Favorites in first 10 games

Going through the schedule, it looks like the Eags will be the favorites, via Vegas, in all 10 games. Maybe just the first 6, though.

 

Clearly, we're favorites in week 1 against the Texans, and if we take care of business and look fairly OK against them, I'd expect us to be 2-point

favorites against the Giants at home the next week.

 

We then would definitely be favorites over SF and GB, and then we should be 3-1 at worst heading into the Oct 8 matchup with Dallas.

 

Now, I guess it's possible that TO will not be a distraction and will actually lift the Cowboys to new heights, but all things being equal, I

think it's fair to assume that a 3-1 or 4-0 Eagles team playing a division rival at home, we'll be the favorites.

 

Then we're definitely the favorites over the lowly Saints, even in the new 'Dome.

 

Week 7 is the first chance I see the Eagles being 'dogs, at Tampa. And that will depend on how their season evolves (i.e., Chris Simms starts reverts into playing like Chris Simms). At worst the Birds should be 5-2 heading into that game.

 

After that we host Washington and Tennessee. Could you imagine what sort of schemes, packages and blitzes Jim Johnson will run at Vince Young if he's starting at that point? God, he loves rookie qbs, and he loves QBs who think

they can out-scramble blitzes.

 

Let's put it this way, whatever the lines are, I think the Eagles should be 7-3 when we roll into Indy for our 11th game. And that's being conservative, with the right breaks, 8-2.

 

Yes, they might get killed there, but then we just have to take care of business in our division down the strecth and win a couple games on the

road.

 

If the eags just go 4-2 in the division, I can easily see 7-3 outside the division. There are 5 non-East games that should be locks --

Texans, Niners, Packers, Saints, Titans.

 

Then there are 3 non-East games that are pure toss-ups -- Tampa, J'ville and Atlanta.

 

Of those 3, the Eagles have had very, very good success against Atlanta (even in last year's opener, their offense couldn't move the ball) and mixed success against the Bucs. We should go 2-1 in these games.

 

And then 2 non-East games where we're 'dogs, at Indy and Carolina at home.

 

If we win 4 games in the division, we'll win 6 outside it. Possibly 7.

Meaning 4-2 in division gets you to 9 wins with 3 toss-ups and 2 'dog games.

 

Jaguars/Bucs are the swing games. The final game against Falcons could mean a lot also, but at home with something on the line (9-7,10-6, 11-5 - how can it not mean something) then the eagles should take care of business.

 

Considering Dallas is already at the stage of fining TO for missing meetings, hard to envision a better set-up for the Eagles’ season.

 

howard and lefties

Not sure if  everyone realizes this,  but the big reason why Howard is having an MVP-type season is because he’s now hitting lefties really, really well.

He’s .276 with 13 HR and 38 rbi with a .551 slugging in 156 at bats against lefties this season.

abreu

God I hope phils win wildcard so they’ll have to be some explanations in all the articles about how great abreu is for the Yankees but the phils started winning once they got rid of #53.

 

Subtle criticsm has already started. From Rich hoffman
 
 
 
The Phillies' great sale was completed a little more than 3 weeks ago, and no one yet has offered a definitive explanation for what has transpired since. David

Bell, Bobby Abreu, Cory Lidle, Rheal Cormier, Ryan Franklin, Sal Fasano: You know the names, and you know what has happened in their absence. But why? Why did the Phillies start winning without them?

Slap in the face, wake-up call, name your motivational cliche; that has been a popular offering, but it still seems lacking. There has to be something else. You say that to Jimmy Rollins and he nods. He has thought about this, clearly.

"It's the attitude of the team," the Phillies' shortstop said, and it sounds like the beginning of another cliche. Except it isn't.

"We have great players," he said. "We also lost some great players. And, you know, it seems funny to say that any bit of it is selfish. But in the way they played the game, they wouldn't expand outside their discipline. In sports, sometimes you have

to do something you wouldn't normally do in order to help the team win. Some of the players, they came here, they did their job, and it was in the box. It was never outside the box."

Rollins is pantomiming now, drawing an imaginary box with his fingers, drawing in the air.

"Now we have a group of players who are outside the box," he said. "They play, scrap, I don't care, let's just win. It's a different attitude. It's definitely been the key to this great run so far."

Yeah, Jimmy’s only talking about Abreu when he’s saying that, maybe a little bit about Bell, but the other guys, no way. He’s crapping on Abreu.

 

trade

Duckett to Skins makes me think they are more concerned about portis’ shoulder then they’ve let on.

 

Certainly want to lessen the pounding in short yardage/goal line?

 

What’s plan b now that lelie isn’t on the trade market?

Unfamiliar team

I watched some team beat the cubs last night but don't think it was the phils. The team in red hustled (victorino's infield hit), had solid d (notwithstanding delluci's misplay of ramirez's fly to rf), clutch hitting, and strong pitching. Couldn't be the.... Phillies?

