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Showing posts from January, 2007
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Don't Crown Manning Just Yet

There seems to be an undercurrent around the Super Bowl that the Colts are going to crush the Bears. Maybe it’s just an assumption on my part, but I don’t think so. As Super Bowl hype gets fired up next week, I expect every journalist in the world to scoff at the thought of an upset by the Bears, which will be strongly based on comparison’s between Peyton Manning and Rex Grossman. After all, one quarterback had a passer rating almost 10 points higher than the other in the playoffs, along with just 1 interception compared to the other guy’s 6. Problem is, the other guy is Manning. Granted, the rest of the stats favor Manning, but he also had a pass-first offense. The Bears defense can dominate a game, they have a strong run game going against a suspect Colt defense, and Andy Reid doesn’t call their plays. No prediction yet, but I’m not convinced this coming week should be treated like a Manning coronation. Week in Review: · It seems to be accepted that the Eagles plan to do very little

Weekend Wrap

So much has happened in the last couple days, I thought I’d throw my two cents in on some things. · I’m as happy as anyone that Chase Utley will be with the Phillies for a long time. he agreed to an $85 million, seven-year contract on Sunday. I am a bit confused, though. ESPN is reporting that “it is believed the Cardinals' Albert Pujols is the only other player who got a seven-year contract after just three years of major league service.” Is Utley really on Pujols’ level? Then again, as long as the Phils keep shedding their cheap label — whether it was ever fair or not — who cares? I can live with a good, possibly (relatively) slightly overpaid player. · Daily News Live just suggested there may be a rift between Donovan McNabb and Andy Reid. Could we be lucky enough to have Mr. Sensitive QB demand a trade? · Everyone is celebrating Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts finally making the Super Bowl. Give him credit for engineering a nice comeback to beat New England, but the

Rx for the Eagles, 2007

Everyone in Philadelphia has an opinion on what the Eagles need to do in the off-season to get back to being Super Bowl contenders. With Andy Reid’s canceling of Donovan McNabb’s press conference yesterday, it seems clear to me that little will change. They will continue to coddle McNabb, assume they know more than anyone, draft big lineman and not run, and draft second-tier wide receivers and pass way too much. So, with no hope that they will do any of the following, here’s my advice to the Birds: · Trade McNabb, re-sign Jeff Garcia, and draft the quarterback of the future: Why everyone says McNabb was on his way to a MVP-type season is beyond me. He was not even close. The team was 5-5 after the game in which he got hurt after starting 4-1. His passing stats are inflated due to Reid’s absurd play-calling in which the team throws way too much, and McNabb’s fragile psyche is tiresome. Garcia outplayed the guy, and proved he was the leader McNabb can only talk about being. · Don’t let R

Birds' Season Has Familiar End

The 35th season of the Philadelphia Eagles that I’ve been alive for has ended like all the rest — without a championship. I’d like to say it still hurts, but it really doesn’t, at least not like it used to. Second guess Andy Reid for punting with less than 2 minutes left if you must; I actually agree with you. But I’m pretty sure the better team won, so I don’t care enough to rip him. As Michael Barkann said last night, the winter of our discontent has begun.

Week-in-Review

Despite blogging more, I haven’t had the chance to comment on everything I wanted to since the new year began. So, knowing Philly sports fans are waiting for my views . . . ok maybe not . . . on everything from Saturday’s Eagles game to the Sixers giving C-Webb the boot, here’s a week-or-so-in-review: · It’s almost as if the Eagles were meant to play New Orleans in their first playoff game since Hurricane Katrina. The media is just dying to play up the Saints as the beacon of hope as New Orleans recovers, seemingly everyone is rooting for them, and here comes the team from the favorite city to vilify. The Saints lost 2 of 3 to end the season, the Birds gave away the first match-up, and I think Garcia’s maturity will help the team overcome the initial emotion behind Katrina. Lito Sheppard being out concerns me, but Joe Horn’s questionable and Donte’ Stallworth will be playing this time around. Just a gut feel, but I think the Eagles take it. · Larry Brown is back with the Sixers, and r

McGuire Rejected by Hall

Baseball, or at least its writers, finally got something right. Yesterday, Mark McGwire only received 23.5% of the vote from the Baseball Writers' Association of America for the Baseball Hall of Fame. The only question is why the slugger widely believed to have used steroids in his career, including the season he set the single-season home run record, received any votes. McGwire’s ridiculous testimony in front of Congress two years ago, when he refused to testify about allegations that he used steroids, laid to rest any doubt for anyone with a clue that he used performance enhancing drugs. What exactly are the 23.5% of the voters missing about the words performance enhancing ? The lamest explanation I heard was from Peter Gammons. He actually suggested that if it was determined that this was the “steroid era” in baseball, McGuire might actually make the Hall someday. While I didn’t see enough to know whether or not Gammons endorsed such thinking, Tony Gwynn (who was elected to the

Birds Get Passed Giants

When the Eagles brought back Koy Detmer earlier in the week to hold for field goals, most of Philadelphia rolled their collective eyes. As David Akers lined up for a game-winning field goal with 3 seconds left in the game against the Giants, the Cowboys’ last-second flubbed field goal attempt causing them to lose the previous night fresh in our minds, Andy Reid seemed like a freakin’ genius. The Eagles won a slop fest against the Giants, 23-20. Not much stood out as a positive for the Birds, but a win is a win, especially in the playoffs. Brian Westbrook looked good despite apparently being sick in the second half. The run defense still looks pretty bad, but tonight it didn’t matter. Jeff Garcia had a so-so game, throwing for 153 yards and a TD. Bottom line, though, he didn’t throw any interceptions and led the game-winning drive. The first weekend of the playoffs was almost perfect for Birds’ fans — the Eagles won a tough one, the Giants were sent home where they belonged, and Dallas

NFC East Title Not What It Used to Be

I’d like to say New Year’s Eve festivities are the reason it’s taken this long to write about the Eagles winning the NFC East. Unfortunately, apathy has a lot more to do with it, and that’s coming from a guy who thinks the Birds have a decent shot at making the Super Bowl. I actually predicted the Eagles would go 10-6, but never thought they’d have to win their last 5 to do it. Normally, a five-game win streak would have this town in a frenzy. Instead, we are cautiously looking at a game against the divisional rival Giants, who seem to be a lot more talented than their 2-6 finish and have the added incentive of staving off Tiki Barber’s retirement. The fact that Barber has been an Eagle killer in the past and the Birds’ run defense has been shaky this season doesn’t help either. It’s fair to wonder what winning the division got the Eagles. Playing a team from our own division in the first round seems a bit ludicrous. Then again three teams from a division that was won with a 10-6 reco

Sixers Beat Nuggets, Iverson

In their only match-up against the Denver Nuggets for the rest of the season, the Sixers pulled off the upset and sent Allen Iverson to an early shower. Iverson was ejected after picking up a second technical foul. I know it’s just one game in a non-stop NBA season, and the Nuggets have 2 of their 3 best scorers suspended. But this has to be considered a surprise, and, to fans of Iverson while he was a Sixer, maybe a disappointment. The Sixers won this game with some ease, and Iverson never even came close to “taking over” the game as he was apt to do in key games in Philadelphia. He took some shots at Mo Cheeks and Billy King before the game, and he really never showed any fire on the court. His comments suggest he was clearly up for this game, and he didn’t exactly play poorly with 30 points (albeit on 10-24 shooting) and 9 assists. Maybe it’s nieve, but somehow I expected more from Iverson. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy the Sixers won. But despite all the baggage Iverson created in