Phildelphia Eagles: Mike Vick, Andy Reid and the Team of Destiny

Shut down corner—excuse me, corners? Check.

Well-respected, much revered head coach? Check.

Solid organization with winning tradition? Check.

Explosive offense featuring some of the fastest, most elusive position players and lead by the NFL’s most exciting quarterback? Yeah. Check.

It would appear the Eagles are the team of destiny. All the pieces are in place for the Philadelphia Eagles to finally see the title they've longed for fiercely and deserved so much. This is it. Why even play? There’s not a single team out there who can beat them. In fact, I’m going to call it right now: Philadelphia Eagles 16-0. The Birds got this in the bag.

Right?

But wait, haven’t we watched this film before? Isn’t this song, frankly, a bit overplayed? Didn’t we already read this book, ad nauseam?

Philadelphia was the team of destiny just last season. Everyone knows the riveting tales of last year's Eagles. That team that just couldn’t be held down, remember? The team that eventually lost three games in a row at the end of the season—one of which was on Wild Card weekend to the eventual Super Bowl Champs by five measly points.

Or how about when Andy Reid came strolling into town and he and Jeff Lurie hired a young gunslinger from Syracuse, N.Y. by way of Chicago. Much to the dismay of a very tough Philadelphia fan base, with the second overall pick the Eagles picked the man who would, with some help, secure multiple championships for the city of Philadelphia.

But then, that didn’t happen either, did it?

Not to rain on anyone’s parade, but it seems all the talk and hype surrounding the Iggles might be just a bit premature. Sure, on paper, they have the most stacked defense in the league. Heck, they also have the most stacked offense in the league, but last year’s Dallas Cowboy’s were the most talented team in the league, too.

Everyone ought to be excited—or scared, depending on which side you fall on—but they’re the dream team and there aren’t any trophies for being the best preseason team. Granted, I can’t remember a time when I was more convinced the Birds were going to do big things, but I don’t to get ahead of myself. My heart can’t handle the disappointment. Not again.

So, my friends, until the first snap is played, perhaps we should be weary of praising our boys too much. We’d hate for them to find an even more creative way to let us down again.

Having said all that, I hope Bob Ryan has a better way to back up his trash talk than his brother, because last I checked, Rex doesn’t have either of the two Super Bowls he promised us, and Bob’s new defense is probably just going to get embarrassed by us as did the Cowboys' old defense.