 

Wgn announcers were all over kalas last night. "greatest announcer ever"? that was a little strong.

 

Howard's got unbelievable oppo. field power. Thank gosh they test for steroids now or I would wonder.

 

Jroll at #2 is a thought. But who would hit #1.

 

Utley and howard are our Ortiz and Ramirez - if they can get at bats in the late innings - we have a chance.

 

Howard: MVP, MVP. MVP

A friend writes:

 

Well, our problem now is we can't bat Jroll at No 2 because we gave away what should have been the greatest leadoff hitter in Phillies history:

Abreu.

 

Jesus, if Bobby hit leadoff, JROll in the 2-hole followed by Utley and Howard, then Burrell -- sometimes flipping Burrell and Howard against really

tough lefties -- that would have been a great lineup.

 

I'm telling you, I love Victorino and Delluci. They've got hustle and they fight and they scrap, and they look like the anti-Abreus out there.

 

The whole character and makeup of the team feels different. Oh, except for the fact that Burrell still has to play. God, does he stink now more than

ever.

It pains me to watch him swing, pulling off on every single pitch, then desperately extending/flailing his arms out because at the very last second

he's realizing -- oh no, not again! -- that it's a low and away slider, desperately trying to just make contact with the ball.

 

Crazy, but the $30-40m that we saved for next year by unloading Abreu and Lidle -- along with Bell gone and Lieby's contract ending -- some of those "savings" are gonna have to be eaten by paying a HUGE portion of Burrell's contract next year to whatever AL is remotely willing to take him off our hands.

 

Seriously, I'd give Burrell away for free at this point.

 

wide open?

Lieber

Myers

Hamels

Wolf

Moyer

 

That's really not a bad 5 especially condiering where they were all year.

 

Hamels looks like the real deal and Lieber is starting to pitch like expected (Hamels has more wins then our preseason #1 pitcher)

 

Need Myers to get back on track.

 

With the Mets having issues is it possible that the NL playoffs could be wide open come October???

 

Absolutely!!!

 

The nl wildcard could EASILY win a short series against one of those weak division winners, which would be great cause then there'd be this huge debate about the wildcard and the fairness of a .500 team in the nlcs.

 

Still, they've got to do something about nunez hitting .200 at 3b

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but after the mets this week the philllies don't play a team above .500, of course, lots of games vs. marlins and braves who have our number, but still.

hard to believe

From yesterday’s Inqy.

 

Numbers hard to believe

 

 

“Since the start of the 2004 season, there are only seven players with more National League RBI than Burrell: Albert Pujols,

Andruw Jones, Miguel Cabrera, Carlos Lee (now in Texas), Adam Dunn, Bobby Abreu (now with the Yankees), and Aramis Ramirez. That's it.

The concern about hitting behind Ryan Howard is real and legitimate, and Burrell has been awful this season. (For context, though, with runners in scoring position, Burrell was hitting .239 going into last night, and Howard was hitting .240. Burrell has struck out 18 times to end innings with runners in scoring position, and Howard has struck out 20 times.) The only point to be made here is that these are uncharacteristically bad numbers. There is reason to expect better. In 2004-05, Burrell hit .292 with RISP.”

That’s amazing.

 

game

Not bad overall. Bucky didn’t get hurt. Basket looked like a rookie – did he ever get open? Did any wr get open?

 

d-line got some pressure but howard got handled too much by ogden’s backup. They should be ok though as long as they get decent push up the middle – kearse and cole can speed rush for sure.. Secondary looked good. Lb’s, eh.

 

And man does Jeremy bloom look like he’s running three gears faster than jr reed? Bloom is fast!

 

I liked the no huddle. With the Eagles base package, Westbrook causes match-up problems if the d can’t sub based on down and distance.

 

Also, eagles’ “shotgun” is like a minigun McNabb is so close to center.

 

McNabb looked good.

 

No injuries!!!

3 in 13

Not only did the NFL scheduling office screw the Eagles with 3 straight road games vs. division rivals in December, but tonight’s exhibition game (sorry Pete Rozelle) is the Eagles 3^rd game in 13 days. That's just completely stupid.

 

from bad to worse

Gotta love, again, how the rest of the division is already having terrible camps. The TO situation is already simmering in Dallas, Portis is mad at the entire NFL for his injury, Brunnell just looks as bad as he did at the end of last season without having taken a single hit this season and their backup in DC, Todd Collins, looked even worse.

 

Still Bird Time

The amazing thing is that the Abreu trade and sitting Burrell is proving the Idiots Theory that have been saying for 2 yrs - that those guys are cancers and, despite their numbers, they were/are losers.

 

We actually are BETTER without them.

 

Still, I'm paying more attention to the crumbling Skins, the infighting Cowboys and the surging Eagles - Collinsworth has already picked Birds to win NFC East!

hate myself for loving you

Is anyone else watching the ticker and baseball tonight??

