Contagious?

3 fumbles in four plays? Bryce Brown's case of the droppsies is contagious.

Simply Unbearable

The key point from Phil Sheridan's column today that will resonate throughout Birdland.

But this smaller stuff - outsmarting themselves with unnecessary gimmickry - was irritating even when the Eagles were winning. Now it's just unbearable.

Rank Incompetence

Reid should probably be fired for rank incompetence for having McCoy carrying the ball with less than 2 minutes to go in a game they had lost, but he should be fired immediately if he tries to bring McCoy back at any point for the remainder of this lost season.

http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/inq-eagles/VickMcCoy-stuck-at-Phase-4-Patterson-has-pneumonia.html

Another Take

My brother writes:

I think we learned well before last night and this past Monday that fumbles are really bad. Brown wiped out all his good with this fumbles.  Possibly losing us 2 games.  Vick cost us one.   Flacco fumble coat the ravens last night - although those types of fumbles are more reasonable than brown's or Vicks. Collinsworth basically predicted it early on about brown.

Play of the Year

Criticize Castillo all you want, but it was kind of half assed (and unfair) to install him as your D-coordinator but force him to operate a defensive front scheme he didn't necessarily agree with.

I'm ok with letting Washburn go.

The defense has been a disaster since Castillo was fired. If he were still running the D they probably win the Carolina and last night's game which means they are right in the playoff hunt (as crazy as that may seem).

The play of the year was Vick's fumble into the endzone on their opening drive vs. the Steelers. they score there and don't turn the ball over and they likely win the game. With that win, Castillo doesn't get fired after the Lions game. and the rest of the season doesn't implode like it has. Not saying that we'd be leading the division but we would be in playoff contention (again, as crazy as that may seem).

Cowboys Post-Mortem

So Washburn has been fired and Foles looked legit last night.

 

The key graph from Bob Ford's article today.

 

'Using a well-balanced combination of solid running plays and high-percentage pass plays, the Eagles marched up and down the field against the Cowboys despite doing the marching without their starting quarterback, starting running back and best wide receiver."

 

26 rushes, 35 passes.

 

Ford asks the question - why not have similar balance all the time, not just when you're playing rookies at QB, RB, and have a patchwork offensive line. BTW, was it the playcalling or Foles' quick decisions - but either way the line didn't look nearly as porous as it has in previous games with Vick getting knocked around - and that was against DeMarcus Ware last night.

Where 3-5 Is

I will give Reid a pass on the line. Any team that is playing 4 of 5 second string linemen can't be good and the depth only goes so far (historically, Reid has been good with linemen line Jamaal Jackson stepping right in for Fraley, etc.).

I thought Gruden's most telling observation was "everytime the Eagles go empty backfield, the Saints blitz and the line can't block them all." Uh, maybe the Eagles shouldn't go empty backfield.

I think the red zone problems aren't that that hey aren't running the ball, but that they can't run the ball in such close confines with the lousy line they have.

The Castillo firing just becomes more terrible by the day. BTW, the knock against Castillo was that he had never "called" the defense on game day before last season (overlooking that he did it for 16 games last season and 5 this season). Only to be replaced by Todd Bowles who was never a defensive coordinator himself before getting the promotion and thus also never having "called" the defense.

Let's not forget that Andy Reid's son died of a heroine overdose in August. Can a coach be so singleminded that he can compartmentalized that unspeakable tragedy.

I was struck by Reid's appearance in the presser after the Saints game. He's always been phlegmatic, but he looked incredibly worn and exhausted. Maybe some of it is that unadvised growing out of his Wilford Brimley mustache, but judging by the look of him i wonder if Reid is close to physical and emotional collapse.

Also, Mike Vick is a tough son of a bitch. Maybe too tough. I worry that Vick brain is getting beaten to a pulp.  Is it me and my fixation on concussions or are there multiple times per game where Vick takes a hit and he looks a little foggy getting up and getting back to the huddle?

More Post-Saints

My brother's take:

The fact that we have no depth is appalling.  We NEVER have had depth.  Our line simply can't block.  How about Gruden at one point saying – "well that guy there just didn't block anyone on that play".  then he just killed Bell for being lousy.
 
I believe the red zone problem is just a fundamental problem with the offense.  We could run, but partly because of our deep threats.  Inside the 10 there is no longer a deep threat.  Vick can run and extend plays to go deep – not inside the 10 because there is just too much congestion.  This problem will never go away as we are currently designed. 
 
Have we ever tried a fade to a wideout?  I mean it's been 14 years!!
 
