Eagle Fan Diary

  Yield to the field, F the Ref.   Yes, Pat Mahomes and Andy Reid were great.   Yes, the Chiefs won Super Bowl LVII.   But it would have been nice to see what could have been, had professional field conditions and an incompetent late game call not controlled the outcome of the February 12 Super Bowl. The Eagles won the first half (24-14), the Chiefs the 2nd (24-11, and therefore, of course, the game).   In the reg season the Eagles were 14-3 on the coin toss, always deferring.   While 0-3 in the playoffs on the coin toss, they therefore got the ball first 3 times in 3 playoff games and scored 3 TDs.   The decision to defer looked especially bad for Chiefs coach Andy Reid as the 2nd quarter ended.   His QB Pat Mahomes appeared to having re-tweaked his previously injured ankle on KCs last 2 nd quarter possession, giving the Eagles time to add a FG before halftime and open up a 10 pt lead.   The Eagle defense had only allowed 7 first half poi...

  A Super Bowl memory from retired Hall-Of-Fame NFL columnist Ray Didinger… Back in 1981 when the Eagles were preparing for Supe 15, NFL players all over the league NOT participating in the game were calling the Raiders to extol them to win.   Why?   Eagles coach Dick Vermeil had been an unenviably harsh coach/task master all year to his players.   Today, “2-a-day” practices are a thing of the past.   Back then, Vermeil introduces 3-a-days! 3.5 hour practices were common.   Vermeil exhausted himself and his players to create the muscle memory he believe they needed to succeed.   It didn’t work.   The favored Eagles lost 27-10 because Vermeil had himself and his players “wound too tight.”   The rest of the NFL players association rejoiced in the Eagle (and Vermeils methodology’s) defeat! Another reason for Philly fans to laugh at the Cowboys?   Note the following from Cowboys owner Jerry Jones early this past week: “ I’m real hesitant t...

 After a 31-7 demolition of the 49ers, the Eagles are advancing to a showdown with Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs.  Philadelphia is both psyched and euphoric: Philly’s done a lot right to get here : All 22 week 1 Eagle starters will be starting the championship game.   A combination of Light practices & every 3rd day off, worked for the team, yielding a relatively healthy Supe contender.   The New training staff seems to know what they are doing, including handling injuries and corresponding recoveries effectively.   Jalen’s playoff stats have not great.  But again, the Birds won 31-7.  It’s about what the old Raider owner Al Davis said..  “Just win baby!” That’s what Jalen’s been doing when playing since getting injured weeks ago vs. the Bears.   The Eagles have gone back to old time football, antithetical to the midern NFL in these playoffs.  The Eagles have run the ball (88-416-8), 44 times...

  The Eagles took a Giants team (and a lot of their media) partying like Super Bowl winners after their first playoff win in a decade and physically and emotionally destroyed them 38-7.   The Giants had no chance from the 1 st snap.   There was no turning point, no special deciding play.     The Eagles just owned the Giants starting right after the G-Men had their best play of the day... winning the coin flip.   Enjoy laughing at New York's (and the press) pre-game euphoria.   Overconfidence does not begin to describe Big Apple insanity: The Ringer’s podcaster Bill Simmons suggested NYG QB Danny Jones was the best QB in the NFC .     Fox Sports got on the Giant hype train, courtesy of Peter Schrager (Giants Super Bowl bound). Sportsnaut 4 bold predictions : Danny Jones rushing >100 (was 24).   Giant D scoring 1 TD. (Nope, but their offense did... just 1!) Evan Neal won’t yield a sack (He did not!   But he did "yield" 5 pres...

  The Big Blue Crew is confident!  Still, I wouldn't count the Eagles out.  They like to be "dogs:"  - Eagles finished season 1-2 with a pedestrian week 18 win vs. NY, not exactly a roll … Eagles finished season 14-3 with starter Jalen Hurts going 14-1. - Giants have some terrific momentum off a huge playoff win at Minnesota … Vikings did it with mirrors this year, actually scoring 3 points less than they yielded in 2022.  Their defense was 31st in the NFL.  They were ripe for the inevitable "upset." -  Giants are 6-0 vs. #1 seeds since the NFL playoff restructuring in 1990. ... The Eagles are 11-0 vs. the Giants in their last 11 home games.   -  Giants are coming off a win on their second straight road game , and have made it through the playoffs as a wildcard on the road in their past, most recently upsetting the Patriots in 2011. … This is not the '11 Supe winners.  This NY team played back to back road games thrice  t...

  Jalen Hurts health was “Good Enough” for him to play.  The Eagles offense was “good enough” to score 6 times.  And the Eagles as a team played “good enough” to beat the Giants “Little Blue” team, who rested their star players because they were locked into the NFC’s 6 th playoff seed (So NY took advantage to protect their premier players).  All in all, the post-game Birds feeling was “good enough.” The playoff teams and positioning were established last weekend.  AFC vs NFC playoff QBs- Big edge, AFC, with 5 of the current top 6 in the game: Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrough, Justin Herbert, Trevor Lawrence.  The names say it all.  Lawrence is young but has attached a terrific NFL season to his unparalleled pedigree.  While the final 2 AFC playoff teams may not start their #1 QBs, Lamar Jackson and Tua Tagovailoa are very good when healthy in their respective systems, certainly top 10 QBs this season in their own right. In the NFC playof...