Fly, Eagles, Fly

     Resiliency. That's the word repeatedly used by the Philadelphia Eagles players. Their belief that the team was resilient proved to be correct. For at the end of Super Bowl LII, it was clear that the Philadelphia Eagles were in fact resilient.

     If you loved offense, then the Eagles-New England Patriots match up was for you. The teams combined to set a record for most combined yardage gained from scrimmage in a single game EVER in NFL history.

     Not quite like a track meet with relays, it seemed like the teams would go down the field nearly at will and score. It was the second highest score for a Super Bowl, missing the mark by merely one point. And that record could have been broken had a couple of extra points been made.

     In watching the game, there was never a dull moment. Miraculous throws and catches were almost normal. Hard running was also prevalent. The two teams went at it with an offensive mind set, a ferocity that almost immediately set the tone for the game.

     I did not think that the defenses were as bad as critics have complained. Especially New England. Don't blame Matt Patricia despite the sometimes befuddled looks he displayed. I thought that the Philadelphia offensive line was excellent and provided QB Nick Foles with the time to throw to his receivers, some of them making circus catches in the end zone. That line continuously opened up holes for Eagles' running backs to gain critical yardage.

     For when the game was winding down and the ball was in the hands of the greatest QB of all time, Tom Brady, the pervasive feeling was that the Patriots were going to repeat a comeback, perhaps not as epic as in Super Bowl LI against Atlanta, and prevail. After all it was Tom Brady, who has shown us so many times why he can lead a team to victory at the end of a game.

     Except it was not to be. First, after Philadelphia regained the lead at 38-33 with 2:21 left to play, on a drive culminating on a controversial 9 yard TD pass from Foles to tight end Zach Ertz.  Ertz lost control of the ball as he dove into the end zone. Since he was ruled a runner and he had crossed the plane of the goal line, the catch was ruled to be a valid score.

     On the next drive, Brady went to work. During the second play, Brady went back to pass and as he attempted to throw, the big paws of Eagles' defensive lineman Brandon Graham reached out and stripped the ball away from the New England QB. Defensive end Derek Barnett recovered the ball for Philadelphia. This was the only sack of the game.

     Foles masterfully guided the Eagles offense, as he had done all evening, forcing the Patriots to use up their remaining 2 timeouts. With 1:05 left on the game clock, Jake Elliott booted a 46 yard field goal to boost the Eagles lead to 41-33.

     Still, Brady and the Patriots had the opportunity to tie the score if they could make a touchdown and a two point conversion. After nine plays which included a 4th and 10 catch by Danny Amendola, Brady was left with one more chance from the 49 yard line. His Hail Mary pass was true to the end zone and was intended for gigantic tight end Rob Gronkowski or a deflection into the arms of Amendola or Chris Hogan. Although the ball popped up for a second, the pass was incomplete. While there might have been a penalty or two on the play with the hindsight of replays, none were called. Game over. Philadelphia had dethroned the defending champions and were, for the first time, Super Bowl victors.

     Many Super Bowl records were set in this game: the fewest punts (1, Philadelphia); most points by a losing team (33); most yards by a team (New England 613); and Brady threw for 505 yards and 3 TD's while competing 28 of 48 passes. Additionally, this was the first Super Bowl where both QB's threw for over 200 yards in the first half and most combined yards (613).

     The Super Bowl M.V.P. was Foles, who completed 28 of 43 passes for 373 yards, 3 TD's and 1 interception (which really wan't his fault as his receiver, Alshon Jeffrey attempted a one-handed catch and the ball bounced off his hand and into the arms of former Rutgers star Duron Harmon of New England).

     What made Foles' masterful game even more unique was his chiding Eagles' Head Coach Doug Pederson to go for it on 4th and goal on the New England 1 yard line with 38 seconds left in the first half. The so-called "Philly Special" where Foles began the play as QB then moved over to become a wing back off of right tackle, led to a direct snap to running back Corey Clement, who pitched the ball to tight end Trey Burton, who in turn tossed a beautiful pass while on the run into the arms of the wide open Foles for a TD. This was reprise of the Patriots' failed attempt at trickery, when wide receiver slightly overthrew a wide open Brady.

