Zero
Posted: July 4th, 2017 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 36 Comments »
Being an Eagles fan means you have to deal with this.
The only stat that actually means something…
Zero Super Bowl wins! #Eagles #GooseEggs— Pet (@Pet00294503) July 4, 2017
ZING!!!!!!!!!
Boy did he get us with that one, huh? So very original.
The Eagles haven’t won a Super Bowl. I know that. You know that. The whole world knows that. Some people act like this is such a great insult, as if all it took was effort or money. Winning a Super Bowl is incredibly difficult. You need the right team and the right circumstances.
The 1999 Rams and 2001 Patriots won titles after their starting QB got hurt and hidden stars were ready to emerge.
Brett Favre won his only Super Bowl the year that Green Bay had the #1 defense in the league and the MVP of the game was return specialist Desmond Howard.
The Eagles have gone to a pair of Super Bowls, but weren’t able to win either. Part of the problem with both teams may have been a hangover from winning the NFC title game. Let’s hope the team learns from that the next time they get to the big game.
The funny thing about Super Bowls is that you never know where the great teams are coming from. Dallas has five rings. The team began in 1960 and had five straight losing seasons. That mess of an organization hit on some key draft picks and turned into a team that won a pair of titles and had 20 consecutive winning seasons.
Dallas then got bad in the late 80’s. The team went 3-13 in Tom Landry’s final season. They were even worse in Jimmy Johnson’s debut, going 1-15. It looked like that franchise was in real trouble. Six years after that, the Cowboys had three new Lombardi’s to add to the trophy case.
The Skins hired Joe Gibbs in 1981. The team hadn’t hit rock bottom, but they weren’t as good as Dallas and they were getting passed by Dick Vermeil’s Eagles, a team on the rise. The owner felt they needed a change and brought in Gibbs.
1981 did not start so well. The Skins were 0-5, with every loss by 10 or more points. You know the organization was under serious heat for letting former coach Jack Pardee go. Gibbs wasn’t a sexy hire and the team looked awkward. They built the team around the run game, which featured Joe Washington at 5-10, 179 and John Riggins. Gibbs had to get Riggins to come out of retirement. Riggins was rebellious, to put it mildly, and gave up football to drink beer and live quietly in Kansas. A rookie head coach counting on that guy was risky to say the least.
But things changed after the terrible start. The Skins went 8-3 the rest of the season. The defense got better and the offense was in the Top 10. It turned out Gibbs knew what he was doing. The Skins won it all the next year and Gibbs put together two other title teams (1987 and 1991). Gibbs won three Super Bowls, each with a different QB and RB. That is brilliant coaching.
The Giants were a great organization in the 1950’s and early 60’s. But from 1964 to 1980, they were awful. The G-men only had a pair of winning seasons in that stretch. Things were not…good.
Ray Perkins took over in 1979 and got the team to the playoffs in 1981, with a 9-7 record. He left after the 1982 season to go replace Bear Bryant at Alabama. The Giants hired some guy named Bill Parcells. The Giants fell apart and went 3-12-1. Management wanted to fire Parcells, but decided to stick with him. They won their first Super Bowl in 1986 and another in 1990.
The Giants won another pair of titles, this time under Tom Coughlin. The 2005 and 2006 teams had frustrating playoff losses. The 2005 team was shutout by the Panthers. The Eagles, with backup QB Jeff Garcia, beat them in 2006.
Out of those ashes, the 2007 team won on the road in Tampa, Dallas and Green Bay. Then the Giants pulled off one of the biggest upsets of all time by beating the undefeated Patriots in the Super Bowl. The team put together a similar run in 2011 and again beat the Pats.
The point of all this is that you don’t know where a Super Bowl team is coming from. It could be firing your coach or giving him that one final chance. It could be from staying healthy or from an injury that reveals you have a hidden gem sitting on the bench.
Super Bowl teams seem to come from failure. It could be Dallas being god awful in 1988 and 1989 or the Giants losing in the wild card round in 2005 and 2006. Players and coaches have to learn from failure. It has to push them to break through and win in the future. That could mean player changes, scheme changes or maybe just attitude changes.
Losing can help you win, if you learn from it. Struggle helps to build character and toughen people, or expose those who can’t handle pressure.
