Super Bowl train derailed

Just like last year when the Eagles could have beaten Dallass to secure the 2nd seed but played a terrible game and lost, the Eagles played another terrible game, but at home this time to an totally inferior opponent that was starting a 3rd string quarterback and a ton of other back-ups. The Eagles defense was its usual pathetic self, but the somnambulance of the offense was unexpected. The completely unbalanced run to pass play calling ratio wasn't unexpected, but on a night when Vick was playing his worst game of the year and getting pounded on every play maybe feeding the ball to McCoy and the forgotten Jerome Harrison might have been a good idea. But these obvious football innovations apparently were overlooked in the 9 days the Eagles brain trust had to prepare, and the offense only put up 14 points and the Eagles lost 24-14.

Other notes:

• Sit the starters vs. Dallass. That has to be the bye now especially with the short week.
• Reid: "Absolutely pathetic job on my part getting my team ready to play... Terrible, terrible job."
• Eagles offense has only played 8 good minutes of football in the last 2 games.
• Vick started to revert to old-school Vick in this game and that isn't a good sign.
• Another ton of penalties put the Eagles over 1,000 yards for the year.
• Give me a break with Joe Webb, NBC.
• Breakout game for Celek! He did drop a ball that killed a drive early in the game though...
• Patterson still sucks, but those were ticky-tack interference call and personal foul penalties on him.
• DeSean Jackson was weak.
• Andy Reid won a challenge!

Since next weekend means nothing now, what is everyone doing?

The day after Christmas and all through the house...

12/26 8:25 PM ET	Opening	betED	5Dimes	SPORTSBETTING	Logans
Minnesota @ Philadelphia	36.5 0	43 -15	43.5 -15.5	43 -14.5	43.5 -14.5

Matchup

Bonus Question: What is more anticipated, Christmas morning by children or another Favre hagiography on national TV by football fans?

Giant choke

Unbelievable. For the majority of the game the offense was terrible and the defense was brutal. It also didn't help that the refs gifted the Giants 14 points and Reid was clueless with the challenges. But it didn't matter because the Eagles scored 28 points in the last 7+ minutes of the game, the last 7 coming on a miracle DeSean Jackson punt return with only 12 seconds to go. Then the Giants were forced to sit on the sidelines for another 5 minutes as the refs made the Eagles kick the meaningless extra point with no time on the clock. Awesome.

How did the Eagles do it? Brilliant Andy Reid second half adjustments? Giants relaxing, thinking they had won? Eagles playing better? Christmas miracles?

In the first half the offense was playing passively, had no urgency and Vick was checking down on every play. There were also drops and bad offensive line play. They only managed 3 points. On the other side of the ball the defense couldn't get off the field. It was the usual 1 or 2 good plays then a bunch of bad plays, usually on 3rd and long. The Giants converted on 3rd and 11, 6, 8, 6, and 12 and scored 24 points. Of course the last 7 were after the refs ruled a Maclin drop a fumble and the replay unbelievably upheld the bad call on the field.

The second half didn't improve that much for the offense but the defense started to hold the Giants and even had a couple of 3 and outs. Then the defense even got a break when Manningham fumbled the ball for no reason at all and the first Christmas miracle of the game occurred - the ball landed in bounds and in the scramble to recover it the Eagles didn't knock it out of bounds. A few plays later the Giants left Maclin wide open on a blown coverage and Vick hit him for a TD to make it 24-10.

The Eagles got the ball back after the defense held again. Vick hit Jackson who stumbled and hit the ground and fumbled after a 30+ yard catch. Problem was he was touched by a Giants defender on his way to the ground and it should not have been ruled a fumble. Inexplicably Reid did not challenge. The Giants took their second turnover, that really wasn't, and drove for a TD that I thought was the final nail in the coffin, but I was wrong.

The next time the Eagles got the ball it took them 2 plays and only 40 seconds or so to get the deficit back to 14. Vick hit Celek with a great pass for a 65 yard double-clutch catch and run as the Giants safety stupidly tried to pick it instead of tackle Celek. Maclin made a great block to help Celek get in.

After the TD, Akers and the Eagles executed a perfect onsides kick and the Giants weren't ready. Note that Reid usually kicks the ball deep there so the Giants were just going by the trends. The Eagles also smartly did not put their "hands" team on the field and lined up like normal for another bit of trickery.

After the successful recovery, Vick ripped off a 35 yard run to the 9 after a blown sack by the Giants and a few plays later Vick went in untouched on a QB draw on 3rd and goal. The Eagles were only down by 7 with 5:32 left.

The Giants responded with a bit of a drive to run time off the clock and make the Eagles burn all their timeouts. But eventually they were forced to punt when the Eagles blitzed on a third down and Manning threw incomplete and nicely stopped the clock. The Giants punt gave the Eagles the ball on the 12 with 3:08 left.

The drive started poorly but on third down Vick ran 33 yards down the sidelines and out of bounds at the 45. A few plays later Vick ran for another 22 yards down to the Giants 20. Then a pass to Celek to the 13 followed by a TD pass to Maclin tied the game.

The Giants still had all their timeouts and 1:13 left on the clock. The defense could still blow it. Instead Manning threw 2 incomplete passes and on third down the Eagles sacked him for the first time in the game since Fokou got him the Giants first series - another Christmas miracle in my book. Twelve seconds remained.

Then the Christmas miracle of Christmas miracles occurred. The Giants punter line drived his kick right to Jackson. He muffed it though, went backwards with the ball after picking it up which caused the kick coverage to go too deep. He then zipped right up the middle with his blazing speed, made a quick turn to his right, got a huge block by Avant and raced to the goal line, and just to infuriate me, ran parallel to it for 2 seconds before finally crossing it to win the game. Just like the Westbrook return back in the day, papers were slammed to the ground as the return went by the Giants sideline. It was beautiful. Jackson blew it though in his postgame comments by not saying, "Merry Christmas, Philadelphia."

Other notes:

• I wonder if New York is getting used to getting slapped around by Philadelphia yet.
• In the first quarter Eagles blew 2 turnovers - Coleman's dropped interception and botched punt muff fumble recovery.
• On Giants first TD why wasn't the Giants offensive lineman called for holding and then a block in the back or unnecessary roughness? How about a push off on Manningham?
• Mikell made a nice interception that led to the Eagles only points of the first half. He's getting good at those acrobatic grabs.
• What is the purpose of #2 Son bringing a 32" flatscreen to the counter where Shaq is working?
• Patterson should buy DeSean a Rolex otherwise he would be the main topic of conversation this week, as in, "Patterson sucks."
• Two weeks in a row the refs and replay have given the Eagles opposition free points right before the half. If Maclin traps that ball underneath him all the Giants would be waving incomplete and replay would have overruled the "catch." Ridiculous call.
• Brent Celek had a huge TD play, but he also killed 2 drives with penalties.
• Maclin has to go get that underthrown bomb and not wait for it.
• Akers is playing great.
• LeSean is playing great. Went over 1000 yards rushing for the year and almost has 90 receptions. Also great on blitz pickups, especially on Maclin's tying touchdown.
• Reid only challenges when he's going to lose, but great second half otherwise, especially the onsides kick call.
• Didja know DeSean Jackson is the first player in history to win a game on a last play of the game punt return?
• Coughlin is a chump for showing up the punter like that as if he was the one responsible for blowing the game. He blew the kick only.
• Did anyone on the Giants ask DeSean for his autograph after the game?
• This season has probably had the most great and exciting games I can remember thanks to all the come from behind victories. Good job Eagles.

Giant game

12/19 1:00 PM ET	Opening	betED	5Dimes	SPORTSBETTING	Logans
Philadelphia @ N.Y. Giants	46 -2.5	46 -3	46 -2.5	46 -3	46 -3

Matchup

Bonus Question: What will Eli do this game to screw it up?

Best Philly Sports Moments of 2010

It's never too early to start thinking about the year in review. And, honestly, I'm not sure I previously could have come up with 5 top PHILLY sports moments. But, this year had quite a few. This yahoo article starts us up with 5 and got me thinking:

* Flyers' historic 0-3 playoff comeback (including also being down 0-3 in Game 7). This happened AFTER squeaking into the playoffs in the first place, and resulted in a pretty nice run at the Cup in general.
* Halladay playoff No-Hitter.
* Richards conference finals short-handed goal.
* Halladay perfect game.
* 76ers get 2nd overall pick.

As of now, I can't personally include that short-handed goal OR the Sixers' pick. My quick-recall top Philly moments:
* Halladay playoff No-Hitter
* Vick's performance against Washington (honorable alternate Eagle moment: McNabb trade, signifying a new era, an era that we didn't expect to start this fast).
* Halladay perfect game.
* Flyers' playoff run, especially the 0-3 comeback.
* The Cliff Lee signing.

How about yours? (No cheating, don't post six!) I'm interested in what I missed.

