The Philadelphia Eagles 2010-11 Schedule and Some Predictions

Sometimes we make predictions because we are so confident of the outcome that we have to let the world know of our genius.  Other times, we blurt out a prediction with the hope of being lucky on a complete guess.

At this point, predicting the wins and losses for the 2010-11 Philadelphia Eagles falls closer the guess category, but we can’t help ourselves.

We don’t know who Andy Reid is going to draft.

We have no idea who is going to start on defense, and we don’t know the health of certain key players, namely Jamaal Jackson and Stewart Bradley.

And most importantly, we don’t know how Kevin Kolb is going to perform in his first year as the starting quarterback of your own Philadelphia Eagles.

None of that will stop us though.

We love predictions and we love it when people are overly optimistic.

We gain a sense of comfort that things will be okay next year, even though we may think everything we are told is a complete lie.

Unfortunately, these predictions won’t completely lie to you, although some games will cause you to raise an eyebrow or question my intelligence.

Here is a week, by week breakdown of the Eagles’ 2010-11 schedule with a prediction, brief breakdown, and a running record:

Week 1 vs. Green Bay (W):

The Packers' defense was strong last year during the regular season, but when they exited the playoffs they were lit up by the Arizona Cardinals.

I know we’re not the Cardinals on offense, but maybe we can outscore the Pack in the home opener. The first complete and illogical guess comes right here as the Birds take the home opener. (1-0)

Week 2 @ Detroit (W):

The Birds have always played well on the road under Reid, and they typically beat opponents that are clearly inferior.

Are the Lions clearly an inferior opponent? As Eagles fans, we sure hope so. Hey, you can’t win all 16 games unless you win the first two. (2-0)

Week 3 @ Jacksonville (L):

As well as this team plays on the road, they have never been known for beating AFC opponents on a consistent basis.

The perfect season goes down the drain in week three, but it was fun while it lasted. (2-1)

Week 4 vs. Washington (W):

Following a game riddled with balls skipping into his receiver’s feet, Donovan McNabb realizes a career in cricket may be his best option. Kolb 1, McNabb 0. (3-1)

Week 5 @ San Francisco (W):

The Birds own this team and I see no reason why it can’t continue here.

The 49ers will be a trendy pick to win the NFC West, but I’m not sold on this team’s offense right now. Yes, the Birds’ defense could make them look good, but I feel this game falls into the category of Reid winning on the road against an inferior opponent. (4-1)

Week 6 vs. Atlanta (L):

The Falcons owe us big time. Two years ago we won because of a terrible call late in the fourth quarter and last year we beat the Falcons with Matt Ryan on the sidelines and some stiff at quarterback.

Who was it, Chris Miller? And yes, I say “we” and “us” because that’s how we talk about the Eagles. Don’t ask for an explanation, that’s just how it goes. (4-2)

Week 7 @ Tennessee (L):

Andy Reid of the NFC meets Andy Reid of the AFC. Would Jeff Fisher be hated in Philadelphia if he had the same type of career he’s had in Tennessee?

That’s a different argument for a different day. The Titans are too physical for a rather soft defense. (4-3)

Week 8 Bye Week

Week 9 vs. Indianapolis (W):

Reid always has his team playing well after the bye week.

Also, check out the Colts’ schedule. They play the Texans the week before us and the Bengals the week after. This could be a trap game and the perfect spot for Kolb to pick up a great win. (5-3)

Week 10 @ Washington (L):

The doors will get blown off here and the wheels on this runaway train will start come off. McNabb will get sweet revenge in prime time as the Redskins may score half a hundred. (5-4)

Week 11 vs. New York Giants (L):

A short week to prepare for the first meeting with the G-men is not good news. The Eagles are starting to dominate this series, which means things have to swing back at some point, and this is when it happens. (5-5)

Week 12 @ Chicago (L):

Things seemed so nice at 4-1, didn’t they? Well 1-4 later and now this loss will send the fans into full-panic mode. (5-6)

Week 13 vs. Houston (L):

Matt Schaub to Andre Johnson. Yikes.

This game is going to be ugly early, and in the middle. Mercifully, the Texans bench some of their starters late in the game. (5-7)

Week 14 @ Dallas (L):

Really? We need to wait this long to play the stinkin’ Cowboys?

With the season on the line the Birds go down in a ball of flames. Fans begin to think No.4 is the same as No.5 as the offense sputters in Big D. (5-8)

Week 15 @ New York Giants (L):

The nightmare end to the season continues.

And what is up with us having two sets of back-to-back road games and not one occurrence of back-to-back home games?

At this point, who cares? (5-9)

Week 16 vs. Minnesota (L):

I’ll save you the trouble of scrolling up to count the losing streak. We have now dropped seven straight, including this game.

Kolb would be feeling the heat a little more if the defense wasn’t ranked DFL. Oh, the “D” stands for “Dead,” and the “L” stands for “Last.” I’m sure you can figure out the colorful four letter word that the “F” stands for. (5-10)

Week 17 vs. Dallas (W):

All is not lost as Kolb rebounds to salvage some respect.

Maybe a win here means the Cowboys rested a bunch of their starters, but we’ll take a win over the Boys anyway we can get it. Yes, we’re that desperate. (6-10)

With such a strong start and dismal finish this would be a fail for the Birds. A poor start, followed by a strong finish to get to 6-10 and things are looking good in Philly.

Kolb needs to show signs of progression throughout the season and that’s the main thing fans should be worried about with this brutal end to the season.