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“Fire Andy” Chant Needs to Grow

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          Not once, but twice, I heard John Clayton of ESPN yesterday essentially blow off the idea that Andy Reid might be fired at the end of the season. It’s absolutely mind boggling how the national media continues to kiss his rather large rear end. Hopefully, it’s just another example of the national “insiders” sticking to the script of “Andy Reid good, Philadelphia fans bad.” But my fear is that the only thing that might actually get Jeff Lurie to think about firing Reid is a change in the reputation of his coach with the national media.           Luckily, the fans still have a voice. The “Fire Andy” chant was heard at the Linc on Sunday. While the broadcast ignored it, the Ink isn’t about to. Congratulations to the fans. Keep it comin’ Week 15 at the Jets game. (Originally posted by nhubawork .)

Sixers Should Use Reported Amnesty Clause on Iguodala

          Despite a lot of talk from the owners about competitive balance and roster flexibility, the end of the NBA lockout proved that it was all about money.           Shocking, I know.           Until today I hadn’t read one article that offered details of the new collective bargaining agreement giving teams more flexibility to improve their rosters. The closest the players and owners seem to have come was the much discussed “amnesty clause.”           According to an article by John Smallwood in the Daily News today, the amnesty clause survived the final negotiations. Details have been difficult to ascertain with the agreement coming over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, but this is apparently the crumb fans got from the end of the lockout.           The clause gives teams a one-time opportunity to ax a player and not have to count his salary against the salary cap. For the Sixers, that player absolutely has to be Andre Iguodala.           Smallwood suggested m

Eagles Carved Up

          Writing about yesterday’s Eagles debacle as the first productive thing I’m even attempting to do after a long Thanksgiving weekend will probably be as ugly as watching it as a fan. Outclassed by the New England Patriots, 38-20 in a game that really wasn’t even that close, the Eagles are falling apart even more than expected.           Reports are out that Marty Mornhinweg and Jim Washburn had to be separated on the sideline after Washburn started criticizing the offensive play calling. DeSean Jackson turned into Ricky Watters, short-arming a ball in the endzone. He dropped another sure touchdown, and was eventually benched.           The home crowd even offered up a “Fire Andy” chant.           The Eagles defense was actually handed a 10-0 lead in this game, and never looked like it had any real hope of keeping it. Andy Reid was asked yet again about his absurd hiring of Juan Castillo, and, according to a Facebook post I saw, he said, “You didn’t ask me that last w

Happy Thanksgiving, 2011

          I saw the below video a short while back, I believe through the 97.5 The Fanatic Facebook feed. It’s all over the internet now, and I thought it would be a nice last post heading into the long weekend. Whether you’ve previously seen it or not, enjoy the video, and thank you for checking out the blog – on Facebook, Twitter, or whatever way you find the Ink!           Happy Thanksgiving!

0-2 Week

          It’s been a tough stretch after seven straight winning weeks. This week I went 0-2 after Dallas -7.5 over the Redskins wiped out the remainder of the “If pick,” which I would have split anyway with Chicago and the double-down, so to speak, on the Giants -5.5 over the Eagles. “If picks” work just as they sound like they would; if the first pick wins, the next pick in line becomes active. Once a pick loses, everything left is cancelled. The benefits and pitfalls should be obvious. The stand alone Giants pick capped the week with another loss. Each pick was for 20 points.               With Thanksgiving coming up, I wanted to make sure I did this post. I didn’t want to be accused of ducking anything. Next week, however, if I have picks to recap, the post may be delayed from the usual Thursday post due to other obligations.

