Collegiate Times

“Not five, not six, not seven..”

We all remember this quote.

This is the quote that turned a team of three worldwide superstars into three of the biggest villains to ever play the game of basketball.

Now, football season is here and we may have found our villains of the NFL: the Philadelphia Eagles.

While Andy Reid’s squad hasn’t promised multiple championships or thrown a preseason parade celebrating the emergence of their team, they certainly haven’t been shy about their mindset.

Vince Young, the former Tennessee Titans starting quarterback, signed a deal with the Eagles as a backup to Michael Vick and immediately proclaimed them as a “dream team.” Then, after prized free agent cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha signed so suddenly with Philadelphia, he spoke of how they already had a “championship feel” to them.

The Eagles also traded for cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie from the Cardinals, and also signed former Packers defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins.

Now, they have been proclaimed as the Super Bowl favorites and their offseason spending for big name free agents has put them in the same class as the Miami Heat; big expectations and a lot of criticism.

While every team in the NFL certainly hopes to win the Super Bowl each year they compete, I certainly was shocked by Young and Asomugha’s early quotes about winning a title.

The entire league and its fans can see that the Eagles have bolstered their roster dramatically this offseason. 

That is clear. 

Why add more pressure by calling it a “dream team?”

Andy Reid is known as a tough nosed head coach who doesn’t deal with much off the field drama. Well, I would certainly expect that he is not enjoying this focus.

The Eagles now face an extremely tough challenge. 

They will go into every week of their regular season and be the favorites, more than likely, to win each time.

They will be expected to get a first round by in the playoffs, proceed to win the next two games and make a trip to the Super Bowl for the first time since Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens took the team there in 2005.

They will then be expected to win the Super Bowl, get championship rings, and live up to the hype that has been placed upon them immediately after signing all of their big time free agents.

The Eagles have the most talented team on paper. 

That is certainly true.

However, none of this guarantees anything for the upcoming season. It was proven by the Heat this past year. 

The Heat, like the Eagles, faced scrutiny and adversity throughout the entire season simply because they had such high expectations and were always being held to a higher standard than the rest of the league.

The Eagles offense did not make many changes or add too many additional faces besides Young in the backup role. 

They still have the most explosive quarterback in the game in Vick. They also bring back running back LeSean McCoy and receivers Jeremy Maclin and DeSean Jackson. 

The offensive line remains in form and Andy Reid is known as an offensive guru around the league.

On defense, they bolstered their secondary tremendously by adding Rodgers-Cromartie and Asomugha to a unit that already featured Asante Samuel. 

Now, they just have to figure out how to get all three of them on the field, or how to trade Samuel.

It’s simple. The Eagles’ expectations are extremely high not only in the buildings of the franchise but nationally by the media and fans.

I worry about Vince Young. This guy is a proven winner and I believe he deserved a starting job before he signed with Philadelphia and he clearly believed the same thing. 

He never backed away from the fact that he thought he should be a starter in the NFL during his tenure in Tennessee.

Now, he is with the Eagles, backing up a top ten quarterback in the league. 

I just hope he can handle carrying a clipboard and actually learning behind Vick like a professional rather than focusing on the negatives of being stuck behind such a tremendous athlete.

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A version of this article appeared in the Aug 4 issue of the Collegiate Times.