Weapon X Mailbag: What’s your best Week 1 Eagles memory?

GAME WEEK.

THIS IS IT.

THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT MAILBAG EVER.

HIT ME WITH THE QUESTIONS:

@AgliataJake: What are some of your best Week 1 memories? Personally I’ll never forget TO scoring three TDs against the Giants in 2004.

You said it yourself! The first Terrell Owens game is what immediately popped into my head.

After being stuck with crap wide receivers for the first five years of his career, Donovan McNabb now had T.O., one of the greatest wideouts in history, on his side. Starting the 2004 season against the Giants at the Linc, the Eagles put the rest of the NFC on notice that they were making the Super Bowl.

The Birds won 31-17 and Terrell Owens showcased why he was so special as a receiver, scoring three touchdowns in his Eagles debut.

The other Week 1 game that stands out to me is back in 2017. The Birds were on the road for an NFC East matchup. They had lost their previous five games to Washington. The Eagles went down there and pulled off a double-digit win, kicking off a season that would result in a Super Bowl parade.

Carson Wentz working his magic on the Birds’ first offensive series of the year foreshadowed what would be a near-MVP season for the quarterback:

The defense looked like the best one the team had since the Jim Johnson days.

Fans always dream of the Super Bowl after a big Week 1. It actually happened in 2017!

@JakeHymanTTP: For the next mailbag, @shamus_clancy: Would you put either DeVonta Smith or Jalen Reagor as the punt returner? Would there be reluctance from the team due to potential injury risk?

I would not put DeVonta Smith back there unless it was the fourth quarter of a huge late-season game with clear playoff implications on the line. His slender frame was talked about constantly during the pre-draft process and he already suffered a training camp injury. There’s zero reason to risk it unless it’s a huge, HUGE game.

My choice for the punt returner is easily Jalen Reagor. He didn’t have a lot of juice as a rookie, but his punt return touchdown against the Packers was his standout moment in 2020:

I know Greg Ward has been back there to mitigate any fumbles and there aren’t a LOT of punt returns in today’s league, but any bit of momentum matters. It doesn’t need to be a 74-yard return like Reagor’s touchdown in Green Bay. A 13-yard return could improve field position and amp up the offense before they take the field.

Reagor will be the team’s starting slot receiver. He may be the third option among the wideouts alone to say nothing of the presence of Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert. It’s way different compared to the role Smith will have on offense. They can’t lose DeVonta. Let Reagor get the ball in open space and see what happens!

@AdmMorris: What’s going to be the first gameday fit of the season? Emotionally invested in the drip

I’m going crazy trying to figure this out still.

Let me work it out here...

Black Brian Dawkins jersey, 2021 Eagles Sideline Low Profile Fitted Hat, acid wash denim shorts and Nike Air Force 1 Crater FlyKnit sneakers.

FEELS LIKE A WIN!

@lwrncjones: Who’s your choice to make a game-sealing play?

Game-ending Alex Singleton interception on Sunday?!? Count me in.

@killakow: Someone’s gotta ask Will da Eagles make da playoffs?

YES.

@BrandonGowton: Shang-Chi the best MCU movie?

No, but it was pretty damn good.

I hate the “all Marvel movies are the same” cliché. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is like no MCU movie that came before it, a mix of Enter the Dragon and Lord of the Rings.

I saw it in IMAX last Friday and the wildly choreographed action sequences were tailor-made for that huge theater presentation. I’m seeing it again on Friday night. WHAT A WEEKEND!

It may be a little hard to rank it among all the whole series, but I think it tops all the debut solo (not team) MCU films. Here’s how I’d rank them:

1. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
2. Black Widow
3. Black Panther
4. Doctor Strange
5. Spider-Man: Homecoming
6. Captain Marvel
7. Iron Man
8. Ant-Man
9. The Incredible Hulk
10. Thor
11. Captain America: The First Avenger