6 Things The Phillies Need To Do To Follow The Eagles Footsteps

Philadelphia has been so distracted by the joy of winning a Super Bowl, there has been nearly no talk about the Phillies reporting to Spring Training. What is usually a holiday in Philly, went under the radar. But as disappointing as the end of the Phillies season was, the Phillies are probably the city's next best chance at another parade.

The Flyers are in rebuild mode, and the Sixers... well we won't talk about what is going on with them. But the Phillies have been in the playoffs in each of the last 3 seasons, have been to a World Series, and just won the NL East. They have been right there each time, but keep coming up short.

That was the case for the Eagles too though. They came up a little short in Super Bowl 57 and then had a disastrous end the the 2023-2024 season. People were ready to move on from the Copach, and ready to give up on the QB. But obviously, they turned things around in a big way.

Can the Phillies follow in those footsteps though? Can they go from that disaster they had vs the Mets last season to a parade down Broad Street?

Trea Turner came here two years ago and was immediately getting MVP hype. He has yet to live up to that hype. His numbers were better last year, but still the 2nd lowest they have been going back to 2018. Batting Average, OBP, and SLG have all been down across the board since he put on the Red Pinstripes.

The issue is that he is suddenly an inconsistent player. His career with the Nationals and Dodgers were defined by how he almost never slumped. But his time in Philly has seen multiple slumps. The entire first 3 months of the 2023 season. All of August and in the playoffs this past season. He disappeared vs the Diamondbacks in the NLCS.

He just has not been reliable or consistent at the plate. Especially when it counts the most. He is the 2nd most talented hitter on this team. If the Phillies are going to get over that hump, they need him to show up.

The Eagles had a lot of star players. But that is not the only reason they won. It was also because the rest of the roster stepped up. They got production from nearly all 53 guys and some practice squaders who had to be called up during the season.

The Phillies have not gotten that. Guys like Brandon Marsh, Bryson Stott, Alec Bohm, Johan Rojas, and JT Realmuto have not done their part, at least not in the playoffs.

Bryce Harper has hit well in the postseason. Outside of the most recent loss to the Mets, Schewarber has been great in the post-season. Nick Castellanos was great vs the Mets, and great vs the Braves in 2023. We already talked about Trea, but even he was great vs the Braves in 2023 at least.

But in 3 post-season runs, they have yet to get much from the guys who are supposed to be the young stars. Bohm has hit .214/.295/.333/.629 in 34 postseason games. Stott has hit .188/.278/.287/.565 in 33 postseason games. Marsh has hit .233/.303/.411/.714 in 32 games.

Imagine if in this Eagles postseason run if there was no Nolan Smith stepping up, or Milton Williams, or Mekhi Becton. It takes a team to win it all. And while they need more from the stars too, the young guys or role players need to play better.

This is not something that needs to change, but something that needs to continue to happen. The Phillies, unlike many teams, have had remarkable health, especially in their starting rotation. Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sanchez, and Ranger Suarez have each made it to the playoffs healthy. They can now add Jesus Luzardo to that mix.

It was their big advantage over the Braves in both 2022 and 2023. Many teams have struggled with having 3-4 starters available for the playoffs. Starting Depth is perhaps the Phillies' biggest strength. The Dodgers are the only team that can match them. But if the Phillies get to the playoffs with all 5 of those guys healthy, plus perhaps Andrew Painter, it will go a long way to helping the Phillies get to where they want to be.

For the past 2 off-seasons, and the past trade deadline, the Phillies have now played it safe, not making any big moves. Part of that is them already being one of the most expensive teams in the league. But John Middleton has stated multiple times he is willing to pay what it takes to get his trophy back. And if that is the case, they might need to take some big swings.

The Dodgers were coming up short for years before they finally got over that hurdle. Even after that, they kept adding. At this year's deadline, the Phillies may need to do the same. After 3 months, we will know what this team's issue is. It likely won't be starting pitching, but it very well might be another bat. And I am not talking about another Austin Hays type move.

If the OF bats struggle as much as they did last season, the Phillies need to bite the bullet and get a real OF bat. Not a platoon player, but someone who can start and make an impact in October. It does not need to be a superstar. They don't need to make the biggest splash. But there needs to be a splash. Because the status quo has failed multiple times now.

There are a couple of rookies the Phillies could see this year. The most obvious one is Andrew Painter. After spending last season recovering from Tommy John surgery, the Phillies will slow play it with him. He won't get called up until mid-season, and they will watch his innings once he does get up. But that does not mean he can't make an impact.

Likewise, the Phillies could call up Justin Crawford at some point. If he continues to play at a high level down in AA, and the Phillies continue to get little to no production out of centerfield, Crawford could get the call.

We have seen what young guys can do for a team. Mark Vientos was key for the Mets in their win over the Phillies. Can Crawford be that for the Phillies? Painter might not be able to start come playoff time, but can he come out of the Pen this post-season?