Wasn't Maclin good at one point?  Is he still on the team??
 
Doesn't the kick return embody everything you need to know about this team.  It was carefully constructed, it was unique, it was fantastic and pretty much worked, but didn't and we began our drive on the 3 yard line.
We are a team of bobby abreu's.  For you non-philly guys – that's not a compliment.
 
We have one of the best running backs in the league.  At a time when running backs could be one of the least valuable things on a team.  That's just unfortunate.
 
I think we were inside the 25 6 times.  6 times!!! And that got us 6 points.
 
We actually held drew brees to 21 points.  Despite looking terrible on D we held them to 21 points.  That should beat the saints every time with their D.
 
Outside the falcons game our d hasn't been terrible (and maybe saints because they were dreadful at times last night).  Yes – 5 minutes against the lions and the final Steelers drives, but that's it.  Just no one ver makes a play.
 
Lastly – raise your hand if you knew the eagles were going deep on first play.  I looked at my son and said.  They have 2 TE's in to block they are going deep to Jackson here.    I said "he always does this on Monday night".

Post-Saints

My friend PK writes:

Final thought: the great football-ism of the last 15 years is, we are what we are. 
After the NYG last-second FG attempt, we were 3-1 in complete control of our destiny. As good a start as realistically possible. But we all noted we were 3 plays away from being 0-4. The assumption then was, we are what we are - a 3-1 team because good teams win close games. Now we've lost 4 straight games and we are what we are. 
We're 1 or 2 plays against Pitt and Det from being 5-3. We're also just a couple plays from being 1-7/0-8. Instead, we pretty much are what we are: a team playing good enough to only win 6 or 7 games.

Saints game in review

Just an endless loop of nightmares: 2 timeouts burned early in each half. Had 1st and goal 3 times, they have 6 points to show for it, but also gave 7 to the other team in a pick six, so we're a -1 from our 1st and goal situations, in which for some reason we just can't run the ball. 

And just a defensive meltdown that continues.

A Keystone Weekend

My brother, two friends, and I went to the Eagles Steelers game this past weekend.

We got to Pittsburgh around 830 Saturday night, checked into our hotel downtown, the Westin, and then hit the city. We heard fatheads was great, and it was, unfortunately too packed for us to get in or at least to be seated for dinner in a reasonable time. We wound up at the Pittsburgh steak company restaurant where we polished off some 24 oz ribeyes and four bottles of wine. We hit a couple other bars, watched North Carolina State upset Florida State and called it a night at some point.

 

Woke up the next morning and started walking to the stadium around 9 AM. Downtown Pittsburgh was kind of deserted on a Sunday morning except for the occasional SUV that was parked on the street and had guys tailgating out of - which was kind of an odd sight. Weather was overcast in the low 50s.

Both the baseball and football stadiums are across the river from downtown and have a whole bunch of bars around them. We stopped at one for breakfast, beers, and bloody's. As we were leaving they put our last order of beers into plastic cups so that we could take them out of the pub. On the street they had some vendors just selling beers out of coolers and we were told it was okay to walk around in this area with open beer bottles on game day. It still felt a little weird, especially as we walked by some police, and we were wondering if the Pittsburgh waitresses were messing with us Eagles fans but we didn't have any problems.

Stopped at another bar, the tilted kilt, great place where the chicks are in push-up bras, tiny blouses and plaid skirts for the slutty Catholic girl look. The whole area was bustling but not particularly crowded. We got into every bar with no wait. To me it seemeds like every Steelers fans down there was wearing a jersey – like nearly EVERYONE, the overwhelming number of which were Polamalu's 43. I'd say for every 10 jersey seven were Polamalu's, one was either Hines Ward or Roethlisberger, one was Lambert, and one was a random player.

Eventually we headed over to the stadium where almost by accident ran into the official Steelers tailgate party 300 feet from the stadium's gates, which was rocking with this great band,  Tokyo Radio. Weirdly, it was only about 10% full even though they had cheap beer, no lines and plenty of bathrooms.

Heading into the stadium it was interesting there was no security perimeter, several vendors were right on the curb next to the stadium selling fairground food. We got some good natured ribbing from Steelers fans we were mingling with all of whom were incredibly nice and gracious wanted to know where we were from in Philadelphia and were making connections with the cities and neighborhoods we mentioned. Interestingly, the Steelers tickets didn't have a picture of any player on them but featured pictures of fans taken by fans with their name and hometown wearing their Steelers gear. For the Eagles game, the Steelers fans on the ticket were a father and son from Cinnaminson New Jersey of all places.