As far as lows go,Losing game 5 to the SF Giants was pretty low, 3 losses in a single season to the Cowboys was pretty low when it was completed in the playoffs in early 2010, and that Flyers' game 6 loss hurt but not nearly as badly as they over-achieved in the first place.

Cliff Lee's back and the NL's in trouble

Despite being discarded in a bad trade before this past season following a lights-out 2009 playoff performance, Cliff Lee has accepted a deal to rejoin the Phillies. And he's taking a fair bit less than he could making elsewhere, to boot.

Even in a post-Jayson Werth salary world, it's hard to believe the Phillies made this happen.

This thing came out of left field (baseball metaphor!), and I'm still seeing varying reports of Lee making from $100 million to $120 million over five years from the Phils. But however it comes out, Lee will be giving up several million per year to pitch in Philly instead of the Bronx or Texas. And maybe even more beyond the five years.

Obviously this goes beyond wanting to win — Lee could certainly win with the Yankees and Texas. He must have sincerely liked playing here, was sincerely heart-broken when he was moved, and maybe appreciated how pissed the fans were with his being traded.

Considering how much payroll the team will be putting out, I have to figure Joe Blanton will be traded (even if they have to suck up some of his salary). This CSN Philly article suggests Raul Ibanez might be moved too, which makes the outfield sort of suspect if it happens depending on how they replace him.

But should I even be thinking about the offense at this point when it looks like the rotation will consist of Halladay, Lee, Hamels and Oswalt?

Probably not. None of the other NL teams are, certainly.

A Philly team not pocketing savings when a free agent leaves town? Four of the best pitchers in the game on one staff? A GM correcting a mistake in the most direct way possible?

These are crazy times we live in, folks.

Dallass sucks

I feel like I should enjoy this 30-27 win over Dallass, who sucks, more than I am. The Eagles did go to Dallass and win a very important game, made bigger by Green Bay and Chicago both losing, but it wasn't a satisfying win to me. Maybe because I am old school (or just old), but all the big pass plays were less enjoyable than the final drive that put away the game. And the bend and then break defense is just aggravating to no end, not to mention all the first downs they gift via penalties. I love a defense that crushes their enemies, sees them driven before them, and I can hear the lamentations of their fans. This defense doesn't scare the Carolina Panthers.

The offense was frustrating this game as well. They had big plays, but no little plays. They weren't consistent and almost all their points came off those big plays, not steady drives – they couldn't convert on third down. Of course Reid was passing too much, but then he got smart in the second half. Another Christmas miracle - a halftime adjustment for the better. And the final all running play drive, featuring LeSean McCoy gashing the Cowboys play after play, was a thing of beauty. That was satisfying.

Other notes:

• Dallass sucks
• You'd think teams would catch on and plan to defend DeSean Jackson on the Eagles first offensive play of the game.
• Once again a network gave us plenty of Jerry Jones reaction shots when Dallass did something good but were denied his Skeletoresque visage when they were blowing the game.
• Bradley injury was sick and very Koy Detmeresque.
• Vick was not as accurate this game, seemed slower in his decision making, and the pick he threw when he was trying to hit Celek was pretty bad.
• I can never be a big DeSean Jackson fan no matter how many 91 yard catch and runs he makes because he's a stupid punk. And he'll never learn as NBC's "DeSean Jackson doing something stupid while near the goal line" highlight package ably demonstrated. (Gee, I wonder how they knew to put that together beforehand.) Emulate Herremans - act like you've been there before.
• Speaking of stupid punks, good work Jorrick Calvin. You managed to top DeSean Jackson for stupidest penalty of the season.
• Was it the broadcast or were Dallass fans sitting their doublewide asses on their sausage fingered hands all game? When Kitna converted that fourth down I didn't hear anything different from the crowd.
• Refs blew an egregious facemask on Trent Cole, unnecessary roughness hit on Vick, and gifted the Cowboys a catch and 3 points before the half.
• Trent Cole kept his offside penalty streak alive. Jason Peters did not false start!
• Great game by Akers - didn't miss, including a crucial 50 yarder, and got several touchbacks.
• Final drive was somewhat reminiscent of the final drive vs. the Giants last year.
• How about Choice asking Vick for his autograph after the game. What a loser. Imagine if that was reversed; Eagles fans would flip.

I know I shouldn't be as negative as I have been in this recap, so tout the positives in the comments for me.

Dallass sucks

12/12 8:20 PM ET	Opening	betED	5Dimes	SPORTSBETTING	Logans
Philadelphia @ Dallass	50.5 3	50.5 3.5	50.5 3.5	50 3.5	50.5 3.5

Matchup

Bonus Question: How much does Dallass suck?

[insert last name-related pun, question marks here]

In the words of Kyle Broflovski's mom — "What, what, WHAAAAAAT?"

It looks like agent Scott Boras found the one team to actually pay what he wanted for Jayson Werth, that being $126 million over seven years (for the tidy sum of $18 million per). That team? The perennial NL East bottom dweller Washington Nationals.

It was probably inevitable that he would leave, but it came a little earlier than expected. And I don't think anyone saw the Nationals being in the picture.

I hope it works out for Werth. I certainly can't blame for taking the best offer (even if I might have taken less to stay with a winner). But this thing looks like it's set for failure. Werth struggled for stretches this past season, and even Charlie Manuel said he was pushing too much in a contract year. How's the pressure of living up to this huge contract going to feel?

Werth's kind of an off dude, though. Maybe it won't bug him.

Of more importance 'round these parts is what do the Phillies do to replace Werth. Because while he might not be worthy of that contract, he was a five-tool player and integral part of the team's recent success.

Star prospect Domonic Brown (another lefty bat) will play, and the Phils figure to sign a vet for insurance, but will the team be better?

NOTES:

— If the Nationals are an up-and-coming team, then why did they let the popular Adam Dunn go?

— Is it possible for Carl Crawford to get this much money from a team? In the crazy world of sports contracts, he might actually be worth that much (even if I expect his numbers to drop a bit outside of Tampa).

— Photo credit: ME

Houston, they have a problem

It's a good thing the Eagles were playing the Houston Texans, a snakebit team that always seems to find a way to lose. The Eagles went up 17-3, but then were outgained 297 yards to 53 and outscored 21-3 and found themselves behind 24-20 by the end of the 3rd quarter. The reasons for the turnaround in fortunes were the usual ones - redzone failures and dropped TD passes by the offense and terrible defense.

The Eagles offense seemed to wake up after the lead was lost, and finally answered Houston to go back up 27-24. The Texans responded with a drive of their own, once again easily moving the ball against the Eagles thin, wet paper towel defense, but then came the play that maybe lost the game for the Texans. On third and 5 Schaub could have easily run the ball for the first but instead McNabbed a pass to his receiver. The Texans were forced to punt and you could see them saying to themselves, "Here we go again."

The Eagles offense didn't squander the rare defensive stop - but they almost did. They got in the redzone again and then started screwing up again. First a false start and then a holding call and it was quickly 3rd and 19 and another field goal seemed certain and the game was setting up for a final of Houston 31, Philadelphia 30.

Then came the play that maybe won the game for the Eagles.

Vick dropped back and had time but couldn't find anyone deep so he dumped it to Celek on a crossing route. Celek was tackled, but landed on the tackler so he wasn't down and on the bounce smartly extended the ball to the marker. The refs marked him short by half a yard. Then a Christmas miracle happened - Andy Reid won a challenge. And he even did something smart in the process - he let the clock wind down to the last second before throwing the challenge flag and took time off the clock. So after being awarded a first down, the Eagles had first and goal on the 5 and scored a touchdown the very next play to make the score 34-24, which is how the game ended.

Other notes:

• Did you know the Eagles are the best screen team in the NFL?
• Who didn't know the Eagles first offensive play was going to be a pass to DeSean Jackson? Oh yeah, Houston.
• Stupid plays: any Chad Hall running play, any Desean Jackson play where he runs into the line, long bombs to Maclin on 3rd and 2, every offside by the defense, Vick (after he's been hit repeatedly and hobbled earlier in the game) running the ball on a designed play other than an QB sneak, and throwing the ball when you are trying to run out the clock.
• At least 4 times in the game Theisman asserted something, sometimes backed up with video, and the very next play went exactly the opposite of his assertion. His worst moment was his "Schaub was hit in the head" followed by a rant blah, blah, blah and then they showed a replay and Schaub was not hit in the head at all. Theisman==idiot.
• Refs did let a lot of actual "QB getting hit in the head" plays go uncalled on both sides, as they should have since they were all minor love taps.
• Lindley hit a Houston receiver head to head after a catch that wasn't call probably because the hit was not that violent.
• Unlike Avant, Owen Schmitt has not dropped a pass all year, and he's a fullback.
• Vick was the leading rusher, McCoy was the leading receiver.
• On Trevor Laws interception, Lindley smartly just fell on the ball after Laws dumbly fumbled it. On Nate Allen's sack and strip of Schaub, Tapp smartly fell on the ball while Trent Cole was stupidly trying to pick it up and run.
• This defense is painful to watch. They make 1 good play for every 5-7 bad plays or non plays and offenses can just drive down the field on them unless they screw it up themselves.

