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Don't Count Out the
Eagles
By
Joe Guckin
For Outsports.com
While I'm still working in Baltimore, back home in Philadelphia it
seems that the doom-and-gloom brigade is running wild thanks to
Donovan McNabb's broken ankle. A Philadelphia Inquirer columnist,
announcing the end of the Eagles' Super Bowl hopes, started his column
with "The game had barely begun and already the franchise was in
flames." The front page of the tabloid Daily News features a picture
of a fallen McNabb and the headline "Let Us Pray." I can only imagine
what it sounds like on sports talk radio. The national media has
pretty much written them off as well and are salivating over the New
York Giants' playoff chances.
Ummm, not so fast.
First of all, don't dismiss Koy Detmer so quickly. Granted, he doesn't
exactly have exceptional stats. But his only appreciable playing time
came in 1998, the final year of the Ray Rhodes era. The Eagles were a
horrible 3-13 but Detmer got one of those wins, had the highest
quarterback rating of their three QBs that year and led the team with
five touchdown passes. (Yes, f-i-v-e, 5. I told you they were
horrible).
In 1999, McNabb's rookie season, the Birds finished 5-11. McNabb sat
and watched Doug Pederson much of the year, mostly learning in the
process how NOT to play quarterback, before Andy Reid finally decided
it was time for Donovan to learn by doing. Detmer got one start when
McNabb was briefly sidelined at the end of the season...and won it,
throwing three TD passes.
Since then it's been McNabb's show all the way, and deservedly so. But
Koy's got some skills. In college he set a Colorado record with 40 TD
passes and was their first quarterback to pass for over 3,000 yards in
a season. Plus, he's got attitude--anyone remember his "Zorro" and
"crack the whip" touchdown celebrations during his first NFL start, at
Green Bay?
If the offensive line comes close to performing as well as it did on
Sunday--giving a wounded McNabb plenty of time to make plays and
allowing the running backs to pile up over 200 yards--that will allow
Detmer to keep opposing defenses honest. (Just one thing, Koy--get a
haircut and trim the beard, please!)
Another thing to consider is the remaining schedule, leading up to the
Dec. 28th season finale between the Eagles and Giants at the
Meadowlands. Of course, in the NFL there's no sure thing from week to
week anymore, but let's not let that stop us from some healthy
speculation about how things will go down the stretch.
Giants (6-4): at Houston (2-8), Tennessee (6-4), at Washington
(4-6), Dallas (3-7), at Indianapolis (6-4). Combined opponents'
record: 21-29.
Eagles (7-3): at San Francisco (7-3), St. Louis (5-5), at
Seattle (3-7), Washington (4-6), at Dallas (3-7). Combined opponents'
record: 22-28. Not much of a difference.
Both teams have an additional game against a decidedly weaker
non-divisional opponent. It's pretty safe to assume a New York win
against the expansion Texans and a Philly win against the pathetic
Seahawks.
Both teams have a rematch with each of the other two NFC East clubs.
The Giants struggled to beat the Redskins (19-17) and Cowboys (21-17).
The Eagles, albeit with a healthy McNabb, whipped both by 30-plus
points. It's likely that both teams will win both games, as the
Redskins are still shuffling quarterbacks and the Cowboys just aren't
very good. However, I think the Giants will have a harder time of it.
They haven't really dominated anyone all year. Their largest winning
margin all season is seven points.
That leaves two games each against tough opponents. People are writing
off the Eagles' chances against the 49ers and Rams, but I won't be too
surprised if the Birds sneak away with one of these games. The 49ers
haven't been invincible this season (and if they don't discard PK Jose
Cortez and the game is close, all bets are off). The Rams, while
desperately clawing their way back from their 0-5 start, aren't the
team they were the last two years. The mystique is long gone, and
unlike last year's NFC title game, this game is at the Vet. The Eagles
are 5-1 at home while the Rams' road record is 1-3.
As for the Giants, Tennessee is on a roll now, with five straight
wins--witness their victory over Pittsburgh on Sunday, in which the
score became close only after a late Steelers rally--and the Colts are
more than capable of playing well. Both teams are in the thick of the
playoff hunt. (In fact, both teams defeated the Eagles--as did another
AFC South team, Jacksonville.) Both teams will give the Giants all
they can handle.
Even assuming they lose to San Francisco and St. Louis, I can still
see the Eagles at 10-5 going into the Meadowlands. Even if the Giants
sweep their five to go 11-4 (and my guess is that's unlikely), if the
Birds beat the Giants they win the NFC East since Philadelphia won the
first meeting in October.
By the way, we still don't know for sure how much time Donovan McNabb
will actually end up missing. At this point it hasn't been decided if
he'll undergo surgery. He hasn't had a major injury before. He may end
up healing as quickly as the 76ers' Allen Iverson always does--and if
necessary, I'm sure Iverson's mom wouldn't mind sending a bottle of
the holy oil she uses on her son over to the McNabb household. So
who's to say that after four or five weeks he wouldn't be able to
function well enough to return early? Like, maybe, on Dec. 28?
My advice is, don't go jumping off the Eagles' bandwagon just
yet--it's still moving and we don't want anyone else breaking an
ankle. |
