Quite frankly, the first kickoff for the 2014 Philadelphia Eagles can not come soon enough and with less than 24 hours left, fans should be worried if they are already not. Take a look at the schedule and you see the Jacksonville Jaguars in the week one slot. Yes I know what you’re thinking: we should clearly route a team that was last in scoring and a defense that has few play-makers. The week one match up should be a cake walk.
Wrong! If anything, the Eagles should take the Jaguars very seriously because it is the season opener and anything out of the ordinary is possible. Take a quick rewind to last season as the Eagles found themselves on the losing end of a shootout with the San Diego Chargers. San Diego came away with the victory by the final score of 33-30 as the defense was abused all afternoon by then unknown receiver Eddie Royal. Royal caught three touchdowns from Phillip Rivers who threw for over 400 yards. It was a day most Eagles fans would want to forget thanks to Nick Novak striking a game winning field goal.
The Jaguars are not the Chargers by any means nor do they have experience of the Chargers. The Jaguars are a quality team building for the future and top pick Blake Bortles looks like he is their QB of the future. Surprisingly, the Eagles have not game-planned for Bortles, but still have to deal with veteran Chad Henne. Word came late Saturday afternoon that the Jaguars will be without wide-receiver Cecil Shorts III. Along with the suspension of Justin Blackmon, it seems everything is on the Eagles side except for one little aspect: confidence.
The Jaguars have all the confidence they need to beat a team they are favored to lose by more than 14 points. With a veteran quarterback and a veteran, bruising running back in Toby Gerhart, the Jags have all but forgotten the 4-12 season of 2013. With all the doubters looking at the Eagles as thrashers this week, why not upset the Eagles on the most celebrated game of the regular season? Why not come into Philadelphia and smack the Eagles right in the mouth?
Need a second example, well here is one. In 2003, the Buffalo Bills opened the season against the New England Patriots who just came off winning the Super Bowl. Easy win for the Pats right? WRONG! The Buffalo Bills man handled the Pats 31-0 and shocked the football world.
Like I said, it is the first week and for some teams, the home opener can be the most unpredictable game of the year. Whether it be superstitions or first game rookie jitters, nothing seems to go right more than enough to take into accord. Personally, I still believe the Eagles will win this game and the Jaguars will fall short because the Eagles offense is like a sleeping monster; once its awake, you can do very little to stop it. I see the Eagles possibly winning 44-14 with a second half explosion of offense from the Birds. But keep an eye out, because if Jacksonville scores early, that maybe all the confidence they need.
[Photo: Onesidechick.com]
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