Imagining America's Game: The 2009 Philadelphia Eagles

 

I can only assume that those of you with access to the NFL Network have seen more than your fair share of installments of the America's Game series.  Personally, I've seen pretty close to all of them, but that's mostly because an extremely clever and insightful friend gave the entire collection to us as a wedding gift.

If you've seen a few episodes of America's Game, you're familiar with the formula: they select three players or coaches from the championship team, and use interviews and narration (typically from weighty male actors in their 40s and 50s) to detail the team's journey from training camp through the season and onto a Super Bowl win.  Backstory is important -- sometimes they start in previous seasons -- as are a smattering of obstacles and challenges that the team must face along the way, which obviously serve to highlight the magnitude of the team's final achievements.

As much as I've enjoyed the America's Game series, I obviously resent the absence of an Eagles episode (the Birds didn't even make the series about the almost champions, grrrr), but hey, maybe this is the year (though I say that every year).  Which leads me to envision how the America's Game: The 2009 Philadelphia Eagles would play.  As you can imagine, there's plenty of good backstory/ adversity in this tale.

The script so far....

Opening Titles: "America's Game: The 2009 Philadelphia Eagles, with Andy Reid, Sheldon Brown, and Donovan McNabb, narrated by the rich and lusty voice of Alec Baldwin."

Alec Baldwin: "For the first decade of the 21st century, the Philadelphia Eagles played the role of perpetual bridesmaids, losing four NFC Championship games and a Super Bowl, and leaving their beleaguered fans wondering if they would ever capture that elusive Vince Lombardi Trophy."

Cue montage of Eagles' NFC Championship Game losses and Super Bowl loss, with our three talking heads each revealing how frustrating it was to get so close so many times. 

Andy Reid: "We knew we had good teams, but for whatever reason, we just couldn't get that final win." 

Donovan McNabb: "I don't know what happened.  Lots of different things.  It was always something, and of course it was frustrating."

Sheldon Brown: "You talk to Donovan yet?"

Alec Baldwin: "The Eagles entered the 2009 season fresh off yet another NFC Championship loss without emotional leader Brian Dawkins, the heart of the team for the past decade.  But an ever bigger loss loomed...."

Cue very very sad segment about Jim Johnson, which will include the otherwise unflappable Andy Reid and Sheldon Brown losing their composure a bit, as well as previously unseen shots from the memorial service.

Alec Baldwin: "That wouldn't be the only surprise in training camp that year for the Eagles.  Starting middle linebacker Stewart Bradley went down with a knee injury, and talented but mercurial offensive guard Shawn Andrews went on injured reserve."

Cue "Get My Michael Phelps On" as Andy Reid speaks.

Andy Reid: "The frustrating thing about Shawn was that we'd invested a lot in making him happy.  We brought in his brother and his college roommate, and paid a lot of money for them.  So that was disappointing."

Sheldon Brown: "Shawn Andrews?  Nice guy.  Not a football player.  Not much of a singer, either, but definitely not a football player."

Alec Baldwin: "But nothing compared to the stunning announcement following a preseason game that the Eagles had signed controversial quarterback Michael Vick, fresh from a 20-month prison stint for dogfighting."

Donovan McNabb: "Let me say for the record for the last time, this was all my idea and I was always supportive of Mike joining the team.  The quarterback controversy stuff was all a media creation -- it was clear that Mike really couldn't play quarterback very well."

Andy Reid: "We had talked to Tony Dungy, and we thought that Philadelphia would be a good place for Mike.  We thought we could do some things with him on offense, but, obviously, that didn't really pan out.  Still, I feel like we did help Mike."

[Fade to black for commercial/ new chapter on the DVD.]

Alec Baldwin: "The Eagles were rolling in their opener when Donovan McNabb suffered broken ribs on a questionable hit following a touchdown."

Sheldon Brown: "You know, the funny thing was that you couldn't even sneeze on Tom Brady that season without getting fined, and Donovan got his ribs broken on a late hit and there wasn't even a flag." 

Alec Baldwin: "With McNabb out and veteran running back Brian Westbrook hobbled with a lingering ankle injury, a host of young Eagles began to mature and led the Eagles to a fast start."

Montage of DeSean Jackson, Kevin Kolb, Shady McCoy, Brent Celek and Jeremy Maclin all scoring touchdowns.

Alec Baldwin: "McNabb soon returned, as did another face familiar to Eagles fans."

Sheldon Brown: "I admit I was a little surprised when they brought in Trot.  I mean, I knew they were keeping Omar's injury quiet, but to bring in Trot?  I mean, Jeremiah's a great guy, but he'd been on the radio, you know?  And this was the middle of the season."

Andy Reid: "We thought Trot could help us a bit.  And he's a good locker room guy.  But, obviously, when Omar went down, we needed some more help."

Alec Baldwin: "Help came in the form of Will Witherspoon, whose move from the woeful St. Louis Rams seemed to energize him and he immediately fit in with the Eagles turnover-hungry defense."

Donovan McNabb: "He scored a touchdown in his first game, right?  Not a bad trade."

Cue montage of big defensive plays/ interceptions. 

Alec Baldwin: "But those weren't all the changes the Eagles' defense would make.  When kick returner and cornerback Ellis Hobbs injured his neck the same week that nickelback Joselio Hanson was suspended by the League, the Eagles suddenly were thin on defense.  Still, the team had managed to make it to the season's halfway mark in the middle of the NFC playoff race."         

CUT!

And that's where it stops.  For now.  Pretty compelling stuff, right?  Full of surprises, twists, turns, new faces, old faces, etc?  And it would make for a great show, were it all to come together. 

The problem with the story isn't that it isn't compelling; the problem is that it's probably too compelling.  That is, every Super Bowl champ has a few bumps in the road, but when you lay out the story of the 2009 Eagles, it sure seems like there are a lot of bumps.  Probably a few bumps too many.  And we're only at the halfway point of the season.

While there hasn't been a shortage of headlines and twists this season, this past week's revelations -- did we really need a PED scandal as well? -- left me wondering if maybe we haven't already used up our quota of setbacks, because it sure seems like a lot of drama for half a season of football for an ostensibly competitive team.  Sure, no one's doing sit-ups in the driveway or cramming pills in their rectum, but you wouldn't say that it's been business as usual either.

The upside is that there's still half a season to go, and plenty of time for the story to find the right/ happy ending.  5-3 and 2-1 in the division in a season where the Eagles have broken in a fresh offensive line, have a rookie defensive coordinator and where their best player from the past three years has barely played really isn't that bad.

But I'd also argue in favor of slightly less drama down the stretch.  I welcomed drama this summer when we were hungry for actual football, but now that we're in the middle of the season, I'd be very happy with boring efficiency, thank you very much.         

Update: shame on me for not providing links to the excellent America's Game theme music.  (That was a special moment.)