Here comes a big one

I have to admit...even though I had on the game yesterday, I don't think I paid attention to more than three or four plays. Talk about boring.

This coming weekend should be a little different. It's not often that I would look forward to a guaranteed ass-whooping, but I think I am. I am eager to see the Eagles get embarrassed. Eager to see McNabb laugh it up after the sure-to-come misfires on offense. I'm definitely eager to hear the mundane comments in Andy's post-game press conference. Honestly, I'd love to see our defense put up a fight, but they're going to be on the field too much.

Yes, I can't wait for the Eagles to throw in an epically awful performance. And when the Patriots have one of those "go for it on 4th and 3, up 57 points in the 4th quarter" moments, I will not be bitching. This is football after all. A sport for men, even if the Birds might look like boys afterwards.

Wha happen?

Whoa.

After a week of cool down, an Eagles victory, and the realization that this year's NFL season is unpredictably weird, I almost feel like taking back some of the things I said last week.

Obviously that's not going to happen. Honestly though, what teams in the NFL are good anymore? The Chiefs are leading the AFC West. The mediocre Cowboys lead the NFC East. There are divisions that are unmentionable altogether. I can only list three or four teams that are definitely good.

All things considered, however, the Eagles might not be as bad as I previously thought.

Scratch that. They are horrible. The other teams they play might be worse than I expected, which makes the Eagles look good. This season might truly be a toss-up. McNabb actually looked a little better on Sunday, against a Viking defense that isn't horrible. Interesting games abound on the remaining schedule, and hopefully #5 continues to get back in some sort of a stride. If you were to make any sort of prognostication on NFC playoffs right now, I'd say you either work for ESPN and get paid to make stupid comments, or you just don't get it. I'm so confused.

Is this the end of an era?

Remember in preseason when everyone was predicting at least nine wins for the Eagles, and most put it over ten?

Man, that just seems crazy now. Clearly this team has major issues, both now, and in the future. It's tough to say whether or not they can recover in the short term, under this management, but I for one am fairly hopeful for the next decade or so. Beyond that, it's clearly ridiculous to postulate.

But, another hypothetical question must be asked. If they don't pull this season out (which seems highly unlikely at this point), is the good-Reid era over, and soon to be replaced by the bad-Reid era? Will he be fired?

I don't think Lurie has shown that he's the type to fire Andy Reid. I think he should...I think most sensible people do. And honestly, while this team isn't quite at "blow up" level, I think some serious re-thinking needs to be done, offensively and defensively. Clearly a new coach would bring that, and a fresh perspective all around. No disrespect to Reid, because when he was good, he was really good. But the Eagles' play has become beyond stale, and has shown no signs of recovery.

In case you haven't noticed...

Ok, so I know this is more of a diary entry than a blog post, as I might be the only remaining hockey fan in the country, but here it is.

Remember last season's horrible performance? Those days might be finished. Sure, they've only played 4 games, but they look pretty good. If you remember, last year I couldn't quite figure out why the Flyers were so bad. I could see some of it, but the fact that they were truly dominated in every way perplexed me.

This season is clearly different, even if they don't keep up this pace. This team is mean. They've fought, they've taken dirty penalties, and all the while, they've managed to score enough goals to win games. Not surprisingly, the Rangers, whom everyone thought would walk away with the division, are experiencing some early season jitters, and look like just another New York team: miserably failing at buying a championship.

The Flyers, on the other hand, look sprightly to say the least, all while harnessing what appears to be the same type of intensity that gave this team so much success years ago. I'm not gonna get ahead of myself and say that they're definitely a lot better than last year's team, because they've only played four games. But I will say that I think this season just might be enjoyable.

Too many questions

The Phillies made the playoffs, and immediately blew it. It was a turbulent season; our "ace" got hurt and it might have helped us, we moved our other "ace" to the bullpen and it might have helped us. Our two best offensive players missed a ton of games. And they battled, and battled, and battled. And somehow snuck into the playoffs.