This part feels obvious, but it is still vital. The Phillies went ice-cold vs the Mets. They were not playing their best for the last couple of months. This was in contrast to 2022 and even 2023 when they played their best Baseball late, specifically in the playoffs.

They do not have the talent the Dodgers have. No one does. They can match them with pitching, but not with hitting. But if they are hitting at the right time, they can. We saw what this lineup can do to people against the Braves in the 1st two post-season runs. But they went cold against the D Backs, and cold against the Astros before that.

Jalen Hurts loves to say "Job's not done." Well for now it is. There will eventually be more work to do. They can start to have dreams of starting a dynasty. But for now, we can celebrate. The 2024 Eagles are Super Bowl Champions.

It was one of the most special seasons any Philly sports teams have ever had. As a city, we are used to being underdogs. We are used to having to scratch and claw. The first Super Bowl the Eagles won, they were the ultimate underdogs. They had a backup QB playing, along with several other backups, and they were facing down Tom Brady. The team literally wore underdog masks.

That was not the case this time. They might have been slight underdogs on the betting line, and people in the media picked the Chiefs to win. But everyone paying attention knew how good this team was, and they went out and proved it.

It was an absolute rout of the Chiefs to stop the 3-peat ensued. They made Patrick Mahomes have the worst game of his career. Jalen Hurts picked apart Spags' defense. By the 3rd quarter, the Chiefs were crying uncle, and fans were leaving their homes early to make sure they could get to Broad Street to celebrate.

Related: The Real Reason the Eagles Won Super Bowl LIX

We are not going to forget this anytime soon. It might go down as the greatest season in Philly Sports history. The biggest competition would be the 83 Sixers, but a lot of current fans, myself included, were not alive to witness that.

Now that it is over, we are about to parade down Broad Street again. But before we do that, let's look back on the magical season that it was. The biggest moments, the eye-popping plays, and the times we started to learn that this team was destined for greatness.

Eagles- Browns was close at the end. They were up just 4 points with under 2 to go. If they had to punt, things feasibly could have gone sideways. The Eagles did something some might call ill-advised, they took a deep shot. Traditional thought says you should run it there, run the clock, and force the Browns to use their final timeout. Or at least if you are going to throw it, go with something safe. Instead, they went deep, but it worked.

The perfect throw, the perfect catch, the perfect way to end the game. It was a good reminder that Hurts and Brown have an amazing deep-ball connection. Did going for that make sense in that moment? Not really. If it had failed, there would have been loads of complaints, but the fact it worked, and sealed the win, made it an amazing moment worthy of this list.

The Eagles completely outplayed the Jacksonville Jaguars. But some questionable decisions by Nick Sirianni, and an incredibly questionable fumble return for a TD, made it a 1 score game at the end. The Jaguars moved down the field to the 14-yard line and were a TD away from erasing the Eagles' lead. But then Nakobe Dean did this.

At this point, it was not yet completely clear how great the Eagles were. If this game had gone sideways, things could have played out much differently. But the Eagle survived, thanks to Nakobe Dean making an incredible play on the ball in the End Zone.

The Saints game was a bit of a mess. The defense played great, and the offense moved the ball, but the Eagles still trailed 12-7 late because Nick Sirianni routinely left points on the board, Jake Elliott missed a FG, and Jalen Hurts turned it over twice in or near FG range. Meaning that at the end of the game, with under 2 minutes to go, the Eagles needed a TD. Dallas Goedert did not score that TD, but he did set it up by doing this.

Saquon Barkley ran it in the very next play and then got a 2 point conversion for good measure after that. By the way, it didn't crack this list, but shout out to Reed Blankenship who truly sealed the win with a pick 2 plays later.

This whole list could have been Saquon moments. But I had to include some other players, so I cut it down to just 4 Saquon moments. The first of which is him breaking 2000. Should this be higher?

Maybe, considering only 8 other players have ever done it. But 4 of the 5 plays ahead of this were playoff moments, which makes them better, and the other is perhaps the greatest thing I have ever seen on a Football field, so Saquon making history somehow only came in 6th place. If you think that is crazy, I kind of agree with you, but I am stubborn enough to stick with it.

There are so many long Saquon runs that it is hard to decide which ones to pick. Given the time and moment, and the pure esthetic of the field being coated in snow, I went with this one.

At the time we thought it was the end of the game. Things got a bit tight from there, and we will get to a play that followed a bit later, but this run was a thing of beauty, it was true art. It also did end up being vital for the win given the Eagles only won by 6 points.

We have the Double Doink, but what about the Double Stuff arm? Dallas Goedert made Carrington Valentine his little brother when the Packers came to Philly for the Wild Card game.

First, he ran through him to break the initial tackle. Then he threw one stiff arm, only to throw another. The second one didn't even feel necessary, it was just mean. But you have to respect it. It was an exclamation point run, that put an exclamation point on that game.

