ESPN: Claude Giroux is quarter season Hart Trophy winner.

Well at least Pierre LeBrun thinks so. Barry Melrose believes Phil Kessel has been the MVP, and I agree with him. Matt Read picks up an honorable mention for the Calder. All the information is here.

The emergence of Giroux as not only a great offensive player, but as a solid player in his own end, has dulled the loss of Mike Richards. At this moment the Richards deal looks bad, with Schenn either underperforming or injured, and Wayne Simmonds playing like a less effective version of Scott Hartnell. Richards meanwhile has 20 points. The Carter trade appears a lot better for the Flyers. Voracek has not been the bust I thought he would be, though he is not scoring many goals, he is racking up a lot of assists. Carter has been hampered by injury, probably since he spent the off season keeping in shape by hanging out on his deck in Sea Isle City.

And speaking of injuries, my prediction that Jagr would be hurt by Thanksgiving was proven correct.

The performance of the Flyers rookies has been good. Matt Read looks solid, Zack Rinaldo is Dan Carcillo with less dumb penalties, and Sean Couturier plays like an 18 year old kid, but his +8 can't be denied.

Bird turds

12/01 8:20 PM ET	Opening	Legends	5Dimes	SBGGLOBAL	JustBet
Philadelphia @ Seattle	44.5 2.5	43 3	43 3	43 2	43 3

Matchup

Bonus Question: How low will the ratings be?

Eagles, outclassed and uncompetitive

So another home game, another disaster, another embarrassment and another loss. This time 38-20 to the Patriots. I thought the Eagles would keep it close and then get blown out in the second half. I should have said second quarter. This collection of sad, dumbass clowns "led" by a a clueless, out-of-touch but knows-it-all ringleader and his hapless sidekicks, Marty and Juan, staged another performance of prat falls, boneheaded acts, comedy of errors, slip on a banana peel unfunny crap that resulted in the loudest boos of the season and the first loud and sustained "FIRE ANDY" chants.

The defense, its scheme and its coach was the biggest joke of the day. The worst of the worst aspects of the defensive play is the pylonesque secondary made up of safeties that don't know what they are doing and can't cover, and every would be tackler that gets dragged for a couple yards before actually bringing a runner down. The second biggest joke is the offensive game plan and play calling. We all know what I'm going to say next - run the ball blah blah blah. Use up the clock blah blah blah. Give it to your best player, McCoy blah blah blah. After Young had his early success that's all it took for Reid to throw it over and over and over again for the rest of the game. Young was erratic, and his receivers can't catch - so throw it even more! Third biggest joke is wannabe 10 million dollar man, Alligator-arms Jackson. In the first quarter his turtling resulted in a drop that killed a drive that ended in a field goal. In the second quarter when the game wasn't totally out of hand yet, he was more concerned about not getting hit than catching a touchdown that hit him in the hands. He later failed to catch a punt that rolled for 20 or so yards and a 50 yard bomb for a TD that practically landed in his lap. Fourth biggest joke is the broadcast team of Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf. They were willfully ignorant of things like Jackson's turtling and the loud "FIRE ANDY" chants, and failed to offer any criticism at all and instead repeatedly said things that weren't true. And even after a replay showed they weren't true - like Dierdorf's insistence that #31 on the Patriots got a hand on the bomb Jackson dropped - maintained that their version of reality was still plausible. True pros.

Other notes:

• Eagles didn't convert a third down until the third quarter.
• Vince Young threw for 400 yards on 48 attempts.
• McCoy had a whopping 10 carries.
• I think "REID MUST GO" better lends itself to mass chanting than "FIRE ANDY." Somebody print fliers to hand out for Jets game.
• Jenkins had a decent game.
• Avant came on strong in the 4th quarter!
• Nate Allen was the worst player on the field by far. Good thing the Eagles passed on Earl Thomas and moved up for Brandon Graham instead.
• The Patriots made it look so easy on offense. Or maybe it was the Eagles defense making it look so easy.
• Once again Vegas and the bettors overrated the Eagles by a lot.
• The woman in the Verizon ad "wrapping" the tablets and smart phones is fine.
• Good joke - Will Desean also drop his walking papers?
• It's a cliche, but when you don't play as a team and for the team and instead play as individuals, you will lose. (And you will also look pathetically bad while losing.)
• Fire Reid.

