The recent history of the Eagles has been one filled with surprises. When looking at the time that Andy Reid has been in control, there have been a lot of highs and lows, as well as many surprises, good and bad. Since as recently as three years ago, a lot has happened in Philly. The 2004 season saw the Eagles reaching the Superbowl, 2005 featured the meltdown between Owens and McNabb and the season 2006 saw the resurrection of Jeff Garcia and the Eagles. But 2007 had even more in store in the form of surprises, and it's not over yet.
At the start of the season, there was much optimism surrounding this Eagles team. McNabb and Kearse were back, we had improved the linebacking corps, Reggie Brown was supposed to have a breakout season and Kevin Curtis figured to have a big impact. The expectations were high: it was expected that McNabb continue his pre-injury form, Kearse was expected to build on his 3.5 sacks through a few games in '06, the defence was supposed to be a weakness, especially since Trotter departed and the wide receivers were expected to be quite good. But very little of this came to pass.
The drafting of Kevin Kolb was the first indication that things might be going in a slightly different direction in 2007. Then came the promotion of Omar Gaither to the starting line-up, which raised some questions. However, he has silenced his critics and appears to be on his way to a strong career. But this was one of the few pleasant surprises. Jevon Kearse has regressed, and he was dropped from the starting line-up. His time with the birds is over. McNabb has not played consistently well this season, even though he seemed to progress and his statistics are pretty good. But his ankle and thumb had another surprise wrapped neatly in paper of optimism. And one surprise led to another...A.J. Feeley. McNabb's latest injuries gave Feeley another opportunity to prove how valuable he is to this team, and it has sparked the latest quarterback controversy in Philadelphia. Feeley will probably get the start against Seattle this weekend, which gives him one more opportunity to fuel the McNabb-critics.
But these surprises are individual in nature, and there was a much bigger surprise this season. The Eagles have struggled. It can be said that I was blinded by optimism, but I feel that there were very few signs that this would be a 5-6 team through week 12. The play has been downright dreadful at times, and the only consistent cog in the offensive wheel is Brian Westbrook, who deserves a lot more credit that he gets. The defence has been solid and seems to be a strong unit, but there have been very little turnovers. The play calling has been shocking at times as well. But there appears to be another, somewhat intangible reason why this team has struggled, and it is truly hard to define. My pride and optimism bars me from agreeing totally with "Bleed Green" when he states that this team might simply not be good enough, even though he makes very valid points. I am not discounting this as a possible reason for the poor and inconsistent play, but I don't want to agree completely. My reason for this is that the Eagles have shown at times that they can play brilliant football, and a poor team may sneak in a win on any given Sunday, but a poor team doesn't have so many teasingly good moments. This certainly does not prove that the Eagles are a good team, but it also doesn't strengthen the notion that they are simply not good. It has certainly been surprising to find so many poor performances from a team that had the opportunity to really get far into the playoffs.
The future of this season probably holds a few more surprises. The 2007/2008 offseason could also be an important time for this team, as I am dreading that it will see the departure of McNabb if he doesn't create a few miracles in his next few games (which is certainly possible) and the start of the Kolb-era. Jevon Kearse will also probably be gone and if L.J. Smith doesn't get an extension, we will lose a very promising player. Don't be surprised if by week 12 in the 2008 season Kevin Kolb is the Face of the Eagles, while McNabb starts somewhere else (my gut says that he will be a Viking next year). But hey, this is Philly, and we might still be pleasantly surprised.
At the start of the season, there was much optimism surrounding this Eagles team. McNabb and Kearse were back, we had improved the linebacking corps, Reggie Brown was supposed to have a breakout season and Kevin Curtis figured to have a big impact. The expectations were high: it was expected that McNabb continue his pre-injury form, Kearse was expected to build on his 3.5 sacks through a few games in '06, the defence was supposed to be a weakness, especially since Trotter departed and the wide receivers were expected to be quite good. But very little of this came to pass.
The drafting of Kevin Kolb was the first indication that things might be going in a slightly different direction in 2007. Then came the promotion of Omar Gaither to the starting line-up, which raised some questions. However, he has silenced his critics and appears to be on his way to a strong career. But this was one of the few pleasant surprises. Jevon Kearse has regressed, and he was dropped from the starting line-up. His time with the birds is over. McNabb has not played consistently well this season, even though he seemed to progress and his statistics are pretty good. But his ankle and thumb had another surprise wrapped neatly in paper of optimism. And one surprise led to another...A.J. Feeley. McNabb's latest injuries gave Feeley another opportunity to prove how valuable he is to this team, and it has sparked the latest quarterback controversy in Philadelphia. Feeley will probably get the start against Seattle this weekend, which gives him one more opportunity to fuel the McNabb-critics.
But these surprises are individual in nature, and there was a much bigger surprise this season. The Eagles have struggled. It can be said that I was blinded by optimism, but I feel that there were very few signs that this would be a 5-6 team through week 12. The play has been downright dreadful at times, and the only consistent cog in the offensive wheel is Brian Westbrook, who deserves a lot more credit that he gets. The defence has been solid and seems to be a strong unit, but there have been very little turnovers. The play calling has been shocking at times as well. But there appears to be another, somewhat intangible reason why this team has struggled, and it is truly hard to define. My pride and optimism bars me from agreeing totally with "Bleed Green" when he states that this team might simply not be good enough, even though he makes very valid points. I am not discounting this as a possible reason for the poor and inconsistent play, but I don't want to agree completely. My reason for this is that the Eagles have shown at times that they can play brilliant football, and a poor team may sneak in a win on any given Sunday, but a poor team doesn't have so many teasingly good moments. This certainly does not prove that the Eagles are a good team, but it also doesn't strengthen the notion that they are simply not good. It has certainly been surprising to find so many poor performances from a team that had the opportunity to really get far into the playoffs.
The future of this season probably holds a few more surprises. The 2007/2008 offseason could also be an important time for this team, as I am dreading that it will see the departure of McNabb if he doesn't create a few miracles in his next few games (which is certainly possible) and the start of the Kolb-era. Jevon Kearse will also probably be gone and if L.J. Smith doesn't get an extension, we will lose a very promising player. Don't be surprised if by week 12 in the 2008 season Kevin Kolb is the Face of the Eagles, while McNabb starts somewhere else (my gut says that he will be a Viking next year). But hey, this is Philly, and we might still be pleasantly surprised.
