The Eagles won the Super Bowl last year Color Rush Destiny Vaeao Jersey , and as they approach their second game of the season undefeated, lets face the sad truth: The Eagles are not going to win the Super Bowl this year. Its a reality we’ve all come to admit internally, but externally, as Eagles fans, we declare this team undefeatable and destined to win their second Super Bowl in not only two years, but in 53 years. Why won’t they win, you might ask? Well...Have you seen the NFC?Here’s a not-so-hot take for you, whoever wins the NFC will win the Super Bowl. The league has become very unbalanced in recent years, and the trend only seems to be continuing. If you were to consult Pro Football Focus to find out how many teams from each conference ranked in the top half of the league by year, this is what you’d get:Teams in Top Half of League by Conference (per PFF)SeasonAFCNFCSeasonAFCNFCFor those of you who don’t care what PFF has to say, if you were to simply refer to the initial draft positions of each team by year to find how many teams each conference has in the final 16 picks, you’ll get a very similar table:Teams in Top Half of Conference by year (by draft position)SeasonAFCNFCSeasonAFCNFCEither way, as you can see, the power of the NFC has been slowly growing over the past few seasons, and the trend should continue in 2018. Here is a(n incomplete probably) list of players that transitioned from the AFC to the NFC in one way or another this offseason:Alex Smith (KC to WAS)Allen Hurns (JAX to DAL)Allen Robinson (JAX to CHI)Aquib Talib (DEN to LAR)Brandin Cooks (NE to LAR)Demario Davis (NYJ to NO)George Iloka (CIN to MIN)Khalil Mack (OAK to CHI)Marcus Peters (KC to LAR)Muhammad Wilkerson (NYJ to GB)Nate Solder (NE to NYG)Ndamukong Suh (MIA to LAR)Ryan Jensen (BAL to TB)While some power rankings show the Eagles in the top spot, others have one, two, or even three NFC teams ahead of them. If the Eagles win the NFC, they will win the Super Bowl but the odds of them doing so in such a competitive conference are only 6/1, per vegasinsider.com and 4/1 per oddsshark.com.The Eagles just won the Super Bowl.Since the Super Bowl was first played on January 15th, 1967, only 8 times has the game been won by the same team two years in a row. That means about 15% of the time a team will repeat, with only once occurrence since the league got to 32 teams. It was tough enough for the Eagles to win one Super Bowl (as I’m sure we all remember) and to assume that Philly can march back to the Championship again is putting the metaphorical cart before the horse. In fact, its more likely that the Super Bowl winning team will finish the following season without a winning record (which has happened 11 times Color Rush Corey Graham Jersey , or 22%) than it is that the team will finish the following season as the Super Bowl Champions again. While history like this, of course, has no barring on the future, it is a good indicator of just how tough it is for a team to repeat a championship run.The secondary is more of a liability than you’re comfortable admitting.The loss of Patrick Robinson could cause shock waves throughout this defense. Jalen Mills, while fierce and aggressive, is arguably the worst player on the defense. Rasul Douglas and Ronald Darby both looked the part at times last year, but then again, both players rank within the top 30 cornerbacks in terms of most yards allowed per cover snap. Rodney McLeod was great in coverage, but was one of the least effective tackling safeties in the league last year. Here are some 2017 coverage stats you might not have thought of:Jalen Mills has a passer rating when targeted of 90.3 on contested catches (ranks 72/91 out of CBs with at least 10 contested targets)When in press coverage, Mills had an allowed completion percentage of 69.2 (ranks 114/126 out of CBs with at least 10 press coverage targets)On plays without pressure on the quarterback, Mills allowed 4 TDs but only registered 1 INT (TD/INT ratio ranks 81/130 CBs with at least 20 non-pressure targets)On third or fourth down, Rodney McLeod allowed 5 of 5 targets to be caught for an average of 10.2 yards.In the red zone Ronald Darby had allowed a passer rating when targeted of 88.7. Jalen Mills was even worse at 104.2. Patrick Robinson, on the other hand, allowed a passer rating of just 31.6.Jalen Mills allowed 252 yards after the catch from the cornerback position. Only 6 players allowed more. The common defense of Jalen Mills is something along the lines of this: He is schemed to allow receptions underneath of him while quickly making the tackle. He excels in press coverage and in quick throw situations. He is a good coverage corner with a good ability to break up passes.The