This time a season in the past, the Philadelphia Eagles additionally have been 2-0 coming off a convincing win over the Minnesota Vikings. Not like final 12 months although, there’s just a little controversy surrounding the Birds as Jalen Hurts and huge receiver AJ Brown have been caught having an alternate on the sidelines. The incident was compounded by the receiver not sticking round to speak to the media after the 34-28 win over the Vikes.
Right here’s the tiff, which isn’t actually something as evidenced by Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit failing to even acknowledge it in actual time.
The explanation why this issues is as a result of it’s the NFL, they’re the defending NFC champions, and it entails a quarterback and/or receiver. Coach Nick Sirianni downplayed the incident after the sport, saying these conversations keep in-house.
“The conversations now we have on the sector are going to be personal. And the conversations now we have in our locker room are going to be personal,” he mentioned. Y’all don’t have to know what was occurring proper there.”
Hurts additionally did his greatest to attenuate the drama.
“I feel all people needs to make performs and all people needs to contribute,” the QB mentioned about Brown. “I’ve no fear about him. He’s an incredible participant, an incredible teammate, an incredible buddy, and we’ll do something and all the pieces to win.”
That’s top-notch participant communicate, and I belief it contemplating how hesitant new offensive coordinator Brian Johnson was to go away from D’Andre Swift and a dominant run recreation. Hurts didn’t must drop again a lot, and when he did throw to Brown, the 25-yard rating was overturned by way of a holding name.
Week 1 in opposition to New England wasn’t good by final 12 months’s requirements, and there’s going to be method an excessive amount of made from the Brown-Hurts stuff regardless of the workforce sitting at 2-0 with wins over Invoice Belichick and an explosive Minnesota offense on a brief week, with out key members of their secondary. I noticed the Eagles described as “sluggish” as a result of they didn’t routinely dismiss the Patriots. Take into consideration that. I do know it was Mac Jones, however nonetheless opening week in Foxborough isn’t assured.
As a rule within the NFL, that is what successful seems to be like. I’m not saying the Eagles aren’t Tremendous Bowl contenders. They’re, however I doubt that they’ll begin 8-0, and beat all people by 30 en path to a 14-3 report, a first-round bye, and a visit to Las Vegas.
Followers don’t must look too far for a comparability, because the Chiefs went 14-3 final 12 months, too. Nevertheless, it was a vastly completely different, extra up-and-down path to that report. They blew a recreation to Indy, had additional time wins in opposition to Tennessee and Houston, and misplaced to each of their perceived AFC challengers.
Once more, Philly might very properly be the one seed this postseason. It’s merely lots tougher whenever you’ve received Buffalo, Miami, Kansas Metropolis, and San Francisco on the docket as an alternative of the AFC South and NFC North. There’s going to be extra adversity because of this, and (fortunately) not as many Eagles followers dancing in peoples’ mentions and relentlessly speaking smack. They’ll nonetheless be in your timeline working their mouths, however there may be a few of that patented Brotherly pessimism as properly.
To educate in Philly, one needs to be optimistic however not delusional, agency however not condescending, and by no means, ever timid. These people scent blood and go right into a frenzy like piranhas in an Ernst Blofeld koi pond.
The one solution to deal with Philly media and followers is how Sirianni does it — he’s passionate, he’s just a little defensive, and he’s sincere. That goes a great distance in that metropolis, and it’ll work so long as they’re successful. If that they had misplaced then the Brown stuff legitimately enters the information cycle, and affordable followers have to debate it (versus sports activities bloggers greedy for clicks).
I can’t consider I’m not gaslighting Eagles followers proper now, however there isn’t any want to fret about this workforce till it’s not rugby scrumming its solution to Ws. Allow them to lose a recreation, or go into halftime with no lead, earlier than making an attempt to show a dialog between Jalen Hurts and AJ Brown into Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens 2.0.
