Enjoying The Eagles

Two seasons ago I was one of those pessimistic Philly sports fans that took one look at the Eagles team, said "There's no way they can compensate for losing Jeremiah Trotter, and Blaine Bishop is no longer an NFL-caliber safety. 9-7, no playoffs." Watching that team make the NFC championship game, defying logic often along the way, finally ending in the single most tragic sporting event in which no one died, impressed upon me that the Eagles succeed because of the system, not because of the system's parts. When Hugh Douglas, Brian Mitchell and Shawn Barber left after that season, and even after losing the first two games of the season in embarrassing fashion, I said, "In Andy Reid and Joe Banner I trust. 13-3, Super Bowl. " I was wrong again, but the sentiment was right on, this franchise is built to remain competitive, to make the playoffs and make a great deal of money. I would love to believe that Eagles management is not committed to winning it all, that they refuse to put all of their eggs in one basket to make a play for it, but that is not true. It's not really true for the Phillies management, either, but that is another post.
So here we are, 19 days or so from the start of another season, and I am not 100% sure what to think. I do think that the Eagles will make the playoffs. I do think that by spending money like crazy on Jevon Kearse and Terrell Owens that the Eagles want to win the Super Bowl and have the greatest Video Football Team ever. I do think that even if the Eagles make another NFC championship game at home and lose, it will not eclipse the hurt of the Tampa game in 2003. Unless the Eagles are planning to build a new stadium for next season, and then cram 3 decades of excitement, embarrassment, success and failure into one crazy season this season, then it might be close. I am totally going way off point and on a tangent about the loss to Tampa Bay in the 2003 NFC championship game, sorry. It was just so bad. Is it a bad omen that I had my orientation for my current job during that game? Like I sat down with my boss after the Eagles scored, I filled out paperwork and discussed policies and details, shook hands and got excited to start, only to walk over to the nearest tv and watch Ronde Barber walk in for his touchdown? Oh, not good.
Not good also describes the Eagles injured list, not good to lose Buckhalter and Kalu for the season. Not good to have injuries, regardless of their severity, hurting Brian Dawkins, Corey Simon, Hollis Thomas (for a change), and David Akers. The kicker?!? I was listening to the preseason game coming home from work last week and heard Tim Duncan hit a three pointer and I wondered whether USA could pull out a medal and what happened to the Eagles game I was listening to?
Can I look at it all and say that I trust the organization to be successful again? This team defines Philadelphia as a sports town, and with such high expectations anything less than 2 rounds of the playoffs and a division title will not cut it. I'm not sure yet.
By the way, losing Bobby Taylor and Troy Vincent may hurt the team, but I think Sheppard and Brown are ready to step in and play like NFL cornerbacks. The key offseason loss in my opinion? John Welbourn, a pro-bowl caliber guard replaced by a rookie? The Eagles offense won them many games during their win streak last season, removing a key component in both the running and passing game might have a real effect on performance.
One last note for the night, when the NFL season starts it is also time for fantasy football. I set up the league again this season, my fourth, and I am excited to have grown from 8 teams in 2001 to 18 this season. No real money is spent or made off of the league, although I do not include the opportunity cost of the time spent researching and changing lineups. Maybe that will be another post also. My first attempt at a link failed for silly reasons, Wednesday I'll have some good links.