Philadelphia Eagles can’t fall into Super Bowl Media Week trap
By Matt Giraldi
![Freddie Mitchell of the Philadelphia Eagles speaks with the media during media day at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida on February 1, 2005. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images) Freddie Mitchell of the Philadelphia Eagles speaks with the media during media day at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida on February 1, 2005. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/316bf42cfe84e4a080ef248a7791a5f15b09c8196aea7faada551e1fc9f495b8.jpg)
The Super Bowl is a road game like no other for the Philadelphia Eagles.
All season long, the Philadelphia Eagles locker room has been united. One week at a time. Execute the simple tasks. Have each other’s back in success and in failure. Up until now, the Eagles have done just that. That’s prior to Super Bowl week.
The Eagles will travel to Minnesota this afternoon. They will begin practicing on Monday at the University of Minnesota. Just another road game, minus the endless distractions everywhere. All while the team needs to maintain the competitive edge that has brought them to the doorsteps of their first Super Bowl victory. Who they’re playing hasn’t been lost on certain players either.
There’s a fine line between arrogance and confidence though. One could argue both are necessary for success in the NFL. The Eagles are heading into this Super Bowl riding a wave of confidence. The “us against the world” attitude is on full display in the Eagles locker room with “we all we got, we all we need” serving as a badge of honor.
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This is a family.
The Eagles locker room has become a community of people fighting for a common goal, and the greater community is even benefiting from this success. Whether it was Malcolm Jenkins and Chris Long fighting for their communities or Lane Johnson donating money to the Philadelphia school district, the Eagles have a presence in the community as well. Over the next 178 hours of pregame coverage, some of that goodwill might be a topic of discussion.
Here’s some of what to expect this week.
Then again, the questions players receive on Super Bowl Opening Night likely won’t focus on good deeds of the past. The ever-expanding amount of media that flocks to the Super Bowl host city will come looking for the most exciting quote. Surely many of those questions will be focusing on Nick Foles‘ status if he wins a Super Bowl. Others will also focus on the Eagles fans and their behavior just a week ago. Since 2012, media day is an event that is open to the public. Maintaining composure has been easy on the football field for the Eagles. This event should be a walk in the dog park. Let’s hope that any Eagles fans in attendance conduct themselves accordingly as well.
Be careful about what you say.
Alas, it isn’t Super Bowl week without mentioning the mistakes of the past. That of course includes Freddie Mitchell and his poor choice of words. Mitchell ended up having fewer catches in that game than Rodney Harrison. Needless to say, agitating the New England Patriots should be on the short list of things Doug Pederson does not want to see from his team this week.
There are also other distractions that are trickier to avoid. Super Bowl week wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the story of Atlanta Falcons corner Eugene Robinson or the bizarre story of Oakland Raiders center Barret Robbins. There’s also the story of Stanley Wilson of the Cincinnati Bengals.
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There’s also the game itself, but what more is there to say? As of now, there is still one week until the biggest game of the season. The players and coaching staff know what’s on the line. The competition is going to be the toughest opponent of the season. Overcoming adversity has been a catalyst for this incredible run by a group of underdogs. A few more cameras and naysayers won’t change that. This team is focused and ready for the task at hand, and they have an outstanding coaching staff to thank for that. Now, we wait.