Terrific Start

The Eagles’ season opener really couldn’t have gone any better. McNabb looked fantastic, the defense was tremendous, and DeSean Jackson had the best Eagles rookie debut since….well, I can’t even think of a comparable introduction.

 

Yes, the Rams are not a good team. But the Eagles are, and the Eagles did exactly what good teams do when playing bad teams. They beat them bad and they beat them early so the contest was never in doubt, the starters got some rest, and the backups got some valuable game experience in mop up work (that means, you, Kevin Kolb).

 

Other thoughts:

 

·         What a gorgeous Sunday afternoon.

·         Here’s what the Sports Guy had to say about DeSean Jackson before week 1: “DeSean Jackson has been hyped to the point that anything less than a punt return TD, seven catches, 120 receiving yards, one long TD catch and the greatest TD dance unveiled in 30 years since Billy "White Shoes" Johnson will have to be considered a major disappointment. DeSean, you better rock my world.”  

 

Here are Jackson’s actual stats: 6 catches, 106 yards, a long of 47, 97 yards in punt returns (12.1 average) and a long of 60 that came thiiiis close to be a touchdown before being knocked out of bounds nine yards short of the goal line. Rock my world, indeed.

 

·         Timmy Brown, Tommy McDonald, Pete Retzlaff were the last three Eagles to each have 100+ yards receiving in one game before Hank Baskett, Jackson, and Greg Lewis did it again yesterday. The first three, of course, are legendary Eagle names. The last three not so much. I wonder in forty years when the Eagle WR corps does it again if fans will be asking themselves, who the hell were Hank Baskett and Greg Lewis? (Based on yesterday, Eagle fans will be well familiar with hall of famer DeSean Jackson in 2048.

·         Fantasy owners of Stephen Jackson, Tom Brady, and Randy Moss could not have been happy with the results of week 1.

·         The parking lot tailgates were relatively calm and subdued yesterday, especially for a season/home opener.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Celebrating 50 Years of State Board Leadership

October 16-18, 2008

Washington, DC

Click Here for an Agenda or to Register

 

Brady Done

It’s official, Tom Brady is being placed on IR and is done for the season. We’ll see if the great Patriots juggernaut can continue to win without its franchise quarterback, like the Eagles have managed to do when McNabb has gone down. Ironic in some ways, given the criticism of Cassel’s play this preseason and concerns that he wasn’t a competent back up for Brady. Guess we’ll see who was right now.

 

In typical Belicheat fashion, the team only revealed that Brady needs surgery but not the exact details of his knee injury.

Call Me a Happy Optimist

Both SI’s Paul Zimmerman and ESPN’s Gene Wojciechowski have picked the Birds to reach the Super Bowl...Clearly, the national football press likes what it sees with this Eagles teamg. Here's hoping they're right.

 

I’m right there with them. Put me in the happy optimists camp.

 

The Eagles went 8-8 last year with quarterback who basically played on one leg for most of the year and lost two games they would likely would have won if AJ Feeley hadn't thrown game-killing INTs in or near the redzone on last minute drives. Heck, they should have beat the Pats in NE and should have beat the Seahawks. They inexplicably gave the Bears game away on back breaking 95 yard drive that 9 times out of 10 Jim Johnson puts a stop to. And Akers doinked a game tying 60 yard FG against the Giants off the upright  after Reid butchered time management in the last five minutes of the game.

 

And let's not even mention opening day's debacle in which the Eagles would have won the game if they had had a punt returner. That was on the road against the Packers, the best team in the NFC last year it turns out.

 

They also beat the Cowboys on the road late in the season in a game that meant home field advantage throughout the playoffs to Dallas.

 

In short, the Eagles could have easily been a 10-6 team (adding wins to the Seattle and Green Bay games) and very well could have been 11-5 (either a win vs. the Giants or Pats). Honestly, if they had made the playoffs last year is it not too hard to imagine them making the same run the Giants did?

 

And for arguments sake, I will give you that they had no business winning the Skins game in DC. So that brings you back to 10-6 and really at worst, 9-7.

 

Since then, the Eagles have upgraded in the defensive secondary with three pro bowl corners and now a solid strong safety in Quinton Mikell.

 

They've upgraded at D-Line by jettisoning Kearse and bringing in Clemons, Klecko and drafting Laws.

 

And they've probably upgraded at LB. Gaither is playing his natural position again and they've gotten much bigger in the middle with Stewart Bradley. Gocong looks like a legitimate starter last year and hopefully progresses again this season.

 

On offense, McNabb should now be fully recovered from a knee injury that everyone knows takes two years to completely heal.

 

The tight ends will be better now that LJ Smith is back to 100% and Celek has a year under his belt and they've upgraded at RB with Lorenzo Booker to add to the second best RB in all of football, Brian Westbrook.

 

The offensive line is still solid and probably deeper now that Jean-Gilles has gotten a lot more practice and reps.

 

The only question mark is the WR. Yes, the Curtis injury hurts but the emergence of DeSean Jackson is huge. No one was expecting him to contribute on offense this year. So anything he brings to the WR is a bonus. If they get Curtis back reasonably soon I think you have to say they probably upgraded WR in the offseason based on Jackson's contributions.

 

Oh yes, special teams has gotten better too with Jackson returning punts and Demps returning kicks.

 

Seriously, is there a single area where the team has gotten demonstrably worse since last year?

 

As for the opposition...who scares you?

 

Romo's Cowboys have yet to win a big playoff game and are still coached by that boob Wade Phillips. Eli Manning was one dropped Asante Samuel INT from being the goat and not the hero of the super bowl. They were a wild card team last year and still look to be on this year.

 

The Skins will be lucky to win 6 games with a new coach and offense, a really aging defense and might get humiliated on national tv tonight.

 

The Vikings defense is great but Tarvaris Jackson is barely serviceable. The Pack shot their wad last year. The Bears are staring Kyle Orton at QB and have no RB.

 

In the South, the Panthers, Saints, and Bucs will all be competitive but hardly dominant.

 

Same thing with Seattle in the west. The Cardinals will likely be better but Warner can be very shaky once he gets hit in the head, Edgerrin James is on fumes and, well, they're the Cardinals.

 

The Eagles should make the playoffs and have at least one home playoff game. After that and as the Giants showed last year, the rest of the conference is very beatable - even on the road.

 

I like our chances this year. I really do.

Utley

Should Chase Utley sit out tonight’s game vs. the Nationals to avoid any kind of retribution for last night’s home plate collision that may have injured Nats’ catcher Jose Flores for the rest of the season?

 

On the record, the Nats players are saying that Utley’s hit was a clean play. But even still, surely he will get thrown at tonight. Should Manuel keep him out of the lineup to completely avoid that possibility?

 

Earlier this year, Utley was the catalyst for escalating bean balls between the Nats and Phillies which went so far that Manuel had to dial back the retaliation and point out that the Phillies were playing for bigger things and should break off the retribution lest one of the Phils get hurt.

 

Indeed, at Monday’s game which I attended Nationals pitcher Tim Redding managed to hit two Phillies in the first five innings while no hitting the Phillies. Kendrick responded in kind, prompting a warning from the umpire to both benches.

 

Given all of this, I would expect the Nats to drill Utley at some point during tonight’s game, probably precipitating a bench clearing brawl.

 

Just like what Manuel said earlier this year, the Phillies have bigger fish to fry at this point in the season, you know, like catching the Mets, and not getting back at the last place team in the division.

 

Play Bruntlett.  

 

Preview

Two previews of the NFC East from distant (objective?) observers.

 

Here and here. Each picks the Eagles third in the division.

No More Lelie

Whoops. The Raiders moved in fast and have already swooped up Lelie.

The Named Cuts

A sample of the big names that were released by their teams over the weekend in the final round of roster cuts. And it says how bad the quarterback situations are in Chicago and Minnesota that Chris Simms is mentioned as a possible solution in both cases.

