Fly Eagles fly, on the road to victory.
Fight Eagles fight, score a touchdown 1-2-3.
Hit 'em low,
Hit 'em high,
And we'll watch our Eagles fly.
Fly Eagles fly on the road to victory.
The Philadelphia Eagles have been arguably the most successful NFC team in the past decade as they have been to multiple NFC championship game and made one Super Bowl appearance when Terrell Owens was in town.
Despite all their success the Eagles always seem to have injury problems with Donovan McNabb and running back Brian Westbrook and controversy at times throughout the NFL season. I don't know how they do it every year, but the Eagles are always able to pull it together and make a legitimate run at the playoffs whether it be by winning the NFC East title or clinching a Wildcard spot.
Whatever the case may be, the Eagles are arguably the most resilient team in the NFL today. When the Eagles are firing on all cylinders on both sides of the football they are as good as gets in the NFL and can play with anyone in the league.
At times this season the Philadelphia Eagles have been as good as it gets in the NFL, but lately they have been pretty hot and cold as they have struggled and dominated week in and week out. You never seem to know which Eagles team your getting on a weekly basis.
So are the Eagles still contenders in the NFC?
Without a doubt! They may be behind in the NFC East right now after the Dallas Cowboys took the top spot, but if any team and comeback and grab a playoff spot it is Donovan McNabb and company!
The Philadelphia Eagles were riding high coming into week nine after they absolutely destroyed their division rival New York Giants in week eight 40-17, but their success against NFC East opponents didn't last long as they faced the red hot Dallas Cowboys in Philly in the following week and were upset 20-16 by their hated rivals.
The Eagles have looked like Super Bowl contenders at times this season with impressive wins over teams like the New York Giants, but they have also looked like a team with no hope for a playoff spot with losses to teams like the Oakland Raiders.
A high powered offense, a lockdown defense and a quarterback like Donovan McNabb has led the Eagles to multiple NFC championships and one Super Bowl appearance, but despite their success in the McNabb era the Eagles have struggled to play consistently well on both sides of the football.
At the beginning of the season the Eagles were favored go far in the NFC, but after the big upset to the Oakland Raiders the Eagles have been somewhat of a risky bet and team to keep your distance from.
This season is far from over, but the loss to the Dallas Cowboys was huge and has some big playoff implications. If Dallas is able to continue playing as well as they have they could easily run away with the division, so every win from here on out is practically a must win for Philly in order for them to contend in the toughest division in the NFL.
The Philadelphia Eagles have arguably been the most successful team in the NFC to not win a Super Bowl in the past decade. The Eagles are no stranger to controversy, rumors and the NFC Championship. It seems that every time that people think that the Eagles will fold and finally start to show signs of a decline they turn around and climb back to the top of the NFC ranks.
The one problem that has plagued the Philadelphia Eagles in years past has been the health of dynamic quarterback Donovan McNabb. It would be hard to argue that McNabb doesn't perform when healthy, but the fact is he is rarely healthy and you have to think that head coach Andy Reid and the Eagles organization might be starting to get the itch of making a change with the addition of Kevin Kolb last season, Michael Vick in the offseason and now the return of veteran quarterback Jeff Garcia.
Despite Donovan McNabb going down with a cracked rib in the week one game against the Carolina Panthers, the Philadelphia Eagles looked really good on both sides of the football in their first regular season game as they forced Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme to throw five interceptions and were able to score 38 points in the win over Carolina.
Even though McNabb's passing yards weren't all the impressive with just 79 yards on 10 of 18, he was still able to throw for two touchdowns and run in for another which was what caused the rib injury and forced McNabb to watch from the sideline with a cracked rib.
Coming into this season the Eagles took a huge gamble on signing troubled quarterback Michael Vick who was just recently released from prison. Not only is it uncertain whether or not Vick is still the superstar caliber athlete that he was before he went to prison, but the Eagles have had their fair share of criticism from critics and most importantly the loyal Eagles fans.
Vick will be eligible to play on the gridiron in week three, but as of right now Kolb is still considered the number two quarterback on the depth chart. With McNabb's rib injury it seems as though the Kolb will see his first action this season in week two if McNabb can't go.
Not only are people starting to talk about whether we will see Vick getting some playing time well before we all expected, but another new development has been brought into the mix as the Eagles have gone out and signed quarterback Jeff Garcia as somewhat of an insurance policy. Now a new question is starting to be asked.
What are they going to do with four quarterbacks?
Although Kolb seemed like a promising young quarterback when they drafted him, there has been no indication of him being able to play at a high level in the NFL. As for Vick and Garcia, they have both proven they can not only play in this league, but be a legitimate starter.
Things should start to get interesting in Philly now as the quarterback position will be under a lot of pressure this season with four capable quarterbacks all waiting for their shot at becoming the starter for the Eagles.
