J-Roll

Here's some New York props for Jimmy Rollins, courtesy of the NY Times' Jere Longman:

"As the regular season winds down, with three home games against Washington, he has delivered the best year of his career and perhaps has become the league's most complete shortstop.

Rollins is the first major leaguer to have at least 200 hits, 15 triples, 25 home runs and 25 stolen bases in one season. He is also only the third everyday shortstop to hit 30 homers and steal 30 bases in a season, joining Barry Larkin in 1996 and Alex Rodriguez in 1998.

Rollins ranks first in the N.L. in runs scored (136), at-bats (704), multihit games (62) and triples (19). He began the day tied for second in hits with 207 before adding to his total and drawing within one at-bat of the single-season record of 705, set by Willie Wilson of Kansas City in 1980.

'Thirty homers, Gold Glove at shortstop, steals bases, hits for average — yeah, I'd say you could make a case he's as good as there is,' Atlanta Manager Bobby Cox said of Rollins."

I'm predicting a big game from #11 this afternoon.

Playoffs? Playoffs?

Playoffs? Playoffs! I still don't understand how the Diamondbacks have clinched the West when the Padres are one game back before Sunday's games.

If the Mets and Phillies both win today (and I'm guessing both will, though I think the Mets will have the harder time going against Dontrelle Willis who is 5-0 at Shea Stadium), then they will have exact reverse home/away records. With wins, the Phillies will be 47-34 at home and 42-39 on the road. On the flip side, the Mets will be 42-39 at home and 47-34 on the road. Note: if both teams win the playoff game will be in Philadelphia tomorrow. According to their season long records, that is exactly how both teams would want it. Of course, given those records it is more likely that that the Mets will lose at home today and the Phillies win at home.

My friend Shuff - a Mets and Giants fan - is going to the New York "doubleheader." The Mets game at 1pm and the Eagles-Giants at 8pm. Here's hoping the Phillies clinch by 5:00pm and the Eagles can deliver the knockout blow to NY fandom tonight.

Pressure

Nationally acclaimed baseball columnist Thomas Boswell writes up the pressure the Phillies felt and didn't handle well as the first-place team and with its playoff destiny in its own hands. Charlie Manuel concurs. "Asked if he thought his team had shown any signs of being 'tight,' Manuel broke every rule and told the truth. 'Maybe in the seventh we did,' he said, bless his honest heart," Boswell writes.

Manuel Alternative

So my brother responded that he didn't have a problem batting Hamels in the bottom of the seventh with the bases loaded and two out so that you could send Hamels out to pitch the 8th. My bro pointed out that he - and likely Manuel - has no confidence in most members of the bullpen - aside from Myers and Romero.

My brother, Jeff, also pointed out that the bullpen needed a rest and with Eaton starting yesterday that the bullpen would likely be called upon for lots of innings. That last point was prescient as Eaton didn't last three innings. And for this we're paying $8 million a year.

Manuel Incompetent or Dangerous?

Can someone explain to me why Charlie let Cole Hamels bat with 2 outs, the bases loaded, and a 6-0 lead in the bottom of the 7th tonight?

I would have thought it was an obvious pinch hitter situation. What with your staff ace pitching 7 strong innings in his second start back from the disabled list, and with an opportunity to truly blow the game wide open.

I know the bullpen needed a rest, but if Manuel had pinch hit for Hamels - and the sub made the final out - couldn't you still reasonably expect Condrey, Alfonseca, and/or Geary to have gotten the necessary six outs and protected a 6 run lead?

I simply don't understand why he let Hamels hit in that situation and why he let him go out for the 8th. Sure he was cruising and had a shutout going, but he wound up throwing 116 pitches. This after his last start he was on a strict 75 pitch pitch count. If the Phillies do make the playoffs, and their magic number is now 2, Hamels is going to get plenty of work. in fact, it looks like he would probably start the division series or at worst game two. and from then on out, he's probably on short rest. so, again, i'm not sure why you don't pinch hit for him in the 7th - with the bases loaded - and why you let him throw 116 pitches. Come to think of it, there may be an argument for not having him pitch the 7th either.

Am i missing something?

Magic #2

The Phils just slingshotted past the Mets. Tied for first yesterday, and now with Hamels' win and another Mets' loss tonight the Phils' magic number is now 2. Simply amazing.

Though come to think of it. I thought that yesterday the Mets' magic number was 3. After last night's games that put the Phils in a tie for 1st I would have thought that that too would have made the Phillies' magic number 3. And with a 6-0 win and another Mets loss, that would have made the magic number 1. But there are two games left and the Phils only have a one game lead so I guess the magic number is 2.

Center of Attention

Interview with Eagles’ center Jamaal Jackson. He and his linemates’ goal is to keep #5 “clean” and wonders why B. Westbrook isn’t mentioned in the same breath as LDT and Shaun Alexander as a candidate for best back in the NFL. Some surprisingly hardball questions posed, but Jackson handles them deftly… or is that deflectedly.

Let Us Pray

Kansas City Chief Elmo Wright is generally acknowledged as the first player to perform a touchdown celebration in 1973. But it is the Philadelphia Eagles’ own Herb Lusk who gets credit for the first prayer after touchdown in 1977. Who knew. The Washington Post profiles Lusk who, to his credit, is now a pastor in downtown Philly.

Fly, Eagles, Fly

The Eagles’ fight song gets an entry in Wikipedia elaborating on its creation and rebirth under Jeff Lurie.

Miscellaneous

I’m surprised there hasn’t been more made of Ryan Howard setting the single season strikeout record. Funny how 44 homers and 130 RBIs will give you the benefit of the doubt. And since you are wondering, the most strikeouts Mike Schmidt had in a season was 180 in 1975.

And even having struck out an astounding 32% of the time this year, Howard’s on-base percentage is still .391 – the 3^rd highest among regular, everyday players in the Phillies lineup (behind Utley and Burrell. I’m not counting Werth).

Speaking of records, Jimmy Rollins will break the single season major league record for at bats this weekend. He’s currently at 704.

Finally, I watched the season premier of The Office last night. The funniest line had to be “I’m stitious, just not superstitious.” Also, were viewers aware before that wunderkind Ryan’s last name is Howard, making him Ryan Howard? This tidbit may have been known to diehard fans of the show, but it was highlighted last night on his desk nameplate. The Office have some writers who are Phillies fans?

Where are the White CBs?

Here’s an interesting twist on the recent NFL black quarterback race debate. Mark Kriegel touches base with Jason Sehorn, the last white cornerback to play in the NFL.

 

Sehorn’s take on McNabb’s comments: “It's not the color of your skin. It's the city you play in." Ouch.

 

“We played the Eagles twice a year and they never had a great wide receiver. But the one year they give him a great wide receiver — even if he was a malcontent — he gets them to the Super Bowl. And then what?," asks Sehorn. Double Ouch.

 

Read it all here, “Is the White CB Gone for Good?”

Fate and Destiny

It's now all tied up with three games to go. As the radio guys observed tonight, this is as close the Phillies have gotten to first place since before their season started (the Mets won a game the day before the Phillies opener).

Their fate is now in their hands. Here's hoping destiny is also on board.

Epic Collapse?

“The Mets recently led by 7 games with 17 to go. No team has ever failed to reach the postseason after being so far ahead that close to the end. If the Mets don’t make it, this will be seen as an epic collapse, particularly given New York histrionics and high expectations,” writes the Times’ George Vecsey.

 

Would such a collapse, to the ultimate benefit of the Philadelphia Phillies, exorcise the demons of 1964 and prompt future sports writers to reference not the ’64 Phils but the 2007 Mets as a symbol of choke artistry par excellence?

From the Mouth of Clinton Portis

“I go out on the field and I give it everything I've got, bro. That's what I try to do. I'ma try to help the Washington Redskins as much as I can, as long as I can, and do whatever I can. When my number is not called, I'm not one to pout. Everybody want me to be a pouter. Everybody want me to be, 'Oh give me the ball.' They know I want the ball. Who don't know Clinton Portis want the ball? What you think, I shy away.”

-          - Clinton Portis, Redskins RB, trying to explain why he wasn’t on the field for the final two unsuccessful goal line running plays in last week’s 24-17 loss to the Giants. Interestingly, the Washington Post recently came under fire for cleaning up Portis’ quotes so they read more like actual English in the paper. Now I see why.

Real Life Replacements

In the Gene Hackman-Keanu Reeves film, the Washington Sentinel replacement cheerleaders (from the Pussycat Club) distract the opposing team with their sideline “routines.” Now, former Texans GM Charley Casserly is reporting that the NFL has warned teams not to direct their cheer squads from warming up, stretching or…cheer near the opposing team’s sideline during pre-game warm-ups. Seems some of the players were becoming distracted.

Homefield advantage?

Maybe the best thing about this division race and the implosion of the Mets is the face of absolute bewilderment on the face of Mets’ fans at Shea Stadium. Did you see their catatonic stares last night as their team squandered a 5-0 lead (and a 6-2 lead) to the Nats, who on paper are one of the worst teams in baseball this year but are showing plenty of fight in games played against both the Phillies and Mets.

