NFL | Eagles fans can start thinking playoffs ... next year or beyond

by Jack Kerwin  |  ydkjack1@gmail.com

Playoffs? PLAYOFFS?!! …

Ahhh, if only Jim Mora were decked out in midnight green and primed to deliver a reality check to Eagles Nation.

Barring a total collapse by every other team in the NFC East, 2016 won’t be extending beyond the regular season for your favorite NFL franchise, Philly.

Oops.

For all the pretzel logic going on around town, fueled mainly by a 3-0 start that included a stunning 34-3 dismantling of Pittsburgh that seemed less stunning with each loss the Steelers endured during a four-game nosedive shortly after, the reality was, and is, that the Birds are the fourth-best squad in their own division.

Talent-wise, that’s just how it is. The Cowboys and Giants clearly are, not just because they beat the Eagles, but because they fare better against the rest of the league, too, and can we just accept and admit that Kirk Cousins is much more than a serviceable quarterback down in Washington.

While we’re busy pumping up rookie Carson Wentz for his intangibles and that always positive “potential,” the most underappreciated player in the NFL is busy cementing his status as one of the top five signal-callers … AGAIN. Whether anyone cares to notice or not.

By falling Sunday in Seattle and not exactly super in doing so, the Eagles check in at 5-5 now with rematches against all those aforementioned divisional rivals still on the docket. In short, we ain’t looking at a double-digit win total this fall.

No biggie. With first-timers running the show on the sidelines and behind center that was to be expected.

What might be, though, are the chinks in the armor both of those two are showing. While Doug Pederson bobs and weaves his indecisive way to determine if he’s a conservative head coach or go for broke one, Wentz continues to display some tangible inconsistencies – i.e., he’s short on long throws and he’s often high and wide on intermediate ones.

The kid has talent. It’s obvious. He also has an excuse-making media and fan base that is taking rationalizing to level rarely seen around these parts.

Put it this way, if Sam Bradford or Nick Foles or Donovan McNabb were making the same mistakes Wentz often does, they’d be getting roasted. Not dusted off and patted on the head with “you’ll get ’em next time” words of encouragement.

Yo, did you know “Sleeves,” aka Mr. Dink and Dunk, actually averages a half yard more per passing attempt than our savior?

Yeah, he also checks in with a passer rating 15 points higher … but, hey, who’s counting?

We got playoffs to think about.

Umm, maybe next year.