Call Me a Happy Optimist

Both SI’s Paul Zimmerman and ESPN’s Gene Wojciechowski have picked the Birds to reach the Super Bowl...Clearly, the national football press likes what it sees with this Eagles teamg. Here's hoping they're right.

 

I’m right there with them. Put me in the happy optimists camp.

 

The Eagles went 8-8 last year with quarterback who basically played on one leg for most of the year and lost two games they would likely would have won if AJ Feeley hadn't thrown game-killing INTs in or near the redzone on last minute drives. Heck, they should have beat the Pats in NE and should have beat the Seahawks. They inexplicably gave the Bears game away on back breaking 95 yard drive that 9 times out of 10 Jim Johnson puts a stop to. And Akers doinked a game tying 60 yard FG against the Giants off the upright  after Reid butchered time management in the last five minutes of the game.

 

And let's not even mention opening day's debacle in which the Eagles would have won the game if they had had a punt returner. That was on the road against the Packers, the best team in the NFC last year it turns out.

 

They also beat the Cowboys on the road late in the season in a game that meant home field advantage throughout the playoffs to Dallas.

 

In short, the Eagles could have easily been a 10-6 team (adding wins to the Seattle and Green Bay games) and very well could have been 11-5 (either a win vs. the Giants or Pats). Honestly, if they had made the playoffs last year is it not too hard to imagine them making the same run the Giants did?

 

And for arguments sake, I will give you that they had no business winning the Skins game in DC. So that brings you back to 10-6 and really at worst, 9-7.

 

Since then, the Eagles have upgraded in the defensive secondary with three pro bowl corners and now a solid strong safety in Quinton Mikell.

 

They've upgraded at D-Line by jettisoning Kearse and bringing in Clemons, Klecko and drafting Laws.

 

And they've probably upgraded at LB. Gaither is playing his natural position again and they've gotten much bigger in the middle with Stewart Bradley. Gocong looks like a legitimate starter last year and hopefully progresses again this season.

 

On offense, McNabb should now be fully recovered from a knee injury that everyone knows takes two years to completely heal.

 

The tight ends will be better now that LJ Smith is back to 100% and Celek has a year under his belt and they've upgraded at RB with Lorenzo Booker to add to the second best RB in all of football, Brian Westbrook.

 

The offensive line is still solid and probably deeper now that Jean-Gilles has gotten a lot more practice and reps.

 

The only question mark is the WR. Yes, the Curtis injury hurts but the emergence of DeSean Jackson is huge. No one was expecting him to contribute on offense this year. So anything he brings to the WR is a bonus. If they get Curtis back reasonably soon I think you have to say they probably upgraded WR in the offseason based on Jackson's contributions.

 

Oh yes, special teams has gotten better too with Jackson returning punts and Demps returning kicks.

 

Seriously, is there a single area where the team has gotten demonstrably worse since last year?

 

As for the opposition...who scares you?

 

Romo's Cowboys have yet to win a big playoff game and are still coached by that boob Wade Phillips. Eli Manning was one dropped Asante Samuel INT from being the goat and not the hero of the super bowl. They were a wild card team last year and still look to be on this year.

 

The Skins will be lucky to win 6 games with a new coach and offense, a really aging defense and might get humiliated on national tv tonight.

 

The Vikings defense is great but Tarvaris Jackson is barely serviceable. The Pack shot their wad last year. The Bears are staring Kyle Orton at QB and have no RB.

 

In the South, the Panthers, Saints, and Bucs will all be competitive but hardly dominant.

 

Same thing with Seattle in the west. The Cardinals will likely be better but Warner can be very shaky once he gets hit in the head, Edgerrin James is on fumes and, well, they're the Cardinals.

 

The Eagles should make the playoffs and have at least one home playoff game. After that and as the Giants showed last year, the rest of the conference is very beatable - even on the road.

 

I like our chances this year. I really do.