After the Bills game last year, the Eagles had the best record in the NFL at 10-1, a front-runner for MVP, and seemed like a team primed to make a deep playoff run. Fast forward to wildcard weekend, those same Eagles have lost 5 of their last 6 games, including to awful teams like the Cardinals and Giants. They demoted their defensive coordinator and promoted Matt Patricia, and now they have to go on the road to face Tampa. I remember thinking to myself, “This team is a playoff team, they will be ready,” but boy was I wrong. The Eagles got embarrassed by Tampa, 32-9. As I’m writing this, I still, to this day, can’t understand why or how this collapse happened.

With training camp coming up soon, I’m reflecting and trying to figure out: is this team capable of bouncing back? My answer? I think so.

First, I want to highlight the obvious change: the Eagles hired competent coordinators. Kellen Moore and Vic Fangio will instantly make this a better team schematically. Jalen Hurts won’t have to make those tight-window throws as frequently, and Fangio’s defensive system brings stability and experience.

I also think A.J. Brown has really stepped up as a leader this offseason. Last season, there was so much negativity surrounding A.J. (a lot of it was unwarranted), but he seems to have really embraced his new role as a leader. Speaking of leaders, have you watched any of the offense vs. defense competitions? Devin White and Saquon Barkley are front and center, trying to lead their guys to victory. We have leaders in the locker room who won’t let things get as bad as they did last year.

Remember when the Eagles played the 49ers, and the 49ers disrespected the Eagles pre-game? The only person who took offense and said something was Nick Sirianni. CJGJ being back is huge for me because he wouldn’t let that fly at all. He brings much-needed attitude to this Eagles team, which desperately needed it last year.

I believe in this team. Time will tell if I’m just delusional, or if I was right to feel this way. I don’t want to predict records or anything, but I find it tough not to believe in the guys on this roster. Jalen, A.J., Smitty, and the rest—they want to get back to the Super Bowl and finish the job. I think at some point they will. This season is going to be exciting, and I can’t wait to see what happens.