I have to say it was pretty crazy. I went to game one, and although it was disappointing, it was a once in a life time experience.

But now that it's been a week, and the excitement/despair has worn off, does this take the Phillies off the hook? Do they get a pass for a year or two, at which point we can begin complaining again? Are they on the same list as the early 2000's Eagles who flirted with destiny, but never reached it?

I'm so torn on this season. I can't decide if I have any confidence in the team for next season, or if this was truly just a fluke. I obviously enjoyed the season. But what comes next?

Did that seriously just happen?

Give me a call when reality sets back in.
Greenbleeder over and out.

Ah yes, here it is. The dreaded end of the season. The Phils predictably fall apart, pull it back together, fall apart again, and eventually leave you wondering what in the hell just happened and why didn't I see this coming. Or, how did I see this coming. Inevitability bites you like a 3 pound mosquito, and until football gets under way, that thing itches like a somabitch.

They just took two miracle games from the Mets, with two to go. Still four back from them, and three back in the Wild Card. At this point last season, if my memory serves me correctly, the Phillies were in first for the Wild Card.

I'm not sure what I'm trying to say here. All I know is we've certainly seen this before. I hadn't watched a game in weeks before the Mets series (they always draw me back in just because I loathe the Mets so much), but we all know a series victory here is going to spark the city back onto the bandwagon, and I don't know if I can deal with that crap again. Bah

10,000 Chances to Connect

125 years is a long, long time. Long enough that after losing 9,999 games, no crime could be charged for breaking the five-figure mark. But in the midst of this milestone of historical ineptitude, the Phillies brass managed yet another in a series of predictable transgressions. For one night, we gave them permission to lose. And all we wanted in return was a time to celebrate, to embrace our franchise in the only way that no other pro sports team can be loved. And yet again, they missed out on a chance to connect with their fans.

I didn't need to see Von Hayes toss 10,000 baseballs into the stands, or see (as jokingly rumored) 10,000 black balloons ascend from center field. All I hoped for was recognition. And in refusing to acknowledge the passing of this mark, management yet again let us know that we are not the focus (sadly, neither is pitching).

It is understandable to shy away from anything which would glorify losing, but they'll never get another opportunity to turn a loss into a party. You will never again see a home crowd on their feet, cheering during the bottom half of the 9th inning, down 10-2 with 2 outs.

As the game closed, and Chase refused to make the last out, a glance at the scoreboard revealed that there was no one left in the lineup that I'd want to end this game. For once, I wished Charlie hadn't taken out Burrell and Barajas.

Long, Long Time Ago

Nine times. The Phillies have made the playoffs nine times, appearing in one world series. In 125 years. If you told this dude that we'd wouldn't win a championship for another century he would have shit his knickers. We've never won the wild card (get ready for that streak to continue). This is not just bad, it's monumentally bad. It's even worse when placed in historical perspective. The Celtics won eight championships in nine years, as did John Wooden's UCLA squad. Two MLB teams have more world series wins than we have world series appearances. Two MLB teams have made the playoffs more than nine times since the last time the Phils played into November.

These aren't numbers that stand out on the page, they're numbers that jump off the stat sheet and slap the hoagie out of your mouth. This organization is a disgrace. They have been presented with opportunity after opportunity and have consistently Pat Burrelled every attempt. And what's worse- I like our current team. We've got a bad manager and a worse boss, but our young players are worth getting behind and can't be held accountable for management woes (except for Barajas, who is being held fully accountable until further notice). I'll never forgive them for not putting the new stadium downtown. But all of this won't change one thing- I'll be at the game tonight. I'll put on my Marlon Byrd jersey, get on the orange line, and head south to meet the inevitable. The only question left is- will we boo if they win?