problem is, almost all of that is wrong. Mill is below average without the help of pressure. Mills is very bad in contested situations. Mills is very bad when starting a play in press coverage. Mills allows more yards after the catch than most cornerbacks. It’ll be interesting to see what Sidney Jones and Avonte Maddox are capable of bringing to this unit, but for now, the loss of Patrick Robinson might have the biggest impact on the roster out of all of the changes that happened to this team since February, positive or negative. The loss of Frank Reich & John DeFilippo hurts. It hurts bad.Just four days after winning the Super Bowl, it was announced that QB Coach John DeFilippo would become the new offensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings. Three days later, Offensive Coordinator Frank Reich was hired by the Indianapolis Colts to be their new head coach. It is common for coaches and coordinators to picked away from winning teams in the NFL, and unfortunately for the Eagles, that is exactly what happened here. A big reason why Carson Wentz has been so thus far in his career can be attributed to the trio of “Quarterback Gurus” he had coaching him. It is yet to be seen how Wentz will play after not only returning from a devastating knee injury, but also without two of his three primary coaches, but it is probably a safe bet that his level of play could take a hit.If week 1 was any indication http://www.authenticsphiladelphiaeagles.com/cheap-rodney-mcleod-jersey , just months after being crowned the MVP of Super Bowl LII, Nick Foles completed a paltry 55.9% of his passes for just 117 yards and 1 interception. Nelson Agholor, who looked like a changed man in 2017, caught 8 passes for just 33 yards. Zach Ertz, who led the team in receiving last year, caught just 5 of 10 targets and had 2 horrendous drops. Its not a coincidence that the defense looked virtually unchanged while the offense looked like a different unit entirely. With new coaches comes new systems, new plays, and most importantly, more required time to adjust. Luck.Many times throughout the 2018 Super Bowl run, lady luck blew a kiss in the direction of the Eagles. Here are a few things that happened last year that greatly benefited the Eagles, even though the Eagles had no control over it:Ezekiel Elliott missed 6 gamesOdell Beckham Jr. missed 12 gamesAaron Rodgers missed 9 gamesLuke Kuechly missing a majority of the game played vs the EaglesThe 49ers getting Jimmy “better than Tom Brady” Garoppolo after playing the EaglesThis play:The Miracle Touchdown catch by Stefon Diggs on the final play of the game that allowed the Eagles to play the Vikings instead of the Saints, an opponent who had a better chance of beating them.While there are always going to be injuries in the NFL, and fluky plays that could not ever be recreated, sometimes these things go in your favor, and sometimes they don’t. Last year the Eagles lucked out more often than not, and for those familiar with how flipping a coin works, there is always a head for every tail.So here’s to another long run, folks. I’ll be along side you rooting for the Birds until the very end, but unlike you, I have accepted that the very end will happen before February 3rd.Luck has not been on the Eagles side in 2018 In order to win a championship, you have to be both lucky and good.Last year, the Eagles were not the luckiest team in the world. They suffered a number of injuries which could have crushed their season, including year-ending blows to their MVP franchise quarterback, their best offensive lineman Youth DeAndre Carter Jersey , their best linebacker and their do-it-all veteran running back. Yet, through talent and depth, they managed to win the Super Bowl.Last year’s Eagles team also benefited from some good fortune. The NFC East was the weakest it had been in years. The NFC, as a whole, wasn’t terribly good. They were fortunate their schedule, as a whole, proved not to be especially challenging. They got a 61-yard, game-winning field goal from Jake Elliot in Week 3 that, had it not gone through, could have changed the team’s fortunes. They got lucky that Nick Foles caught fire. They got lucky when Bill Belichick weirdly refused to play one of his best cornerbacks in the Super Bowl. They were fortunate that Corey Clement’s TD catch in that Super Bowl wasn’t overturned. This year, the Eagles haven’t been able to catch many breaks, although it’s not as though they’ve had no luck. The Vikings kept the Eagles in the game with two missed field goals, and a lateral pass the Eagles recovered down two touchdowns gave them a chance to get back in the game. So it’s not as if the Eagles have been devoid of breaks. They just haven’t cashed