The Eagles had the look of a perennial NFC champion until injuries and the Terrell Owens soap opera doomed them to a six-win season in 2005 and a last-place finish in the East. They never played like the team that only a season earlier was on the brink of the city's first championship since 1983 until a three-point Super Bowl loss to New England.
This season seems to be the Bears' turn to take that post-Super Bowl plunge.
A quarterback switch, a banged-up defense, and that missing hunger to get back and experience the thrill of winning that often fuels Super Bowl champs has them off to a 2-4 start.
Not even Devin Hester can return every ball into the end zone - though he comes close.
Forget a return to the Super Bowl. That trip to Arizona is looking like a long shot in the Windy City. The Bears need to worry about putting together a winning streak to jump back into the playoff picture and make the postseason for the third straight season under Lovie Smith.
"We really need this game, so it's very desperate - more than desperate," said defensive tackle Tommie Harris. "We're like at our lowest right now, so we need this game."
The Bears hoped benching Super Bowl starter Rex Grossman for Brian Griese would give them a jolt. But the once-dominant defense is in shambles and Smith even questioned their heart after last week's demoralizing 34-31 loss to the Vikings. The Bears allowed 444 yards, including 224 by rookie running back Adrian Peterson.
"I don't know if it's do or die," Smith said. "This is a game that we need to get in the worst way so we'll keep playing hard this week."
They're not the only ones desperate for a victory. The Eagles, who recovered from their Super Bowl hangover to win the NFC East last season, are at the bottom of the division.
Having won five division championships in the past six years, the Eagles (2-3) sure aren't used to chasing teams.
No Eagle is doing stomach crunches in his driveway this year to cause off-field distractions. Instead, a few questionable coaching decisions, an offense having trouble scoring inside the 20, and injuries to key stars Brian Westbrook and Brian Dawkins have slowed down the Eagles.
They beat the Jets last week, but hardly looked impressive. That didn't stop McNabb from saying this week that the NFC East championship still goes through Philly, even with the Cowboys at 5-1 overall and the Eagles at 0-2 in the division.
No comments:
Post a Comment