Muller: Eagles Not Quite Miami Heat Of NFL
By Shawn Muller-
(CBS) Is anyone else getting really tired of the term "super team"?
The media got the ball rolling on with the term when—last summer—the Miami Heat got LeBron James and Chris Bosh in the free agent market to join forces with Dwyane Wade down on South Beach.
All we heard about was how great the Heat were going to be and how they would run through the NBA like a tornado, leaving a trail of destruction in every arena they played in. We even had an NBA analyst—Jeff Van Gundy—predicting that the Heat would not only win the NBA championship, but they would also break the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls all-time regular season wins record of 72-10 in the process.
As we know, Miami did not break the Bulls' record, and they didn't win the NBA championship.
It didn't matter that the Heat had three of the best players in the league -- they simply did not get it done.
Can they win a title? Sure they can.
Will they win a title? I guess we will have to wait and see.
This summer, all of the free agent talk has been about a different franchise in a different league making moves to become a "super team".
That team is the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Eagles have basically cornered the market on top talent in the free agency game. Philadelphia has acquired CB Nhamdi Asomugha, QB Vince Young, DL Cullen Jenkins, CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (via trade), DE Jason Babin, and RB Ronnie Brown to go with an already solid roster.
On paper, it is easy to view the Eagles as the clear-cut favorite to win the Super Bowl heading into this season, but it would be wise to wait and see what happens before people start crowning them as champions of the world.
In the NFL, nothing is a given.
Remember a few short seasons ago when the New England Patriots were undefeated heading into the Super Bowl? New England made every opponent they faced—until it mattered most, that is—look Pop Warner-esque. But they still didn't win the title. The Minnesota Vikings were 15-1 in 1998 and looked like the team to beat in the playoffs, yet they lost to the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC Championship. There are plenty of other examples where the best team did not win the Lombardi Trophy, but you get the idea.
What makes the NFL so great is its parity.
Any team that makes the playoffs has a legitimate chance of winning a championship. In Super Bowl XLIII, the Arizona Cardinals were minutes away from a title against the Steelers, and they entered the playoffs with the worst record (9-7). Last year, the Green Bay Packers were the 6-seed in the NFC, won three straight games on the road, and beat the Steelers in the Super Bowl.
People should know that anything can happen in sports.
So while Philadelphia fans and the national media are busy crowning the Philadelphia Eagles as champions of the football world, I am going to take the safer "wait and see" approach.
The New England Patriots, the New York Jets, and the Green Bay Packers could all have a say in the end. Heck, the New Orleans Saints, Baltimore Ravens, and the Pittsburgh Steelers could be right there as well.
You just never know.
"Super teams" in my mind are teams that win titles.
So, until the Philadelphia Eagles win the Lombardi Trophy—or two—I refuse to place that label on them.
Shawn Muller has lived in the great city of Chicago for 7 years. He is a 2002 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and, in October of 2010, Shawn received his certificate in radio broadcasting. In his free time, Shawn enjoys spending time with his wife Melissa and 3 year old daughter Ava, catching any live sporting event, and traveling. Check out his radio show, Grab Some Bench with Muller and Bangser" every Thursday night at 8:30 P.M., at www.blogtalkradio.com/spmuller24. Read more of his blogs here.
