2008 Philadelphia Eagles Season Recap

The 2008 season for the Philadelphia Eagles was a typically tumultuous one. The Eagles made another late-season push to get into the playoffs only to fall short in the NFC championship game to a different opponent. Despite the same result, the Eagles and their fans are left with another familiar off-season emotion: optimism.

The Eagles finished the season with a 9-6-1 record, but their season tells much more than their record indicates. In week 11, the Eagles settled for a disappointing tie against the Cincinnati Bengals. What made it worse was that Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb made comments about how he "didn't know" that an NFL game could end in a tie. The following week, McNabb saw himself suddenly benched in favor of the ill-experienced Kevin Kolb because of inconsistent play against the Baltimore Ravens and in preceeding games. Many were left wondering if this was it for McNabb in Philadelphia and head coach Andy Reid as well who was guilty of making questionable play-calling decisions throughout the season.

Neither of these are signs are optimism for the Eagles and their fans. The optimism comes in the way McNabb bounced back following that embarrassing loss to the Ravens. McNabb was named the starter once again the following week against the Arizona Cardinals and he made the best of his opportunity. He led the team to a 48-20 victory on Thanksgiving Day and started a ressurrection of his playing ability and the Eagles' season.

Counting that victory, the Eagles went 4-1 and barely made it into the playoffs by half a game. They needed a lot of help to get to that point and they had to help themselves in winning key games against division opponents like the defending Superbowl champion New York Giants and the pre-season Superbowl favorites, the Dallas Cowboys.

On the final game of the season, the Eagles took it to Dallas hard and won by a score of 44-6. That win secured the Eagles spot as the sixth seed in the NFC playoffs and knocked the Cowboys out of playoff contention. If nothing else this season, the Eagles can take personal pride and satisfaction in knowing they did that.

The Eagles faced tough playoff challenges on the road as they traveled to Minnesota and New York again for a third meeting with the Giants. They won both of those games and were set to duel with the suddenly two-dimensional Cardinals team in Phoenix. In the end, the other bird team won and left the Eagles with another sense of championship game defeat. The Eagles rallied to take a lead late but let it slip away in the final minutes.

This season saw some signs of positivity. It saw the emergence of rookie wide receiver DeSean Jackson as he led the team in receptions with 62 and nearly 1,000 receiving yards. However, only two of those catches went for touchdowns. That's a number Eagles fans hopes improves over time.

Another sign of optimism for the Eagles came in the play of their defense. The defense utilized off-season acquisition cornerback Asante Samuel to the fullest and finished among the tops in the league for total team defense. Samuel finished with four regular-season interceptions and was a force in the playoffs as the Eagles made their deep playoff run.

If McNabb can return to his dominant form on a consistent basis, the defense continues to play up to its excellent level, the progression of DeSean Jackson continues and running back Brian Westbrook can stay healthy a full season, then the Eagles can easily return to the top of the NFC East. If the Eagles are able to land a top-notch wide receiver in the off-season or make some other key moves, then a return to the Superbowl and possibly a win becomes more likely.

Of course, Eagles fans have had an elite receiver on their wish-list for years and the team hasn't been able to land anyone of tremendous impact since the Superbowl season with T.O. If the simple formula to get back to the big game is McNabb + Elite Receiver = Superbowl, then it would make sense for the team to act on the free agents in the market this off-season or make a trade for one.

What will actually happen has yet to be seen, but there is definitely hope and optimism in Philadelphia for their Eagles if all the pieces return and they can add some new ones.