It will be interesting to see what the next decade brings. Dallas has a pair of young superstars, but Jerry Jones still seems to embrace troubled players too much. Washington has some good offensive pieces, but isn’t willing to commit to their QB, who is in the prime of his career. The Giants have an old, declining QB, but Eli has two rings in the past decade. He’s never been a great QB, but he’s been the right guy at the right time. And he does have some talented pieces to work with.
The Eagles have big time potential, but serious questions as well. If Carson Wentz can develop into a Pro Bowl type of player, that will give the Eagles a chance to be good every year. Guys like Fletcher Cox, Brandon Graham, Jordan Hicks, Sidney Jones, Derek Barnett, Zach Ertz, Lane Johnson and Isaac Seumalo all have Pro Bowl potential.
If Rasul Douglas, Jalen Mills, Mack Hollins, Elijah Qualls, Halapoulivaati Vaitai, Donnel Pumphrey, Terrence Brooks, Shelton Gibson, Nate Gerry or Joe Walker can some how become key role players or good starters, that could help push the team to the next level.
I think the Eagles have as good a chance as anyone in the division to become a title team. Maybe the Eagles will finally win that first Super Bowl.
Of course, then the insult will be that the Eagles ONLY have 1 Super Bowl so who really cares. Gotta have at least 2 for it to really matter.
*****
Honestly, a better insult to me is the fact the Eagles haven’t won a playoff game since 2008. Super Bowl smack works, but is very dated. Dallas hasn’t won a title in more than 20 years. That’s 25 plus for the Skins. The Giants are the most recent winner, but even that was back in 2011.
Winning Super Bowls is hard. Winning a playoff game is a much simpler achievement. The Eagles went to the postseason in 2009, 2010 and 2013 so they have had some chances. Two of those games were at home.
Let’s hope Doug Pederson and Carson Wentz can change this and bring postseason success back to Philly.
_
Thank you for the daily offseason dose of the Iggles Blitz
So my take away from this is that the NFC has a lot of Superbowls and we have none 🙁
I really hope that can change with Carson and Doug. I like the idea of Wentz being from a small school and Doug being a first time head coach. Both have a lot to prove. Carson was drafted 2nd overall but was also the 2nd qb to go. Doug wasn’t anyone’s first choice as a head coach, including the Eagles, but I think he did a decent job despite what other people say. We will see this year if he can build on that. Both guys are underdogs of sorts. I also like the Howie and Joe team off the field. This team is going in the right direction. It’s just a matter of putting it all together.
That’s odd, I distinctly remember the Eagles being the best team in the league in 2005 and 1991.
¯_(ツ)_/¯
Winning the Superbowl is not just about building a championship team, it’s about getting hot at the right time and sometimes having a little luck. The following teams won in the recent past as Wild Card playoff teams.
2005 Pittsburgh Steelers 11-5
2007 New York Giants 10-6
2010 Green Bay Packers 10-6
One the Eagles biggest problems over the years is they have never been in a cupcake division like the AFC East during almost the entire reign of the Pats.
3 of the 4 Giants Super Bowl wins were disgusting functions of pure luck. The were only the best team in 86. The 90, 07, and 11 teams lucked into victories.
2005 Steelers had a massive referee assist in beating Seattle in that game. Multiple incorrect called holdings on Seattle and multiple missed holdings by Pittsburgh.
2010 Packers had rightfully earned wins in the division, championship, and Super Bowl; but were given a nice choke by the Eagles in that wild card game. Poor Red Zone “Defense”, AGAIN, by Sean McDermott and finished off by Riley Cooper starting slack jawed at a 50/50 ball that should have been a TD pass by Vick that Cooper allowed to be turned into an INT. Add in David Akers shank-a-thon that day and you have an all time bad Eagles playoff loss.
I agree. We’ve had semi debates here about whether it’s better to be in a tough division and get tested, but I am on the other side. You saw when Denver won the SB they beat the Pats because the game was home. If the Pats had an extra game some of those years and played away from home more often they would not be as successful.
I am on team I hope the rest of the NFC East is terrible.
Bringing up the lack of Super Bowl wins by somebody outside of our fan base as an insult = automatic DEFCON 1 level beating.
I don’t even understand where it ends. So the Pats have what, 4? So I can’t make any comment disparaging the Pats or praising the Eagles until the Eagles have 4 SB wins? And the Pats fans can’t say anything to Steelers’ fans? So all the teams’ fans sit around silently. Taken to some logical conclusion doesn’t make sense to me.
logic goes out the window with a lot of these sports things.