Week 7: The Grossman Clinic

Sunday, October 21st 4:15 vs. Bears

Donovan's current team vs. his future team. This game could mean a lot more in the career of Kevin Kolb than we realize. If Five takes down the monsters of the midway, climbs into the NFC driver's seat, and doesn't look back until he's holding a trophy in Miami, he may buy himself a couple more years with the club. But if he pulls a Sexy Rexy and airmails four interceptions to Mike Brown and Nathan Vashar, he might just buy himself a one way ticket back to O'Hare.

But...

There's just no way we're losing this one with Super Bowl MVP Rex Grossman under center for the Bears. Playing football with Rex is like playing chess with a free turn every five moves. The dude is a menace. I don't care if he is practing lefthanded. Chalk this one up for the Birds, 27-10

I have a brief question

When does football season start?

You know I love hockey, and the Flyers signing Briere this weekend was huge. But they were outcashed by the Rangers, so it might be for nothing. Not to mention the horrific season that I loyally sat through last year.

The Phillies? Who even wants to think about that crap?

Which brings me back to my original question. When does football start again? Don't expect to hear from me again for a while, I'll be hiding in my cave playing Madden.

Week 6: Enter the Mangenius

Sunday, October 14th @ Jets

There have been more than a few circumstances in the last five years where a innocuous AFC east trip has turned into a 64-3 blowout, and to anyone who is worried that we have another one coming here, have a coke and a smile. The Birds will be coming off a bye, while the Jets look to recover from a brutal road trip to their own stadium. While this has all the makings of a 31-27 grind with Donovan tossing out 4 touchdowns in his (hopefully) season premier, it's a win any way you draw it up. The Eagles don't lose off of a bye. They don't lose to inferior teams (gulp), and they don't lose to AFC teams that you'd think they could steamroll because their 3-6 even though if they played in the NFC West they'd be a perennial super bowl threat. Yikes.

I also don't care if Mangini is a fat young genius. Lest you forget, there was a time when Andy Reid was fat and young as well. Let that be a lesson on what the aging process can do for you. But once Eric breaks out the Belichick hobo sweats, it may be time to start getting worried. Let me stand as an example for everyone that the less you care about your clothing, the more you care about everything else. Especially football.

Prediction: Win, Cover, and 1 Chad Pennington career ending injury that is downgraded to day-to-day in two weeks.

Thank god that's over

This guy is about as impressed as anyone was with Mike Brown and the Cavs' performance over that excruciatingly long four game series with the Spurs. So begin the doldrums of summer, which this year feature an above .500 ball club! As bad as these NBA finals were (don't forget that the actual finals were played a month ago and were marred by the clutch play of Robert Horry), we've got a lot of basketball to get ready for, as this offseason promises to bring in the largest batch of new Sixers that we've seen in about a decade. And if the thought of four mid to low first round picks doesn't get your blood burning, we'll throw in non-stop Eagles coverage as well.

As for the finals, cheers to the Spurs and jeers to a Cleveland squad that thankfully had something to leave on the floor back in Detroit but were nothing more than well uniformed fish in a barrel against anyone the West could throw at them.

The Best: Running Back

The greatest running back we'll probably ever see absolutely blew my mind when he came to play in Philly back in fall of 2005. The Eagles won that game, 20-17, on a blocked field goal taken back for a touchdown. During the fourth quarter there was a fire alarm in the stadium and all fans were asked to leave, as if burning to death in the Linc would be a worse fate than exiting a game early. Neither of those occurrences were half as amazing as what LaDainian Tomlinson did on that afternoon. His line for the game: 17 carries for 7 yards, and 0 touchdowns, breaking his streak of 18 consecutive games with a trip to the endzone. Tomlinson is a player so special that when you when someone is able to bottle him up, even for a day, he has still managed to upstage the game itself. He also stole Lawrence Taylor's nickname and is still alive.

The Best: Defensive Player

Lights Out. Shawne Merriman takes this one quicker than a left tackle can call for help. Or pizza. This dude is scarier than finding out your girlfriend is 17. He missed four games last year for a steroid violation and still led the league in sacks (and steroid violations). The dude can't be stopped, controlled, or reigned in. Keep your Kerry Collins statues away from the field.