Grease the poles: The Eagles are going to the Super Bowl
So I haven't been filling the sports blog very often for personal reasons, but I have been watching every minute of 2022-2023 Eagles football, obviously. Observations!
> I don't know how to handle a football team that consistently delivers blowouts in playoff games. I'm not sure that anyone does. Usually when you get to this stage, you get a close game. Not so much this team.
> The Eagles have 88 rushing attempts in two playoff games. Porn, people, porn. And in the last two games, why they won't re-sign Miles Sanders, despite him being a very good football player, because Kenneth Gainwell will give them 80% of Miles for 20% of the cost.
> Both games were over in the first half. Most of their wins this year have been like that. Again, just not used to rooting for teams that do this.
> Usually when a football team signs a free agent, it's disappointing. Careers are short, players often are washed when they get to later contracts, and adjusting to new systems often drains the value out of a player. And then there's Hassan Reddick, who is having a pass rushing year that hasn't been seen in this laundry since the days of Peak Reggie White, and you forget all of that.
> When a team just boat races other teams, it has a way of just diminishing the opponent and making things seem easy. You could tell a narrative that this Niners roster was a paper tiger, with the winning streak coming against a lot of ordinary opponents, and that the NFC Championship Game might have been different had Niner QB Brock Purdy not gotten hurt. Which diminishes the defense that, well, injured him with intense pressure. You could also tell a narrative that the Giants were nice enough but frauds, and only got to the second round because the Vikings were also frauds.
But, well, you can only beat the teams you play. The Eagles are 15-1 this year in games started by their QB, and the only game with him where they lost was a fluke turnover fest. They won the division with the best record in football this year.
This isn't a good team in a bad league. This is a dominant team in a great league. And if they can do it one more time, you can put them in a short list for Best Team Ever, Single Season Edition.
> The Super Bowl will be a home game for the Eagles in Arizona. Eagle Nation travels, has more money than Chiefs Fan, and will genuinely terrify the good people of Arizona. Pray for them.
> This will be the deepest Eagle team you ever see, because the QB is an MVP candidate playing on a second round pick contract. Hurts is going to get paid, and there's likely a half dozen starters that won't be here next September. They get a high pick, keep the wideouts, and have the best GM in the game. But it's kind of amazing, and a little poignant, that a team that should be favored to win the Super Bowl by a touchdown is probably already on the downside, and that's without even taking into account the way the league will pillage this coaching staff.
> Having watched Jalen Hurts for the entire year, he's not close to his real self right now. It also hasn't even come close to mattering. And if the offensive and defensive lines do what they did in the last two games, it won't matter then, either. Or do a whole lot to limit his next contract, because when your QB is an MVP candidate, under 24, and has the best work ethic in club history, you sign him. For whatever.
Grease the poles!