Reasons That Eagles Fans Should Be Thankful This Thanksgiving

A season that began with Super Bowl aspirations came to a screeching halt by Week 6 of the NFL season for the Philadelphia Eagles.

Andy Reid and Juan Castillo have been placed under a microscope for failing to deliver a reliable defense after the addition of four marquee defensive free agents.

DeSean Jackson's continuous contract discussions (or lack of) have been linked to his drop in production.

Five blown fourth-quarter leads.

Michael Vick keeps breaking.

Vince Young says the words "Dream Team" and all hell breaks lose.

Oh yeah, and then Nnamdi gets carted off in practice while you're watching the Packers.

Yes, it's been that kind of a season for the Philly Birds, but here are a few things to be thankful for during this Thanksgiving weekend.

Have a great one guys.

Playoff Hopes

As dim as they seem, and I mean dim dim dim, the Eagles are still in the playoff hunt. Barely. 

Although a 4-6 record most likely guarantees the Eagles will be missing the postseason for only the fourth time during Andy Reid’s tenure, they haven’t been mathematically eliminated.

And that is important.

I can’t imagine going to work everyday, doing my job and knowing that it literally means nothing.  To play for no postseason is essentially a waste of time—a waste of time for the team and its fans.

Let me say this in a more alarming way. Imagine...if the Eagles were *gulp* mathematically eliminated.

A team with so much disappointment, yet so many egos, the Eagles need that glimmer of hope to finish the season at a competitive and motivated level. Just in case they do pull this off, they can say I told you so.

Besides, the holidays are here.

Exposure

The first thing I did when I looked at the Eagles' schedule this season was check the number of clear-cut prime-time games that featured them. 

I counted five.

That means that fans are forced to watch the Eagles play five times on ESPN Monday Night Football, NBC Sunday Night Football and NFL Network Thursday Night Football when no other NFL games are on.

Now, for a team with preseason Super Bowl aspirations, five times on national television is extremely fair.

But for a below .500 team to be nationally broadcast that many times is silly; however, it works out for fans like me that live in California.

It’s a double whammy here.

The Eagles do seem to play better in the prime-time slot, but they remain only even at 2-2. 

Expiring Contracts

Most of the role players that the Eagles brought in this offseason to make a Super Bowl run were signed to one-year or second-year option contracts.

With King Dunlap, Juqua Parker, Trevor Laws, Antonio Dixon (RFA), Ronnie Brown, Vince Young, Steve Smith, Evan Mathis and Jarrod Page’s contracts all set to expire, the Eagles can simply do a mini blowout without having to lose their stars.

Which brings me to…

Cap Space

The big spenders of last year’s offseason were undoubtedly the Eagles.

Nnamdi Asomugha—$60 million

Cullen Jenkins—$25 million

Jason Babin—$27.725 million

Vince Young—$4 million

Steve Smith—$2 million

Ronnie Brown—$1 million

That’s just the Pro Bowl list of free agents coming in at a cost of $119.725 million.

Since then, the Eagles have also signed Vick to a six-year, $100 million deal.

So, even with well over $200 million in spending, the Eagles have a reported $5,977,030 of cap space (eaglescap.com).

With a decent amount of contracts set to expire, the Eagles should have enough cap space to sign more free agents or focus their attention on re-signing All-Pro wide receiver DeSean Jackson.

The Emergence of LeSean McCoy

I previously gave my opinion of LeSean McCoy by comparing his season to all-time Eagles great Brian Westbrook in his prime, but it’s because of Howard Mudd that McCoy has been as dominant as he has.

Mudd and the Eagles took some beef when first-round pick Danny Watkins wasn’t starting earlier in the season and the line was having problems protecting Vick; however, they have been tremendous in run blocking.

The way the line has blocked in games against the Cowboys and Giants have been masterful.  This is a credit to Mudd and Reid for identifying and attaining the lean athletic-type of offensive linemen that fit Mudd’s scheme. 

Jason Peters and Todd Herremans are definitely getting my Pro Bowl votes.  Jason Kelce and Danny Watkins deserve praise for being formidable rookies with no offseason prep time. Evan Mathis has been arguably the most important free-agent signing.

Eleven Draft Picks

Yep, no one accumulates future draft picks quite like the Eagles and Patriots do. The Browns are not surprisingly getting better at it too, as they currently employ former Eagles office personnel Tom Heckert as their general manager. This is the man who robbed the Falcons of five draft picks, including two first-rounders, two fourth-rounders and a second for Julio Jones in last year's draft.

This year, the Eagles not only have quantity, but also quality. With picks in every round, including two in the second, two in the fourth, three in the fifth and three in the sixth, it gives the team tremendous flexibility to move up and down the draft. It’s truly beautiful to watch the way this front office operates.

DeSean Jackson Wants to Remain in Philadelphia

Eagles fans, don’t worry: This isn’t T.O. all over again. 

Please don’t compare D Jax to the man who criticized teammates and openly berated management after losing Super Bowl XXXIX—which led to a four-game suspension and eventual exile from a team that finished last in the NFC East with a 6-10 record.

This is DeSean Jackson.

He wants to play football in Philadelphia. He wants to remain under the spotlight. He wants to catch passes from Vick.  He wants to chest-bump with Andy Reid.

The main difference between him and Owens is loyalty.

For all the heat that Jackson has taken for his holdout, his suspension, his minor dip in production and, of course, his taunting penalty, he has not disrespected anyone in the organization.

Jackson publicly applauded Vick when he signed his $100 million contract.  He took responsibility for missing a team meeting and didn’t undermine his coach over a one-game suspension.

His anti-bullying efforts are commendable and genuine.  This is something that has affected him and now he has become an advocate for a greater cause.  All T.O. ever thought about was himself.

Don’t be so quick to jump to conclusions, because, just like everyone else, DeSean wants to get paid…

The thing is, he wants to get paid by the Eagles.