The Journey Begins

Posted: September 11th, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 32 Comments »

Every season is a journey. The goal is to get to the Super Bowl and win it, but obviously most journeys don’t work out that way. You can’t wait for the end to know if you should enjoy the season. You have to enjoy the journey and hope that things work out well. Too often fans build up expectations and focus on them rather than the actual season.

I expect the Eagles to win 11 or 12 games. I expect us to compete for the Super Bowl. I also know that there will be losses. There will be some bumps in the road. I’ve compared us to the 1994 Niners a time or two. That team did win the title. They also lost a game 40-8 (to us). Steve Young got benched and then had a very public shouting match with coach George Seifert. We dominated SF that day, but they proved to be a great team over the course of the season.

Green Bay last year had some rough times. They lost early games to WAS and MIA. There were a lot of key injuries. Run defense was a major issue in the early part of the season. They gave up 123 or more yards in 5 of the first 7 games. Green Bay was going Nickel D most of the time and it took Dom Capers a while to tweak the formula until they could work out the issues. The addition of veteran DT Howard Green turned out to be a key move. Green Bay didn’t even win their division, but they did win the Super Bowl.

The Eagles will have some struggles. Just keep this stuff in mind when we do hit the bumps in the road.

My goal for the year is to win the NFC East and to get one of the top 2 playoff spots. I think we’ve got the talent to accomplish those goals, assuming we don’t have a ton of injuries.

The O-line will take some time to come together. That said, we’ve got so much firepower that I think we’ll be able to score points even if the blocking is up and down early on. Andy and Marty know how to gameplan in order to cover up weak spots (see ATL last year). They want to spread it out and go with 4 WRs, but will limit that as they focus on protection in the first few weeks.

I’m really excited to see the defense. The hiring of Juan Castillo looked great this summer, but that was like the driving student going through the neighborhood at 25 mph. Now we head out to the interstate. I think Juan will prove that he’s okay. He’s got good players to work with. He’s got veteran coaches (Washburn, Lynn) to help him out.

Special Teams is going to be interesting. Jon Dorenbos is a great snapper. DeSean Jackson is a game-changing PR. Colt Anderson is a great cover guy. Beyond that, we’ve got some unknowns. I think Dion Lewis can be a good KOR. Alex Henery has the potential to be a great PK. And Chas Henry has the leg to be a very good Punter. Those 3 are rookies and will be learning on the fly.

Enough talk. Gameday is here. We’re just a couple of hours away. Let’s get the show on the road.  And remember to enjoy the journey.

* * * * *

I’ll put up a game thread closer to 1pm.

32 Comments on “The Journey Begins”

  1. 1 Matt Ditty said at 2:28 PM on September 11th, 2011:

    I need some quick help, guys. I just had a family emergency that I must attend to. I will be without a TV or radio during the Eagles game. First time in my life this has ever happened. I don’t even have DVR. How the hell am I gonna watch this??

  2. 2 Matt Ditty said at 2:28 PM on September 11th, 2011:

    Please don’t post anything illegal. Not what I’m looking for. And I apologize for posting this again. I’m obviously not in a good spot here… But does anywhere show a replay or something? Anything??

  3. 3 Anonymous said at 2:51 PM on September 11th, 2011:

    Well if it’s a funeral, and I pray that it isn’t, hopefully the casket is one of the newer ones with the TV built into the front. Good Luck.

  4. 4 Mike Roman said at 3:15 PM on September 11th, 2011:

    Internet on your phone? i think you can listen to it on nfl.com

  5. 5 Matt Ditty said at 3:58 PM on September 11th, 2011:

    It’s the type of thing where I just can’t watch or listen live due to circumstances. What I’m looking for is a replay. Ideally, I’d like to shut everything off, not find out what happens, then come home and watch it tonight. The last time something like this happened, it was the early 90’s. I used a VCR. I don’t have the ability to DVR it because I’ve never needed DVR and never got it. So I’m looking for options like On Demand, replays on NFL.com, something like that.

    Thanks for your suggestions so far.

  6. 6 Brandon Gleklen said at 2:45 PM on September 11th, 2011:

    Hope for a close game and it’ll get replayed on NFL network.

  7. 7 Brandon Gleklen said at 2:45 PM on September 11th, 2011:

    Hope for a close game and it’ll get replayed on NFL network.

  8. 8 Michael Abrams said at 3:17 PM on September 11th, 2011:

    If you have high speed internet, you can pay for NFL Game Rewind on nfl.com. It’s not crazy expensive (20/month or 40/season). Then you must maintain complete media blackout until after the close of the Sunday Night game tonight. That’s when they release the games, I think and you can stream the game. That’s a long time to avoid finding out what happened in the game, but I’ve done it. Good luck.

  9. 9 Matt Ditty said at 4:00 PM on September 11th, 2011:

    Just saw this one. Thanks!

