Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Eagles Predictions

Galley Friend and Cowboy Super Fan L.B. sends in this hopeful prediction:
Looking at their schedule, they should get off to a hot start. Four of their first 6 games are out of the division and against *bad* teams--Houston, San Fran, Green Bay, and New Orleans--and the two division games (Giants, Dallas) are at home.

They should be at least 4-2 after that stretch, maybe 5-1. Problem is, their finish is brutal. Starting in late November, their last 6 games are: @Indianapolis; Carolina; and then three straight division games on the road--@Skins, @Giants, @Cowboys--before finishing w/Atlanta at home. I think they'd be happy finishing that stretch 3-3. So if they can manage to win 2 or 3 of those middle 4 games in their schedule (@Tampa, Jacksonville, Washington, Tenn) they go 9-7 or 10-6 and make the playoffs.

Looking at their roster (a very cursory look)... I like the Stallworth trade, although I think they're lacking depth at LB and trading Simoneau might come back to haunt them. I like the deep D-line, which should be very good. I'd worry about the secondary, which took a big step back last year. Still, it should be a good defense. On offense, the concern is whether they'll be as pass-happy as they were last year. They need a real running game....

The NFC East should be fun to watch this year--Eagles, Giants, and Cowboys should all be good. I think the Redskins are overrated (see the shellacking their first unit got at the hands of the Patriots last week), and I plan to enjoy watching them not only perform below expectations this year, but be sentenced to salary-cap and no-draft-choices-left hell in the years to come.

That sounds overly-optimistic to me, but I'm a homer.

2 comments:

Michael said...

The Texans have a bad team this year, but they had a terrible team their first year and still beat Dallas like a rented mule.

Hammer Player a.k.a Hoyazo said...

Sadly, the Eagles will go 8-8 this year. Playoffs are out of the question for this team. Come on guys.