Nine days to rest up before crushing Dallass, who sucks.

Thursday games are lame

12/02 8:20 PM ET	Opening	betED	5Dimes	SPORTSBETTING	Logans
Houston @ Philadelphia	49.5 -8	51.5 -8	48.5 -5.5	51.5 -8	51 -9

Matchup

Bonus Question: If the Eagles lose, will they still make the playoffs?

Embearrassed. Get it?

The Eagles "vaunted" 7th ranked defense was exposed as frauds today. While not talentless, Jay Cutler is the most overhyped QB since Ryan Leaf, yet he threw a career high 4 TDs and had no picks despite being a turnover machine. The defense did get a couple sacks, but they failed to tackle all game and gave up a slew of big plays and made no big plays themselves. When they could have made a difference in this game, they were invisible.

The defense's most pathetic efforts came right before the end of the first half and at the beginning of the second. Vick threw his first interception of the season on 2nd and goal from the 4 (a run play, maybe? Oh wait, Titans game flashback...), but if the defense held after that turnover they would have gone into the half only trailing by 1. Instead they tackled horribly and covered horribly and gave up a quick 62 yards and an easy TD.

To start the second, the special teams (who were also terrible today) had terrible coverage on the kickoff, and the defense laid another egg. Instead of stepping up, they let the Bears score another quick and easy touchdown. At that point the game was essentially over for the Eagles despite the sort of comeback that made the final score 31-26.

Other notes:

• Maybe it's just me, but Vick seemed indecisive and overly risk adverse today except on that last TD pass to Celek.
• This isn't just me - Desean Jackson is playing scared (but I can't really blame him). He had more big drops today.
• Linebackers were bad today.
• Hanson sucks. Samuel was missed big time.
• Offensive line was confused at times today, but no false starts! I can't remember any holding calls either.
• Eagles were barely penalized today (3 for 19 yards), but they lost. Go figure.
• Anyone else reminded of the Titans game turnaround?
• The guy that deflected Vick's pass that led to the interception beat the double team of McGlynn and Herreman's.
• In the first quarter the refs called Vick down when he really wasn't, but if he was "down" then they should have thrown a 15 yard roughing the passer call on the Bears for the body slam he received after he was "down."
• The Bears field was a joke, but not the reason why the Eagles lost.
• It was nice to hear the announcers criticize Reid for stupidly wasting a timeout on that 3rd and forever. "Timeouts are more important than 5 yards at this point." Exactly.
• What was up with Moose Johnston's ensemble? Bold striped shirt and suit, busy patterned tie and non-matching pocket square.
• The field goal that was kicked to make it 31-19 was completely pointless.

Eagles have to win this Thursday vs. the Texans.

Bears, trap game?

11/28 4:15 PM ET	Opening	betED	5Dimes	SPORTSBETTING	Logans
Philadelphia @ Chicago	41.5 3.5	42 3.5	42 3.5	42 3	42.5 3.5

Matchup

Bonus Question: Seeing how Cutler is the QB, what are the odds of a miracle cure for Asante?

Run, Eli, run!

The Eagles deserved to win this game, but they tried to give it away. Avant dropped the easiest touchdown ever, Jackson dropped a catchable touchdown, they got a field goal blocked, committed a boneheaded pass interference penalty bailing out the Giants on a 3rd and 14, Vick carelessly got the ball stripped, and Samuel fumbled the ball returning what would have been another game sealing pick (despite me yelling at him the whole time to hold onto the ball), and they had over 119 yards in penalties. But Eli Manning gave it all back on a HILARIOUS and pathetic fumble caused by tackling himself into the Linc's turf. It was the craziest play in a crazy and entertaining game. (The fumble at Financial?)

But the real play of the game was the 50 yard TD run by LeSean McCoy on 4th and 1 to put the Eagles back on top after the Giants had taken a 17-16 lead. It was a great call by the Eagles "braintrust." The Giants defense got sucked inside while the pitch went outside. Peters and Herremans cleared the way and McCoy did the rest. They then converted on the 2 point attempt to go up 7 points. This is all they would need to win but McCoy ripped off another big run after the Manning fumble to put the Eagles in position to kick an insurance FG to make the final score 27-17 Eagles.

Other notes:

• Notice on Vick's fumble that he was hit in the head by Tuck? I thought that was an automatic call. I guess not.
• These refs also need to relearn that tackling a defender is a penalty of some sort.
• Samuel did hit the Giant's receiver in the chin with his helmet, so I agree with that call. A less lauded hit was his open field tackle of Boss. Oh, Samuel also had 2 interceptions and a fumble recovery. He can't fumble it after that second pick though.
• Vick was good but not great. He missed some passes but the Giants are a really good defense and his receivers had some drops. Of course the run game vanished for a big stretch so the Giants were just coming after him and playing the pass.
• Speaking of vanishing, what happened to Jerome Harrison?
• Second to Vick's performances, the defense shutting down the run has been the most important element contributing to the Eagles success in this stretch, and it continued in this game.
• McCoy is pretty damn good.
• Maclin is pretty damn good.
• Despite its sloppiness, this was a really entertaining and fun to watch game. A lot of memorable plays, controversial plays, and unique plays. And the Eagles won so that always helps.

Another Giant destruction?

11/21 8:20 PM ET	Opening	betED	5Dimes	SPORTSBETTING	Logans
NY Giants @ Philadelphia	48 -3	48 -3	48 -3	48 -3	48.5 -3

Matchup

Bonus Question: Will Shawn Andrews get his Michael Phelps on?

Amazing

Like most people I thought the Eagles would win this game, but nobody thought they would rack up team record 592 yards in offense and score 59 points, the most in Monday Night Football history. Vick made a mockery of McNabb's hilarious contract extension by becoming the first player in NFL history to pass for over 300 yards, rush for over 50, and score 4 TDs passing and 2 TDs rushing in the same game. McNabb wasn't horrible, except when he was throwing 3 interceptions, 1 for a "pick six," going 0-10 on third down and putting up a 69.4 QB rating. Haw haw. Gotta love Daniel Snyder. You da man, Dan!

Everything went the Eagles way tonight. Everything. The first play of the game was an 88 yard bomb for a TD and that set the tone. They had 28 points before the Redskins had a first down. If the Eagles fumbled the ball, the ball would come right back to them. If there was a review of a play, they would win it. If there was a play that depended on an inch, they would get that inch. Jerome Harrison had over 100 yards rushing! (Who?)

The Eagles called all the right plays on offense. Rocca only punted 4 times. I have to give it to Reid and Mornhinweg because they have been on a roll the last couple games. Great digging into the archives for the shovel pass call for a TD, great QB draw for a TD, etc. Great conversion rate on third down (8 for 13), and great red zone production (4 for 4).

On defense they continued to tackle much better than they did earlier in the season. They did relax and give up some big plays and let the Redskins get some points, but the Redskins were never a threat. The defense did score a TD to make amends and sacked and pressured McNabb effectively. Also, young players and backups continued to step up and make plays.

Another thing to note is the Eagles even did their penalties right. They only had 6 for a meager total of 35 yards and none were killers.

Revenge is sweet and seldom do things go so perfectly, so enjoy this.

Vick vs. the victim

11/15 8:30 PM ET	Opening	betED	5Dimes	SPORTSBETTING	Logans
Philadelphia @ Washington	41.5 3	42.5 3	42.5 3.5	42.5 3.5	42.5 3

Matchup

Bonus Question: Will this be the highest rated ESPN Monday night game?

Worst reffed game in history and the Eagles still won

Eat it Peyton Manning. Every horrible call was to your benefit and you still lost. The complete joke of a call on the Austin Collie hit, which EVERYONE in the CBS studio at halftime agreed was a horrible call and were adamant about it. It wasn't incomplete, Collie fumbled it, he was not defenseless and was tackled into Coleman who led with his shoulder, not his helmet. Complete joke. The complete joke of a call when Trent Cole was being held and brushed Manning's helmet with an open palm. Little kids high five with more force. This call kept the game alive for the Colts. Then to solidify the worst ever title, when the Eagles needed just 1 first down to run out the clock, when it was 3rd and 2 they called the Eagles for a false start when the Colts guy obvious flinched to draw the Eagles into it. Remember in the first quarter when they penalized Trent Cole for that exact same thing to give the Colts a first down?

I don't have the time to properly recap this game, but I will reiterate: this was the worst reffed game in history. The Eagles do have to do better in the red zone though, but a surprisingly great job by the defense allowed the Eagles to escape with a 26-24 victory.