 

I almost hate myself for doing it, but I can't stop.  I'm like an abused spouse at this point.  I think they really have a chance.  The NL sucks and the Dodgers are beginning to run away with the West.

 

BTW - everyone talks about the joke that is the NL WC, but other then the Mets the other races are close meaning the central and west winners aren't that good either.  The Dodgers have won 15 of 16 and have like a 4 game lead on the brutal Padres who are barely .500.  Same with the Cards over the Reds.

 

Hamels was awesome last night.

 

The Reds series w/ back to back last inning losses is going to hurt down the road.  We take 1 of them and we're 1.5 back, both and we're ahead of the Reds.  Ouch!

 

Lastly, read in the paper a few days back - Burrell has sat in 8 of the first 25 games after the all-star break.  Not starting 1/3 of the games.

Definitely worth 13 million.

 

Skind and Portis

Good thing the Skins don’t need a running game.  Brunell is awesome.  The Jags always had Taylor getting hurt and they were still very good.  Remember 1996 when Brunell took the Jags to the AFC Title game.  Seriously, he’s proven he can get it done.  Heck, even if he struggles Todd Collins understands Saunders offense really well so you guys won’t miss a beat.  That’s the benefit having such great depth.  Lucky Bastards.

J Roll

Um, does he love August and Sept, or what?

If he hit like this in the spring, we'd win 5 more games a year.

He's up to .278 with 18 hour, 52 rbi and 95 runs scored.

Crazy, seemed like he was having a terrible year.

King on Lelie

Chimes in on the le’Affaire Lelie and thinks “Sam Rayburn and a four for Lelie” is a good deal for both the Broncos and Eagles. Make it a 5^th or a 4^th without Rayburn and I agree. (Javon Walker was only worth a 2).

Have Your Tickets?

We’re a week away from the Eagles’ home preseason opener, and if you’re a season ticketholder like me, you’re probably wondering where your tickets are. I haven’t gotten mine yet.

 

A rep I spoke to today in the Eagles ticket office today said that supposedly the Eagles mailed out the tickets this week and should be arriving by Friday, Monday at the latest.

 

Why did the Eagles wait so long to mail out the tickets? They sure like to get their payments for the tickets well in advance. A pity they don’t share the same concern about timing when delivering the tickets.

 

Tsk, tsk Mr. Lurie.

Hall of Fame Game and Late Season Swaps

NBC has the Hall of Fame game this Sunday. Big roll out preview for their Sunday night package.

 

Important note to remember on the Sunday night game. In weeks 10-15 and week 17 NBC can move a game from earlier in the day that would have been shown on Fox or CBS. The switch has to be made at least 12 days in advance.  There are some constraints on the swap. I don’t think a team can be chosen more than once and I think CBS and Fox get to reserve one game or something like that.

 

Interestingly, week 16 is NBC’s Eagles-Dallas game, so not sure how that would affect the opportunity for NBC to pick another Eagles game, but here are the games that in theory would be eligible.

 

Sun., Nov. 12 Washington 1 p.m. FOX

Sun., Nov. 19 Tennessee 1 p.m. CBS

Sun., Nov. 26 @ Indy 1 p.m. FOX

Mon., Dec. 4 Carolina 8:30 p.m. ESPN*

Sun., Dec. 10 @ Washington 1 p.m. FOX

Sun., Dec. 17 @ Giants 1 p.m. FOX

Mon., Dec. 25 @ Dallas 5 p.m. NBC*

Sun., Dec. 31 Atlanta 1 p.m. FOX

 

Obviously the Monday night game is out, but here’s betting that either one of those Redskins games or the Indy game makes the switch. Fortunately, that is only one home game out of three possible. Let’s keep our fingers crossed. (Sunday night games are almost as bad as Monday night games for ticketholders.) In fact, let’s hope for the Indy game. Moving the game from 1pm to Sunday night would be terrific for those Eagle fans traveling back home after the Thanksgiving holiday, giving them time to unpack and then watch the game.

 

 

Phillies Small Market Team

A priceless insight from the New York Times' baseball writer Murray Chass about the Abreu trade and plight of the Phillies. Phillies fans have known this truth for sometime, it’s just a revelation to see that the ownership group’s reputation is now nationally known.

 

 

“Sometimes, though, teams are grateful for the Yankees’ existence. The Philadelphia Phillies are the latest. They wanted to dump Abreu’s contract, which has a guaranteed $21,475,409 remaining for a season and a third, and they found a willing taker in the Yankees.

 

The Phillies are more disgraceful than the Yankees. They play in one of the largest markets in the country, and they act like a small-market team. Their payroll reached a high of $95 million on opening day last year, but they reduced it to $88 million this year.

