Could The Eagles Develop Into The Next NFL Dynasty?

I was watching Game 5 of the NBA Championship last week, and when it was over I thought as I heard the announcer say “World Champion Miami Heat”, how wonderful, how glorious it must be to be a basketball fan in Miami right now. How awesome it has to be to live in or be from a town that wins it all. We wish, we hope, we pray, often unrealistically but sometimes, however it happens, there is a team – as the football team we see developing in Philadelphia this year – that can do great things. A team that has what it takes to win it all.

With all the hype and pressure on coaches and players, there is the hope and expectation of a championship. I’ve already gone on record with my prediction that the Eagles will face and defeat the Houston Texans in Super Bowl XLVII. Well, I’m going to take my prediction a huge step further and say “Dynasty”!

I realize it’s not quite July, and training camp hasn’t even begun yet, but there’s a dynasty beginning in Philly and nobody knows it yet. Dynasties are always talked about but who can really predict them? So many things have to go just right, almost perfectly in fact. But there is a special chemistry developing, a confidence and swagger I don’t remember on an Eagles team since the days of Buddy Ryan.

The Eagles haven’t won a Title since 1960 (also 1948 and 1949), seven years prior to the first ever Super Bowl. That’s 52 years without a championship. Sure, other teams and other cities have gone longer without a title while some towns like Detroit, Cleveland, Jacksonville and Houston have never even been to a Super Bowl (Detroit and Cleveland have won NFL titles in the pre-Super Bowl era). My point? It’s about time for Philly.

Again, this is a prediction and my question to the football gods is… why not the Philadelphia Eagles? Why not my home town team?  There have been four dynasties since the 70’s – Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Dallas (UGH!) and New England – a team for each decade more or less. So here we are in the second decade of the 2000’s and Philadelphia is as ripe as any team to begin a new one.

Coming off of one of the most disappointing seasons in team history where mistakes and letdowns were the norm, I believe this team has learned tremendously from 2011. They have come a way but they’re still growing, still gelling and maturing as a team.

But the Eagles are a young team that, for a change, has no controversy or contract issues. And as far as skill positions go, quarterback Michael Vick is by far the oldest at 32. Barring a major injury to major players, this team is set (with a few additions over time to add to an awesome core of talent) to do some great things. With the exception of the safety position, the Eagles have been pretty good at establishing depth and look to get better. They can do some damage for a long time!

There is also divisional competition and though there will be classic games over the next several years the Eagles will own the NFC East. The Giants are always around and the Redskins will be better but the Cowboys will be the serious foe and we’ll see new life in that rivalry of old. Still, the Eagles will dominate the division for years to come.

The last dynasty, the Patriots, was an aging team and managed to replenish their talent over the span of their success. I think over the next five or six years, we’ll be even better. A piece here and a piece there over time to fill gaps, solidify and finalize the backup quarterback issue and we’re watching parades and the Eagles as the take regular trips to the White House.

I remember Vince Young and the whole “Dream Team” thing, but this is different.

There are things that happen in sports over years and decades that you won’t see perhaps for decades to come, maybe even a generation. But that’s what’s so cool about sports, sometimes you just never know.

Back in the day, the old heads in the neighborhood used to say that when a fighter wins the heavyweight title he becomes an even better fighter. The champ has a psychological edge and when the Eagles win their first Super Bowl, there will be an even more dynamic swagger, a certain aura of invincibility in South Philly.

Yeah, I know they haven’t run one play, haven’t even put the pads on… and they still have to play the games… that’s why this is called a prediction. At the last snap of each Super Bowl analysts are already talking about odds for the next season’s winner. So, we’ll watch each game, as each week passes and each month leads to February… to hear the words, “The World Champion Philadelphia Eagles”!

This is my wish, my hope and my prayer. Time’s yours.