  10. 10 Chris said at 2:32 PM on September 11th, 2011:

    I just asked my magic 8-ball a question and it responded “Tackle for a loss.” I can smell Eagles football!!

  11. 11 Anonymous said at 2:35 PM on September 11th, 2011:

    Great write up. I kind of expect to spend January and February crying in fetal position, I hope I won’t, but if that’s the case I will at least make sure to enjoy the season, it’s usually a blast.

    Yesterday you talked about starting in a dome, but will it not be a good thing in some ways? The turf and our speed. And Henery could build some confidence (no wind etc.)

  12. 12 Anonymous said at 4:48 PM on September 11th, 2011:

    Or smiling in a fetal position??

  13. 13 Mike Perrie said at 2:43 PM on September 11th, 2011:

    What didn’t really look great this summer. The players the eagles brought in did. I think Juan will be fine,. Will be interesting to see how he will run/use the defense, We still havent really seen it.

  14. 14 Anonymous said at 2:49 PM on September 11th, 2011:

    I shall be watch it live on my TV over computer monitor for the first time. I wish I could say I was really excited, however the strains of life can sometimes take the tarnish off. Damn tenants!

  15. 15 Mike Roman said at 3:13 PM on September 11th, 2011:

    Something occurred to me when I woke up this morning. The Eagles are winning the Super Bowl this year!

  16. 16 InsultComicDog said at 3:17 PM on September 11th, 2011:

    Memories of Charlie Garner…

    I think SF had some serious O-line problems that day (some injured starters) and William Fuller was taking full advantage. Steve Young was either knocked woozy or out cold, I don’t remember which.

  17. 17 Anonymous said at 3:41 PM on September 11th, 2011:

    Ah memories. For some reason I had to drive to Pittsburgh that day. On the way home, I listened to the game even though the radio kept going in and out as I passed through the foothills of Pennsylvania. I surely wish that I had been able to watch that game. But I had the second best thing. That drive from Pittsburgh to home was one of the fastest and happiest of my life.

  18. 18 Anonymous said at 3:39 PM on September 11th, 2011:

    Inactives:

    OL Vandervelde, Watkins, Justice
    QB Young
    DE Hunt
    CB Marsh
    S Jarrett

  19. 19 Anonymous said at 3:44 PM on September 11th, 2011:

    So Jackson only interior back-up? Or am I missing someone?

  20. 20 Anonymous said at 3:47 PM on September 11th, 2011:

    We’re going with just 7 OL (starters plus JamJax and Dunlap). Remember that Todd could always slide into G if needed.

    Interesting that Brandon Hughes is active. Eagles must anticipate him being key guy on STs.

  21. 21 Anonymous said at 4:36 PM on September 11th, 2011:

    Which would put Dunlap at Tackle. I think I’d prefer the Mudd misfit JamJax.

  22. 22 ike said at 3:56 PM on September 11th, 2011:

    The refrain that the lockout took its toll on the Eagles’ draftees is the explanation for why the Birds’ 1st and 2nd round selections are inactive.

    Neither is even on special teams. Interesting.

    I wonder how many other teams will have their 1st & 2nd round choices inactive today?

  23. 23 ike said at 4:01 PM on September 11th, 2011:

    I should have added:

    How many teams have their 1st, 2nd, and 3rd picks inactive — and 4 of their top 5 picks?

  24. 24 InsultComicDog said at 4:06 PM on September 11th, 2011:

    I see the Rams also inactivated their 1st round pick.

  25. 25 Anirudh Jangalapalli said at 4:00 PM on September 11th, 2011:

    You heard it here first – Mike Kafka under Center with Vick split out wide.

  26. 26 InsultComicDog said at 4:05 PM on September 11th, 2011:

    Ronnie Brown in the wildcat

  27. 27 Anonymous said at 4:00 PM on September 11th, 2011:

    Question — Are you guys staying logged in when you go to comment? In the old system you had to tog in each time and I wanted to change that.

  28. 28 InsultComicDog said at 4:04 PM on September 11th, 2011:

    I never logged in at all. For some reason it assumed I was going to post using my Twitter account. Probably because I’ve been on other Disqus forums

  29. 29 Anonymous said at 4:05 PM on September 11th, 2011:

    I’ve saved my password so I’m always logged in. Those are precious seconds saved. More time for vomiting (pregame jitters).

  30. 30 Cliff Hall said at 4:47 PM on September 11th, 2011:

    Ever since I logged in and “registered” with my Facebook account, I’ve stayed logged in. Working great for me!

  31. 31 ike said at 4:06 PM on September 11th, 2011:

    Tommy:

    I seem to have to log-in w/ every comment.

  32. 32 Anonymous said at 4:46 PM on September 11th, 2011:

    30 – 17 Eagles
    12 – 4 season, at least 2 wins in postseason