Dein erstes Forum » The Philadelphia Eagles are closer to being

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — the eighth defending Super Bowl champion to follow up with a losing record than becoming the ninth team to repeat.A season that began with promise has been a major disappointment. The offense is inconsistent http://www.eagleslockerroom.com/authentic-brian-westbrook-jersey , the defense has wasted several leads in the second half, and a slew of injuries has left the team short-handed in key areas.Still, the Eagles (4-5) are in the mix in a mediocre NFC East.“There is a level of frustration, but listen, we’re very close,” coach Doug Pederson said Wednesday. “We’re so close in a lot of areas. You look at our output and production offensively, we’re very similar to where we were last year.“The difference is creating turnovers on defense and then scoring in the red zone. That’s kind of what’s staring at us right in the face. We have to finish better, and we have to score more points.”The Eagles have lost three straight games at home, including 27-20 to the Cowboys (4-5). They have four games remaining against division opponents, including two versus first-place Washington (6-3). Next up is a difficult game on the road against the New Orleans Saints (8-1). Philadelphia is a 9-point underdog.“I never want to throw around the word desperate,” quarterback Carson Wentz said. “We realize where we’re at. We know where the division is at. We don’t want to overthink anything. We have a tough matchup against a great team. We’re cognizant of it. We’ll go there and give our best effort.”Pederson spoke to the team’s leadership committee before practice to get a sense of morale and came away optimistic.“They’re all disappointed obviously in the performance the other day,” he said. “They’re eager to get back on the practice field and they’re excited for this week and this opportunity. I think they understand what’s in front of them.“They know that the sense of urgency in practice Womens Destiny Vaeao Jersey , it’s not a panic or anything other than just a sense of urgency of understanding your job, doing your job, doing it collectively, and making sure that they just focus on one play at a time. I really do feel like they’re in a good place and they’re positive about the future.”The Eagles overcame several key injuries last season on their way to a 13-3 record and the franchise’s first Super Bowl title. Nine-time Pro Bowl left tackle Jason Peters, running back Darren Sproles, linebacker Jordan Hicks, special-teams captain Chris Maragos and Wentz each sustained season-ending injuries.Already, running back Jay Ajayi, safety Rodney McLeod and cornerback Ronald Darby are out for the rest of this season. Sproles has only played one game, wide receivers Mike Wallace and Mack Hollins are on injured reserve, defensive tackle Tim Jernigan hasn’t returned yet from offseason surgery, and Maragos also hasn’t come back.“Last couple weeks it’s been really urgent around here Corey Graham Jersey ,” Wentz said. “Urgency is always there. Every week is crucial and important.”The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were the last champion to have a losing record the following season when they were 7-9 in 2003.NOTES: CB Jalen Mills (foot), DT Haloti Ngata (knee), TE Joshua Perkins (knee), and Sproles (hamstring) didn’t practice Wednesday. T Lane Johnson (knee) and CB Sidney Jones (hamstring) were limited. CHICAGO (AP) — Cody Parkey sat by his locker with a glazed look, struggling to explain how he did it again.The Chicago Bears‘ embattled kicker somehow managed to nail yet another upright and hit the crossbar while missing a 43-yard field goal in the closing seconds of a 16-15 wild-card loss to the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.“You can’t make this up,” Parkey said.It was a cruel and appropriate end to a season in which he managed to hit uprights while missing field goals and extra points six times. This one came at the worst possible moment.Nick Foles gave Philadelphia a 16-15 lead on a 2-yard touchdown pass to Golden Tate. Wendell Smallwood got stopped on a 2-point conversion run, Tarik Cohen returned the kickoff 35 yards to the 42, and the Bears (12-5) appeared to be in business.They had third-and-2 at the 25 when Mitchell Trubisky missed Anthony Miller on a deep pass down the middle. With 10 seconds remaining, the Bears turned to Parkey, hoping their kicker could extend their breakthrough season.After making three field goals earlier in the game, he sent one right between the uprights with a few feet to spare. But the Eagles called time to ice him so it didn’t count.Parkey then thought he booted a “great ball” on the next attempt. Several Eagles, however http://www.eagleslockerroom.com/authentic-corey-clement-jersey , said defensive tackle Treyvon Hester touched it.The kick hit halfway up the upright and ricocheted off the crossbar, bringing the Bears’ breakthrough season to an end.“There’s really no answer to it,” Parkey said. “I thought I hit a good ball. Unfortunately, I didn’t make it. I feel terrible, 100 percent take that loss on me. It is what it is. Sun is going to shine tomorrow. Life is going to go on. Unfortunately, it’s going to sting for a while.”At times this season, it seemed Parkey had as much success hitting uprights as he did converting kicks.He hit four while missing two field goals and two extra points in a win over Detroit at Soldier Field. He also hit one while missing an extra point in the regular-season finale at Minnesota.“I’m going to do everything I can to take the human side of it,” coach Matt Nagy said. “I think the easiest way you look at it is that you put yourself in his situation. You think he tried to miss it? No, I know that. But you’ve got to learn from it. You’ve got to figure out the why part, and he’ll do that, and we need to do that, too.”Parkey’s penchant for hitting uprights was one of the biggest mysteries this season. And his status becomes one of their biggest offseason question marks. If the Bears don’t release him Womens DeSean Jackson Jersey , they could bring in someone to compete with him.After signing a four-year contract, Parkey was 26 of 34 on field goals, counting the playoffs. On extra points, he was 42 for 45.“It was tough,” star linebacker Khalil Mack said. “But you’ve got to learn from this. I was praying, praying real hard, but things happen for a reason. I told him to keep his head up. That’s a tough pill to swallow for a guy in that position. But that’s still a teammate, that’s your brother.”Guard Kyle Long also rushed to his teammate’s defense.“I just told him, ‘Dude, you had like half our points,” Long said. “I can’t even imagine what he’s going through. It’s a tough job. It’s a really tough job. I just wanted to make sure that he understood we all had his back. And I think every single guy in here did the same thing I did. … We lost as a team.”