Beautiful Autumn, scary Christmas

By Os Davis  |   Sunday, April 09, 2006  |  Comments( 0 )

Philadelphia Eagles
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Remember that scene in the Steve Martin movie "The Jerk"? Martin's shmuck protagonist cavorts about his employer's gas station, thrilled out of his gourd to see his name in print, crying out "The new phone books are here! The new phone books are here!"

In NFL fandom, who isn't a jerk right now? After all?The 2006 NFL schedule is here! The 2006 NFL schedule is here! Evidence that, yes, the offseason will end someday! And oh boy, is the Philadelphia Eagles schedule interesting, not to mention more than a bit daunting in December ? more on that later.

The green and silver kick off 2006 on September 10 in Houston, a game expected to draw a heck of a lot of attention due to the assumed Reggie "President" Bush coming-out party. However, if the Houston Texans continue to ignore the perpetual nagging weakness of their offensive line in terms of protecting the quarterback, Reggie can run up 250 yards in the opener and the Eagles will still win. And he won't run up 250 against the Eagles.

The matchup with the Texans indicates that Philly and their division mates will be squaring off against the quite possibly weak AFC South quartet. The Jacksonville Jaguars come to town on October 29, and the Eagles host the Tennessee Titans on November 19. The downside of the AFC South draw is, of course, Indianapolis. The Eagles go to Indy to square off against the Colts on November 26, which triggers an arduous slate of games in December ? more on that later.

Four games against the teams of the NFC South are scheduled as well. The Eagles get the New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers early (October 15 and 22, respectively), a Monday night match against the Carolina Panthers, and the season closer with the Atlanta Falcons.

All eyes will be on Philadelphia on October 8, when Terrell Owens is sure to be given a warm reception in the City Of Brotherly Love upon his return. This backseat quarterback offers a wickedly premature suggestion of using T.O. as a decoy for at least the first half. T.O. is no doubt already salivating about what he and the Cowpokes will do to the Eagles when the flyers visit Dallas on Christmas Day, in the midst of a thoroughly brutal December.

All right, you want to know? Here's the December schedule. After playing in Indy on November 26, the Eagles host Carolina ? seemingly the early prohibitive favorite to take the NFC ? on December 4. Philly then plays away games against Washington, the New York Giants, and Dallas in consecutive weeks (December 10, 17, and Christmas). The Falcons then come to town, conceivably to put the cap on a five-game losing streak.

Sure, rosters are nowhere near set and the draft still a couple of weeks away. Even this early on, however, it is clear that clutch play and fortitude will be required to prevent any holiday blues. The Eagles had better not pout, better not cry, etc., when the powerhouses come to town and when they travel over hill and over dale. Call it a Very Scary Christmas.
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About Os Davis

Os Davis has taken a twisted route to get to RealFootball365.com in his nearly 17 years in professional writing, working in any number of capacities in the sportswriting, news reporting and film criticism worlds. In print media, Os has served as editor at a few publications, including Albuquerque's ...
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