November 5, 2009

Stars (And Schedule) Aligning Right For The Eagles

By BigGreek24
for PhillySportsBlogs.com

Published: September 28, 2009

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Stars (And Schedule) Aligning Right For The Eagles thumbnail

When the 2009 schedule was announced I just looked at it and I think I remember saying “wow, no division games until late October” and just went about my usual business.  The schedule doesn’t really mean much because until you play a few games you don’t really know what teams are going to be really good and what teams will be really bad.  You also don’t expect your two best players, in this case McNabb and Westbrook to go down in week two forcing them to miss their week three game.

Many times that would be disastrous, but when the week three game is against the now 0-3 Chiefs followed by a bye week its not nearly as bad as it could have been.   Both McNabb and Westbrook are able to rest their injuries for two weeks before getting the Tampa Bay Bucs at home.  The Bucs certainly don’t look very good and the Eagles are 14-3 in post bye-week games since its inception.   That right there certainly leans in the Eagles direction not to mention the sudden emergence of Kevin Kolb as a passer.   I certainly couldn’t argue if Reid decided to sit McNabb and Westbrook again to make sure they are both 100%.  The Eagles follow up the Bucs with a trip to Oakland and a real shot at being 4-1 before their first division game, a Monday Night contest at Washington.  Yes, the same Redskins that just gave the Lions their first win since the 2007 season (I know, the Lions were due to win).  The Eagles then have the Giants and Cowboys at home in consecutive weeks before travelling to play the Chargers and Bears.

The latter part of the schedule won’t be easy, but imagine if we had those division games starting now without McNabb and Westbrook.   I’d say being 4-1 after starting an untested quarterback for two consecutive games and playing one of those without your top runningback is a pretty nice place to be.   It definately gives the Eagles some room to play with and the Birds usually play very well in December.  It definately gives them a shot to win the NFC East and secure at least one home game for the NFL playoffs.  Maybe if they had done that last year the Cardinals would’ve had to play here instead of in Arizona.  Speaking of which, did anyone notice the look on Coach Haley’s face everytime the cameras found him? It was like he was thinking “Where’s Hightower, Fitzgerald and Warner?”.   The former Offensive Coordinator of the Arizona Cardinals certainly did not look as happy as the last time he faced the Eagles.

Thanks again to the schedule makers for putting the Chiefs, Bucs and Raiders on the schedule with a bye tucked nicely in there as well.

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WPSN comments

5 Comments on "Stars (And Schedule) Aligning Right For The Eagles"

  • Silver and Green on Mon, 28th Sep 2009 1:10 pm 

    If you look at the Giants schedule it is just as soft, so they will likely start out 5-0. The key for the Eales is to not play down to the competition. The last few years they have lost games that they shold have won easy. That can’t happen this year if they want to stay with the Giants.

  • Joseph on Mon, 28th Sep 2009 4:09 pm 

    yeah V, if the Eagles played in happy Valley, ESPN would be hollering about how they have a weak strength of schedule ! But then this is the NFL so you get that “On any given Sunday” line !! The Eagles only play three teams that have a reasonable shot to beat them this year if they get healthy. Two of them of course are the Giants and Cowboys. Who do you think the third opponent is ?

  • Rick on Mon, 28th Sep 2009 6:09 pm 

    Well there are a few more. The Chargers, Falcons, 49ers and Bears (at Chicago) will all pose serious threats.

  • Joseph on Mon, 28th Sep 2009 7:49 pm 

    Rick I was thinking of the renewed 49ers. I don’t take the Chargers too seriously, and the Falcons will only be a game if Vick actually performs between now and then as an Eagle, but you may have a point with Da Bears !

  • BigGreek24 on Thu, 1st Oct 2009 2:26 pm 

    Don’t get me wrong, the Eagles certainly can’t look past anyone but we as fans sure can. The 49ers certainly could be tough as could the Bears at their place.