 

From the Sporting News: “Running back Rudi Johnson and right tackle Willie Anderson both were cut by the Cincinnati Bengals; quarterback Joey Harrington and tight end Marcus Pollard were cut by the Atlanta Falcons; wide receiver Ashley Lelie was cut by the San Francisco 49ers; and defensive end Jerome McDougle was cut by the Philadelphia Eagles.”

 

Might the Eagles want to take a look at Lelie? For free?

Fan Rankings

Espn ranks the NFL fan bases. Eagle fans come in at #4. But you have to question any analysis that places Redskin fans in any top 10.

#1 game

Fox Sports lists the Cowboys-Eagles Week 17 contest as the #1 rated “games that will decide the season.” Click here for the top 10.

Congrats Q and DJ

Congratulations for Quinton Demps on his kickoff return touchdown that not only cemented his place on the team and as the starting kick returner, but also solidified – in combination with DeSean Jackson’s punt return TD - special teams coach Rory Segrest’s increasingly shaky status on Andy Reid’s coaching staff.

No Bloom

The Steelers have cut former Eagle KR/WR Jeremy Bloom.

Cutting Clemons?

Could Chris Clemons, the Eagles’ second highest profile free agent acquisition of the off season be cut?

 

It’s looking more and more like a possibility.

 

With Jim Johnson’s  public praise of Dan Klecko it appears that he is poised to make the team as the Eagles’ fourth defensive tackle (along with Bunkley, Patterson, and rookie Laws). Assuming the Eagles keep 9 defensive linemen total, that leaves Trent Cole, Juqua Parker, Darren Howard making the team with the Abiamiri, Clemons, and McDougle left to fill out the last two spots.

 

Abiamiri, of course, won’t be cut but his injury complicates the Eagles’ roster in this area. They could keep him on the active roster and wait the 6-8 weeks till his wrist heals. They could put him on the PUP list, which would preclude them from activating till something like the 8^th or 10^th week of the season. Or they could put him on IR and lose him for the entire season.

 

Whatever the Eagles decide to do will obviously impact the final decisions on Clemons and McDougle. All indications are that McDougle had a very good camp and the coaches are favorably disposed to the former 1^st round and star crossed defensive end.

 

And it is not without precedent that the Eagles wind up cutting one of their more high profile free agents. Remember when Jabar Gaffney was brought in to help shore up the receiving corps, only to be given his walking papers during training camp?

 

Clemons would be a more expensive mistake than Gaffney, as the Eagles would have to eat his $4 million signing bonus. Indeed, at this point that may be the only thing that keeps them from letting him go.

 

My best guess is that they essentially put off any final decisions about which of the 2 out of 3 to keep by placing Abiamiri on the physical unable to perform list, with the opportunity to activate him later this season. That would allow them to keep both Clemons and McDougle to start the season and give them plenty of games to finally see what Clemons looks like during practice and more importantly game conditions.

 

Still, it would not be a total shock to see them bid adieu to Clemons on the final roster cut down, though surely Clemons will land with another team in the very near future. Perhaps the Eagles could trade Clemons – they would still eat the signing bonus but at least they would be able to get some sort of draft pick value out of him. A trade would also keep Clemons out of the NFC East and any possibility of joining the Giants, who are so desperate for defensive end help after Umeniyora was lost for the season that they are actually considering bringing back retired Michael Strahan.

Bolt and Rocca's NFL Eligibility

If this Pro Football Talk rule reference is accurate concerning the eligibility of Usain Bolt for the NFL – he just can’t be signed as a free agent but has to pass through one draft so that each team has a crack at him – it raises the question of the status of Eagles punter Sav Rocca, the former Australian Rules football star who the Eagles signed as a free agent.

Maybe at some point Rocca - all the way from Australia - had the presence of mind to declare himself for an NFL draft while he was tearing up the Australian football circuit. But it is doubtful.

Democratic Wusses

My God, what will it take for congressional dems to kick someone out of the party for disloyalty?!?! For the second straight convention, a democratic senator (Lieberman) will speak in support of the republican nominee.

I understand the 51-49 senate situation, by jeez, Harry Reid et. al basically shrugging that Lieberman can speak to whoever he wants without any retribution or consequences just make them look pathetic and weak wussies. And why is it no Republican ever speaks in support of a Dem nominee?

Would it really be so bad if Reid kicked Lieberman out of the caucus and/or stripped him of his chairmanship? He should do it on the first day back in session. The R’s would burn 2 weeks in September organizing the chamber after the surprise move.

In some ways, it would hurt McConnell wouldn’t it? he’s in a tough reelection bid and the Dems could use parliamentary maneuvers to keep him in Washington rather than on the Kentucky campaign trail.

And a 50-50 senate would require Dick Cheney to emerge and appear on the senate floor to cast the deciding votes – what more could you ask to fire up Dems nationwide and give everyone the sense of what is at stake than Cheney tipping the Senate balance back to Republicans, courtesy of sanctimonious Joe Lieberman. Pathetic. Talk about rallying the base. And so long as the D’s have the House there is a firewall so nothing bad can be enacted (not that anything was going to pass anyway).

On another note, I came across this line in today’s New York Times story about Obama in PA. “political scientists tend to paint Pennsylvania in broad swaths: there is Philadelphia and its liberal-to centrist suburbs,….”

Doesn’t that sentence perfectly capture the damage Bush has done to his party? For 50 years Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery Counties have been the epitome of country club republicans. Now after 8 years of Bush-Cheney they are being described as “liberal to centrist” suburbs. Amazing.

In Praise of Curtis

Interesting article highlighting Curtis’ receiving accomplishments last year – given the Eagles non-emphasis on WR and also a reminder that….basically wide receiver is an after-thought in the Reid offense.

 

Writes Eric Karabell for ESPN.com, “The Eagles throw more than just about any other team in the NFL, so some might wonder how a second wide receiver can't become a key part of the offense. First of all, Brown wasn't bad in 2007. His season was strong enough to warrant No. 3 fantasy wide receiver status, with 61 catches for 780 yards. A look through team stats this decade indicates that it was the top season for a second Eagles wide receiver in the Reid-McNabb era. The last time a Philadelphia wide receiver not named Owens even topped 50 catches was 2002, when future Hall of Famers Todd Pinkston and James Thrash did it. Not only is it time for people to stop expecting a second Philly wide receiver to emerge, since it's such an unlikely event to start with, but we should look at what Curtis accomplished in 2007 as a terrific season totally out of line with this franchise for what, the past six seasons? What a year!”

Q Questions

Wait, I’m confused. Is Quintin Mikell the starter over Sean Considine at strong safety? Or is he the heir apparent to Brian Dawkins at free safety? Or is he both?

 

And where does the other “Q,” Quinton Demps fit into this safety lineup (besides kick returner)? Or does it depend on where Mikell eventually settles?

 

So many Qs, so many questions.

An Opposing View

The 5 things Patriot fans will be looking closely at during the Eagles-Patriots game.

The Final 53?

Inqy’s Bob Brookover gazes into his crystal ball to predict the Eagles’ final 53 man roster for the season.

 

The big uncertainties are at FB, offensive line, and defensive line.

 

Will Tony Hunt make the team as the fullback, since the Eagles are already full with 3 halfback slots gone (Westbrook, Bucky, and Booker)? Brookover says yes and so do I. Buh-bye Jason Davis, Jed Collins and Luke Lawton, though one of the first two might be kept on the practice squad as Hunt insurance.

 

Could Winston Justice be cut? Quite possibly. Amazing that 7^th rounder King Dunlap appears poised to make the team after an indifferent senior season at Auburn that caused his draft stock to plummet gover the third year, second round pick Justice.

 

At defensive line, Brookover has the Eagles keeping nine players but only 3 ½ tackles (Bunkley, Patterson, Laws, and the ½ Darren Howard). That leaves six defensive ends on the roster: Abiamiri, Clemons, Cole, Parker, Howard, and McDougle.