Eagles Shock Giants

          For those who dare to explain the Eagles beating the Giants 17-10 last night without Michael Vick and Jeremy Maclin after losing to the Arizona Cardinals last week, more power to them.           My gut tells me that the Eagles have merely put off the inevitable of falling short of the playoffs. Worse, I think this win will allow them to get “close enough” to the playoffs to help Andy Reid keep his job next year.           At 4-6, the Eagles would have to win out to have a record of 10-6, which should be the minimum for it to be considered “respectable” after the hype that they entered the season with. With the New England Patriots coming to town next week, that may be a pipe dream.           But if they somehow escape that game with a victory, winning out suddenly doesn’t seem impossible. Going to Seattle on a short week right after the Patriots game may be the toughest test that would remain. Then the Eagles are at Miami, play the Jets at home, at Dallas, and fini

Free Fantasy Football Week 11

          Last week I had my best finish yet in fantasy football – finishing 50 th out of 309 with 127.64 points. That was 20 points out of money, 57 out of first place. My brother/GM didn’t kick-in any changes, and picking Chicago’s Defense/Special Teams was huge. Unfortunately, Al DeMarco’s Draftstreet.com free league that I was playing is no longer free. So, I’m out. I’ve set this post up on Wednesday night, so I’m kind of hoping it’s a glitch. If not, I’ll have to figure something else out.

Brutal Pick Makes for Bad Week

          No excuses, just a terrible call on the Jets. Time to regroup for a bit. Here’s the run down from last week: Thursday Night Parlay: Chargers -7 over Raiders, Georgia Tech +1.5 over Virginia Tech      -10.00 College Football Pick: Alabama -18 over Mississippi State -20.00 NFL Pick: Steelers -4 over the Bengals +21.74 NFL Pick: Ravens -7 over the Seahawks -20.00 NFL Pick: Bears -3 over the Lions +20.00 NFL Pick: Jets -2.5 over the Patriots   -100.00

DeSean Jackson Drama has Familiar Ring

          The fact that DeSean Jackson has become a problem this season should be about as surprising as the fact that Christmas is on December 25 th .           The Eagles knew he wanted a new contract since last year, they watched him holdout, and on Sunday Andy Reid de-activated him for missing a meeting. Now he’s whining about how hard it is to go to work.           Jackson’s stupidity aside – he can go work 9 to 5 any time he wants and find out how hard it really is to go to work – this is the Eagles fault. They knew this was coming, but because they think they invented the NFL, Joe Banner, Jeff Lurie, and Reid, did what they always do. They insisted that Jackson had a contract and they would decide when to extend it or not.           I’m not suggesting that Jackson’s blameless. He should have either had the guts to holdout or the wherewithal to play the season out to the best of his ability without a new contract . He has clearly chosen the middle ground.          

Little Time to Miss the NBA

          It’s taken me about two months since I thought of doing so to finally write a full-fledged post about the NBA. And I’m the guy who would flip on the Wednesday night Sixers game over the last two decades despite the fact that they have been one of the worst franchises in the league.           In other words, I don’t really care that the NBA is in a lockout and apparently going to miss an entire season. It’s a tad frustrating that the Sixers finally showed some signs of life last season and now we won’t get to see if it was for real. But I’d actually rather see the league finally fix its absurd system in which teams are stuck in neutral for years because of one bad contract.           So, as David Stern perfects his grimaced look of anguish issuing what seems like daily threats that the season is in jeopardy, I wonder why he’s even on my TV screen. I don’t even stay on a channel long enough to see Billy Hunter lineup a bunch of his guys behind him to hear him speak.

Unwatchable

          It is time to move on from Andy Reid. Long past time.           Yesterday’s de-activation of DeSean Jackson for missing a meeting, though completely justified, was a harbinger of things to come. I’ll admit I saw very little of the loss to Arizona because I’d rather watch decent football around the NFL on RedZone, but what I saw was flat out ugly.           Mike Vick threw another terrible interception. I know he was missing Jackson and, for portions of the game, Jeremy Maclin, but that had little to do with the interception. Whatever magic he found for 10 games last season is gone along with the myth that Philadelphia is where quarterbacks come to learn under Reid. Arizona is one of the worst defenses in the league, and held Vick to 128 yards passing.           As much as the offense isn’t getting it done, 5 of the Eagles 6 losses have come when they started the fourth quarter with the lead. If anyone thinks that doesn’t go back to hiring the offensive line coach t

