A Look Back at the 2013 Philadelphia Eagles

Hey Everyone!

I meant to make this post yesterday, but got a bit caught up in chores and swatching polishes, but today is still a great day for this post.
I know this is mainly a nail polish blog, but it DOES have Philly in the name, and I feel like I would be really remiss if I didn't talk about the Eagles and their win over Dallas, giving us the division championship, which we haven't earned since 2012! I'm so proud to be a Philadelphia fan, I love my teams and city. I wanted to make a post dedicated to some great moments and some stats and facts about the Eagles from this year. I'll also post a nail post later today :)

I think it's fitting to start with a picture of Chip Kelly, our new head coach. This was his first year in the NFL, and while he was great in Oregon, some people weren't sure if his success would translate to the NFL.
I would like to say unbiasedly that it did. Our offense was explosive and somewhat unpredictable. We were able to utilize McCoy and Jackson (more on them in a second) better than we have in the past few years and I  have a feeling Kelly played a role in that.
I also want to say that I'm very happy that Andy Reid found success in Kansas City. I'm thrilled that the Chiefs have done as well as they have this year, and I truly do think Reid is a great head coach. I think both teams just needed some new blood.

Did you know that Nick Foles had the best passer rating in the NFL this year, with 119.2? His touchdowns to interceptions ratio, 27 to 2 was not only the best this year, but the best in NFL history.
Did you know that Nick Foles is 24 years old, and this is just his second season in the NFL? While he did play for us last year, he was able to step up into the starting QB position and handle that pressure beautifully. Granted, he was put into that position because of an injury to Vick, but he was later named starter over Vick, even though Vick had recovered from his hamstring injuries.
This picture of Foles happens to be from the Raiders game, where he threw 7 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. He is 1 of only 3 QBs to ever do that. No pressure Foles, but I'm really hoping you can be the start of something fantastic for us. Also, you thanked the punter after your win in Dallas. You're awesome.

Shady! McCoy, you had an amazing year. McCoy not only beat Phildelphia's team record for rushing, he also beat everyone else with 1,607 yards! The last Eagles RB to earn that was Steve Van Buren in 1949.
I love watching Shady play (I have his jersey!), he dekes and always seems to find a hole to run through. I like this picture of Shady best, jumping over a Lion. That entire game was an absolute BLAST to watch. I was yelling and screaming and my dogs were going insane, but that's okay! I hope Shady stays healthy, because he is definitely one of the best RBs in the league, and my favorite player to watch.

 You know, I HATE the Philadelphia media. When it comes to a city whose sports writers love to beat a team or person when they're down, Philly can't be beat. They love to focus on a player and harp and beat on them until the player probably feels like a piece of trash (I'm looking at you, Bryz). I absolutely despise our hockey beat writers, and I don't find our football coverage to be much better.
That said, Jackson is growing on me, despite what Philly media would want me to think. He's matured significantly from a few seasons ago, when his play was affected by his poor attitude about his contract. He's got a ways to go, but he's showing he can grow, in my opinion. Stats wise, he did quite well this year with 1332 receiving yards, which was 9th in league. I think we have a lot more to see from him.

Hey Boykin, nice to see you here on my post! Boykin had the second highest number of interceptions in the league this year, with 6. I was planning on using this picture anyway, but it fits here, because this is a shot of Boykin after the game ending interception against the Cowboys. I want to take that moment, bake it into cake and savor the absolute deliciousness of it. Figures that the Cowboys would choke at the end, even without Romo.


Something else I want to say, with the exception of the Cowboys game, our O line has looked alright this year. I like Kelsey and of course, Peters. I'm hoping we'll see some improvement in the game against the Saints this Saturday.

Here are some other great moments:

Winning the NFC East Championship

Foles and Cooper celebrating after one of seven touchdowns against the Raiders

Any time we beat the Giants is a happy moment for me. This is Celek with a 4th quarter TD

Avant and McCoy celebrate during Redskins game

This picture was taken during the first game of the season against the Redskins. We won that game, showing that we were a team that can succeed, and also showing that Chip Kelly was worthy of being a head coach in the NFL.

I enjoyed going through the pictures on the Eagles website (that's where I got most of these) and looking through this season again. I hope we can go far in the playoffs, but I'm really proud that we got there. Fly Eagles, Fly!