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ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL?
FLY EAGLES FLY... By Tracy E. Price, Editor
I
have been told that ending the preseason undefeated is bad juju. A strong preseason performance in the N.F.L. does not predict a good season, and it could actually be a sign of a bad one. Look back at the preseason wonders that flopped when the games started to count. In 2013, the Redskins, who had won 10 games the previous season, fell to 3-13. The 2011 Rams won all four games in the preseason, and closed the season with winning just two regularseason games. And the most egregious case, the 2008 Lions who swept through the preseason, outscoring their four opponents by 80-32, only to fall apart in the regular season. Trying out Jon Kitna, Dan Orlovsky and Daunte Culpepper as starting quarterbacks, Detroit staggered to the league’s first 0-16 record. In general, the prevailing wisdom about the preseason is correct, a great record is not a great sign for the future. Most agree that N.F.L. preseason games are meaningless, they serve to sort out the future backups from the soon-to-be-cut. Coaches are reluctant to play their best players or show off their offensive and defensive schemes. The end result looks like football,
22 | Fall 2016
but without consequence or passion. We are Eagles fans, we are passionate and loyal. We went undefeated this preseason against the Buccaneers, Steelers, Colts and the Jets with a new coach, and we at the very least, have a glimmer of hope that the new season will be a good one. After all, there have been some cases where a good preseason did herald a successful year. The Broncos parlayed a perfect preseason in 2005 into a 13-3 record, and the 2013 Seahawks won the Super Bowl after a 4-0 preseason. Loyal yes, but Eagles fans can be tough, you must be accountable to play in Philly. No publicity about Philadelphia sports fans is complete without acknowledging our “unruly mob” reputation, name-checking incidents from the McNabb booing to the 1968 incident where fans booed Santa Claus, even pelted him with snowballs! But like Dick Vermeil said, “Once you reach a certain level, the relationship is lifelong and embarrassingly positive.” The trade that stunned the league, but who could have resisted the opportunity? The Eagles scrapped their plan for Carson Wentz to spend his rookie season waiting his turn behind veteran Sam Bradford when, eight days before the season, the
Minnesota Vikings were willing to part with first- and fourth-round draft picks to trade for Bradford to replace the injured Teddy Bridgewater. Doug Pederson, who has yet to lose a game as the Eagles coach, then named the rookie Wentz, Philadelphia’s starting quarterback for opening weekend against the Cleveland Browns. Wentz is the franchise’s first rookie quarterback of the modern era to start Week 1 and the first since Davey O’Brien did so in 1939. 9/11/16 at Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia. A tribute to first responders before the game. Game 1: A “W” for the Eagles on 9/11/16 . . . Carson Wentz won the fans over with the first drive, a nine-play, 75 yard masterpiece that ended with a perfectly thrown 19 yard pass to Jordan Matthews. He later connected with Nelson Agholor on a 35 yard gem and finished his first day in the NFL 22-for-37 for 278 yards with no interceptions and a 29-10 victory. Wentz is a stand up guy . . . Number 11 stood tall in the pocket, made fearless throws, and audibled like a 12-year veteran, not a guy who completed only 12 passes in the preseason. True, he was good against a bad team, the Cleveland Browns, a team that was ranked 27th in defense last year and is expected to be even worse this year, but a win is a win. Coach Pederson risked a media meltdown and a dismal debut for himself by naming a rookie as the Eagle’s starting quarterback for opening weekend, it has not been done in 77 years and not for a lack of viable options. In 1957, the Eagles