After the majority of the offseason moves are accounted for each year, the media delivers their opinion on how the Philadelphia Eagles will perform. And, this year is no different. However, unlike most team across the league, the Eagles usually finish against expectations.
Last season, fans and the media alike thought the 2021 season would be a wash. The Eagles were rebuilding and coaching staff, along with many of the players were new. But, to everyone’s disbelief, the team found their footing and finished with a 9-8 record, and a playoff run.
Coming off a promising season and massive player additions, the City of Philadelphia is excited for 2022, but are the boys in midnight green jinxed?
SHOULD FANS BE WORRIED?
Eagles’ training camp began on Tuesday, July 26, and the team had two short practices, with both days being mediocre as a whole.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts and the offense didn’t quite connect. There were missed throws and catches, and some broken plays that allowed the defense to take advantage of the situation. Jason Kelce noted that it “didn’t look good.”
When speaking to the media, Kelce stated, “In this city it feels like every year the media think we’re really good, we end up being s—ty, and every year the media thinks we are going to be s—ty, we end up being really good. I prefer not to listen to what everybody thinks we look like on paper. The only way we’re going to be any good this season is if we come out here and we work, and everybody comes out with the mentality to get better.”
Kelce continued, “I think we have a lot of talent. I think we have a great offensive line with great skill position players. I think we have a quarterback that is continuing to improve, and was a great player last year, and will be a great player this year. We have to get better right now, that’s all I know.”
With a number of record predictions coming out for the Eagles, many have high hopes. Most critics believe the team will outperform in comparison to last season, and finish with a record of at least ten wins. Others think they will sweep the NFC East completely, making it far into the playoffs. But, is that realistic?
SETTING REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS
Luckily for the Eagles, training camp is just that — camp. Jalen Hurts and the offense may not have performed well on Day 2, but they did on Day 1, and that’s something that can’t be discounted.
Really clear sign of an improved Hurts:
Last year #Eagles did Red Zone on Day 1, just like they did today. Practices were very similar
Hurts attempted 14 passes on Day 1 last yr
He attempted 15 passes on Day 1 this yrLast year: 5/14, 2 TD, 1 INT
Today: 12/15, 4 TD, 1 INT— Eliot Shorr-Parks (@EliotShorrParks) July 27, 2022
Head coach Nick Sirianni stated, “Our standard was high. I know the city’s standard was high. And so that’s not new. My message to them was very clear…When you are trying to climb a mountain, you don’t look at the top of the mountain and say — you might initially, but you don’t look at the top of the mountain every single day and say, ‘I have to climb that.’ You look to the part of the mountain you have to climb that day and you focus on that.”
Sirianni continued, “That’s what training camp is about, you focus on the daily deposits…All the expectations are great, everything there, but it’s the day by day. It’s what are we going to do today to be ready to have a good pre-season game number one, and so on and so forth.”
This season the Eagles have all the working parts to become a great team. They have experienced veterans, healthy youths, communication, and a better handle on how they want 2022 to play out. 2022 is still more than a month away, and as they work out the kinks, a successful season would disprove the Eagles’ media curse.