 

Our seats were great. We were under an overhang so when it started raining late game we didn't get wet. Even though we were rows up it felt like we were really close to the field had a great view of the entire action. The stadium seats I guess about 65,000 but it felt a lot more open and smaller than the Linc. A surprising number of empty seats midway through the game (but before the rain). I'm not sure if the weather chased people away or what even though it didn't start raining until their fourth quarter that was consistent with the entire day not feeling very crowded. Heinz Field has only one Jumbotron which is at the open ended end of the stadium which is really all you needed. We also noticed that the stadium and Jumbotron didn't bombard you with advertising and solicitations like they do at the Linc during every stoppage of play. Over the scoreboards are two ketchup bottles, and when the Steelers get inside the 20-the red zone-the ketchup bottles tilt over slightly and their caps open and the score board "fills" with red ketchup.

 

After the game we walked back to downtown, stopped at a restaurant to eat some gyros, headed back to the hotel picked up her car and headed out. It was about two hours after game time and even with a smaller crowd we were shocked at how bad traffic was at that time leaving the city. Once we finally broke free from the traffic it was two hours to Breezewood and then another hour and a half home from there.

 

Pittsburgh's a great city for a weekend sports visit, compact downtown within walking distance to the games, good nightlife neighborhoods, great stadium area, and a relatively short drive away. The Steelers fans couldn't have been nicer and the Rooney family clearly goes out of their way to make a fan and family-friendly environment without all of the commercialization and hostility we've become accustomed to in Philadelphia.

"simultaneous catch"

What I found really interesting in watching the replay was Mike Tirico saying - in real time - that they "simultaneously" caught the ball - which, of course, was the call that the refs made
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0HiBEzPVP8

A final word on the replacement refs

Regarding Monday night's controversial call, the thing that really struck me was the criticism that the two referees were making two different signals. I think that is a function of them not working together for a long time. The real refs would never make such a mistake, not because the two saw the play differently but one of them would copy the other's  signal just for consistency's sake and to avoid just such criticism.

And let's face it, these replacement refs are under a microscope in which the real refs never are, which is kind of unfair. For instance, I think that simultaneous catch is actually closer than it appears. And some pundits are killing the refs for not calling Golde Tate for a pass interference shove on that final play, but that is a call that is never made in that situation

The referees really are damned if they do, damned if they don't.

Friedman

The nut graph of Tom Friedman's column today.

"That world is gone. It is now a more open system. Technology and globalization are wiping out lower-skilled jobs faster, while steadily raising the skill level required for new jobs. More than ever now, lifelong learning is the key to getting into, and staying in, the middle class."

Strip away Friedman's flat earth mumbo jumbo and what it really means is that you have to work harder and spend more ("lifelong learning") just to maintain the wages you currently have. Indeed, he recites all of the additional responsibilities of a NY Times reporter, presumably with no corresponding increase in salary.

Castro Brothers

Julia Castro and his brother look like those Chinese acrobatic twins. 

My brother's take

I don't see 7 losses. Thats for sure.

Mid season tough schedule. Giants to end september and then falcon lions steelers saints in some order.  Brutal.  That'why gotta win the first 2 of 3 aagainst the weak teams and maybe start 3-0 before hosting giants Sunday night sept 30.   2nd half Andy should be able to work his magic.  2 skins panthers, Bengals, bucs, cowboys.  Before ending in the meadowlands.  11-5 is where I am at.  The d line is impressive.  Nnamdi will be better

Time for some football!!   I expect eagles to be good. Ravena game huge litmus test.  Can start 3-0 if beat ravens. And get some mo.  In the words of e calvin lalouche we'll " announce our presence with authority'

Predictions

My friend PK writes:

I have a slightly different take on the season. I think the most important games are the Cardinals and the Lions, among the 1st 6 weeks. I have us coming outta that stretch going just 4-2, with losses to Steelers and Ravens. The worst-case scenario is 3-3 with those losses plus a loss to NYG.

So long as we come outta that stretch at 3-3, and so long as we haven't suffered some ridiculous season-ending injury to a key player like Vick or McCoy, I'm OK with where we go for the season. That's why I think the Cards/Lions games are soooooo important. Those are NFC games. We absolutely have to take care of business and beat them. Because those are NFC games. If we come outta the 1st 6 games 4-2, with only losses coming to the AFC teams, so be it.

Then we hit a bye week and, doubling down on Andy's good vibes, not only do we have a bye but we come out of it with a home game against a QB we usually beat, Matt Ryan. Then we go to NoLa for Mon night, at which point I firmly believe they will be a team in a downward spiral. We take them on Election Eve.