Eagles beat 2 teams today because they maintained their focus and their intensity for all 4 quarters for a change. That bodes well going forward.

Peyton's Place

11/07 4:15 PM ET	Opening	betED	5Dimes	SPORTSBETTING	Logans
Indianapolis @ Philadelphia	48.5 -1	46.5 -3	46.5 -3	46.5 -3.5	46.5 -3

Matchup

Bonus Question: Who names their kid Peyton?

Idiots

I'm sure the excuses for this pathetic loss will be "the Eagles are a young team." They are, but the reason they lost today is because they are a dumb team. They have completely failed to learn from previous near collapses in games vs. the Lions and the 49ers. Today they also took their foot off the neck of their opponent and failed to put them away and close out the game. Only this time they ended up losing badly because the opponent wasn't totally horrible and didn't give the game away like in the previous examples. Redzone failures, penalties and turnovers killed them.

The Eagles had complete control of this game for almost 3 quarters and were leading 16-9. Then a fumble on the exchange between Kolb and McCoy at the 3 yard line going in for a TD changed everything. It maybe wouldn't have mattered as much if the defense could have held and forced a punt, but the worst player in today's game, Ellis Hobbs who was horrible and stupid all day, bailed Tennessee out with a stupid pass interference penalty. Titans took that gift and drove for a field goal. The Eagles answered with a nice kick-off return across the 50 but they crapped out in the redzone, like they did most times today and only got a field goal. And that was it for the Eagles offense for the rest of the game.

Titans responded with a long bomb catch and run for a TD by Kenny Britt, the only player you needed to cover all day, but the Eagles failed to cover him all day. Britt set a record with 225 yards catching and he didn't even play all 4 quarters. Great job McDermott. Keep Ellis Hobbs on him! He isn't horrible or anything.

The offense responded with their first 3 and out since the first quarter. Titans responded with a field goal to take the lead. Eagles responded with another 3 and out, Titans responded with a drive ending with a wide open Kenny Britt TD catch to go up 27-19. The Eagles responded with another 3 and out. Nobody stepped up, nobody made a play. Maclin cried for a pass interference instead of going up and getting the ball.

The Titans tacked on 10 more garbage points off of bad turnovers to further embarrass the Eagles for a final score of 37-19.

Other notes:

• Wow, 2 weeks in a row defense starts with a 3 and out.
• Kolb was perfect on passes over 20+ yards last week, not so great today.
• McCoy has that same crucial skill Westbrook had - he makes the first guy miss every time.
• Pleasantly surprised Reid is still committing to the run and not just when they are ahead.
• It was a small play in the scheme of things, but the simple short pass to Schmitt coming out of the backfield that he caught and converted for a first down is a pass that McNabb could never make.
• Who knew Joe Sestak, a former Navy vice-admiral and the highest-ranking former military officer currently serving in Congress, was practically a member of al Qaeda? Thank you cowardly, fear mongering Jews for Republicans for alerting me to this danger.
• The idiot Juqua Parker gave the Titans 7 points with his stupid roughing the passer play. Don't body slam Collins and the Titans are punting.
• Mikell started the game well with a pick and a forced fumble, but finished weak. Hobbs was terrible all game. Samuel made the pick that should have put the game away, but the offense fumbled away. He then blew an interception in the endzone that would have preserved the 19-17 lead and may have stopped the disaster that unfolded.
• I hate gadget plays that take forever to develop. Cooper had to make a great play to save the Eagles from disaster on whatever you call that wildcat reverse flea-flicker/ QB lined up as a wide receiver pass something or other thing. Nice that he got rewarded with a TD a few plays later - the only time the Eagles got a TD in the redzone.
• Akers responded to last week's disaster with 4 field goals and 5 touch backs.
• Defense held Tennessee to 87 total yards in the first half and Johnson to 44 yards rushing. It didn't last. They did shut down Chris Johnson really well though all game.
• Fox announcers were impressed by Kolb after the first half, but he really should have been picked off 3 times.
• In all the lauding of Kenny Britt neither Fox announcer bothered to mention the police investigation of his bar fight and why he was not playing in the first quarter. Good job.

Hope Dallass loses tonight to the Giants to make me feel good about something.

Phils being Phils

You can't say the Phillies didn't have every opportunity to win tonight and send the NLCS to a Game 7. But they blew too many opportunities, and will be watching the World Series from home for the first time since 2007.

Both teams stranded 11 base runners — and a lot of those situations weren't exactly guys stranded on first after a two-out single. There were a ton of dangerous situations that went for naught on both sides. But the Giants found a way through with a Juan Uribe solo homer off Ryan Madson that barely got over the right field wall in the eighth.

With the lead, and despite a vaunted back end of the bullpen, the Giants went with Tim Lincecum to start the bottom of the eighth, and it felt like a comeback was more than possible. After K'ing Jayson Werth, Lincecum was throwing mostly breaking balls, and didn't seem to have it. After surrendering singles to Shane Victorino and Raul Ibanez, Lincecum was out of the game and the Phillies were on the cusp.

Then it all went pear-shaped.

With Giants closer Brian Wilson in the game, Carlos Ruiz sent a laser to first base. Ibanez recognized the line drive and dove back to first. Victorino didn't, and was easily doubled off second.

I'm not sure why the announcers just let that play go, but Victorino can't get picked off in that situation. Bottom line. If you make sure the ball gets through, you can still probably score. If not, at least you have the bases loaded with one out.

Victorino, since being moved to the leadoff spot late in the season, played much smarter baseball. But he fell back on his "dumb baseball" tendencies with two bad baserunning plays in this series, and the last one cost the Phils.

Hope was still alive in the ninth, with Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley working walks off Wilson, but Howard struck out looking and that was that. Queue annoying Giants players celebrating on Philly turf.

Game 6, in the end, was a microcosm of the Phillies' season. Good starting pitching (even if Oswalt had to work out of a bunch of jams) and a brutally inconsistent offense, with some mental and physical errors sprinkled in for fun.

Changes are likely afoot for 2011, but I'm hoping the management took note of what the offense looked like against left-handed pitching in this series. Because the point isn't to reach the playoffs, it's to win the World Series.

NOTES:

— I'm hearing people complain about the last strike to Howard, and about umpire Tom Hallion hesitating slightly before calling it a strike. Looked like a strike to me, albeit a borderline low one. And I have to give Wilson credit for good pitching. He froze Howard with an almost identical slider at 2-1 in the count, and he came back to it after Howard fouled off a few fastballs.

— In a very Charlie Manuel move, Rollins was reinstated as the leadoff batter. I liked the move, even if Rollins annoyingly swung at the first pitch in the first (he came back to work a full count).

— I haven't been keeping track — how's Cliff Lee doing these days?

— Ruben Amaro Jr. at this point is known, above all else, for trading Lee. Does this loss affect the chances of Werth being back? Are several moves necessary at this point?

— Jonathan Sanchez losing it and having to be taken out of the game in the third might have been the best piece of luck the Giants had in the game.

— I'd love to know what Ruiz and Buster Posey were saying to each other with Posey at the plate in the fifth. Didn't look friendly.

— If Howard's double in the fifth doesn't bounce perfectly off the wall for Andres Torres, Rollins scores the Phillies' third run. But he had to be held at third or else easily be thrown out at home.

— I wouldn't be shocked if Oswalt purposefully hit Uribe — who's been having success off Oswalt — in the ribs in the sixth in order to set up a potential (and realized) double play off of Edgar Renteria. The first pitch almost hit Uribe too, and I don't think Oswalt got that wild all of a sudden. Definitely more entertaining than an intentional walk.

— I hope Pittsburgh got something good for lefty reliever Javier Lopez, because that guy was awesome in this series. (They probably didn't, though.)

— Way too many missed opportunities for the Phillies to even get into here. If the World Series loss last season hurt, at least the Yankees were favored by most. The Phillies should have been the better team in this series, but weren't in the end.

First and Tennessee

10/24 1:00 PM ET	Opening	betED	5Dimes	SPORTSBETTING	Logans
Philadelphia @ Tennessee	43 -2.5	42.5 -3	42.5 -2	43 -3	42.5 -3

Matchup

Bonus Question: Was last week's performance by the offensive line for real?

Goin' back to Philly

Roy Halladay wasn't in Terminator mode tonight, but was good enough to get the win.

The Phillies offense — again — wasn't great either, but made good on mistakes from the Giants and the ump, and added in some hits to put up 3 runs against Tim Lincecum in the third.

Those 3 runs held up because the Phillies bullpen — in the form of Jose Contreras, J.C. Romero, Ryan Madson and Brad Lidge — was excellent, surrendering only a single in the seventh. Madson was lights out, striking out the heart of the Giants order in the eighth, and Lidge looked very sharp in the ninth, allowing no base runners.

Back to Philly for Game 6 Saturday night — Oswalt vs. Sanchez.

