Fan commentary on the Philadelphia Eagles and other Philly sports happenings. "Our capacity for hurt is matched only by our capacity for loyalty." -- Bill Lyon.
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
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.
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."
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
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.
Here's my take on the Eagles' season.
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
August 21st is Hunter Pence bobblehead day at Citizens Bank Park. At least they're not playing the Giants.
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.
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.
Was yesterday's standing ovation for Cole Hamels' departure an appreciation for a tough game or for a career well-served in Philadelphia?
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.
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.
Eagles have 3rd 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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
