The Philadelphia Eagles Road to the Super Bowl: 10 Hurdles to Overcome

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Vince Young may have anointed the 2011 Philadelphia Eagles a "Dream Team," but they haven't won anything yet.

In film school, I learned a theory by Blake Snyder on how to create a character for a screenplay. The protagonist should start the story with ten flaws; ten things that need fixing. By the end of the story, he should overcome all of these flaws, in order to accomplish his objective, and bring the story to a satisfying conclusion.

Like the protagonist of any story, the Eagles want something badly, and will have trouble getting it. Here are the ten hurdles that stand between the 2011 Eagles, and their ultimate goal, the Vince Lombardi Trophy. 

10. The NFC East

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In the past decade, the NFC East has been the SEC of the NFL. Quality competition is healthy in doses, but by the time January rolls around, the Eagles, Cowboys, Giants and Redskins have beaten the crap out of one another.

The division isn't quite as strong as it's been in the past, but it's still one of the toughest in the league. Dallas has reloaded, and looks like a serious contender; especially with Rob Ryan taking control of an underachieving defense.

The Giants have been bitten by the preseason-injury bug, but after an offseason of smack-talk, they're still chomping at the bit to get on the field against the Eagles.

Even the hapless Redskins have shown some preseason fight. 

9. Superstar Egos

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This one is the least likely to plague the Eagles this season, but if it does, it could be a genuine catastrophe.

As it currently stands, Asante Samuel and DeSean Jackson both appear to have their heads in the right place. However, they both have legitimate reasons to be upset and confused by the team's offseason activity.

Asante because the team brought in two pro-bowl cornerbacks, and DeSean because the Eagles were willing to pay every free agent in the league, while he's still left making rookie money.

The Eagles play on the road against two good football teams (St. Louis and Atlanta, respectively) to open the season. If things break the wrong way and the Birds open the season 0-2, it'll be interesting to see the way Asante and DeSean react. 

8. The "Dream Team" Label

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The Eagles will face unnecessary pressure this season, thanks in large part to the "Dream Team" label that Vince Young prematurely bestowed upon them.

With the entire league hoping to see them fail, Philadelphia will have to stay composed through more hostile environments than any other team in the league. Every opponent they play will have the Eagles game circled on their schedule.

As mentioned earlier, the first two games of the season aren't gimmes. If the Eagles lose to St. Louis and Atlanta, their 0-2 start will get more press on Sportscenter than a Brett Favre sighting in Indianapolis.

And that could just be the start of the wheels unhinging. 

7. 3rd and Short

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It's like bowling a nine on your first shot, and not being able to pick up the spare. The Eagles have historically struggled to convert game-changing, short yardage situations.

Last year, the Michael Vick QB draw was the only effective short yardage play in the Philadelphia playbook. While I'm sure coach Reid hasn't taken that play out of the scheme, Vick will probably be calling his own number far less often this year in an effort to stay healthy (more on that later).

Ronnie Brown provides the Eagles with their first legitimate north-south runner since Correll Buckhalter, but even he had trouble converting short yardage situations this preseason in an Eagles' uniform.

6. The Run Defense

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And by "the run defense" I mean "the linebackers."

Under new defensive line coach Jim Washburn, the Eagles front four will be playing the wide-nine technique. That means getting up the field, and rushing the passer on every down.

What it also means, however, is that the linebackers have added responsibility with regard to stopping the run. It's basically all on their shoulders.

And therein lies the potential problem. Pittsburgh ran wild against the Eagles' defense in Preseason Week 2, and there's no reason to believe the linebackers have made catastrophic improvements since then.

Casey Matthews looks like he's way to slow to play in the middle of this defense, where he'll be counted on to roam from sideline to sideline.

5. The Rookie Kickers

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Alex Henery has reportedly been inconsistent in training camp.

But that doesn't matter. He could have looked amazing in training camp, and it wouldn't matter. He could have consistently nailed 70-yarders with room to spare—still wouldn't matter.

