In the interest of full disclosure, the problem with trying to analyze the success of the Philadelphia Eagles during the preseason is something called the Bradford Factor.
For those who don’t remember – or those who choose not to remember being duped – it was a preseason performance by quarterback Sam Bradford in August of 2015 that will forever color any perceptions of football before it really matters.
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On that night in Wisconsin, Bradford went 10-for-10 for 121 yards and lit up the Packers for three touchdown passes in the first quarter. The Eagles owned a 25-0 lead after 15 minutes, and the hype was full on into the regular season.
Turned out, it was the original Fake News. Even worse, any sizzle you hear in the preseason from that point forward must be tempered by the memories of 2015.
Fool me once ...
Then again, the Philadelphia Eagles are in a pretty sweet spot right now, and the more you dig around and look at the NFC East, the more you like the team’s chances of surviving to play well into January.
This is way more than a case of one player arriving and being charged with changing the dynamics. This is way more than a case of a veteran stepping in to the lead the team toward the playoffs.
The hope here is that the 2017 version of the Philadelphia Eagles will serve as a base for several winning seasons and almost guaranteed spots in the postseason party.
Mind you, the Eagles have yet to even play a preseason game as their schedule does not get started for another week, and that is a good sign. The optimism around the team is not being pumped up by some crazy stats in a game in August.
All right, so a lot of people went a bit bonkers at the Linc on Sunday when about 23,000 fans got to cheer Nelson Agholor catching passes. It was just nice to see footballs actually land in the hands of the receivers – especially Agholor’s.
So, for a day or so, there was all this conversation about how Agholor might be a different player … and how all of those receivers looked so good … and how second-year quarterback Carson Wentz was suddenly going to have a crew of guys who can actually do what they are supposed to do at the other end of a forward pass.
Rather than all sizzle in August and a cold entrée in late November, these Eagles might be slow cooking toward a real feast for the holidays and beyond.
However, unlike in years past, these hopes were quickly counter balanced by suggestions that maybe this was also a case of the receivers and Wentz working against a defensive backfield that wasn’t exactly overwhelming. Maybe the story lurking below the surface wasn’t that the offense was that good – but maybe the defense was that bad.
It’s a pretty good guess that the offense really is going to be something more than ordinary. Wentz will come in with the field general’s badges already pinned to his shoulders, and the team has also added a power running back.
Perhaps even more importantly, Lane Johnson will be available on the line for a full season, and listening to him talk makes you realize he fully intends to make up for his suspension last season. Johnson is not shying away from taking responsibility for some of the problems caused when he was not available last season, and he appears to have a genuine “I owe you one” attitude going into 2017.
Despite all of this, in a town where the fans are desperate for something big to happen, there is a definite pause in any sort of rush to over-the-top optimism.
And this is where the Eagles should also benefit.
For a team that so obviously addressed it needs on offense, and a team with a second-year quarterback that is the envy of many teams in the NFL, and a team with such potential on either line, the Eagles are under the radar.
The spotlight is shining on Dallas, where the Cowboys have had another horrible off-the-field offseason – star running back Ezekiel Elliott remains under investigation – and on the New York Giants, where quarterback Eli Manning will try to crank it up for another season.
The Eagles, who brought in a top caliber defensive lineman when they drafted Derek Barnett, and added the likes of receivers Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith, will enter the season as stealth team. Lurking behind the shiny logos of the Cowboys and the Giants, the Eagles have all the weapons to go toe to toe with any team in the division.
There are not many times that a team in Philadelphia with the weapons like the Eagles have can arrive in the camouflage of an underdog of sorts, but that is the case with these Eagles – and it will have nothing to do with any sort of glitzy plays in the upcoming preseason.
Nope.
This is not going to be a case of fake headlines about Sam Bradford. This is more the case of some very real headlines about a young quarterback with weapons, and a franchise putting together a team for the long run.
And by the time the season is halfway along, you might just be wondering how good they will really be when draft pick Sidney Jones in finally ready to shore up the defensive backfield.
Rather than all sizzle in August and a cold entrée in late November, these Eagles might be slow cooking toward a real feast for the holidays and beyond.