Standing at his locker late last week, Eaglesreceiver Jordan Matthews opened up about the current state of his team, one that was in shambles when he uttered the following phrase.
"Greatness takes time," Matthews said. "Just look at the Carolina Panthers."
At the time, it was hard to believe what Matthews was saying, as the Eagles were coming off of a three-straight losses, two of which were in embarrassing fashion.
A few days, and one major victory later, however, Matthews might have been right.
The Eagles moved into a three-way tie for first place in the NFC East on Monday night, the result of a 19-16 win by the Dallas Cowboys over the Washington Redskins. The Eagles, 5-7, now find themselves in a tie with the Redskins and Giants, with four weeks remaining and one playoff spot on the line.
You can certainly debate if any of the teamshave earned a playoff spot. You can debate if Matthews was crazy to use the word greatness was talking about the Eagles.
MORE: NFC power rankings
You can also debate if the Eagles are better off making the playoffs, or losing out and landing a high draft pick.
The players on the Carolina Panthers, however, would likely tell you there isn"t much of a debate.
The Panthers, like the Eagles this year, found their season on life support last season, as they dropped to 3-8-1 in Week 13. Luckily for the Panthers, last year"sNFC South was just as bad as this year"s NFC East.
To everyone"s surprise, the Panthers rolled off four-straight wins, starting with a 41-10 blowout win on the road over the New Orleans Saints, and finishedthe season at 7-8-1, winners of the division and a participant in the playoffs.
Since dropping to 3-8-1 last year, the Panthers have gone 16-0 in the regular season, and 17-1 overall, including a playoff loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
The Eagles can also look to the 2008 Arizona Cardinals for an example of why being the best in a bad division isn"t a sign of guaranteed playoff failure.
PLUS: Eagles reportedly release Austin
In a study done last year by FiveThiryEight sports, the 2008 NFC West was named the worst division ever in any professional sport. That season, the four teams in the NFC West -- Cardinals, Seattle Seahawks, St. Louis Rams and San Francisco 49ers -- won just 25% of their non-divisional games. This season, by comparison, the NFC East teams have won 33% of gamesagainst non-divisional opponents.
The Cardinals won the lowly NFC West back in2008 with a 9-7 record, getting a playoff spot not many felt they deserved.
All they did in the postseason was come within a few plays of winning the Super Bowl.
Obviously, there are some differences between this year"s Eagles, the 2008 Cardinals and last year"s Panthers.
THE NO-HUDDLE SHOW, Ep. 19: The Eagles beat the Patriots in New England. Wait, what?Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or Stitcher.
It is easy now to say that the Panthers are where they are simply because they have a franchise quarterback in Cam Newton, but Newton wasn"t the player he was today back when the Panthers were 3-8-1 last season.
Before the Panthers won their final four games last season, Newton had just 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 11 games. Plenty were questioning if you could win with Newton at quarterback, and his overall record backed that up, as he was 26-31-1 as a starter at the time.
Now, that question sounds silly, as Newton is an MVP candidate and quarterbacking the best team in the NFL.
Can the Eagles win 17 of their next 18 games like the Panthers? Can they make a run to the Super Bowl like the Cardinals? Obviously,bothof those scenarios feel extremely unrealistic right now.
Sayingquarterback Sam Bradfordand the Eagles can duplicate Newton"s success is a stretch. The reality is, while we can all guess and project, nobody knows for sure what will happen.
Maybe the Eaglesride the momentum of their win over the Patriots, win the NFC East and steal a playoff game at home. Maybe Bradford finally plays like a franchise quarterback, and uses his first real taste of success in the NFL to turn around his career. Maybe the Eaglessomehow make a run at the Super Bowl.
Sure, there are benefits to a higher draft pick. But with no clear-cut, franchise-changing quarterback in this years draft, the Eagles are better off making the playoffs and seeing where it takes them.
Maybe it won"t lead to greatness, like Matthews hopes it will.
But in the NFL, you never know -- and for the Eagles, there is only one way to find out.
Win.
Eliot Shorr-Parks may be reached at eshorrpa@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @EliotShorrParks. Find NJ.com Sports on Facebook.
Source: http://www.nj.com/eagles/index.ssf/2015/12/carolina_panthers_are_proof_it_is_better_for_eagle.html
No comments:
Post a Comment