Another day of roasted birds?

11/27 4:15 PM ET	Opening	Legends	5Dimes	SBGGLOBAL	JustBet
New England @ Philadelphia	50.5 3.5	OFF OFF	50 3.5	50 3	OFF OFF

Matchup

Bonus Question: Which NE tight end will have more receiving yards?

Eagles show up for 4 quarters and win

The Eagles were on their way to their 6th, 4th quarter loss of the year, but somehow Vince Young made plays, Jason Avant made a miracle shoestring catch, Riley Cooper caught a couple important balls including the game winning touchdown, and the defense created a huge turnover via a Babin strip sack to prevent the Giants from retying the game. And that's who should get the most credit in this victory - the defense. For the first time all year they played with hatred and violence and consistent effort. The were punishing any Giant who had the ball and others that didn't, including roughing up Manning after he threw a bad pick early in the game. Giants cried about it, but it was revenge for the same exact thing they did to Vick in the first meeting of the year.

So even though the Eagles season is still over, Beating the Giants 17-10 still feels good. It's always good to see the Manning face one more time and the Coughlin befuddled old man, knuckles on the hips pose.

Other notes:

• DeSean Jackson had his first impactful game of the year. But he's still a stupid idiot that never learns.
• That game winning drive was 18 plays, 80 yards, 9 minutes and had SIX converted third downs.
• Even though Landri recovered Manning's fumble, why didn't he just fall on the ball? He was inviting disaster.
• Vince Young looked dreamy on that last drive, but he did throw 3 picks, though the second was because Harbor was being interfered with.
• I really liked that Cullen Jenkins hit on #28.
• Reid won another challenge!
• Jackson's punt return was very similar to the one that won the game there last year, and right down the same sideline.
• I have to go to sleep, so add your observations in the comments. I missed a ton.

The Eagles are irrelevant

11/20 8:20 PM ET	Opening	Legends	5Dimes	SBGGLOBAL	JustBet
Philadelphia @ NY Giants	47 -3	46.5 -5	46.5 -4.5	46.5 -4	47.5 -4.5

Matchup

Bonus Question: How many times will they replay the Jackson punt return from last season?

Sad, pathetic joke

I thought the Eagles would beat the Cardinals solely because the Cardinals would suck more than them. Well the Cardinals did suck, but the Eagles were the team that sucked more, a lot more. If not for the Republican debates, the Eagles would be the saddest clown show on the planet.

But did anyone really care when the Cardinals, led by backup scrub quarterback John Skelton, inevitably took the ball right down the field for the go ahead touchdown with a minute or so to go? Did anyone get angry when LeSean McCoy committed the Eagles 11th penalty to take away a first down and put the Eagles in a third and 20 upon which Vick then heaved up a stupid bomb to the rock handed, stupid and abysmally slow Steve Smith that was then picked to seal the defeat? Was anybody frustrated when with Jackson scratched and Maclin hurt McCoy only 14 carries all day? (And of course that was with Vick having a terrible day throwing the ball.) Is anybody angry that on a team loaded with "all-stars" the best unit is the kick coverage - you know, when the "scrubs" are on the field?

Nobody? I thought so.

I can't wait to watch the rest of the season. Up till now the games were still important and meant something, yet this team can't catch, can't tackle, makes a half-hearted effort, sleepwalks through games, sleeps through meetings, and makes every stupid mistake you can make. Now that there is nothing to play for, how awful will these unfocused idiots and morons be?

