial losers as long as they are still micro-managed by Jerry Jones. (I will admit it would have been difficult to choose sides in the Jones v Goodell battle had it escalated any further).
They haven’t accomplished anything impressive in the past two decades and their entire city was shown up by a kicker at last Spring’s draft. C’mo’n man - now that’s just pathetic. If it were not for their bandwagon fans, I would potentially feel sorry for them - like the Browns or Bengals or Lions. But those August front-runners, who conveniently disappear (just like their team) in the winter keep my hate for the Cowboys dialed up to a 10.
So what’s my bold prediction for Sunday Night football at the Linc in all black . . . 42-3 Eagles - something kind of like this.
Record 5-4
After the mind-boggling fourth quarter collapse against Carolina a couple weeks ago, I needed to take two bye weeks myself. When I left the stadium after that game, I was not even angry. I was completely dumbstruck. Luckily, they were able to pull out the win against the Jaguars in merry old London but it was not nearly as convincing at times as we would have liked.
Nevertheless, I am hopeful last week’s bye gave the players a chance to rest, unwind, and prepare for a new half. Same for the coaches. The chemistry of last year’s brain trust of Pederson/Reich/DeFillipo has been absent all season. I severely underestimated the effect of losing both in the off-season. Granted there have been health issues across the offense but even so, the play-calling has not lived up to the potential of Wentz & Co. With any luck, Pederson used the bye to travel back in time a la Austin Powers to retrieve his mojo.
On the defensive side, we may see Jernigan return within the next couple weeks, which is a more significant game-changer than the Tate acquisition. We won the Super Bowl last year in no small part because of the strength and depth of our defensive line. Schwartz’s defense is predicated on getting pressure from the front four. With injuries and a weaker supporting cast this year (bring back Beau!), the defensive line has not been as disruptive, which has a trickle-down effect on our linebackers and secondary. Mills getting burnt is not as bad when the QB is already on his back.
Luckily, the NFC East is still very much up for the taking and with our hated rivals - the Cowboys - coming to town this Sunday night, we can start laying our claim to that title.
After their magical run in 2016, the Cowboys have reverted back to their old ways of losing. Always highly touted by the national media, they will continue to be perennial losers as long as they are still micro-managed by Jerry Jones. (I will admit it would have been difficult to choose sides in the Jones v Goodell battle had it escalated any further).
They haven’t accomplished anything impressive in the past two decades and their entire city was shown up by a kicker at last Spring’s draft. C’mo’n man - now that’s just pathetic. If it were not for their bandwagon fans, I would potentially feel sorry for them - like the Browns or Bengals or Lions. But those August front-runners, who conveniently disappear (just like their team) in the winter keep my hate for the Cowboys dialed up to a 10.
So what’s my bold prediction for Sunday Night football at the Linc in all black . . . 42-3 Eagles - something kind of like this.
Record 5-4
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