Okay, we tried to be as calm as we could. We did everything like we were supposed to. We coached ourselves through this season like Jalen Hurts, Nick Sirianni, or any Philadelphia Eagles assistant would have done. You don't know how many times we picked our children up from school and rattled something off about rent being due every day and how they needed to keep the main thing the main thing.
Then, it happened. The ten-game winning streak...
Level-headed thinking was tossed out of the window. Something dawned on us after the wins over Baltimore and Pittsburgh. Philly has just as good a shot at winning it all as anyone else in the field, This is a good football team.
So, damn the week-by-week approach. Damn one week at a time. We can't help but look ahead.
If they break our hearts again, so be it, but the cautious speeches are over. It's Vince Lombardi Trophy or bust for us. Three games remain in the regular season. Here's what we learned.
The journey has been a lesson. Regardless of how this ride ends, we're fully invested.
And, boy oh boy! Won't we have some monster stories to tell!
Saquon Barkley's postseason availability outweighs his shot at Eric Dickerson's rushing record.
Yeah... We want this record. This is probably more important to us than it is to Saquon Barkley. That may be hard to believe. That may not even be true, but we'd be lying if we said we didn't think that.
It's more important that he's healthy for the postseason. Still, if he has a shot at history, hell yeah we want him to go for it!
The only thing we struggle with is the time frame. We'd love to see him break the record vs. the New York Giants, but if he doesn't do it in 16 games, some will try and place an asterisk beside it.
Ignoring A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith in the offensive attack is asinine.
We've seen enough. A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith are the best wide receiver tandem in the NFL. It's inexcusable for this offense to be ranked so low in passing when these two are on the roster.
Don't give us crap about Philly running the ball more than they pass. The Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills are also run-heavy. They just looked better and ranked higher whenever they aired it out.
We know Jalen Hurts can play quarterback at an elite level. Week 15 provided a nice showing. Now, we need to see consistency and continued balance.
Nick Sirianni is a damn good football coach.
Nick Sirianni is wacky, emotional, and sometimes out of control. He'll fall on the sword for his players though, and that's part of why they love him.
They also love him because he's genuine. He's never tried to be anyone other than who he is. On some days, he doesn't drink decaf. It is what it is.
The most important thing is Nick Sirianni is a damn good football coach. No bad coach could take it for this long and be successful.
Nick need only leave X's and O's to someone else. He's good enough to win a Super Bowl.
Heck, if Philly scored four more points during the Birds' battle with the Kansas City Chiefs on football's grandest stage, he would already have delivered Philly a second Vince Lombardi Trophy already.
Jalen Hurts is flawed but good enough to win a Super Bowl.
You read what we said. Yes... Nick Sirianni is good enough to win a Super Bowl, and Jalen Hurts is good enough to pilot the ship that leads him there.
You saw Jalen lose but outplay the guy widely regarded as the game's top offensive signal-caller.
Hurts can joust with the best of them. Every NFL team has coaches, so yes, you'll see defenses limit and even stop him sometimes.
Trust us on this one though. The Philadelphia Eagles can do much worse than Jalen Hurts.
Look around the league. Good quarterbacks often have struggles. Heck, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning struggled at times. The greats, however; perform their best when their teams need them to.
They're going to snub Saquon Barkley out of the MVP trophy (But, he'll win Offensive Player of the Year).
Speaking of quarterbacks who can lead their teams to the Super Bowl... Have you seen what Josh Allen is doing in Buffalo? He has been excellent, and while we all know Saquon Barkley has an argument to win league MVP, the truth is he plays the wrong position.
Barkley has a shot at breaking Eric Dickerson's single-season NFL rushing record. The NFL's MVP award is a QB's award until further notice. Saquon will be named the Offensive Player of the Year.
We hope we are wrong, but that is our prediction.
Vic Fangio has built a defense that can stop anyone.
I will say this every week if I must. I was wrong. Much of the staff here at ITI was right, but I said the NFL has figured out Vic Fangio's scheme.
I was wrong, and I'm glad I was!
The Eagles' defense, after Week 15, was ranked first in yards allowed and points surrendered. Philly will be tough to beat if we see more of this during the postseason.
The best part about all of that is this. This group is young and will be together for a long time. There is much to be excited about with this football team.