Of course, anything is not possible for these 2011 Eagles. Today is the finale, the end of a disappointing season. The Eagles, hopefully, will go out and play good football, trample the Redskins and maybe kick off 2012 the right way, with a hint of what is to come in the football campaign ahead.
There are several individual goals out there for the players. LeSean McCoy leads the NFC in rushing and wants to keep it that way, with a very outside chance to catching up to Maurice Jones-Drew of Jacksonville for the NFL rushing title. A couple of catches by McCoy and Jason Avant will give the Eagles five players with 50-plus receptions. The defense wants to end with a fourth straight dominating performance to leave the season with that kind of taste in its collective mouth.
Today is about playing for a win. I don't buy the idea of playing for "pride," because every time a player reports to work he has "pride" and work ethic and a love and respect for the game. I want a win, for no other reason than to feel something at the end of the day and to think that the Eagles coulda, woulda, shoulda been more than an 8-8 team.
I want to see Michael Vick one final time before the spring. He is a marvelous player to watch, worth every penny. Vick is one of the game's extraordinary athletes and showmen. Honestly, I want to see less show from him next season. I want him to drop back and make a quick decision, preferably throwing the football to one of his talented playmakers.
I want to see the offense in synch, smooth, playing fast football against a defense that has some talented pass rushers and that can get things going and can be very tough to defeat. I want to see DeSean Jackson -- is this his last game as an Eagle, or will he be back in 2012? -- run free and show his speed. I want to see Jeremy Maclin make plays down the field. I want to see Brent Celek catch a screen pass and barrel through the defense for a big gain.
What I thought the offense would be and what it was for much of the year really wasn't that different. The turnovers were the difference. The turnovers were what killed this team, more than anything else taken collectively over the course of the season, and the turnovers are the main reason this team is not in the playoffs. Oh, the defense had too many breakdowns and the special teams made mistakes and the coaching staff simply did not get as much as it needed from the players, but the overwhelming factor in all of this 7-8 picture is the turnovers. More on that in the weeks to come ...
We've got a long offseason in front of us, so let's try to enjoy today. It's the final 60 minutes for a team that came out of the work-stoppage gates like gangbusters, stocked the team with free-agent talent and then, well, let's say the Eagles struggled to find themselves. Not until they were mired in a 4-8 cesspool did the Eagles relax and play the kind of football we all thought they could play from the jump.
Today is the end of the 2011 Eagles world as we know it. I can't pretend to tell you how the front office intends to re-shape the team for 2012, other than to say there is ample enthusiasm and confidence that the Eagles will get it right and that the Eagles will march more strongly to the playoffs next season.
I'm watching the game today because, indeed, it is an Eagles game and I never miss. Haven't since the strike of 1987. Been to every one of the games, and have seen every one of the team. This team could have been stronger than all of the Eagles teams and probably will be when it's all said and done with some tinkering in the months ahead. I think the Eagles have a great future, a window of opportunity with a young, talented roster for many years to come.
Today is the end of one season and maybe the beginning of another. I will take the optimistic approach to the future, one that begins with the final chapter of the present written today.