Seeing that list of coaches is a reminder that Philly seems to either keep HCs too long or not long enough. Even the most successful on the list did not win instantly or even every year. That’s beside all.the other factors. One factor which could be mentioned is injuries. With all of the improvements in equipment and sports medicine and stricter rules, injuries should have decreased from 30 years ago. Instead they seem to have increased in number and severity. So a team really needs more quality backups now than in the 80s and 90s. That speaks to drafting or clever trades.
I’d put drafting/ free agency failure as a coequal problem with coaching failure.
Players are bigger, stronger and faster than 30 years ago. Collisions are greater. Players push their ligaments and tendons to the limits and beyond. To compete, you need versatile backups. Think DP has this right.
After about 2.9 years, you can tell when some coaches are in over their head despite outside factors. Cutting/Trading talent because of personality differences is a quick way to failure. Also, reaching in the draft doesn’t help either.
Y’know, there is a difference between not winning a Super Bowl and not winning the NFL Championship. We’ve won the latter. So, the real point is how long it’s been since the last championship.
1960
1975
1983
and
2008 not being 2008, 09, 10, AND 11
have times so long ago and lacking frequency given the city’s rightful place as the center of the known universe that it greatly upsets me.
Well, Boston won a WS…even the Cubs now have won. The day is coming for us to assume our place. Don’t ask me why I believe this. I believe it with the same certainty that I believed we’d never win the Super Bowl with AR in charge. This will be the year we draft an injured player and it finally works out. We’re one draft away from serious contention. I’d go on, but I’m starting to sound like GEagle
I think that’s why we old-time fans that stick with the team through thick and thin have to remain optimistic and hopeful. Why, otherwise, follow a team, if not for glimmers of hope? I’m also with you re Andy Reid. He was and continues to be a good, not great, coach who hasn’t the wherewithal to get over the hump.
I’d be curious to hear why you felt certain that AR would not get us there. I am pretty sure I thought it could happen, at some point. Even John Madden said on national TV that he thought Reid would eventually get there. I know that sometimes a feeling is hard to put into words, but give it a shot.
There was a point, somewhere around 2006 or 2007, that I turned to my daughter (big JP and Dawk fan) mid-game and said we’ll never win the SB with Reid. I think it was the combination of poor clock management, inability to adjust during games, overreliance on passing in run situations, and poor player drafts. That last point may have come later…it’s been a decade…
I would imagine that most readers felt that way by that time. I know I did. AR seemed to stubbornly stick with the pass the way many HC’s stubbornly stick with the run, believing it would break down the defense eventually. I too blamed Reid for poor drafting, but I have since come to believe that it was a franchise flaw. Thanks for sharing.
Chalk me up as a declining number of fans who last witnessed a championship in 1960. And, btw, to your point, just because it didn’t have the label of Super Bowl, when the clock ran down to zero with Bednarik sitting on Taylor, it sure felt like the Eagles had conquered to world.
Those were the days of labeled water out of a bucket, coaches wearing coats and ties, and two-way players. Well, not many, but Chuck did play center and linebacker.
Let’s hope that Pederson and Wentz can become the next coach-qb duo to bring Eagles’ football back to prominence.
Like you I got to see the 60′ championship. What burns me up is the Eagles have won three championships. They were not called superbowls, but that doesn’t change the fact they were championships. Do fans discount championships in other sports because they happened long ago. The Dodgers won one in the 50’s. I guess Dodger fans shouldn’t count that because it happened 60 years ago.. Of course I’d like to see another championship, but I will be an Eagles fan no matter what happens. I believe we are headed in the right direction.. If Wentz proves to be a franchise QB, we will see one or more in the next decade. And the next one will be our 4th championship.
I’m 34 years old (“I’m a man, dammit!” (c) and of course it it pains me that my beloved Eagles still have not won a SB. With that said, I’d much rather be anEagles fan than say a Buccaneers fan over the past 25+ years.
Yeah, there are some bad teams out the that would be tough to be a fan of. The Browns of course, the Jags and Jets, and Bill’s.. . throw in the Dolphins to round out the AFC East that has to watch the Pats win every year.
Jets, Browns, and Jag (less the Bills, but true to an extent) have also been completely incompetent organizations.
Random question–
As many of you know, my dad passed away last month. As a result, we’ve been cleaning out the house, and I have come across numerous Eagles games from roughly 1986-2008. They are on VHS tape, and I’d estimate we have somewhere in the range of 200 games recorded.