At that point we're rolling, and we take 3 of the next 4: Dallas, Skins, Panthers, Dallas.
So, frankly, I say we're either 8-4 or 9-3 at that point.

Of those final 4 games, I think splitting them is pretty easy.

I can make a case for a 12-4 season, but I'm standing down with a 11-5 prediction.

I don't quite understand why people like Peter King are so negative on the Eagles.

Are you ready for some football?

Here's my take on the Eagles' season.

Wins
Browns
Cardinals (though the Eagles always play lousy in Arizona)
Falcons (Eags usually beat Penn Charter's Matt Ryan when he comes to town)
Giants home
Cowboys home
Redskins - away
Panthers – unless Cam Newton has a breakout game.
Bucs
Bengals
Redskins home

Losses
Giants away
Cowboys away – if they win this one and the home one they will be in very good shape

Swing
Ravens – huge momentum if we win the home opener and go 2-0
Steelers – could be a classic let down game following a Sunday night game vs. the Giants.
Lions – not sure where I see the Lions going this year. Building on last year's playoff spot or regressing with a harder schedule?
Saints – maybe put this in the loss column since it's away but can't help but think the Saints hang tough early in the season but implode as the weight of bountygate takes its toll and the loss of the players, head coach and gm takes its toll as the season wears on – hopefully by week 9 when we play them.

So that's 10 wins, 2 losses, and 4 undecided.

Splitting the undecided (Ravens and Lions as wins since their home games and Steelers and Saints as away losses), that's 12-4. Even if you then allow for bad game (like the Falcons or Panthers) that's 11-5. And then if you go ahead and throw in that the Eagles go 1-3 against the undecideds rather than 2-2, that still leaves the Eagles at worst 10-6.

Weird

I was just looking at the NL standings and while the Dodgers and Giants are tied for the NL West division, whatever the tiebreaker is neither runner up would be a wild card entry.  http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/standings/wildcard.jsp?ymd=20120814

Awkward

August 21st is Hunter Pence bobblehead day at Citizens Bank Park. At least they're not playing the Giants.

The Year that Was

Whether the Phils make the playoffs or not this year, it seems that this little post-all star break mini-surge was a reminder to Cole Hamels of how could this team was and can be. The legacy of the 2012 team may be that it kept Cole Hamels here  for the rest of his career.

 

Having said that, this is already getting kind of interesting. I don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves, but the Phils are now "only" 9 ½ games out of the wild card. Sure they've got a ton of teams in front of them which is the much bigger problem than just the number of games back but if they could cut it to 7 over the next week then things would really get interesting. With the Braves series this weekend, anything could happen.

Freeh meh

The Freeh report is not the final word on the investigation of what happened at Penn St. so why has there been a NCAA rush to judgment? The sanctions are predicated on what Paterno, Spanier, Curley, and Schultz did or didn't do. None has had their day in court yet nor had the opportunity to present evidence in their defense. The NCAA like it has in the past, acted prematurely and extrajudicially with no concern for due process.

Hamels

Was yesterday's standing ovation for Cole Hamels' departure an appreciation for a tough game or for a career well-served in Philadelphia?

What Might Have Been

A pity that Obama wasn't willing to take on the banksters and Wall Street in any meaningful way (remember his impotence in agreeing to the reward and retention bonuses at AIG?). He gets the worst of both possible worlds. Fewer campaign contributions from the 1% and the anger from the Democratic left. 

Elizabeth Warren's fundraising numbers show that small donors are willing to contribute to a candidate that has their back.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/21/us/politics/liberal-donors-finding-a-home-in-elizabeth-warren.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20120721

The Next 2 Weeks

so having had the opportunity (or misfortune) to catch several Phillies game prior to the all-star break, i was ready to throw in the towel on the season after such desultory play.

But hope does spring eternal.

They have to go 50-25 just to get to 88 wins, which may not be enough for that second wild card spot. More improbable is a team that is currently languishing at a .427 win percentage suddenly becoming a .666 juggernaut. Having said that, I guess we should give them the champs their due and the next two weeks to show that they could do it. While everyone is focusing on the final record, don't they really have to go 10-5 over the next five series in order to avoid a RAG sell-off? They're now 1-1 in that pursuit.

(And if they don't/can't do it, the first order of business (besides giving Hamels' the 6th year on the contract he so desperately wants) is to trade Victorino and bring Brown up for an extended look for the rest of the season.)

