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Great hit by JR Reed on Lee Evans. Evans quit after that.

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Nice pass to Reggie Brown. Nice fumble recovery Curtis. Another nice bounce when it doesn't mean anything.

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Fall on the damn ball McNabb.

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Another good stuff on 4th down by the defense.

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Why are they throwing the ball trying to run out the clock? But then again, nice play call and pass by McNabb to Greg Lewis.

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Other Notes:

• Kudos to Westbrook who set a franchise record for catches and yards for scrimmage.
• Here is a stat Eagles apologists will be using for the next eternity: McNabb went over 3,000 passing in a season for the first time since 2004. What they will leave out though is the offense, led by McNabb, is the #1 reason they are 8-8 and not going to the playoffs.
• By winning today and going 8-8 the Eagles probably dropped 6-7 draft positions, not that it matters when it comes to these dudes.
• Case in point: Winston Justice, who sucks.

Why can't I watch Kolb play?

12/30 1:00 PM ET	Opening	BetED	Sportsbook	5Dimes	SPORTSBETTING
Buffalo @ Philadelphia	36.5 -7.5	36.5 -7.5	38 -7.5	38 -9	38 -7.5

Matchup

BONUS QUESTION: Which is more unwatchable, this game or the Mummers Parade?

Sorry "48 Hours: Mysteries" fans

If you're one of the many who either can't or won't subscribe to NFL Network, you will be able to watch the Patriots try and become the second team to finish the regular season undefeated Saturday night against the Giants. The game,

"available in fewer than 40 percent of the nation's homes with TVs, will be simulcast on CBS and NBC."

Senate ruffians Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and our own Arlen Specter wrote a stern letter mentioning that silly old antitrust exemption. Is anyone surprised the NFL actually flinched? I am.

What's this mean locally? Penn State fans have a choice to make, even if that choice is what curse word to team with "Morelli."

In related news, the NFL had no comment on local requests to have no Philadelphia station air the Eagles-Bills game.

.500, here we come!

Where was this when the games counted? Where were the bounces when the games counted? In a game that meant nothing, in a game with no pressure, McNabb and the offense with him at QB had their best, most consistent game of the year. (I see the Detroit game as a fluke.) They moved the ball up and down the field almost at will, scored TDs in the redzone, had only 1, 3 and out, went on a 98 yard TD drive and even put the game away at the end with another TD.

The defense was also very impressive once again, with lots of young players stepping up. The highlight was the goal line stand in the third quarter which gave the Eagles the momentum for remainder of the game. But during the entire game they shut down the Saints on 3rd down. Going into the game the Saints had a league best 49% conversion rate. They were 3 of 12 today.

And special teams even had some notable returns and hits on coverage. Too bad it's all too late to do any good.

Other notes:

• The Saints are corny because the play in a place called the "Superdome" and their coach wears a visor indoors.
• McNabb's fumble and the Curtis recovery for a TD would never have happened if this game mattered. The Eagles didn't get any of those breaks all year until today.
• Lito got burnt again today, but only once.
• Fox coverage was weak once again, lacking in replays.
• Buckhalter with another sweet TD run right up the middle from distance, then gets the ball maybe 3x the rest of the day.
• Visor coach was stupid on that challenge but then looked smart because his team sucks.
• Brees receivers let him down a bunch with bad drops.
• Eagles also benefited from key Saints injuries.
• Standout players for the Eagles were Stewart Bradley and McNabb. Westbrook seemed to have an off day but still got 100 yards. Curtis was solid once again breaking 1000 yards for the season and JR Reid, Mikell, and Hanson had some notable plays.

It was mildly satisfying to eliminate the Saints from the playoffs and the game was entertaining, but ultimately it's frustrating because you wonder where all this was when it mattered. And with this meaningless success you wonder if it will cause the Eagles braintrust to avoid making the hard decisions and assessments of the team that need to be made so they can finally win the damn Super Bowl.

A pattern developing?

Cowgirls lose again to Birds in presence of Romo's girlfriend. Dallass sucks, ladies. Act like you know.


December 2006: Eagles 23, Cowboys 7


December 2007: Eagles 10, Cowboys 6


2008?

Finishing the season

12/23 1:00 PM ET	Opening	betED	Sportsbook	5Dimes	SPORTSBETTING
Philadelphia @ New Orleans	46 -3	46.5 -3	47 -3	47 -3	47 -3

Matchup

Bonus Question: Trent Cole is 3rd in sacks, shouldn't he be in the Pro Bowl?

Dallass sucks

The defense gets all the credit for this great victory except for Quentin Mikell. (I hate stupid players more than bad players.) But in "crunch-time" everytime I thought, "Here's where the defense is going to blow it." someone stepped up and made a play or Dallass screwed up, most of all Mr. 22.2 QB rating. His final terrible interception that Dawkins picked would have been picked by Lito if it was accurate instead of high and behind TO. AJ Feeley-esque. The defense also stuffed the run all day. Imagine if the offense wasn't so awful, this game would have been a laugher and the Eagles would be half decent this season and going to the playoffs.

As it was, McNabb and the offense did do just enough to win and 1 of McNabb's 2 great plays was the 3rd and 6 throw to Celik down the seam that was right on the money with everything on the line. If you were wondering, his other play of note was his 20+ yard scramble that led to the Eagles TD. I recorded a list of terrible McNabb plays but as a Christmas present to him I won't post them since McNabb and the Eagles won.

I will post how much the refs sucked however.
No call on blatant, obvious, everyone could see it using the helmet as a weapon hit.
No 5 yard facemask call on Ware tackling Westbrook.
Bogus holding call on Jamal Jackson.
Jones spikes ball, no delay of game.
Running into the kicker, no call.
Flozell Adams spikes the ball, no delay of game.

Dallass sucks more than and refs though.

Other notes:

• When will the league figure out that Roy Williams does that horse collar tackle on purpose? When is the NFL going to start suspending him?
• Along with McNabb, Akers is done, but Eagles should have gone for it instead of the kick KNOWING how bad Akers has been from that distance all year. Another example of Andy Reid being a clueless moron.
• And how about Reid calling timeout to look at Quentin Mikell's moronic fumble, then after that still throwing out the challenge flag wasting a challenge and another timeout?
• Aikman called a great game but he missed "He's fallen and he Canti get up."
• Pass rush was weak until the end when it mattered. Where did that come from?
• What's it going to take for a fumble to bounce to the Eagles?
• I hope someone lost their fantasy game because Westbrook downed himself at the one.
• Fox robot now has a name - Cleatus. My entry of "I hate the Fox Robot" didn't win.

Dallass sucks.

Dallass sucks

12/16 4:15 PM ET	Opening	betED	Sportsbook	WSEX	5Dimes	SPORTSBETTING
Philadelphia @ Dallass	49 -11	48.5 -10.5	48.5 -10	49 -10	48.5 -11.5	48.5 -10

Matchup

Bonus essay question: How much does Dallass suck?

Make the pain stop

The only thing surprising about this game was the Eagles actually found a new way to lose. I figured the game would end with a McNabb interception or a McNabb sack and time running out. But somehow they got to the Giants 39 yard line with a chance to tie the game. But since I'm Negadelphia, I figured Akers' kick would flutter harmlessly to the ground in the endzone without even coming close. Instead he drove it into the goalpost. Unbelievable. The Eagles have lost 5 games this year by 4 points or less, often in the last minute.

And yeah, on the next to last offensive series that was blatant pass interference on the 4th down pass to Avant (the Patriots would have gotten that call of course) but because the Eagles offense sucked all game except for the first drive, which at the time I knew was a fluke, they put themselves in a position to rely on a call from the sucky refs to bail them out. But even more typical than the refs blowing a call that goes against the Eagles, was if Avant caught the ball he was 2 yards short. Why? Because the Eagles offense is bad and with McNabb at QB it's pathetic. The only reason this game was close was because of some great individual efforts on defense and the fact that the Giants are pretty pathetic on offense themselves.

Before more ripping of the Eagles, let's review the first drive of the game, the lone shining moment for the offense:

To start the game, a running play. Amazing!
Second play, a McNabb completion!
Third play, a run and a successful one for a first on short yardage!
Another pass, but then right back to the run. Wow.
And for the TD, McNabb hits Westbrook in stride while rolling out, something he's rarely been able to do. Shocking.

And that was that. Nothing at all the rest of the game but the usual sputtering, sporadic, spastic garbage we've all come to know and hate. Ok, there were those efforts in the 4th where they started moving the ball well with a heavy dose of the run, but when it became necessary to pass the ball, the drive predictably came to an end.

McNabb still sucks as much as ever. Who cares if McNabb is more mobile in the pocket and is showing greater escapability, he still can't pass, he's still painfully inconsistent and hesitant, and he still keeps adding to the loss column. And the thing that drives me most insane is McNabb never ever ever throws the ball away. The idiot scrambles to the sideline then lays down and takes a 5-7 yard loss. THROW IT OUT OF BOUNDS! Rookies understand this, the moron McNabb does not.

One thing that was entertaining about the game was the defense played with some hatred. They were tackling and pounding people like the good ol' days, well at least for the first half. They also didn't give up on plays and were rewarded for it. Dawkins chasing down Droughns and Juqua Thomas getting after Jacobs and making him fumble and then recovering it were the 2 plays that best exemplify the defense's effort.

