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26	September 2019

Expectations for the Philadelphia Eagles already are Super Bowl

A stacked roster plus a healthy starting quarterback have everyone talking about another parade on Broad Street. It took the Eagles 52 years to celebrate their first two years ago and they�re eager to taste victory again.�We recognize the ability of the roster Youth Haloti Ngata Jerseys , but that only goes so far,� Carson Wentz said after practice Thursday. �We have to come together as a team and build a team, not a bunch of individuals. We have the opportunity to do something special, but it takes a lot of hard work.�Coach Doug Pederson has a group of players who can handle enormous pressure and understand how to approach a season that begins with championship aspirations.�Having gone through it a couple years ago, having gone through the adversity we faced last year with the amount of injuries that piled up, I think guys learn,� Pederson said. �They learn through that adversity and through that experience. I think that�s what has really so far made this team the type of team it is. The leaders on this team, the veteran players on this team, I challenge those guys to lead. It�s also OK to fail, but if you fail, let�s fail going forward. Let�s fail forward not backward, learn from it, and move on. That�s what this team, this training camp, is all about.�The Eagles failed to repeat last season, falling short against New Orleans in the NFC divisional round after beating Chicago on the road in a wild-card game. Nick Foles, the Super Bowl MVP against New England a year earlier, led Philadelphia again after Wentz went down with a back injury. Foles is Jacksonville�s starter now and Wentz is hungry for his first playoff action.�There�s always pressure whether it�s this much or this much,� Wentz said. �It doesn�t change how I approach every single day, just block that out and keep getting better. I wasn�t on the field for the Super Bowl, so there�s that element.�The Eagles should have a dynamic offense with the return of three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver DeSean Jackson and the addition of running backs Jordan Howard and rookie Miles Sanders to a unit that includes tight ends Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert, wideouts Alshon Jeffery and Nelson Agholor.Jackson was part of the 2011 �Dream Team� Eagles who finished 8-8 Haloti Ngata Jerseys Stitched , so he knows hype doesn�t matter much.�We don�t want to get caught up in a phrase or a word like the �dream team� in the past,� Jackson said. �That�s putting extra attention on you that you don�t really need. We all want to win. We all want to hold up the trophy at the end of the season, but the work has to be put in.�On defense, there�s been plenty of change and several players are returning from injuries that cut their seasons short. Defensive ends Michael Bennett and Chris Long and linebacker Jordan Hicks are among the key contributors who aren�t back. Defensive tackle Malik Johnson was a valuable addition in free agency, and the secondary gets three starters back: cornerbacks Ronald Darby and Jalen Mills and safety Rodney McLeod.NOTES: Mills (foot) was the only player to start camp on the physically unable to perform list. � RG Brandon Brooks (Achilles), DT Fletcher Cox (foot), McLeod (knee), Darby (knee), RB Corey Clement (knee), DE Derek Barnett (shoulder) are among the players returning from surgery. Folks, we�ve seen this season before.In 2005, the Eagles were celebrating their first Super Bowl appearance since 1980, and hopes were high the team could get back there again. After three straight failures in the NFC Championship Game, that �05 team headed into the season with a great offensive line, a solid QB in Donovan McNabb, a talented, if mercurial, star in Terrell Owens, and a defense that ate all season long the year before.But while early contract disputes with T.O. eventually led to the team suspending him for the season in November � also putting a black cloud over the team right from training camp � it was a catastrophic string of injuries that ultimately led to that team�s downfall. By mid-season, the Birds had lost McNabb, running back Brian Westbrook, wide receiver Todd Pinkston Youth Nigel Bradham Jerseys , offensive lineman Tra Thomas, defensive end Jerome McDougle, center Hank Fraley, cornerback Lito Sheppard and running back Correll Buckhalter for multiple games. Hell, even the kickers, David Akers and Dirk Johnson, had trouble staying on the field. The Eagles finished the season losing 8 of their last 10 and finished 6-10, with QB Mike McMahon at quarterback running for his life.While the 2018 season hasn�t reached those levels quite yet, the 3-4 Eagles are clearly not headed in a good direction, and on Tuesday, they received another piece of disheartening injury news.In case you are keeping score at home...In a weak NFC East, and with four of their next six games against divisional opponents, there is still time for the Eagles to get things right. Carson Wentz is playing amazing football (his last drive Sunday aside), Alshon Jeffrey and Zach Ertz have been dominant, and even though they�ve lost Derek Barnett for the season, the pass rush and linebacking core have done pretty well.But there is a reason the Eagles have been at the center of virtually every trade rumor involving a running back, wide receiver, defensive tackle or member of the secondary � they are hurting. And after coming off a Super Bowl victory with a young team, the Birds have understandably been all-in to repeat here in 2018.However, when it comes to this trade deadline, this injury-riddled Eagles team should refrain from giving up any early-round draft picks for players who will only be here for this season. That includes Pittsburgh�s Le�Veon Bell, who would certainly cost at least a second round pick were the Eagles to go down that road. It also means no wide receivers like Larry Fitzgerald Nigel Bradham Jerseys Stitched , John Brown, or Kelvin Benjamin, all on the last year of their deals.This isn�t to say the Eagles shouldn�t pursue options that would help the team beyond this yar. Arizona cornerback Patrick Peterson is one of the game�s best at the position, and it might still be smart to acquire him, depending on the price. A first round pick for a stud like that, one who�s under team control in 2019 and �20, his age-29 and 30 seasons, would be both a short-term and long-term move. After all, if the Eagles were to draft a cornerback with that first rounder, the odds they�d get someone who would be anywhere as good as Peterson is a ridiculous longshot anyway.Players such as Denver wideout Emmanuel Sanders (under contract through next year), are a little riskier, given he will be 32 next year. But he�s still an effective burner and has 603 yards on 43 catches and 3 touchdowns this year. DeVante Parker will be just 27 next season, so a trade for him would be understandable if the asking price isn�t any higher than a 4th or 5th round pick. However, the declining LeSean McCoy will be 31 and in the last year of his deal next year. Demaryius Thomas is having a decent year this year, but he�ll be 32. Deals for both those players would have to be ones that wouldn�t kill the Eagles in terms of 2019 draft picks.The bottom line is, if the Eagles are considering trading for a player that becomes a free agent after the season � they should stop. While it�s too soon to call this a lost season, it certainly feels a lot like 2005. Given all that�s happened, Howie Roseman should not be making any deals with 2018 solely in mind.