Few people are harder to tackle in the open field than Derrick Henry. The only RB that might surpass him in that regard is on the Eagles. It would be even harder if you are a rookie corner, a position not exactly known for their tackling ability.

So when Cooper DeJean and Derrick Henry met in the open field this season, most people expected DeJean to be left looking like Wile E Coyote after a run-in with the Roadrunner. That was not the case. In fact in this case it was Derrick Henry laid out on his back.

Henry has 50 lbs on DeJean. This shouldn't have been how that interaction ended. But here we are.

When I think of this season, this memory comes up a ton in my mind. It is an "I Am Here" moment. It was DeJean declaring he is not just some rookie cornerback, he is the real deal. Mind you, it didn't make the list, but he did this same thing to Ja'Marr Chase earlier in the season too.

The guy just has a knack for making open-field tackles. I know the song says "Cooper DeJean is not a safety" but he sure does hit like one.

I had to be something to do with the amazing 55-23 win that sent them to the Super Bowl. The question is which play. One of the 3 fumbles? The game-sealing pick? 1 of Jalen Hurts 4 TDs?

To me, one play described the whole game. Even though it took place quite early, and things were still quite close for a bit afterward, the Saquon Barkey 60-yard TD really defined the difference between the Eagles and the Commanders in an instant.

The Commanders opened the game fighting tough and nail for every yard. They eventually got into the Red Zone, only to settle for a FG despite multiple 3rd Down conversions, and 2 4th down conversions. They did all of that, and then in a blink of an eye it was erased by Saquon Barkley just casually running for 60 yards on the Eagles' first offensive play of a game.

It set the tone for the whole game and made it clear these teams were just in different weight classes. One team was ready for the moment, and was team was not.

The Divisional Round Game was coming down to the wire. The Rams were moving the ball with ease in the snow. Even after the Saquon run we already talked about, the Eagles playoff life was on the line with the Rams in the Red Zone down 6 late in the game. The defense looked tired, and the snowy field clearly was hurting the ability to play the level of D they had all season long. That was when Jalen Carter put the team on his back.

He was not done there though. That set up 4th and long. But the Rams could certainly have converted that, and there were WRs open. But Jalen Carter stepped up again, putting pressure on Matthew Stafford, forcing the errant through, and effectively ending the game.

The Eagles went out on the field, knelt down, and advanced to the NFC Championship game. But who knows if that would have happened, or if the Eagles would even be Super Bowl-bound if Jalen Carter didn't take over on those 2 final plays.

The game was over at this point, which kept this play from being 1 or 2. But this was the moment everyone knew without a doubt that the Eagles were winning the Super Bowl. The defense had just forced a turnover on downs. The Eagles were up 27-0. People assumed the Eagles would run the clock out. Instead, they went for the dagger.

On the first play of the drive, Hurts threw a dot deep downfield to Devonta Smith. In an instant, the Eagles were up 34-0, and celebrations began. Any hope of a miracle comeback was dashed in an instant. 27-0 was a mountain to climb. 34-0 was impossible.

I still don't understand how Saquon Barkley pulled this off. A juke, into a spin move, into a backward hurdle, sticking the landing, then picking up several more yards. It is one of the most eye-popping plays in NFL history.

The image of him leaping over Jarrian Jones is now iconic. People have put it on shirts, I have it hanging up in my room. It is a singular moment that is hard to beat, just because it is probably the most impressive feat any of us have ever seen on a Football field. There was a time when normal hurdles were shocking, but they have almost become commonplace in the modern NFL. But Saquon found a way to make it interesting again.

I can not speak for others, but I don't think I am alone in saying this. The Cooper DeJean pick 6 is what I will think of when I look back on the Super Bowl and this season. It is the Philly Special, and it is Matt Stairs ripping one into the night.

10-0 was not exactly a comfortable lead. Patrick Mahomes had been down 10 in every single Super Bowl he ever won including 57 vs the Eagles. 17-0 is a different animal. Cooper DeJean getting his first-ever interception, on his Birthday, and in the Super Bowl, was great enough. But for him to then return that for a pick 6... it was when I realized this was real. The Eagles were winning this game.

It was preceded by the D-Line getting back-to-back sacks. Mahomes looked rattled. The DeJean pick proved it. The normally calm Mahomes was nowhere to be found. The Mahomes that was out there, had no hope of erasing a 17-0 deficit. This was not the man who had magic running through his veins.  He was a nervous wreck who was hearing footsteps and seeing ghosts.

The DeJean pick 6 will go down as one of the most memorable Eagles plays ever. It passes up the Patrick Robinson pick 6. It passes the many memorable Eric Allen pick 6s. Because while those were great, Dejean did his in the Super Bowl. Cooper DeJean can coast off that play with the fans in Philly for the rest of his life. In 9 months there will be a lot of babies being born who are named Cooper.