One ESPN analyst has some very high expectations for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2020, and he isn’t backing off of his statement.
“They will be the number-one seed. Mark my words”. Those were the words of ESPN’s Mike Greenberg, host of the very highly popular Get Up! as he worked a little overtime in an appearance on First Take. One of the staples of most sports fans’ mornings pointed directly into the camera and gave his reasons as to why the Philadelphia Eagles should wind up in the top spot once the NFL Playoffs run around.
Those of you who are looking for an April Fool’s Day joke won’t find one here.
So, how is this going to work you ask? “Greeny” saw things this way once he got his opportunity to seize the microphone, no easy task whenever Stephen A. Smith and Max Kellerman are around.
"In my opinion (the team with the easiest route) is the Philadelphia Eagles. Why? Because this coming season, three teams in their division, the other three, all have new coaching staffs, Washington, the Giants, and the Cowboys, and they will not have a full OTAs and maybe even a full training camp to implement what they want to do. That division is going to be bad. The Cowboys are taking a step backwards, not forward. They’ve gotten worse, and the new coaches willl be behind the eight ball when this starts. The Eagles, who are the model of consistency and stability and have the most stable quarterback situation and everything else in that division, I think, have a chance to run the table in that division."
Cue the debate. That one won’t be met with a ton of support by New York Giants fans, who have made quite a few improvements to their team this offseason and believe that they have their quarterback of the future in Daniel Jones.
The Washington Redskins believe that they can make an argument for being a serious contender for the NFC East’s crown. They made a good decision with the hiring of their new head coach. Ron Rivera, but personnel-wise, they’re still making those bone-headed decisions. Ronald Darby? Really? That’s your upgrade at cornerback?
There’s also the Dallas Cowboys, whose fans will argue with anything if it isn’t pro-Dallas. Let’s be honest. We’ve all tried to rationalize with Cowboys fans before, and we all know how pointless it is to try. We’ll table football-related discussions concerning the so-called “America’s Team” for another day. It just isn’t worth the headache.
It’s also too early to make any bold proclamations. Right now, we’re all just hoping that we have some football to watch.
Here’s one thing that we know we can bank on though. Eagles fans everywhere are hoping that Greenberg is right. Each conference will add an additional playoff team now, so having that top spot is even more important. Only the top-seeded team from each conference will receive the bye during Wild Card Weekend. As usual, teams are hoping to make it easy on themselves when the playoffs roll around, Philly included.