 

At this point, I’m not sure the Mets have an advantage playing before the hometown fans as the Cardinals come to town. The pressure on them is going to be intense. And if the Cards actually get a lead or win tonight, the pressure will be futher ratcheted up.

 

On the other hand, it is tremendous to see the crowds at Citizens Bank Park which are giving the players an opportunity to see how pumped the stands can get and how exciting meaningful baseball games in September and October can be in Philadelphia.

 

Let’s keep waving those towels.

Patriot Spying Cover Up?

The NFL “investigation” of the NE Patriots’ sideline videotaping took a bizarre turn last week when the league announced that the investigation was concluded and all materials – including videotapes – submitted to the league by the Pats had been destroyed. Say what?

 

In most other realms, such material would be considered “evidence.” And as anyone who has ever watched a TV crime show knows, you never destroy evidence. Unless you are trying to hide something – even if it is the prosecutor doing the shredding.

 

I’ve written before about the half-baked  job Roger Goodell has done on this whole scandal. The fine and draft pick sanctions that look tougher than they really are (Belichick’s $500,000 fine is only 12.5% of his annual salary. And at $4 million per he’s not going to have to forego the Maserati because of the fine. The Pats lost a pick, but lower picks if they actually make the playoffs, and even then they will have a first round draft pick – San Fran’s).

But the actual investigation was kangaroo court. It was conducted hastily – Belichick’s fine was imposed less than a week after the known taping incident occurred. No press reports indicate that the league interviewed anyone on the Patriots’ coaching, recording, or stadium staff other than Belichick and maybe owner Robert Kraft. Weirdly, Goodell didn’t bother to call in Eric Mangini a former Pats coach whose team Belichick was taping and would be in a position to know the history and use of the videotapes. Nor did the NFL bring in any current or former Pats players to inquire about how the tapes might have been used to gain an advantage in a game.

 

Now comes word that the NFL, in the process of its investigation, collected all the taping evidence from the Pats and immediately destroyed it.

 

The question becomes why? Was that the ultimate purpose of the “investigation?” Why get rid of the evidence so quickly? Why get rid of the evidence at all? And why not explain or describe what the league found on the Patriots’ materials.

 

At the very least, the NFL’s actions give the appearance of a cover up. But again, why would the most savvy professional sports league make itself look like it is hiding something?

 

The explosive answer is, cause it actually is trying to hide something. Evidence of the Patriots cheating in any or all of their Super Bowl “wins.”

 

ESPN’s Tuesday Morning Quarterback poses it thusly: “The lack of answers leaves several questions hanging out there. Chief among them: Is it possible the Patriots' tapes showed some evidence of New England cheating in a Super Bowl?”

 

In fact, read the entire TMQ column where Gregg Easterbrook lays out the questionable timeline of events, the Patriots surprising lack of cooperation in the probe, and his repeated questions to the NFL spokesman, complete with the spokesman’s evasions and non-denial denials, about this potentially explosive possibility.

 

Here are the key issues from TMQ: “After Aiello twice declined to say what the Patriots' materials showed, I heard from him a third time Sunday. He wrote in an e-mail that my assumption the tapes contained indications of Super Bowl cheating is "wrong," then wrote, "There is no such evidence regarding the Patriots' Super Bowl victories." So, is this the denial that I've been seeking? But wait: Three days earlier, the NFL destroyed the evidence. I asked Aiello whether he meant there is no evidence now of New England cheating in a Super Bowl -- that is, after the destruction of the files -- or whether examination of the materials positively affirmed no cheating. He did not reply.

 

Aiello's " On Sunday, Sept. 16, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell went on national TV and promised he would get to the bottom of the Patriots' sign-stealing. Four days later, the NFL announced all videotapes and other spying materials compiled by the Patriots had been obtained by the league and destroyed. Goodell, who until then had been very upfront in addressing the Beli-Cheat scandal, didn't go back on television to say what the tapes contained; the commissioner has been in radio silence about the Patriots since the files arrived at the NFL's Park Avenue headquarters. The league acted in a hurry to dispose of damning documents, but has not revealed what was in the tapes and notes, nor said why there was a rush to get rid of them….There is no such evidence" phrasing calls to mind what Richard Nixon's attorney general John Mitchell dubbed the "non-denial denial," an assertion that seems to say something but doesn't. On Sunday, I asked Aiello whether the league would make a simple, declarative statement that the spying files proved the Patriots did not cheat in a Super Bowl -- and have not heard back from him. I assume this is not because he has forgotten: I've heard from Park Avenue sources that the fact I am asking these questions is very much on the NFL's radar. I have known Aiello professionally for years and, like others who deal with him, have always found him skilled, knowledgeable and forthright. It's very odd to be getting a "non-denial denial" from him now.

 

I further asked Aiello who had examined the New England materials before they were destroyed, and he would answer only "senior members of the league office staff." I asked when the materials actually arrived at league headquarters -- How long were they there before being destroyed? -- and he would not answer. I asked whether the materials had been inspected by anyone conversant with the game plans and signals the Rams, Panthers and Eagles used against Bill Belichick's Patriots in the Super Bowl; football signs and terminology are cryptic, so it would help to have a skilled eye. Aiello wouldn't answer that. I asked who had ordered the tapes and notes destroyed, and he wouldn't answer that, either.

 

And I asked, if there was nothing incriminating in the New England documents, why was the league in such a hurry to shred them? First, Aiello wrote, "The purpose of destroying the tapes and related documents was to eliminate any advantage they might have given the Patriots going forward and ensure a level playing field for all 32 teams." But the league announced last week that the Patriots "certified in writing" that no copies of the materials exist. If the sole copies of the sign-stealing materials had been sent to the league office, it would be impossible for these materials to give the Patriots any advantage. When I pointed that out, Aiello countered that the reason for the destruction was "so that our clubs would know they no longer exist and cannot be used by anyone." Again, if the sole copies were being held by the league, how could any club use the material?”

 

Lost amid all of this efforts to protect the Patriots and the league’s “integrity” is the fact that the NFL is doing a disservice to its other members – in particular the Panthers, Rams, and Eagles – who may have been victims of the Patriots nefarious and duplicitous cheating. The NFL owes as much to these teams as it does the Patriots – regardless of how much Roger Goodell owes his job to Robert Kraft. The next big question becomes why are the Panthers, Rams, and Eagles owners seeking to get to the bottom of it all?  

 

 

Good Riddance Gillick

So Pat Gillick has announced that he will retire after the 2008 season. Presumably, he will declare "victory" should the Phillies managed to get into the post-season next week or next year.

It looks to many like Gillick is just getting out ahead of the scrutiny. Ironically, several friends and I were trading emails last week before the announcement debating whether Gillick should be fired.

Cause when you scratch just below the surface of this team and the GM's extraordinarily questionable moves, it appears that this team might make the playoffs not because of Gillick but in spite of him.

Seriously. Shouldn't Gillick be canned for the simple fact of thinking that Freddy Garcia or Adam Eaton were the preseason solutions to the Phillies pitching problems? I can, almost, understand taking a flyer on Garcia. But they signed Eaton to a 3-year $24 million contract that the Phils will be on the hook for until the year after Gillick leaves. Eaton's getting $8 million per for a 9-9 record and a 6.36 ERA?! He's quite possibly the worst starting pitcher in the National League
and/or all of baseball.

As my brother noted, "Gillick has to be accountable. [Besides the Garcia and Eaton debacles] add in Barajas and Helms as our starters and he's done a terrible job. Fortunately Dobbs and Ruiz have done a great job as has Werth the 2nd half of year. Barajas and Helms have been a HUGE waste of money. And Gillick has gotten lucky, very lucky, w/ Pat the Bat's production after trying to shop him all offseason. Burrell has been very good the past 2-3 months. Not exactly $15 million good, but he has produced like a major leaguer."

In some ways, the pitching injuries may have saved Gillick. Think about it. If Garcia had to pitch the entire year he might have worse numbers than Eaton. And then even more focus/criticism comes on Gillick for bringing in such a stiff.

With Lieber and Garcia hurt, Gillick is kind of protected by scrutiny cause the starting staff that is out there now is not the one that Gillick put together to start the season. that and everyone is just thrilled that Kendrick can go six innings and not get shelled.

The one savvy move I did like (other than keeping Moyer) was holding onto Lieber rather than trading him at the start of the season when he was odd man out of the rotation. That looked like a good move when all the injuries hit. I liked it as protection and I liked it as a trading chip down the road for bullpen help. Of course, with all the walking wounded that didn't pan out as planned.

Still, relying on Gordon (who did no one any favors by keeping his aching shoulder from LAST July a secret, thanks Tom!) and planning on bolstering your bullpen in mid season by making a trade was the plan all along? Ultimately capped by sticking your opening day starter in
the bullpen.

