Brooky: Eagles should win at least 9 games
So here we are again at the third week of the NFL exhibition schedule. It was at this point a year ago that the Eagles' expectations spiked during the brief and fascinating tenure of Charles Sherman Kelly.
So here we are again at the third week of the NFL exhibition schedule. It was at this point a year ago that the Eagles' expectations spiked during the brief and fascinating tenure of Charles Sherman Kelly.
New quarterback Sam Bradford had just led the team to three touchdowns in three series in a rout over the highly regarded Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. You would have thought afterward that the Eagles' charter flight was headed straight to Santa Clara, Calif. - site of Super Bowl 50 - instead of back to Philadelphia. One idiotic writer from this newspaper even stepped out on a limb and led his next column with the following sentence: The Eagles are good enough to win the Super Bowl.
We now know, of course, that the game in Green Bay was an ocean in the desert. Chip Kelly did eventually make it out to Santa Clara but only after being fired by the Eagles with a week remaining in the 2015 season. He is the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers now, a nice sideshow for us all in 2016.
Expectations for the Eagles, meanwhile, have plummeted to their lowest level since the final season of the Andy Reid era when the team went 4-12. Check the over-under number for team wins, and you'll find that the bookmakers out in Las Vegas do not think much of the Eagles. When you're done with that assignment, Google NFC East predictions, and you'll find the majority of soothsayers around the country also have little respect for first-year coach Doug Pederson and his football team.
Pederson and resurrected football chief Howie Roseman probably do not care about such things, but it is convenient for them that expectations are down a lot more than they actually should be. It is a built-in excuse for failure before the Eagles reach the starting gate.
Go 6-10, and you've met expectations. Go 7-9, and you've exceeded them. Only 2-14 and 3-13 will really anger the masses because when it comes time to make the first overall pick it will be the Cleveland Browns with the opportunity to take Deshaun Watson. The Clemson quarterback and Heisman Trophy favorite figures to have a higher ceiling than Jared Goff and Carson Wentz, the two quarterbacks taken first and second overall, respectively, in this year's draft.
The problem here is that based on what the Eagles have done since that late December day when owner Jeffrey Lurie shockingly fired Kelly does not correlate with your typical rebuilding project.
When the Eagles take the field Saturday night against the Colts in Indianapolis, we will see Bradford behind center again just as he was for that deceiving third exhibition game a year ago. Shouldn't he be better this year than last year? He's another season removed from his second knee surgery, and he has raved about how nice it was to be healthy, if not always happy, in the offseason. Throw in the fact that Bradford is playing for his future, and he should have plenty of motivation every time he takes the field in what is probably his final season with the Eagles.
You can point to right tackle Lane Johnson's impending suspension as a reason for lowered expectations, but that's no excuse for Roseman because he drafted him, and the consequences of what have happened fall on him as well as the player.
Pederson, meanwhile, had a refreshing answer to a question about his patchwork offensive line that took another hit last week when rookie Isaac Seumalo went down with a strained pec muscle. He pointed out that during his time as the offensive coordinator in Kansas City under Reid that the Chiefs had to deal with similar losses along the line.
"It can be done," he said. "You keep your schemes simple for them, allow them to play fast and get as many reps as you can during the week."
One of Reid's greatest attributes as a head coach with the Eagles was winning even as he was losing key players. If Pederson inherited only one of his mentor's abilities that would be a good one.
Back to the expectations. When was the last time there was this much excitement about an Eagles defense? As recently as Monday they added veteran linebacker Stephen Tulloch, a move that is not made by a rebuilding team. Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz's attacking system has been embraced by the players, and if that unit is not greatly improved this season will be a monumental disappointment.
Remember, this is a team that only went 7-9 last season, but it did win in New England and could have easily won 10 games. The moves they made in the offseason and since the start of the preseason, excluding the deal that brought them Wentz as the second overall pick, were designed to make the 2016 team better.
Forget what they're saying in Vegas and delete the nationwide prediction columns. The expectation should be at least nine wins and contention in the NFC East. Anything less and Roseman's return to power should be considered a disappointment.
@brookob