Rough Draft

NFC Championship: Eagles vs Panthers

And so the Eagles 2003-2004 season ended just as it began, miserably. They lost the NFC Championship game for the 3rd straight year. This time they lost to the Panthers 14-3 at home. There really weren't many bright spots for the Eagles for any of the game. Their defense played fairly well, and they did get Troy Vincent back, though he seemed sluggish and definitely wasn't playing at 100%. Offensively the Eagles were terrible. Receivers dropped balls, ran incorrect routes, the running game didn't generate any big plays, McNabb was under constant pressure. In my opinion, the rib injury which caused McNabb to miss most of the second half didn't affect the outcome of the game, because the Eagles were just overall playing terribly and even a perfect McNabb couldn't have won the game for them. Not much else to about the game itself.

As far as the Eagles season as a whole, they surpassed my expectations. They didn't play brilliantly throughout the season, but they kept finding ways to win, most of the time coming from behind. I honestly didn't expect them to make it to the NFC Championship game again this season. After their dreadful play in that game though, it should be interesting to see what changes the offseason brings.

Duce Staley probably won't be back next year, and both Bobby Taylor and Troy Vincent could be free agents. The Eagles have used draft picks the last few seasons on defensive backs, so they should be good on defense. I'd really like to see the Eagles bring in a high caliber receiver. Also, as long as Brian Westbrook gets healthy again, he should be able to handle the running back duties on his own. At any rate, the Eagles aren't going to be torn apart this offseason and I fully expect them to be back at the top of the NFC next season. Hopefully they'll be able to make the necessary moves in the off-season to bring in the talent necessary to get them to the Super Bowl next year.