The calendar says that the NFL’s regular season began six weeks ago. As an Eagles fan it still feels like the pre-season.
Why? Well, our starting quarterback got injured in the first game of the season against the Carolina Panthers who are now 1-3. Not a good team. So, then our back-up quarterback looked like a capable back-up quarterback in the next two games that he had to start against a now 4-0 New Orleans Saints and a now 0-5 Kansas City Chiefs. Then, we had a week off and our starting quarterback returned last week and looked like the good starting quarterback that he is, against an 0-4, now 0-5 Tampa Bay Buccaneers team.
So far the Eagles have only played one team with a winning record and only two teams with at least a single victory. How am I supposed to judge what kind of team we have based upon that resumé of work? In my mind, up to this point in the season, the Eagles starters have not played one game against one quality NFL caliber team with the exception of New Orleans. It is hard to judge the team in that game because our back-up quarterback played instead of the veteran starter and he made the types of mistakes that you would expect from a back-up quarterback or a young starting quarterback.
I can’t bash him for that. He had some phenomenal stats in that game. If you want to blame someone, blame the special teams and the defense for not making any big plays.
And this week the Eagles travel to Oakland to play the Raiders. Do I have to go into detail about that team? I mean, the owner is proof that zombies are real and the head coach might be charged with assault by the local police for an incident involving an assistant coach who ended up with a broken jaw. Puh-lease. This game will be over in three minutes.
Then we play the Washington Deadskins er, I mean Redskins, excuse me. That was what is called a Freudian slip. Can you blame me? This is what the record of each team that the Redskins have played so far, looked like when they played them and what it currently is:
Record Was Team Current Record
0-0 NY Giants 5-0
0-1 St. Louis Rams 0-5
0-2 Detroit Lions 1-4
0-3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 0-5
0-4 Carolina Panthers 1-3
The only team that the Redskins played that is any good this year was the Giants. All of the other teams either don’t have a win yet or have a win at the expense of the Redskins. So, how can I take them seriously? Especially with all of the past great Redskins players ripping the head coach apart in the Washington Post and on the radio.
As I see it the Eagles’ regular season won’t begin until the extended pre-season ends after we play the Redskins and we play host to the New York Giants on Sunday November 1st. Do me a favor, wake me up?
–SD