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Welcome back to the football season
The football season starts on Sunday.
Remember those guys in the green uniforms? No, not the Phillie Phanatic. I know we’re all still glowing in the aftermath of the Phightin’s winning a World Series championship, but it’s time to snap back to reality.
In November, that means football. And the Eagles. Remember them?
For the first half of the season, the Birds have flown pretty much under the radar, in the background while the Phillies made their heart-stopping march to a title.
That’s over. The Eagles are back on the Back Page. And they face a huge test Sunday night. You might even call it a “Giant” test.
Yes, the New York Giants are in town for a prime-time affair at the Linc.
On the surface, the Eagles have done all the right things when it comes to the Phils. They took out a full-page ad in the city papers to offer their congratulations. They allowed the use of Lincoln Financial Field to host part of the celebration. But I think it still galls Jeff Lurie and Joe Banner that the Phils are the toast of the town, that it was those guys across the street in pinstripes who broke the city’s 25-year title drought.
It’s not that the Eagles didn’t have their chances. They got to a Super Bowl. Unfortunately, Andy Reid and his brain trust decided to run an 8-minute 2-minute drill in the fourth quarter and they came up short against the Pats.
The Eagles should probably get down on their knees and offer hosannas that the Phillies have for the most part kept the scrutiny off them.
They’re 5-3 at the midpoint, and trail both the Giants and Redskins in the NFC East. In other words, they’re right in the thick of it. But the truth is they’ve played pretty mediocre football, and literally gave away a couple of games.
They could conceivably be 7-1, and everyone from Reid to Banner to Donovan McNabb would tell you just that. I prefer to look at it the way former Giants’ coach Bill Parcells always did. “You are what your record says you are,” Parcells famously said.
In other words, the Birds are middle of the road. They still can’t convert a third-and-1 to save their behinds, and they struggle in the red zone. Yes, they won easily against the Seahawks Sunday. But they also got nothing but field goals from David Akers in the second half. That won’t cut it against the Giants.
The second half of the season starts Sunday night. For the Eagles, it might as well be their opener.
We’ve already painted the town red. Now it’s time for Gang Green. Let’s just hope the Giants don’t leave us all feeling blue.
Remember those guys in the green uniforms? No, not the Phillie Phanatic. I know we’re all still glowing in the aftermath of the Phightin’s winning a World Series championship, but it’s time to snap back to reality.
In November, that means football. And the Eagles. Remember them?
For the first half of the season, the Birds have flown pretty much under the radar, in the background while the Phillies made their heart-stopping march to a title.
That’s over. The Eagles are back on the Back Page. And they face a huge test Sunday night. You might even call it a “Giant” test.
Yes, the New York Giants are in town for a prime-time affair at the Linc.
On the surface, the Eagles have done all the right things when it comes to the Phils. They took out a full-page ad in the city papers to offer their congratulations. They allowed the use of Lincoln Financial Field to host part of the celebration. But I think it still galls Jeff Lurie and Joe Banner that the Phils are the toast of the town, that it was those guys across the street in pinstripes who broke the city’s 25-year title drought.
It’s not that the Eagles didn’t have their chances. They got to a Super Bowl. Unfortunately, Andy Reid and his brain trust decided to run an 8-minute 2-minute drill in the fourth quarter and they came up short against the Pats.
The Eagles should probably get down on their knees and offer hosannas that the Phillies have for the most part kept the scrutiny off them.
They’re 5-3 at the midpoint, and trail both the Giants and Redskins in the NFC East. In other words, they’re right in the thick of it. But the truth is they’ve played pretty mediocre football, and literally gave away a couple of games.
They could conceivably be 7-1, and everyone from Reid to Banner to Donovan McNabb would tell you just that. I prefer to look at it the way former Giants’ coach Bill Parcells always did. “You are what your record says you are,” Parcells famously said.
In other words, the Birds are middle of the road. They still can’t convert a third-and-1 to save their behinds, and they struggle in the red zone. Yes, they won easily against the Seahawks Sunday. But they also got nothing but field goals from David Akers in the second half. That won’t cut it against the Giants.
The second half of the season starts Sunday night. For the Eagles, it might as well be their opener.
We’ve already painted the town red. Now it’s time for Gang Green. Let’s just hope the Giants don’t leave us all feeling blue.
posted by Heron's Nest at
7:16 AM
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