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