Fan commentary on the Philadelphia Eagles and other Philly sports happenings. "Our capacity for hurt is matched only by our capacity for loyalty." -- Bill Lyon.
My brother writes:
Pro bowl - interesting that McNabb will likely either go to super bowl or pro bowl. He's first alternate and will go if saints/vikings/packers go to super bowl as one of the qb's would have to drop out. Let's hope he does NOT go to pro bowl.
Hard to believe eags now own destiny for securing #2 seed. Amazing.
Losing jamaal jackson for the year is a big loss.
The playoffs start a little early this year. Like on Sunday - Eagles vs. Cowboys. Winner gets a #2 seed, a bye and home playoff game in the second round. Loser likely has to go on the road the following week and has their super bowl chances significantly diminished.
Everyone is talking about maclin's catch. Very little appreciation for McNabb's throw on that play.
I can tell you mood in the stands as the lead slipped away was growing anger at McNabb (no idea why - up to that point the offense had already scored 27 points). Of course, that all changed after his 27 yard run - which looked like one of those old McNabb moves when he dropped back - saw Pinkston and Thrash covered - and decided to make the play all by himself.
Also on the crowd response - Dawkins got a huge reception as you'd expect. DeSean a very big cheer but still not as a big as the reigning fan favorite - B. Westbrook (though it helped it was his first game back). McNabb gets cheered but in my estimation less fervor and noise than either of the other two.
A friend writes:
Oh my god, Phil Sheridan points out that the Maclin play was the exact same play that ended our season last year in Ariz - except Curtis didn't get his feet down and didn't make the catch. Maclin did.
A reminder of the value of David Akers and a kicking game fans have not had to fret over for years now.
Akers leads the NFL with 101 points and 24 field goals, is tied for the lead with 11 boots of 40 or more yards and fifth with an 88.9 field goal percentage, the latter of which is the highest success rate of his career. He's made 16 straight field goal attempts.
Succinct description of the Lee-Halladay deal and the events surrounding the trading deadline this past July, including naming the four players Toronto wanted back then - Happ, Drabek, Brown, Gose - which is insane and rightly rejected by Amaro.
The players that form the Phillies' nucleus — Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins — are entering the latter phase of their primes. In Halladay, the Phillies have a bona fide ace to join them for the long haul, with just enough left in their farm system to feel protected.
Not sports related but I found this article about a proposal in Pittsburgh to tax the tuition of college students in the city funny. The amusing thing is the quote from the alleged college student who objects to the proposed tax because of all the other taxes students already pay, which he explains as "'we rent apartments so we pay taxes on that, we have cars here, which provide parking taxes,'" said David Gau, an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh."
The inimitable Jayson Stark evaluates the winners and losers of the Roy Halladay-Cliff Lee trade and includes a variety of scouting opinions on ALL the players involved.
The bottomline?
This was about extending their window of NL dominance as long as possible, not for one brief run at glory.If they'd stood pat, Lee almost certainly would have headed off next winter to hit the free-agent lottery. And they'd most likely have gotten outbid by the Yankees or Red Sox on Halladay. So without either Lee or Halladay, the Phillies very conceivably might have had to blow up their team and retool.
"Halladay likely would agree to a contract extension with the Phillies to waive his no-trade clause. The Phillies would acquire prospects for Lee to help satisfy the Blue Jays' demands for Halladay, and also send prospects of their own to the Jays."
"I'm told the Blue Jays need some relief help, especially after B.J. Ryan flamed out on them this past season and was subsequently released. Look for Phillippe Aumont to be included in any deal. Also, look for Tyson Gillies to possibly be included, given the fact he's Canadian and the type ofup-and-coming prospect the Jays would be thrilled to have in their system. Michael Saunders is also Canadian, and you'd have to consider him. That farm in Toronto was left rather bare by the J.P. Ricciardi years.If this deal goes down, the Mariners would instantly have one of the best one-two starting punches in baseball. In a lot of ways, this trumps any effort to get John Lackey. Provided, that is, the M's can lock him up long-term."
