Philadelphia Eagles Realistic Expectations
By Bret Stuter
Oct 26, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Philadelphia Eagles fans react to a penalty during the second half against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
Philadelphia Eagles Realistic Expectations
After each game, I find the discussion of the team to be enlightening, sometimes entertaining, and infrequently but still often enough to notice downright unjustifiably critical. What are Philadelphia Eagles Realistic Expectations.
What is out-of-bounds?
Well, for starters, any comment that starts by singling out an individual player and then tosses some form of “crap” or “garbage” or asssigning a singular bad play as the one event that “made us lose” is a hollow argument, and therefore, it’s out of bounds.
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Out of bounds are simply those comments that simply offer an extreme unfounded opinion which we all know will go equally positive at the first sign of progress or success.
So, how good are these Eagles?
Well, let’s talk this out. We’ve talked about the plays left on the field. We’ve talked about mistakes and just inches and bad calls and back foots, but most of the discussion is based on the perfect world assumption.
In a perfect world, each Eagle would perform to the peak of their ability. But injuries during a game, misreads, out of position, jumping the ball, happen not only to the Eagles but to every team in the NFL. We play the other teams, not a utopian version of ourselves. In short, for every Eagles near win loss to Arizona, there’s a devastating loss of Green Bay to New Orleans, or a Seattle loss to Dallas. There is no perfect team in the NFL.
Secondly, if the Eagles players never were injured this year, do you truly think that the Eagles go 7-2? Since both games were decided by the opposition stopping us within the red zone, and both games included Eagles drives that stalled, it’s not a stretch by any means to consider this team 9-0 if healthy or mistake free.
Now we know that did NOT happen, but we are not discussing that. We are talking “realistic expectations”. So that certainly seems to fall within that realm.
So What Are Realistic Expectations?
We have a good team this year. Since we are 7-2 and had a chance to win down to the closing moments, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that this team can go undefeated through the end of the season. This Eagles team lines up well against their remaining opponents.
The Eagles will likely have a loss or two since it is a long season and they had their early bye. But I think a 12-4 finish to this season is within the scope of reality, and could end up placing the Eagles on a bye week into the playoffs.
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It’s clear that this Eagles team will need to count on backup quarterback Mark Sanchez, backup inside linebacker Casey Matthews, and backup offensive lineman Matt Tobin to play well enough to keep us in the playoff hunt. One game does not show a trend, but as the season progresses, head coach Chip Kelly’s methods have shown that the Eagles team plays stronger.
If Sanchez can curtail turnovers and pass with some proficiency, if Matthews can play the run and some pass coverage, and if Tobin can protect Sanchez and work improve his play alongside Johnson, this team will do just fine.
I think the Eagles can claw their way back into the top ten defenses in terms of points per game, and can pile up some points on the teams they have yet to face.
We have three landmark games facing us: At Green Bay, At Dallas on short week before Thanksgiving, and home to Seattle. If we win two of three we should be fine until the playoffs.
What Should We Expect If We Make Post Season?
If the Eagles make the playoffs, and especially if they earn a bye week and home field advantage, I think you will see this team play at full potential.
You’ve seen bursts of their potential in home games: Shutting out the Giants, shutting down the Panthers. If the Eagles are playing in a home playoff game, I expect the positive momentum built this season will come out in those games. This is a team that feeds off fan energy, and Eagles fans have had decades to build up a dynamo.
This team has all the makings. It can run, it can pass. It can stop the run and can shut down passing offenses. It has a great special teams game. Now all we need is some patience, some fan support, and to realize our potential on the field.