As my friend PK observed, "can anyone name a single thing in the Gillick Era that was a great move? I can't remember when they traded Thome for Rowand, because that was the last great move this organization made.

Bringing in Jamie Moyer was savvy, I'd say, since he's a guaranteed 14 wins or so and a guy who just pretty much will always keep his team in games; yeah, somtimes he gives up 5 runs in 7 innings, but then look at his last 2 starts: 7 innings, 2 runs; 6 innings, 1 run. Of course, this wasn't sheer briliance, just a nice move.

Otherwise, every critical player that's on the team now doing good-to-great things -- Howard, Utley, Rollins, Burrell, Victorino, Hamels, Myers -- was already in the organization.

All the injuries suffered to the rotation are brutal (who'd've thunk we'd miss Lieber this badly?) are not really Gillick's fault. But I tell you what is his fault, for sure: the bullpen. That bullpen was barren at the start of the season we had to take our No. 1 pitcher and put him there.

That's clearly Gillick's fault."

I would add that even the Thome-Rowand deal (and I can't recall if that was a Gillick move or not) but if it was, was one done in desperation as evidence by the

Phils paying SOOOO much of Thome's salary just to get him out of town.

Gay Wolverines

The biggest question coming out of Sunday's game was why Jeff Lurie would have selected those ridiculous 1933 throwback uniforms to "celebrate" the 75th team anniversary. Perhaps an even bigger question is why any fan would have bothered to buy such a hideous jersey - and judging from the number of blue/yellow shirts in the stands, a surprising number did just that.

The whole throwback uniform has been overdone, though not apparently oversold. First you had the home and away jerseys. Then the "alternate" jerseys, which in most cases - like the Eagles - meant incorporating black into the outfit. Now you've got the throwback uni. It's getting absurd. But not as absurd as the choice itself. Keith Olbermann on Sunday Night Football took the Eagles' retro look and the Lurie to task for the ugliness of the uniform and hit the larger problem on the head - merchandising. And by the way, if you are going to needlessly tempt the fans with extraneous merchandising, at least select the 60's era green and white uniforms or the late 70's darker green and silver look. (The 90's kelly green is still relatively recent to be considered a "throwback" jersey.)

Just as bad, the Eagles players themselves - while being good employees in not trashing the 1933 look publicly - looked like a high school team. As one friend said days before the Eagles game. How unfortunate you are 0-2 and facing a must win at home and you have to take the field looking like that.

But the best line about the uniforms came from my friend TD. In the stands just after the Eagles had taken the field on Sunday, he observed, "My God, they look like the gay Michigan Wolverines."

McNabb's Keith Hernandez Game

I am hard-pressed to think of a singularly stellar athletic performance against such a backdrop of controversies and questions as the one by Donovan McNabb yesterday. Pressure? In a must win game for the 0-2 team, in the aftermath of the controversy about his HBO remarks about QBs and race, and the very real questions that were raised about the condition of his rehabilitated knee and whether his career was hastening to an end, Donovan McNabb made a statement on the field. Well, not exactly a statement. More like a declaration. Actually several bold declarations… with exclamation points:

 

“I’m Donovan McNabb!”

 

“Never Underestimate Me!”

 

“THIS TEAM WILL ALWAYS – ALWAYS- BE IN CONTENTION SO LONG AS I’M THE STARTING QUARTERBACK!!!!!!”

 

21-26. 381 yards. 4 TDs. No interceptions. A perfect passer rating of 156.3.

 

Of course, the 1^st half numbers were even more impressive. 332 yards passing, only one incomplete, and 3 TD passes

 

The smattering of boos that greeted #5 during his introduction had all turned to cheers by the end of the 1^st quarter.

Seriously, has there ever been a more complete offensive quarter and/or half of football under Andy Reid than the one yesterday? The McNabb naysayers, who were scurrying back into their little holes by 2:00 pm EDT yesterday afternoon, will no doubt suggest that the Lions defense was hardly a true test. 300 passing yards in one half against a professional football team is impressive by any standard. And the Lions were 2-0 coming into this game. McNabb and the Eagles scored 42 points in the first half. No other team in the league scored as many points as that in an entire games yesterday. It was dominating and McNabb was awesome. So were K. Curtis, B. Westbrook, and the defense. But the star of yesterday’s show was Donovan McNabb.

 

More about later.  

 

Washington Support for McNabb

The Washington Post’s Michael Wilbon comes to Donovan McNabb’s defense about #5’s recent HBO remarks with a nice historical perspective on the NFL, QB, and race and some very strong words about the hostility McNabb faces from his own fans. He ends with a rebuke of the historical ignorance of the younger black QBs in the league and plea for them to take a stand just like – or even express appreciation for - their predecessors.

 

Writes Wilbon: “Thankfully, Donovan McNabb had the guts to stand tall in the pocket with critics trying to knock his head off. Thankfully, McNabb, at 30, has some sense of the NFL beyond his own participation. Most celebrity athletes talk only when paid to talk, and usually about something benign if not downright useless…

 

Anybody who doubts McNabb needs only to walk around one of the upper-concourse areas of Lincoln Financial Field late in a game when, as several white friends have told me, the frequent use of the word "nigger" preceding McNabb's name during a losing performance is so casual it sickens them. Rex Grossman, just to name one white quarterback who has to deal with daily criticism, doesn't have to be on the wrong end of that kind of hateful venom, even though he'll never be half the quarterback McNabb has been.”

 

Note: I have witnessed similar epithets used to describe McNabb at the Linc, and it similarly sickens me.

LJ Out

ESPN is reporting that Eagles’ TE LJ Smith has had surgery to clear out his sports hernia and will be unavailable for Sunday’s game. Too bad for LJ as it limits his playing time in a contract year. On the other hand, this will probably help him and the Eagles in the long-run, and by that I mean later this season. LJ was running around like an old man out on the field, obviously impacted by his groin and hernia injuries. Better to have a healthy Matt Schobel and rookie Brent Celek playing in his stead till he can make a better recovery.

Detroit End of Road for McNabb?

Can Detroit deliver the coup de grace to Donovan McNabb’s tenure as the Eagles starting QB on Sunday? This Motor City columnist thinks so.

 

Writes Drew Sharp: “The Lions find themselves in that rare position of quarterback executioner. They’re usually the ones facing the firing squad, wearing the requisite blindfold along with protruding cigarette.

 

But they can expedite Donovan McNabb’s exit from Philadelphia with a stunning victory over the Eagles on Sunday.

 

McNabb is done in Philly if the Lions embarrass him, administering the final insult.

 

He’s standing alone right now, a victim of poor timing more than anything else. McNabb didn’t back down from his HBO comments in which he stated that despite improved opportunities, black quarterbacks remain scrutinized much greater than their white counterpart”

 

And this, “And Philadelphia has accurately earned its reputation of eating its own.”

The "C" Word

As in Collapse.

 

Here’s the lede in today’s NY Times’ sports section: “As mortified fans watch the Mets fritter away their once-commanding grip on first place in the National League East, dread infects the city that it might be witnessing a collapse of unprecedented proportions.”

 

Bigger than the ’64 Phillies? We’ll see. But I have it on good authority from my Washington, DC political reporter friend PK that Kentucky Senator Jim Bunning’s office is fielding a surge of press phone calls asking for his recollections of the last two weeks of the 1964 season.

Fan of the Week

You won't see this pic on the Eagles' website.

Hint: take a closer look at the "jersey."

Teddy Ballgame

Appropos of nothing, I came across this really cool picture courtesy of Time Magazine of Ted Williams ready to enter the batter box at Fenway Park.

Holy Cow

oh my God. the Marlins just beat the Mets in the 10th after blowing the 4 run lead, then rallying for 3 in the bottom of the 9th to tie it and now scoring in the 10th!

Sheridan and McNabb

Phil Sheridan is giving Rich Hoffman a run for his money as the best sports columnist in city with another stellar article in today's paper about Donovan McNabb and his HBO comments about race.

This superb piece had nuance and insight, and was as thought-provoking about McNabb and race as #5's initial comments. The nut graph as far as I'm concerned (and this goes beyond race commentary and neatly summarizes McNabb's star-crossed career in Philadelphia):

"McNabb's dubious status as the most peculiarly criticized professional athlete in the country.

That's most peculiarly criticized, not most criticized. Many athletes take heat for their performances, for the things they say and do, for their off-the-field actions. Some of them bring heavy criticism on themselves with bad behavior or ignorant public comments.

McNabb has been a very good player and a model citizen throughout his Eagles career. And yet he has been at the center of strange episodes involving Rush Limbaugh, who said he was coddled by the media because he was black; Terrell Owens, who insinuated that McNabb was not black enough; and the head of the local NAACP, who wrote a screed essentially calling McNabb a traitor to his race."