 

That does not mean the Phillies have a small payroll — it was 13th among opening-day payrolls — but it demonstrated their mind-set. Last year their payroll was fourth, and they finished two games out of first in the division and one game behind the wild-card winner. So what do they do to try to make up that little bit of ground? They cut the payroll.

 

They stumble and bumble in other ways, too. Instead of hiring Jim Leyland as their manager before last season, they hired Charlie Manuel. Now Leyland has turned the Detroit Tigers into the best team in baseball, while the Phillies have faded from view in the face of the Mets’ demolition of the National League East.

 

Acknowledging their most recent futility, the Phillies decided to become more flexible. That’s a baseball euphemism for dumping salaries. It’s a popular game at this time of the season. Teams that have no chance to win a playoff spot trade players who can be free agents at the end of the season or whose salaries are higher than the teams want to keep paying.”

Burrell Rejected Trade to O's?

Thomas Boswell, baseball columnist for the Washington Post, dropped this little nugget of information into a longer commentary on the Nationals not trading Soriano that I had not seen previously reported in any news outlets--

 

“Just within recent days, Phils slugger Pat Burrell reportedly vetoed a trade to the Orioles for pitcher Rodrigo Lopez. No specific reason given, just ‘no.’”

 

Abreu "for" Lieber?

Who on the Phillies do you think gets traded this week? Seems like there's a lot of interest in Burrell. Will anyone eat Abreu's contract?

 

How about Abreu and Lieber to the Yanks. For nothing. They get pitching help in Lieber and in return have to take on Abreu's contract as well.

Burrell to Cards?

Joe Morgan and Jon Miller said it last night during the Braves-Phillies game. Said the Cardinals had a lot of interest in Burrell and that the assistant to the GM was at the ballpark last night to look at Burrell. (this was several innings after Miller pondered the hometown reaction to Brett Myers, making his first start at home since being arrested for beating his wife. He suggested that Phillies fans, “like fans in all other big league cities, will be cheering him if he wins.” Which, if you step back for a moment, is an incredibly inflammatory and insensitive thing to say about fans and domestic violence (and I also think somewhat erroneous. Philly fans are many things, but one of their positive attributes is a high moral standard. They don’t tolerate hitting women, which is why the whole Myers thing has become the highly publicized and controversial incident it is.)

 

If A-rod had pressure in NY, imagine the pressure in Philly the first time he goes 0-fer with that $25 million contract.

 

Gordon is a nice player, but not a must-keep. They can get someone of his caliber this offseason.

 

The importance is to unload Abreu and Burrell’s contracts (unfortunately, there is no hope of foisting Lieberthal’s $10 million contract onto some sap of a team). That would free up $30 million of salary to go out and remake the roster for next year. They can’t afford to carry Bobby too far into the future cause at some point Howard and Utley will be making far more than their current $500,000/year rookie contracts.

 

Here’s a link to a story in the St. Louis paper about how the Cards may be looking for hitting before pitching and lists potential Phillies trades

.

 

“Poker playing becomes an art form at this time. The Cardinals have closely followed the Phillies, believed by many to be the catalyst for next week's madness. Outfielders Bobby Abreu, Pat Burrell and David Dellucci are intriguing. However, their pitching stable includes Cory Lidle, John Lieber and lefthanded relievers Arthur Rhodes and Rheal Cormier.”

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/cardinals/story/BEC55CF73FC7B82D862571B40014CDFE?OpenDocument

 

Lelie Dreaming

Lelie looks like a younger Pinkston on a team that usually leads the
league in rushing w/ the Steelers.

Pinkston averages about 15 per catch and Lelie around 19 per catch
(actually
a pretty big difference)

Best year - Pinky 60, 798, 7TD's
Lelie 54, 1054, 7 TD's

Over before it began

Eagles extended the contract of Center Jamaal Jackson. So I guess the expected training camp competition between him and former incumbent Hank Fraley is over before it even got started. I must say, the line play last year did seem to improve after Fraley got hurt and Jackson started playing.

Utley at 32

Got a hit today, making it 32 straight. How does the trade of Abreu effect him and the lineup?

National Media Exposure

The benefit of opening training camp a week earlier thanother teams is that the media, including out of town media, are more likely to run stories on your team and fill the NFL news hole. Here’s ESPN’s Len Pasquarelli with a feature on the Eagles' WR hopes and savior Reggie Brown (note the Ashley Lelie trade rumor reference again) and two W. Post stories profiling Darren Howard

and the Eagles' WR (notice a media trend there?)

To add to the meme, there’s Rich Hoffman's piece today about the coaching analysis of the WR. Hoffman ends with a killer close sure to strike fear not in opposing defenses but in any Eagles’ fan’s heart….”Pinkston as linchpin, then. Who ever would have believed it?”

Who indeed. Dear Lord.

Phillies-Eagles WR-Pitching Comparison

The Eagles' WR corps are like a pitching staff with a #3 and a few veteran #4's in the rotation.