I’d like to donate them to anyone that can use them, but there’s a catch- you have to take them all. I’d really like to get rid of them all at once, and if you could help out on the shipping cost- that’d be awesome.
So, if you, or anyone that you know would be interested in nothing more than sorting through Philadelphia Eagles games with over 20 years of content, please let me know. It’ll take me some time to get them packed up and put together, but I figure by the time the season starts I’ll have everything ready to go.
If you need to reach me, comment on here or email me. My user name at gmail dot com.
As I pack, I’ll try to compile a list of information (game date, opponent, score) so that when you get it, the hard part is already done.
Thanks guys. Can’t wait for the season to get here!
This is very considerate and generous offer. It is not for me, but I hope someone takes you up on it. Maybe, for the good of the community, someone with the ability to digitize VCR tapes…
Regardless, great way to honor something your dad cared about.
There’s a mountain of games to go through- at this point I don’t have the time to digitize the games, but I want to; perhaps I can figure out a way to convince my mom to leave them as they are right now.
Some specific games I remember seeing- the Thanksgiving game against Dallas when we sacked them 11 times. The fog bowl. Some of the championship games. Gang green games. The McNabb years, as well as some of the games leading up to the McNabb years.
Overall, it’s a helluva a collection. Can anyone recommend a good home VCR to digital device?
Perhaps you could try a coaxial to usb converter like the ones used to pick up over the air TV signals? Then you’d just need a functional VCR.
I’ll check the basement, we may have a VCR stored away. Thanks Mac
Sb2, I’d possibly be interested in taking them (including shipping costs if needed) or helping with digitization. I do a little of that myself, but more digital (TV) to digital (computer).
I feel this scene is relevant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7St9TtLzoLk
I never forget we haven’t won a Superbowl, no one else will. I wear it like armor.
I’m more sensitive/insecure about our immediate situation. If an outsider throws a haymaker about our coach or that our savior Wentz might not be good, yeah I got nothing. All I can calmly say is “we’ll see”. If not, a reflexive “Cowboys suck!”
Watching those cheatin ass Patriots running onto the field in joy… If I had one wish before I die it would be that somehow the full extent of their malfeasance was made public.
When it was revealed that the Patriots were sending people dressed as NFL employees into opposing locker rooms to steal scripted plays/gameplans, I thought it would make more of a fuss than it did. Evidently it’s just accepted as cannon now that the Patriots are one of the greatest dynasties ever and not just the recipients of one of the worst calls in NFL history (the tuck rule wasn’t even applied correctly in the call IMO, Brady already had both hands back on the ball before he fumbled it – when does the actual tuck end?) BUT they’ve also been at the center of one of the biggest sports cheating scandals in recent memory.
My favorite part of the whole thing was that Goodell destroyed all the evidence because he didn’t want the possibility of someone stealing it and gaining and advantage from it.
The point being, that super bowl loss was the toughest sports loss of my life, and it was enraging to find out the Patriots were probably cheating during it.
I actually never heard about the stealing playbooks thing. Wouldn’t surprise me. I know some of the players felt like the pats knew the defensive calls in the second half of the Superbowl.
Psychologically speaking, getting into only 2 SB’s a generation apart, the first appearance also coming a generation away from the last Eagles championship, almost predicts the two SB losses. The mindset of the fans and most likely the owner must have a degree of self-consciousness and self-doubt.
The best core players to represent the Eagles since the 1960 team that won it all were the defense that Buddy built, and no offensive or defensive units were nearly as god, before or since. That unit wasn’t just great, it was fun to experience. I think Ryan must have been mystified by his firing when it was clear that he delivered on his expertise. Just because his offense was dormant did not mean that, with organizational support, he would remain a losing HC. And perhaps more importantly, when an icon gets highly skilled, even phenomenal players to give their all, and then, when everybody can see the transformation the franchise pulls the plug…that is exactly the face of a lame franchise!
I hope Joe Douglas gets a hot hand and brings in a string of hard-nosed players that exude confidence and revive some of the swagger of Buddy’s defense. If they are not flat out dominating, they’l probably still be entertaining. That is not just fun to experience, it’s is good for the game. That is what Pete Carroll and John Schneider did up in Seattle, and fortunately for them they snagged a cocky, poised QB at the same time that the defense was gelling.
I am not saying the goose eggs don’t matter – but they are more important for trash talk than for giving the fans some good football to experience. I want to forget the end-game for a moment and focus on the journey. Show me some dope play on the field.