To Hope or Not to Hope?
At this point in the 2015 season, the Eagles can be described as one word, disappointing. Coming into the season, the team, along with their fans, had aspirations of a Super Bowl after acquiring Sam Bradford, Byron Maxwell, Kiko Alonso, Ryan Mathews and the prize of the offseason, Demarco Murray. They also drafted Nelson Agholor in the first round and had a very promising offseason from both Zach Ertz and Josh Huff, who were ready to breakout. All signs were pointing to a great season for the Birds. Then the preseason rolled around, and our enthusiasm for this team skyrocketed. The offense was firing on all cylinders and the defense looked as good as it has in the Chip Kelly era. The season was full of promise and the team had all the makings of a Super Bowl contender. Man were we wrong.
At this point in the 12 weeks of the NFL season, the Eagles are 4-7 and currently on a three game losing streak since their overtime win against the Matt Cassel led Cowboys in Dallas. Not only is it a three game skid, it is a three game skid against the Dolphins, Bucs and Lions, in an embarrassment on Thanksgiving. These are three games that many fans had penciled in as wins before the season started, and that many still had as wins after the win in Dallas. The offense has been dreadful. Sam Bradford seemed to be hitting his stride and getting into a nice rhythm in the offense until he suffered a non-throwing shoulder injury and a concussion against the Dolphins. Ertz and Huff have not had the breakout seasons that the Eagles were expecting them to have. Huff has been banged up most of the year and Ertz was recently diagnosed with a concussion, though his production was lacking anyway. The prize of free agency, Demarco Murray, has had a season to forget so far. The NFL’s reigning rushing champ has tallied just 545 yards on 3.5 yards per carry with just four rushing touchdowns. The lone bright spot in the offense, Ryan Mathews, was also diagnosed with a concussion in the Miami game and his timetable to return is still up in the air. The offensive line has also been bit by the injury bug, mainly all pro tackle Jason Peters. Peters has been dealing with a back injury for a majority of the season missing a few games, while the line has also missed guard Andrew Gardner since he went down with a season ending foot injury against the Jets. With all the mixing and matching along the o-line, they have struggled to keep the pocket clean and consistently open up holes for the running backs. The offense we have seen this year is not the offense we were expecting to see after the preseason.
While the defense is the reason the Eagles have their four wins, they have been abysmal of late. They have allowed 45 points in each of the last two games. Jameis Winston tied the NFL rookie record for touchdown passes with five by picking apart the Bird’s secondary and depleted linebacker core, while Doug Martin and the Bucs’ offensive line pushed the Eagles’ d-line around for 235 yards on the ground. On Thanksgiving Day, the Eagles’ secondary again gave up five touchdown passes to Matthew Stafford, Calvin Johnson and the Lions. After Nolan Carrol was lost to a season ending ankle injury, rookie Eric Rowe was given the solo assignment on Calvin Johnson. Naturally the Lions picked on Rowe, who actually performed decently for his first real game action, and lit up the scoreboard. Questions about Byron Maxwell’s ability to cover a #1 were already there but after Thursday they were answered. It appears Billy Davis doesn’t have the confidence in Maxwell to allow him to shadow the opposition’s best receiver, which is not the best representation of your $63 million CB. The defense has been better than expected for much of the season, but they are beginning to reel at the wrong time.
For all the problems stated above and many other speculations about Chip losing the locker room and the team quitting on him and the system, the Eagles are one game out of first place in the division. ONE game. For as bad as the Eagles have been they still have a very realistic shot at winning the division and hosting a home playoff game. 7-9 may win this division, and the Eagles can finish the season 7-9. In the next three weeks the Eagles go to New England (10-1), and then return home for games against Buffalo (5-6) and Arizona (9-2). It’s a tough three game stretch, much tougher than their current three game losing streak was, but the Birds just need one win in those three games. If they can go 1-2 in that three game stretch the Eagles will be 5-9. Again, most fans see this and think the season is over, but it may not be for us. If the Giants (5-6) and the Redskins (5-6) also go 1-2 in these next three weeks the Eagles are very much alive in the NFC East. The Birds finish the year with games at Washington and New York. If the Eagles are 5-9 and New York and Washington are both 6-8, the Eagles win the division and make the playoffs by winning their last two games and salvage a season that should be dead.
Now the question is to hope or not to hope? The Eagles have already ripped out our hearts a number of times this season, and just when we thought they had turned a corner and were heading towards being the team we were expecting, they take two steps backwards and lose a game or two that they should have won. This team has not been a good team this year, and maybe they are just a bad team, but there have been signs of hope. Bradford and Murray seemed to start clicking in the offense before Bradford’s injury, and if Bradford can pick up where he left off when he returns this week or next (personally I would sit him in New England and make sure he is 100% for Buffalo), the offense will get a much needed boost and be able to sustain drives long enough for the defense to rest. While a game against Tom Brady and the Patriots, coming off a loss, probably won’t be the best confidence booster for the defense, a trip from Shady and the Bills should help them. If they can bottle up their former teammate McCoy, they can win the game and the Birds will be right back into the NFC East picture. Winning cures all, and if the Eagles are able to come all the way back from the dead and have a shot to make the playoffs come week 16 and 17, all the “broken locker room” talk goes away. It’s not an easy rode for the Birds, and it’s certainly not an easy task for us as fans to continue to believe in this team despite all their obvious problems. A large number of fans won’t have hope and that is completely understandable, for the team has not yet proven they are worthy of hope as they continue to blow their opportunities. However, with all the sports struggles we, as a city, are experiencing now between the Sixers, Flyers, Phillies and Eagles, something to hope for may be exactly what we need right now. Maybe the season isn’t over just yet. The NFC East is waiting to be won, why not the Birds?
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Categorized:Eagles