Free Fantasy Football Week 10

          I was in the middle of the pack last week in the free fantasy football league I’ve been doing most of the season at Draftstreet.com . Essentially flying solo again, I finished 183 rd of 308.           I set up a team this morning mostly because I wanted to get the post online. It always looks good on Saturday, and then Sunday comes. My brother will hopefully make changes before kickoff, be here are my suggestions: QB       Matt Ryan (ATL-QB)           $14,260          QB      Aaron Rodgers (GB-QB)     $21,411 RB       Darren Sproles (NO-RB)     $13,020 RB       DeMarco Murray (DAL-RB)           $13,029 WR      Roddy White (ATL-WR)      $11,961 WR      Jeremy Maclin (PHI-WR)    $12,329 TE       Matt Spaeth (CHI-TE)         $2,797 FLEX   Danny Woodhead (NE-RB) $4,223 FLEX   Chad Ochocinco (NE-WR) $3,201 DST    Bears (CHI-DST)      $3,737 Cap = $100,000

Winning Streak Ends with a Thud

          My seven week winning streak ended with a thud when my biggest pick of the football season was a loser on Sunday. For the week, I went 1-2, but as I say when I win or lose, it’s really about the points. I was -101.19 with points on the week.           The weekend started poorly with Alabama -4.5 losing outright in overtime to LSU in a field goal contest for -25 points. It was actually my biggest pick of the college season.           I bounced back momentarily on Sunday when the Packers held on to cover -6 over the Chargers for +23.81 points. But the Steelers -3.5 lowered the boom when they let Joe Flacco and the Ravens drive 90+ yards in the final 2+ minutes to win the game for -100 points.           It’s easy to say the two losers were just bad picks, but I think I just got beat. It happens. Obviously, the amounts make it worse, but I was playing with “their points” at least in terms of my football picks, and I’m still +52.63 in football this season.          

Paterno Fired

          Joe Paterno was fired late last night.           I don’t report news on the “Ink,” I react to it. I don’t have much to add to what I wrote yesterday except that it seems sad that actions of a scum like Jerry Sandusky have ended Paterno’s career. Sandusky allegedly molested at least one child on the Penn State campus, and Paterno was told about it by an assistant, Mike McQueary. I know Paterno was fired for not reporting Sandusky, but my point is that the actions of another “man” (I use the term only in biological terms with Sandusky) put this in motion.           My impression is that Paterno was an older guy even at the time of the incident from a time when issues like child molestation weren’t dealt with openly, and he did what he genuinely felt he was responsible for doing. Then he washed his hands of it, and that’s not good enough today. I’m not excusing his lack of follow up with reporting the issue to authorities beyond officials at Penn State, I’m just trying t

Punish the Right People at PSU, Not Players

          I think Penn State should be allowed to play Saturday against Nebraska.           I don’t know.           Using those three words may be the cardinal sin of a blogger. Writing or talking about sports is about having an opinion. A strong opinion.           But I can’t even find my way to firmly declare anything about most of the scandal that is rocking PSU. I have no problem with the notion that Jerry Sandusky should be lined up in front of a firing squad if the allegations are true that he molested even a single child, let alone the number of children he is now accused of abusing.           After that, I think people should to take a deep breath.           Mike McQueary is being skewered for not intervening when he witnessed the abuse. My gut tells me that he deserves every bit of the criticism. I’d like to think I would have intervened immediately. I don’t have children, but as an uncle of six and just as a man I can’t imagine walking away from a child at t

Bears Just Better Than Birds

          Jason Avant won’t have to worry about anyone jumping on the Eagles’ bandwagon this week.           It’s tempting to call last night’s loss to the Chicago Bears, 30-24, a classic by the Eagles. The game after a huge win that supposedly resurrects the season, a game in which the Birds were heavily favored, and the Eagles look flat in the first half, make a comeback, and lose.           But I think the real story was that the Bears were just the better team last night.           Chicago just never allowed the “big” play that the Eagles thrive on.           The Eagles defense wasn’t bad, and they even made a couple of big plays. A Brian Rolle fumble recovery that he ran in for a touchdown towards the end of the first half tied the score at 10-10 and finally gave the team some life. They even forced a quick punt on the next possession to give the Eagles at least a chance to really swing the momentum at halftime.           Instead, DeSean Jackson fumbled the punt o

