Is Anyone Else Out There Excited?

The Eagles are 9-4 and well on their way to yet another NFC East title.  And, right now, they are probably the best under-the-radar team in the NFC.  All the talk is around the two undefeateds (and rightfully so) or the Favre-led Vikings or the “Dallas Swoon.”  But, with the exception of the Chargers (who, by the way, have now won an amazing SIXTEEN consecutive games in the month of December), the Eagles are probably the best team in the league that no one is talking about.  Not even Eagles fans (though, you can probably blame the Phillies for that).  So, let’s get the talk going, considering our beloved Birds have swept the Giants and Redskins and find themselves in first place the week before Christmas.

So, What Do We Want to Happen Over the Rest of the NFC?
#1: The Cowboys lose.  No, the Eagles haven’t yet clinched the NFC East, so number one, let’s root for another division title and, therefore, a home game in the first round.  So, as always, we should be rooting against all the hated division rivals in New York and Dallas, but more so, Dallas.  It would take a near miracle, at this point, for the Giants to catch the Eagles (3-0 for the G-men, 0-3 for the Eagles, unless there ends up a 3-way tie), considering the Birds hold the tiebreaker with their season sweep, so really we are looking at the Cowboys.  And a quick look at the schedule tells us that the Cowboys are really behind the eight-ball right now when it comes to the division.  The teams play in Week 17 in Dallas, and since the Cowboys won the first meeting, they will only have to be within a game for that game to matter.  But, can they play even with the Eagles over the next two weeks?  The Eagles have home games against San Francisco and Denver.  While, the Cowboys have to play on the road at New Orleans and at Washington.  I would think that the best-case scenario for Dallas is a split, while the worst-case scenario for the Eagles is a split.  So, even if all the chips fall into place for Dallas over the next two weeks, they still have to beat the Eagles in Week 17.  I like the Birds chances a lot to win the division.  So…

#2: The Cardinals lose.  If I wasn’t so superstitious and believed that to assume the division title would be to concede the division title because of the Football Gods, I would have had this as the #1 thing to root for as an Eagles fan.  But, you have to win that division.  But, I think that, with the ultimate goal, obviously, winning a championship, we do have to think about the “road” to that championship.  And, the #3 seed, to me, is paramount.  With the #3 seed, the Eagles will, most likely, be able to avoid the Packers in Round 1 (a pretty scary team right now) and, more importantly, avoid the Saints in Round Two.  Yes, a 3-seed would mean that they will almost definitely be playing a hated division rival (Dallas or New York), and those games are always brutal, but that is still the best path, especially considering that those two teams are pretty seriously flawed.

#3: The Packers win.  This is a bit tricky because, technically, the Packers are the Eagles competitors for a Wild Card and, just as important, wild card positioning.  Avoiding the Saints in Round Two means that you must avoid the #6 seed.  However, under the assumption that the Eagles should win the division, Packers wins won’t hurt.  And, the reason I want the Packers to win is simply because I think that they are a better team than either the Cowboys or Giants and, therefore, would like to avoid having to play them in Round One.  And, looking even more into it, I think that the Cowboys and Giants would have very little chance to beat Arizona in Round One, and almost NO chance to beat New Orleans in Round Two.  The Packers, on the other hand, are a team that I could see going into Arizona and winning and then going into New Orleans and winning.  THAT is what we’re rooting for, because then the Birds would be in line to host the NFC Championship Game against a Green Bay team that they can beat.

#4: The Vikings lose.  This is a bit of a long-shot, so we can talk more about this next week if the Vikings give one away this week in Carolina, but let’s not lose sight of the fact that the #2 seed (and a bye and a home game in Round Two) is not completely out of the question.  I do not think it’s unrealistic to think that the Eagles can win out and finish 12-4 (10-2 in conference).  If they do that, it would only take two losses by the Vikings (they already have one conference loss and all three remaining games are against NFC teams, so the Eagles would win the tiebreaker) for the Eagles to get that all-important #2 seed.  Will it happen?  Probably not.  But, it’s certainly not unlikely.  The Vikings travel to Carolina this week (not a gimme).  Then, next week, they go to Soldier Field to face the Bears.  They have an old quarterback who really doesn’t like the cold (much to the contrary of one of the most prevalant myths in football), and the Bears are a pretty talented team who probably only have one thing left to play for–this game.  There’s a chance.  And then…in a possibly strange twist of fate, we, as Eagles fans, might be rooting hard for Big Blue in Week 17, as the Giants travel to Minnesota.  Chances are the Giants will still be alive for a playoff spot, so this would be their season.  If they can beat Minnesota in Week 17, and the Vikings trip up at Carolina or at Chicago, the Eagles would take the #2 seed if they win out.  Not incredibly likely, but not crazy by any stretch.

May We Have Been Wrong?
Yes.  At least I was.  I wanted Anquan Bolden.  I wanted a veteran running back just in case Westbrook went down.  I wanted Tony Gonzalez, or at least another veteran tight end.  I wanted Brian Dawkins to stay.  I wanted Jim Johnson still calling the signals on defense.  Well, I was wrong.

The receivers have been stellar (well, minus Jackson, they have been “good,”  but with Jackson’s other-worldly performances, the group has been “stellar”).  Westbrook did go down, and the offense hasn’t missed a beat (maybe even, dare I say, more consistent on the ground) with LeSean McCoy and Leonard Weaver.  Brent Celek has taken that next step and become a top-tier pass-catching tight end and even made himself into a decent blocker.  Quentin Mikell (Sunday night’s disastrous performance notwithstanding) has played, in my opinion, just as well, if not considerably better, than a 36-year old Brian Dawkins could have played this year (just talking about on-the-field here–I’m not touching the clubhouse factor).  And, Sean McDermott (again, trying not to think of the most recent defensive showing Sunday night) has brought the same aggressive, blitzing tenacity as JJ.

Who Is This Guy?
DeSean Jackson is absolutely incredible.  Simply amazing.  At times, he looks like a high school superstar running circles around the inferior athletes on the field with him.  He is a joy to watch, and I am so glad he’s on our team.

The Regular McNabb Support Paragraph
Can we please, now, finally, stop the McNabb hatred?  The guy is great.  For every time he throws at a guy’s feet on a screen pass, he gives us 5 perfectly accurate downfield passes.  This is one of the most potent, quick-strike offenses in the NFL.  They draw up a deep pass, seemingly, once every set of downs.  And, yet, this guy still doesn’t throw interceptions.  Yes, D-Jack is always open, but McNabb always hits him in stride–FORTY YARDS down the field.  And, his presence in the pocket is not something that is “created by the system.”  This guy is probably playing the finest football of his Hall of Fame career.  Let’s start–FINALLY–realizing what we have under center, people.  Please.