God, it's so close I can taste it.
The time between now and 7 p.m. Monday night will be long, grueling, and torturous. Not even a healthy helping of NFL games, which started Thursday night and ends Sunday night when the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants collide, will be able to satisfy the hunger that is building inside every Philadelphia Eagles fan.
The optimism surrounding this team took a substantial leap Wednesday after respectable NFL entities picked the Eagles to hoist the Lombardi Trophy at season's end.
.@AdamSchefter handed in his predictions to ESPN for the Super Bowl and he has an Eagles/Ravens Super Bowl with the #Eagles winning it all!!
— 975TheFanatic (@975TheFanatic) September 9, 2015
Predictions: SB champs EAGLES !!! Chicago disaster (real shot at 1st draft pk) Khalil Mack proves should've been #1 pick Saints win division
— Joe Banner (@JoeBanner13) September 9, 2015
And the honest truth is, I'm buying into the hype.
There are a number of reasons to board the Eagles hype train. Finally, we have a quarterback who seems to make good, quick decisions and has a deadly accurate rocket for an arm. Finally, we not only have one running back who will keep his legs churning and fight for the tough yards, we have two. Finally, we have a defense to get excited about, again.
And on top of that, we have a confident head coach who's out to prove to everyone that his unconventional methodology can dominate at the NFL level.
This season will undoubtedly be one to remember, whether it ends in pure bliss, or utter disappointment.
So much can go wrong, but at the same time, so much can go right. Sam Bradford could have his season end with a third ACL tear, or he could play like he did at Lambeau Field and have an MVP-caliber year. DeMarco Murray could show the strain of his 449-touch 2014 season, or he could retain his status as one of the game's elite running backs. The defense could suffer from a suspect, revamped secondary and injury concerns at middle linebacker, or the pieces could mesh perfectly to create one one of the league's most stout units.
If the latter occurs for each of those scenarios, then the Eagles should be paved a smooth, swift road to the Super Bowl 50.
But the chances of everything perfectly aligning are unlikely. It's more probable than not that Bradford will miss some games, in which case Mark Sanchez would lead the offense in his absence. Murray will certainly not recapture his 2014 numbers, mostly because of Chip's insistence on splitting carries between him and Ryan Mathews. But Murray's another year older, and there's no telling how many miles last season's workload subtracted.
The secondary will inevitably suffer some growing pains, especially with rookie Eric Rowe being thrust into a starting role, and it's yet to be seen how Byron Maxwell performs under the pressure of being a defense's number one corner back. Kiko Alonso, who saw his first action since 2013 in last week's preseason finale against the New York Jets, will surely have a layer of rust to shake off.
Nonetheless, this Eagles team is good. Very good, in fact. They are 63.6 percent odds to make the playoffs and are 10/1 odds to win the Super Bowl. A lot of people agree that the Eagles are primed for success in 2015; myself included.
But how do we as fans define success in 2015? Is it a Super Bowl or bust-type of season? Or will a lone playoff win satisfy? One thing is certain: a trip the playoffs is a must. Chip didn't reshape this roster to not play past the January 3 regular season finale against the Giants.
Winning the Super Bowl is obviously the ultimate goal, but if this season doesn't end with a championship or even a trip to Santa Clara, I will be disappointed, but I won't deem the season a failure. As long as the Eagles can establish themselves as one of the NFL's elite teams moving forward, I'll be happy. That being said, I fully expect this team to continue to propel themselves into Super Bowl conversations as the season progresses.
When Monday night's opener finally does arrive, the entire city of Philadelphia, and NFL fans everywhere, will have their eyes glued on the Eagles to see if this science experiment of a football team, that mad scientist Chip Kelly concocted, will work. Win or lose, people will overreact one way or the other. If they do, in fact, suffer defeat at the hands of the Falcons, I encourage people to exercise patience. It's only one game. This thing could take a little time to come together. But when it does, it could lead to something genuinely special.