OTHER NOTES:

• Did anyone know that Patterson led all DTs in tackles?
• McNabb's first December game since 2004. Big whoop.
• Eagles still can't convert a 3rd and 1.
• Where was the QB sneak last week?
• Lito sucked again this week, but he was challenged by Sheldon Brown for worst defensive player on the field.
• Sav Rocca sucks.
• I can't decide which ad I hate more, the spoiled brat teens with the pony for Verizon, or the singing animals Jeep Liberty one.

So another bad loss to a poor team (even though they are 9-4) and another crap season is winding down. The only thing that can partially redeem it at this point is if they beat Dallass, who sucks.

Eagles favored

12/09 1:00 PM ET	Opening	BetED	Sportsbook	WSEX	5Dimes	SPORTSBETTING
NY Giants @ Philadelphia	42 -3	42.5 -3	42.5 -2.5	42.5 -3	42.5 -3	42.5 -2.5

Matchup

BONUS ESSAY QUESTION: Explain how the Eagles are favored.

More Eagles stupidity

I don't know how or why, but for some reason I seem to stumble upon the "Donovan McNabb Eagles Propaganda Show" without even trying. Oh OK, I admit it. I have a man crush on Dave Spadaro. Anyway, other than the cognitive dissonance, my favorite part of the show is the segment pictured below. Notice anything really stupid?



Contrary to the spelling, the segment is not about Eagles star players that are now dead, because I saw one on Bill Bergey. So it's now been 13 weeks (probably more) and none of the myriad of people that work on the show or anyone that works for the Eagles or Channel 6 has noticed and bothered to correct the title.



On a related note, look who won the poll to start at QB vs. the Giants.

Today's theme is "stupid"

The Eagles lost this game several times today. First on the blame list is AJ Feeley's 1,000 stupid interceptions. The first 2 led to 14 Seattle points, the last one to the team's ultimate demise after Westbrook had once again resurrected a dead team. But then again you have Spikes dropping an easy pick right after Feeley's first one that would have saved 7 points. After he booted that it was a stone cold mortal lock that Seattle was going to get a touchdown. Then you also have the pathetic effort at the end of the half when the Eagles had 1st and goal at the 1 and didn't get a point. Anyone ever hear of the QB sneak? It was like that 49ers game from 2001 all over again. Then in the second half the Eagles braintrust went with another brilliant play call and decided to throw it to LJ Smith 20 yards downfield after 2 successive runs had made it 3rd and 1. Lots of stupid calls today. Stupid game plan too.

One thing that did amuse me watching this game was Seattle is just as stupid as Philadelphia. Reid and Holmgren are clones made from the same dumb parent stock. The run is successful so let's start throwing the ball and end this stupid drive! Weather conditions are awful, let's throw it a whole bunch! Stupid.

Other notes:

• When Westbrook was forced out of bounds on his punt return I'm sure I wasn't alone in knowing the Eagles were not going to win.
• Tuatasopa was Feeley's favorite receiver.
• Lito sucked all game.
• Sheldon Brown is either hurt or totally forgot how to tackle.
• Still nobody on the damn Eagles can recover a fumble except the one that nobody even realized was fumble.
• Wow, a week where the Eagles special teams returns and coverage was way better than the opponent.
• Something else also amazing, I don't think the Eagles had 1 penalty all game.
• Curtis probably had the best game of any Eagle (or maybe Westbrook) but he blew the biggest play of the game up to that point when he was unable to come down with the high 4th down pass with 2 minutes to go. It went right through his hands.
• Dude, what man drinks Bud Light?
• Warm up Kolb.

Addendum: Remember last year when the Panthers vs. Eagles were in an identical situation as the Eagles were today vs. the Seahawks in I think the same week in the season? DelHomme threw a pick to Lito in the endzone to lose the game and from that winning play on the Eagles started to roll, made the playoffs, and won a round. The Panthers on the other hand packed it in. I wonder if the Eagles will further mirror the Panthers.

Battle of the NFC has beens

12/02 1:00 PM ET	Opening	BetED	Sportsbook	WSEX	5Dimes	SPORTSBETTING
Seattle @ Philadelphia	43 -3	42.5 -3	42.5 -3	42 -3	42 -3	42.5 -3

Matchup

BONUS QUESTION: If McNabb starts, how much time will be left in the 1st quarter when the boos begin? Whoever is closest wins a Fox robot.

What I want for Christmas

A Fox robot!



Is there anything lamer?

Typical

Blogs are cool cuz you can quote yourself:

"56-10, eagles lose.

but theres a part of me that says the eagles keep it close and even have a chance to win but end up blowing it at the end. that would be the true philadelphia way."

Oh well. The Eagles did play their best game of the season. (I'm not counting the fluke against Detroit.) But in the end they made too many mistakes like spotting them 7 points in the first moments of the game and then the killer -- throwing a pass to the endzone on 2nd and 4 from the 30 when you want to eat up as much clock as possible. Run the damn ball! So despite all the great things Feeley did and was the Eagles best player, he ends up being the goat too. BUT at the same time, McNabb is NOT a better QB than Feeley and was NOT a better QB than Garcia either. He was once upon a time but not anymore and Feeley is only an above average backup.

Under Feeley the offense for the first time this year resembled let's say, a nicely tuned Honda Accord instead of the usual sputtering and stalling beater that McNabb pilots. The entire reason this game was enjoyable and entertaining (except for the end when Feeley reminded us why he's a backup) was because the offense put long sustained scoring drives together and kept the Patriots off the field. How odd the offense performed similarly last year when Garcia came in. I wonder why that is? Hmmmmm...

I guess the defense played good holding the Patriots to "only" 24 points but utimately they couldn't hold the lead. The defensive surprises of the game were the sacks and the pressure, JR Reid making Dawkins like hits, and consistently solid tackles all around. Gaither wasn't too bad in coverage either. The unsurprising things were lack of takeaways (the difference in the game) and giving up lots of 3rd down conversions.

Anyway it's late and I'm tired. But look for a big letdown next week by the Eagles and the same substandard blog posts as always by me.

Only 22?

11/25 8:15 PM ET	Opening	betED	Sportsbook	WSEX	5Dimes	SPORTSBETTING
Philadelphia @ New England	50.5 -22	OFF OFF	OFF OFF	50.5 -22	50.5 -22	OFF OFF

Matchup

Bonus Questions: In what quarter will McNabb leave the game? Also how many bad Thanksgiving puns will be uttered? "Birds roasted", "These Eagles are turkeys. Perhaps Ben Franklin was right about our national bird!", etc.

There's a reason the Dolphins are 0-10

Another near unwatchable game against another horrible opponent that outsucked the Eagles. Eagles started the game in typical Eagles fashion - flat and anemic. Against one of the worst defenses in the league and the 30th ranked run defense, the Eagles for the first half managed 3 measly points. A large part of that can be attributed to the idiocy of Andy Reid's game plan of insisting on constantly throwing the ball, McNabb's horribleness at quarterbacking and throwing the ball, and LJ Smith's idiocy and horribleness.

Before getting hurt McNabb was 3 for 11, 34 yards, 2 interceptions and a couple of good runs. He did have a long 49 yard flea flicker TD pass but that was wiped out by LJ Smith holding. (Interrupting this game summary I'd like to propose a new term called the "LJ Smith Hat Trick". This would be 1 drop, 1 penalty, and 1 turnover. LJ had a drop, 2 killer penalties, and a horrible missed block that led to Feeley getting blindsided and fumbling and then to top that LJ couldn't manage to fall on the ball. So essentially he was responsible for the turnover twice. Lucky for him and the Eagles the play was offside.) As the first half progressed with the offense sputtering and McNabb throwing horrible picks, at a very opportune time McNabb was hit after another incompletion and got his ankle all bent up. He walked off the field on his own with barely a limp but was sent to the locker room for x-rays. I doubt that would have happened if he wasn't so awful and he definitely would have been starting the 2nd half. Remember the Arizona game a million years ago? The injury was a very convenient reason for Reid to sit him down.

Feeley came in and finished off the half just as bad as McNabb had started it. Then a miracle happened at halftime. Reid had a revelation and decided to start feeding the ball to Westbrook. Woohoo! Feeley was effective with the short passing game, Westbrook was great running the ball with Buckhalter chipping in with a few as well, the defense shut the Dolphins out including a great goal line stand, and the special teams didn't give up another return for a TD. When the borefest finally ended, the Eagles had managed to win and reach .500 for the season.

Other notes:

• Eagles have given up 30 sacks, 2nd most in the NFL, but none today.
• On McNabbs first interception he had all damn day to find someone open. On his second pick he had Westbrook on a 8 yard crossing route wide open and plenty of open space down the right side of the field ahead of him.
• The DirectTV ad with Beyonce is the worst.
• CBS's coverage today was way better than the usual from Fox. They had replays when you wanted them, a good eye in the sky replay view, no Siragusa and no dancing robots.
• Rich Gannon is ok but repeats way too much of the conventional wisdom that you wouldn't say if you watched all the Eagles games this season.
• After the Eagles went up 17-7 the defense predictably relaxed. But they held at the goal line aided by a horrible 4th down call. But overall the defense was really good. There's a reason the Dolphins are 0-10.
• Only Dolphins would allow the 3rd down swing pass to Tapeh to work. There's a reason they're 0-10.