     To me the truest star of the game was Pederson. I think he totally baffled the Patriots' defense with his superb play calling. He showed ice water in his veins as he had the Eagles go for fourth down a couple of times, including the aforementioned "Philly Special." This high caliber performance came from a career backup in the NFL with Miami, Green Bay, Philadelphia, Cleveland as well as a stint in the long-forgotten World League of American Football.

     As late as 2009, Pederson was coaching high school football in Louisiana. Pederson joined the staff of then-Eagles coach Andy Reid and moved up the ranks of assistant coaches, following Reid to Kansas City where he was Reid's offensive coordinator. Philadelphia hired Pederson in 2016, and in his second season as the Eagles' head man, he has won a Super Bowl.

     It was a tough loss for Brady, Head Coach Bill Belichick and the Patriots. Belichick took a lot of heat for not playing defensive back Malcolm Butler. While Butler had a sub-par season, he was a starter and the benching was total surprise. Some experts thought that inserting Butler, who intercepted a Russel Wilson pass in the end zone with 20 seconds to go to preserve a New England victory over Seattle in Super Bowl XLIX, would have made a difference. I disagree. Pederson and Foles were having an on day and the diversity of the plays called and the execution would not have been changed by changing one defensive back in this instance.

     When time expired, pandemonium arrived in Philadelphia. With the Eagles' players, coaches and management celebrating on the field, singing the "Fly, Eagles, Fly" anthem, the Eagles' fans took to the streets of Center City for an impromptu celebration. The usual drunken revelry occurred--climbing on a hotel awning that gave way to the weight of too many people on it ; a couple of cars overturned and damaged; a few traffic lights and other poles downed. Despite the acts of lawlessness, the long-suffering Eagles' fans had their first Lombardi Trophy and first NFL Championship since 1960. It was historic day. At least no police horses were punched this time, unlike the previous rowdiness after wins over Atlanta and Minnesota.

     Philadelphians had their day on Thursday with a massive parade and love fest on the Art Museum's famed steps, immortalized by Sylvester Stallone in the movie Rocky. Bud Light came through, supplying beer based on the boast of tackle Lane Johnson that he would pay for the suds if the Eagles won the Super Bowl. Coach Pederson showed his athleticism by making a one-handed catch of a beer can tossed up to him during the parade. And the epic, profanity-laden speech of center Jason Kulce, who was festooned in a green outfit that was part Mummers' Parade, part sultan, put an exclamation mark to the awesome win. The arrests were minimal and the joyousness of the throng, many who had come back to Philadelphia from afar in order to witness this coronation, was omnipresent. To paraphrase the current series of Bud Light commercials, which Anheuser-Busch marketing adroitly did, Philly Philly, Eagles fans. Philly Philly.

     Thus the long NFL season came to its conclusion. Many questions abound for these two teams: what is the fate of Foles when incumbent QB, Carson Wentz returns from ACL surgery? Will a now 40 year old Brady show signs of aging next year, making New England regret shipping backup Jimmy Garappolo to San Francisco where he has starred and landed the biggest contract for a QB in NFL history? How will New England do in the wake of Patricia now becoming the Head Coach of the Detroit Lions?

     My ranking of the NFL top 10 teams for 2017 is as follows:

          1. Philadelphia
          2. New England
          3. Minnesota
          4. New Orleans
          5. Los Angeles Rams
          6. Jacksonville
          7. Pittsburgh
          8. Tennessee
          9. Atlanta
        10. Carolina

     I am sure that many will disagree on my rankings. If 5 of these teams make it to the 2018 Top 10 list, given the tumultuous off-season thus far, that will be a good sign for some continuity in the NFL.

     But for now, the self-described resilient Philadelphia Eagles, the team that did not panic when Tom Brady was destined to beat them on either of two end of game drives, are the top dogs, wearing the crown that seems to fit just fine.