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Time after time Enigmatic Eagles' bottom line: Win or else in '03Posted: Tuesday May 06, 2003 3:30 PM
PHILADELPHIA -- It's only May, but it's a tough spot the 2003 Eagles find themselves in. The sky has been falling steadily in Philly this offseason, and the forecast remains iffy. Reports of the Eagles' demise have no doubt been exaggerated, but the difficult reality they're staring at is this: Another NFC East title and a home playoff game or two won't be enough this season. Neither will staking claim to the No. 1 seed in the NFC, posting the best record in the league, and relying on the psychological boost of either closing a venerated old stadium or opening a spanking new one. No, the Eagles have only one slim way to avoid disappointing their fans again this season, and that's to the deliver the Super Bowl trip that Andy Reid and the boys have been stalking for the past three mostly successful years. Sorry, but nothing else will do. That's part of the overall bottom line price a No. 1 seed pays when it falls prey to an upset at home in the conference championship game. The next year, the only thing that counts is getting back to that point, and then finishing the job. The regular season and the early rounds of the playoffs are rendered mere prelude. Don't take our word for it. Just ask the 1999 Vikings, the 2000 Jaguars or 2002 Steelers what the next year's hangover was like.
Why, it has even been said the Eagles could go 16-0 in the regular season this year, win their divisional-round playoff game, and still their fans wouldn't let themselves believe. Not until that NFC title game ghost has been exorcised -- preferably against Tampa Bay -- and the franchise's 23-year Super Bowl drought ended. Overstatement? Over-reaction? Sure, but after all, that's what this city's sports fans are known for. Does anyone really expect them to develop a sense of tolerance and forbearing now? "You're definitely going to have fans who hold their breath if we get to that point again," Eagles Pro Bowl safety Brian Dawkins conceded at this past weekend's three-day full-squad minicamp. "Because we've been in the NFC Championship Game two years in a row. Hopefully we can get past it this time." The Eagles' loss at St. Louis in the January 2002 NFC title game -- where they were the underdogs and gamely came up just short, 29-24 -- was one thing. But Philadelphia's 27-10 egg-laying against the eventual Super Bowl champion Bucs, in the Eagles' last game ever at the Vet no less, was in a whole 'nother category altogether. It dealt the city the kind of civic shock that takes months, sometimes years, to recover from. As blows delivered to the communal solar plexus go, it wasn't on par with the '64 Phillies, but it was at least in the ballpark, as they say. "Oh, man it was quiet after that game," recalled Dawkins. "People weren't even saying anything to each other, and that's real different from what's usually the case in Philadelphia. "But I mean, I felt their pain. How close we were, for that many years, to get to that point, and then lose it? We talked our way to where we wanted to be and we played our way to where we wanted to be. From the year before, we knew where we needed to be to get that next level. Then we got there and we couldn't capitalize." Already in certain quarters, a line of rationale has sprung up in regards to the Eagles' performance in the NFC title game. It is built on the premise that quarterback Donovan McNabb was never quite right after losing almost two months to a midseason broken ankle, and that it was unrealistic to expect him to come back and perform at his usual Pro Bowl level in the playoffs. Sure, he did OK against Atlanta in the divisional round, his comeback appearance, but the Falcons' defense will never be confused with Tampa Bay's, and it was actually Philadelphia's defense that paved the way for that gritty 20-6 win. Another facet of the thinking is that the Eagles simply fell victim to the law of averages. After beating the Bucs four consecutive times from New Year's Eve 2000 on, including each of the previous two postseasons, Philadelphia was due a letdown. When the Eagles scored quickly to take a 7-0 lead against the Bucs, overconfidence set it, given that it looked all the world like another Philadelphia domination was on the way. And there may be some truth in all that. But what that explanation deftly avoids is the reality that the Bucs beat the Eagles that day in every way. Their game plan was better and so was their execution. It was no fluke. It was a thorough and humiliating butt-whipping at the worst possible time. Ask an Eagles veteran how long it took him to get over that painful defeat, and he'll look at you quizzically, as if he doesn't understand what you mean by "over." "I really don't think the sting has gone away," said Pro Bowl cornerback Bobby Taylor, the senior Eagle in terms of tenure (he is entering his ninth season in Philadelphia). "It definitely is less than it was before, but that first week and a half, it was tough. Not only because of what we had worked for and how optimistic the city was, but everything was just set up picture perfect for us to get to the Super Bowl, where we all want to be. To not get there, it was rough. "I've never seen the city be as enthused or hyped for a game. After that game, all of that was gone away, all of the signs, everything. I'm riding home and it was kind of surreal to a point. But that's what this game is all about. Any given Sunday, anything can happen. We were the favorites going into that game, but that didn't just give us the victory. Tampa Bay came in with a great team and a great game plan and got the job done." The question now is can the Eagles get the job done in 2003 after coming so close in 2002? Philadelphia's well-documented offseason losses in free agency is one complicating issue. The Eagles' brutal schedule is another. Philadelphia plays 10 games against teams that had winning records last season, not to mention four against Buffalo, Carolina and Washington, all of whom were either 8-8 or 7-9 in 2002. The Eagles' only two games against a double-digit loser from last year are its division matchups with Dallas, whose new head coach owns a pair of those coveted Super Bowl rings himself. "This thing's not going to be easy," Dawkins said. "We can't just think that because we've went there two years in a row, it's a lock for us to get back. It's going to be a tough road to get back there again." It's against that backdrop that the Eagles will go about their difficult regular-season work, reminded more than once no doubt of January's opportunity lost. Not that everyone will be in the mood to reflect for long. "That's over. What happened last year is over," McNabb said. "Because no one really cares too much any more, besides the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. ... Nobody remembers who finished second. If you're not on top, then you might as well start all over and rewrite your goals and get to that promised land and make sure you come out on top." Reid didn't even feel the need to discuss the failure against Tampa Bay when he kicked off his 2003 team's season at the weekend minicamp. He and team president Joe Banner have endured their fair share of heat this offseason from the franchise's frustrated fans, but have taken a steady-as-she-goes approach amidst all the hand-wringing. "I think for the most part the [fans] trust us and trust that we're doing the right things," Reid said. "I understand the passion in the city. You appreciate that first, and then you understand with passion there's going to be criticism, and there's going to be high highs and low lows. That comes with it. "There was a sweet side and there was a sour side [to 2002]. The sour side was we lost in the last game. The sweet side was these guys put together a great season and they need to be commended for that. ... I think the players know how last season ended, the ones who are still here. We move on and we don't worry about that. We're on to the new season." That's probably the right tack to take. But it's easier said than done. The past has a way of impacting the future in these kind of situations. They'll find that out for themselves this year in Philadelphia, one way or another. "I don't want to turn the page just yet," Taylor said. "You have to move one, but you can use the memory of that game, that loss, as motivation. Fuel for your fire." In Philadelphia, rest assured the fire won't be going out any time this season. That and a little something else is still burning in the hearts, minds and stomachs of Eagles fans everywhere.
Don Banks covers pro football for SI.com.
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