 

Brookover says the final spot will come down to between McDougle and Dan Klecko. While I would love to see the former first round pick finally redeem himself, I think the numbers suggest that the Eagles have too many ends and not enough tackles. Will that be enough to tip the scales toward Klecko and not McDougle in the final consideration? We shall see. And don’t entirely dismiss the possibility that they could keep both players and that Chris Clemons could be the odd man out.

Unlucky 13

Terrible loss for the Phils last night in not getting the sweep and adding to the league’s worst team’s 12 game losing streak.

 

How can the Phillies put two men on with no outs in the 8^th and not managed to score a run, nor score a run in the ninth after getting a leadoff single and a stolen base to put the tying run at second, again with no out.

 

Other thoughts:

 

Why did Manuel pinch hit for Durbin in the bottom of the 7^th. There were already 2 out. Even in foresight, it would have been better to send Durbin back out to protect the lead in the 8^th rather than have Jenkins pinch hit (he got a double) but was then stranded on second.

 

In the 8^th, did Manuel even contemplate a double steal with Werth and Utley given that it would have been difficult for the third baseman to cover the bag since he was partly shifted over with Howard up?

 

Shouldn’t Victorino have tried to steal earlier in Bruntlett’s at bat? And what a terrible sacrifice bunt at bat that was for Bruntlett. Also, Victorino looked pretty out on his steal of second.

 

What a wasted opportunity.

 

d-tackle

If the eagles are looking to bolster their interior defensive line, former Bird Ian Scott is available now.

The Good and Bad

How pathetic is the Eagles WR corps?

 

Kevin Curtis has to undergo sports hernia surgery and it basically decimates position. Undrafted free agents Hank Baskett and Greg Lewis (how long will he continue to hang on with this team? Answer – for as long as the Eagles refuse to upgrade at his position) are the backup plan, along with underperforming Jason Avant (why can’t the Eagles draft wideouts from pass-happy college conferences and not from run happy leagues like the Big 10?) and DeSean Jackson – a player who EVERYONE would have been happy with by contributing on special teams during his rookie season but who now is expected to become the Eagles #2 WR by opening day. Amazing.

 

It is telling that Kevin Curtis was the Rams #3 WR, yet managed in just one year to ascend to become the Eagles #1.

 

Losing Curtis for at least a month and getting him back at probably 70% for the rest of the season is bad enough. Worse is a lineup that has Brown, Avant, Baskett and G. Lew as your veteran pass catchers. Seriously, until proven otherwise those guys just may be worse than the infamous quintet of Torrance Small, Charles Johnson, James Thrash and Todd Pinkston.

 

The good news is that history has shown the Eagles have shown a willingness and ability to make the personnel moves they need to make to shore up shaky units, a la Levon Kirkland, in August. So the good news is that the Eagles are not afraid to pull the trigger to bring another player in to upgrade a position. The bad news is that we’re talking wide receiver here which means, like linebacker, the Eagles are almost incapable of gauging talent so whoever they acquire (Anquan Boldin excepted) probably won’t be the answer and will more likely be nothing more than a # WR, just like the rest of the current stiffs on the active roster (Jackson excluded).

Upshaw, RIP

Wow. NFLPA executive director Gene Upshaw has died. Who knew he was battling pancreatic cancer? I would think this throws the collective bargaining agreements – the owners’ desire to open it up early and any possible re-negotiation – into turmoil.

 

Upshaw’s legacy is mixed. His leadership made the union stronger, but it is still the weak sister to the uber-powerful baseball union. Those weaknesses are directly attributable to his cozy – some say much too cozy – relationship with then-NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue.

 

Yes, salaries are up, but that’s because league revenues have skyrocketed, not because of anything Upshaw did. And salaries of marquee NFL players still lag well below middling MLB journeymen. Moreover, salaries are skewed toward a small minority of players and there is an imbalance in the pay given to highly drafted rookies. The union also has not been strong in defending its members from league jurisprudence to say nothing of being positively impotent in the face of more teams aggressively trying to recoup signing bonuses from players (see guaranteed contracts above, and Vick, Michael, Williams, Ricky, Arrington, LaVar, etc.)

 

And it is an inexplicable crime that NFL players still don’t have guaranteed contracts. And we haven’t even mentioned the ongoing scandal surrounding the retired players’ pension fund.

 

And yet, on the positive sign, it does appear that Upshaw negotiated a pretty good CBA this last time around, even though owners still have too much latitude to siphon off ancillary revenues that for accounting purposes are not included in cap calculations. The deal is supposedly so good for the players that the owners want to terminate it early (which I think is a huge mistake on their part).

Bird Bored?

Rich Hoffman turns in a terrific article on the current attitude of Eagles fans that proves once again that the city’s best sports columnist firmly has fingers on the pulse of the fan base.

 

He very accurately captured the feelings of many Eagles’ fans, myself included. I am excited about the upcoming season, but not to the extent I have been in the recent past.

 

I think the Eagles will do well this year and should make the playoffs But that extra thrill that was there in the pre-season, especially from 2002-04, just isn’t there now. Heck, I can still recall how pumped I was for the 2001 season confident that the Eagles were a team on the rise, the Cowboys a decaying dynasty, and how they were going to surprise a lot of people over the course of the season. And it sure was fun being proved right.

 

I’m not sure I would call it a malaise. Maybe spoiled would be a better description for the fans’ attitude now.

 

You know what you are getting with this team. Barring disastrous injuries, the Eagles will be an above average team and very competitive. As fans, we’ve been down this road before. At this point, I think it is really about the super bowl. This coach, this quarterback, and this team have accomplished everything but that. The real excitement will come when the playoff push starts in earnest come October/November. At least, I think so.

 

More interesting, I think, is the impact this lack of excitement has on the Lurie/Banner “plan,” the notorious blueprint for remaining a top tier team. Though it is still too early to judge based on one season’s TV ratings and training camp attendance, they should probably be getting concerned that their strategy may inadvertently impede further fan interest/excitement and opportunities to grow their business.

 

I wonder if the consistently excellent teams of this Eagles’ era – the Patriots, Steelers, Seahawks and Packers – are facing similar issues with their fan bases?

 

 

Spikes Sighting

I’m not sure which was a bigger surprise: that Byron Leftwich is just now signing with a team or Takeo Spikes hadn’t been grabbed till now. Even more remarkable, the Steelers only got Leftwich cause backup Charlie Batch got hurt. I can’t believe all 32 teams thought their existing backups were better than Byron Leftwich. It’s stuff like this that gives lie to the NFL as the “most competitive” industry in America.

 

On Spikes - I remain mystified at the Eagles decision to cut Spikes loose. Yes, he made $5 million, but that is small change when you are talking about a championship contending team and a veteran player that gives you experience and flexibility to play all three of the linebacking positions – one of the perennial problem areas on this team under Reid. It just strikes me as penny-wise and pound foolish in the bigger scheme of things. Especially when you consider that the Eagles will likely, again, be well under the salary cap when everything is said and done on the 2008 season.

All 80

Who’s having the best Eagles’ training camp. Here’s one complete 1-80 ranking of all the players to this point.

 

A couple notable things:

 

·         Jerome McDougle at 12?! Is it possible that this till-now first round bust could actually make the team, or is this the typical McDougle tease of promise that got him that made him a first round pick to begin with?

 

·         Hank Baskett has had the best camp of anybody? Maybe so, when you are the guy tapped to practice red zone fade routes with the franchise QB.

 

·         Correll Buckhalter #4. My gosh, Bucky is a survivor. But he’s always looked good in camp. Let’s see if he blows out a knee (again) in a meaningless preseason game.

 

·         Speaking of which, Tony Hunt at 70? Yikes. Good thing for the big back that Ryan Moats still appears to be the odd man out in the backfield.

