Philadelphia Eagles: 2012 NFL Schedule Is Tough…So What?

While the whole NFL world talks about how unlucky the Denver Broncos, Cleveland Browns and Tennessee Titans are, and how tough the closing schedule of the New York Giants is, the Philadelphia Eagles will have to run uphill in their efforts to return to the playoffs in 2012.

This year’s regular season schedule is no piece of cake; in fact, it’s even harder than the one the Eagles had in 2011. The AFC North and the NFC South are two of the most unpredictable divisions of the league—a handful of last year’s playoff teams are members of these divisions.

Of course, the most important games are those against your divisional rivals. The Eagles were alive until Week 16 last year, just because they were 4-1 in the NFC East. They finished 8-8 (5-1 in the division) and missed the playoffs by an inch. Still, they were held in contention on one of their worst seasons lately.

Despite that, Philadelphia can’t afford wasting more than half a season to start performing. If 2011 taught us one thing, it should be that there is no easy game in the NFL. The NFC West was considered one of the weakest (if not the weakest) division of the league, yet the Eagles lost three out of four games against NFC West teams.

Undoubtedly, it won’t be a walk in the park. Andy Reid and his players must move one game at a time and leave the playoffs out of their minds until the situation becomes clear and the contenders are separated from the pretenders. It’s nice to keep the big picture on your mind, but staring at it for too long will cause you trouble, and you’ll probably wake up when it’s too late.

Above all, getting the win is what it matters. No champion was ever crowned before the Super Bowl and no one will ever be. I can’t think of a time that the champion was decided by the toughness of its schedule.

Simply put, the Eagles must show character and determination from day one—every game counts. If things don’t go their way until the bye (in Week 7), then at least they’ll have five divisional games in front of them.

Easy or hard, the schedule is what it is. It’s up to the team to show if it has what it takes to win.