Who starts for the turkey slaughter up in New England next week? Hopefully Feeley so they run the ball a bunch again. It's their only chance.

Gary Papa said on the news, "Let's hope the Eagles can put the squeeze on Cleo Lemon".

11/18 1:00 PM ET	Opening	BetED	Sportsbook	WSEX	5Dimes	SPORTSBETTING
Miami @ Philadelphia	40 -3.5	40.5 -10	40.5 -10	40.5 -10	40.5 -10	40.5 -10

Matchup

BONUS QUESTION: Does anybody know who Cleo Lemon is?

Taking out the Trash

When perennial Pro-Bowler James Trash went down with a leg injury during a kick-off return following the Eagles go ahead touchdown, the wheels came off the Redskins offense. Before that the future Hall of Famer had 85 yards and 2 touchdowns and was certainly going to be key in any Redskins game winning drive. Instead the Eagles defense, which provided little resistance most of the game, suddenly looked like the Eagles defense of old and the Eagles held on for the win.

In actuality the Eagles deserved to lose this game but the Redskins did themselves in all game. One of their key mistakes was Cooley's false start that helped the Eagles hold the Redskins to a field goal late. On the play Trash was wide open in the endzone too. Then again the Eagles, well mainly McNabb, did everything they could to lose the game as well. When will McNabb ever learn to throw the ball away? Never, I know. When will LJ Smith ever learn not to fumble? Never, I know. But McNabb did redeem himself with a brilliantly thrown ball to Reggie Brown for a TD and later a clutch go ahead for good 57 yard TD pass to Westbrook. ALL McNabb.

Other notes:

• McNabb sucked. But how was he 20-28, 251 yards and 4 TDs?
• I will give McNabb credit for some really good scrambles and runs with the ball, but how many horrible, drive killing passes did McNabb throw this game?
• How bad were the throws on the 2pt conversions?
• Westbrook is great.
• On the long screen play for a TD, loved Runyan's forearm shiver to the head block.
• LJ Smith probably fumbles once every 10 passes caught.
• Remember back in the day when the offense would turn it over the defense would hold the opposition to a field goal almost every time? Well they did it once today, with the Redskins help, and it won the game.
• Special teams suck on returns. They crossed the 30 once on kick-offs.
• Avant, when you catch the ball right at the first down marker, lean forward moron, don't run backwards.
• Way to go for it from your own 40 Reid. Good call.
• That call on Greg Lewis was crap. Then the refs probably made up for it by calling Springs for illegal contact on the next play. But Fox, as usual, didn't bother showing a replay.
• Did the Redskins let Westbrook run in for that 10 yard TD untouched on purpose?
• Can you believe the Eagles won this game?

Addendum: So I actually watched a bit of post-game player reaction on the news and was pretty amused by it. Many actually thought they won this game because they had heart and never quit and stuff like that, not that the Redskins gave it to them. I guess they have to say crap like that but how can they actually believe it? It was like the Eagles were playing themselves - wasted time outs, terrible clock management, missed PATs, dropped passes, fumbles when driving (but McNabb gave it right back), penalites at the worst possible time, penalties keeping the opposing offense on the field, penalites keeping your offense out of the endzone. It made the game fun though. After they squeak by the Dolphins they'll be talking Super Bowl.

Also, what Reid was whispering into McNabb's ear: How 'bout that Westbrook! A third round pick and the best guy on the team! You want to go in halfsies with me on a nice watch and dinner at Bookbinders for him?

Another Sunday afternoon of dross

11/11 1:00 PM ET	Opening	betED	Sportsbook	WSEX	5Dimes	SPORTSBETTING
Philadelphia @ Washington	38 -3	38 -2.5	37.5 -2.5	38 -3	38 -2.5	37.5 -2.5

Matchup

Bonus Question: What game will Kolb make his first appearance?

Casualties of the NFL

As fans we all like the rip and criticize the malfunctioning millionaires that crush our hopes every Sunday during the fall and winter, but lots of them pay a heavy price for our entertainment, not just physically but mentally and financially as well. Mens Journal has an article worth reading on the permanent and often severe damage done to players in the NFL during their short careers. Read it if you have the time.

They put their bodies on the line every Sunday to stage the most brutal, ravishing, and profitable pageant in sports. But in a scandal of staggering proportions, they play hurt, sustain severe physical and mental damage, and are denied help when they need it most.

Andy Reid looking for a fix

Last Christmas in Dallass the Eagles won 23-7 with Garcia at QB. In 2007, Dallass beats the Eagles 38-17 in Philadelphia. How can there be such a huge reversal? The Eagles were beaten in every single aspect of the game. They got their ass kicked on the offensive and defensive lines, in coaching, in preparation, in QBing, in receiving, in running, in defending, in turnovers, etc. But with the recent sentencing of Reid's criminal sons they did beat out Dallass and Tank Johnson in related criminal activity and jailtime stats.

This season has been over for weeks now, but it's now become just as obvious that "the window is closed". McNabb is done, Reid is done, Jim Johnson is done, and lots of changes are needed in skill positions. WEAK is the word. Colb is the next QB but look at the slop he's going to have to throw to. Who is going to block for him? And the defense is just going to get worse. And Marty Mornhinweg is going to be the next coach. Time to start accepting that the Eagles are going to suck for the next several years to come. Oh well.

Other notes:

• McNabb single handedly gave Dallass 14 points and pretty much blew any chance the Eagles had of winning this game.
• Madden's critique of McNabb's lack of interceptions was spot on - his bad passes suck so much no one has a chance to catch it - but he left out that 80% of his good passes are 5 yarders to his 3rd option, aka Westbrook.
• Will McNabb ever learn to throw the ball away? Rhetorical question I know. You'd think he's have perfected it by now since it's obvious his crap receivers can't get open.
• How bad was that interception down the middle? Brutal.
• McNabb is so easy to bring down right now I could do it.
• I can only remember 1 long pass downfield attempted all game. Wasn't this supposed to be how to attack Dallass?
• Defense is a joke. How stupid were they on TO's TD?
• No pressure at all on Romo all game. Did Kearse and Howard even play?
• Compare Considine's coverage in the endzone to Dawkin's. Who could have guessed that facing the QB and seeing the ball would be the way to go?
• Lito had a nice pick but bounced off Owens twice trying to tackle him, including his TD.
• Dallass converted on 8 of 12 third downs.
• Dallass had over 400 total yards in offense.
• TO had 175 yards.
• Down 28-7 and you kick a field goal?
• Stop helping Dallass players up.
• It took NBC till 5:51 left in the game to show and talk about cheesesteaks. No mention of throwing snowballs at Santa Claus though.
• Dallass still sucks.

Does anybody care who the Eagles play next?

Dallass sucks

11/04 8:15 PM ET	Opening	BetED	Sportsbook	WSEX	5Dimes	SPORTSBETTING
Dallass @ Philadelphia	46.5 3	46.5 3	46.5 3	46.5 3	46.5 3	46 3

Matchup

BONUS QUESTION: Which do you hate more, the Dallass team or the not from Dallass, cockroach fans/frauds?

3-4! yea!

My plans were changed by the weather so I went to Hawk Mountain today and the only eagle I saw was a golden one. But in my viewing absence the Philadelphia Eagles mananged to score 2 whole touchdowns in the red zone. But then again they probably should have scored more. But what's an Eagles game these days where it isn't a complete struggle? The defense also had good day shutting down Adrian Peterson, but what else do the Vikings have to shut down? Also big in the game was 2 60+ yard punts from Rocca when they were most needed. Glad to see by the 7th game of the year he decided to start playing, but then maybe it was because the game was indoors.

So the Eagles appear slightly improved and played a higher quality game and pulled off some big plays. Apparently that's all it takes to have WIP callers begin deluding themselves to think the Eagles will beat Dallass.

Dallass sucks.

So they might beat the Vikings. Who cares.

10/28 1:00 PM ET	Opening	betED	Sportsbook	WSEX	5Dimes	SPORTSBETTING
Philadelphia @ Minnesota	39.5 0	37.5 1	37.5 1	37.5 1	37.5 0	37.5 1

Matchup

Bonus Question: Why have the Eagles been favored every single game this season?

And you know what's funny? The Vikings have a terrible QB and a great rookie running back, Adrian Peterson. So what did Reid disciple Brad Childress do vs. Dallass? Peterson ran four times for 27 yards on the opening series, including a 20-yard touchdown, but got only eight more carries the rest of the game. Brilliant.

R.I.P 2007 Eagles

I gave up on this team after the miserable loss to the Giants. After today I'm pretty sure everyone else has. Who let's the bad offense Bears go 97 yards in 2 minutes with ZERO time outs? Anyway...

While the defense is good/adequate there's really no one out there that makes game changing plays. There's no one on offense but Westbrook that can change a game either. The good/adequate player is the type of player Eagles management loves to stock their team with. And that's why the Eagles are a bunch of loser has-beens.