 

·         Hey, look. The $57 million man Asante Samuel is ranked 76, just in front of three players who haven’t played in camp yet (not counting Abiamiri’s two days before breaking his wrist). Not what you want to see from your main free agent acquisition. I wonder if Jeff Lurie has any comment on Samuel’s training stats? You know, like yards per attempt? Or hamstrings strained.

 

·         Familiar names that probably aren’t making the team: Montae Reagor (70), Michael Gasperson (71) (can someone put this perennial practice squader out of his misery?), Matt Schobel (69).

 

Also, note to the author of these rankings. Fans weren't making fun of the Feeley/Tatupu connection (#45) because of a Monday night blowout several years ago, but because Tatupu picked off Feeley in the red zone with less than 2:00 to go last year to seal the win for the Seahawks.

A 4 D-End Front?

This unusual defensive alignment…or is it personnel package…”grouping” (?) is news to me.

 

Where have I been this pre-season. Of course, when you’re defensive line is loaded with D-Ends, having them serve as d-tackles on occasion kind of makes sense if for no other reason than from a numbers issue.

 

Big Fake?

Here’s one guy that is very skeptical of Shawn Andrews’ depression.

 

Andrews may or may not be suffering from depression. But doesn’t his strange behavior (going back several years but most notably about the extent of his ankle injury last year) suggest some sort of mental instability – above, beyond, and more severe than just some “immaturity?”

But What about the Bears?

The Packers trade of Brett Favre to the Jets has an usual condition. If the Jets re-trade him to the Vikings, the Jets owe the Packers 3 first round draft picks. I appreciate the Pack’s desire to keep Favre away from a division rival. But, um, there is another team in the NFC North with a ferocious defense and desperately in need of a QB upgrade besides the Norsemen. Curiously, no reporting (yet, though you would think it would tie in with the Viking news) about a similar condition on the Jets if they re-trade Favre to the Bears.

Three Weeks of Damage

Is the Phillies season on the line in the next three weeks? Maybe, maybe not but we will find out a lot about the post-season prospects for this team. My friend PK writes:

 

There are the links to the current standings and the Phillies schedule for the rest of August.

Last time I wrote an analysis like this, it was 2 months ago and the Phillies were on the verge of a series with the Marlins and what followed after that was a 12-game stretch against really good baseball teams (including the Cards, Red Sox and Angels). I said we'd find out how good a team we were in that stretch, and we proceeded to go 4-12 overall. That set the tone for a bad July.

Now, once again we're on the verge of another critical series with the Marlins -- but what follows after that are 17 games against teams that collectively are 62 games below .500: Pittsburgh, Dodgers, Padres, Nats, Dodgers.

We head into this series against the Marlins with our pitching lineups set up about as nice we could ask, with Moyer getting the ball tomorrow night. After that Kyle "Lieutentant, did you order the Code Red" Kendrick is next, followed by Hamels.

We probably just need to take 1 of the 3 games, 2 of 3 would be incredible; 3 of 3, out of this world. But those next 17 games are against bad teams, with only 1 of those bad teams getting any better these days (the Dodgers with Manny). Over this 20-game stretch, 12-8 is minimum what we should hope for; 13-7 would be nice. This is the stretch of a season where you can build a little cushion for the final month and the vicious part of your schedule.

Because, once we get through these 20 games, we get 6 straight games with the Mets and Cubs.

We need to do some damage the next 3 weeks.

Celek Catching On

Good news for McNabb and the Eagles offense if TE Brent Celek can continue to build on and improve from his rookie season. As this story correctly notes, McNabb loves hooking up with his tight ends. Chad Lewis was McNabb’s sure handed, security blanket check down for years.

 

And a reliable Celek combined with LJ Smith would give the Eagles another offensive wrinkle (passing from double tight end formations, anyone?) to go with the matchup problems that Brian Westbrook creates.

 

As my friend Scott noted last year, what kind of gets lost in the focus on McNabb’s recovery from knee surgery was the absence of LJ Smith for extended stretches last year and the sports hernia that did impact his play when he was on the field. Like him or loathe him - and most fans loathe him when he fumbles one away – a healthy Smith was a significant factor in the Eagles offense. It’s the main reason the Eagles franchise tagged him even after his injury-filled and ultimately disappointing 2007 season. The fact that the Eagles weren’t willing to risk letting him leave when even when it appeared there would be few suitors for his services should tell you something. LJ simply makes the offense better.

 

A fully recovered McNabb, a healthy Smith looking to put up big numbers in a contract year, and a rising Brent Celek. All encouraging signs. Especially if Celek can become the tight end Matt Schobel should have been.

Get Well Shawn Andrews

Get well, Shawn. You’re in our thoughts and prayers.  

I like these odds

The Eagles are 20-1 and in some touts 25-1 to win the Super Bowl. No word on the odds to win the NFC Championship, but obviously must be less than that. I like those odds.

 

Sports books also put the over/under total number of Eagles’ wins this season at 8.5, though apparently, the oddsmakers can’t bring themselves to raise that total to 9 since the +8.5 pays out at -165 and under 8.5 is +135.

9 to Shine?

Foxsports pegs these 9 players as poised for breakout years. Alas, no Eagles on the list. Fortunately, only 3 of the 9 are NFC players and only one – Justin Tuck – plays in the division. The other NFC players are Greg Jennings (Packers) and Barrett Ruud (Bucs).

Hester Holdout

Devin Hester is exhibit 1A (behind exhibit 1, Brian Westbrook) as to the unfairness of the NFL’s salary cap and structure. And I tend to agree with Pro Football Talk’s advocacy for some sort of performance pay supplement to rookie contracts. But while Hester is an ideal example of the unfortunate vagaries of the salary cap, he is the worst example for performance pay.

 

First and foremost, he’s a punt returner. An electrifying, game-changing punt returner, but a punt returner nonetheless. So how much more performance pay could Hester earn – over fellow punt returners – that would accurately compensate him for his abilities. Hint: not enough. Why: cause he’s a punt returner. As game-changing as he is, how can you actually quantify his statistical worth accurately? Someone get Adam Schefter on the case.

Uh-oh

Great. Westbrook showed up, but Shawn Andrews didn’t. That contract unhappiness came out of nowhere. Or is it just for “personal” reasons. Who knows, it’s not good.

Phillies' Missed Opportunity

A friend writes:

 

Last night (Wednesday night) was a real missed opportunity.  The Tuesday night comeback was a huge deal in New York.  The papers and the talk shows were all talking about last year collapse, yada, yada.  And then Myers  comes out and walks four people and gives up 2 runs on no hits right out of the gate.  I think the Phillies really could have hammered a mental nail in last night, and they didn't.  Bullpen has been great this year, but Madson's pitch to Reyes was reminiscent of a BottomFeeder park meatball.  Still, the only thing I am really annoyed about is that the next batter didn't catch a fastball in the ear for Reyes' antics.  LA and Wheels were going nuts watching his crap. 

Favre?

The Packers called the Eagles about trading Favre? Bizarre.

Tonight

Hopefully, if we get a halfway decent outing out of Myers tonight, on national tv no less, than maybe the Phils can build on last night's 9th inning come from behind victory and really make it a season-turning point - for both them and the Mets.

All on McNabb...Again

Great article by John Smallwood about the prospects for the 2008 Eagles and the “preparations” they’ve made for a championship run.

 

How you see the article (and the Eagles this year) depends on whether you accept Smallwood’s premise that “The Eagles' championship

aspirations for 2008 lie almost exclusively on McNabb returning to the form he had in 2004 when the Birds went 13-3 and advanced to the Super Bowl.”

 

Are the Eagles, especially on offense, still counting on #5 to carry them all the way? And if so, what does that say (or not say) about Kevin Kolb?

 

Smallwood’s analysis: “The problems are that after his serious injuries, McNabb is not individually capable of being that player, and in lieu of that, the Eagles have not upgraded enough things around him to make up the difference. The debate about whether it is McNabb or the receivers is moot. What is clear is that at a time in his career when McNabb needs great receivers, he only has good ones.”

