2023 Eagles - 1981 redux?

[Procus]

Vermeil's Eagles made the first SB appearance in franchise history in 1980.  We all know the team laid an egg.  Here's how the 1981 season went - 6-0 start, 4-6 the rest of the way, wild card loss at home to the Giants.

This team looks off.  The change in coordinators - especially losing Steichen - is hurting the team.  We're fortunate to be 4-0, but this is the NFL and things can turn on a dime very quickly.  I think we got spoiled with the win in Tampa coming off of 11 days rest.

If the Eagles don't clean stuff up, the team could run up some losses as the weather cools down.  Happy to be proven wrong on this.

[Cochis_Calhoun]

We're not that fortunate to be 4-0, playing with a beat up secondary we've conceded way more points than we should, but the offense has got better week on week.

Last night was closer than it should've been, taking the last TD on a deep shot to the endzone rather than just chewing clock and kicking a field goal as time expires was compounded by inexplicably making a short returnable kick and then defending like a schoolgirls flag football team.

I don't expect us to remain undefeated, but I don't expect us to get whipped out of sight by some of our upcoming opponents either, Miami got their ass kicked last night and Arizona ran San Fran a lot closer than their score suggests, do you think KC fans are all sat around panicking that Zach Wilson's Jets came within a field goal or just happy they won.

Good teams still win when not playing their best.

[EazyEaglez]

It’s week 4, and the Eagles are the last of two undefeated teams in the NFL. We aren’t happy unless the Eagles go out there and Mia vs Den someone every week, but obviously that means nothing when the games matter the most. Mia vs Buf clearly showed us that. I’m fine with the Eagles continuing to "work things out this early in the season especially while they’re winning. Cincy is still working things out too. Now their best WR is starting to chirp in press conferences. What are we crying about?  

[NCTANK]

+1 Wally Henry isn’t on this team

[FranklinFldEBUpper]

That '81 team had a lot of old players who were starting to begin their decline. With minor exceptions (Kelce, Lane, Cox, Graham), this team has a lot of young players just entering their prime years.

And as stated above, this team doesn't have Wally Henry to give games away (and inexplicably be remembered favorably by fans decades later!)

[brkmsn]

I'll enjoy the winning until we aren't winning. I'm not going to lose any sleep over the 1981 team. 

[ilikepargo]

It's true that we don't yet look as though we have the "magic."  But we've only played 4 games.  Especially with new coordinators and the injuries that we've had, it's not surprising that we're still figuring things out.

[opa-opa]

The fact that we are 4-0 and didn't have to rely on Jalen's heroics for most of those wins tells me something. That maybe this team is actually better than last year's in some ways.

 

[Iggles_Phan]

On 10/2/2023 at 2:22 AM, Procus said:

Vermeil's Eagles made the first SB appearance in franchise history in 1980.  We all know the team laid an egg.  Here's how the 1981 season went - 6-0 start, 4-6 the rest of the way, wild card loss at home to the Giants.

This team looks off.  The change in coordinators - especially losing Steichen - is hurting the team.  We're fortunate to be 4-0, but this is the NFL and things can turn on a dime very quickly.  I think we got spoiled with the win in Tampa coming off of 11 days rest.

If the Eagles don't clean stuff up, the team could run up some losses as the weather cools down.  Happy to be proven wrong on this.

There are plenty of things to work on, but while they are working on these things, they keep racking up the wins, even if they aren't pretty.  The wins are the most important thing.  Dallas sits with a loss, as does every other team in the league, except SF.  So, those other teams have things to work on as well.    The Dolphins looked like a juggernaut dropping 70 on the Broncos, but then they went into Buffalo and laid an egg, getting their butts whooped 48-20.  Are the Dolphins a team that has everything working?  Seems there are chinks in their armor as well.   Chiefs lost on opening night.  Dallas lost to the Cardinals, a team that's supposed to be tanking.  

The good news is that the team has the luxury of working through the issues while still winning.  That's big. 

[Procus]

Wally Henry was never the same player after he returned from his injury - oddly enough sustained while COVERING a punt.  Before that, he was a lightening bolt.  Never understood what possessed the coaches to risk injury to their star return man having him covering punts.

[brkmsn]

1 hour ago, Procus said:

Wally Henry was never the same player after he returned from his injury - oddly enough sustained while COVERING a punt.  Before that, he was a lightening bolt.  Never understood what possessed the coaches to risk injury to their star return man having him covering punts.

First of all, there wasn't as much money in football those days. Nobody worried about "protecting" players. Players also played through most injuries unless the injury physically didn't allow it. It was a different mindset in those days. There was no league "protocol" to protect anybody. But if you had a job on the team, you needed to help in as many ways as possible. Honestly, I never even heard people suggest that a team should limit a player's touches until maybe 25 years ago. 

I just think you are looking at that through today's lens.

[Wallyhorse]

On 10/2/2023 at 2:22 AM, Procus said:

Vermeil's Eagles made the first SB appearance in franchise history in 1980.  We all know the team laid an egg.  Here's how the 1981 season went - 6-0 start, 4-6 the rest of the way, wild card loss at home to the Giants.

This team looks off.  The change in coordinators - especially losing Steichen - is hurting the team.  We're fortunate to be 4-0, but this is the NFL and things can turn on a dime very quickly.  I think we got spoiled with the win in Tampa coming off of 11 days rest.

If the Eagles don't clean stuff up, the team could run up some losses as the weather cools down.  Happy to be proven wrong on this.

I remember there was a front-page article in the Inquirer during the 1986 season that claimed several players on the '81 team were on drugs and that contributed to the downfall.