Like the Philles -Myers/Brown is the young #3 w/ big upside and then Lidle/Gaffney (innings eater/possession guy), Madsen/Lewis (impressed early, but not much since), Pinky/Wolf (former #2 coming off the injury), and a bunch of young junk (too many Philles to name).

Heck, even Floyd or Hamels w/Avant and Bloom (but most like Ashley Lelie (sorry to be so fixated on him) are top picks w/ high expectations, but at the moment still low on the totem pole.

Gaffney's stats

In yards per catch - Gaffney averages - 11. Possession receiver!!!

Gaffney also has higher passer rating than #5. 1-5, 39 yards, 1 TD over 4 years.

WR

Eagles picked up Redskin castoff WR Derrick Fenner. My Maryland friend's think he could be a good special teamer (and he can room with fellow Terp Bruce Perry.) Guess that means the Lelie trade is just a fading rumor. Too bad. Lelie looks like a younger (healthier) Pinkston on a team that usually leads the league in rushing w/ the Steelers.

For comparison purposes:

Lelie is 6'3" 200 lbs. Pinkston is listed as 6'3" 180 lbs.

Pinkston averages about 15 yards per catch and Lelie around 19 yards per catch (actually a pretty big difference) Best year - Pinky 60, 798, 7TD's - Lelie 54, 1054, 7 TD's

Why Abreu is Overrated

Here’s the backstory. Good friend of mine hates Bobby A. Plain hates him. Thinks he’s the most overrated player in the league and obviously the most overrated player on the Phillies.

Here’s reason #867 why he hates Abreau.

Ok, so now I've spent a couple mins researching Bobby's numbers, and I'm just plain freakin furious. I'm so mad that he's still a Phillie, I think I ruined my weekend. Goddamnit. I'm pissed.

You say Abreu is the best all around hitter on the team?

I say, f#$%ing b@#^*sh*@!^^t.

Utley clearly took that crown last season.

Look no further than the final weekend of the season, 2005. The Phillies were playing their most meaningful baseball games in a dozen years. They were playing what amounted to elimination/playoff-level baseball. They went into RFK needing to win every single game against the Nats.

And Chase Utley, playing his first full season, and Ryan Howard, capping half a season of baseball, carried that team to a 3-game sweep. Yes, they came up 1 game short. That's true. But here's what the kids did for the Phils that weekend:

Utley -- 6 for 12, with 2 homers and 4 rbi. He destroyed the Nats pitching that weekend.

Howard -- 5 for 12, two homers and 6 rbi, including a 4 rbi game on Saturday that cinched his rookie of the year award.

And so there's Bobby Abreu, who by all measures -- talent, an All Star appearance, being the longest serving every day player on the team -- should be the unequivocal leader of the team on the field and in the clubhouse.

How did Bobby respond to that pressure? How did bobby handle the pitching of a Nats team that had already been eliminatd from the playoffs? How did Bobby perform when his team needed him the most?

Abreu -- 1 for 12, 2 rbi. His only hit in the series came in the top of the 9th inning on Sunday, driving in a run with a double when the Phils were already ahead 5-3 and Wagner was already warming up in the pen with the game's outcome sealed.

He STINKS.

Like the More I See

the more I think about/see this team, the more I like it. Don't know why most commentators aren't as
high or giving them their due respect.
Especially since the Atlanta Falcons seem to be a very trendy pick right now for "rebound" team of
the year. Seriously, the Falcons collapsed after their NFC champ appearance.

The Eagles did likewise, but we had massive injuries. The Falcons just stunk.

I will say that the NFC east is better(obviously), but the Eagles should more than hold our own.

King of the World

Does Peter King have the best job in America?

Maybe Peter Gammons rivals him, but that's about it.

He just shows up places for camp, and EVERY coach and player wants to
talk to him, tell him their insights, etc., the GMs all have his number
on speed dial so he knows about every trade rumor and trade factoid,
etc.

I remember once during Baseball Tonight, near the trade deadline this
time of year a few seasons back, and they came back from a commercial to
announce a new trade - because Gammons was fielding calls on his cell
during the commercial break, the GM involved wanted Peter to break the
news and knew BT was on the air at that moment.

Seriously, Peter King and Gammons, the best jobs in the world.

Lelie

Speaking of the eagle WR's, the Denver Post cited the Eagles as one of

5-6 teams in talks with the Broncos about trading for Ashley Lelie, who
has demanded a trade. And that was BEFORE Pinkston's other achilles flared up.

King on Eagles

SI’s Peter King reports from Eagles' training camp.

 

In summary, McNabb laughing off TO, sees no depth at RB, loves LJ Smith, impressed by DL Ed Jasper (sleeper alert! Player most likely to benefit from Bunckley’s absence?), and likes Garcia’s offseason training regimen.

 

 

Quick Defense?