And on the larger score of McNabb's coments, let me say. Sadly, I think McNabb has some valid points and legitimate arguments about the unique challenges by black QBs in the NFL. My own personal experience is that people who criticize McNabb - and some of these people are my friends - invariably bring up his race, usually accompanied by a racial slur. There is very real anger towards McNabb from these naysayers (perhaps why I personally maybe overcompensate in his favor as a fan) and I can't help but detect at least a whiff of racial animus. I hope - and prefer to think - that the anger stems in large part from frustration because of McNabb's incredible talents and how close he has come to winning a championship for this team and city, but there is no denying there is an anger and an edge that simply is not there when talking about other white Eagles' or NFL QBs.

Barkley

I can't believe Sir Charles was in the MNF booth for the entire 3rd quarter... Especially after he made his point - philly is tough sports town & d-mac should get a multi year pass for all that he has accomplished - and then endlessly repeated it. Jaws didn't help things by rehashing his unceremonious dumping and his sometimes rough treatment by the fans. Of course, leave it to Barkley to get off two great lines: the first about asking management to get "Shack" and then playing with Charles Shackleford, and the second about a player "being the future" and Barkley pointing out that games are played in the present. I can't decide if that is mundane or profound, though i'm leaning towards the latter.

And what was with the Tony Kornheiser/Michael Wilbon split screen PTI halftime show? They were in the same stadium! They could't get in the same booth?

Upon Further Review

More on this tomorrow, but I rewatched the Redskins game again and i must say, i'm a little more encouraged about the offense than i was at the time. The offense did start to click in the 4th quarter and McNabb did make some really good throws. Particularly on 3rd and 4th downs to keep drives alive. Sure he badly misthrew some balls, but that's what you always get with McNabb. Only this time instead of the passes being fired into the dirt at the feet of receivers, some were high and some were just completely off target.

Pass protection was adequate, but the play calling was questionable. I also have issues with the routes the WR run. There were alot of plays where there was not a single receiver running a deep route, certainly nothing longer than 15 yards - and most of those were square ins or outs. Can't at least one WR "go long?" Perhaps that's because the Eagles' don't have a true speedster (i don't count Curtis in that club). Which then begs the question, why don't they? Why don't they have a guy like Santana Moss whose a home run hitter and puts the fear of God in CBs and safeties? How hard is it to draft or bring a FA WR who runs really, really fast? That is all on Andy Reid.

Then again, in the one play where every wideout went on a fly pattern - the play where McNabb overthrew Curtis down the left sideline and into double/triple coverage, it looked to me that Hank Baskett beat his man and was breaking free on a post pattern down the middle of the field.

Democratic Wussies

Here's just the latest example of the wussies that pass for "leaders" in the Democratic party. Florida University student Andrew Meyer got into a heated q&a exchange with presidential loser and still junior Massachusetts Senator John Kerry to the point where police escorted Meyer from the event. Here's the story here.

But the big story is that Meyer, while lying prone and being subdued by five (5!) police officers and with what looked like handcuffs on was then tasered (!) by police.

You can see the video of the whole spectacle here on youtube. When you view it, though, try to remain focused on the audio and Kerry's voice. A student is being taken away by at least five police officers, is being held down in the middle of an auditorium aisle, and then tasered.....all while John Kerry is droning on in the background, seemingly oblivious to the police brutality occurring 25 feet away and directly in front of him - which all occurs because a student got exercised in asking him some heated questions.

Again, Kerry does nothing. After the event, his office put out some lame statement about how he has never seen such a thing in 30 years in public office, and how he hopes neither police nor students were injured (remember: Kerry witnessed this kid getting tasered). Is it any wonder this clown couldn't muster a response to some Swift Boat ads or that he asked for swiss cheese on his cheesesteak during a campaign stop in Philadelphia, or that his idea of "biking" is riding some effeminate tour de france type 20 speed.

Alas, Kerry and his response, or lack thereof, is just par for the course with Democrats lo these long days.

The Democratic Party. Without balls since Lyndon Johnson.

Post-Mortem

Sorry, I've been out of commission today with a bad stomach virus or some bad wings i ate last night. Then again, my naseaousness could stem from that wretched Eagles performance last night.

A couple of thoughts before I get to my friend's perspective.
1) As bad as things looked last night, it is still a long season. This team is still capable of getting to 10-6.
2) McNabb is clearly not 100%. I would guesstimate at about 60-75%. Given that, it is sadistic for Andy Reid to call so many passing plays. It hearkens back to McNabb's sports hernia and bruised sternum when they called 50 pass plays in games the Eagles were winning.
3) Given the number of pass plays called, and the lack of offensive rythym, i'm guessing that Reid has recalled the play calling from Morhninweg. That's too bad, though the results speak for themselves.
4) Anyone remember the Eagles-Redskins game at FedEx two years ago? That was the game TO was suspended from and McNabb had the sports hernia. The last two minutes of last night's game reminded me of that game. The Eagles driving for a tying score, even down to the direction the team was driving as viewed on TV. And like that game, the Eagles came up short (actually, as i recall Arrington intercepted McNabb in that game in Washington).
5) Taylor and Landry are big hitters and I think Landry will be a big star in this league.
6) Speaking of Taylor, shouldn't he have been called for spearing when he drove the crown of his helmet into B. Westbrook's back as Westbrook was running out of bounds in one of the Eagles last drives?
7) Jason Campbell looked like the real deal last night. Cooley should have made a couple of catches, though he overthrew Moss on what would have been the game clincher.
8) Then again, if the Eagles had actually made TDs instead of FGs last night, they would have won - even with the poor performance.
9) Apparently we've returned to an offense where our WRs can't get separation. but the stranger part is the total lack of rushing options beyond Westbrook. And why was Tony Hunt inactivated?

Now on to an email from my angry friend PK:

48-17

In case anyone's wondering, that's the play-calling breakdown from the game tonight: Donovan threw 46 passes, plus he ran 2 plays in which a pass was called and he scrambled for runs, and they ran the ball just 17 times to westbrook and ran it to no one else at all. Period. That's 73% of the plays called for passes.

Oh shoot, this doesn't account for the 3 or 4 sacks, so it's actually more than 50 pass plays to 17 running plays, so it's at least 75% of all plays were called as pass plays. So much for last year's Marty Offense. The Mad Scientist Andy is back in charge.

Anyone who wants to know why we lost tonight, it's that simple. Andy Reid continues to wreak havoc on this organization. It's insanity. He is a madman during these games, it is some sort of psychotic reaction to losing the Super Bowl after he called more than 60 pass plays and took a lot of heat for it. It's nuts, it's crazy. It's bizarre.

The other reason, of course, why we lost is because Andy and management simply decided that the Thrash-Pinkston model of receivers, from all those painful days of yesteryear, was a good enough idea to go back to; man, somehow Reggie Brown has simply regressed himself into Pinkston.

No, the season's not over, this division is so unbelievably god awful that it's not over. But any thoughts that this is a team that is capable of winning the Super Bowl -- probably done. Offensively they look like the early '03 offense, which simply sputtered around doing absolute crap till November, but back then we also had a 3-headed monster power running game that, collectively, ran the ball 340 times for 1,700 yards and something like 18 TDs.

There is no running game this year to fall back on like there was in '03.

Sometimes, one of the amazing things I've actually come to realize over the last few years, the fans really are as smart or smarter than management, that management doesn't really know a whole lot more about the game than a fan who really does pay attention.

He's the Man, They're the Team, to Beat

Before the region’s sports fans go gaga over the results of tonight’s Eagles game, I wanted to pause for just a moment to recognize the extraordinary accomplishments of Jimmy Rollins. He took a lot of heat, especially in New York, for declaring the Phillies were the team to beat this season. Sure the Mets may wind up winning the division. Heck, the Phillies may not even make the playoffs. But it turns out that at least in the NL East the Phillies were the team to beat, and the Mets couldn’t do it. The Phillies were 12-6 against the Mets this year, including three (3!) series sweeps. As they are fond of saying in NY, “amazing!”

Of course, dominance like that just doesn’t happen. And a large part of those victories was SS Jimmy Rollins, or as he should be called in the clubhouse, “The Man.”

Jim Salisbury points out that “In 18 games against the Mets this season, Rollins was 28 for 81, an average of .346, with four doubles, two triples, six homers and 15 RBIs.” That, my friends is production. Production when it matters against the best team in the division. And considering that half those games were being played in New York where Rollins received considerable abuse….well, again, simply amazing.

Jimmy Rollins talked the talk. And backed it up by walking the walk. You heard it here first. If the Phillies can make the playoffs then look out. Rollins could be ready for a Lenny Dykstra-like post-season performance and carry the team and the entire city on his back to the World Series.

 

 

Change of Heart

A friend of mine who is a Redskins fan told me the other day that he had a “feeling” the Skins would beat the Eagles. Upon further reflection, he has changed my mind and now thinks the “Skins lose big tonight.”

Why the change of heart, I asked? Jansen’s injury and the possibility of Juqua Thomas and Jevon Kearse crushing Campbell from the right side?

