Section 215
Fansided

Five Big-Picture Takeaways from Eagles Preseason Game Three

By Somers Price

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5.) You’re Allowed to be Excited About Preseason

Aug 29, 2015; Green Bay, WI, USA; Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Hundley (7) fumbles the ball while under pressure from Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Cedric Thornton (72) in the second quarter at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

For a sport that is micro-analyzed well beyond any other, is there a more hypocritical stand-by than ‘it’s only preseason.’?

For better or for worse, the entire non-affiliated football world decides that, for a month-long stretch leading into the regular season, it’s going to soften its gaze and give everyone a free pass. This coming from the same community that tracks whether or not Marcus Mariota threw an interception against his own team in practice or drools over the amount of bench reps Leonard Williams can hoist.

At the end of the day, preseason football still involves grown men at the peak of their physical prowess lining up against one another with their manhood on the line. While it may not involve the mental and psychological preparation that comes with a regular season matchup, exhibition football still elicits the sort of physicality and ferocity that is often present, albeit in a less-structured manner, in meaningful football.

Having been around Philadelphia for bad preseasons and good preseasons, the term ‘it’s only preseason’ does not apply. Let’s face it, the buzz starting Sunday morning about the 2015 Eagles will dominate the conversation up until kickoff on Monday September 14th. The hype is beyond any individual being able to say ‘pump the brakes’ and have it actually take effect. The Eagles have been arguably the most impressive team during the preseason and happen to play for a fanbase that is especially trigger-happy when it comes to evaluations, both bad and good.

Conversely, the 2015 preseason had a chance to bring about a level of doubt some would consider unreasonable before the start of the regular season. Struggles, both on an individual and team level, would be magnified beyond belief. Given his tumultuous offseason, Chip Kelly could have found himself under fire had his team not performed to the level it did. When operating out of a city like Philadelphia, that type of instant-analysis comes with the territory.

There are a lot of people around the country, and some within the confines of the city, hoping that Kelly’s power play blows up in his face and 2015 is a disaster. That same contingency is the one drumming up the ‘it’s only preseason’ call before one can utter even the slightest of compliments. At the end of the day, unless the Colts, Ravens, and Packers coaching staffs told them to take it easy against the Eagles, it’s still a man-on-man showdown with livelihoods at stake. Don’t set up your seat on Broad Street, but don’t let someone exclaiming ‘it’s just preseason’ distract from what took place this preseason.

Next: Eagles 3rd String Quarterback Breakdown, Round III

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