Eagles should have EASILY won this game but because they suck, they didn't. The offense can't overcome 1 lousy mistake. Again, 1 drop, 1 slip, 1 bad pass, 1 penalty, and the drive is over. Balldinger said lots of stupid things as usual today, but the one thing he said that was dead on is, "What the Bears are banking on is the Eagles can't execute 10-12 plays."

Other notes:

• Fox coverage sucks. How about more replays and less dancing robots.
• 2 terrible ref calls - holding on Will James and offensive pass interference on Bears TE Greg Olsen.
• Stop throwing the ball to Tapeh. Cut him and get a fullback that can catch, can run, and can do something other than block.
• I learned a new NFL rule today. Of course the result was a call going against the Eagles.
• Why do the Bears want McNabb when they have Griese?
• Since Dawkins can no longer play, just make him head cheerleader, "Weapon X".
• Would Dawkins have made a difference on that last drive?
• How about a Hail Mary on the last play idiots?

Let's go Flyers!

81-1

How about those Flyers?!?!?

So the marquee pick up in the offseason was abandoned factory vandal Briere, but the most important "move" in total was all the changes on defense. Getting Jason Smith and Lupul for the horrible, pathetic Pitkanen, OK Sanderson, and a 3rd round pick was robbery. Trading back to Nashville the first round pick that they got in the Forsberg deal for Timonen and Hartnell and then signing them both 2 weeks before anyone else had a shot in free agency was brilliant. Getting young and developing Coburn for a 34 year old Zhitnick was a great move too. And getting Lasse Kukkonen for Phantoms scrub Kyle Calder? Holmgren must have sold his soul. And in addition to the trades, somehow Hatcher is reborn and Randy Jones has become a legitimate NHL defenseman.

The defense has been blocking shots, in the passing lanes, hitting people, clearing the front of the net, clearing rebounds, not giving up many second chances, and getting the puck out of the zone and executing a nice transition in the process. And Jason Smith beats people up.

And if the defense does screw up, Biron, another great acquisition, has been shutting out the opposition. The Flyers had 1 shutout last year, 3-0 vs Chicago, the 2nd worst team in the league last year, with Esche in goal. (Where is Esche, following Kid Rock on tour in the General Lee?) The Flyers just got 2 shut outs in a row against 2 of last season's better teams. Looking at the hated Devils success over the years, this is how they did it - a great goalie and a very, very solid defense and enough skill guys on offense to put in the necessary goals. Biron isn't Brodeur and the Flyers aren't the shutdown, clutch and grab defense of the old Devils, but they probably have more overall offensive skill.

Also helping the Flyers so far this season is things are going their way. Instead of last year where they were waiting for something bad to happen, this year they are patient and waiting for something good to happen. For example they were called for a ton of penalties in the 1st period and only had 2 shots on goal. Didn't matter. No panic and before you knew it, it was 3-0 Flyers. And Jim Dowd even scored a goal. The exact opposite happened last year - everything was a struggle. And speaking of struggling, Gagne and Knuble seem to be doing just that. So this team should actually get better when they get it going. They'll have to to go 81-1.

Eagles favored again

10/21 4:15 PM ET	Opening	BetED	Sportsbook	WSEX	5Dimes	SPORTSBETTING
Chicago @ Philadelphia	41.5 -5.5	41 -5	41 -5	41 -5	41 -5	41 -5

Matchup

BONUS QUESTION: Not will Andy Reid step down, but should he now that his other son is in jail? There's no way he can give his full attention to the Eagles even though he may try.

Yawn.

Once again a bad pro football team from Philadelphia played a bad pro football team from NYC at the Meadowlands, but this time the bad team from Philadelphia got the win. And even though the Eagles won, it barely feels like one. They barely beat the lame, lame, lame Jets, or maybe better stated, the Jets sucked more than the Eagles.

Other notes:

• Apparently the punishment for being a crap team like the Eagles and the Jets is to have Tony Siragusa assigned to cover your game. It doesn't seem fair.
• Who else predicted the first Eagles offensive play would be a pass that ended in a sack?
• McNabb seemed slightly better this game making quicker decisions and committing to them once made, but at times it was the same ol' dumb McNabb holding the ball and holding the ball until sacked.
• The offense couldn't overcome any mistake in the red zone. Holding call, Reggie Brown drop, run play for no gain, etc., start warming up shAkers.
• Reggie Brown hasn't played in a game unless he has one drop.
• Best play of the game was Westbrook knocking Vilma on his ass while barely reacting to his tackle attempt.
• Maybe the most important Eagles play was the Reggie Brown first down catch when it was 3rd and 10 from the 10 late in the game.
• The overall most important and STUPIDEST play of the game was the Jets call on 4th and inches from the 3. Nice one Mangenius, did you steal that one from fellow coaching genius Joe Gibbs and the Redskins "Game On the Line Playbook"?
• Best player of the game was Westbrook, of course. But he didn't get in the endzone...
• Is it me or does the Jets cheerleaders look way better than the Eagles cheerleaders?
• Who were the Titans? I don't remember them.

Sorry that this review was as boring as the game.

So they could beat the Jets. Who cares.

10/14 1:00 PM ET	Opening	betED	Sportsbook	WSEX	5Dimes	SPORTSBETTING
Philadelphia @ NY Jets	41 3	42 3	42 2.5	42 3	42 2.5	42 2.5

Matchup

Bonus Question: Even if they win, the season is already over, right?

That was quick

Don't worry, the Phillies will be back in 2019 and they'll do better then.

UPDATE:
The Phillies post-season in the form of an x-wing fighter.

Why I don't like baseball

Even though the Phillies are in the playoffs, I don't really care. And that's before they lost 2 straight. I just find the game to be boring and tedious. More on that later. But one of the reasons I turned off baseball when I was growing up can be found in the attitude of the Phillies' "ace", Cole Hamels.

"No," Hamels said yesterday after the team's 10-5 loss to the Rockies in Game 2. "It's too much of a risk. It's something where, I would rather pitch Game 5, because it's something about getting to that next level, that next stage. I don't know if it's selfish. Some people might take it that way, but I think it would be better for me to go on my normal days' rest because of the track record."

There's also his "waaah, my sleeves were long and I was sweaty," excuses from game 1.

Baseball players are lame and this is why. Season on the line and he's going to look out for #1. Compare that to TO playing on his busted leg in the Super Bowl, Willis Reed's torn thigh muscle in game 7 of the NBA Finals, or Dave Poulin playing with cracked ribs and broken feet in the Wales Conference and Stanely Cup Finals. And it's not like Manuel wouldn't be bringing in Mesa in the third inning anyway. So quit yer crying Hamels.

Back to addressing the boring aspects of baseball. Here are some of my suggestions for improvement:

• Shorten game to 7 innings unless tied of course.
• Only allow 3 pitchers per team per game. I despise the constant pitching changes. If the third pitcher gets injured, someone in the field has to pitch like in football when the third QB gets injured and the team has to play shorthanded like in soccer. This is mainly to stop fakery, like in soccer.
• Designated hitter is the rule for all. Why the NL persists in making fans watch a pitcher pathetically try and hit is beyond me. This is also necessary because of my new 3 pitcher rule.
• At bats last 3 outs or 6 runs, whichever comes first. You can score a max of 9 runs an inning, ie, 5 runs home, bases loaded and a guy hits a grand slam.
• Only 2 shout outs to dead or dying fans and their families per game by hometown broadcasters.
• Chris Wheeler banned from broadcasting.

And although this doesn't make the game boring, I really don't understand why umpires are allowed to yell back at players and managers and escalate things. It just seems so childish and bush league. Full Disclosure: I hate refs, umps, officials, etc.

Poor Mr. Met

In honor the Phillies making the playoffs, I moved the Championship Clock ahead a few clicks too.

Let's go Phils!

And the Captain Goes to

Newly acquired defenseman Jason Smith has been named the 16th captain of the Philadelphia Flyers. Gagne and Richards are the alternates.

“Jason (Smith) is a tremendous choice for us moving forward. He plays the game the right way. He is an old pro and I think that in the (locker) room it was a popular choice as well,” says Homer.

I know we're all supposed to be wearing red and putting away the green for next year, but dust off your orange and black because hockey season starts on Thursday!

No Justice

Is there anything more frustrating than watching this crap team? 56 points last week, barely 3 this week. Obviously last week was a fluke.

Of all the pathetic efforts I've watched over the years this one was right up there. Watching McNabb get sacked play after play while Reid and the rest of the offensive geniuses do nothing whatsover to help Reid's brilliant second round pick of Winston Justice put up more resistance than the paper banner teams bust through when they run onto the field at the beginning of a game. With all the sacks they had a grand total of 14 net yards passing. That's getting it done against a defense that was at the bottom of the league (27th) coming into the game. And 15 penalties for 132 yards, just 6 yards shy of McNabbs total passing yards. Are you kidding me? And those yards don't take into account the plays taken away or the plays given to the Giants. Way to be prepared. Way to have your heads in the game.

I predicted the Eagles would win because the Giants would outsuck the Eagles. The Giants did suck - check the stats - but the Eagles offense may have broken the record for sucking set back when Pat Ryan was QB and Kotite was head coach. And did I mention all those penalties?