Eagles Ranked 3rd

Eagles have 3^rd most cap space of any team in the league. But what's less heralded is how much more cap space the Skins and Cowboys would have if the NFL hadn't screwed them for violating the league's collusion agreement last year.

http://bleacherreport.com/tb/d7QzL?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=philadelphia-eagles

Congratulations!

You know, when the Flyers' signed Ilya Bryzgalov last summer I thought the chances of Mike Richards and Jeff Carter winning the Stanley Cup increased dramatically. I just never envisioned it being with the Los Angeles Kings, along with Simon Gagne. Congratulations to all, though, for beating the stinkin' Devils.

The Natural

In the wake of the unsurprising yet still disappointing news that Roy Halladay is headed to the DL with a shoulder ailment - and the no answers to the questions as to why if it was apparent that something was wrong with Halladay from spring training, why no one bothered to look any closer or at least perform an MRI earlier in the season - a friend writes:

My best guess on how the decisions were made to keep starting Halladay, in my make-believe exchange as it went all spring:

 

Charlie Manuel: You know my mama wanted me to be a farmer.
Roy Halladay: My dad wanted me to be a baseball player.
Charlie: Well you're better than any player I ever had. And you're the best God damn pitcher I ever saw. Suit up. 

What the 1% Doesn't Get

See the two blurbs from Politico's Morning Money email today. The real issue isn't what MorganStanley did wrong with the Facebook IPO. The problem isn't what was illegal about all of this, but the crime is what is legal - and how the general investor gets screwed and the 1% take care of themselves..

 FACEBOOK LAWSUIT MIND-MELD: MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING? - A top corporate lawyer forwarded a WSJ commentary (excerpted below) that makes the argument that despite its poor early stock market performance, there is nothing to suggest that there was anything wrong with Facebook's investors prospectus nor illegal about communications between the company's bankers and big investors. ... From the lawyer: "The WSJ piece really makes it clear that the Facebook IPO was done 'by the book' and the issue - if there is one at all - is what the current law provides. I suspect Congressional interest in this deal is likely to shift elsewhere soon - either to changes in the law going forward, or back to Nasdaq and the very odd technology glitches it faced. We may see more on that topic next week when Nasdaq's Chief Information Officer testifies before the House Financial Services Committee in a previously scheduled cyber-security hearing."
FROM THE WSJ PIECE by Ronald Barusch: "[A]t least so far, there is no indication that anything is wrong with that prospectus. ... If you bought Facebook in the IPO at $38 per share, presumably you realized that you were buying shares based on a market capitalization of the company of around $100 billion. And for that you were getting a company that has less than $14 billion of total assets ... And that last year your company had just $3.7 billion of revenue and during the last five years ... "But what about those research analysts changing their estimates? It probably could not have worked any other way under our current regulatory scheme. Analysts who work for underwriters are prohibited from publishing their research prior to an IPO. They are permitted to talk to their clients and give their views" http://on.wsj.com/MLPAPn

Hamels appreciation

A friend writes:

Setting aside that Hamels is now 7-1 with a 2.17 (or 2.18) ERA, he has literally saved the 1st 1/3 of the season. His performances in DC and then tonight in Philly, slapping down the Nats as if they're his bitches after they dominated the Phils 2 straight nights, holy shit.
If we lose tonight's game, we're 6.5 games out and just got bitch-swept by them. Instead, we're 4.5 games back, 1 game below .500, allowing ourselves to think about how/when things will turn around.
Give him whatever $$$ that he wants.

HBP?

It sure didn't look like Jake Diekman hit that Cubs' batter in the 9th inning last night. Not even ticking his loose jersey. It was telling that the Cubs announcers on WGN quickly shut up while watching the replays.

The Gay Greek Police

This photo of Athens police dealing with protesters which appeared in the NYTimes is rife with comedy, since it looks like the law enforcers captured here are a modernized version of the fashion police what with their berets, boots and sunglasses. 

Beat Boston

Watched the tail end of the Sixers-Celtics game last night, mainly cause my middle son likes to play basketball and is really getting into Philadelphia sports. ( I didn't have the heart to tell him the Sixers are low man on the family Philly sports totem pole).

 

Anyway, two thoughts jumped out: 1 – incredible officiating in the 4^th Q. Kevin Garnett was called for a travel while shuffling his feet to set for a jumper, a couple possessions later Evan Turner was NOT called for traveling when he took 5 steps and also may have committed a self-pass, and then on the Celtics' decisive offensive possession, they called Garnett for an offensive foul on a moving pick. Wow. In Boston

 

2 – it's the first time the Sixers have beaten the Celtics in Boston since game 7 of the 82 Eastern Conference finals, a game the Sixers won 120-106, and the game I believe was most memorable and incredibly cool for a kid growing up at that time for the Boston fans chanting "Beat L.A." to the Sixers as the clock wound down. Neat.

