As evidenced on Tuesday in a round-up of national media NFL Power Rankings, there's certainly a positive outlook on the Philadelphia Eagles heading into the 2014 NFL season. The crew over at NFL Network took that cautious optimism to a new level by way of some bold predictions for the upcoming year ahead.
First, former NFL quarterback Kurt Warner predicted that the Philadelphia Eagles would be one three NFL teams to win 14 or more games. 14!
For only the second time in NFL history, three different teams will win at least 14 games this year. […] I'm going to go Denver, Seattle, and Philly.
A 14-win season for Philadelphia would mean a four-win improvement based on the team's 2013 season record of 10-6. It would also give the Eagles the most single-season wins in franchise history. The Eagles have never topped 13 wins before and that was only something they did once back in 2004 when they ending up going to the Super Bowl. Definitely bold.
And as if that wasn't enough, Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk upped the ante. Faulk predicted that Eagles running back LeSean McCoy, the NFL's leading rusher in 2013 with 1,607 yards, will break the 2,000 mark in 2014. But he wasn't talking about just rushing yards.
If you understand in our league, we've had some great backs. I mean phenomenal backs in our league. I mean they've rushed for 2,000 yards, guys caught 60, 70, 80 balls, 100 balls, LT… but there's only two backs to go for 1,000/1,000. I say LeSean McCoy will be the third running back in NFL history to rush for 1,000, and catch for 1,000, in the same season at the same time.
The only two other running backs to have accomplished this feat include Roger Craig and Faulk himself. It certainly wouldn't be surprising to see McCoy pass the 1,000 rushing yards mark, but 1,000 yards receiving probably isn't realistic. Not only do the Eagles have a lot of other options in the passing game, but McCoy has never recorded more than 592 yards receiving in a season.
Neither of these predictions are particularly meaningful or realistic, but I guess that's why they're called bold.
If you had to pick which prediction has the better chance of coming true, which one would you select? And what are your bold predictions for this Eagles season?