Nutty Optimist

A friend responds to my recent delusions of playoff possibilities (Sleepless over Seattle):

Listen, you've got to get back to reality here. It would really be neat if for some crazy reason this team came together and rallied to win the final six games, went 10-6 and snuck into the playoffs and even won a game in the playoffs.

But, this is the National Football League. Teams that play bad all year and then catch a few lucky breaks and get "hot" at the end of the season, those teams don't ride that "momentum" to the Super Bowl.

This isn't the NHL, where it only takes a hot goalie to get to the Stanley Cup finals.
Remember how "hot" the Giants were at the end of the '02 season? Having beaten the Eagles on the final game of the year in OT to get to the playoffs, with Collins and Shockey in high gear. They couldn't even hold a three-touchdown lead against Jeff Garcia.

Motivationally, as a character building exercise, it would be wonderful to see this team win even five of the last six, go 9-7, having lost their two biggest offensive studs and seen a season in turmoil come to a nice conclusion.

but it will still be a MAJOR disappointment, a massive letdown and the biggest missed opportunity in Philly sports (considering how weak the NFC is and how easy it would have been to coast to a 12-4, 13-3 record if this team had been 90% of what it was last year) since the Sixers and their "We Owe You One" campaign in the '77-78 season.

Across the board, in every facet of the game, this team is demonstrably worse than they were last year. Although, their run defense is probably more solid and dependible. (not sure if that's the case statistically or not, but they have shut down some of the game's biggest stud running backs in impressive fashion).

but everywhere else -- the running game, the passing game, the defensive (non)pressure on the QBs, the defensive backfield, special teams -- we are far worse off than we were last year.

Because of that, there's just no way we can talk about the "potential" if we "just make the playoffs." This doesn't happen in the NFL. yes, sometimes a No 2 or a No 3 seed upsets a No 1 and advances to the Super Bowl, but go through the past 10 Super Bowls. Find me an example of a team that wasn't in the top of the league standings most of the year and got "hot" at the right time and rode that wave to the Super Bowl.

'04 season: Eagles v. Pats
'03: Pats v. Panthers
'02: Bucs v. Raiders
'01: Pats v. Rams
'00: Ravens v. Giants
'99: Rams v. Titans
'98: Broncos v. Falcons
'97: Broncos v. Packers
'96: Packers v. Pats
'95: Cowboys v. Steelers