No, he said. “I don't know. I think Wade will do a good job over there at RT, i'm just losing confidence in Campbell playing well in front of the most hostile crowd in the NFL on Monday night.”

True.

Mama Portis better watch out tonight.

 

Opposing Viewpoint

The Washington Post looks at the Eagles:

 

“There is no way truly to prepare to face Jim Johnson's blitz-tastic defense. It's impossible to mimic all of his nuances and predict how much pressure Philadelphia's defensive coordinator will bring at anytime and from where it will originate.”

 

And some stats:

Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson has made his mark over the past seven seasons. How the Eagles rank during his tenure:

Category	No.	Rank
Third-Down Efficiency	33.8%	2nd
Red Zone Touchdown Pct.	44.1%	2nd
Points Per Game	17.4	3rd
Total Sacks	305	3rd
Total Takeaways	212	8th

 

More on the NE Patriot Act...

i.e., videotaping and wiretapping.

 

1)      The investigation continues? Pete King writes that Goodell continues to seek videotape from the Patriots and if they don’t fully comply the penalty the commish imposed could be increased.

2)      More on the King article here – is the nonsensical reason Goodell gives for NOT suspending Belichick. King hints that if Belichick were a short-timer he would have been suspended. What has that go to do with the price of tea in China?

3)      Even more ludicrous is this Goodell answer to a surprising hardball question from NFL company man King: “I said to him,” King writes, “assuming New England makes the playoffs, ‘The Patriots still have a first-round pick, and they still have four first-day picks in the draft.’' Said Goodell: ‘Right. But what about the pick they don't have? What if that pick turns into Dan Marino or Darrell Green?’' Got that? Goodell thinks his sanctions of the Patriots are so severe cause the draft pick they lost could cost them a Hall of Fame player. I can see the headline now, “Goodell Sanctions Pats, Strips Team of Possible Dan Marino.” But other than that, Goodell’s “punishment” will still leave the Pats with four first-day draft choices. Wow, talk about harsh. Not.

4)      The NY Times drops this intriguing nugget into today’s story about Goodell’s rush to judgment: “NBC reported that the Patriots might have wired linemen to pick up the Jets’ offensive audibles.” What the?!?!?

5)      Why are people criticizing Mangini as a turncoat? Did he dime Belichick out? No. Only when the great Bill B. used the same illegal spy tape strategy on the Jets that Mangini presumably knew about/used from his days with the Pats did Mangenius bring it to NFL security’s attention. If anything, Mangini’s loyalty is still intact. In fact, why didn’t Goodell bring Mangini in to inquire about what he knew and when he knew it. The bigger fall guy here is Belichick who could/would still be taping this week if he had shown enough discretion to not use it against the one of the two head coaches in the league who knew to be on the lookout for it (Crennel being the other).

6)      I wonder how Goodell feels about the rumors of the Belichick contract extension. Talk about Bob Kraft giving a big F-U to the commish and standing by his man.

Must Win?

While I agree that tonight’s Eagles game is a big one, I’m not so sure, as Ashley Fox asserts, that “this one will determine a season. This one will decide success or failure.” Whoa. Easy.

 

Starting off 0-2 would be bad, don’t get me wrong. And yes, the Eagles’ started off 0-2 in 2003 and still got to the NFC Championship, but this team, this division, and this conference are vastly different than four years ago. But I don’t think the fate of the season rides on tonight’s game. I think it will certainly have playoff implications down the road were they to start 0-2, especially two losses to conference opponents and one in division. Of course, the Eagles wouldn’t have the pressure on them that they do if they hadn’t squandered the victory in Green Bay.

 

And as I wrote earlier this week, 0-2 would put them 2 games back two games into the season (!) to division rivals Dallas and 2 ½ games back of Washington, As concerned I would be about 0-2, I would also worry about the momentum the Redskins pick up from a win and the possibility of going 3-0 vs. the hapless Giants next week.

 

Still, if we’ve learned anything in recent years, particularly last season, is that the NFL season is an incredibly long journey filled with more twists and turns and developments and subplots than All My Children. 0-2 would be bad, but not the end of the world.

Jeff Lurie= Dan Snyder?

Jeff Lurie is doing his best Dan Snyder impersonation with the Eagles’ new parking/tailgate rules.  Snyder, of course, is the Redskins owner who presides over the most cockamamie stadium parking lot in the NFL -  with limited spaces, color-coded sections requiring specific permits, and cash lots so far away that fans have to take shuttles to FedEx Field.

 

As the Daily News reports, “The Eagles have decreed that tailgaters may no longer set up tables or tents or pay to reserve the space next to their cars. If you want to tailgate, you now have to do it behind your car, standing in the parking-lot lanes where other fans are driving by. Some fun. On top of all that, the Eagles increased the price from $11 to $20 for cars and from $20 to $40 for RVs to park in one of those lots.”

 

As an Eagles fan who tailgates with a group of buddies in an RV and pays for an extra adjoining parking space to set up our grills, tables, chairs, and Beirut table, I will tell you that that this new rule has the potential to backfire. Big Time. I understand the imperative to increase the traffic flow into the lots. But forcing tailgaters to all congregate in the lanes means that it will be more difficult for cars to navigate the lots and thus backup traffic – in the parking lots themselves and eventually spilling out onto the street. And that doesn’t even take into account the very questionable safety of such a system. Pedestrians + roughhousing + game playing + alcohol + cars = a deadly mix. And the Eagles are penalizing fans willing to pay for what they use – in some cases two parking spots – rather than own up to their own inadequacy in providing sufficient parking around the stadium.

 

I think I speak for many fans when I suggest that Jeff Lurie and the Eagles concern themselves more with the disastrous egress of fans and cars AFTER games rather than before them. It is inexplicable that a stadium located at the locus of so many major highways continues to have gridlocked traffic two to three hours after the game has ended.

 

As one friend told me, the Eagles really need to watch themselves. They are flush and full right now, but things can change. Indeed. It was less than ten years ago that Veterans Stadium was not sold out and season tickets were easily available. Donovan McNabb fixed that. But as we are all aware, McNabb won’t play forever. Can Kevin Kolb similarly fill seats and the win column? We shall see.

Placeholder Solution

My friend PK’s solution to the Eagles’ placeholder issues: “Do what the Cowboys used to do and put a backup tight end there. Or even a backup running back. Anyone who has great hands and can simply call out f-ing snap count signals. When he was a backup, I think Jay Novacek used to hold for Jimmy Johnson. Smart guy, sure hands. “

Not a bad idea. Greg Lewis, Matt Schobel, hey, why not get maximum value out of Reno Mahe and put him back there to placehold too.

Worse than First Appears

All reports I’ve seen regarding the Patriots’ spying only report of a man taping the Jets’ signals from the Patriots’ side of the field. But does Sheldon Brown break news today about the Patriots’ spying that went beyond the videos?

 

“’"Not only did they have a guy on the field with a camera,’' Brown said. ‘But they had a guy on the Jets sidelines? Come on,’” he says in today’s Inquirer. What guy on the Jets’ sideline?

WHITE WASH

My friends’ verdict:

 

Belichick gets a $500k fine himself, the organization gets another $250k fine, no suspension for Coach Hoody Sweatshirt. They lose a 1st rounder if they make the playoffs this year, if not, a 2nd and 3rd rounder.

 

What's not fair in all this is that the "investigation" is now over. The greatest team of the decade with the biggest star in the league, both accused of cheating, ADMITTING they cheated, and there's no broader investigation into how often the Pats did this, how much of an assistance it was to them, etc. WHITE WASH!

This penalty looks stiff on its face, but mort is saying they still have another first round pick next year (from a trade with the niners), so this won't affect them much, not to mention the likelihood that this will be a pick in the high 20's.  Apparently there's a whole list of cheating allegations.  SI reports teams' radios going out at key plays of their offensive drives, and further suspicions that pats' interior linemen were wired to pick up opposing qb's audible system.  there's a ton of stuff out there, I'm sure exaggerated, but very possibly true.  Let's hope goodell continues to dig. To not fully investigate-and for owners not to demand an investigation-is a bad job.  Looks like the most we can hope for is 1)this ruling causes them to curb some of their cheating, making a more level playing field for honest teams, and 2)their reputation will be tarnished.

Slap on Belichick's Wrist

The NFL “punishment” imposed on Bill Belichick for cheating is a $500,000 fine and the loss of one, or two, low draft picks. What a joke. The NFL is trying to sell it as the same tough stance on management as players. “Roger Goodell's hard line on discipline, aimed so far at players, came down this time on a coach and a team,” says the NFL website.

 

The $500,000 is only 12.5% of Belichick’s annual $4 million salary. It’s not going to hurt him too much in the wallet. And the conditional draft picks sanction is downright bizarre. It means that the NFL didn’t want them to lose a draft pick any lower than the mid-20’s. And the fact that they still have the Niners #1 pick even if they have to forfeit their own means the net effect of the punishment is negligible. Either they will have two #1s or a #1, #2, and #3 in the upcoming draft. Goodell considers that a punishment?  Indeed, from a salary cap standpoint, the Patriots could actually benefit from losing their #2 and #3 since they will have to pay big money to sign two #1s. I doubt they would have the cap room to sign two #1s, and a #2, and a #3 – to say nothing of their picks in rounds 4-7.

