With a week to go before the opener, things are feeling bright and chipper in Philadelphia. The team made its final cuts this weekend, trimming the roster to the NFL maximum 53 players–all of whom hope they’ll still be playing in February. You can hear the excitement in this simple sentence that decorated the philadelphiaeagles.com site last week: “The scoreboard at Lincoln Financial Field glowed well after the game ended, telling the story of Thursday night’s cherry on the top of this preseason: Eagles 37, Jets 7.” The City of Brotherly Love is feeling good about its football team right now. Very, very good. The Eagles went 10-6 last season and won the NFC East. Expectations are huge, to say the least.
The journey will begin on Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars. If they’re going to continue to give fans the feeling that this may be a special year, the Eagles are going to have to show poise and power against Jacksonville in the home opener at Lincoln Financial Field. The Jags are expected to be competitive this year, but Philly’s an early 11.5 point favorite in this one. QB Nick Foles is expected to take advantage of his height (6’6″) and newly bestowed veteran status (it’s his third year) to have a breakout season. (He tied an NFL record last year by throwing SEVEN touchdowns in a single game.) Yes, it’s very sunny in Philadelphia right now. But things could change fast. The famous Philly fans will be the first to say if it does.
