The Dream That Became a Nightmare

In 2011 the NFL Lockout affected every team in the league but no more than it affected our Eagles.  The array of talent that was picked up in the offseason had every fan thinking super bowl or bust.  In the back of my mind I knew that having this mentality could only be devastating.  Every year it seems to be a dark horse team that wins the championship and this year was no different. 

This year the eagles should have rolled through the NFC East due to the inconsistency of the Cowboys and Giants. Looking back at the season now the Eagles only needed to win one more game to have the possibility of celebrating like the Giants are right now. The Dream Team turned out to be “Lebron Team” (the team who can’t close in the 4^th quarter).  Failing to capitalize on 4^th quarter leads to the Falcons, Giant, 49ers, Bears, and Cardinals because of stupid mistakes. Leading the lead with 38 turnovers also doesn't help matter much either.

In these five 4^th quarter meltdowns, the Eagles were outscored 60-3!  Much of the blame can be placed on the defense and defensive coordinator who should not have even been there!  However, three fourth quarter points in five games!  I can tell you that until I research this, I didn’t think it was remotely close to that pathetic. Then we finish off the last four games by outscoring our opponents 125-46.  So if the hottest team at the end of the year usually wins the super bowl, that team would have been us!  Another point to mention is that not only would the Giants not be in these talks but they would not have even been in the playoffs if the eagles won one of those five games!

A couple other things have been going through my mind too.  Should Mike Vick have toughed it out a little more?  Was the offensive play calling too conservative in the fourth quarter?  Should Juan Castillo be fired?

First off I don’t think it’s fair to me to hate on Vick because I don’t know what it feels like to have broken ribs.  However, I am a Philly fan and hate on every little thing.  So I do think he should have toughed it out and played more while hurt!  Look at Big Ben for god’s sake.  He went out there hobbling.  The fourth quarter play calling is probably just as much to blame as Juan Castillo’s terrible defense.  Finally, I am indifferent about Castillo because of the strong finish he had.  I agree with the Eagles organization that it is difficult to fire a guy who ended the season so well; unless of course that replacement was a guy by the name of Steve Spagnuolo.

So that’s my reflection on the 2011 season… Bring on 2012!  Perhaps with the addition of a Hall of Famer, Randy Moss!  I am all for that!