The day after the TO’s book promotion appearance on the John Thompson show, Mike Quick got time to talk Eagles with the DC listening audience. (Not sure if this was some sort of equal time/rebuttal deal or not, but it is interesting that Quick was on the day immediately after TO).

 

Of course, Quick exhibited why he will never a champion debater. His “defense” of McNabb was as poor as Billy McMullen’s hands. Quick called McNabb the best qb in the “NFC East.” Gee, thanks Mike. Better than well past prime Bledsoe and Brunell and still wet behind the ears Manning. Wow, what faint praise.

 

Here’s a clue Mike – McNabb is the best qb in the entire NFC conference! Name one better? Not Mike Vick. Favre is way past his expiration date (TO’s opinion to the contrary). Bulger? Warner? Brad Johnson? Simms? Please. The only ones remotely close would be Delhomme (overrated in my opinion) and Hasselbeck. They both share super bowl losses with McNabb, but neither is in his league.

 

And Quick is the color “analyst” for Eagles’ games? C’mon. get some insights.

TO in DC

TO made an appearance on the John Thompson show last week to promote his book. Thompson’s sidekick, Doc Walker, also joined in the TO “interview.” (For the uninitiated, Doc Walker was a role player on the Gibbs’ Super Bowl teams and has managed to parlay that “fame” into a somewhat successful media career in DC.)

Anyway, Thompson and Walker lobbed softballs at TO for the entire interview. You would hardly have thought there was ever a controversy in Philadelphia or that TO got suspended from the team for the duration of the 2005 season. No mention of McNabb’s “black on black crime” comments, which is kind of extraordinary when you think about it given Thompson’s strong support/defense of African-american athletes. (One of my favorite Thompson radio moments was his musing about the NHL and the dearth of minority players.)

Note to Thompson and Walker: ask TO why none of the offensive players were his allies, spoke up in his defense or attended his birthday party. Why was it only defensive players that said anything positive about him? And putting aside the McNabb angle, why didn't TO get along with his offensive coordinator? Or if TO is such a stupendous talent, and he is, is he playing for his third team in four years?

)

Note

Burrell to Cards?

Joe Morgan and Jon Miller said it last night during the Braves-Phillies game. Said the Cardinals had a lot of interest in Burrell and that the assistant to the GM was at the ballpark last night to look at Burrell. (this was several innings after Miller pondered the hometown reaction to Brett Myers, making his first start at home since being arrested for beating his wife. He suggested that Phillies fans, “like fans in all other big league cities, will be cheering him if he wins.” Which, if you step back for a moment, is an incredibly inflammatory and insensitive thing to say about fans and domestic violence (and I also think somewhat erroneous. Philly fans are many things, but one of their positive attributes is a high moral standard. They don’t tolerate hitting women, which is why the whole Myers thing has become the highly publicized and controversial incident it is.)

 

If A-rod had pressure in NY, imagine the pressure in Philly the first time he goes 0-fer with that $25 million contract.

 

Gordon is a nice player, but not a must-keep. They can get someone of his caliber this offseason.

 

The importance is to unload Abreu and Burrell’s contracts (unfortunately, there is no hope of foisting Lieberthal’s $10 million contract onto some sap of a team). That would free up $30 million of salary to go out and remake the roster for next year. They can’t afford to carry Bobby too far into the future cause at some point Howard and Utley will be making far more than their current $500,000/year rookie contracts.

 

Here’s a link to a story in the St. Louis paper about how the Cards may be looking for hitting before pitching and lists potential Phillies trades

.

 

“Poker playing becomes an art form at this time. The Cardinals have closely followed the Phillies, believed by many to be the catalyst for next week's madness. Outfielders Bobby Abreu, Pat Burrell and David Dellucci are intriguing. However, their pitching stable includes Cory Lidle, John Lieber and lefthanded relievers Arthur Rhodes and Rheal Cormier.”

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/cardinals/story/BEC55CF73FC7B82D862571B40014CDFE?OpenDocument

 

Abreu "for" Lieber?

Who on the Phillies do you think gets traded this week? Seems like there's a lot of interest in Burrell. Will anyone eat Abreu's contract?

 

How about Abreu and Lieber to the Yanks. For nothing. They get pitching help in Lieber and in return have to take on Abreu's contract as well.

2005 or 2006 for Rollins?

When I saw that Utley had extended his hitting streak on Sunday night it got me to thinking about Rollins. How is his 36? Game hit streak that came to an end on the 2nd or 3rd game of the season handled? Is it considered the longest hitting streak of the 2005 season or the longest hitting streak of the 2006 season?

2nd best?

Bill Conlin calls Abreu the 2^nd best OF in Phillies history.

 

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/sports/15115340.htm

 

3-3?

Andy is going to earn his paycheck this year.  Giving East teams 3-3 records I have a lot of 9-7.  Skins/Cowboys/Eagles (didn’t do Giants).

