The 2024 Eagles are a great team. But are they the greatest you've ever seen?
LeSean McCoy says yes:
.@CutOnDime25 says this is the "best Eagles team" he's ever seen 👀 pic.twitter.com/yoHgdKjVe7
"[DeSean Jackson] might get mad at me, and all my boys, but this is the best Eagles team I've ever seen. Let's be honest here. The defense is phenomenal, you've got an all-pro, almost MVP in the backfield . . . This is the best offensive line I've ever seen. Ever seen. In football! . . . The tight end is really really good. Then the wide receivers. I've never seen a better wide receiver tandem in Philadelphia."
It's a bold proclamation from Shady, but he backs it up well. There's tremendous talent all over the field for this year's Birds.
The 2022 team's defense racked up a franchise-record 70 sacks, but they couldn't get a stop on the Chiefs in the Super Bowl to save their lives. Blame "the Sodfather" all you'd like, but the secondary was absolutely shredded. It's hard to picture this year's defense performing as poorly.
The 2017 Eagles, Super Bowl Champions, would certainly like a word with McCoy. They were dominant all year, then had the depth to win it all behind their backup quarterback. It's hard to imagine any team playing better than the Foles-led Eagles played in Super Bowl LII. But going position-by-position down the roster, one could reasonably side with Shady's assessment.
© Matthew Emmons | 2018 Feb 4McCoy was born in 1988, so it's unclear whether any of the Donovan McNabb/Andy Reid squads from the early aughts were included in his analysis. It's a crime that none of those teams won it all. They had some flaws, of course. But Jim Johnson's defenses gave teams nightmares, McNabb is a franchise legend, and Reid is a surefire Hall of Fame head coach.
Speaking of coaching, that's one area we didn't hear McCoy dissect. And it could make all the difference. Because while Doug Pederson made all the right calls for the 2017 Birds, and Andy Reid eventually proved himself countless times over with the Chiefs, Nick Sirianni's ability to lead a team to a title is still in doubt.
From here, we need to see how this year's Eagles team finishes its season before starting the "best ever" discussion. It's hard to argue with a Super Bowl trophy.
But we will at least agree with Shady that the 2024 group has a chance to be the best Eagles team ever.Â
And that's not a bad place to be at all.