Other notes:

• The Freakerge egg showed up for a play or 2.
• Is it really that hard to recover a fumble, Buckhalter?
• The ball wasn't even moving.
• So is the offense back to being a hair off, Reid?
• Since the season is pretty much over, what game will Kolb get his first start?
• Is there a rule that there can only be one good team in town at a time?
• Should I become a baseball fan?

And to answer my post ending question from last week, "It means nothing".

Jimmy Was Right

The Fightin' Phils are in the post season! Not only was Jimmy right, but he backed up his words with some impressive stats, thus putting the finishing touches on a solid MVP-type season.

The story continues as NL East Champs host the Padres or Rockies at home on Wednesday. The bittersweet part of it all though, this may mean our ol' pal Charlie will be sticking around another season.

Another must win?

9/30 8:15 PM ET	Opening	betED	Sportsbook	WSEX	5Dimes	SPORTSBETTING
Philadelphia @ NY Giants	47.5 2.5	47.5 3.5	OFF OFF	47.5 3	47.5 2.5	OFF OFF

Matchup

Bonus Question: Which McNabb will show up?

The new Flyers

I hope Steve Downie makes the team.

Domination

Eagles dominated, sorta. Defense gave up a ton of passing yardage but when everything the offense does works (this was a week to finally run a successful end around...) you'll get the final score of 56-21. The offense was the opposite of the previous 2 games. Today it was all TDs and no FGs in the redzone and only the time McNabb got sacked and fumbled did they not score. Amazing how a change in opponent makes everything look easy. All the plays where as soon as an Eagle gets the ball and the defense is right on him were different today. Today the receivers and Westbrook on the dump-offs had a ton a space. And those were the plays where the Lions were actually covering people. The Lions horrible tackling also contributed to the Eagles great success.

Other notes:

• Yea! McNabb with tons of accuracy - 21 of 26.
• Yea! Sticking with the run - 34 plays, 173 yards.
• Yea! Westbrook - 7.9 yards a carry.
• Yea! Play action that worked.
• Yea! Receivers in motion.
• Yea! White Lightning - 11 catches, 3 TDs, 221 yards.
• Yea! Catching the ball.
• Yea! Offensive line.
• Yea! Considine with the pick a the end of the half - big play at the time.
• Yea! All those sacks and turnovers - 9 sacks, 1 pick 2 fumbles.
• Yea! Recovering fumbles.
• Yea! Akers with several kick-offs into the endzone.
• Boo! Jevon Kearse. 2 offsides this week.
• Yea! Andy Reid for pulling him out of the game.
• Boo! Giving up those huge plays.
• Boo! Sav Rocca with a 3rd game in a row of mediocre punts.

So does this huge offensive outburst mean anything or is this just what happens when you play the Lions and it won't carry over?

Did the country not watch last Monday's game?

9/23 1:00 PM ET	Opening	BetED	Sportsbook	WSEX	5Dimes	SPORTSBETTING
Detroit @ Philadelphia	44.5 -6.5	43.5 -7	44.5 -6.5	44.5 -6.5	44 -7	44.5 -6.5

Matchup

BONUS QUESTIONS: Will McNabb get booed because he's playing horrible again or because he's black? Was the 4th quarter a result of prevent defense or did McNabb get some of his skillz back?

What a joke

0-2 and going nowhere fast. Look for 0-3 after next Sunday when Roy Williams, Calvin Johnson, MIke Furrey, and Shaun McDonald come in and exploit the defense that might be absent Considine, Dawkins, and Lito.

Anyway, this game was sad. Jason Campbell made the plays that McNabb used to make and outplayed him. The defense did the job for the most part except for the typical end of the first half collapse and lapse in the 3rd quarter. The offense was brutal, and it was supposed to be the team's strength. This offense was like the pre-TO offense where if they make one mistake they can't overcome it. Reggie Brown drop, LJ Smith drop, bad McNabb pass, holding call, Kevin Curtis drop, bad McNabb pass, Reggie Brown drop again, pass in the dirt, and Kevin Curtis drop to end the game. They've have 22 or 23 offensive possessions in 2 games and have scored 1 measly touchdown. McNabb was brutal for large parts of the game then played pretty good when it finally dawned on him that the Eagles were going to lose this game. But by then it was too little, too late. And when ESPN wasn't busy talking about a bunch of crap that had nothing to do with the game, they managed to squeeze in some game analysis that showed the receivers getting no separation. Even Kevin "white lightning" Curtis.

Other notes:

• Kearse is good for a couple offsides a season trying to cheat on the snap count. Other than that I never heard his name for the rest of the game.
• McNabb looked better in the preseason.
• Rocca sucked again except for 1 punt.
• ESPN's game coverage sucked. No replays and too much Barkley, but they did have some nice black and white still shots to represent Philadelphia instead of the cliche cheesesteak and boathouse row video.
• Play calling sucked. Again.
• Avant looked pretty good again
• Where is Celek, the star of the preseason? The tightends on the field suck.
• One Eagle that didn't suck - Westbrook.
• How predictable was the time out on the first 4th down they went for?
• Pass to Tapeh on a crucial 3rd down AGAIN. I love that play.
• Where did the slant pass go?
• Reid seemed shaken in his post game press conference
• The Phillies outscored the Eagles tonight.
• Has Reid lost the team? They were somnabulent again for large chunks of the game.

Reno returns. Let's hope the team rises from the dead too.

9/17 8:30 PM ET	Opening	BetED	Sportsbook	WSEX	5Dimes	SPORTSBETTING
Washington @ Philadelphia	40.5 -7	39 -6.5	39 -7	39 -7	39 -7.5	39 -7

Matchup

BONUS QUESTIONS: Will Bill Belichick get suspended longer than Dallass QB coach Wade Wilson? Did the Patriots cheat their way to the Super Bowl over the Eagles? If you remember the 2nd half, the defense couldn't stop anything the Patriots did. It's as if the Patriots knew exactly what the Eagles defense was going to do...

Reid's future

It's a little early I know, but I was thinking about this during the preseason and after Sunday's debacle (which can be directly laid at Reid's feet) made me think of it again: Is this Reid's last year as head coach? If the Eagles continue with the play we witnessed yesterday, will he step down and move permanently to management? No one will fault him if he did considering the little crime family he's raising. Chances of this happening I think are low though because Reid is incredibly stubborn and likes to think he is always right about everything. Quitting would be admitting he was wrong.

But let's say this actually happens, who should be coach? Cowher and his mustache? More likely though the Eagles will just promote from within and the great Marty Mornhingweg will be in charge instead. Awesome.

Call Reno, 911

Wow, that was quick. I thought the special teams would blow 2 games this year. And they've already completely blown one with 15 more to go. Way to go Greg Lewis. Way to go JR Reed. Have you ever played football before in your life? How much more brain dead can you 2 clowns be? Rocca was no dinki-di with his punts either.

As for the offense, they weren't much better and struggled all day. It was like it was still preseason. McNabb was a mediocre 15 of 35, of course with some drops. The biggest problem though was only converting 6 of 18 on third down. And let's not forget that the defense did way better than expected and even gave the offense the ball on the Packers 38 with a nice hit via Trent Cole with 4:18 to go. And what did the offense do? -4 on the first play, +2 on the second and then another -10 on a holding call and then incomplete. You only needed to go a few yards for Akers to try a game winning FG and instead you go backwards 12. Pathetic.

The defense played really well, only 3 points can be laid on them. The highlight of my day though was the guy in the stands with the Philadelphia Cream Cheese box for a hat. If I had a Tivo the screen capture would go right after this sentence.

Favre sucks

9/09 1:00 PM ET	Opening	betED	Sportsbook	WSEX	5Dimes	SPORTSBETTING
Philadelphia @ Green Bay	-2.5 43.5	-3.5 43	-3 42.5	-3 43	-2.5 42.5	-3 42.5

Matchup

Don't forget to make your season predictions below.

Predictions

It's that time of the year again where everyone makes a fool of themselves predicting the Eagles season. (See last year.) In the comments make your season long, game by game predictions and whatever notes you might like to add. Also, what teams will be in the AFC and NFC championship games, the Super Bowl, who will win it all, and what teams will be this year's worst?

Sep 9 @ Green Bay 1:00pm
Sep 17 Washington 8:30pm
Sep 23 Detroit 1:00pm
Sep 30 @ N.Y. Giants 8:15pm
Week 5 BYE
Oct 14 @ N.Y. Jets 1:00pm
Oct 21 Chicago 4:15pm
Oct 28 @ Minnesota 1:00pm
Nov 4 Dallas 8:15pm
Nov 11 @ Washington 1:00pm
Nov 18 Miami 1:00pm
Nov 25 @ New England 8:15pm
Dec 2 Seattle 1:00pm
Dec 9 N.Y. Giants 1:00pm
Dec 16 @ Dallas 4:15pm
Dec 23 @ New Orleans 1:00pm
Dec 30 Buffalo 1:00pm

Eagles cuts

From the Eagles website, the real cut list:

Returner and receiver Jeremy Bloom, punter Dirk Johnson, cornerback Rashad Barksdale, fullback Jeremy Cain, wide receiver Zac Collie, linebacker Tank Daniels, fullback Jason Davis, cornerback Dustin Fox, safety C.J. Gaddis, wide receiver Michael Gasperson, safety Erick Harris, center Jasper Harvey, guard Jacob Hobbs, defensive tackle Mauricio Lopez, running back Nate Ilaoa, defensive end Marques Murrell, wide receiver J.J. Outlaw, tackle Jonathan Palmer, linebacker Dedrick Roper, defensive tackle Jeremy Clark, wide receiver Bill Sampy and tight end Lee Vickers.

