Sunday, February 04, 2018

The Superb Owl

I mean....there's just no way Philadelphia is winning this game, right?  Am I missing something?  A team led by Nick Foles is supposed to overtake the mighty Patriots?  Foles isn't even that bad a quarterback but let's be real, people.  My mom isn't even wearing her notoriously unlucky Tom Brady jersey today, which extinguishes any hope an Eagles fan might have.

That being said, here are five reasons a Philly fan might have hope:

1. I almost turned that earlier sentence into a joke of "Foles isn't even that bad a quarterback but let's be real, people, he's no Eli Manni....hey wait..."  Maybe the Patriots' Super Bowl kryptonite is facing a mediocre quarterback, whereas they've beaten all of the good ones they've faced --- Kurt Warner, Donovan McNabb, Russell Wilson, Matt Ryan, pre-Crisis Jake Delhomme.  Ok, the presence of Delhomme diminishes my argument a bit, but still.

2. Carson Wentz blowing out his knee and forcing Foles into the starting job isn't quite the same as the Drew Bledsoe/Tom Brady scenario, but it's close enough to merit a raised eyebrow.  It would be kind of poetic if the Patriots were topped by another team pressing its backup QB into action.  Just imagine the offseason discussion in Philly if the Eagles did somehow win this game, and then had to decide between selling high on Foles or (gulp) even Wentz in a trade.

3. Basically the only chance the Eagles have is if Brady gets injured during the game, which leads to two more ironic karma points.  Firstly, Brady getting hurt at a crucial juncture in the same season that he's gone whole hog on his TB12 magical rejuvenation health kick. 

4. Secondly, Brady going down and the Patriots being forced to deploy Brian Hoyer just a few months after they bit the bullet and finally traded Jimmy Garoppolo. 

5. The NFC was a much better conference than the AFC this season, dominating in head-to-head play and just basic eye-test common sense.  The Steelers and Jaguars were the next-best AFC teams behind New England, and both of those teams were majorly flawed.  If I'm ranking the ten best teams in the NFL this year, the Pats are the only AFC team in my top five, with the Wentz-led Eagles, Vikings, Saints, and probably the Panthers as fifth.  I'd be very open to listening to arguments for the Rams over Pittsburgh or Jacksonville.  Hell, you could talk me into the Garoppolo-led 49ers.

So keep these five points in mind as the Patriots are wrapping up their inevitable 27-20 victory later today.  Whatever happens, this still won't be the wildest scenario in Eagles Super Bowl history since, remember, they were the Dolphins' opponent in "Ace Ventura."  If Tom Brady were kidnapped during the week but made a stunning return at halftime, it would be funny if Belichick kept him on the bench. "Well Tom, you did break team rules by missing practice..."

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