in on enough of them.The team should certainly fixate on shoring up the offensive line’s pass defense, the entire offense’s inability to put points on the board (especially early) and the defense’s inability to stop opposing passing games, it would certainly help if they got a little lucky here and there, too.Here are just a few examples of how Lady Luck has not been smiling on the 2018 Birds season thus far.INJURIESLast year, the Eagles were able to overcome injuries to Carson Wentz, Jordan Hicks, Jason Peters, Darren Sproles, and Chris Maragos. This year, things have been different, and they got significantly worse on Monday.The Eagles struggled to replace Wentz early, had virtually no wide receivers with Alshon Jeffrey not returning until Week 4 Youth Fletcher Cox Jersey , Mike Wallace getting hurt in Week 2, and Mack Hollins out until midseason at the earliest. Corey Clement has been banged up and missed time, Sproles has been dealing with a balky hamstring for multiple weeks now, and now Ajayi is out for an extended period of time, too.The Eagles also lost Rodney McLeod, who we are finding out was far more valuable than anyone realized. They have not been able to overcome many of these injuries and, as much as anything else, it’s helped lead to uneven and sloppy play.ROUGHING THE PASSERIn their losses to the Titans and the Vikings, the Eagles have gotten hosed on two roughing the passer calls, one in which Carson Wentz almost got his face ripped off and one in which Michael Bennett was called for one of the most ridiculous personal fouls you will ever see.First, the Bennett play on Sunday, which was simply a terrible, terrible call.The Eagles had that sack taken away from them when referee Walt Coleman said Bennett went “low into the quarterback’s knees with his shoulder, with force.” That is an obviously laughable call, but it also comes on the heels of this non-call in which Wentz was lucky to avoid major injury.A former NFL vice president of officiating even thought the Eagles got hosed. That’s two weeks in a row, kids.BAD BOUNCESThrough five weeks, only two teams have a worse turnover margin than the Eagles’ -4, Jacksonville’s -7 and San Francisco’s -8. The Eagles have lost seven fumbles this year. SEVEN. Last year the Birds lost 11 fumbles for THE ENTIRE YEAR.Some of that is just bad luck. Take, for instance, this play from Sunday.Look, Lane Johnson got beat on an inside move that resulted in Wentz getting hit, which happens. But the ball popping up into the sky and right into the arms of Linval Joseph was terribly unlucky. It was unluckier that Joseph then rant it 64 yards to the house.Last year, that ball probably falls to the turf harmlessly. This year, it falls right into the hands of a defender.Then there was the onsides kick that bounced off the shoulder pads of wide receiver Adam Theilan and almost found its way into the hands of an Eagles special teams player.Anytime a team puts the ball on the ground Authentic Chris Long Jersey , there is a risk the other team will get it. But sometimes the ball bounces funny, and so far this year, the Eagles have been terribly unlucky when it comes to losing fumbles.DROPSDrops are also a part of football, but they’re a bit unlucky in the sense that sometimes you can draw up exactly the right play, make the right throw, and execute in every facet except the easiest part, the actual catch itself.Wendell Smallwood’s 3rd down drop inside the red zone yesterday was terrible. Nelson Agholor dropped three catchable balls in the Tennessee game. Zach Ertz had a few uncharacteristic drops in the opening-week win against the Falcons. Through five games, the Eagles have 10 dropped passes, tied with the Browns and Vikings for the most in football. Dropped passes really, really hurt.OTHERSThe Eagles unfortunately took on a Tampa team at the height of FitzMania, when Ryan Fitzpatrick was playing out of his mind. Hey, who knows, maybe he would have shredded the Eagles pass defense no matter what, but for the first two weeks of the season, the Bucs QB was playing out of his mind early on.The Birds also took on a Titans team that saw Marcus Mariota play the game of his life, and on Sunday, Vikings QB Kirk Cousins made some throws under pressure I didn’t think he could make in a million years. However, luck is not the reason the team is 2-3. Too many times this year, the Eagles have not executed. Offensively, defensively, coaches and special teams — all have had a hand in a frustrating first five weeks.Getting some better luck would help a little, but some bad luck here and there isn’t even among the top five reasons why the Eagles have stumbled out of the gate in 2018.
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