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Just to think about a month ago the Philadelphia Eagles were a complete mess and Donovan McNabb and Andy Reid's careers in Philly were in some serious question.
The tie game against the Cincinnati Bengals, the benching of Donovan McNabb and all the added media coverage claiming that the Andy Reid era in Philly was over, what a crock!
I admit, I thought it was all over in Philly too. With the Cowboys looking good again and the Giants with the NFC East wrapped up, I would have bet on McNabb being traded and Reid being fired, but never would have guessed they would be playing against the New York Giants in playoffs after convincingly beating the Dallas Cowboys and then taking down Adrian Peterson and the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Wildcard game. There journey to this point has been nothing but amazing and I think they have a legit shot at beating the defending Super Bowl champs to get to the NFC championship game.
A big reason for their success has been Donovan McNabb minimizing mistakes and getting it done as the leader of the Eagles offense. Without the great play of McNabb after his benching, the Eagles would have been done this season long ago.
Now the Eagles will really have their work cut out for them as they go up against NFC East rival New York Giants who are rested and ready.
If you would have asked me a month ago whether the Eagles had a chance against the defending champs I would have laughed at you, but after watching them destroy the Cowboys in a must win game and then go into Minnesota and convincingly beat Vikings I say this NFC playoff game is anyone's game.
Check out the latest news on the Philadelphia Eagles rivals in the New York Giants: NY Giants Blog
It seems as though the Donovan McNabb saga will unfortunately continue for the foreseeable future this season.
In the First act of this sideshow McNabb not knowing that ties do actually happen in the NFL and as a result looked pretty stupid in front of a lot camera and all around the sports world. Some players agreed that they didn't know the rule, but others said they can't believe that the quarterback and supposed leader of the football didn't know a rule like that.
The Second act was McNabb getting benched for sophomore quarterback Kevin Kolb after throwing three interceptions in an embarrassing loss to the Baltimore Ravens in week 12. In the offseason a couple seasons ago, McNabb expressed his feelings about the Eagles drafting a quarterback in the NFL Draft thinking his job was in jeopardy. And now Andy Reid says that Donovan McNabb is his starting quarterback and will start in week 13 against the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday night in Philly.
With all these rumors flying around in Philadelphia and a media circus starting to setting up camp in Philly, there will be a lot of pressure on Eagles coach Andy Reid and their ill informed quarterback Donovan McNabb to pull this team together before season's end.
Coming into this season the Eagles chances in the NFC East were looking pretty good, in their first couple games McNabb looked like he was back to MVP type form leading a high scoring Eagles team to victory week after week, but that didn't last long as Philly started to break down and reform to their old sloppy play.
In any other division in the NFC the Eagles would be contenders and not in terrible shape at 5-5-1, but with so much added pressure now on the leaders of this team I really don't see positive outcome to this season for Donovan McNabb or Andy Reid for that matter.
I may be speaking too soon, but I am getting the feeling that next season the Eagles will have another starting quarterback or coach, possibly both. ANDY REID TALKING ABOUT HIS QUARTERBACK SITUATION
As if dealing with only tying the one win Cincinnati Bengals wasn't bad enough, the final six games of the season will be as tough as they come.
The tough schedule starts with Ray Lewis and the 6-4 Baltimore Ravens. Last week the New York Giants chewed up the Ravens defense by scoring 30 points on them, but that was the Giants who have done that to everyone this season. Although Baltimore is coming off the lost to Eli Manning and company, their defense is still a force to be reckoned with and will definitely be a test for the Eagles in week 12.
In week 13 the Eagles defense will be tested going up against MVP candidate quarterback Kurt Warner and his high powered Arizona Cardinals offense. The Cards have arguably been one of the toughest teams to stop this season with Warner back to his MVP form of old. With superstar wide receivers Anquan Boldin, Larry Fitzgerald and up and coming running back Tim Hightower, the Cards look like a team destined to make the playoffs. The Eagles defense has been solid this season, arguably in the top 3 defenses in the league, so this will be a huge statement game for both the Eagles D and their push to get a spot in the post season.
It doesn't get any easier after week 13 as they face quite possibly the best team in the NFL on both sides of the football in the NFC East leading New York Giants. Talk about a big game for the Eagles! This may just decide the season for the Eagles as the Giants are seemingly destine to win the NFC East title and a win here for McNabb and company would be huge to say the least!
The next three games will be slightly easier as Philly goes up against the Cleveland Browns in week 15 and two divisional match ups against the Washington Redskins and finally the Dallas Cowboys in week 17. The Browns are definitely turning the table with Brady Quinn behind center and the offense improving, but it will be the final two division games that will determine the Eagles fate this season.
So Philadelphia Eagles fans, you are in for a treat as the final games of the season are must win situations against some great NFL teams!
