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.