 

Could the coaches and front-office improved the situation? Probably.

Still the Toast of the Town

Certainly the Eagles’ grip on the city has loosened in the past couple of years. But they are still the king of the Philadelphia sports scene, and will remain so. Still, it is interesting to think that like the NFC East, the Eagles have had their way with their intra-city rivals over the past decade because their opposition all fell on tough times. And like the NFC East, the Phillies and Flyers have rebuilt and are more of a challenge to the Eagles supremacy than earlier this decade.

 

Favre

Not sure why Packers’ fans are clamoring to have retired/not retired Brett Favre “reinstated” as the starting quarterback in Green Bay. Have they all completely forgotten the NFC Championship? When sainted #4 basically through the game away in OT with the worst playoff/OT INT since, well, since he threw up a similarly wounded duck right into the hands of Brian Dawkins in the Pack-Eagles divisional contest?

 

At some point, Green Bay has to make a clean break with Favre and get on with the business of the post-Brett era. And really, Favre’s annual waffling over whether to play another season is getting old. And that’s from a distant fan’s perspective. It must be absolutely hell for the Packers’ front office in trying to figure out personnel moves, offensive strategy/game planning, and salary cap management when the hall of fame and former franchise QB keeps them guessing as to whether he’ll play again each year.

 

Unfortunately for Favre, the two best teams he fits with right now – good defenses, underperforming offenses, currently terrible QBs – are the Bears and Vikings. It’s completely understandable and only prudent that the Pack not cut Favre loose and let him go to either of those two teams.

 

Could he play this year for someone else? Probably. Carolina? But could we all get past watching Favre in some other jersey besides the green and gold? And what if he’s not only not wearing Packer green, but isn’t wearing #4? Would Carolina kicker John Kasay be willing to part with #4? Kasay has been in the league two years longer than St. Brett.

 

Stay tuned.

Giving Him his Due

The perennially maligned Pat Burrell gets some props for being the steady Eddie of the first half of the season. Some of these numbers are kind of surprising for a guy with a reputation as a whiff king and choke artist.

 

From the Inqy: “Burrell has remained one of the most consistent presences in the lineup. He leads the team with 93 starts, and his on- base percentage has been over .400 since the fourth game of the season. He is hitting .275, with 23 home runs and 57 RBI, and in moments like his eighth-inning at-bat against Chad Qualls, has shown a penchant for putting the team on his back at opportune times. Thirty-eight of his RBI have occurred in tied or one-run situations, and he is hitting .320 in "late-and-close" situations (plate appearances that occur in the seventh inning or later with the score tied or the tying run at least on deck).”

Blownership

Professional sports owners have no shame. In Washington, the new owners of the Washington Nationals, the Lerner family, is withholding its rent payments to the city because their new stadium- which they’ve been using – is “substantially incomplete.” As if to add insult to injury, the Lerners are also seeking $100,000 per day in damages from the city.

 

That’s the thanks the city gets for building and paying for a $611 million state of the art baseball facility that was in time for opening day.

 

The Lerner’s largesse knows know bounds. This story reveals that they even wanted the city to pay for the team’s uniforms?!

We're #1

One man (not me) ranks the NFL’s fan bases and concludes that the Eagles’ fans are the league’s best. Of course.

(typical Eagles fan (not Eagleseye))

In order:

10. Dallas Cowboys

9. Chicago Bears

8. Buffalo Bills

7. Denver Broncos

6. Pittsburgh Steelers

5. Green Bay Packers

4. Cleveland Browns

3. Oakland Raiders

2. Kansas City Chiefs

1. Philadelphia Eagles

Impossible?

In this television age, I didn't think it possible that a major professional sports team - in this case MLB's Washington Nationals - would have more fans personally attend the games than watch them on TV.

The Nationals, whose games are broadcast on either MASN or MASN2, are drawing a 0.39 average rating and an average of 9,000 households in the Washington market, according to the report.

(Note "MASN" is the local sports channel available on most basic cable/satellite programming packages in the greater DC region).

As if to add insult to injury, the article goes on to try to rationalize that Nationals' ratings will rise when the team gets better just like what happened with the Washington Capitals, who

"saw their local ratings spike during their late-season surge last season. The Capitals broadcasts drew a 0.78 rating and an average of 17,940 households on Comcast SportsNet and CSN+."

In other words, the Nationals' TV ratings are HALF that of the city's hockey team. Does it get any worse than that as far as fan interest in baseball? Doubtful.

Major league city my a**.

Disabled QB

In fairness to McNabb, he has had reconstructive knee surgery. Though one would think a player so careful with his image would be sure not to park in a handicapped parking spot.

National Look at Eagles

Terrific team profile of the Eagles in the nation’s newspaper. An insightful analysis by McNabb on the infamous “window of opportunity,” a great quote by Reid about his draft philosophy, a telling statistic about the offense (and Reid’s red zone play calling), and an encouraging stat about how McNabb closed out the season and perhaps foretelling his complete recovery in 2008 from his ACL injury.

 

Alas, a couple of minor quibbles. To wit, no in Philadelphia is expecting offensive contributions from Desean Jackson this year, or if they are it is as a bonus to what he can/should contribute on special teams. It pains me to say this, but Akers is not playing at a pro bowl level right now, though he has through most of his career. And finally, even if this team “stumbles out of the gate,” there won’t be any quick move toward Kolb and “youth movement.” If the Eagles have shown anything over the years is that NFL season is a looooong campaign, where anything can happen and no team is truly out of it until they are officially eliminated from the playoffs.

"Almost" Mamula

Almost raising a lot of money for charity. Interesting that Jay Fiedler, Jon Runyan, and Ron Jaworski participate in his golf tournament. Seriously, good for Mamula for doing something for someone other than himself.

Rookie Pay Scale

Roger Goodell calls the rookie pay scale "ridiculous."

What's so interesting is that this puts him at odds with union boss Gene Upshaw, who for some bizarre reason continues to defend the exorbitant pay being doled out to draftees who aren't even members of his union until they sign those mammoth contracts. What's also interesting is that given the NFL's salary cap, this would be a front burner issue for the owners. After all, why should they care how the money is distributed, it's still coming from a finite pool of funds. More money for rookies just means less for veterans but in the end is still the same amount being paid out by teams. (Note one concern from the owners might be the bonus cash, which teams have to payout up front.).

Can't help but think Goodell's position is a negotiating tactic in the upcoming bargaining with the union over a new CBA and an attempt to divide the union and undermine Upshaw's standing with the players because of his ludicrous position on the issue.

NFL Labor Strife

We cannot fail to recognize Paul Domo's stellar article yesterday detailing the who, what and whys of the looming NFL labor battle in the wake of the owner's 32-zip vote to terminate the CBA two years early. Who knew Domo could be this insightful? Still, one wonders why the article appeared when it did...a month after the vote occurred and a month before the start of training camp. Hardly the time of year when the fans' focus is on anything NFL.

A couple of thoughts: I've been a long-time critic of union boss Gene Upshaw but this article reveals some shrewdness to Upshaw's actions. Maybe he really is crazy like a fox.

For as good as Upshaw is portrayed, new commish Roger Goodell comes off not so good. Indeed, he's described as a hot-headed less than smooth operator still feeling his way into the job.

In my opinion, the owners would be crazy to think they would be better off without a salary cap. Just look around at all the leagues that are going or have gone to a cap system. They should ask themselves why no one is moving away from a cap and why the MLB union fights to the death to avoid a cap. My prediction is that salaries would eventually EXPLODE without a cap. Their instincts to preserve the cap and approve the current deal were the correct call. Trust your instinct.

I don't know if the current deal is unfavorable to owners or not. Me thinks that teams are still very profitable and that owners are loathe to open their books and reveal all of the moeny they take out (in the form of salaries and other financial bennies) or take in as "non-league" revenue, which doesn't count toward the salary cap. But are the owners really willing to go to war over a lousy two percentage points in the salary cap which is the difference between the old percentage of league revenue (56% I think) and the 60% now? Maybe they are.

