The Eagles kickoff their season tomorrow afternoon at 1 PM against the Carolina Panthers. If you recall, when I first did my schedule analysis, I put this as an L on the schedule. Unfortunately, nothing has transpired which would make me change this prediction.
First of all is history. In the previous 10 seasons under Andy Reid, the Eagles opening game record is 4-6. Of those 4 wins, only one was an upset and many of the six losses were in games where the Eagles were favored. For a coach who has had a very good win/loss record, it continues to puzzle me how they have done so poorly in season openers.
However, the main reason I believe that the Eagles will lose has to do with their offensive line. It has had no continuity in practices and preseason games and we just learned yesterday that Shawn Andrews is definitely out at right tackle. That means that the person responsible to block Julius Peppers will be none other than Winston Justice. I'm already having flashbacks to the Sunday night Giants game when Justice was like a piece of swiss cheese and Donovan spent most of the night on his back. The Panthers know how to rush the quarterback and although I think the Eagles will have a very explosive offense this year, I think we will have to wait a week to see it.
All this said, the season is not lost. I think the next few weeks set up favorably for them. Although, I'll predict a Carolina win, I expect the Eagles will bounce back and have a good season.
My prediction: Panthers 23, Eagles 13.
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