Will the Eagles Ever Learn?

Added on Jul 19, 2012 by Scott in

NFL

Full disclosure: I am a Philadelphia Eagles fan. Meaning I have suffered through decades of missed opportunities, scores of would-coulda-shouldas and plenty of abject failures. Last season’s “dream team” flop being the most recent debacle trumped up during the schizophrenic Andy Reid era. Eagles fans are accustomed to and have come to expect crushing disappointment, but it’s much easier to stomach when the players don’t shoot themselves in the foot before they even take the field.

Two minutes after Vince Young uttered his now infamous “dream team” comment last August, the headline starved sports scribes and TV talking heads transformed it and the franchise into marked men. Already lofty expectations quickly became insurmountable, barring a Super Bowl win.

Every loss was magnified tenfold. Every mistake by a high-priced free agent was scrutinized ad nauseam. Every “we’ll be okay sentiment” was immediately traced back to Young’s hyperbolic words. While the media fed on an overanalyzed story, the rest of the league pointed and giggled at the Birds season of woe.

Well, one would think the 2012 Eagles roster would’ve learned a valuable lesson from last year’s put the cart before the horse campaign. Sadly that isn’t the case. Quarterback Michael Vick is currently doing the rounds promoting an autobiography detailing his checkered past and “reformed” image, and the upcoming season of redemption. Contrary to the humbling comments he made a few weeks ago, Vick chose to toss another giant piece of juicy bait into a pond full of alligators.

“I think we have a chance to develop a dynasty.”

Sigh. Normally, talk of a dynasty requires one championship trophy before meriting discussion. Vick is obviously a confident guy but in a city like Philly, premature statements have a tendency to become ugly brands that follow players for years.

The task of returning to the Super Bowl is already daunting. For whatever reason, Eagles quarterbacks just can’t help but make the journey even more arduous.

Source: CSN Philly