Obsessing over underdog role will be a bad bet

PHILADELPHIA » The Eagles were about to play the Buccaneers in an NFC Final, in the cold, in circumstances that seemed deep in their favor. Tampa Bay was the underdog. Their coach, Jon Gruden, laughed.

“We’ll play them anywhere,” he said. “If they want, we’ll play them on the Walt Whitman Bridge.”

They played in the Vet, and the Bucs won by 100. Afterward, security on that bridge had to have been increased, just in case too many Eagles fans would hustle over there, for one reason or another.

There is no one way to behave as an underdog in a big game. Gruden’s worked. Tom Flores, who coached the Raiders in Super Bowl XV, was similarly dismissive of a betting line that said the Eagles would win, permitting his players to spend the week collecting beads on Bourbon Street, while Dick Vermeil kept his team hidden, collecting only beads of sweat. Flores’ plan worked, too.

Sunday at the Linc, the Eagles will learn if turning the situation into a Halloween party is a wise idea when they play the Vikings for a Super Bowl spot. Not to suggest that the Birds have been borderline obsessed with a betting line certain to make Minnesota the post-time favorite, but their

last playoff victory wasn’t over for five minutes, and already Chris Long and Lane Johnson were running around in dog masks. They weren’t just underdogs. They were proud underdogs.

Given the way things work anymore, that’s all it took for a fad to spread. Within a day, distributors of fake dog heads everywhere were running dangerously low on supply, uncaring that in some places, people would just have to do without. Dog leashes, dog bones, dog biscuits and dog collars were rolling off shelves. Cat people were heckled at pet stores. And hucksters recklessly risked rotatorcuff damage as they relentlessly stamped dog images onto midnightgreen tee-shirts. Get ‘em while they’re hot.

That the NFL would permit any players to so openly discuss whatever it is Las Vegas is babbling about is proof that its blustery anti-sportswagering stance is a flimsy, a self-serving egolift. But the problem, as it relates to the Eagles, is deeper than that. The problem is that such artificial sources of motivation are useful when employed as quick-strike, one-time boosts. Turning them into a movement, though, invites negative reinforcement.

What will happen Sunday if, say, the Eagles fall behind, 10-0, if even due to some early bad breaks? If they have conditioned themselves to be identified as underdogs, then suddenly they may wonder: Were the oddsmakers correct all along?

Last week, when the Eagles were underdogs to visiting Atlanta, Doug Pederson was not above swinging that fact around the NewsControl Compound, just to see if it would create a favorable breeze. And it did. The Eagles, oddly unaware that their No. 1-seeding was largely due to having had Carson Wentz as their quarterback for most of the season, felt insulted. Pederson figured that was a button worth pushing. So he hit it with a right cross.

But not every situation is identical. So there was Pederson Friday, walking back the notion that the world somehow had decided to diminish allthings-Eagles. Mark that down as another successful play call, and he has made plenty all season.

“I probably haven’t used it as much,” he said. “I just think that leading up to the divisional round, that’s what the guys had been hearing a lot. We’re sort of accustomed to it now. Sort of used to it, I guess. But that’s fine. That’s for the writers to make their opinions and their judgments on that. I believe in the guys. I trust the guys. I have a lot of faith in the guys, the way we

“Emotions are going to run high. This is a great time of the year. It’s a great opportunity for our players, for the organization. But at the end of the day, I’ve got to make sure that I’m levelheaded and focused on my job.”

prepare and practice. So we try to block that noise out.”

The Eagles are 14-3 and are playing at home, where their fans make enough noise to make a difference. It is interesting that, in a game where neither team is operating with its quarterback of choice, a wager on them would come with a threepoint bonus. But it is not necessarily wrong. The line has no conscience. There is no rule for when somebody should be an underdog. Vegas, though, will be willing to take any bet that it is correct.

Even as late as Friday, some Eagles were caught in the locker room, rocking shirts with underdog themes. Since Johnson is helping market the idea, with all profits going to charity, there is something noble, at least, about the spirit. But the Eagles shouldn’t be so concerned about what the majority of people think will happen Sunday. They should laugh, the way Jon Gruden once laughed.

“At the end of the day, it’s football,” Pederson said. “I’ve got to make sure that my head’s in the right spot. I’m blocking out the noise, just like I’m telling the players to block it out. I’m focused on my job and helping this football team try to win a football game.

“Emotions are going to run high. This is a great time of the year. It’s a great opportunity for our players, for the organization. But at the end of the day, I’ve got to make sure that I’m levelheaded and focused on my job.”

Football fans in the 21st century cannot attend a football game except in uniform. So Sunday, Birds supporters will dutifully behave on cue. Thousands will wear dog masks and will try not to get caught tossing dog food on Jeffrey Lurie’s newly sodded Linc turf. They’ll carry on for the cameras, barking and growling. Fans are supposed to have fun. A week ago, the Eagles enjoyed that theme, too. This time, though, they cannot afford to bite.

Contact Jack McCaffery @jmccaffery@21stcenturymedia.com; follow him on Twitter @ JackMcCaffery