Boryla: Go Iggles

THE Eagles' Super Bowl hopes may have been dashed Saturday night, but to hear Mike Boryla tell it, the best is yet to come for this town's NFL championship-starved fans.

Boryla, who was an Iggles quarterback in the mid-'70s, admitted that he hadn't really followed the team since he was traded to Tampa Bay after the 1976 season, but recently began paying attention thanks to an increase in the number of Eagles games broadcast nationally this season. And what he has seen has made him an unabashed fan.

"This year, for some reason, the Eagles have been on TV [in Castle Rock, Colo.] every other week," he said. "I love Nick Foles, I love his demeanor. I love to watch Chip Kelly on the sidelines.

"I see pictures of these guys and I think, 'Man, these guys are nice guys.' You'd like to sit with Chip Kelly and have a cup of coffee with him at Starbucks."

The intelligence of the team's principals is one of the attributes that Boryla finds praiseworthy.

"They're smart. I can tell from interviews that Foles is aware of the concussion issue. I'm sure he's aware of what Brett Favre said recently, and he's aware of Jim McMahon," he offered, referring to two former star quarterbacks who are now dealing with serious, concussion-related health issues.

But brain power is just one attribute that had Boryla gushing over the team and its prospects. He pointed out that Foles "is the highest-rated quarterback in the NFL right now. He's 6-6, 245 - the perfect size for an NFL quarterback."

Boryla is also wowed by running back LeSean "Shady" McCoy, whom he described as "the most spectacular running back the NFL has seen in a long time."

But it's coach Kelly who drew the most dramatic praise from Boryla. He not only called Kelly "a genius," but dubbed him "the next Vince Lombardi," a nod to the Green Bay Packers legend for whom the Super Bowl trophy is named.

- Chuck Darrow