NOTES:

— More sloppy play in this one, but the Phillies made the Giants' mistakes more costly.

— Jimmy Rollins finally let loose on the base paths, stealing second and the third in the seventh. Good to see. Rollins' defense at short has also been excellent.

— The umps blew another call in the third when Halladay's sac bunt went straight into the plate, and then rolled to the right of the plate, making it foul. Except it was called fair, and the runners advanced. Ricky Botallico, on the CSN postgame, was correct in pointing out that catcher Buster Posey was trying to steal an out at third and likely blocked the ump's view by jumping over the ball and dropping his mask. If he makes a good throw to third it's a good play, but it ended up backfiring on the Giants.

— After Chase Utley's lame effort in Game 4, injury rumors once again creeped up. He looked much better tonight at the plate, but still managed to boot a double play ball in the first that allowed a run to score. It wasn't ruled an error because of the stupid "can't assume a double play" rule, but it was one. His throws have become sketchy again, too.

— Halladay apparently pitched with a slight groin pull he picked up in the second. Because he's Roy Halladay. That said, I don't know why people are asking if he can go in Game 7, assuming there is one. He was far from lights out tonight, and you do need someone to throw in the World Series if you get there.

Being in the wrong place at the wrong time

Bottom line, the Phillies have to win that game.

Can they win three in a row behind Halladay, Oswalt and Hamels? Sure, it's possible, but not likely based on how they've played so far in this series.

This game saw a lot of questionable calls that will be discussed ad infinitum until tomorrow night's first pitch, as they should be. For me, Joe Blanton starting wasn't one of them; he pitched well enough and came out with the lead.

There were a ton of decisions/moments in this game that could have swung the result one way or the other. Let's examine.

1) The big one, for me, came in the eighth. Ryan Howard doubled to lead off the inning, and Jayson Werth doubled him in to tie the game. Jimmy Rollins then popped out to shallow left, failing to move the runner to third with less than two outs. Charlie Manuel went with his gut here, but the book was the right play. Rollins should have bunted, or somehow has to get the guy to third so he can be knocked in for the lead.

2) That Manuel went to Roy Oswalt to start the ninth didn't bother me. How Oswalt pitched did. Buster Posey had been hitting pitches out over the plate to right all night, and again against Oswalt to rack up two strikes. But instead of going back inside, Oswalt stayed outside and Posey singled to set up first and third. He then throws a changeup to Juan Uribe who sent it to left for the winning sac fly. This despite Uribe had a bum wrist and Oswalt had just hit his hand (despite it being called a foul ball). He should have gone after him with the fastball.

3) In the bottom of the sixth, Chad Durbin had Pablo Sandoval set up for a much-needed strikeout with two on and no outs, and went with the wrong pitch. The at bat sequence was: fastball pulled down the line and ruled foul; slop breaker at Sandoval's feet that he swung at; another slop pitch he looked at for a ball; fastball up that he ripped foul. At this point the count is 1-2, and Sandoval clearly wants the fastball. Durbin and Carlos Ruiz went with a high fastball when I think another slop breaker would have gotten the strikeout. Instead, Sandoval (to his credit) ripped the neck-high fastball to the wall, scoring 2.

4) With two outs in the third, Posey doubled off Blanton to score Aubrey Huff from first, making the score 2-0. Off the bat I thought the ball was in the glove, but Francisco could not get to it. Announcer Joe Buck said he thought Francisco got a slow start on the ball, and while there was no replay showing Francisco's reaction, I bet Buck was right.

Rollins getting the runner over, and Oswalt pitching the ninth will get a lot of attention. But inside the game, the pitch selection on Posey and Sandoval was just as important.

So, the Phillies are now in a three game to one hole. I've heard of an ace in the hole, but can the Phils produce three?

NOTES:

— This was not a example of stellar umpiring tonight. There was the Sandoval ball that might have nicked the foul line in right; there was the pitch apparently off Uribe's hand but called a foul ball; there was the Glad grounder to short in the ninth that he actually beat out at first (tie goes to runner, but tough call); and there was the pickoff of Rollins in the second that Giants starter Madison Bumgarner balked on two different ways, and then Rollins was safe at second anyway but called out.

— The Phillies finally put together a solid offensive stretch in the fifth to take a 3-2 lead. Why Shane Victorino wasn't on second base after he singling in Francisco and while Ruiz was getting thrown out at home, only Shane Victorino knows. That was a great play by Posey at the plate to field a short hop throw from Aaron Rowand and make the tag.

— I don't know why they play "God Bless America" in the mid-seventh inning, but I thought it was funny that the fans stepped up and sang the words while it was played by a violin "maestro."

— According to the radar gun graphic, Bumgarner hit 66 mph while tossing the ball to the ump in the fourth. Good to know Fox.

— Soundtrack to this post provided by Del.

Frustrating Cain

Let's take a look at some names here: Edgar Renteria, Freddy Sanchez, Buster Posey, Pat Burrell, Cody Ross, Aubrey Huff, Juan Uribe and Aaron Rowand.

Posey looks like he will be a star and Ross — in hockey goalie parlance — is standing on his head right now. But overall that has to be one of the weakest lineups ever thrown out by an LCS team.

But if your own lineup of all-stars struggles to get base runners, strands the base runners they do get, and puts a goose egg up on the scoreboard, then it doesn't much matter how weak the other team's lineup is, does it?

Cole Hamels pitched pretty well for the Phillies, but Giants starter Matt Cain was better.

With two games scheduled for the next two days (for some stupid, likely Yankees-related reason), the Phils are expected to go with well-rested Joe Blanton tomorrow against rookie Madison Bumgarner. Unless they choose to go back to Roy Halladay on short rest. What would you do?

NOTES:

— If Matt Cain ever plays for the Phillies, I fully expect a group of rock and roll clowns out in left field tallying up all his ka-ka-ka-ka K's.

Kolb Sucks

Just sayin'. (A come from behind game winning drive into the wind after some rough moments against the Skins' (I'm ignoring Avant's drop), followed by two nice performances and W's. Not a bad return for the guy folks weren't willing to even give a chance.)

Ouch to DJ's gettin jacked. Hope the guy is ok. Didn't watch the game yet, but I couldn't resist some form of an update.

The phone's off the hook, but the Giants aren't

In the NLCS Game 1 write-up, I noted that "if there's some reason Jimmy Rollins isn't batting eighth in the lineup I'd like to hear it." I guess J-Roll game me a reason in Game 2.

The Phillies hitters — in the form of Rollins — finally made Giants pitchers pay in a big way with a bases loaded, bases clearing double in the seventh.

But as overdue and as welcome as that game-sealing offensive outburst was, Roy Oswalt was the story of this game. That's eight innings of 1-run pitching Roy Oswalt, obviously. But it's also single-hitting and jacket-wearing, base-running terror Roy Oswalt.

Oswalt scoring from second on Placido Polanco's single up the middle in the seventh was one of the crazier plays in recent Phillies history. Oswalt — seemingly taking over the then tied game by himself — ran right through third base coach Sam Perlozzo's quite reasonable stop sign and scored.

Fox announcer Tim McCarver is crazy himself if he thinks Aubrey Huff's cutting off the throw at the pitching mound was a good play. The throw from center fielder Andres Torres was on line and plenty high enough to clear the mound. There would have been a play at the plate without the cutoff. Not sure if Huff just didn't know Oswalt was running or what, but it wasn't the right call in that situation. (Then again, Huff did attend that bastion of intelligent athletes — The U.)

Hero status in place for Oswalt, the rest of the lineup did its thing with Rollins' double sealing the win. Appropriately, Oswalt even talked Charlie Manuel out of removing him when he let a couple guys get on in the eighth. It was his night.

NOTES:

— Phillies need more hitting like they got in the seventh inning, less like they had in the first when only a Rollins walk drove in a run with the bases loaded and one out.

— After a huge drop against the wall the night before, Raul Ibanez made a great diving catch of a Pat Burrell line drive in the ninth. Had it dropped, the Giants would have had two on with no outs, and things might have gotten nervous.

— Speaking of nervous, I'm nervous every time Shane Victorino starts running backwards when fielding fly balls. He fell over fielding a wind-aided fly in the second, but still caught it.

— How awesome is Tim Lincecum blister-cam?!?! Does MLB.tv offer that camera view all game?

— Cody Ross hit another homer to left off an inside fastball, this one off Oswalt. I'm all for pitching him outside for a while and seeing how he does with that (even if Ryan Madson struck him out looking on an inside heater in the ninth).

— Game 1 forgetfulness: Forgot this on the last post, but the Game 1 ump yelled "strike 3" and demonstratively rang up Rollins in the second inning, but it was only the second strike. Never seen that one before.

— I'm glad the Phillies had to wait six days between the NLDS and NLCS, but will have three games in three days this week. Game 3 starts at 4:19 p.m. Tuesday.