 

On the positive side – Cowboys play their presumed “easy” games at home – Texans/Titans/Lions  while the Eagles play their “easy” games on road – Niners/Texans/Saints.  That’s a huge advantage because we play Carolina and Jags at home instead of the road.  I figure thetough games on road are automatic L’s, but at home you can win (in my Eags 9-7 I gave them L’s at home vs. Carolina and Jags)

 

Falcons added John Abraham – if we’re excited about Howard then they should be equally, if not more, excited about Abraham (and his 20 sacks over the past 2 years).

 

The Offense will be the offense – they’ll put up some points in some games when it’s all clicking, they’ll struggle sometimes and more times than not it’ll get you 20-23.

 

The Defense will decide the season.  We were 27^th in the NFL in points allowed last year (2^nd in 2004).  When was the last time before last year that we got torched??  I say Colts at home (at Vet) when Vincent couldn’t stay w/ Harrison and we lost something like 35-7.  Also, Pats game in ’03 to start season 0-2.

 

Last year we got torched by Cowboys, Chiefs and Broncos – all of those were with T.O. and McNabb still playing.  I think we gave up about 130 points in those 3 games. 

 

D back to form and we win East.

 

Burrell at 3B?

Here’s a question. Since Burrell was a 3B in college and only moved him to left cause Rolen was there, why didn’t the Phils move him back when the position opened up? Even now, Burrell is a better option than the no hit David Bell. Put Victorino in left. Why didn’t they try this in spring training?

4-3

I was watching an NFL network profile of Vince Lombardi that I had Tivo’d from last fall. It was a great show on the HOF coach. But watching it was kind of weird cause the NFL network ran a crawl that provided news about the injury report and other items about that week’s upcoming matchups.

 

Well, I must have recorded this show during the week of the Eagles-Skins game at DC. They ran a “breaking news” segment about TO being “suspended” for the game. That was interesting itself given our recent conversations about TO, Dallas, the Eagles’ 2006 season, etc.

 

But the thing that really caught my eye on the crawl was the info on the Eagles-Skins matchup. I simply did not realize, or had forgotten, that going into that game both teams were 4-3. Even with all the turmoil, McNabb’s injury, no pass rush, a billion passing plays, the Eagles were still a contending team. Incredible to also think that given all that, and what we know now about how the Skins were a playoff team – that the Eagles were in a position to tie the game with a minute to go (till McNabb threw the INT on 4th down.).

 

Anyway, I guess my point – if I have one – is that the nfl season is a tricky thing that can take lots of twists and turns. And two teams with identical records at just before the halfway point can have dramatically divergent fates. That, and even with all the stuff the Eagles went through last year – they were still in it – contending with a playoff-caliber team as it turns out – on the road right down to the last minute --- WITHOUT TO.

TO's book...

…Is out. The Inqy has some excerpts. TO is totally in the wrong and pathological. But it seems to me that there is probably a nugget of truth about McNabb in some of these anecdotes.  – Donovan getting tight or in a funk at times. Donovan missing the open receiver. Nothing terribly damning and even some stuff we’ve all thought, but surely some stuff the anti-McNabb haters will jump on to bash him even more – which is probably TO’s intent to begin with:

 

 

T.O. remembers being "surprised and disappointed," but decided to stay silent, possibly because he had nine touchdowns after the first seven games. Before the Pittsburgh game, Owens says that one of the offensive coaches asked him to be very positive and supportive toward Donovan. Told him that "Donovan can get nervous and tight in big games."

… And then, against the Giants, anger came rippling to the surface, and the split hit the fans.

On one play, Owens thought he was open and ignored. Stormed back to the huddle and squawked. Said, "I was open ... dude, you missed me."

McNabb, according to Owens, replied, "Shut the bleep up."

T.O. got his leg broken in the second Dallas game that season, on one of those cheap-shot horse-collar tackles. Says he understood when McNabb said afterward, "We've been to the NFC championship without T.O." Then revisits it several times with an increasing screech of bitterness.

T.O. circa February 2004

Q: Why do you want so badly to be with the Eagles?

A: I want to play with Donovan McNabb. With a QB like that, I think I'll have a chance to take my skills and talent to another level. During the course of the playoffs, I saw teams with average receivers and good quarterbacks make a great connection. Good QBs can make an average receiver look great. Imagine what they can do for me.

 

 

Seriously, read that a few times.  How can there not be trouble in Dallas at some point.  We were 9-0 and he started yapping in Pittsburgh.  He’s bipolar.

Extensions - Eagles Did it Again

ESPN’s Len Pasquarelli takes a look at the surge in contract extensions in the wake of the new CBA and cites the Eagles as one team that has traditionally done these type of deals (a key part of the team’s success, Len notes) – and have done it again with Shawn Andrews.