 

What’s not clear is whether the fines were for the single incident involving the Jets or a larger conspiracy to cheat other teams/games. What is clear is that when push came to shove, Goodell didn’t have the balls to suspend Belichick and go against owner Robert Kraft. I can only assume from this ridiculous “investigation” (how neat and tidy that it was all completed in less than a week) and “punishment” is that the NFL must be concerned about this spying occurring in some of the Patriots’ high profile games (i.e., Super Bowls) and doesn’t want to look too closely into it lest it find disturbing evidence that would only further taint the Patriots’ three championships.

 

 

 

 

Patriots Spy-Gate

Steelers WR Hines Ward “is certain the Patriots, while known for the thoroughness of their scouting under coach Bill Belichick, had some kind of unusual help before their 24-17 upset victory in Pittsburgh in the January 2002 AFC championship game. The Patriots went on to win the first of their three Super Bowls.

‘Oh, they knew,’ Ward said Wednesday. ‘They were calling our stuff out. They knew, especially that first championship game here at Heinz Field. They knew a lot of our calls. There's no question some of their players were calling out some of our stuff,’” reports SI.

 

Ok, here’s my question. Why didn’t Goodell call in any of the Patriots current or former players to ask what they knew about all this? At some point for the spying to be of any benefit it has to be translated to the players on the field. Ask them how it is they knew exactly what plays the opposition would run.

Blitz Screen

In light of the Patriots Spy Games Scandal, it's interesting to read this Boston Globe account of the Eagles-Patriots Super Bowl and the "adjustments" the Pats' offense made to counter the Eagles' blitzes. Was this good play-calling, or did Charlie Weis and Tom Brady know what defense the Eagles would be in and when they were blitzing cause they had taped Jim Johnson's defensive play calls. Even more interesting, the story notes that through the first and much of the second quarter, the Eagles defense had rattled Brady and the Patriots. And then? All of the sudden the Pats' offense regained its composure was able to handle the Eagles' blitzes for the rest of the game. Almost like they deciphered the Eagles' defensive schemes...or calls.

The NFL and Goodell need to realize that this Patriot Spy Scandal is bigger than just a regular season game against the Jets. They need to start looking at a lot more of the Patriots' games. They can start with the Super Bowls. And Goodell can interview Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennell about what they know about the use of cameras on the Patriots' sideline to tape opposing teams' signals.


Excerpts from the story:

"Any time you blitz a lot, you start to think you're running free at the quarterback," Brady said. "We got some good yardage with those screens because they thought the scheme got them free on those plays. When we gashed them, it helped slow them down."

"After adjusting their defensive game plan, Brady had just enough breathing room to begin the steady process of dissecting the Eagles' defense and destroying their Super Bowl dreams."

"On the first drive of the second half, the Eagles tried to go back to their blitz but Branch destroyed the Eagles, catching four passes for 71 yards. One reception beat the Eagles' blitz for a 27-yard gain and another did the same for a 21-yard catch that put the ball on the 2-yard line."

"Although Philadelphia blitzed more later in the game, the Eagles never returned to the all-out attack they had been using."

Calling NFL Films

Quick, get Steve Sabol on the phone and have his crack NFL Films staff
start poring over the Patriots' Super Bowl games. Start with the
Eagles. There are so many cameras at these events that surely some
would have plenty of sideline footage to reveal if the Pats were
videotaping the Eagles' signals...and the Rams, and the Panthers......

Goodell's Half-Baked "Investigation"

Per PK's earlier criticism of the media' inattention to the THE story of the 2007 NFL season so far, why hasn't commish Roger Goodell called in other Patriots to inquire about the Pats' use of videotaped opposition signals?

The issue at hand goes beyond actually taping the signals, but what the Patriots -- coaches and players -- then did with those signals. Why isn't Goodell interviewing Corey Dillon, Kevin Faulk, Troy Brown, Dan Koppen, Tom Ashworth, Tedy Bruschi, Rodney Harrison (currently serving a four game suspension for cheating with HGH), Richard Seymour, Ted Johnson, Willie McGinest, Lawyer Milloy, and...material witness #1 - Tom Bradyetc? Get them on the record about their first-hand knowledge of the videotaped signals and if they were used to gain a competitive advantage in/during games.

The fact that Goodell hasn't formally spoken to players - and the noise emanating from league offices that the commissioner will take away draft picks as a show of "toughness" (and not suspend Belichick) - suggests a white wash in the works to protect Belichick, Kraft, and
the Pats.

Where's the Scandal? In the Media

My friend PK is a reporter for a national media company. His take on
the Bill Belichick scandal, or non-scandal, in the news world so far:

This scandal is HUGE and not being given nearly enough coverage. And I
mean from the national media writ large, not the stupid shucksters on
espn and the "best damn sports show".

The National Football League is The Sport of America, 13 times more
popular than any other league. The Preeminent Coach of the National
Football League - with the Preeminent QB of the National Football
League as the main beneficiary - have now been formally caught
illegally videotaping defensive signals for the benefit of Tom Brady.

Am I missing something??????

If accurate, would this not be the '50s equivalent of learning the
Yankees stole most signals for DiMaggio's plate appearances, then
Mantle's? The fact that Bobby Thomson's Shot Heard Round the World was
from a stolen sign now dramatically changes our view of things, but we
didn't learn it until 45 yrs or so after the homer.

Ok, Eagles fans. Anyone remember how thoroughly we dominated the Pats
in the 1st Q of that Super Bowl. What turned things around?

Two BACK-to-BACK screen passes by Brady to Dillon or Faulk in the Pats
1st drive of 2ndQ!!!! I remember clear as day the Inside the NFL guys
flipping out over the back-to-back screen calls by the "genius" Pats
coordinators. I swear one of them - or maybe Harry the K - said
something like, They called those plays like they knew the defense the
Eagles were running on those plays!

HELLO!

That's what this scandal does, or should do. Rock to the core the very
fabric of the Patriots.

Patriot-gate

Besides filming the opposing team's signals, the incident in NY this past weekend also involved funny business with the teams' radio frequencies. What could that be about? PFT reports of "suspicions/rumors regarding efforts by the Pats to get a leg up as to opposing offenses. Specifically, we're told that it's believed that, during the 2006 season, the Patriots were putting microphones on defensive linemen in order to capture the offensive line calls and the quarterback audibles. Then, the audio and the video of the game would be matched up, and the defensive players would be given the code at halftime."

But here's where it gets really weird. You probably noticed the green dot/sticker on the back of the QB's helmet this weekend or during the preseason. The dot indicates to the ref that the helmet is outfitted with a radio receiver so the QB can receive the play from the sideline. Each team is only allowed one "green dot" helmet on the field at any one time. My friend explained that it was his understanding that some team (the Falcons?) did at least one trick play last year where they brought in Matt Schaub at QB and split Vick out wide or in the backfield and the Falcons gained some sort of advantage by having two players able to listen to the Offensive Coodinator prior to the play.

But this new green dot rule raises some interesting questions in light of the burgeoning Patriots scandal. Why did the league institute the "green dot" rule? Was it really for the incident/scenario mentioned above? Or did the league have an inkling that some team (did they suspect the Patriots) was monkeying around with the helmet radio receivers for a more pronounced/blatant advantage? If the ongoing NFL investigation uncovers evidence of the Patriots secretly violating the green dot rule, will that be cause to increase the punishment imposed by the league?

Stay tuned.

Patriot Games

The Mike Vick case was a no brainer challenge to new NFL Commish Roger Goodell. Dog fighting? Canine-cide? Gambling? Federal prison? Suspending Vick was practically a foregone conclusion for Goodell.

But Patriot-gate is a whole other ballgame. Will Goodell have the balls to suspend the great Bill Belichick for his team's filming of opposing team signals? As Pro Football Talk pointed out, " If punter Todd Sauerbrun gets tossed for four games for using ephedra...[and] Cowboys quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson gets parked for five games because he purchased HGH for his own personal use, the head coach of a team that is committing a blatant violation of the rules for competitive advantage should be suspended much longer than that."

At the least, Goodell will strip the team of a couple of draft picks, though really, in the scheme of things, that is a slap on the wrist. But suspend Belichick? Bob Kraft's man? We'll see if Goodell has the cojones.

Gambling on Reno

Reno Mahe is set to return: punts and to the Eagles. I wonder if he feels vindicated? Is he aware that he was such a lightning rod for criticism in his last two years on the team? Fans inexplicably vilified Mahe for doing nothing particularly well. A jack of all trades, master of none type deal. The very definition of a journeyman professional football player.

But what we've come to appreciate about Mahe in the past week that we failed to take into account over the past couple of years is the one thing it turns out he did do particularly well. Catch punts and hold onto the ball.