Other notes:

• Eagles now have lost 6 of the last 7 games at home and blown 4, 4th quarter leads.
• After Asante did his pick six they started partying on the sidelines and predictably gave up an easy drive on the Cardinals following possession. So much for maintaining focus.
• Gotta love covering Fitzgerald with linebackers and a rookie safety starting his first game.
• Steve Smith is the worst. Has he played football before?
• Tackling was awful again.
• Vick was terrible again. He should have had 5 picks.
• Vick also terrible again on a last minute comeback drive.
• Play calling back to the usual atrociousness and mind numbing stupidity.
• At the end of the game MIke Quick said, "The hill just got steeper for the Eagles." Merrill Reese responded incredulously, "Steeper? Steeper? You're talking Mount Everest!"
• Fire Reid.

Sorry. I forgot the Eagles were playing this Sunday

11/13 1:00 PM ET	Opening	Legends	5Dimes	SBGGLOBAL	JustBet
Arizona @ Philadelphia	46.5 -14	46.5 -14	46.5 -15.5	OFF OFF	46.5 -14

Matchup

Bonus Question: Who got the worst of the Kolb - DRC trade?
Bonus Bonus Question: Who keeps betting the Eagles to get these lines so high?

Same old Eagles

Well, back to the usual turnovers, slow start, inconsistency, terrible tackling, drops, bad Vick decisions, poor protection, stupid penalties, general sloppiness, stumbling and bumbling, stupidity, and terrible defense. Throw into that mix a complete choke job by the punter on a fake punt and a terrible referee call that gave the Bears 4 points they didn't deserve, and it all adds up to another loss. And this was a loss very similar to most of the earlier ones and almost a carbon copy of the Atlanta loss - behind early, outplayed, come back to take the lead in the 4th and then don't do anything again the rest of the game, and lose by under a touchdown with Maclin blowing the 4th down play.

So the Eagles get beat at home again, losing 30-24, and will be watching the playoffs from home this year. But I think we already knew that.

Other notes:

• McCoy was great again, but for naught again.
• Eagles coverage of returns was also great. I think they were purposely kicking the kickoffs short and going for hangtime instead and it worked great.
• Celek was good again.
• Nice play by Rolle on the strip and TD return.
• I can't really find blame with Reid this game at all, it's all on the players.
• Jackson's fumble on the punt was brutal and was a huge factor in the loss. All he does is run backwards on returns now and dance around.
• Jackson was invisible again as far as being a receiver.
• The pass rush was brutal - ZERO sacks and barely a hand on Cutler.
• Trent Cole was bad. He missed tackles all night and couldn't beat a rookie playing a new position.
• The most brutal play by the line happened when Cutler fell down and 3 Eagles fell over themselves and onto the ground while Cutler got up untouched and completed a pass downfield.
• DRC is terrible.
• Asomugha was bad again.
• Chicago's B list receivers torched the Eagles "A" list corners.
• Eagles defense gave up a ton of 3rd and long conversions and repeatedly let the Bears escape from bad situations.
• 3 more tipped balls at the line by Vick.
• Every time Avant catches the ball now he falls to the ground ala Chad Lewis.
• Vick was pretty bad this game vs. a pass defense near the bottom of the league.
• Vick failed again in a late game comeback drive and looked skittish which was probably why that pass to Maclin was a tad too high.
• The first half was ruined by the 1,000 commercials. Thanks ESPN!
• ESPN announcers are terrible. They repeated the usual obvious and cliche things, but everyone does that. What puts them in a league of their own is they repeatedly assert things that aren't true at all.
• It's very frustrating watching this team. I think it's the maddening inconsistency.

Stopping the run is not the Eagles forte

11/06 8:20 PM ET	Opening	Legends	5Dimes	SBGGLOBAL	JustBet
Chicago @ Philadelphia	47 -8	47 -8	47 -9	47 -7.5	47 -7.5

Matchup

Bonus Question: Can Andy Reid (im)possibly stick with the run game for a third straight week?