Eagles looking to buck SBH trend

Not sure what SBH stands for? Just ask the St. Louis Rams. Or better yet, the Oakland Raiders. It stands for Super Bowl Hangover, and it's a serious syndrome experienced by many a team who've seen their championship dreams crushed in the Big Game. The Atlanta Falcons were the first to suffer from it, following a 34-19 loss in Super Bowl XXXIII to Denver with a dismal, injury-riddled 5-11 campaign in 1999. Two years later, the Giants failed to crack .500 a year after falling to the Ravens in Super XXXV. And since then, the Rams, Raiders, and Panthers have all had losing seasons following a Super Bowl loss.
So here are the 2005 Eagles, who came into training camp with a 24-21 loss to the Patriots in February still fresh on their minds (not to mention numerous distractions from loudmouth receiver Terrell Owens and whining by scatback Brian Westbrook). Through six games, Philly is 4-2 but lucky to be so, relying almost solely on the passing game to generate points. After dominating the NFC a year ago, few realistically thought the Eagles would crumble as teams before them have. They may not go 13-3, or even with the competitive NFC East, but they almost assuredly will have a sixth straight winning season. This should come as a relief to obnoxious Eagles fans, who won't be witnessing a downfall like the Raiders have since suffering a 48-21 blugeoning to Tampa Bay in Super Bowl XXXVII.
To say Oakland has hit the skids since the end of the 2002 season is an understatement. Once an AFC powerhouse, the Raiders are simply overmatching in the talented AFC West, and winning in the notorious Black Hole no longer seems like a daunting task. Entering last Sunday's contest against Buffalo, the Raiders were 10-27 since the start of 2003, including just two wins away from home. In 2003, players lost complete respect for head coach Bill Callahan, constantly ripping him in the media, eventually leading to Callahan's dismissal after a horrid 4-12 season. Norv Turner, the former Redskins coach, has not fared much better, as his team won just 5 games in his first year last season. And at 2-4 (including the win yesterday against the Bills), the Raiders have virtually no chance at competing for the playoffs. Injuries and malcontention have added up to a disastrous recipe, something that almost would have inevitably been different had the Raiders beaten the Bucs in the Super Bowl.
And the Raiders aren't alone. The Rams have one just one playoff game in the past three seasons since being shocked by 14-point-underdog New England in Super Bowl XXXVI, while the Giants have won none. The Panthers appear back on track, but first had to see a chunk of its roster land on Injured Reserve last year as the team got off to 1-7 start before a strong finish nearly landed them back in the playoffs.
So what is the cause of SBH? I for one will go with the mental strain that comes from dealing with a loss in the Super Bowl and knowing you came so close to ultimate glory. It becomes that much harder knowing you worked that hard to get to that point and telling yourself, well if we can get there, then certainly we can get back and win it. But contributing factors such as injuries and player movement simply make it hard to get back to the Super Bowl, let alone the playoffs. Hearing about the Eagles and Patriots is like listening to a broken record, but the bottom line is they have been staples in the playoffs while other teams have been rather inconsistent over the past few years. I'd love more than anyone to see both of these teams miss out on the postseason in 2005, but that simply isn't reality. The Eagles are a safe bet to buck the SBH trend, but only time will tell.