Eagles Reign In CFL Superbowl VI

The Eagles captured that elusive CFL title with a 75-49 victory over the Raiders on Saturday, and fittingly the Eagles attained that Championship in the same manner they attained some of their most toughest and improbable victories of the season: By yet again overcoming a difficult deficit in the late stages of the game to win in stunning form. The Eagles got off to a sluggish start and the Raiders took advantage of that by capitalizing on two major defensive breakdowns by Armando and Eman that Victor and Sanchez scored on. The Eagles also had problems early on getting pressure on the quarterback against the Raiders unusual blitz protection strategy, which proved to be quite effective as the Raiders jumped out to a 49 to 35 lead. With the Eagles down by 2-TD’s and the Raiders 3 scores and a 3-point conversion away from the title, the possibility of an Eagles Championship this season was highly in doubt. Indeed, if it was a regular season game or even a playoff game up to 50-points the Raiders might have already won that game, but the Superbowl is up to 72-points and maybe it was this lengthy and arduous contest that proved to be the downfall of the Raiders. After very little success in stopping the Raiders offense, the Eagles used a different approach in reaching the quarterback and adjusted to force several urgently needed turnovers-on-downs. Armando, who should now probably change his name to Armando Hester (after the Chicago Bears explosive return specialist, Devin Hester), once again returned a kickoff for touchdown for the 12th time all season (including 2 in the post season) to tie the game at 7-TD's a piece. After his TD-return Armando told his team that the Raiders looked very tired and that now was the time to step up their game and take it to them. The Eagles responded to his challenge in compelling fashion with a cunning "flea-flicker" play that isolated Eman on Tank in which Roque threw an easy touchdown strike to him. Gonz and Norman turned in some very impressive defensive drives and all the momentum was now turning towards the Eagles. In a play that probably sealed the Raiders doom, Roque and Armando got some heavy pressure on the Raiders quarterback to force the fumble which Roque ran back nearly the full length of the field for the touchdown! The final touchdown of the game came on a midfield pass from Roque to Armando, over 3-time MVP Frank, to give the Eagles the 75-49 victory! It was a very cold but great game, at least from the Eagles perspective. The Raiders fought hard. Tank and Frank connected on many short-range passes, while Ernie once again showed glimpses of his tremendous receiving abilities. But despite the Raiders gutsy performance, the Eagles are now undisputed CFL Champs! It took many seasons and four straight Superbowl tries, but the Eagles finally got it right. With so many questions and uncertainties concerning next season, no matter what happens the Eagles will be sure to savor every moment as their reign as Champions cause perhaps no other team more than the Eagles knows how agonizing and difficult it is to finally reach the top.

CFL Superbowl VI Pregame Report

After five months, 32 games and more than 2,000 plays since the start of the '06-'07 season, the finale is now at hand. The Eagles and Raiders will step onto the CFL's biggest stage and battle it out for the right to be named this year's greatest! Legacies are created, champions are anointed and careers are defined, deservedly so or not, by this one game. Only about two handfuls of players have ever raised the trophy as champs, and the Eagles and Raiders collectively carry 6 of those 11 current players to ever win a CFL Championship. Frank (2), Sanchy (1), and Tank (2) are the only '06-'07 Raiders to experience Superbowl victories, while Armando (1), Gonz (2) and Norman (1) are the only players on this year's Eagles squad to have done the same. Less than a quarter of the 45 players to ever play in the CFL have achieved Champion status since 2001, and that number will only increase slightly after this game. The Superbowl marks the end of a very long and tough season, and unfortunately, just like the Bears in Miami, one of these team's season will painfully come to end, but the other will enjoy the spoils of an all-expense paid night out and the acclaim of rightfully being named CFL Champions.