FOR A TEAM with so few certainties, the preseason hype has reached unprecedented levels.
Of the seven Daily News staffers polled last week, four predicted the Eagles would reach the NFC Championship Game. Six saw them winning the NFC East. All predicted at least 11 wins; one blessed soul, either optimistic or delusional, expects the Birds to reach the Super Bowl.
Then again, so does exiled Eagles czar Joe Banner, who is Chip Kelly's biggest fan and, now, ESPN's newest and most-credentialed talking head.
This mass hysteria is almost ridiculous.
The Eagles have a green coach who replaced a Pro Bowl passer with an undecorated, injury-prone quarterback who has never run his offense - a scheme whose two best weapons were let go; all behind an offensive line that is 40 percent rebuilt.