Eagles Won Super Bowl XXXIX?
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Philadelphia Eagles corner back Sheldon Brown was a huge part of their success in 2005 when they went to the Super Bowl to play the AFC champion New England Patriots. After losing the Lombardi Trophy to the Patriots, Brown was convinced that they just had a better game plan and executed better than the Eagles defense.
After "Tape Gate", Brown isn't so sure anymore. "Do I think about it? Mmm hmmm," said Brown. "It's crazy. I just don't know how far back it goes. Something is not right about that." Eagles defensive leader Brian Dawkins isn't even sure what to believe anymore, "Now there's always going to be questions about the situation," Dawkins said in an interview on Thursday. "Was it great adjustments at halftime or what?"
Even Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Hines Ward threw in his two cents and stated that he had suspected the Patriots in 2001 during the AFC Championship game of stealing signals. But, much like any other case tried in court, no one has any hard evidence to back up these allegations. Eagles running back Brian Westbrook said it's all water under the bridge, " For me to think back two years ago about something they may or may not have done, it's not worth my time."
After only gaining 45 yards in the first quarter of Super Bowl XXXIX Brown said that he noticed a difference in the Patriots play calling. Almost every time the Eagles blitzed the Patriots would follow suit and throw a screen pass. Over the next 3 quarters the Patriots gained 286 yards and a 24-21 victory. "I was like, 'Man, I never saw that many screens,' " Brown said.
Leave it to the Daily News in Philadelphia to really blow thing out of proportion though, "Counterfeit RING: Spy Scandal Helps Explain Birds' Super Bowl Loss." Donovan McNabb said that the suspicions were overblown. "One thing people are forgetting is that even if you have the answers to the test, you still have to take the test," he said. "If they have an idea of what's coming, those guys still have to be able to execute the play."
For a city who hasn't won a major championship in 25 years we've become fantastic conspiracy theorists. Maybe Roger Goodell will make the Patriots forfeit their rings......? Maybe when pigs fly.