Well the governor is 0-2. When he was on Macnow's show mid-August in between villifying Vick's cruelty to animals and praising 5 Brothers hamburgers, he predicted Bloom would make a big impact this season. Oops.

I agree with going with Rocca but I hope he works out, because I think he is somewhat of a risk. Wait till it gets freezing cold. I also would have liked to see Jason Davis make it instead of Tapeh. Remember those brainless passes to slow moving Tapeh on 3rd downs in critical situations last year? Davis might have had the quickness to get up field and convert.

How 'bout them Cowboys coaches?

Phils sweep Mets

Most exciting Phillies series since 1993. The fans did not like the Mets. Even the Phanatic got into the act.

Eagles lose

This game was boring and sucked. This game also should have ended with an 11-10 final just like the Phillies game earlier in the day which would have been nicely coincidental, not ironic. But the Jets drove to the Eagles 20 or so in the final minute and won the game 13-10 with a chip shot field goal.

The backup defense actually played better vs. its competition than the starters did last week. The backup offense though muddled around like the starters. They moved the ball but when they got into scoring position blew it. A bad snap and fumbled hold by Rocca, a missed Akers FG and a couple of turnovers added up to a whopping 3 first half points. Special teams as a whole was pretty bad as well. Poor coverage on kicks and Jeremy Bloom had his worst performance yet. I think he'll get cut or sent to the practice squad. Buckhalter will do kickoffs and Greg Lewis, who also isn't any good but is a better receiver, will do punts. One important injury - AJ Feeley broke his left hand.

Anyway, here's the rest:

• I think it's funny the starters have to dress for this stupid game.
• Jason Davis, backup FB, looked good last week in the late stages of the game on a couple or runs and he also broke some tackles and blocked well tonight in his limited chances. I think he has more quickness and agility than Tapeh but Reid will probably keep Tapeh.
• Ike Reese has some nerve busting on Tony Hunt's extra big head.
• Speaking of Tony Hunt, he had a really good game tonight. Can he return kicks?
• Almost every game an Eagle has been destroyed.
  Game 1: Rocca
  Game 2: Jeremy Bloom
  Game 3: Kevin Curtis
  Tonight: Feeley.
• Some refs were wiped out again this week.
• Paraphrased Dave Spadaro: "Celek's red tinted contacts reduce glare and allow him to see in 3D."
• Abiamiri had another decent game and a smart play on a fumble recovery.
• Kolb's dad was all Eagled up and when he was interviewed was funnily harsh on his son's performance so far in the game.
• Reid was 0-2 on challenges.
• Marques Murrell stood out in this game. He's a rookie DE from 1-AA Appalachian State.
• Kolb stood out again, which is good since Feeley broke his hand. His TD pass was a thing of beauty. Ike Reese was getting so excited about Kolb's play I think I heard him tapping his feet.

Hopefully the Eagles can get their crap together in a week and 2 days. Cuts will be announced Saturday. Any shockers/surprises? The Freakerge Egg, expensive and fragile? Darren Howard, another bust? Offseason veteran signee, Ian Scott who didn't play in one game? Bloom? Dirk Johnson? Trotter? Oh wait...

Eagles lose

If you want to worry, you have good reason to. The defense looks just as bad as it did last year. In other words, pathetic. In the first half when the starters were playing, Steelers had 15 first downs, were 4 for 7 on third down, and had 297 total yards. But look on the bright side, by the time Kevin Kolb is starting they might actually be good again instead of the usual defense good, offense weak, offense good, defense weak pattern we're used to. But when the defense was good that was mostly with the old regimes players... The new regime does appear to be able to draft good offensive players as Kolb was the biggest positive for the Eagles in the game - 26 of 37 with alot of drops by players that probably won't be here. He also ran the hurry up offense very efficiently. How about that?

Here are the rest of my notes:

• Did I mention the defense was horrible? Every screen play went for big yards, every misdirection went for big yards. Zero sacks, little pressure except on blitzes. How many plays went for 20+ yards? How bad was the tackling? Where were DEs?
• 3 straight games, 3 straight first plays a pass to Curtis.
• For a game that was supposed to be the most important, the Eagles were really sloppy.
• Akers put some kickoffs into the endzone again and didn't miss a kick for points.
• Avant looks bigger, stronger, and better.
• Reggie Brown sucked.
• First Freakergé Egg limping off the field of the season came with 11:45 left in the second quarter. That was also the only time I noticed him.
• Sav Rocca punted 2/3 punts pretty good, 2 poor. Eagles, and Johnson, didn't punt in the second half did they?
• Bloom doesn't worry me catching the ball, but he's shown nothing that makes me think he can do anything with it afterward.
• Loved how Al Michaels referred to Reid's 22 and 25 year old thugs as "boys" as if they weren't adult criminals and instead were just some kids mixed up in some mischief.
• Nice chaw Roethlisberger.

Axman cut

Eagles let Trotter go today and this time it probably wasn't a mistake. We all watched Trotter age before our eyes last season and I'm sure the Eagles hierarchy noticed too. Instead of just releasing him at the end of the season, they did the right thing and gave him the benefit of the doubt. And then when he showed up in shape and lighter, I'm sure they wanted to see what he could still do. Apparently he could do everything but move side-to-side and cover tightends and running backs because his knees are in worse shape than Mr. Burns. If you remember even no-name tightends had a bad habit of killing the Eagles last year and the Eagles can't leave themselves that vulnerable with Trotter on the field.

I'm sad to see Trotter go as he was one of my favorite players. Trotter was great in his day but unfortunately his body is failing him even if his heart hasn't and hopefully he'll get picked up by a good, non-Eagles-rival team that has a chance. I'm also sad that I'll never have the chance to use "Jeremiah Potter Late Game Magic Saves the Day" headline. I was saving that one up.

Eagles play much better

I only half watched this game so the review won't be that detailed. Overall the Eagles played well and the Panthers, whose straight outta the early 90s, worst in the league uniforms, played as bad as the Eagles did last week. An extra mention goes to Delhomme who was especially awful.

• McNabb looked really good. He looked calm in the pocket and was surprisingly accurate from the start of the game and didn't go through 2 or 3 series trying to settle down. He still missed a couple of throws but mostly they were the ones he makes only 50% of the time anyway, the main one being rolling to his right trying to hit someone running toward the same sideline.
• Kevin Curtis, the new receiver, showed a little of what he can do this game and made me think maybe the Eagles weren't blowing their usual smoke.
• The play of the game was a 40 yard Lito Sheppard interception return. He looked like Westbrook running in the open field, showed great awareness of where everyone was, avoided them, and then when he saw he was going to get tackled took the blow so that he wouldn't put his knee down and made the extra effort to lunge the remaining yard into the endzone. Pro Bowl.
• It was fitting that the play of the game came from the defense since they were so much better than last week. Lots of pressure, several sacks, 3 turnovers, and they even stopped the run effectively.
• Rookie end, Abiamiri played another strong game. Will he break the Eagles streak of drafting defensive linemen in the upper rounds that don't consistently make positive contributions?
• Speaking of that, Bunkley looks like he will see the field this year as he made several plays this game.
• On offense, Celek had another impressive game, especially for a rookie. Not only can he catch the ball, he stays on his feet and gains yards after the catch too, AND he protects the ball when he runs and is hit, AND it looks like he can block too.
• Hunt ran in 2 TDs this game. Both from the 2, and both via good blocking from the right side of the line. See the previous point.
• Both Avant and Baskett should be bigger parts of the Eagles offense this year. Note: I don't believe a word of the more balanced attack. It's going to be the same old pass heavy crap before Garcia.
• Feeley played better and Kolb looked pretty good again. Kolb led a nice drive that was ended by a poor spot of the ball and a blown review of the spot after Reid challenged the call. Otherwise he would have put points on the board too.
• Akers kicked 2 50+ field goals and they were in the game, not pre-game warm-ups. But other than that the special teams was mediocore. Bloom didn't do much on returns and the dueling punters both punted like you'd expect.
• Bloom had more of an impact receiving. On one play he reached way behind him, showing great body control to make the catch, and while totally vulnerable was drilled. He popped right back up though. I'm surprised the announcers didn't attribute his body control to his expertise in skiing. You can bet though that someone will at some point during the season.
• Predicted cut - #68, Pat McCoy. He was brutal on pass protection last week and was equally atrocious this week. He's not a turnstile though, a turnstile would do better.

So a much better effort this week and much sharper performance. I'm sure it helped to have McNabb back, who showed no effects of his knee surgery, and Lito, who didn't practice at all. It seems as long as the star players and starters are on the field, this team can dominate. Still, it is only preseason.

Eagles lose, score is unimportant

The player of the game was Ravens' kicker Matt Stover, who had 20 fieldgoals. That's all you really need to know about how exciting it was. It was almost like you went to a football game and a baseball game broke out.

