Boy, there are a lot of things to discuss today. So let’s do the blogging thing and start with the inconsequential. It amuses me that the Eagles are now undefeated after seven games; the only undefeated team in the league this season.
I think it’s good for a local team to do well. It lifts the spirits of the folks who are into the game, and you get a general buzz during football season, waiting for the game and anticipating the win when your team is good enough to pull it off. I have to admit not knowing too much about football, as I am constantly reminded by my friends, who all seem to have played football in school. Nonetheless, the Eagles’ play this season, while it has won them a lot of games, seems kind of shoddy to me. If a “good” team comes along, the Eagles would be crushed.
Not that I’m professing defeatism here- I would really like to se the Eagles go 16-0. Wouldn’t that be cool? But be realistic, the team just isn’t that great and has a history of choking under pressure.
On the other hand, I tend to think of the Eagles as a teenage football team. They win a couple games, they think they’re the baddest team in the league, then along comes a team that doesn’t suck outright and they get pounded. The Eagles got really lucky against the Browns, who aren’t a good team this season. But they pulled off a win, and now they’re stuck with the 7-0 record after beating the Ravens. Uh oh, now the pressure is on.
And here’s where I think that the previous teenage football team mentality will actually help the Eagles do well in the playoffs. They’ve managed to hold on to their lead so far, and the only place to go is down. It’s now not so much a matter of strutting around screaming choruses of, “Yeah, we bad,” but a genuine sentiment of, “Man, we had better not lose.” I think this will be a motivator for the Eagles.
If it’s anything we’ve learned about the team it’s that after they get their holier-than-thou attitude knocked down, they come back to play good football. Thankfully this year, that’s been done by their own lucky play, and hopefully they take this opportunity to bring a big win back to Philadelphia.