Here's the guts of the owner's argument.

"Smaller-market teams aren't doing great because they've got lower revenues [from older stadiums] and high player costs," a league executive said. "Then you've got the bigger markets where the team overwhelmingly had to pay for the stadium. They got some public contribution, but it wasn't much. They have the higher payroll plus all that debt and stadium operating expenses. Plus, in Gene's world, a bill for revenue-sharing. So you end up with a deal that works for neither [small-market or big-market teams]."

And Upshaw's trump card in negotiations

"They are essentially renting a system from us," he said. "We agreed to give them a salary cap for a specific period of time. They agreed to pay us 60 percent of the revenues for that cap. When they decide not to do that anymore, that's fine.

"But if they ever decide they don't want a salary cap, and then wake up one day and change their mind and decide, 'You know what, maybe we need that,' guess what? The price is going to be a lot higher than it is now. And they're not going to want that."

Considine to FS?

Hometown look at Sean Considine. Interesting that Considine considers himself a free safety and that he wound up out playing SS Michael Lewis to first earn a starting job. If Quinton Mikell continues to perform well at strong safety, could Considine be shifted over and become the heir apparent to B. Dawk that the Eagles have been trying to find now for three years?

Mays and Butz

Eagles rookie Joe Mays has signed a $2.6 million contract. Not bad for a 6^th rounder out of North Dakota State (it’s the standard rookie scale salary). More interesting is that his agent is Dave Butz.

 

The Dave Butz who was one of the famed Redskins’ “Hogs?” I don’t know.

A Sad Joke

And a sad commentary on Democratic counterattacks. Four years after the Swift Boat ads sank John Kerry’s presidential aspirations, his comrades in arms are NOW going to defend their records.

McNabb Psy-Ops?

Is McNabb stoking the team turmoil of Jeremy Shockey and Plaxico Burress' holdouts? Is Eli Manning strong enough to lay down the law to his offensive playmakers? Question one is open to interpretation. Question two is a firm, "no."

"Plax is one of the top wide receivers in the NFL," McNabb said. "He wants to be paid and all these wide receivers are getting new contracts."

Rendell Pays Bet Debt

Fast Eddie had to pay up for losing his bet against Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm for the Pens Stanley Cup Finals loss to the Red Wings.

Rendell in Red Wings attire while preparing to down a meal of Detroit's Kowalski sausages, Faygo Rock and Rye soda and Michigan cherries.Had the Penguins hoisted Lord Stanley's cup, Granholm would have had to don a Penguins jersey while downing a meal of hot dogs from Oakland's Original Hot Dog Shop, a Primanti Bros. sandwich and cookies from Eat 'n Park.

Rendell is a notorious ladies man and Granholm the hottest looking governor since, well, probably forever. Could their side bet have been who got on top?

7-2

Those are the betting odds for the Eagles to win the NFC East, the same as the Giants.

Dallas has the lowest odds in the division at 5-8 and the Redskins have the highest odds at 8-1.

I like the Eagles' odds.

Coverup Successful

It appears that the last hope of football fans to get to the bottom of the NFL's Spygate scandal has faded after Sen. Arlen Specter said he doesn't expect to pursue the issue any further.

To his credit, Specter was the only high ranking sports, media, or government official concerned enough about rampant cheating within the nation's premier sports league and its top team to even bother giving it more than a cursory examination. Alas, Specter's decision to beg off the simmering controversy over game fixing among NBA refs is the standard operating posture for state and federal officials.

More traditionally, Specter said he will focus on the NFL's anti-trust exemption and public financing of its stadiums. Funny how all of Specter's critics who questioned his involvement with spygate as being beneath the interests of a United States Senator never ever raise a peep when these same legislators are doling out millions of dollars to sports team owners in the form of construction subsidies.

Defensive Line Surprise

The surprise news along the defensive line wasn't that the Eagles re-signed Kimo van Oelhoffen but that the Eagles cut second year player Lajuan Ramsey.

Van Oelhoffen played in eight games last year while Ramsey has played in 15 games over his first two season. Or is it cause Ramsey caught the attention of league officials last year with several flagrant fouls? How ironic if that is the case since Van Oelhoffen is most notorious for the far more memorable and devastating (yet clean) hit that shredded Carson Palmer's knee in the 2006 playoffs.

Boston Backlash

A local perspective on the backlash against Red Sox Nation. Surprisingly, though, no mention of the recent success of the Patriots and the Celtics, which have only added to the general smugness and insufferableness of Boston sports fans. Indeed, the Sports Guy, who always had an anti-Philly bias, is practically unreadable now.

Boston and Philly fans used to be simpatico losers, wallowing in their sports misery and heartache. That is simply no longer the case, with Boston fans enjoying a nearly unprecedented embarrassment of championship riches and Philly fans....well, you know.

Still, Boston fans are a cautionary tale about being careful what you wish for. Money quote from the comment section:

The irony of the whole Red Sox nation garbage is that the Red Sox have turned into exactly what they once hated - a cheaper imitation of the Yankees. They spend tons of money in a league too afraid of the MLBPA to get any kind of reasonable salary cap and rape the lesser have nots of their young talent - the Marlins are their version of the Kansas City Athletics. And now their fans once the AL version of the Cubs fans are now an obnoxious group of braggarts. Congrats Boston you have achieved what I thought would have been impossible 10 years ago - you have actually found a way to have this South Philly boy root for the Yankees, at least they are the original and not a cheap imitation.

Stern Continues to Deny Refgate Accusations

NBA commissioner David Stern continues to deny disgraced former ref Tim Donaghy's charges that the refs sometimes do the league's bidding in officiating games.

Says Stern,

"On behalf of my officials, I'd like to tell you that they don't engage in the criminal conduct of which Mr. Donaghy has accused them. Our officials try very hard with complete integrity and honesty to referee perfect games. That they fail in that makes them human but not objects of the kind of ridicule and scorn to which they have been unfairly subjected for the last three days."

in other words, NBA refs don't do fix games...except the ones that do. Like, you know, Stern's fformer employee Mr. Tim Donaghy.

McNabb in "Hot Seat"

Donovan McNabb tops this Sports Illustrated list, literally, of players on the "hot seat" and need to produce "early" in 2008. Silly SI. Philly fans are famous for their impatience, and given the high expectations - again - for this Eagles team, most Eagles players, but McNabb in particular, need to produce early and often this season.

1. Donovan McNabb, QB, Philadelphia Eagles: Though it is not being talked about much in Philadelphia, if the Eagles get off to a horrific start, some members of the organization and fan base may clamor to see what Kevin Kolb can do. The oft-injured McNabb is now having some shoulder issues, a bad sign for a quarterback in June. Andy Reid's loyalty to McNabb leads one to believe he will be given every chance to succeed, especially given some of the holes he has led this team out of in the past. But at some point this organization has proven they will move on if they have to.

The Next Dozen

My friend PK writes:

 

Here's the sked.
http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com/schedule/index.jsp?c_id=phi

Our next 12 games are against 4 teams whose combined records put them 45 games over .500. This is not do-or-die, or anything close to it, but it's certainly a gut-check stretch of baseball to test out just how good we really are (or aren't).

Donaghy and Baseball

Is Tim Donaghy basketball's disreputable but truth-telling, secret revealing, version of Jose Canseco?

Refgate

Michael Wilbon equates the emerging NBA "Refgate" with the NFL's "Spygate"...sort of.

Wilbon makes some good points about the need for disclosure and a fuller NBA investigation rather than commish David Stern's denials and stonewalling. But Wilbon can't decide if an Arlen Specter-type congressional crusader is a good thing, or a bad thing - for either the iintegrity of the NBA or NFL. Moreover, I'm not sure how "obsessively" the media covered spygate since it seems like most journalists went out of their way to downplay the significance of the Patriots cheating in an AFC championship.

