A year ahead of schedule

[Jukin]

Who would have thought that the Eagles would be contending for the division title and a shot at the playoffs in Chip's first year? Coming off of a 4-12 season who would have thought they would have their first winning season since 2010? Typically the rebuilding process goes something like:

Year 1 - try to win 1-2 more games than the previous year.
Year 2 - Contend for a playoff spot
Year 3 - Try to go deep into the playoffs
Year 4 - the sky is the limit.

We seem to have skipped year 1 and moved directly into year 2 - vying for the division and a playoff spot. The team has gotten progressively better each week. Yeah we hit some bumps in Minny and Dallas, but overall we have shown growth throughout the year. Imagine what this team will be like in another year or two when Chip - and particularly Billy D - have the players they want for their schemes. When the defense and offense both have a chance to fully grasp and understand their respective jobs and Chip can dig deep into his bag of offensive tricks!

I know teams in the NFL learn from their mistakes and that next year defenses will have a better understanding of the way to stop this scheme. But I really think Chip is a master of strategy and will come back with tweaks that other teams will have trouble figuring out on the fly.

We're a year ahead of schedule and things are looking very bright indeed!

[MDFAN]

Good post and in line with how I have approached this year.

This was a year where almost anything positive should be viewed as gravy.

I have been pleasantly surprised, which is why I am hopeful going forward.

[musicman]

Shit , we win this week and IMO we jump to year 3. Saints aren't anything special and playing outside in Philly makes their road tougher. No reason we can't make a dent this year. This is a young team and the way they've played shows that, extreme lows and extreme highs, good time to be on a wave on the upswing.

[Eagle60]

We shouldn't be totally surprised. They had a good offensive roster with the right coaching. Let's face it, the biggest concern was what kind of coach Chip would be. There were a lot of questions there. The defense was suspect (and still is). Still, I'm amped!!!!

[musicman]

gonna be a long week !