Once the Eagles get rid of Coach Reid, they'll be champs...and a little more comfortable in the locker room

The Summer of ‘01 was one of my favorite summers ever.  Mainly, it was because I had just finished my first year of college and embarked on a concert series that included, among others, Dave Matthews, Weezer, and a music fest headlined by The Barenaked Ladies (hey- they were cool in 2001, sort of).  Anyways, the thing I was surprised about when I headed back to school in the fall was that one concert stood above the rest as the best night of the summer.  That was seeing Jimmy Eat World at a club in Philadelphia.  It didn’t have the flash of the other big venues or the other bands.  But I had a cheesesteak at Geno’s, felt like I was going to be crushed to death by a mob of sweaty, high community college students from South Jersey, and left smelling like tobacco and Yuengling.  

Now that the ‘08 NFL season is down to the final 4, I’m realizing that the Philadelphia Eagles are more than their obnoxious fans…they are one of the elite franchises in football from a front office standpoint, despite the fact that Andy Reid still collects a paycheck from them.  DeSean Jackson is a perfect example of this.

G,C, and D boys...G, C, and D

Did you realize that DeSean Jackson (the 4th best offensive rookie this year behind Chris Johnson, Ryan Clady, and Jeff Otah…and the best Philly WR since TO) was drafted AFTER the Redskins took offensive weapons Devin Thomas and Fred Davis?  Now get this…the Eagles traded DOWN to take him!  Not only did they pick up extra picks last year, but they get Carolina’s first rounder in April.  Look at the best unheralded players on Philly’s D…Stewart Bradley, Chris Gocong…all draft picks who had to bide their time and are now in.  As a Jets fan who lives in an area surrounded by Redskins fans, watching the Eagles run their organization must be how the guy who played Bill feels when Keanu Reeves is given movie after movie.  It has to be that simple…but it’s not.

So the Eagles are that rock concert in the smoky club that you didn’t expect to be the best night of a great summer.  They just consistently make it happen.  While they may not have the mass appeal of Dave Matthews Band (The Cowboys), or the track record of Weezer (The Giants), they will continue to be a force in the NFC East because of the way they are run.  And as far as the Redskins go, they are The Barenaked Ladies.  They come up with a new album cover from time to time, but they keep playing the same song.

Sometimes it just takes a Yuengling and a cheesesteak to be elite.