Hamels and Harper

On the Hamels thing:

 I don't understand why Hamels said he tried to hit Harper.

But I really don't understand everyone coming out criticizing Hamels and how ripped the Nats are. Just watched the espn guys all say that Pence better watch out vs. the Nats.

3)      Why isn't anyone mentioning that Hamels got hit later in the same game. According to the Nats' view, it's gutless to throw at their guy but not our guy?

Why hasn't anyone asked Zimmerman if he tried to hit Hamels? If Nats' GM Mike Rizzo expects the same rule his team goes by, if Pence gets hit by Strasburg than Strasburg should expect to get hit later in the same game.

Halladay

A friend writes about tonight's game:

He simply doesn't have any stamina anymore. He can't go deep into games. This is the 3rd straight game that he's melted down in the 5th or 6th inning, after great starts. He got to 2 outs and 2 strikes in the 6th inning -- after having retired 13 straight batters -- and then he simply fell apart. 

I would add that thought Halladay looked tired and laboring in the 4^th inning! After only throwing 44 pitches. He was cruising but looked spent, but I wasn't sure if that just wasn't the normal Halladay look.

 

And crap, now Papelbon just gave up a 3 run HR to blow the tie.

 

Bad loss

B Dawk

Can there be any higher praise for an Eagle than to be described as "Jim Johnson's 'go-to guy.'"

Next Stop, Canton

Congratulations to Brian Dawkins for a spectacular, Hall of Fame career. 

4 plays immediately come to mind:

1. The interception of Brett Favre in OT that lead to the game winning FG in the 4th and 22 divisional playoff game.

2. The turnover against the Cowboys at Dallas on Christmas in a must win game for the Eagles that led to a playoff spot.

3. The heat seeking missile who stopped Mike Vick on the goal line in the divisional playoff game against the Falcons at the Vet.

4. The flying leap, strip and fumble recovery against the Steelers. My kids were watching that game with me and when they showed Dawkins leap over the lineman and go horizontal -  with his arms outstretched it really did look like he was flying. My kids asked, "Daddy, is that Superman?" 

Yes, children. Yet it was. You got to watch Superman play for the Eagles.

Phillies Preview - A month late

so i was watching a long ago taped version of espn's 30 clubs/30 days preview about the Phillies.

2 things jumped out.

1. Shane Victorino bats 70 points higher when he is 2 (.306) or 5th (.308) in the order compared to lead off (.236)

and 2. baseball prospectus projected the following records for the NL East this year

88 wins

Phillies and Braves

87 wins

Marlins

83 wins

Nationals

71 wins

Mets

The Best for Howard?

My friend also writes:

Meanwhile, assuming that he can come back from the Achilles injury and again become a 35-homer guy, or more, for a few more seasons, let me say something controversial: The Achilles injury is the greatest thing to happen to Ryan Howard since we won the World Series.

Here's why: When he grounded out to end the 2011 season against StL, 96% of the Phils phans blamed one person and one person only: Ryan Howard.

Now that we've started out this season so incredibly sluggish offensively, 96% of the phans are blaming one thing: Howard's absence from the middle of the lineup.

A Tale of Two Teams

A friend writes:

I think it's unequivocal what's going on here -- 1 team with a long history of having a very good eye at the plate, the Phillies, has lost its marbles; another team with a history of having a terrible eye at the plate, the Nats, now has one of the best in MLB.)
 
HITTING
Team batting averages:
Nats, .249
Phillies .248
Team slugging %s:
Nats .334
Phillies .331
Team home runs
Nats 6
Phillies 6
Team stolen bases
Phillies 12 (caught 1 time)
Nats 7 (caught 2 times)

PITCHING
ERA
Nats 1.92 (best in NL)
Phillies 2.48 (2nd best)
BB
Nats 39 walks issued (best of teams that played 13 games so far)
Phillies 24 (best of teams that played 12 games)
WHIP
Nats 1.01 (best in NL)
Phillies 1.10 (3rd best)