Weekend Wrap: Paterno’s Ugly End, College Super Bowl Bust, Not Just Philly, Thome Returns, more

          A weekend with no Eagles or Sixers seems like a good time to dust off the rapid fire format. Here’s a weekend wrap: * The sad ending many feared for Joe Paterno may have arrived in a package no one anticipated. News broke that his former defensive coordinator, Jerry Sandusky, was accused of molesting a child in 2002, and while the Penn State head football coach reportedly informed his bosses at the university he never followed up with the police. My understanding is that Sandusky was no longer coaching by then, so I’m not clear on how Paterno isn’t facing the same charges for not reporting the allegations that the university athletic director and a PSU vice president have been charged with. Why tell your bosses at that point? Why not call the police? Paterno’s son is a lawyer who helped him draft his statement about the issue over the weekend. With such legal advice readily available, it’s hard to believe Paterno wasn’t advised to report Sandusky to authorities if his o

Free Fantasy Football Week 9

          The Rob Q. Ink fantasy football team had its best finish yet in the weekly free league I’ve been doing most of the season at Draftstreet.com . With some brotherly assistance, we cracked the top 100 with 126.08 points finishing 95 th of 322 – our best placement yet. The winner finished with 167.28 points.           I don’t really feel like I’m way off base with my selections. Certainly, “loading up” at quarterback and trying to fill out the rest of the roster with the remaining cap space wasn’t working. Last week I let my brother do the roster, and his balanced approach was more productive. I’ve set the roster below trying to find a middle ground. He will be taking a look before kickoff on Sunday to make whatever adjustments he deems necessary. QB Ben Roethlisberger (PIT-QB) $14,594 QB Alex Smith (SF-QB) $10,667 RB Frank Gore (SF-RB) $14,777 RB Michael Bush (OAK-RB) $8,268 WR Jeremy Maclin (PHI-WR) $12,305 WR Greg Jennings (GB-WR) $13,711 TE

The Hard to Love Eagles: Avant, Kelce Dig Holes Deeper with Fans

          I tried to ignore it, because it seemed like the only worthwhile response. Some guy named Jason Kelce on the Eagles criticized fans for putting up a sign calling for Andy Reid to be fired.           Kelce turned out to be the starting center. I follow the team day-in and day-out and had never even heard of the guy. Since then he’s proven why. Putting the ball between his legs is apparently a little too tough for the rookie from Cincinnati. (I looked him up.)           I even ignored it when Jason Avant picked up the baton earlier this week saying that the team didn’t want any “bandwagon” fans. I guess he was feeling chesty after the Birds beat the Cowboys on Sunday night. After all he did have 5 of his 27 catches this year in that one game, and 74 of his 412 yards this season. He might even get his first touchdown in the eighth game of the season on Monday night.           In case my sarcasm wasn’t blatant enough, these guys are scrubs. Avant is listed on the Eagle

Biggest Pick of the Year Carries Seventh Straight Winning Week

          It was the most frustrating weeks of picks since the beginning of the football season, and I still ended up with +19.50 points despite going 1-3. Winning my biggest football pick of the year obviously carried me through the week.           The end of the World Series got things off to a bad start as Texas blew a 3-2 series lead to lose it for -15.50 points (I included the .50 just to make it easier as they were -155). I think the worst part for me, besides watching the Rangers get the Cardinals to their last strike twice in Game 6 and blowing it, was that I stayed away from Game 7 not wanting to go directly against my series pick. I really didn’t think the Rangers could recover after the emotional loss the night before, but it seemed stupid to essentially force a push by picking St. Louis in the final game. Besides the obvious result, I’m still not sure if it makes sense in general to bail on a series like that. Regardless, I lost.           To wrap up the World Serie