Bottomline: everyone agrees the game 6 of the 2002 conference finals between the Lakers and Kings was one of the worst officiated games in league history. Disgraced former ref Tim Donaghy has provided an explanation for it. The onus is now on Stern and the league to explain why or how they allowed it to be so poorly officiated. In this debate about Refgate, perhaps one reporter could do us all a favor and as Stern directly about Game 6 with the benefit of six years worth of hindsight.

Another "Sweep"

Lost in all the euphoria over the Phillies sweep of the Braves and the Mets concurrent three losses that were in essence another Phillies sweep of them, perhaps we all overlooked the cellar dwelling Nationals who were swept by the Giants in a four game series this weekend (which concluded last night).

Thus, if you are scoring at home, the Phillies 3 game sweep of the
Braves and subsequent Mets/Nationals losses means the Phillies gained three games in the standings over every team but the Marlins in the division over the weekend. Incredible.

NBA Smoking Gun

My brother called me and asked, "did you hear about Tim Donaghy?"

Honest to gosh, my first thought/response was, "he's dead."

But no, Tim Donaghy is the rogue ref now revealing David Stern's deepest game "manipulating" secrets.

Specifically, Donaghy has told a federal court about improper conduct by the the league and referee involvement regarding some of the more questionably officiated games in recent memory.

In particular, Donaghy sheds light on just how fixed game 6 of the 2002 Lakers-Kings playoff series. "Company men" referees were assigned to that game in order to extend the series because it which was "in the NBA's interest to add another game to the series." Donaghy details the fouls that were committed by the Lakers that were overlooked as well as the "made up fouls" that were called on the Kings.

Donaghy's bombshell could not come at a worse time for the NBA, with the Lakers, beneficiaries of David Stern's ratings-mania back in 2002, now going up against the Boston Celtics in the finals. This series itself has caused many to question how interested and involved league officials were in trying to set up this series matchup between the league's two glamour teams. An issue that came to a head after a questionable no call the Lakers benefited from in the conference finals versus the Spurs.

The Lakers are playing at home tonight and down 2-0 are desperate for a win. After Donaghy's revelations to federal law enforcement authorities, it will be fascinating to see how interested the NBA is in keeping the Lakers alive.

Bore-Gush, revisited - Paul Krugman - Op-Ed Columnist - New York Times Blog

My favorite newspaper columnist points out the difference between "centrist" and "maverick" and wonders why the rest of the media can't make the distinction.

Phillies Yankees Connection...Again

As if right on cue, Sam Donellon channels my friend PK in harkening back to the middle relief of the late 90s New York Yankees as a point of reference for the current Phillies pen. Weird that PK made this very same observation - the very same team and players - yesterday and Donnellon writes about it today.

This year's pitching staff has two complete games, both by Cole Hamels. Yet, the starters lead the league in innings pitched. There is a sense, even from Adam Eaton these days, that each has grasped what it takes to pitch for this team, particularly in their home park. Throw strikes, walk few, eat innings, keep it close. It might not have been a foolproof formula when your middle relievers were named Mesa, Alfonseca and Geary, but the group out there now has been good enough to draw comparisons to that Yankees bullpen of the late '90s, the one with Ramiro Mendoza and Mariano Rivera at the end, and guys like Jeff Nelson and Mike Stanton covering the sixth and seventh.

Sayanora Strahan

One guy who won't miss Michael Strahan's retirement is Eagles tackle Jon Runyan. Yes, Strahan sacked 12 1/2 times and dumped Eagles QBs a total of 21 1/2 times over the past eleven years. But it could have been worse

McNabb said today, “Jon has gotten the better of him a bunch of times. I think that’s something people overlook. They look at Strahan and (his sack numbers), but we’ve had great games versus those guys. Jon has (proved) himself one of the top offensive linemen in the game. He needs to be recognized as it.”

I’ve watched many of those battles, and talked to Strahan about it too, and McNabb has a point. Runyan more than held his own on numerous occasions against one of the finest pass rushers in the game. And given the number of times they faced off – twice a year for almost all of the last 11 seasons – the numbers could have been much, much worse...“He runs around for 60 plays and gets one sack, he had a good day. I give up one sack, I had a bad day.” [said Runyann]

1958 vs. Today

Former Inqy writer Mark Bowden has a new book out about the 1958 NFL championship, aka the Best Game Ever.

As part of his research, Bowden got to sit down with Andy Reid and analyze the game tape. Though not the focus of the book, the result is an interesting peek into the seismic evolution of the professional game.

The Phightin Phils

We’re all basking in the Phillies three game sweep of the Braves and the Mets’ 3 losses to the Padres.

My friend PK takes stock of the Phightin’s:

The bullpen is the story of the year, I think. The offense is beginning to get where it was last year, now that J-Roll is back and Howard is heating up.

But the bullpen is unreal. Flash has actually settled down, Romero is just ridiculous against lefties and Madsen and the others have been great at keeping the team in the game if the starter only goes 4, 5 or 6 innings, which is all you can ask of the guys in the lower end of the 'pen. Throw in Lidge's absolute dominance, and it's scary.

Remember, from '96 threw '00, when they won 4 rings, the key to the Yanks was their absolute shutdown bullpen combined with clutch hitting. Their lineup then -- the one that won those World Series rings -- wasn't that brutal. It was just a very solid lineup that knew how to get the clutch hit, not just Jeter, but also O'Neil, Brosius, Leyard, Posada. (Remember, the '98 Yanks, which won 125 games, didn't have a single starter in the All Star game.)

But they had a shut-down 'pen, which meant that as long as the starter gave them 6 innings in the playoffs, then Lloyd, Nelson, Rivera were gonna kill the other team's hitters, and gave their bats the chance to win it.

That's what the Phillies 'pen is doing right now. Bad sports analogy coming here, but great middle relievers are like great shutdown corners. When they really do their jobs well, you don't even notice them in the game. Oh well, la di da, it's the 6th and 7th inning and the opponents just went down in order, 1-2-3, 1-2-3, that's nice, ho hum. Or, when a corner is really on, you don't even notice it because the opposing offense doesn't even try to throw to that guy's cover.

Yet they're invaluable come playoff crunch time. God, I hope these guys can stay healthy.

BTW, I feel an Utley SI cover coming very soon, once the NBA championships are over.

2 for 1

With the Mets having been swept by the Padres this weekend, it’s like the Phillies swept both the Braves AND the Mets this past weekend since the Phils gained 3 games on each division rival.

 

3 years ago today

Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan's testimony on the U.S. economic outlook from June 9, 2005, where he first mentioned "froth" in the housing industry.

"Although we certainly cannot rule out home price declines, especially in some local markets, these declines, were they to occur, likely would not have substantial macroeconomic implications. Nationwide banking and widespread securitization of mortgages make it less likely that financial intermediation would be impaired than was the case in prior episodes of regional house price corrections. Moreover, a substantial rise in bankruptcies would require a quite-significant overall reduction in the national housing price level because the vast majority of homeowners have built up substantial equity in their homes despite large home equity withdrawals in recent years financed by the mortgage market."

Dick Vermeil

Chester County loves Dick Vermeil, and Vermeil loves Chester County.

Chester County allows you to live in the country but still be close enough to enjoy the city,” Vermeil added. “It’s close to New York and Baltimore and the airport, so I can go where I want to go. But when I am home, I really am home.”...

“Chester County has been good to me and this gives me a chance to give something back,” he said.

New Starter at Strong Safety?

So it's official? Quintin Mikell is now the starter at strong safety over Sean Considine.

Inqy Buries Hamels Lead

Yes, Cole Hamels was dominating this afternoon. And the Inqy dutifully reports that Hamels recorded his second "career shutout."