Here are my notes:

• Eagles defense started right where they left off last year - providing little resistance on a 93 yard first drive of the game touchdown, allowing 3, 3rd and longs to be converted. Glad to see they're keeping that proud tradition alive.
• In case the Linc's turnstiles ever need replacing, the Eagles' D-Line can fill in. I'm sure they can spare a few guys because I keep hearing they're that "deep".
• Broderick Bunkley did make A play this game.
• The offensive line was just as bad as the defensive line. They gave up lots of pressure, 5 sacks, and only had 23 yards rushing.
• FG unit looked weak like last year when it was minus Detmer, All-Pro holder. Notice that the Inquirer neglected to acknowledge the holder in last Sunday's listing of top 3 Eagles players at each position.
• Akers did put the kick-off into the endzone the 2 times he had a chance.
• Celek, the rookie tight end was the Eagles player of the game. Enjoy LJ's last season as an Eagle, if he makes it onto the field.
• Looks like Moats made the team this game by getting hurt bad with a broken ankle and locking up a spot on IR.
• QBs: Feeley was weak, Holcomb was pretty good, Kolb was pretty good. Kolb has a terrible dirt stache. He did well but was killed by drops, no protection, and bad turnovers. McNabb, in "street clothes", looked fat. His play of the game was providing comfort and support to Moats as they carted him off the field.
• Punting battle: Dirk Johnson had some good kicks, especially his first. But Rocca was involved in the only emotionally interesting play of the game. He started slow with 2 weak 30 something long punts. Then he had a chance to kick from the endzone. First kick went 56 yards but there was an illegal man downfield. Second kick went 65 yards and while he was jogging upfield watching the play, 40 yards away from the action, a Ravens' scrub (#50) totally cheap shotted him. The hit was helmet to helmet and sent Rocca and his helmet flying. Of course there was no penalty on the Ravens player but Gasperson of the Eagles came over and shoved the guy and got a 15 yard personal foul call. Ridiculous. Rocca got right up though and was seen smiling about it on the sideline afterwards. I'd keep Rocca on the team for that play alone. Especially considering the dramatics kickers go into when they're brushed during a block attempt.
• Bloom was pretty good for most of the night with some decent returns and good receiving as well. He was decisive and often made the first guy miss.
• Tony Hunt showed me nothing. He's too slow and was terrible trying to block on a blitz.
• JJ Outlaw gets the "corny tats award" for his capital Js in a star, one for each forearm.
• Rookie linebacker Bradley was pretty good.
• Matt McCoy, up till now bust linebacker, was also pretty good.
• Ike Reese was the best part of the broadcast. The play-by-play guy sucked and even admitted it. At one point he even blew the call of the best dressed fan award announcing a father and son tandem when it was a father and his daughter. "Spuds"/crackhead Dave was busy all game on the sidelines kissing the fans' asses for going to training camp/skipping out of work in large numbers.
• That Turkey Hill Touchdown Sundae ice cream is pretty bad, trust me.

Overall a poor effort by the Eagles, especially defense. The offense will probably be fine when the season starts, the so-called "improved" defense I'm not so sure about. I didn't see it in this game. Hopefully this Friday against Carolina they'll do a better job.

Talking 'bout Practice

I guess I am the only true fan paying attention to what is happening on the frying tarmac up Lehigh. In case you missed it, the Eagles are dropping like flies with injuries. Since the season is still like 6 weeks away, it is not that big of a deal. Of course Mr. Glass, Correll Buckhalter and the Freakergé egg, Jevon Kearse are sidelined by bunions or some such nonesense. But Sean Andrews has a busted foot. All pro Lito Shephard is out. L.J. Smith reinjured his sports hernia. Rookie sensation Tony Hunt also went down and Brian Dawkins ain't never been right. What does the coach think about this?

"It's not a problem," Reid said. "This is the way it happens every year, so we're fine here."

Big Red has had a rough summer, so I will give him a bit of a break. But Reid would say the same thing in November if Westbrook or Mcnabb were injured and out for the season. In other training camp news, Max Jean-Gilles is confused and thinks he is competing for Todd Fedoruk's roster spot. There is quite the epic battle for punter between Sav "The Puntypus" Rocca and Dirk's Johnson. Be sure to keep an eye on that one Monday. Plus all the injuries will really give the Eagles an opportunity to show their depth, says Chef Kool-Aid.

10,000 losses

The most pathetic of our pathetic, non-championship winning teams finally got their 10,000th loss and of course they couldn't even do that right. Going into the bottom of the 9th trailing 10-0, which would have been the perfect, poetic final score, stupid Michael Bourne hits a meaningless homerun to make it 10-1. Michael Bourne will have like 5 homeruns in his career. Then Utley hits a double to score another run to make the final 10-2.

Anyway, congratulations to the greatest losers of all time, you earned it.

Free agency news

Flyers made the moves today that we all expected. They signed 29 year old center Daniel Briere to an eight-year, $52 million deal. (The Flyers official site though hasn't reported the numbers as of this posting) Supposedly other teams offered him even more money but he apparently loves the Flyers.

“In past few weeks, even when I was thinking about it, Philly came up at the top of my list,” said Briere on a conference call with local reporters on Sunday night. “There’s a lot going for Philly and a lot of it is interesting to me.

“They are just so committed to winning and that impressed me. I wanted to be a part of a winning team, not just for the next year or two or three, but for awhile. I’m signed for a long time and glad to be part of a team that’s on the upswing.”

As the cliche goes, there's nowhere to go but up and hopefully Briere's 32 goals and 63 assists will make that happen.

The move that I'm even happier about though is getting rid of Pitkanen. They traded him, Sanderson, and a 3rd round pick to the Oilers for right wing Joffrey Lupul (23) and defenseman Jason Smith (33). Lupul was part of the Pronger trade with Anaheim and was seen as an up and coming talent but he fell off big time last year in Edmonton, going from 28 goals and 25 assists with the Ducks to 16 goals and 12 assists with the Oilers. Smith is on the old side but is a defensive defenseman with grit and he was second in the league in blocked shots - 228 and had a bunch of penalty minutes.

So far in the offseason the Flyers have gotten somewhat younger and more talented on offense and older and on paper, better on defense. With Timonen and Briere they probably vastly improved their powerplay. They also got some character and leadership with Briere, Smith, and Timonen all being team captains. So the Pitkanen sucking problem is finally solved, up next is the Rathje, Hatcher, Gautier problem. Hopefully Rathje will retire and they figure out something to do with probably Gautier. Do we still need a shutdown center? Handzus is still available... but he is coming off a torn ACL.

In other news, the Rangers signed both Drury and Gomez.

Flyers Draft news

Believe it or not these dudes are not members of the hot new emo band that will be headlining this years Warped Tour. No, they are Flyers second round draft pick Kevin Marshall and 5th rounder Mario Kempe.

The big news of course was that Flyers used the #2 overall pick to select "the young John Leclair", NJ's James Van Riemsdyk. Van Riemsdyk was highly rated and excelled at the world juniors, but as a product of the US Developemental program has not faced the grind of a actual season like a Canadian Junior player. He will play next year for the University of New Hampshire.

The Flyers actually traded up (draft pick) to select Marshall, a stay at home defensemen from the QMJHL who is known for getting under his opponents' skin. Marshall was completely stoked to selected by the Flyers. And while Holgrem likened him to Danny Markov, I am going one better in the reminds-me-of-this-former-Flyer match-up game and dub him the next Moose Dupont. Or maybe Davy Havok

In a bit of a shocker, Paul Holgrem selected Garrett Klotz in the third round.

"He's tough and aggressive," Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said.

Translation: 2 goals and 107 penalty minutes. While I endorse the drafting of a goon/potential power forward, did it have to come in the third round?

The Flyers had no fourth round pick, their next selection was Kempe. Kempe is a Swede who plays in the QMJHL. Supposedly this guy is a great skater and stick handler who doesn't pass and hates to get physical. Sort of an anti-Flyer.

In the 6th round the Flyers chose Patrick Maroon (US Juniors- yeah this league really exists) and Jonathon Kalinski (Minnesota State- this really exists too). Maroon may turn out to be a great pick. This guy scored 95 points and recorded 155 pm in 57 games. He is going to Ferris State (again, not fictional) next year.

Finally the Flyers selected goalie Brad "Slim" Phillips (US National Program) in the 7th round. Phillips has had some success in international competition. He is a Sean Bradley like 6 ft 2, 163 lbs. More detailed ananlysis here. Flyers brag about the Phantoms of the future here.

Flyers make move

The Flyers traded their late first round draft pick back to Nashville for Kimmo Timonen and Scott Hartnell. Timonen was excellent last season for the Predators, and is an immediate upgrade on the blue line, especially on the power play. Hartnell, who the Flyers probably overpaid, is a power forward with okay numbers, both in points and PM.

The moves are basically free agent pick-ups, with the Flyers trading the pick to get first crack a these guys (much like they did last year did with Marty Biron.) The signings leave Flyers with little cap room to pick up the top “play making center” who disappeared from the team when Peter Foresberg’s feet went south last year. Obviously the Flyers will trade Robert Esche, and maybe Ron’s boy Joni Pitkineen may be moved to free up some cash. The next big event for the Flyers is the draft (Friday), which you can watch with them over some crab fries .

Here is some further information on the trade.