— Soundtrack for this blog post here.

xfaility

The much-hyped matchup of Cy Young-caliber aces turned into a battle of 8-hole hitters as the Giants took Game 1 of the NLCS 4-3.

Late season, Padres-spiting waiver signee Cody Ross homered twice off Roy Halladay, and the Giants made the most of a two-out rally in the sixth to take the win. The Phillies' 8-hole hitter Carlos Ruiz homered himself, and Jayson Werth got the Phils back into the game with a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth, but the lineup couldn't get enough going off lefty reliever Javier Lopez and closer Brian Wilson, who pitched the last inning and a third for the save.

As much as Fox announcers Tim McCarver and Joe Buck made Giants starter Tim Lincecum out to be the greatest pitcher ever, he was far from dominant tonight. Phillies hitters left him off the hook numerous times. It felt like the 2009 lineup would have put up 8 or 9 runs, but this year's lineup just does not string together hits. When they batted around against the Reds, errors were helping their cause.

That said, it looked like they might steal this one anyway. Wilson hit Ruiz with a pitch with one out in the ninth, bringing pinch hitter Lil' Matt Stairs — aka Ross Gload — to the plate. I had visions of Stairs-esque heroics, but Glad struck out, and so did Victorino, and that was that.

NOTES:

— If there was a day off before Game 2, there'd probably a lot of talk about Halladay not getting the 0-2 call against Pat Burrell in the sixth, which resulted in Burrell's RBI double on the next pitch. The pitch was a strike and called low, but the ump was consistently calling that pitch low all night for both teams. And Raul Ibanez probably should have caught the ball, which would have ended the inning with the Phillies only down one run instead of three.

— Fox uses that Fox Track graphic (not a glowing puck) to show where pitches crossed the plate during select replays, but if they should leave it on the screen all the time. The camera angle behind the mound is angled too severely to gauge if pitches are hitting the corners or not.

— If there's some reason Jimmy Rollins isn't batting eighth in the lineup I'd like to hear it.

— Brian Wilson should just go all out and add face paint and a red nose, because he looks like a clown with that beard. Just for Men is a privilege, not a right.

Giant Series Preview

I don't have one, but the Halladay/Lincecum matchup is previewed here, and it's a nice read. Dang, Halladay is so darned likeable. He's a total stud.

Phils in six.

Battle of the birds

1:00 PM ET	Opening	betED	5Dimes	SPORTSBETTING	Logans
Atlanta @ Philadelphia	41.5 -3	OFF OFF	41.5 -2.5	OFF OFF	41.5 -3

Matchup

Bonus Question: Will the defense look worse trying to stop the run or the pass?

49errors

If the Eagles were a good team this game would not have been in doubt late in the 4th quarter. After they went up 24-10 they would have put the 49ers away and just played out the rest of the game. But if the Eagles were not playing the 49ers, it probably would not have been in doubt either, but with the Eagles on the losing end.

Once again the Eagles started the game with terrible kick coverage and a somnambulant effort by the defense and they were quickly behind 7-0. Alex Smith looked like Joe Montana. Kolb, in response, led the offense in a very efficient drive to tie the game at 7. Kolb was perfect on the drive and looked like he had his confidence back making decisive and accurate throws and even overcame a killer holding penalty.

But after trading impressive opening drives, the teams' offenses reverted to their usual selves. 49ers began a trend they continued all night on the next drive - bailing out the Eagles defense by making a critical mistake, this time a Frank Gore fumble. And the Eagles offense began a trend they continued all night as well - failing to make the most of the 49ers gifts and stalling out, this time only getting a field goal.

The next 49ers drive ended with a bad Alex Smith interception; the next Eagles drive started with promise but ended with a sack. You get the picture.

Eagles did take advantage of a DeSean Jackson punt return as the player of the game (and near goat), LeSean McCoy ripped off a 29 yard run for a TD to put the Eagles up 17-7. The defense would go soft before the half and the 49ers would get a long field goal, but crucially they would also miss a closer one in the closing seconds after Kolb was sacked and fumbled. This miss of course would prove to be huge.

The second half was more of the same from both teams - the 49ers making mistakes and the Eagles repeatedly failing to take advantage of them and of their good field position as they repeatedly failed to convert on third down. It was looking like the Eagles were going to find a way to blow the game. But then Alex Smith stepped up with a killer bad play and let Brandon Graham swipe the ball out his hand and Quintin Demps would scoop it and run it in for a TD putting the Eagles up 24-10. The 49ers fans then rained downed thunderous boos and chanted for David Carr.

Then, just like the Detroit game, the defense relaxed and Smith led the 49ers to a relatively easy TD to make it 24-17. Eagles offense did respond with a crucial Akers field goal in a whipping wind, but the special teams would once again fail spectacularly and give up a huge return on the following kickoff. The defense couldn't stop the 49ers from scoring another TD to make it 27-24, but the 49ers were running out of time. One Eagles first down after the kickoff and the game would be over, but they didn't get it because McCoy slid down short of the first down like a dummy.

So 49ers had 1 more chance to win or tie. Two crucial plays were made to preserve the victory for the Eagles. The first was by Nate Allen who blitzed and batted down a pass that Frank Gore would have probably run in for a long TD or at least into easy field goal range. The second was by Trevor Laws who hit Smith as he threw which resulted in a Trevard Lindley interception and the end of the 49ers hopes.

Other notes:

• Fokou made Sean McDermott look like a genius by making several big plays.
• Frank Gore should get some new cleats, maybe the same make and model as McCoy's.
• Asante Samuel's coverage was missed in this game.
• After a slow start, the defense stopped the run pretty good for the majority of the game.
• Don't know if the Eagles were doing anything or Smith just sucks, but Vernon Davis seemed an afterthought for most of the game.
• I like the way Kolb throws the screen pass. He zips it in there instead of floating it and giving the defense more time to close.
• On the Kolb sack where he fumbled either Jackson or Chad Hall was left uncovered way downfield.
• Mike Bell still sucks even though the Eagles run game was very impressive this game.
• Why does Andy Reid suck? On third and 1 with the team driving he calls a stupid wildcat play with Buckley as QB, who as far as I can remember last touched the ball opening game and fumbled. Shocking that the play failed along with the drive.
• Celek dropped a bunch of passes this game.
• Last 3 trips to San Francisco the Eagles have returned a fumble for a TD.
• Singletary wasn't ripping Smith on the sidelines, he was encouraging him.
• Herremans may have saved the game with his excellent hustle and fumble recovery technique.
• Bradley yelled at Lindley to go down and not risk a fumble after his interception. Smart call.
• Eagles were terrible on 3rd down conversions, only converting on 3 of them.
• Eagles thankfully reduced their number of penalties.
• In the new Cialis ad the dude is literally pitching a tent.
• I can't wait for the 18 game season. Has everyone looked at the injury list not just for the Eagles, but for the entire league?

Red Dead Elimination

The Reds started off NLDS game 3 like they were still playing game 2 — making an error that gave the Phillies a run and the lead. Down 1-0 after one, Reds fans may as well have gone home and started getting psyched for the T.Ocho Show, because their baseball season was effectively over.

Cole Hamels was dominant, and for the second time in three games the Reds hitters looked like they had no chance.

Hamels was sharp from the start despite not pitching in a week, and was especially effective with his A+ change-up. He was also efficient — eventually throwing 119 pitches, but never having to go deep into the well.

That he finished the game was down to Charlie Manuel, and maybe a little surprising given conventional baseball thinking, given the situation.

After Carlos Ruiz doubled off fireballer Aroldis Chapman with one out in the top of the ninth, Hamels was sent to the plate. Normally in that situation — and especially in a playoff game where an extra run could be that much more critical — you'd probably see a pinch hitter, and then send the closer to the hill in the ninth.

But Manuel obviously wanted Hamels to pitch the ninth, which probably had everything to do with MVP candidate and left-handed slugger Joey Votto set to bat second in the bottom of the inning. So Hamels was sent to the plate, but not made to bunt. Manuel trusted Hamels to handle a bat, but probably didn't want to risk him squaring for a bunt in front of a 105 mph fastball.

Ruiz was stranded at second, but Hamels was still in the game to pitch to Votto in the ninth, which may have been critical as he induced a double play after Brandon Phillips led off the inning with a single. A strikeout ended his five-hit shutout, and the Phillies are in the NLCS for the third consecutive year.

NOTES:

— The Phillies still weren't hitting a whole lot, but did get a homer from Chase Utley off a hanging Johnny Cueto slider in the fifth. The umps took mercy on the Reds in reviewing the play, but it was clearly well over the wall and not a case of fan interference.

— Hamels dominated, but things might have been different early had Shane Victorino not made a great catch on the run, snagging a Phillips line drive smash to the left-center gap. There could have been a run in a a man on base with no outs, otherwise.