 

He’s got the details of the Andrews deal and it is worth quoting at length (below). What is most striking about the deal is that this year will be the biggest cap hit the Eagles will take on the Andrews’ contract. That is simply amazing and a potential steal given the real possibility that Andrews could be a pro bowler for the next ten years. They’ve locked up a cornerstone of their offensive line for what is essentially $4 million a year over the next 7 years. Even now it looks like a bargain and probably a Manhattan for wampum steal three years from now given Andrews’ play and the inflationary spiral of salaries.

 

 

 

“Philadelphia struck again last week in signing third-year guard Shawn Andrews, the team's first-round choice in the 2004 draft, to an extension through the 2015 season. There certainly was no urgency to do so. Even though Andrews voided the final season of his original six-year deal he signed as a rookie, he was still under contract through 2008. But the Eagles, who always seem to have $10 million-$12 million of available cap space, had money to spend, as usual. And despite his past weight problems, the Eagles regard Andrews as a cornerstone for their line in the long-term and a future Pro Bowl performer who eventually might move outside to tackle.

 

As part of the extension, the Eagles rewarded Andrews with a $5 million signing bonus and a $5 million roster bonus, meaning he'll earn $10 million more than the $600,000 in base salary that he was scheduled to bank this season. And the Eagles will carry a salary cap charge for Andrews of $7.779 million.

But consider this: That is the highest salary cap charge for any season of the contract. In 2007, the charge drops to $4.71 million, and then after that, it dips under $4 million until 2013. And the cap charge doesn't rise to over $5 million until the penultimate year of the contract, in 2014. By then, of course, the odds are that the two sides will have reworked the contract. But for a long time, the Eagles will enjoy short salary cap charges for a young player they regard highly.

The Eagles will pay Andrews base salaries of $2 million or less until 2011 and of less than $3 million until the 2013 season.”

 

 

Eagles - the movie

Just in time for football season.

 

“Invincible” the true story of Vince Papale.

 

Opens August 25.

 

Hopefully the movie will be as good as the trailer. Click on one of the two links below.

 

 

Trailer:

 http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1541623623935212086

 

 

 http://movies.aol.com/movie/invincible-2006/25912/main

 

The state of the NBA

as a casual b-ball fan i was always under the assumption that fouls were
like holding in the nfl. if you wanted to, a player could be whistled
every play, but it was the refs job to cite the most egregious examples,
keep everything fair and from getting out of hand.

so how is it that Dwayne Wade can shoot as many free throws as the
entire Dallas team in game 5 and then shoot only two less than the
entire Dallas team in game 6?

Did anyone see the foul called on Nowitzki with 26 seconds left to go in
the game when Wade drove into him with his forearm? Or the final Dallas
shot where Gary Payton is seen grabbing Josh Howards jersey right in
front of the ref, a tug so blatant that it untucked his shirt?

i asked about conspiracies yesterday, but after reading the sports guy i
guess it is just a much more basic question of why the NBA doesn't grade
its refs and assign the best to the champinoship round. how can that be
in this day and age?

Only the Phillies

"Howard's seven RBIs were the most for a Phillie since pitcher Robert
Person
had seven RBIs against Montreal on June 2, 2002, at Veterans Stadium.
Person
hit a grand slam and a three-run home run in that game."

Only on the Phillies could their all-star slugger tie a hitting record
set
by their pitcher.

King Gives Eagles' 2001 Draft a C

Peter King graded the 2001 draft now that 5 years have passed and you can more accurately measure the players’ successes. He gave the Eagles a “C.”

 

I don’t think he gave enough impact to the flop Caver was. The heir apparent to Trotter, if Caver pans out than do we see Levon Kirkland as an Eagle? The disastrous play of “starter” Barry Gardner?  Probably not. If Caver is half the middle LB Trotter was do we beat the Bucs in the championship game? Maybe.

 

 

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/peter_king/06/19/mmqb/2.html

 

17. Philadelphia. Strange but interesting crop. Top pick Freddie Mitchell was a flop. He could have had a long career with the Eagles as a third or fourth receiver, but he gave that up to seek his fortune last year and now he's out of football. Give him credit, though -- he did catch the all-time-clutch fourth-and-26 ball against Green Bay to keep Philly's season alive in 2003. The Eagles never flop on their top two picks, but they did in this draft, picking linebacker Quinton Caver in Round 2. They guessed wrong on third-round pick Derrick Burgess before the 2005 season, allowing him to leave in free agency because they felt he was too injury-prone. Burgess had a great season with the Raiders last year. Correll Buckhalter, the Birds' fourth-round pick, is a good back who can't stay healthy. And the last pick of the day, A.J. Feeley, had one great month with the Eagles in 2002, helping them get into the playoffs with a 4-1 December when Donovan McNabb was out. As I said, strange draft, and helpful to the franchise in spurts.

20 years ago

Len Bias died.

 

http://pressboxonline.com/story.cfm?id=331