Of course, Mahe's return is just the latest evidence that Andy Reid, Tom Heckert, and Rory Segrest are in deep doo doo as far as special teams is concerned. Sure Mahe is a known commodity with Big Red. But the fact remains that Reid's "solution" to the sudden crisis in the kick/punt return game - a crisis of his own making over the past three weeks - is to turn to a player who was completely out of football. Did I miss something or did Mahe not try out in any team's camp this summer?

Let's hope he's in shape, but really who cares. He's going to be on the field for 7-8 plays - none of them consecutive (knock on wood, I just guaranteed an offside kickoff and/or punt penalties requiring re-kicks) - and he doesn't even have to exert himself after the catch. Heck, fans would be thrilled with 5 uneventful fair catches. In theory, its so easy Brian Westbrook could have done that (and not risked getting injured). Unfortunately, it's not something G. Lew or JR Reed could do.

The larger issue is that he hasn't participated in a professional football activity, practice, etc. for at least 9 months. Reid is going to rely on a punt returner after only five days of practice? Even G. Lew had more reps than that.

Is this about Reid's comfort level with Mahe? Is it that Reid's ego won't let him admit the mistake of letting Jeremy Bloom go, so they can't go out and ask him to come back? Or is this just a coach grasping at straws - anything, even if it is Reno Mahe - to help bail him out of the hole he has dug for himself and his team? Methinks the last choice.

Seriously. Reno Mahe?  Eric Metcalf or Roy Green weren't available?

Welcome back Reno. No hard feelings. Good luck

Our Own Mascot?

Interesting anthropological look at the curious specimen: “Eagles fan.”

 

“The Phillies may boast the Phanatic, but Eagles fans are their own greatest mascots.”

How Low Can You Go?

Eagles special teams, so competent and so influential in seasons past (see: Westbrook, Brian, punt return vs. Giants, or Sand Diego, Field Goal blocked…touchdown), has sunk to this. As USA Today neatly captures the it: “Wanted: punt returner. Requirements: catch the ball. The Philadelphia Eagles don't need a return specialist with game-breaking skills. They just need someone who knows when to call a fair catch or when to simply let the ball bounce.”

It’s so bad the Eagles aren’t even worrying about how many return yards they can get, they just want someone who can catch the ball. Jeez, by that standard Jeremy Bloom or, dare we say Reno Mahe, are looking pretty good right now.

What a mess.

Red(skin) Alert!

As if the Redskins-Eagles game wasn't enough of a must-win for the Eagles or face falling two games behind in the NFC East race to the Redskins, it now appears that the Redskins stand to benefit the most from Eli Manning's separated shoulder and that it is very possibly the Eagles are the only thing that stand in the way of the Redskins starting  6-0.

The Redskins play the Giants at home following their game with the Eagles. They then have their bye, play Detroit at home, go to Green Bay, are home against Arizona and then go to New England. After the Eagles, they will likely be favored in every game up to New England. This is a very dangerous development. The Redskins are going to be a competitive rival this year and the one thing you don't want to do is allow that squad to get on a roll and have them start believing in Joe Gibbs and his system. They have a young quarterback and it's imperative to not give him confidence and a comfort zone. Plus, they could be 2-0 in the division three weeks into the season if they beat the Eagles.

Even before the news out of NY, this was going to be a big game for the Eagles: losing the opener (and in the fashion they did), a game vs. a division rival, and, oh yeah, at home. But with the injury to Eli Manning (taking the last hope out of the Giants for the rest of the season, they are finito) the Redskins are primed to make a run against some now very questionable competition, and this game on Monday night has taken on even more importance than before.

Cheatin' Bill Belicheck?

The Jets-Pats feud, or is it the Mangini-Belicheck fight, just gets more intense…and strange.

 

“NFL security confiscated a video camera and its tape from a New England Patriots employee on the team's sideline during Sunday's game against the Jets in a suspected spying incident, sources said….The Patriots' cameraman was suspected of aiming his camera at the Jets' defensive coaches who were sending signals to their unit on the field, the sources said. The league also is investigating some radio frequency issues that occurred during the game,” reports ESPN’s Chris Mortensen. sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3012989&campaign=rss&source=ESPNHeadlines

Game in Review

You know it’s a bad game or a bad loss when the most positive thing you can take away from it is that Lito Sheppard might only miss the next game.

 

Criminy.  This loss is such a gut punch cause it was such a winnable game. There was a period watching the NFL ticket yesterday where we were switching back and forth from the Eagles as the Pack was running clock before their field goal and the Redskins were lining up for their game winner in OT. In the span of, literally, a minute and a half the Eagles suffered a two game swing in the division, going down 0-1 while the Skins got to 1-0.

 

This one could come back to haunt them when it comes to seedings and byes (if we get that far). I take some solace in that Reid has been very mediocre in openers (3-5). And the Inqy points out today that Reid’s team has made the championship game in three years where they lost the opener, but not sure if that counts “blowing” the opener.

 

Sadly, this was so predictable. Many of us saw the problem immediately after they cut Jeremy Bloom – who it now appears more than ever was a fall guy for the incompetence of new special teams coach Rory Segrest. You can’t pin what happened yesterday on Bloom. He might not have tallied a lot of return yards this preseason, but at least he held onto the ball. You can pin it on a coach who simply did not have his charges ready to play. Beyond the two disastrous Lewis and Reed “muffs” or fumbles, or whatever you want to call them, there was Lewis inexplicably diving for another bouncing punt, and getting in Reed’s way on ANOTHER punt. What a disaster. (PS – I understand what Reed was trying to do on that last punt. The Packer shanked it and Reed was trying to catch it to save field position. But he had to run so far and dive for it that I can’t believe he never thought about just letting it go. Or since he has been a kickoff return specialist, did he have a brain fart and think the ball had to be handled lest the Pack “recover the onside punt?”

 

Even us nonprofessional football people couldn’t believe that Greg Stinkin Lewis was the backup plan after they cut Jeremy Bloom. Lewis? Really? The guy had never fielded a punt in an NFL game. Coaches give such lip service to the importance of special teams. And the Eagles special teams have been very good under Reid because of David Akers and John Harbaugh. But yesterday had to call into question the larger issue of Reid’s priorities. Beyond Lewis returning punts, there is the issue of Akers’ holder. Clearly this is an important issue for our pro bowl kicker. Yet, Reid continues to insist that the punter hold. And now we’ve got an Australian punter whose never handled an American football before holding for #2. Somehow Dirk Johnson’s problems holding for Akers last year – replacing Koy Detmer - were dismissed as kicker eccentricity. The larger question is why our #2 QB, AJ Feeley, isn’t holding for Akers? (though a moot point now that Feeley has a broken hand). Why isn’t the QB the holder rather than the punter? This is crazy.

 

Here’s another point. If the Eagles bring in a returner, then they will have to open up a roster spot to make room for him. Who gets cut to open up a space?

 

Other thoughts and observations:

 

·         The defense played well, especially stopping the run. But let’s face it, the Packers don’t really have a running game.

·         McNabb may have looked rusty, but the line looked even worse. What happened to Todd Herremans? He was abused all game.

·         Has anyone seen Reggie Brown? Our supposed #1 receiver was AWOL.

·         A ton of penalties. And that doesn’t count all the ones that were declined. Terrible, sloppy, lazy, undisciplined.

·         Counting on Westbrook to carry more of the offensive load is understandable, but game plans like yesterday are crazy. Westbrook carried 20 times and had 6 catches. He must have also been thrown to 4 more times. That’s waaaay too much. To unbalanced. Too disproportionate. Too much of a load. If Bucky can’t adequately spell him and other guys can’t get into the offense then something drastic needs to be done or the Eagles need to reevaluate their talent evaluation.

Fool Me Twice, Shame on Me

“Segrest seemed to think the Birds would try to work with Lewis and Reed, rather than looking elsewhere for punt-return help. Obviously, the Eagles can always risk Brian Westbrook back there, if they have to,” reports the Inqy. What the ?!?@@#?$?%

Beginning of the End to the Reid Era?

Maybe, maybe not. But that’s what my angry friend writes me today after yesterday's debacle of a loss. At the very least, the veneer Reid enjoyed of being a very competent coach and detail-oriented guy has been stripped away after the special teams fiasco. . Indeed, Rich Hoffman makes that very point today, writing " But this has become one of the season's themes, this suddenly comfortable embrace of the high wire. You see it in big ways and small. They went with Sav Rocca, the inexperienced punter with all of the potential, over safe incumbent Dirk Johnson. They brought in another inexperienced backup linebacker, Pago Togafau, rather than a just-in-case veteran when they were doing their final roster-making. And they went with Greg Lewis and J.R. Reed to catch punts in the season opener at Green Bay."

 

Anyway, my angry fried PK writes: My prediction is simple: after all the offseason talk about No 5 and how long he'd be an Eagle, I'm flatly predicting that Donovan will last far longer in the Jeffrey Lurie organization than Andy Reid.

