The Philadelphia Eagles Have Been Put Out of Their Misery
It was fitting that the Philadelphia Eagles ended their season the way they started it: disappointing.
Dec 26, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; A dejected Philadelphia Eagles fan during the final minutes of game against the Washington Redskins at Lincoln Financial Field. The Redskins defeated the Eagles, 38-24. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
And so, like the title suggests, the Eagles were put out of their misery like a wounded animal in the forest. Well, at least the fans were. The Eagles had a must-win game, against a division rival, to decide the fate of the NFC East and they blew it. Big time.
What is there to write about, really? Let’s be honest, the Eagles did the same thing they have done through 14 weeks of football. So why should the 15th be any different? The positive thing to take away from this week is that it is over. Fans and beat writers alike can rest a little easier for the next few months. It will be time to speculate and over analyze once again. Sure, quite of few will be pissed and bitter until next season, but now that this season is over we know where the Eagles stand.
Somewhere in the middle.
Dec 6, 2015; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots quarterback
Tom Brady
(12) attempts to tackle Philadelphia Eagles safety
Malcolm Jenkins
(27) as he returns an interception 100 yards for a touchdown during the third quarter at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stew Milne-USA TODAY Sports
The bottom-middle. The Eagles hovered around the lower-end middle of the league all season long. If there is such a thing. I think it is fair to say that Philly was around the 20th best team this year. We can argue about their actual ranking later, but let’s just say that they will land somewhere around there in the overall rankings. The team had a quite a few games where they looked dangerous. There were some big wins, and big moments, that can give many hope for the future.
And regardless of how you feel about the Eagles’ season, and how they were supposed to look, this is a team that is in the middle of a rebuild. Yeah, yeah, we all know Chip Kelly put them there. We need to let it go. Just like in “Lord of the Rings” when Gollum argues with himself, we need to force the bitter fan inside those of us to go away and never come back. Trust me, do that and this season looks a lot different. The outlook shifts. Various media outlets anointed the Eagles into the playoffs at the start of the season, and said that Chip Kelly’s new team would light the NFC on fire. It didn’t.
I am getting off-topic a bit though. To bring it back; this is Chip Kelly’s first year at building the team the way he wants it. We shouldn’t have expected it to all have happened during the first go. It is going to take time. There are things to look forward to next year, and the team is definitely trending in the right direction. Letting go of Chip Kelly would be a huge mistake. I know many fans are calling for his job, but keep in mind, if the team does something like that they will turn into the same coaching carousel that the Redskins were for several years. Look how long it took them to get semi-right.
Chip Kelly has a vision and the franchise has to continue to see it through. Granted, he has seemingly hurt the team with his “brilliant” plan of letting go of his best players at the end of every season, but he has put good pieces in place for a young team to grow together. At this point the team should know its strengths, and more importantly, their weaknesses. A knee-jerk reaction by Philly’s front office could set the team back for a few years. The NFC East will continue to get stronger, and so will the Eagles. Philly is definitely in a rebuild mode and has issues that can easily be addressed. Hopefully, Chip Kelly realizes to do so through the draft.