“A league that endured their success through gritted teeth, that tried to ban their signature play, is eager to kick the Eagles to the curb. We’ll see how committed they are to kicking back.”

Yes, it sure seems like nationally the fans love the Eagles while the national media seems to hate them. And it seems like our Eagles are not the darlings of the league office either. But we are the reigning Super Bowl Champs. And if our hangover is troublesome now, Howie seems to know how to help us shake that condition off with an extra off season to work. Let’s win the division and see what happens next. Go Birds.

Watching the Broncos and Giants celebrate their wins over the Eagles shows how much it means to other teams to beat the SB winner. And the Eagles just don’t seem to have the same energy to match opponents.

Looking back, it was kind of silly during OTA’s how Sirianni didn’t want his players to celebrate their SB victory and instead act as though it never happened. He took down SB posters so his players would focus on the new season. If Sirianni didn’t do that, he would probably use that as an excuse for the slow start this season. Even Hurts not putting his SB ring on seems silly now.

Well said, Les. I will say that as uneven and at times frustrating as this season has been this far, having it occur on the heels of a Super Bowl victory makes it easier for me to take.

The team will have a target on its back and teams that beat them will likely celebrate more than they normally would for a regular season game. Hopefully the time off will give them a chance to get healthier physically and mentally. And perhaps the recent comments from Lane Johnson regarding the offense will drive some changes in play calling/scheme.

Les, you may be right about tiredness. Carter’s immature spitting/suspension in game 1 added extra snaps to the rest of the DLs. Maybe these extra 3 days will allow recovery.
Hurts too may be tired. He’s been excellent on deep passes, and the Smith miss was out of character.
Barkley also had an unusual offseason, doing many commercials and the like. (good for him)
Letting Isaiah go seemed a mistake at the time (to me, at least–Ringo was behind him throughout) and CB2 is an enormous hole.
And then there is the overriding philosophy. Turnover margins aren’t a sustainable basis. Neither are explosive plays: a Barkley 60-yard run can be truncated into 10, 15 yards and still be very good, but not a TD. From a fan perspective, it looks like playing not to lose, which is a formula for losses.
Finally, there is the predictability. To me, the most maddening part.