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Philadelphia Eagles’ Season Figures to Be Unpredictable

By Jeff Glauser

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Picture this: February 7, 2016. The Philadelphia Eagles, after breezing through the season at 13-3 and running the table in the playoffs, have just defeated the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl 50.

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Comeback Player of the Year favorite Sam Bradford proved to the world what he can do when he has numerous weapons at his disposal and a line that can keep him upright. And led by a running attack that produces over 2,500 yards, the Eagles break the NFL single season scoring record.

The revamped defense leads the league in forced turnovers and the special teams unit continued its dominance from the previous year. Hell, there’s even a Marcus Smith spotting on the field!

Much of the first wave of tweets calls for Chip Kelly to run for governor, or maybe pope. Furthermore, there is actual brotherly love reportedly taking place all over the Delaware Valley!

The 55-plus year monkey has finally been pried off this franchise’s back (the 8th longest title drought in all of sports, according to this XFinity.com piece), accomplishing something that prior greats like Westbrook or Dawkins, White or Cunningham, Jaworski or Montgomery could not: Win the whole damn thing.

Or picture this: January 4, 2016.

Tim Tebow is speaking to the press, atoning for his three interceptions and two fumbles after a meaningless loss to the Giants to finish the season at 5-11. Tebow started for an ineffective Mark Sanchez, who himself took over for good in Week 7 after Sam Bradford’s season was cut short once again, the product this time of a revolving door at both guard positions, leaving him to be repeatedly victimized in the backfield.

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Bradford was not the only injury casualty. It became clear very early on that Kiko Alonso never fully recovered from his own issues, nor Walter Thurmond or Ryan Mathews from theirs. Former top draft pick Marcus Smith did in fact recover from his, but still somehow couldn’t get on the field.

The running game that had so much potential going into the season sputtered out, as the wear and tear from past overuse of DeMarco Murray was apparent and Darren Sproles began to show his age. Kenjon Barner was long ago scooped off the practice squad by another team.

The new faces in the secondary provided similarly disastrous results, and the historic special teams unit from 2014 turned out to be just lightening in a bottle.

For further salt on the plentiful wounds, Comeback Player of the Year candidate Nick Foles is preparing his upstart Rams for their surprising first round playoff matchup against the Cowboys.

Either scenario could easily play out and shock very little people. That’s the type of window the most unpredictable team in the league has this season.

On one side, the preseason seems to indicate a roster chock full of talented players and loaded with depth at most positions. However, common logic and history dictate that a roster that has gone through as much of an overhaul as this one has is bound to have a steep learning curve.

On paper, these Eagles can match up talentwise with practically any other team. That same paper will show many key players with freshly damaged body parts.

Chip Kelly’s pants-on-fire offense continued to keep opponents on their toes this summer. However, the Detroit Lions once followed an undefeated preseason with a winless regular season.

One thing is certain: They’re not going winless. They’re probably not going undefeated, either.

But much of what’s in between? Well, if you think about it, it’s not that hard to picture.

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