 

Today was the beginning of the end for Andy. It's gonna be a long 7-9 season, and all the weaknesses that Andy simply declined to address in the offseason will be key in their losses, their big losses. (Today: the kick return game, next week: probably a holder on FGs.)

 

The storyline is going to build that Reid was too distracted in the offseason (and preseason) by his children's drug habits to even handle player personnel situations, and he'll eventually resign in a Vermiel-style burnout press conference talking about his kids and the need to be a family man again.

 

This will politely overlook the fact that Andy has almost every offseason ignored some glaring holes in the organization (how many Super Bowls would we have gone to earlier this decade with just average wide receivers rather than the piss-poor shit we had on the field, how would the team have fared differently in '04-'06 if Reid had forced Johnson into getting bigger and tougher against the run on D?).

 

Sadly, the Reid Era began its final descent today, I believe.

 

Succint Summary of Eagles' Special Teams problems

THE NUT GRAF from the entire Philly sports coverage of yesterday’s Eagles’ loss:

 

From Les Bowen (who must really be disgusted cause his article mockingly shreds the Eagles’ brain trust and special teams coach):

 

“It took a couple of exhibition games to figure out Jeremy Bloom wasn't what they'd hoped for as a punt returner, after he'd looked great in practice. (Bloom did, in fact, catch cleanly every ball he went for, and might have been cut a little more slack, having not really played in 3 years.) They oriented everything toward giving Bloom optimal game reps early, didn't establish a primary backup, then didn't have time to adequately train a replacement when they cut him.”

Coach Muff

Who’s the genius who hired this genius?

 

“Any time you're on the receiving end of a kick, you definitely want to retain possession of the ball there,” Rory Segrest, current Eagles Special Teams coach.

10-6?

For the first time since Doug Pederson was taking snaps under center, I do not have a good feeling about this Eagles team or season. Perhaps that is a good thing, as the Eagles have fallen short of my (and many others’) preseason expectations for eight straight years now. Even during TO’s second year implosion, I held out hope right up the point where the Eagles blew the home game versus the Cowboys and McNabb aggravated his sports hernia trying to tackle Roy Williams. Game. Set. Match.

I hope I am wrong but in four months, when the post-mortem is done on the season just completed, I fear that we’ll have a collective, “D’oh,” as the gift of hindsight makes this team’s deep flaws even more glaring. “The holes were there all along,” we’ll say, “we just didn’t want to see them or admit it.”

It now appears that the shifting balance of power from defense to offense is complete. For most of Andy Reid’s tenure the defense has carried this team. It was an irony never fully explored that a coach with an offensive pedigree and franchise QB could be the poor sister of Jim Johnson and his merry blitzing men: Hugh Douglas, Trot, Carlos Emmons B. Dawk, Corey Simon, Bobby Taylor, Troy Vincent.

This could be the year the Eagles inability to competently evaluate linebacker talent over the past decade and to groom a replacement to Brian Dawkins (buh-bye Norman LeJeune and CJ Gaddis) finally catches up with the team. Jim Johnson is a master defensive tactician and strategist, and you won’t here any complaints from him, but one has to wonder how getting smaller and less experienced at linebacker this year is going to help stop them from getting run over like they did last year (then again, the Colts’ won the Super Bowl with the worst run defense (5.5 yards/carry) of any team since 1972.)

The defensive ends are still light (in researching recent Eagle drafts I came across a short blurb on Trent Cole that had him projected as an outside LB in the NFL) and their highest-profile player, Jevon Kearse, is coming off a very significant knee injury. Sure they have more depth and size at defensive tackle – veteran run stuffers like Kimo van Oelfen and Montae Reagor, but in two years Mike Patterson has yet to show an ability to push the middle of the pocket. Then again, if Brodrick Bunkley plays the rampaging bull everyone thinks he can be, he’ll make them all look better.

Unfortunately, I can’t get the picture out of my mind of Omar Gaither being physically dominated by the Steelers offensive line during their 3^rd preseason game. For the life of me, I can’t figure out why they cut Trotter. Were they really afraid such a stand up guy would be a problem being a leader if he was 2^nd string? Wouldn’t having him as insurance have been worth the risk?

Gocong can’t be any worse than Dhani Jones last year but you have to accept a steep learning curve. If he picks things up half as fast as Gaither did last year, it will be a good deal. Backing both these guys up is another young guy, rookie Stewart Bradley. Though I have to think that if Gaither keeps getting pushed around the first option would be to move him back to weakside LB and put Takeo Spikes in the middle. Not sure how TKO would feel about that, but they cut the Trotter plan B option.

Lito Sheppard continues to raise his game. Funny to think he got the most crap of that class of defensive backs drafted in 2002 cause he was the last one to earn a starting spot, but he’s turned out to be the best. Sheldon Brown is a big hitter but has been exposed as an average cover corner without the help of a pass rush. #20 is the ageless wonder, and Sean Considine is going to be a whipping boy till he lays a real hard lick on someone. He’s my candidate for this year’s Matt McCoy award given annually to the white defensive player who becomes the fall guy for the defenses shortcomings.

Anyway, it’s a front-running defense. If they can play with a lead, and the offense should be able to score points, then maybe they won’t be abused or worn down.

Some NFL “experts” still think Donovan McNabb is a running QB and thus express concern about his knee recovery. He’ll be fine as long as Marty M. continues to call the plays, which a small blurb in the Philly Inquirer confirmed this weekend (funny how perhaps the most important news about the Eagles’ offense got so little coverage).

Everyone’s counting on Westbrook carrying a full load like he did during the Garcia games last year, but I am a little skeptical/worried about that. That was only 7 games last year – at the end of the season no less. Can you really ask Westbrook to carry 25 times (plus 6 catches) a game for 16 weeks? Uh, no. Fortunately, we won’t have to see Westbrook plunge into the line on 3^rd and short (or a McNabb QB sneak) now that Tony Hunt is available. Fantasy alert: Hunt could be the Eagles’ version of “TD specialist” Brandon Jacobs this year.

Reggie Brown has a lot of expectations. We’ll see. This could be a breakout year for him. Or we could confirm that he is just a solid #2 WR. Somehow Greg Lewis is the new Reno Mahe. Not sure how he stays on the team, but he manages to make the roster and get on the field for significant playing time. Fielding punts, though? Yikes. Now that JR Reed is back on the team it will be interesting to see if the return problems were Jeremy Bloom’s (given his collegiate accomplishments I say no) or the new special teams coach Rory Segrest. Segrest has big shoes to fill, but it looks to me like Bloom was the fall guy while Segrest got acclimated to game action.

The O-line is solid once again. It is the one area that Reid has done his best personnel work. Thomas and Runyan are solid veterans, Herremans is serviceable, Jackson never missed a beat in replacing Honey Buns (might even be better), and Shawn “Big Kid” Andrews is a future Hall of Famer. If…..If the ankle injury isn’t as serious as he initially made it out to be. Supposedly his despondence in discussing the potentially career-threatening condition was an “act.” We’ll see. But it’s par for the course with the Eagles. It wouldn’t be an Andy Reid Eagles team without some concerns, controversies, secrecy and drama.

They probably go 10-6, maybe 11-5. Probably not enough to earn a bye, so here’s hoping that they can rest their starters in the Buffalo game. The key is to make the playoffs. Once there, anything can happen - just ask the Steelers, whose playoff run included knocking an all-pro QB out of the game, enduring a fumble on the goal line, a game saving tackle, a botched FG by the NFL's most accurate kicker, and the worst officiated Super Bowl in history. You just have to be in it to win it.

As for the rest of the division. The jury is still out on Tony Romo, but unfortunately he’s still got a bipolar diva in TO who will be causing problems by game 5 and a buffoon of a head coach in Wade Phillips who might make Dave Campo look like a genius. 8-8 for the ‘Boys?

The Giants are on a downward slide. They should have jettisoned the martinet Coughlin last year. Brandon Jacobs is no Tiki Barber, but he may on occasion look like Earl Campbell as he drags Omar Gaither ten yards. Eli Manning remains an enigma. If he doesn’t have a breakout year this season (and this is the third straight “ultimatum” for Manning) then the Giants’ long-term prospects look even bleaker. 7-9

The Redskins are the wild card. They could easily finish 11-5 or 5-11. They still don’t have a pass rush, OLB Marcus Washington is breaking down, and the rest of the LBs are young. But they’ve got two ferocious hitters at safety who can do lots of damage lots of different ways. On offense, Portis will share the load with Ladell Betts, though Portis is playing with a huge chip on his shoulder. It will be interesting to see if Jason Campbell can continue to improve. A Joe Gibbs offense wouldn’t ask him to do too much. Of course, this is a Al Saunders offense now so we’ll see.

The first two weeks will be key for the Eagles. The Pack have enough talent to contend for a weak North division title. And they could deal a heavy blow to a division rival with a win in week 2, especially if the Dolphins can beat them in the opener.