So, these are two insanely balanced teams. The Nats have an almost negligible difference tipped in their favor offensively; pitching wise, their ERA is better, clearly, but the Phils are walking far fewer people. Anyway, these are 2 teams that are incredibly balanced and -- by all these measures -- should have roughly the same record. They don't. The Nats are 4.5 games ahead of the Phillies. Why is that case? For one reason, and one single reason alone: they take pitches and walk.
HITTING
Bases on balls:
Nats 57 walks (No. 1 in NL)
Phillies 20 (tied for last with Pirates)
OBP
Nats .335 (tied for 2nd)
Phillies .284 (14th)

http://mlb.mlb.com/stats/sortable.jsp#sectionType=st&playerType=QUALIFIER&statType=hitting&page_type=SortablePlayer&season=2012&season_type=ANY&sportCode=%27mlb%27&league_code=%27NL%27&split=&team_id=&active_sw=&game_type=%27R%27&position=&sortOrder=%27desc%27&sortColumn=avg&results=&page=1&perPage=50&timeframe=&extended=0&last_x_days=&ts=1334859863229&tab_level=child&click_text=Sortable+Team+hitting

Scheduling good news

Remember this now.

The Phillies play 6 of their last 9 games of the season against the Nationals. And with Stephen Strasburg limited to 160 innings this year, it's practically assured that the Phils' won't have to face the Nationals' ace at all in the homestretch.

Stat that may be of interest only to me

How is it that Shane Victorino didn't attempt a bunt the entire 2011 season?

http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/phillies/20120228_Pierre_leads_Phils_in_the_art_of_bunting.html

3-4

Wow, Utley-Howard didn't even make the honorable mention in Jayson Stark's column about the best 3-4 lineups in baseball while discussing Fielder's new contract.

Not sure if it's cause Howard's hurt or Utley's been struggling.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/hotstove11/story/_/id/7500071/miguel-cabrera-prince-fielder-pack-powerful-3-4-punch

Media elite

John King = Bernie Shaw?

Newt Gingrich shows Mike Dukakis how to answer a personal debate question

TO?

The Patriots hiring of free agent coach Josh McDaniel last week in the middle of their playoff run had plenty of people chiming in about the appropriateness of a coach, particularly a former head coach for the team the Patriots are playing, joining a staff just prior to the playoff game. Some tried to equate it with free agent players joining teams during the post-season.

Of course, that is the reason why player contracts run through March - to avoid this possibility. But there are players that have been released who aren't contractually bound by these restrictions. 

And then there is one player who wasn't even under contract this year and could conceivably still join a team.

How crazy would it be if the Niners won tomorrow's game and then signed Terrell Owens for the super bowl?

TO is a former Niner. The Niners need help at WR. And with the two week super bowl break, he would have time to learn a fair amount of the plays - certainly way more than if he had only a week to prepare.

Truly circus maximus.

Wierd only to me?

NFL referee Gene Stenatore is also a college basketball referee?!?

Nice Al

Al Michaels just referred to the Saints 4th quarter TD as a "kill shot" touchdown. Nothing like referencing gun violence and murder - in New Orleans no less - to the nation's game.

Flag?

Congratulations to the University of Michigan for winning last night's Sugar Bowl on a field goal in overtime. The announcers didn't mention it - other than to marvel at the ability of the Michigan kicker to make the field goal after a stutter first step BEFORE THE BALL WAS SNAPPED.

My question is shouldn't the kicker have been flagged for illegal motion or a false start because of his stutter, false step just before the snap?

It's ironic that some football plays are endlessly scrutinized and reviewed in slow motion to determine if a pass was actually caught, but a kicker can commit an infraction in front of the world (and the refs) and not a word is said about the lack of a penalty call.

Revival or Collapse?

One of the things (among many) that is driving me crazy about all the articles now being written about whether Reid keeps his job or not is this (and this is a question the reporters should be asking themselves before they write the story as well as Lurie should ask himself): What is the purpose of firing Reid? Is it to "punish" him for a poor season that was the result of some of his pre-season moves? Or is it that there is a belief that another coach can make the team more of a success in 2012? And if it is the second, then the follow up question is who is that coach?

My own take is that we're the 2008 Saints (or the 2009-11 Packers - lost a playoff game one year (to those same 2008 Saints), then snuck in to the playoffs as a wildcard (what the Eagles almost did this year - sneaking in), and then dominating the league the following season).

There's too much talent on this team to "blow it up" and "rebuild," though as my brother has long noted there is no such thing as "rebuilding" in the 21st century NFL.

We lost a lot of close games, some on flukey plays (Ronnie Brown's goal line "pass" vs. the Niners, missed FGs, and others on turnovers).

On offense, you've got a franchise-caliber QB, an all-pro RB, a couple of skill position playmakers and a solid O-line.

