Why Can's Us?

Look, after Sundays debacle in Ohio, there is no reason for any body to be optimistic. All of the talk in Philadelphia has been anything but.

Andy Reid had to go. This is Donovan McNabbs last season. Westbrook isn't himself.

The season is over.

All of those arguments have merit. Reid probaly should be fired after how his team plays on Sunday. In all likely hood, these are the last 6 games of the McNabb era in Philadelphia. And as disscussed on this site earlier, Westbrook has not been the same Westbrook all year.

But all of that being said, despite how bleek it looks, the Eagles are still alive. There are 6 whole weeks left in the season. Thats almost 2 months. Alot can happen in 2 months. Look at all that has happened in the last 6 weeks:

1) Dallas Cowboys went from the NFC Favorite to border line playoff tea

2) The Miami Dolphins have won 4 in a row

3) The Tennesse Titans have still not lost

While non of this gives you any reason to hope that McNabb will all of the sudden remember how to throw, it does give you this reason to hope: anything can happen.

When Jeff Garcia led the Eagles into the playoffs, who saw that coming? That season, the Eagles were 5-4 when McNabb went down. There had already lost 3 games in a row that season after starting 4-1, and looked like a team going no where.

Then, behind Garica, they won their final 5 games of the season. They went into Dallas and beat a favored Cowboys team. They beat the Giants in New York and the Redskins in Washington two weeks in a row. But most importanlty, they rallied at the end of the season to advance into the playoffs.

Could that happen this year? Well, after the tie on Sunday, the Eagles stand at 5-4-1. They are gamd and a half back of the Buccaneers, who are 7-3. They are a half game behind the Cowboys, Redskins and Falcons, who are all 6-4. They are a game ahead of the Packers and Vikings at 5-5.

But that is not that bad of a position to be in. They own the tiebreaker over the Falcons, because they beat them previously. They get a chance to make up the half game on both the Redskins and the Cowboys, who they still have to play. There other remaining oppenents? The Ravens, Cardinals, and Browns. Those are all winnable games, with the trip to Baltimore next week being the hardest. It will require other teams to do their part and lose, but who would have thought the Cowboys would be 5-4 at this point? Or that the Eagles would tie the Bengals? Strange things happen in the NFL, and any given sunday means just that.

Like I said, this is an opptimistic view of the season. But who would have thought that the Phillies would be world series champions? Maybe the curse is finally broken, and William Penn will shine down some luck on Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb.

So while a playoff berth will require near perfection down the road, the question I ask you is:

Why Can't Us?