— Game 1 of the NLCS will be Saturday night in Philly.

Wugly

Fred McGriff — wearing an ill-fitting blue cap — would not endorse the defense and fundamentals on display in the Phillies 7-4 win over the Reds tonight. But the Phils and their fans will most certainly take the win.

That's the kind of game you really want to win, because the loser — in this case the Reds — have to feel like they threw a game away. Four errors, three hit batsmen, a picked off runner, a bases loaded walk and at least one costly mental error (Rolen throwing to second instead of first, failing to get any outs) gave the Phillies all sorts of opportunities, and they eventually took advantage.

The Phillies were playing pretty ugly themselves early, with Roy Oswalt giving up some bombs and generally off his game, and Utley making a throwing error that resulted in a run. And Reds starter Bronson Arroyo effectively kept the Phillies batters off balance, mixing up his pitches and speeds.

But then Arroyo got pulled in the sixth — thanks in part to a great at bat and lead-off single by Ibanez — and the cavalcade of ugly baseball began for Cincinnati. Maybe the biggest moment came in the seventh when Rollins sent a soft line drive to right with two on and one out. Right fielder Jay Bruce looked like he lost the ball in the lights, and it went right past his glove. The throw in to second baseman Brandon Phillips was dropped, allowing the go-ahead run to score.

The bright spot in the game for the Phillies was the bullpen, with Romero, Durbin, Contreras, Madson and Lidge finishing out the game with no runs and not many base runners allowed. If it wasn't lights out, it never got nervous, either.

NOTES:

— Rollins was out of the leadoff spot again, as he had been the last week or so of the regular season. He pretty obviously is not 100 percent running. Not sure I would have him in front of Ibanez, though.

— Chase Utley didn't sound too convincing when asked if he was hit by that Aroldis Chapman pitch. Replays were inconclusive. I'm not real sure he touched third base when scoring in the seventh, either.

— I would question pulling Arroyo when Reds Manager Dusty Baker did. He still looked effective to me and had only thrown 103 pitches. That would likely have been his last inning, though, and Baker had no reason not to trust the back end of his bullpen, which had been excellent all season. But facing anyone but Arroyo seemed like a positive from the Phillies' perspective.

— Game 3 set for 7 p.m. Sunday night on TNT, not TBS for some reason. So think "We know drama" instead of "Very funny." UPDATE: Because the Yankees won, game 3 is now set for 8:07 on TBS.

The 0 and 49ers

10/10 8:20 PM ET	Opening	betED	5Dimes	SPORTSBETTING	Logans
Philadelphia @ San Francisco	39 -3.5	38 -3	38 -2.5	38 -3.5	38 -3.5

Matchup

Bonus Question: Will the Kafka era begin in this game?

All killer, no hitter

Roy Halladay just threw a friggin' no-hitter. In the playoffs. In his first-ever postseason game.

There's not really a lot you can say. You just have to marvel at Halladay's dominance. Even though he was going for a no-hitter — only the second ever thrown in the playoffs after Don Larsen's perfect game in '56 — the situation never seemed tenuous. I, personally, felt no nervousness at all watching him shut down the Reds over those last three innings. They just didn't have a chance.

The only time Halladay seemed to pitch carefully to a hitter resulted in his lone walk, to left-handed power hitter Jay Bruce. Other than that one at-bat, every pitch went exactly where he wanted it. He had good steam on the fastball, movement on all his pitches, and the Reds hitters just looked hapless at the plate.

Halladay also had a critical two-out RBI single in the second to keep an eventual three-run inning going. Opposing starter Edinson Volquez didn't make it out of the inning. And while the Phillies bats went quiet after posting four runs through two innings, they'd done more than enough for the win.

After the game Halladay was quick to credit catcher Carlos Ruiz for getting him in a rhythm early. And while Chooch's defensive and game-calling qualities are substantial, I think I've had some catchers in softball that might have been good enough tonight.

Ruiz did make a sketchy play to end things though, picking up a 2-foot grounder laying against Brandon Phillips' discarded bat, and then firing to first from his knees. Watching that play was about as nervous as things got, though.

NOTES:

— Polanco didn't play with back issues, not his lingering elbow issues. Wilson Valdez filled in nicely with a hit and a run, and with his typical excellent defense.

— The Phillies hitters didn't dominate tonight, but they were patient against the young fireballer early, showing their experience.

— Game 3 is Sunday night, crossing into the Eagles' Sunday night game against San Fran. Who schedules this stuff?

Lame

In a battle of mediocrity the Eagles came out on top, unfortunately that means they lost. Eagles and Andy Reid started the game seemingly in an effort to give the Redskins confidence and momentum via very conservative play calling and timid effort against the worst ranked defense going into the game. Throw in typical horrible special teams play, boneheaded penalties and horrible tackling and the Eagles were quickly behind 14-0.

The Eagles offense finally got something going and a great run by Vick put the ball at the inch line, but a holding call destroyed that effort as Vick's rib cartilage was torn into pieces by a crunching sandwich tackle. Eagles had to settle to a field goal.

Redskins answered with a field goal to make the score 17-3 as the defense played poorly again.

But the worst of a bad half was yet to come. If you were pitching a movie, "Andy Reid, Worst Game Manager in NFL History" and you included the scene that ACTUALLY HAPPENED at the end of the first half they would force you to remove it because it would be too preposterous. I challenge all the current and future coaches in the NFL to get a delay of game penalty after 5+ minutes of replay review AND A TIMEOUT. You simply can not do it.

Because of Andy Reid's unbelievable idiocy the Eagles had to settle for a field goal at the end of the half and went in trailing 17-6 instead of 17-10.

McNabb and the Redskins would never really threaten again except for a drive that ended with a Nate Allen interception, but the Kolb lead Eagles offense weren't doing anything either and self-destructing too. One good drive ended when McCoy fumbled on the 20. Others were ended by penalties. Kolb looked scared and skittish in the pocket, and did not make quick decisions. Replays showed open receivers downfield that Kolb failed to throw to and instead dumped off to McCoy.

Kolb did eventually lead the team to a touchdown with a hurry up offense but failed on the 2 point conversion that would have made it a 3 point game. The Redskins answered with a drive that ran a bunch of time off the clock, helped by a big 3rd down scramble by McNabb where he stupidly ran out of bounds (typical McNabb).

The Eagles did get the ball back and did have a chance for the win though. With time running out Kolb threw a Hail Mary to the endzone that was stone cold dropped by Avant in the endzone. This was probably the most frustrating play of the entire game. If Avant makes that catch it would have erased everything that came before it.

Other notes:

• This defense is terrible. The run defense is awful and the reason they lost more than anything.
• Asante Samuel gets crap for terrible tackling, but how about Quintin Mikell?
• When are the special teams going to improve?
• They should play with a pink football too.
• Kolb has to make that throw to DeSean Jackson, that was the game.
• Bradley has to make that interception, that was the game.
• That Toyota Camry family should buy less cars and walk more.
• Boooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Damn, after all the hype this game was bad.

McNabb returns

10/03 4:15 PM ET	Opening	betED	5Dimes	SPORTSBETTING	Logans
Washington @ Philadelphia	43 -7	43 -6.5	42.5 -5.5	43 -6.5	42.5 -6

Matchup • Expanded Odds • Line History

Bonus Question: What is the over/under for shots of Mama McNabb?

Phour straight!

Get it? Anyway, Phillies had a little bit of competition this year in the form of the Braves, but Atlanta ran out of gas and faded down the stretch while the Phillies just got stronger. And the Mets, Marlins, and the Nationals all suck (especially the Mets) which made a four-peat all that much easier.

Lame and overpriced "NL East Champs" gear I'm sure is now on sale. Does anyone still buy that stuff?

I'm looking forward to discussion of the rotation for the playoffs on sports talk for the next week+. It's fascinating.

Jags don't got Jack

I still don't like him, but Vick was great in this game. He was 17 for 31, 291 yards, 3 thrown TDs and 1 rushed in. Impressively, of 8 trips to the redzone this season he has led the team to 7 touchdowns. Most impressively, for the second week in a row, before the half he led the 2 minute offense to a TD. This week it was with no timeouts because Reid had blown them all as usual. We'll have to see if Vick can maintain his level of production vs. good defenses and through getting crushed 10 times+ a game.

The defense played the entire game this week, but the Jaguars were pathetic. Late in the 4th quarter before their final drive in garbage time they had only 19 yards in passing. The always astute John Lynch noted, "you can't win in this league with that type of production." (Not an exact quote, but that's the gist of what he said.)

Special teams still had their issues, but nothing the Jaguars could really take advantage of.

So the official start of the "Vick era" was a good one and the Eagles romped over the hapless Jaguars, 28-3.

