Monday, November 30, 2009

Don't Hit the Red Button Yet...

With a belly full of turkey and a year's worth of stories emanating from my Thanksgiving celebration this weekend, I return to the scene of the crime. My blog, my fans, my issues. Panic seems to be the common Philly sports thread right now and I just want to remind everyone of the floatation devices under your seats, should you choose to jump out of this plane. Lots to touch on, so lets dive right in.

Eagles
I'm not so sure why everyone is so down on the Eagles. Historically, Eagles-Skins game have been extremely unpredictable and tight. This one lived up to that. Bottom line is that we swept a bad Redskins team this year. Yes, the very same Redskins team that swept us last season. People, get your expectations in check. We are not going to blow every team out. We aren't that good, but we are 7-4 and I'm still not buying the Cowboys. The Giants are a better team than they've shown and I believe the division will come down to them and the Birds. Next week the Birds go on the road to play a battered Falcons team. No Matt Ryan, no Michael Turner, and a pieced together secondary. We have a really good chance to win this ballgame, but it won't be easy. I will feel better if we get Akeem "The Dream" Jordan back this week to solidify our linebacking corps. The Falcons still have plenty of talent on both sides of the ball, especially on offense. I cannot wait for Summer to experience the wave of "southern hospitality" sure to greet us in our Eagles-clad jerseys at the Georgia Dome. Bring it, Dirty Birds. We'll be ready.

Flyers
Every hockey season goes 82 games. That is a ton of games. If I'm not concerned about the Flyers 13-10-1 record, neither should you. An 82 game season, much like a 162 game season, has lots of ups and downs. Eight teams make the playoffs and I'm not worried about being 9th in the conference right now. Let's talk in March, okay? I can say without hesitation that this Flyers team is good enough to compete for Lord Stanley's Cup. Hopefully we can get Gagne, Briere and Betts back and keep everyone relatively healthy.

Sixers
The Sixers are playing bad basketball right now and they just lost Louis Williams (arguably their best player thus far) for 2 months with a broken jaw. Put him in the running for the NBA's tough guy award. Dude broke his jaw during a game, he continued to play, with sed broken jaw, then had surgery a couple of days later. That's hockey tough. The Sixers have also been hit hard by injuries (Williams, Speights & Brand), but when everyone comes back they will still suck. The Sixers are in a bad spot. Too good to be a lottery team, too bad to seriously challenge any of the contenders in the East. Too capped out to make any improvements. Speaking of which, I have a feeling they will bring AI back and he will play well. While there's a part of me that romanticizes about the early part of this decade when AI and the Sixers commanded your eyeballs and dollars, the reality is that this is a bad idea. It's one thing to put up with the AI-circus when he's playing at a high-level like he was 6-7 years ago, but at 33 he's not nearly the player he once was. With his deteriorating skills & speed, an okay outside game, questionable shot-selection and his matador-style defense, I don't think it's a good idea. We didn't even broach the possible, er probable negative impact he could have on this VERY young team. Not to mention, the very telling stat that every team AI leaves gets better. Hmmm, maybe that's their approach. This leads me to believe that Ed Snider and Ed Stefanski believe in one thing -- getting butts in seats and maybe AI has one more run left in him.

Dawgs
What a great win for the Dawgs over the Tech Nerds on Saturday night. I mean, what does it say when an average SEC team goes to play the best team in the ACC, in their building and literally runs over them? A great game plan by Richt, Bobo and yes, even you Willie Martinez. I've been saying this for a couple of weeks, but Caleb King is finally showing the kind of ability Dawgs fans have been hearing about for years. The King/Ealey tandem was unstoppable on Saturday night putting up nearly 400 yards on the ground.

Does this save Willie Martinez job? Hell no. Our defense still gave up 24 points to them and we can't stop anyone. Hell, the game might have ended differently if that Tech WR didn't drop a pass that hit him in the hands on 4th down. I've heard some whispers about who our next DC might be and the names being mentioned are definitely exciting. Anything should be a step in the right direction. I could improve that defense with my all-out Tecmo Bowl blitz package dominant defense of the early 90s. We have some athletes on defense and we are young. If Reshard Jones and Rennie Curran return our defense could be significantly improved (especially with the departures of Prince Miller & Bryan Evans).


Things You Should Know:
  • Congrats to Derek Jeter on being named SI's "Sportsman of the Year." Very well deserved for a class act like him. Remarkably he's the first Yankee to ever win the award and while I'm not a Yankee fan, I have always admired the way Jeter plays ball.
  • After Tiger Woods latest issues, I'm pretty convinced of three things. One, the greatest players in the world do not always make for the greatest role models. Two, without knowing anything about his wife and her possible psycho tendencies, I guess anyone can be cheated on (assuming rumors are true). Three and most importantly, always have a good PR guy on your speed dial -- let me know if any of you need some recommendations.
  • I can't seem to put down Andre Agassi's book "Open." It's been a sensational read. The punishment that his dad inflicts on him is beyond comprehension.
  • On the way back from our Thanksgiving destination of Mississippi, Summer said the most beautiful, unforgettable words to me. "Ross, this weekend I learned a lot about football, and to be honest, I don't hate it anymore. In fact, I could probably go to a Georgia game, watch it and understand why everyone gets fired up now. I could probably watch a full game now." She then compared watching football to eating pickles, which really didn't resonate with me b/c I was still stuck on her earlier proclamation.
  • One of the keys just came off of my keyboard and my keyboard kind of looks like that person missing one of their front teeth. It ain't pretty, folks.
  • Go see "The Blind Side." This was part of Summer's Thanksgiving/Football indoctrination and it doesn't disappoint. It is a phenomenal movie, about much more than just football and Sandra Bullock is outstanding.

1 comment:

  1. Another reason not to sign AI. They end up with a better record and get a lower(or higher depending on how you look at it) draft pick. Not that they've showed they have the ability to evaluate talent anyway.

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