A New Season
Posted: January 6th, 2025 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 2 Comments »The 2024 regular season is over. The Eagles went 14-3 and had a great year. Saquon ran for 2000 yards. The defense finished #1 overall. Zack Baun went from minor signing to possibly being the Defensive Player of the Year. Jalen Hurts finished with the highest completion percentage and passer rating of his career.
That’s all in the past. We have now moved to the postseason. One and done. Win or done. This is the ultimate in what have you done for me lately. All of those great accomplishments get swept aside if the team doesn’t win. The pressure is on.
The Eagles were one and done in 2021 and 2023. The first team just didn’t have the talent to beat Tampa. They couldn’t stop Tom Brady and they struggled to move the ball against Todd Bowles defense. Last year the Eagles were beaten down, physically and mentally. That team was in Tampa in only the most literal sense of the word. Their hearts and minds had already headed for the offseason.
DAVID MOORE YOUR JOKING
BUCS TOUCHDOWN
10-0 vs the #Eagles pic.twitter.com/MAk8sO5YXt
— DrakeMayeisTop5 (@BostonSportsAcc) January 16, 2024
That was one crappy game.
The 2022 team made it to the Super Bowl and were a couple of plays away from winning that game. Unfortunately Patrick Mahomes remembered that he was Patrick Mahomes and found a way to win the game. Still, the Eagles played well in that postseason.
How will they do this time around?
The good news is that the team is pretty healthy and they have a good amount of experience. The offense is loaded with players still around from the last trip to the big game. The defense has a lot of new faces, but they can lean on veterans like Josh Sweat, BG, CJGJ and Darius Slay. Jordan Davis, Milton Williams, Nakobe Dean and Reed Blankenship were young guys in 2022, but were on the team and remember that experience.
If you watched Sunday night’s showdown between the Lions and Vikings, you had to come away feeling that the Eagles can beat those teams. Detroit’s defense played well, but they are missing a lot of key players. The Vikings offense can’t be trusted. The Eagles are strong on offense and defense.
Of course the Lions and Vikings don’t much matter unless the Eagles beat the Packers on Sunday afternoon. Which Packers will show up? Will it be the team that started 9-3 and looked so good or the team that finished 2-3, including an ugly loss to the Bears? The Eagles, Lions and Vikings accounted for 5 of the Packers 6 losses this year. We’ll get into a game preview later in the week.
Week 1 Eagles vs Packers: The Merrill Thread
1. SAQUONNNNNNN BARKLEYYYYY
— Nick Piccone (@_piccone) September 7, 2024
The Eagles won that first game 34-29. Both teams have come a long way since then. The Eagles defense went from being a mystery to being dominant. The Packers finished 5th in yards on offense and defense. You don’t find many wild card games where both teams have Top 10 offenses and defenses.
I’m excited to see what this team can do. The Eagles have passed just about every test this year. They can run, they can throw. They play great defense. They have depth and a lot of different playmakers. This team is built for the postseason.
You do have to remember that there aren’t any guarantees. We’ve seen great teams go down early. That’s what makes the NFL playoffs so special. You only need to be the better team for one day. Most pro sports require you to win a best of seven series. The NFL squeezes all of that drama and pressure into three hours.
I think this team is hungry. They aren’t worried about 2022 or 2023. They genuinely enjoy playing together and certainly winning together. They want to keep this thing going as long as they can. Hopefully we get another month out of them.
*****
Week 1 Eagles vs Packers: The Merrill Thread
1. SAQUONNNNNNN BARKLEYYYYY
— Nick Piccone (@_piccone) September 7, 2024
It feels like the Hurts concussion mystery/drama is just Nick being Nick. He thinks he is getting a competitive advantage by not saying anything beyond “He’s progressing through the protocol.” I think just about everybody in the football world expects Hurts to play.
*****
#Saints have requested a head coaching interview with #Eagles OC Kellen Moore, per league source.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) January 6, 2025
I don’t feel like Moore is a hot name right now, but he deserves an interview. He’s had success in Dallas and Philly. Moore is a good coach with a bright future. I hope he sticks around for at least one more season.
_
[…] A New Season – Iggles BlitzThe Eagles won that first game 34-29. Both teams have come a long way since then. The Eagles defense went from being a mystery to being dominant. The Packers finished 5th in yards on offense and defense. You don’t find many wild card games where both teams have Top 10 offenses and defenses. I’m excited to see what this team can do. The Eagles have passed just about every test this year. They can run, they can throw. They play great defense. They have depth and a lot of different playmakers. This team is built for the postseason. You do have to remember that there aren’t any guarantees. We’ve seen great teams go down early. That’s what makes the NFL playoffs so special. You only need to be the better team for one day. Most pro sports require you to win a best of seven series. The NFL squeezes all of that drama and pressure into three hours. I think this team is hungry. They aren’t worried about 2022 or 2023. They genuinely enjoy playing together and certainly winning together. They want to keep this thing going as long as they can. Hopefully we get another month out of them. […]
[…] A New Season – Iggles BlitzThe Eagles won that first game 34-29. Both teams have come a long way since then. The Eagles defense went from being a mystery to being dominant. The Packers finished 5th in yards on offense and defense. You don’t find many wild card games where both teams have Top 10 offenses and defenses. I’m excited to see what this team can do. The Eagles have passed just about every test this year. They can run, they can throw. They play great defense. They have depth and a lot of different playmakers. This team is built for the postseason. You do have to remember that there aren’t any guarantees. We’ve seen great teams go down early. That’s what makes the NFL playoffs so special. You only need to be the better team for one day. Most pro sports require you to win a best of seven series. The NFL squeezes all of that drama and pressure into three hours. I think this team is hungry. They aren’t worried about 2022 or 2023. They genuinely enjoy playing together and certainly winning together. They want to keep this thing going as long as they can. Hopefully we get another month out of them. […]