November 06, 2018
Are power rankings completely dumb and meaningless? Yes. Yes, they are. However, personally speaking, whenever I see them, I click. And now that I've sucked you in with promises of many power rankings, you'll read it and like it. (Oh, and don't forget to check out our version of these meaningless rankings here.)
Here's where people around the country have the Birds ranked after the seventh week of the 2018 NFL season:
For Philly, the Super Bowl hangover was real. Lingering injuries (Alshon Jeffery, Tim Jernigan) from last season mixed with new ones (Rodney McLeod, Mike Wallace, Jay Ajayi) to deplete a championship roster that had little time to heal up because of the long run. The offense switched from Nick Foles to Carson Wentz in Week 3, and it has yet to hit on all cylinders -- perhaps still adjusting to the loss of offensive coordinator Frank Reich and quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo. The Eagles clawed their way to a .500 record at the break, with hopes that the second half of the season will treat them more kindly.
#JimmySays: While I'll disagree that Super Bowl hangovers are some kind of common historical occurrence, at least for the winner of the Super Bowl, the point above is certainly correct that the longer season the Eagles played, as well as the appeal -- and subsequent loss -- of some some of their assistant coaches last year, has contributed to additional hurdles in 2018.
The Eagles got a nice present with Washington’s loss during their bye week. (And Dallas’s, Green Bay’s and Seattle’s losses, to be honest.) But the division remains the main focus for now. Five of their final eight games come against NFC East opponents, starting with Dallas traveling to Philly on a short week.
#JimmySays: On the one hand, the Eagles' remaining opponents have a combined point differential of +131, mainly because their three out-of-division opponents (Saints, Rams, and Texans) are all atop their respective divisions. On the other hand, as noted above, the dumpster fire NFC East should be ripe for the taking.
Considering the Eagles still have road games remaining against the Saints and Rams, they still don’t have a lot of room for error. But seeing the Redskins get blown out and lose some key players in the process (and then seeing the Cowboys fall on their face against the Titans) was a reminder that the NFC East is there for the taking.
#JimmySays: I feel like the assumption is that the Eagles are going to lose on the road to the Saints and Rams, and not just nationally. Locally, I've seen that from the fan base as well. While I'll always applaud self-awareness, I'm not so sure those games should just be chalked up as L's. They'll obviously be underdogs, but the Eagles can win those games. They're still the reigning champs.
The Eagles will be good in plenty of areas coming out of their bye, starting with their offense. The defense remains the big concern going forward in an offensively loaded NFC.
#JimmySays: The strength of the defense, as always, is the pass rush. If they can get that going to a new level when Timmy Jernigan returns, they could be in OK shape defensively.
Do bye weeks get better? Injury bug bit down hard on NFC East-leading Washington. Meanwhile, Philly picked up Golden Tate. Champs are back.
#JimmySays: And Timmy Jernigan!
They come off their bye with a big division game with the Cowboys. They have the look of a team ready to make a big second-half push.
#JimmySays: And the Cowboys are coming off a Monday night loss. 14 days worth of prep vs. 6 days, plus the Cowboys have to travel to Philly on their short week.
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