But what the Inqy doesn't elaborate on, for reasons not entirely clear, is that this is Hamels second shutout in three weeks. And in an era of specialty relievers galore, it is also Hamels' second complete game of the season. And it's only early June.

Why the distinction of his career numbers and not of Hamels' domination over the first two months of the season is perplexing. As was the breathless coverage of Ken Griffey, Jr. NOT hitting his 600th homer vs. the Phillies.

A Griffey Fan

I can't believe I can't find any pictures - anywhere - of Donovan McNabb decked out in Phillie pinstripes for his batting practice appearance before last night's game. How is that possible?

And I find it interesting that McNabb is such a huge Ken Griffey, Jr. fan - which was the impetus of his attendance at the Reds-Phillies game.

Does McNabb see something of himself in Griffey? A monstrous talent - Hall of Fame talent - whose skills tailed off noticeably after chronic injuries diminished their skills and robbed them of playing time.

I also find it hard to believe that "The Kid," (and not the "Big Kid") is seven years older than McNabb!?

Sheppard Declines Optional Workout

In addition to the breathless reports that disgruntled CB Lito Sheppard chose not to attend the Eagles' voluntary minicamp, the Philly media tries to stir the pot by speculating whether Lito would boycott the mandatory team activities. (Hint: he won't).

"The guys that are here are getting extra practice time," RPublish Posteid said, perhaps indicating that both players might have put themselves in jeopardy -- Sheppard in terms of starting ahead of Sheldon Brown and Young in terms of making the roster.

Funny. Assante Samuel never attended a single Eagles practice before being promoted to starter. In fact, Samuel was proclaimed the starting left corner over Lito less than one hour after officially joining the team. So I don't think Lito is too worried about whether practice time will determine who the starters are.

2008 Rankings?

Paul Domowitch got a jump on the competition to issue his 2008 NFL team rankings. I suppose the hook was the Eagles voluntary minicamp...even though opening day isn't for another three months. But what the hey.

Dallas at #1? Top 4 but not necessarily sure about 1. Green Bay at 6? With untested Aaron Rodgers a first time starter? I don't think so. According to Domo the Eagles are #3 in their own division and 5th in the NFC.

Why Democrats Suck

Regardless of your feelings about Bill Clinton, you have to admit the truth of Jay Carson's pointed description of the difference between Rs and Ds.

“The ills of the Democratic Party can be seen perfectly in the willingness of fellow Democrats to say bad things about President Clinton. If you ask any Republican about Reagan they will say he still makes the sun rise in the morning, but if you ask Democrats about their only two-term president in 80 years, a man who took the party from the wilderness of loserdom to the White House and created the strongest economy in American history, they’d rather be quoted saying what a reporter wants to hear than protect a strong brand for the party. Republicans look at this behavior and laugh at us.”

MVPs

Has any team ever had back, to back, to back MVPs?

Michael Crichton's 1993 prediction of mass-media extinction now looks on target. - By Jack Shafer - Slate Magazine

One of my favorite authors provides a withering critique of the state of American media/journalism. One of his key complaints is especially relevant in the wake of the "Russert Declaration" several weeks ago.

"Look at how many stories are unsourced or have unnamed sources. Look at how many stories are about what 'may' or 'might' or 'could' happen," he says. "Might and could means the story is speculation. Framing as I described means the story is opinion. And opinion is not factual content."

"The biggest change is that contemporary media has shifted from fact to opinion and speculation. You can watch cable news all day and never hear anything except questions like, 'How much will the Rev. Wright hurt Obama's chances?' 'Is Hillary now looking toward 2012?' 'How will McCain overcome the age argument?' These are questions for which there are endless answers. Contentious hosts on cable shows keep the arguments rolling," he says.

Taylor Pas De Deux

The fit is so obvious even the NFL is reporting that a Jason Taylor trade to the Eagles is a possibility. The only question, it would seem, is whether Lito Sheppard is included in any deal. (I'd say no. The Dolphins negotiating leverage in dealing Taylor is even less than the Eagles have with Sheppard. A 3rd rounder for Taylor? Why not).

Throughout the offseason, the Eagles have tried to make a big splash. First they landed free-agent cornerback Asante Samuel. Then they nearly signed free-agent wide receiver Randy Moss. They inquired about trading for Cincinnati wide receiver Chad Johnson. And they have looked into the possibility of trading for Taylor. Eagles coach Andy Reid never has enough defensive linemen. During the Reid era, the Eagles have drafted a defensive lineman with their top pick five times in nine years, including this past year, when Philadelphia drafted Notre Dame defensive tackle Trevor Laws in the second round with the 47th overall pick. Taylor would team with Pro Bowl defensive end Trent Cole to give the Eagles a dynamic pass-rushing tag team.

Thomas vs. Runyan

Will the Eagles keep both, one or neither of their bookend tackles after 2008? A lot of factors to consider but this prediction gives the edge to William (nee Tra) Thomas. Bottomline, left tackles are harder to replace than right tackles. Just ask Winston Justice.

If the Eagles decide to keep just one of the two talented players, a number of factors have to be considered. Both are tenacious players who have earned Pro Bowl honors. Age shouldn't play a major factor as Thomas will be 34 and Runyan will be 35 at the end of the year. Runyan is hitting the team's cap for roughly $1 million less than Thomas this season, but Thomas is one of the longest-tenured players on the team as he enters his 11th season. Only safety Brian Dawkins, who is entering his 13th season, has been an Eagle longer than the 6-foot-7, 335-pound tackle.

Upshaw - Genius or Fool?

The owners 32-0 vote to prematurely end the collective bargaining agreement calls into question the performance of NFL union boss Gene Upshaw.

Is he the mastermind of a labor deal that was so slanted to the players that owners had to end it early?

One assumption would be that the owners now believe former commissioner Paul Tagliabue was fleeced by Gene Upshaw and the NFL Players Association when the contract was extended in 2006.

Or is he the stooge that focused on short term financial gain (the 59.5% of league revenue for player salaries) while being completely outmaneuvered by accepting some poison pill provisions in the event the owners cut the CBA short in their long-range attempt to rein in player salaries?

would be that this was part of the plan all along, that the final two years of that contract were never going to happen. By opting out, the owners have triggered a number of interesting clauses in the contract, and, what a surprise, all of them appear to benefit management.

Given Upshaw's history, the second scenario is most likely.

Killing the Golden Goose

Bob Ford does a good job of highlighting many of the owners' advantages in ending the NFL's collective bargaining agreement two years early - advantages which have gotten short shrift among most media reports.

The threat of that uncapped 2010 season could also provide an enormous benefit to the owners in the next two seasons, a brilliant and somewhat overlooked bit of strategy. Let's say you represent a player who is supposed to become a free agent in 2010, but won't be if a new bargaining agreement isn't reached. On the Eagles, that list includes Omar Gaither, Chris Gocong and Max Jean-Gilles among others. Would you advise your client to sign an extension in the interim and not bet on free agency? Think the teams might be able to sign players in that situation to less attractive deals than they would have gotten otherwise? Me, too.

Aside from all that, the league simply wants more of the $7 billion it generates in revenue each season. The players currently get 59.5 percent of it, divided up into the salary cap. The owners want the percentage that goes to salaries to be smaller, arguing that they have to build stadiums and things like that and would prefer someone else pay for them.

Two things: Ford perpetuates the myth that the owners "build stadiums," or at least, have to pay for it. States and localities have picked up the vast, vast bulk of stadium construction expenses and where teams have had to pay - typically a token amount - the naming rights (which the teams keep all to themselves) has covered it.

But the big unanswered question is why the owners are willing to kill the golden goose. Are they really quibbling over a couple of percentage points and lower the 59.5% of league revenue that goes toward players salaries/constitutes the salary cap?

Are they really willing to lockout the players to get salaries down to 56% of revenue? Especially when the teams are able to keep to themselves all of their locally generated revenue? Do the owners really want to open that pandora's box of unaccounted for team revenues in all of this? That is the great unanswered question.