Even Big Mike knows it's Rally Towel Time
After all of the talk of “must win games” over the past 3
weeks, the Eagles finally overcame what seemed to be the 'NeverEnding Story'.
There were a lot of fans out there (including these twins) that were starting to get nervous
about the season. There were many fans calling for Andy Reid’s head (as usual
for this time of the year) and a lot of fans started writing this season off.
We were slightly optimistic, but started to jump on the nervous bandwagon as
many of the other fans did after a disappointing Giants' loss. Unlike most other
fans, we actually respect and like Big Red, including the terrific job he has
done with this team year after year, but even we were starting to question his
tenure as coach in Philadelphia. The “Dream Team” was spiraling fast, but when
your team needs a pick-me-up, you can always count on Sexy Rexy and the boys to
get your season back on track and a city breathing a sigh of relief. The Eagles' played up to snuff and beat a team that has played way above their potential to dupe a lot of people into believing they were a legitimate contender (which still has no real QB in all honesty). This has
led a lot of media personnel to call it a possible turnaround for the Eagles or
a season changing game (sidenote: it is completely annoying to watch the
newspapers flop back and forth to go from the world’s biggest bust to hope-filled miracle story in one week when some fans have remained pretty optimistic the whole way
through), but lets not get too carried away. This is still only one game of a
16 game season and we are still 2-4. Let’s put a couple things in perspective
here:
1.
This game is not the SAVIOR of the season
because quite frankly, the season was not even close to over yet. If every fan
could be promised a 10-6 or 11-5 final regular season record and a Super Bowl,
they would take it every time, even if that means enduring an early 1-4 start
until all of the new pieces got set into place. There are so many new things going
on for this team, that the lack of a true full training camp hurt this team
more than any other team in the NFL (no, we are not exaggerating). The Eagles
were implementing new defensive schemes, working a brand new offensive line,
and adding 6 new starters on defense. That is more change than almost any team
in the league and it was going to take time for things to start working
correctly, lets hope that this is that start we were hoping for. Still, the
season was far from over and this one game doesn’t even prove yet that we are
totally fixed, but it is a good start.
2.
The most important things for the Eagles the
rest of the year will be their divisional games. Even with that rough start, if
they can win all of their divisional games (minus the loss to the lucky New York Giants), they can still give themselves a good chance to advance to the
postseason. As we have learned in
the past (Cardinals both in the NFL ’09 and MLB ’11), sometimes it is not the
team with the best record, but the hottest team come playoff time. As long as
we can win the divisional games, get on a roll, and stay hot, the Eagles can
put the beginning of the season behind them quickly.
The Eagles now head to the bye week. In Andy Reid’s tenure
as head coach, we are all well aware how good this team has been after the bye
week. The man is 11-1 all-time as a head coach after the bye week, which
needless to say is impressive. Reid gives the players what they need, which is
an actual week off to relax and get refreshed while he game plans for the next
game. The players should (as they have done almost every year during Andy’s
tenure) come back hungry and refreshed and ready for a ‘W’. On top of this, we
have three straight home games, which should help things quite a bit. If the
Eagles can win all three home games, it will put them on a roll and right back
on track. Now, that’s not to say
the Eagles haven’t messed up a bit in terms of their schedule. They missed
opportunities to get Ws in the easier part of their schedule. The end will be a
beast of a schedule and even with two easy games against Seattle and Miami (those
just scream trap games), nothing is guaranteed.
Although this ‘NeverEnding Story’ did start with a lot of
turmoil, the storyline is still in their hands. If they want it to and play up
to their potential, it still has the possibility for a happy ending.
Just Pretend Prince Charming is Rockin' a #7 Eagles Uni and Snow White is
The Vince Lombardi Trophy
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