The only dead period on the NFL calendar has hit a little differently in Philadelphia, perhaps the most passionate sports city in the country where the Eagles reign supreme.
Nothing is changing that sentiment around the Delaware Valley absent the organization’s late-season collapse in 2023-24 turning from anomaly to a way of wife, something that seems far-fetched with the talent assembled by GM Howie Roseman.
That said, to those being honest with themselves, Major League Baseball’s Phillies are the best team in the city heading into Tuesday night’s action with an MLB-best 55-29 record.
The NBA’s 76ers have also made some noise by finding $212 million to add nine-time All-Star Paul George to the nucleus of Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, giving the perpetually bad-luck organization the best trio in the game in the unlikely scenario that all stay healthy for an entire season and playoff run.
There is still plenty of work to be done by SIxers' GM Daryl Morey to build a support system and find the proper role players to fit with his “big three” but you can at least see the bare bones of a championship contender.
In a four-for-four city that also includes the NHL's Flyers and you can extend to include Major League Soccer's Union, it's the Phillies who clearly have the best opportunity to claim the brass ring in their respective sport moving forward.
Meanwhile, some national outlets are starting to pick up some of the potential flaws in what could be an overhyped Eagles team built on the foundation of a lame-duck coach tethered to reputation and pedigree scouting (think Saquon Barkley and Devin White).
Recently, an NFL Media personality left the Eagles out of the NFL’s top-10 offenses and ESPN graded the Philadelphia starting 22 at No. 10 overall, good but certainly not championship level.
The over/unders on Jalen Hurts look troubling for those who believe “Vegas knows” and Roseman’s roster-building philosophy from a defensive perspective seems to be ‘Vic [Fangio] will figure it out.”
The Eagles are never out of sight, out of mind in the zeitgeist of Philadelphia sports. That said, the 2024 summer break has highlighted that the current incarnation isn’t the best team in town, never mind the NFL.