The truth is, the Eagles will never know what they have in Henery until he starts doing it in primetime. His position—more so than any position in football, or any sport for that matter—is an overwhelmingly mental one.

When that moment invariably arrives, when the game, or the season, is on the line, we will finally learn whether or not Alex Henery has what it takes to be a Super Bowl-winning kicker. Until then, we can only speculate.

To a lesser extent, the same goes for Chas Henry. Unless we've forgotten how costly a young punter's mistakes can actually be....  

4. Health

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This is a concern for any team hoping to contend for a Super Bowl, but the Eagles appear to be especially susceptible.

Michael Vick's style of play makes him notoriously prone to missing time on the field. Only once in his career has he been able to start all 16 games on the schedule.

On top of that, the health of his wide receivers is already in doubt, and we haven't even played a real game yet.

Jeremy Maclin swears he's in good form after a cancer scare this offseason, but we haven't seen him on the field to confirm that yet. He does look noticeably thinner. Meanwhile, new acquisition Steve Smith is still recovering from microfracture knee surgery. Although he returned to practice earlier than the Giants predicted he would, it's hard to imagine Tom Coughlin & Co. letting him sign with the Eagles unless they genuinely believed his knee would be a lingering issue.    

3. Andy Reid's Game Management

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Andy Reid might deserve more credit than anybody for the Eagles' triumphant offseason. Almost every acquisition cited Coach Reid's track record and coaching style as one of the main reasons they wanted to play in Philadelphia.

That's great and all, but he still doesn't know how to manage a football game.

Everybody who's ever played Madden can recognize the serious common sense flaws in Reid's coaching tendencies. He doesn't know how to handle timeouts at the end of each half. He calls bizarre, ineffective plays in short yardage situations. And, most importantly, he is probably the worst play challenger the league has seen since implementing instant replay.

Bill Simmons, of ESPN and Grantland fame, has long alluded to certain coaches who require a VP of Common Sense. An employee, hell a teenager if he's capable, who knows football strategy inside and out from playing too much Madden.

I know it sounds ridiculous, but without one, Andy Reid will cost us at least one game this season. All we can do it hope it doesn't happen in the playoffs.

2. The Green Bay Packers

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It isn't just that they're the best team in the NFL (they are), it's also the fact that they have the Eagles' number.

The Green Bay Packers bookended Philadelphia's 2010 season, beating them in Week 1, and also in the Wild Card Round. Both games were in Philadelphia.

According to some, the Eagles' aggressive offseason moves were made with the conscious intention to build a team that could beat Green Bay.

Now, with three outstanding cornerbacks (much like the Packers have in Charles Woodson, Tramon Williams, and Sam Shields), the Eagles feel much more confident matching up against the Packers' assortment of receiving threats. They also added former Packer Cullen Jenkins to the defensive line, who could provide insight into what Green Bay likes to do on both sides of the ball. 

1. The Offensive Line

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Teams don't win Super Bowls with bad offensive lines. It doesn't matter what pieces you put in place around them.

The volatility on the Eagles' offensive line thus far is terrifying. When the whistle blows against St. Louis this Sunday, it will mark the first time the unit has started together. Ever.

Jason Kelce has looked leaky in the middle. In Indianapolis, O-line coach Howard Mudd counted on Center Jeff Saturday to lead the impressive offensive line unit. Kelce doesn't appear ready to handle those responsibilities.

New left guard Evan Mathis couldn't even start for the 2010 Bengals. Now he's expected to block his way to the Super Bowl for the 2011 Eagles?

Todd Herremans is a versatile player, but his move to Right Tackle will require a learning curve. The Eagles don't really have time for him to go through growing pains though—they play two good teams on the road to open the season.

Danny Watkins has been a disappointment at the right guard spot all through training camp. At least he proved he's got a good head on his shoulders by requesting to start the fourth preseason game, instead of resting with the other starters. Unfortunately, that just gave fans another opportunity to watch him struggle.

Only at Left Tackle, where Jason Peters has looked good, can the Eagles feel confident heading into a Super Bowl-or-bust season. Uh oh.