The D improved steadily throughout the season as much as the Juan Castillo haters hate to admit it. And he did it with a bunch of lousy LBs, terrible safety play, and an at times non-existent DRC (and Nnamdi for that matter). Let's face it, Samuels was the best corner on the team this year, and they're probably unloading him this offseason. I've come around enough to believe Castillo deserves another year as coordinator. Related to the questions above re: Reid, who are they bringing in to replace him? I don't believe the Spags rumors.

I guess the larger answer to your question is that this team is on the verge of a revival. Now where they are next year depends entirely on Vick and whether Reid gets an heir apparent to groom between now and then.

Revival or Collapse

My friend PK asks the question:

I've been a bandwagoner for how this was the 2008 Saints, that we're a super talented squad that will bounce back from 8-8 (just as Saints were in '08) and go 13-3 (as they did in '09). What's more intrinsic to us as Eagles fans, I think, is whether this is 1991 or 1994.
In '91, we had the greatest D ever but no QBs, as Randall and McMahon got hurt. We finished 10-6 and missed the playoffs. Bounced back the next year to make the playoffs and beat Bobby Hebert in NoLa. In '94, however, we had that amazing start and then folded, missing the playoffs. While we scratched our way into the '95 and '96 playoffs, the truth is, we never were contenders for anything with Mr Holly Robinson and Koy Detmer's older brother as our QBs. Truth is, our "era" ended with the collapse of '94.
Where are we now? On the verge of a revival or complete collapse?

Best Move

Lesean McCoy is inactive today vs. the Skins, one of the best decisions Reid has made all year.

The fact is that this game is utterly meaningless to the Eagles 2011 season. All actions now are geared toward making the 2012 playoffs and Super Bowl. So, just like playoff teams right now are resting their starters in preparation for this year's playoff push, the Eagles should be resting their starters to avoid injuries that could in any way impede next year's playoff campaign.

Reid's Clock Mismanagement

My friends and I recalled the 2008 Skins-Eagles game in which Reggie Brown was stopped at the goal line for what would have been the game tying score as time expired. It got us thinking about how Andy Reid's clock mismanagement has cost the Eagles at times, though there is no definitive account of how many points/games it has actually cost.

In any case, this game from 2008, a Redskins 10-3 victory is definitely one of them. While they may not have won the game, his brutal use of timeouts helped them lose the game.

Below are highlights from the ESPN play by play of the game.

Reid called his first second half timeout AFTER THE SECOND PLAY OF THE HALF! At the 14:05 mark.

They called their second timeout to stop the clock on 2nd down of the skins last offensive possession. They didn't have to use their 3rd TO on 3rd down because of a skins penalty.

they used their last timeout on their last offensive drive.

Clearly as you can see by the play by play, had they had their last timeout they in all likelihood would have been able to run at least one extra play from the 1 yard line after the Brown catch (probably in place of the McNabb spiking though they may have called it earlier in the drive. Either way, it would have saved enough time for an extra play).

Of course they may not have scored but without the TO they had no chance to do so.

Fascinating that Brown/McNabb are the goats of the game for not running the route into the end zone (deservedly so) but the larger issue that went unaddressed is Reid's carelessness with the timeouts that was just as important as the final play.

1st and 10 at PHI 17	B.Westbrook right tackle to PHI 20 for 3 yards (C.Horton; A.Montgomery).
2nd and 7 at PHI 20	(Shotgun) D.McNabb pass incomplete deep middle to D.Jackson (L.Landry, M.Washington).
	Timeout #1 by PHI at 14:05.

4th Quarter

2nd and 10 at PHI 45	C.Portis left tackle to PHI 41 for 4 yards (C.Gocong, S.Bradley).
	Timeout #2 by PHI at 04:01.

A skins holding penalty on 3rd down (declined). Skins punt.

Final Eagles drive, got the ball on their own 9 with 3:48 to go in the game.

the last several plays

3rd and 10 at WAS 29	(Shotgun) D.McNabb pass short middle to B.Westbrook to WAS 23 for 6 yards (L.Fletcher).
	Timeout #3 by PHI at 00:27.
4th and 4 at WAS 23	(Shotgun) D.McNabb pass short left to B.Westbrook to WAS 18 for 5 yards (J.Taylor).
1st and 10 at WAS 18	(No Huddle) D.McNabb spiked the ball to stop the clock.
2nd and 10 at WAS 18	(Shotgun) D.McNabb pass deep middle to R.Brown to WAS 1 for 17 yards (F.Smoot, L.Landry).The Replay Assistant challenged the runner broke the plane ruling, and the play was Upheld.
	End of Game