Various

The Stanley Cup finals once again features a team from a place where water doesn't naturally freeze or stay frozen long enough to skate on it, a place where they couldn't care less about hockey. And Anaheim is currently up 2-1 with Ottawa finally showing up to play in game 3. If Anaheim does win, it would be the continuation of a terrible trend and one of the many reasons hockey is losing fans and viewership.

On a related note, during last nights game Pronger gave a nice elbow to the head of Ottawa's Dean McCammon and was suspended. Of course if he had done the same exact thing with his shoulder and the full weight of his body behind the blow it would have been just fine and totally legal and praised. I really fail to see the difference since both is a hit to the head, a concussion risk, and the reason many players have had their careers shortened. All the while all minor bumps and stick chops are automatic 2 minute minors.

After Pronger's hit, for which he wasn't penalized during the game, things got "chippy". Mike Emerick announced that finally some emotion and dislike had been created between the 2 teams. But what do you expect when every minor bump and stick chop is an automatic 2 minute minor? This is the main reason NHL hockey is losing fans and viewership - the loss of hatred and rancor, the loss of rivalry. While the UFC is a growing "sport" and wrestling is still really popular - I bet it easily beat the Stanley Cup finals which preceded it on NBC last night - the NHL has eliminated from its game the things that make the the UFC and pro wrestling popular. People love violence, even if it's staged, and people love rivalries and good guys and bad guys and revenge. People still talk about the Flyers vs. Montreal pregame brawl from the 1987 playoffs. The 2007 Stanley Cup finals? Nobody is watching.

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Speaking of the UFC, I was flipping around and saw the end of a match. For 5 minutes the guy celebrated his victory with blood streaming down his face and it wasn't wiped off for his post match interview either. If you watch boxing they clean all that up right away and patch all the cuts. In the UFC they deliberately leave it on.

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As of this posting, the Phillies have 16 more losses to go before they reach 10,000 for their history. I predict it will come on July 4th because it just seems appropriate.

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So there appears to be a little bit of justice in the NBA. The Celtics tanked their season and only got the 5th pick. Of course the Sixers didn't tank but weren't rewarded for it by the basketball gods - they're located in Philadelphia that's why. But even better is Cleveland eliminated Detroit and Chris "I stole millions from the Sixers" Webber will still not have a championship to his name.

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So McNabb and Reid will both be on WIP's morning show tomorrow. Questions I would ask McNabb:

• Do you know when they booed at the draft they were booing the Eagles, not you? And even if they were booing you, why do 30 drunks booing once trump 55,000+ (not counting the thousands more watching at home) cheering repeatedly? And who do you think buys all those McNabb jerseys?
• When are the Eagles going to win a Super Bowl?

Questions I would ask Reid:

• How did you lose to Tampa Bay in the NFC championship game? How?
• Were the Eagles' receivers good enough?
• If your QB is hurt with a sports hernia and whatever else why would you pass the ball 70% of the time?
• When are the Eagles going to win a Super Bowl?

Various sports stuff

Have you heard about the McNabb trade rumour? McNabb to Chicago for Lance Briggs as talked about on WIP as reported by Don McKee as told to him by "one of the area's most sage football observers," someone that works for the NFL.

I actually heard this idea when I was listening to Mark Eckel's show the week following the draft when a caller suggested exactly the same thing. I guess it's only news when an "NFL insider" tells Don McKee his delusion and the Inquirer prints it. And what's weird is that Eckel was on the WIP morning show Monday and they asked him about the trade rumour and he didn't mention the call although he gave pretty much the exact same answer he gave a couple weeks ago - Eagles would never do that because they are competing with the Bears to go to the Super Bowl.

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Stupid NBC. I was enjoying game 5 of the Eastern Conference championship between Buffalo and Ottawa which went into overtime. Instead of staying with the game NBC went to the Preakness pre-race show which was incredibly banal, pointless, and boring. Instead of showing Alfredson scoring the winning goal which sent Ottawa to the Cup finals for the first time we got incredibly interesting insights on the brief rain showers in Baltimore and were informed that Street Sense was the favorite to win the Triple Crown this year.

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So the Phillies won 7 out of 10 during their homestand but actually lost ground to Atlanta and the Mets. They have no chance.

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So why all the moral outrage over dog fighting as it relates to Michael Vick? Sure the dogs were brutalized but lots of other animals are treated equally as bad or worse for human food and fashion (If I listened, I'm sure Eskin is condemning Vick while completely obvlivious to his hypocrisy.) Is it because the dogs were maltreated for entertainment? What about circuses and numerous low budget zoos then?

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The "Best of the Nest" series that Macknow thought up was OK. The results of many of the games were questionable with highly improbable plays determining outcomes. Reggie White with no sacks? Dorsey Levens with long runs around the edge? The 2004 Eagles calling a sweep with 1 second left in the half from the 17 yard line - and scoring a TD on it? Also, the program that was used to play the imaginary games seemed to heavily weight offensive stats. What made the series though was Joe Conklin's game recreations, his impersonations, and his clever jokes and insults. I'll laugh everytime he does Mike Quick. If not for Conklin, I would have been bored.

Even Eskin can't explain this

Eagles defense sucks and the Eagles have plenty of quality quarterbacks already, so the Eagles brilliantly trade their first round pick to division rival Dallass who drafts for the exact position I thought the Eagles should be filling, defensive end, and draft some quarterback from Houston, home of supreme QB busts David Klingler and Andre Ware, at 36 when he was projected to go late 2nd or early in the 3rd round. And then to top it off they draft a lesser (according to the experts - how would I know?), undersized (typical) defensive end later in the second round than what they passed on at 26.

And to top it off they got less for their first round pick from Dallass than the Patriots got from San Francisco 2 picks later and then they act like they've won 3 Super Bowls in their explanatory press conference. They act like there's no holes to fill NOW while at the same time admitting they wanted Merriweather and Benson. How does that square?

But look at the bright side, they saved a bunch of $$$ by not having to pay anyone first round money and they didn't pick the 25 year old BYU guy or any BYU guys so far. And their last 3 picks of the day might actually help the team next year. I still don't get the first pick though.

Here are links to the profiles of their picks:
Kevin Kolb, QB - kinda looks like a dumb Johnny Knoxville.
Victor Abiamiri, DE - kinda looks like Keith Byers.
Stewart Bradley, OLB - get a haircut, hippie.
Tony Hunt, RB - yea, a power runner! Can't wait till all the PSU losers call WIP and act like he's the next Franco Harris.
C.J. Gaddis, S/CB
Brent Celek, TE - this is the guy that screwed Rutgers last year.
Rashad Barksdale, CB
Nate Ilaoa, FB/RB

Later to Moats, McDougal, and bowtie guy.

Eagles 2007 draft predictions

Last year's draft class may have been the best class ever. The Eagles though managed to avoid its success despite having a million picks. Only Gaither made any meaningful contribution when he was put in at the end of the season. Another example of that brain trust's gold standard stuff.

Nobody has any real idea who the Eagles will get at pick 26, but I predict the Eagles will again find the rough in the diamonds, the 1 guy that contributes nothing all year. They are also good at finding the one guy that gets hurt early on. Or trading up to get a guy like McDougal, who gets hurt and also sucks - a truly special player.

Despite having no clue, people have made their guesses based on what they think the Eagles need - safety, defensive end, linebacker, and apparently cornerback.

Safeties
Brandon Meriweather, Miami - Philadelphia Inquirer's Marc Narducci
Michael Griffin, Texas - nfldraftcountdown.com, ESPN Sportsnation, Inside the Eagles
Eric Weddle, Utah - draftking.com

Defensive Ends
Jarvis Moss, Florida - Don Banks, si.com
Charles Johnson, Georgia - About Football
Other possibility: Anthony Spencer, Purdue

Linebackers
Jon Benson, Miami - Ourlads Scouting, profootballtalk.com

Cornerbacks
Aaron Ross, Texas - Fox Sports. NFLDraftScout.com
Darrelle Revis, Pittsburgh - Draft Daddy and docsports.com
Reggie Nelson, Florida - Scouts Inc.
Other possibility: Marcus McCauley, Fresno State

Defensive Tackles
Alan Branch, Michigan - scout.com (I hope not.)

Wide Receivers
Dwayne Bowe, LSU - Fox Sports

USA Today's "experts" are all over the place - Alan Branch, DT, Michigan, Ryan Kalil, C, Southern Cal, Jon Beason, LB, Miami, Aaron Ross, CB, Texas, Dwayne Bowe, WR, LSU, Jon Beason, LB, Miami, Chris Houston, CB, Arkansas, Aaron Ross, CB, Texas

As for myself, get a defensive end - I know, boring and what's one more right? But Howard sucks, Kearse is a question mark, and Trent Cole dropped off big time as the season wore on. McDougal needs to be cut, Chris Gocong isn't going to be anything anytime either (what a dumb pick). Eagles need a better, more consistent pass rush. They need run stopping more but they already have too much invested in Patterson and Bunkley so they're not going to go there again. I'd go with Jarvis Moss, but like everyone else it's just a best guess. If not I'd be happy with Merriweather even though he's a wannabe gangsta like Pacman Jones.

Added: I'd even be happy if they took this guy. What have they got to lose?