I am sold. Seriously, count me in.
With Sammy “Lights Out” Bradford at the offensive controls and Chip Kelly, the most innovative mind in the history of sports, if not all of mankind, having his imprint on every aspect of this Eagles squad, there is no denying that greatness awaits.
The sky is the limit? Puh-leeze. These guys have no limit.
When it comes to practicing in shorts and then playing three series on gameday, no one, and I mean, NO ONE can touch these guys.
So, mark it down: They win the whole thing.
The Super Bowl, the Preseason Super Bowl, it is theirs, baby. Fuhgettaboutit.
OK, kidding aside, c’mon, Eagles fans … and, apparently, national media. Get somewhat of a grip. We’re talking three preseason games here, and already Philly’s gridiron finest are being anointed division winners, conference champs and, gulp, league-titlist favorites?
As much as I’d like to jump on board, that seems to be an express train to heartbreak. Right now, still two weeks away from the start of the regular season, that is insanity. Not for nothing, but with the lengthy injury history charts to so many key cogs in Capt. Chip’s third edition of Birds, jumping on board with these guys is a slippery slope that I may never be willing to navigate.
Yeah, heck yeah, I’m going to acknowledge any success – legit success – the team experiences … and be happy to do. But projecting into the future off camp and half-speed scrimmages dominated by third- and fourth-stringers? No.
For me, thanks to the china-doll stability of DeMarco Murray, Ryan Matthews and Bradford – ahem, the hardcore CORE of your offensive backfield, bleeding-green peeps – there is no way I could commit “certainty” to what Week 1 of the regular season holds never mind what we can expect in November, December and January.
Hey, the NFL being such a violent affair in any scenario, it’s kinda tough to be 100-percent cocksure confident in any predictions throughout the course of a season. But the Eagles are an extreme case of questions due to the aforementioned, as well as new defensive ringleader Kiko Alonso and his surgically repaired knee and bruised brain mass.
They have too many uncertainties at crucial spots to be “all in” on any bowl guarantees. Way more so than any other team in the NFL. Hoping for such success with these Birds is one thing. But touting it, or even suggesting it, whoa, nelly.
Bradford looked great Saturday night. He was spotless, perfect, almost, umm, smooth. A 10-for-10 effort through the air, as well as him not lying in a crumpled heap after a hit, were wonderful signs of what can be – when things go well and all joints and ligaments and tendons remain intact.
But, frankly, we’ve seen this before. Bobby Hoying. Nick Foles. Hell, Mark Sanchez, Bradford’s supposedly inferior-stratosphere backup, has been sharp in the same kinda way … for much longer stretches and even, gasp, during times when it actually counted.
I’ll come clean. I have never been a Bradford guy and never will be. I don’t see “it” with him. Never have, never will. On the contrary, I like Murray and I really like Matthews. But neither of them is any more of a sure thing to avoid a season or career derailment than their gimpy quarterback is. Frankly, that’s not a condemnation on any of them. That’s reality, and that’s one reality I think fans, both those in painted faces and those residing in the press box, would be wise to face.
Failing to heed, and truly grasp, those “buyer beware” tags is bad business no matter who is making the investment, be it with money or emotions or both.
Patience not only would be a virtue, but a matter of protection for Eagles fans this fall.
- Jack Kerwin | ydkjack1@gmail.com
With Sammy “Lights Out” Bradford at the offensive controls and Chip Kelly, the most innovative mind in the history of sports, if not all of mankind, having his imprint on every aspect of this Eagles squad, there is no denying that greatness awaits.
The sky is the limit? Puh-leeze. These guys have no limit.
When it comes to practicing in shorts and then playing three series on gameday, no one, and I mean, NO ONE can touch these guys.
So, mark it down: They win the whole thing.
The Super Bowl, the Preseason Super Bowl, it is theirs, baby. Fuhgettaboutit.
OK, kidding aside, c’mon, Eagles fans … and, apparently, national media. Get somewhat of a grip. We’re talking three preseason games here, and already Philly’s gridiron finest are being anointed division winners, conference champs and, gulp, league-titlist favorites?
As much as I’d like to jump on board, that seems to be an express train to heartbreak. Right now, still two weeks away from the start of the regular season, that is insanity. Not for nothing, but with the lengthy injury history charts to so many key cogs in Capt. Chip’s third edition of Birds, jumping on board with these guys is a slippery slope that I may never be willing to navigate.
Yeah, heck yeah, I’m going to acknowledge any success – legit success – the team experiences … and be happy to do. But projecting into the future off camp and half-speed scrimmages dominated by third- and fourth-stringers? No.
For me, thanks to the china-doll stability of DeMarco Murray, Ryan Matthews and Bradford – ahem, the hardcore CORE of your offensive backfield, bleeding-green peeps – there is no way I could commit “certainty” to what Week 1 of the regular season holds never mind what we can expect in November, December and January.
Hey, the NFL being such a violent affair in any scenario, it’s kinda tough to be 100-percent cocksure confident in any predictions throughout the course of a season. But the Eagles are an extreme case of questions due to the aforementioned, as well as new defensive ringleader Kiko Alonso and his surgically repaired knee and bruised brain mass.
They have too many uncertainties at crucial spots to be “all in” on any bowl guarantees. Way more so than any other team in the NFL. Hoping for such success with these Birds is one thing. But touting it, or even suggesting it, whoa, nelly.
Bradford looked great Saturday night. He was spotless, perfect, almost, umm, smooth. A 10-for-10 effort through the air, as well as him not lying in a crumpled heap after a hit, were wonderful signs of what can be – when things go well and all joints and ligaments and tendons remain intact.
But, frankly, we’ve seen this before. Bobby Hoying. Nick Foles. Hell, Mark Sanchez, Bradford’s supposedly inferior-stratosphere backup, has been sharp in the same kinda way … for much longer stretches and even, gasp, during times when it actually counted.
I’ll come clean. I have never been a Bradford guy and never will be. I don’t see “it” with him. Never have, never will. On the contrary, I like Murray and I really like Matthews. But neither of them is any more of a sure thing to avoid a season or career derailment than their gimpy quarterback is. Frankly, that’s not a condemnation on any of them. That’s reality, and that’s one reality I think fans, both those in painted faces and those residing in the press box, would be wise to face.
Failing to heed, and truly grasp, those “buyer beware” tags is bad business no matter who is making the investment, be it with money or emotions or both.
Patience not only would be a virtue, but a matter of protection for Eagles fans this fall.
- Jack Kerwin | ydkjack1@gmail.com
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