That Don't Impress Me Much

Sorry, non-sports fans, I gotta get this off my chest.

Every freakin' sports-themed show or segment of a show cannot resist talking about the Philadelphia Eagles. Phrases such as "High-powered offense," "So many weapons," and "This may finally be their year" are thrown around like beads at Mardi Gras. Yes, they added Terrell Owens on offense and Jevon Kearse on defense. They have a good team--I'm not disputing that.

However, consider these points

• The Eagles clinched their division very early in the season. Translation--their division SUCKS. So in all probablility, that's 6 no-brainer "all we have to do is show up" victories (4 have already happened--2 remain).
• Currently there are four teams--FOUR--in the NFC that have more wins than losses. Translation--the NFC sucks. Making it through the playoffs will probably be a breeze, but the real test won't come for the NFC (Eagles or otherwise) until they meet the AFC team (not so coincidentally, Philadelphia's only loss right now is to an AFC team).
• The current combined record of the Eagles' opponents in their 11 victories is 53-67. That's a winning percentage of 44.1%. I mean, when your T-ball team beat a team that was one-person short AND had really fundamentally poor players, wasn't it kind of an empty victory?? Sure, it was one for the "W" column, but it didn't really mean you were that good.

So.....If I may be so bold, I am predicting that the Eagles will NOT win the Super Bowl. Sure, they may make it one step further and actually make it to the big game--who wouldn't, when 8-8 teams are probably gonna make it into your playoff bracket--but barring any major injuries to the big boys in the AFC (Steelers, Patriots, Colts), the 2004 season will once again end in disappointment for Andy Reid and company. The Wizard of Oz was exposed, and all it'll take is an AFC team to pull back the curtain.