EAGLEMANIACAL.com

THERE is so much to hate about this schedule that I hardly know where to start. It seems almost as if it was designed to trip the team up, regardless of how well we’re doing at any point in the year. I have to say the schedule makers showed true artistry and absolute mastery in subtly, yet thoroughly, fucking us over this year. I almost have to stand back and admire the job they’ve done.

Right at the top of the schedule is a home game on 9/11. Granted, most teams are playing on that day as well, but we open at home that day. So basically you can throw out the purely celebratory vibe that would normally accompany a home opener. Nothing throws an air of triviality onto watching sports like a national day of mourning. Thanks NFL!!

After three games (two non-conference), we get a Bye Week for some reason. I hate early Bye Weeks. They occur before the real wear and tear sets in enough for that week off to mean something. Also it means that in the event that we do win the division, we have to do it on a 12 week dead-run, with no chance to get a breath along the way.

Even more fun is not getting to play back to back home games until the last two weeks of the season. The traveling we do during weeks 5 through 9 would be enough to fatigue some teams. Add to that that 3 of those 5 games are road games against division opponents, and you get an idea of how a simple thing like scheduling can de-rail a season, or at least put it in jeopardy early on. See what I mean by subtle artistry?

Since half of our division games are in the last 4 weeks, there is no way for us to run away with the NFC East unless we head into Week 14 undefeated; and with a Seattle, Green Bay, Cincinnati sandwich (Weeks 11-13), that’s not at all likely to happen. So even if the Eagles are 8 – 4 heading into Week 14, the division will still likely be very much up in the air. That means that Head Coach Doug Pederson likely has to run the team into the ground in order to secure a playoff spot.

Look, I expected that the schedule makers wouldn’t do us any favors, but this is almost like they put a contract out on us. That’s not to say that we can’t win the division. We can, we should and we likely will. Especially since our opponents themselves (excepting our recent history vs Seattle and Green Bay) all look very beatable. But gall dang! This year’s schedule is of no help to us whatsoever.