Philadelphia Eagles 2009 Playoffs
The Philadelphia Eagles have been feast or famine for the loyal and sometimes disgruntled fans at Lincoln Financial Field this century. Luckily it has been mostly a hardy feast. Philadelphia has been purchasing Eagles playoff tickets pretty regularly since 2000. The team has won the NFC East five times and been to the postseason six times in eight seasons. Though the end result has not been a Super Bowl victory, the team has been among the contenders each year for the Lombardi Trophy.
The fate of the Eagles has seemed to follow the injury report for Donovan McNabb. Since starting in 1999, the highly touted quarterback has been the hope of the Eagles faithful. The defense may be stellar, the running game may be great, but the life and death of the Philadelphia football season relies on the arm and legs of McNabb. Fans will check McNabb’s injury status before thinking about playoff tickets. In 2004, when the Eagles last went to the Super Bowl, McNabb had a quarterback rating of 104.7. In 2005, when the quarterback was injured, Philadelphia went 6-10 and missed the playoffs.
Philadelphia Eagles Background
The season in 2008 is sure to follow suit. McNabb is surrounded with another good defense and Brian Westbrook is one of the most feared running backs in the NFL. The offense is relying on the play of the quarterback the fans have demanded to be traded away at times to take the team with an excellent short game a long way. Playoff tickets will rely on the play of the receivers. The Eagles hardly have a respected platoon of wide outs. Kevin Curtis has been a career third receiver, Reggie Brown has always shown potential but has yet to reach anything close to it, and the backups do not exactly give off a powerful aura of confidence.
Philadelphia’s playoff fate is further muddled by an intense competition in the NFC East. The Giants are the returning Super Bowl champs, the Cowboys are the returning division champs, and the Redskins are expecting Jason Campbell to do big things. For the first time in many years even a great season by McNabb may not be enough to get the Eagles playoff tickets. If they do, then he must have an excellent season and some of his receivers will have to have breakthroughs.