Is the first round bye really that important?

Read a great article this morning, compliments of Wayne Sidor, laying out just how the Eagles secured their spot in the 2010/2011 NFL playoffs. I, like many other Eagle faithful, enjoyed watching the New York Giants playoff hopes erupt into flames yesterday afternoon. To boot, the loss not only assured they will not have a chance to compete this post-season (not technically, they can still slip in with a win against Washington and a Green Bay loss to the Bears), but also assured the Eagles a spot in the NFC playoffs. How sweet it is.

But, the Chicago Bears managed again (to my disbelief) to eek out a win over the Jets, meaning they are in line for a bye in the first round of the playoffs. Still, the Eagles still haven't been mathematically eliminated from contention for the bye. To quote the CSN article:

"The Eagles can still earn a bye if they win their last two games and Chicago loses at Green Bay next Sunday. They can earn the No. 1 seed in the NFC if they win out, the Bears lose to the Packers next weekend and the Falcons lose to the Saints Monday night and the Panthers on Jan. 2"

Just how important is this first round bye to the birds? Well, historically it makes no difference. As many Giants and Cowboys fans like to constantly remind us, as they tend to live their lives in the past tense, the Eagles haven't won a Super Bowl. We all know how the first round bye ended up in 2004 when the team finished the regular season 13-3 and had the highest powered offense in the league.

In my opinion, I don't think this team needs a first round bye, or home field advantage throughout to reach the Super Bowl. Our offense, or Michael Vick however you want to look at it, strikes fear into just about every defense in the NFL (Ex - 28 points in 7 minutes against NYG's #1 ranked defense). In fact, I think playing in a hostile atmosphere might even be good for this team to get on a roll. I have always been big on the theory that it isn't necessarily the best teams that are able to make playoff runs, but the teams who carry momentum into the post-season by finishing strong. Just ask the 2007 New York Giants who finished the regular season 10-6, but won 3 road playoff games en route to a Super Bowl victory. Ugh, still makes me sick. But then I think about Eli Manning's 7 year $107 million contract and it makes me smile and giggle. So its all good.