There must be something in the water in Philadelphia. Something that makes you stupid. How else can you explain the moronic comments that quarterback Michael Vick made yesterday.
In case you missed it, Vick said to CSNPhilly.com that "I think we have a chance to develop a dynasty". Vick then went on to say"
"When I look at our football team and what we have on paper, I think about when I was growing up and the great San Francisco 49er teams, the great Green Bay Packer teams, and the great Dallas Cowboy teams, how they just positioned themselves to compete and be one of the best teams out there,” Vick said. “I think we have a chance to be that."
This comes after last years debacle. How quickly we all forget. Last year, the Eagles had traded for cornerback Antonio Rodgers-Cromartie and signed All-pro cornerback Nnamdi Asohmugha as well. They had quarterback Michael Vick coming off a career year, one of the best young running backs in the game with LeSean McCoy and game-breaking wide receiver DeSean Jackson coming off a 1000 yard season.
Everything looked like it all pointed to a Super Bowl berth, and prompted then backup quarterback Vince Young (who was also signed in the offseason) to call his new team a veritable "dream team". That sent tongues wagging all over the league and reporters scurrying to their computers to write about what a cocky bunch this Eagles team was.
Unfortunately for Philly, the Eagles found out that they actually had to PLAY 16 football games in order to get to the Super Bowl. The "dream team" started slowly, lost to the 6-10 Buffalo Bills along the way, and by the time they recovered, it was too late to save. An 8-8 record was the result, and not only did the Eagles not make it to the Super Bowl, they didn't even make it to the playoffs.
You would think that would have been enough of an embarrassment to the Eagles. Surely they would never spout off again with ego-centric rhetoric right? Apparently, Michael Vick didn't get the memo.
When you analyze what Vick said, it really isn't that bad. He said we have a CHANCE to develop a dynasty. It's not like he came out and said "we WILL be a dynasty, starting this year". Heck, the Bills have a chance to develop a dynasty. Pretty much every team in the league has that chance. Any team in the NFL could be the next Packers, Cowboys or 49ers. The thing is, after what happened last year, why would Vick even play with fire by throwing a statement like that out there?
I guess the next thing we could do is to actually analyze Vick's statement. Does it have any serious merit in the first place?
This is an Eagles team that was actually 5-1 in the tough NFC East division. They lost the 3rd game of the year to the Giants to fall to 1-2, but then they swept the division from there on out. The Eagles also won their last four games of the season last year, so they do have momentum heading into this year, if you believe in those type of things.
Philadelphia does of course have Michael Vick, one of the leagues most electrifyling players, at quarterback. Vick made another asinine comment as well by saying how for the first year in his career, he really has taken the off-season seriously. Well, that's a nice thing, and maybe bodes very well for this season, but what does that say about the rest of his career? Shouldn't he have taken off-seasons seriously EVERY year of his career?
Anyways, the thing is, if Vick is on the top of his game, he has shown he has the capacity to lead a team to a lot of victories with his unique blend of talents. The Eagles also have LeSean McCoy, who had a breakout campaign in 2011 with over 1,300 yards rushing, a 4.8 per carry average, 17 touchdowns and an additional 315 yards receiving.
The wideouts are DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin, both just shy of 1000 yards last season and both just reaching their primes. Brent Celek had 62 catches for 811 yards and a 13.1 average. They are all young, very solid and all entering their primes. You would have to say the Eagles are definitely pretty well stocked at the offensive skill positions.
The Eagles offensive line is decent, but not spectacular. With former Bill All-pro Jason Peters out for the year most likely with a ruptured achilles, the Eagles will have to rely on another former Bill, Demetrious Bell to fill in at left tackle. He's not horrible, but as any Bills fan who watched the last few years will attest, he's not the most gifted tackle in the league either. Todd Hammermans started all 16 games protecting Vick's blindside and he is not exactly a household name, coming from a football factory like Saginaw Valley state. Philadelphia had a ton of problems giving Vick enough time to throw last year, and I don't think much was addressed in the offseason to help the problem.
Defensively, the Eagles have the potential to be dominant. Things didn't really come together for them last year until the last few weeks of the season, but with Trent Cole rushing the passer along with Cullen Jenkins and Rodgers-Cromartie and Asohmugha at corner and Nate Allen at free safety, the Eagles will stop their fair share of opponents.
Keep in mind this is an Eagles team that held a pretty potent Dallas offense to 14 points in their two games against them last year, as well as holding the eventual Super Bowl champion Giants to only 10 points in their 2nd meeting.
The bottom line is, I actually do think the Eagles will be significantly better this year and should rebound from last season and be one of the teams who will be favored to make it to the Super Bowl. The main key is...will they be able to protect Michael Vick enough to give him time to find his receivers and take pressure off the running game? If the answer to that is yes, I think Philly will go a long way. If Vick is running around in the backfield like a man being chased by a pack of rabid pit bulls, another 8-8 season is a very real possibility.
Either way, everyone in the City of Brotherly Love needs to learn to shut their traps, and just play football. Keep your confidence in the damn locker room. It may be their best chance.