Other notes:

• Vick had real nice touch on the throw for the opening TD to Jackson. I didn't know he had that in him.
• Most of the first half is my favorite kind of game: Poor play, poor reffing, poor announcing, poor game direction by Fox, etc. Just all around frustrating to watch.
• A lot of the time when Vick is sacked or is being tackled when he throws is because he takes too long to decide where he is going with the ball.
• Eagles dropped 4 interceptions in the first half. Fox failed to show a replay of all of them.
• Fox had the F team covering the game today, both in the booth and in the production truck. These guys were as bad as BK breakfast ads.
• Like I've said, Mike Bell sucks. Stop giving him touches. He blows his opportunities like Reid blows time outs.
• Last week Jackson had the big catch on the 2 minute drive before the half and Maclin had the TD catch. This week it was Celek with the big catch and Maclin again with the TD. This drive turned the game completely in the Eagles favor.
• Buckley is near the runner on almost every kick but never makes a clean tackle.
• The pass rush was was excellent this week.
• DeSean Jackson is starting to smell himself. Two weeks in a row he has dropped a catchable ball and ended a drive. Another time he failed to make a concerted effort to get both feet inbounds, and another he danced around instead of getting the first down. He did have 2 great plays though, one for a TD.
• Shots of Kolb cheerleading on the sideline are sad.
• "This isn't just a pizza. This is someone's dinner!" And that is also sad.
• Considine sucks, but he's the Jaguars best DB.
• Attention Geico: the saying goes, IF a woodchuck could chuck wood. Dumbasses.

So next week McNabb is returning. He led his team to 16 points vs. the mighty Rams this week. Should be fun.

Wacksonville

9/26 4:05 PM ET	Opening	betED	5Dimes	SPORTSBETTING	Logans
Philadelphia @ Jacksonville	44 3	44.5 3	44.5 3	44.5 3	44.5 3

Matchup • Expanded Odds • Line History

Bonus Question: Will Kolb randomly come in to run a play here and there? I hope so.

6 up

Ha!

I think Andy Reid is losing it. He is cracking up. The most stubborn and obstinate coach in history who traded McNabb and made Kolb his starter, and only a couple of hours ago adamantly stated that Kolb is his starter, has completely flipped around in 24 hours and named Vick the starter all the while going overboard praising him, saying he is "playing out of his mind" and even said Vick can lead the team to a Super Bowl. And this decision was made based on 2 quarters of play from Kolb and 6 from Vick. And he even said this move would advance the maturation process of Kevin Kolb. Insane. But entertaining! ( I won't believe Reid is totally insane though until the number of runs equal the pass.)

So much for a transition year. So much for getting a year of growing pains out the way. We're back to being one year further away from competing for real IF Kolb is as good as sold. Or isn't he? Who knows now, and we won't be finding out this season it seems. Stupid. What happened to "the plan?"

To me the only theory that makes any sense is Reid watched the tape and saw how shockingly bad the offensive line was and decided Vick is the only QB in the league, let alone the team, that could survive lining up behind it. Kolb just got a concussion and maybe Reid wants to save him from weekly beatings and the very real possibility of his career ending prematurely via more head injuries.

The other theory I think is plausible is Reid looked at the landscape in the NFC and the NFC East in particular, and saw mediocrity almost everywhere. Suddenly the season wasn't as hopeless as first imagined and the Eagles could actually win and not just compete, and why waste a season with Kolb figuring things out? But this supposes Reid is blind to the problems on defense and special teams and believes 2 games is all you need to judge how the season will go.

The theory that management told Reid to name Vick is being shot down by Bob Grotz, John Smallwood on the radio, and others who would probably know.

But even better is me joking that the Eagles did it to "steal the Phillies thunder" and then hearing people call the radio stations and say it seriously. If anything this is distracting more from discussing the Eagles Swiss cheese defense and offensive lines. But at the same time a lot of discussion is now focused on ripping Reid, his hypocrisy, his lying, his lack of a plan, and his general insanity.

I also disagree with the idea that Kolb is now ruined forever. If he is that fragile of a flower I don't know how he made it to the NFL in the first place.

Twenty!

That's right, The Doc is now at 20 Wins, first to do such a thing in a Philies uni since Lefty. Very nice. The question now, though, is with Hamels and Lidge back to form this year, and Oswalt on the mound... and Doc as good as Lee was last year.... Is there any way the Phils don't win the World Series this year?

Five games up... Let's see how this thing ends.... Can't wait for the playoffs. This win sure is better news than the Dog Killer being dubbed Reid's starter in homage to the rehab work Big Red has been doing over the years with his sons.

Ugly win, but a win

It took Ernie Sims 29 games plus the longest game ever to finally taste victory again. But his defense is the reason the Eagles almost blew this game. After fixing whatever is was that was wrong in the first half at halftime and shutting down Jahvid Best, and comfortably ahead 35 to 17, the defense relaxed. I'm sure Reid will blame the youth of the team for the near epic collapse. But the Eagles managed to hold on and eke out a 35-32 victory over the not as lowly as they used to be, Lions.

I hate to admit it, but Vick played really good. He played like we wished McNabb would have played the last couple years. He threw the ball accurately and ran when it was open, keeping the defense guessing and off balance. He was also helped by the Lions dropping a couple of EASY interceptions. Contributing to the offensive success was McCoy's big game. He had success running the ball almost every time he touched it and became the first RB with 3 rushing touchdowns in a game since Charlie Garner vs. the Redskins in 1995. Way to run the ball Reid! There was also some good play calling this game. Good game from DeSean Jackson as well, although he was weak returning punts.

Special teams coverage was actually good too! They even had a kickoff return that failed to make it to the 20. Still had stupid penalties and returns that were mediocre and blew the onside kick (Riley Cooper).

Other notes:

• No Stewart Bradley, big game for the tight end and the running back catching the ball.
• Improv shovel pass by Shawn Hill early in the first would be replayed infinitely and lauded forever if Brett Favre had done it.
• Lions went 76 yards for a TD without throwing it once. But they didn't have to, the Eagles run defense was terrible. Note to Andy Reid: notice how the Lions were running it successfully and at no point thought it would be a good idea to go away from it?
• DeSean Jackson is fast.
• Mike Bell sucks. Every play he was involved in was a negative.
• Correct call on DeSean Jackson's non-catch. Glad to see that Lions fans agree that they deserved to lose last week. After that play though, the Lions scored 17 straight points.
• Someone hates Jason Peters. But give him credit, he kept on playing and didn't false start once.
• At the end of the first quarter the Lions punted from their own endzone. A few plays later the Eagles had managed to be at their own 10. After the punt and a penalty, the Lions had picked up 55 yards in field possession while their offense sat on the bench. Pathetic.
• Illegal formation issues continue from the preseason. Is this a pro-football team or not?
• After the Lions player dropped that easy interception you knew the Eagles would finish the drive and score a TD. It happens 9 times out of 10.
• The only throw to Maclin in the first half was his TD. It looked like he was the only receiver out on a route.
• On Ellis Hobbes' interception the receiver in the slot was uncovered. Good throw Shaun Hill.
• Most annoying player of the game was easily Kyle Vanden Bosch. He's so rah-rah, pink, and his helmet fits like a hat.
• Eagles miraculously only had 1 holding call all game. Of course it negated a 35 yard run by McCoy.
• Calvin Johnson was erased for the most part by Asante Samuels. He got his TD when the defense was in zone.
• Both teams defensive lines "lined up in the neutral zone" all game but there wasn't one call.
• Lions 3rd and 1 failure and then the 4th and 1 failure were Reid-esque. Should have kicked a field goal dummies.

Kolb will be back next week, but I bet Vick gets series and not just individual plays. This is because Andy Reid is a football genius.

Detroit, suck city

9/19 1:00 PM ET	Opening	betED	5Dimes	SPORTSBETTING	Logans
Philadelphia @ Detroit	41 3	41.5 6	41.5 7	41 6	41.5 6

Matchup • Expanded Odds • Line History

Bonus Question: If Detroit's defense sets up to defend the pass the entire game will Andy Reid run it less than 8 times or more than 8 times?

QB controversy?

The first half was an extension of the preseason. The offense was anemic and the defense was pretty good, but not great. Then three key Eagle players got hurt - Jamal Jackson, Stewart Bradley, and Kevin Kolb. At the half they trailed 13-3.

So the ineffective Kolb was out with a concussion, and in comes Vick to start the second half and suddenly the offense has life. Vick's terrible play in the preseason didn't make an appearance and he made smart plays, good throws and great runs. Unfortunately kickoff coverage was terrible, the defense didn't make enough stops, the offense couldn't catch up and the Eagles lost 27-20.

Two plays though might have made a difference - Vick should have run the ball into the endzone instead of trying to force a pass through traffic to Jackson. And the failed QB draw on fourth down that ended the Eagles hopes was an awful call.

Of course all week now the various media will hype a non-existent QB controversy and morons will insist Vick should be the starter.

Other notes:

• I really like the new uniforms. Instant classics.