More from MMQB:
d. The best big back in the NFC East right now is not Brandon Jacobs. It's Leonard Weaver of the Eagles. Seattle should never have let this nimble big man with good hands go.
Peter King's MMQB offers this tidbit:
b. It must drive NFL people crazy to hear Ed Hochuli go on those long, explanatory riffs when he's got his mike open. But I love it. Mike Pereira can't make stolid refs have Hochuli's personality, and he shouldn't try. But his explanations should be textbook for all officials in college and pro football. Fans deserve to hear exactly why something has happened.
What is it about the sport of football that fosters this loyalty to the team over everything else, including the health of individual players? A mindset that permeates down to the high school level and perhaps lower.
From the NY Times:
If the attitudes of several Tustin High School players in Southern California are any indication, the culture the N.F.L. helped build will not be reformed overnight.Sitting outside their locker room Thursday, linebacker-fullback Wade Minshew and defensive end Kuresa Moaliitele both said they would not tell anyone if they sustained a concussion during Friday's big state playoff game.
They heard about the N.F.L.'s new rule. They have watched stars like Ben Roethlisberger, Kurt Warner and Brian Westbrook struggle with concussions in recent weeks, and have been taught by their athletic trainers that playing through a concussion, when you are a teenager, can be highly dangerous and even deadly.
"It's our mentality toward football — you put the team first," Minshew said. Moaliitele added: "I'd keep playing. It's the dedication I have to the team."
My brother joins the bye possibility debate:
It's exactly where the Raiders loss kills us. That and the Vikings beating the Niners (G Lew!) and Ravens (missed fg by Ravens). If 2 of those 3 go our way we are tied for the #2 seed RIGHT NOW!!
That is why I say (and Eagleseye does too) – make the playoffs and anything can happen. There is not a big difference between Vikes and us (huge difference between Saints and us though).
Yes it's a longshot, but for us to do anything in playoffs we need to run the table. It's what happened last year – we got hot and won a few games. If we go 2-2 we ain't doing anything in playoffs (if we made it). We go 3-1 and that puts us 6-1 in last 7 and very dangerous.
If Giants win this week they will likely go 5-1 in division and have tie-breaker over everyone in division. AND have the easier schedule (won't have to play us or Cowboys). This game is HUGE for Giants. They win and they are clear favorites for division (considering Dallas' schedule). Unbelievable!!!
In short what we need right now, this week – Beat Giants. That's it. Now bonus is Cowboys lose to Chargers and Vikings lose to Bengals. Then we are 1 out with 3 to play. All is moot if we don't beat Giants. Must win or else we can't lose another game (again, we can make playoffs losing 2 games, but won't be hot and will do nothing in Playoffs at that point).
Lastly, need Ravens to win tonight
The vikes have the bengals, panthers, bears, giants left.
Yeah, I think they can go 2-2.
Our problem is running the table. That's probably not going to happen...and where that Raiders loss just kills us.
My friend answers back in the negative about my burgeoning bye optimism:
You're being unrealistic.
Do you think we're going to win 4 straight, including on the road in Meadowlands and in Dallas and the other 2?
We need to go 12-4 and Vikes need to go 2-2 down the stretch.
Let's just win 11 games and take the division.
Funny video for Irish fans (and haters) alike. A graphic testament to the lows to which Charlie Weis has left the program.
Alas, the refs and the NCAA conspired to help give the BCS championship berth to Texas (I thought the clock stopped when the whistle blew, not - as the Big 12 now officiates things in the wake of last night's game - when the ball hits a railing and has to be reviewed.)
In any case, it's fair to ask exactly why Texas got the berth partly on the basis of its strength of schedule. After all, based on final regular season standings, Texas has played ONLY ONE TEAM IN THE TOP 20 THIS YEAR...and that just happened to be Nebraska, who jumped to #20 based on its proud losing performance against Texas yesterday. For comparison's sake, Boise State has also played one one team in the top 20, thought that team - Oregon - is ranked much higher (7) than Texas' opponent and the Ducks also have the claim to be Pac-10 champs.
