Jody Mac
10-17-2011, 02:52 PM
I will go out on a limb here, but I'm guessing this past weekend was a little bit better for Philly sports fans. Phillie bleeding has at least stopped even if the pain is still raw and shock 'o' shocks the Eagles can win a football game. Yes I know Mike Richards made his lone trip into Philly and helped pin the first loss of the year on the Flyers but all in all, the weekend was much improved!
In a win or your-season-is-over game the Eagles held off the Redskins 20-13. Yes they were up 20-0 and had to secure a big first down in the last minutes of play to run out the clock, but beggars and 1-4 NFL teams can't be choosy! Kurt Coleman may be a less recognizable name than Joe Scarpatti if it's another 45 years before an Eagle player picks off three passes in a game, but for yesterday, he was a star. The star that is LeSean McCoy should be much less surprising. Shady doesn't need to take a back seat to any, and I mean any back in the NFL today. He's fourth in the NFL in rushing, third in yards per carry and second only to Calvin Johnson's 9 TDs with his six scores. Forget fantasy football he is the backbone to the Eagles offense right now.
But the most important aspect of the Birds win wasn't attributable to a person on the field. That distinction belongs to whoever it was on the Eagles staff that finally stood up and said, "This wide-nine is killing me and I can't take it anymore." Whether it was Juan Castillo, Jim Washburn, Andy Reid or Jim Johnson from the great beyond, be glad some one woke up and smelled the yards the Eagles were coughing up. As good as the concept may be, if it lets Jason Babin play lead the NFL in sacks, the Birds just don't have the overall personnel in the middle to play that wide. The adjustment was successful. Rex Grossman's incompetence was surely helpful but the Eagles defense was the best it has been all year. The Andy Reid era has not been marked by admittance of errors, if anything the head coach is known for his stubborn streak, but this was a much needed acceptance of a short coming. Kudos to whoever took the stance for realigning the Birds D!!
One win does not a season make, but it keeps them in the fight. The rest of the division is not great either. The Eagles have an easier schedule left than the first place Giants and Andy Reid is 12-0 in his tenure after the bye. Stick it to Tony Romo and the Cowboys two weeks from now, get to 2-1 in division and you can start to think about playoff chances before you get to the midway point of the season. It's a starting point!!
I know most Phillies fans despise the Cardinals for ousting the home town nine in the opening round of the playoffs but you have to admire the strategic deployment Tony LaRussa's got going with his never ending pen in these playoffs. He has pushed all the right buttons.... If you are a fan of the NFL 2011 game, scoring, scoring and more scoring, you should like the upcoming World Series. With both of these lineups and the lack of star starting pitching (save Mr. Carpenter who did what he did to the Phils in game 5) we should be seeing a whole lot of scoring in the Fall Classic...If you are going to watch the World Series, "Do Me A Favor" and see if you think Tim McCarver does any on-air rooting for either squad during the series and let me know what you hear. (Guarantee we'll get some on each side. Always amazes me on how fans can't seem to come to grips with a national announcer who calls it down the middle) Like Mike Breen and Jeff Van Gundy calling NBA games again soon enough...Oh, that's right, we don't know when they'll be calling games again!!
In a win or your-season-is-over game the Eagles held off the Redskins 20-13. Yes they were up 20-0 and had to secure a big first down in the last minutes of play to run out the clock, but beggars and 1-4 NFL teams can't be choosy! Kurt Coleman may be a less recognizable name than Joe Scarpatti if it's another 45 years before an Eagle player picks off three passes in a game, but for yesterday, he was a star. The star that is LeSean McCoy should be much less surprising. Shady doesn't need to take a back seat to any, and I mean any back in the NFL today. He's fourth in the NFL in rushing, third in yards per carry and second only to Calvin Johnson's 9 TDs with his six scores. Forget fantasy football he is the backbone to the Eagles offense right now.
But the most important aspect of the Birds win wasn't attributable to a person on the field. That distinction belongs to whoever it was on the Eagles staff that finally stood up and said, "This wide-nine is killing me and I can't take it anymore." Whether it was Juan Castillo, Jim Washburn, Andy Reid or Jim Johnson from the great beyond, be glad some one woke up and smelled the yards the Eagles were coughing up. As good as the concept may be, if it lets Jason Babin play lead the NFL in sacks, the Birds just don't have the overall personnel in the middle to play that wide. The adjustment was successful. Rex Grossman's incompetence was surely helpful but the Eagles defense was the best it has been all year. The Andy Reid era has not been marked by admittance of errors, if anything the head coach is known for his stubborn streak, but this was a much needed acceptance of a short coming. Kudos to whoever took the stance for realigning the Birds D!!
One win does not a season make, but it keeps them in the fight. The rest of the division is not great either. The Eagles have an easier schedule left than the first place Giants and Andy Reid is 12-0 in his tenure after the bye. Stick it to Tony Romo and the Cowboys two weeks from now, get to 2-1 in division and you can start to think about playoff chances before you get to the midway point of the season. It's a starting point!!
I know most Phillies fans despise the Cardinals for ousting the home town nine in the opening round of the playoffs but you have to admire the strategic deployment Tony LaRussa's got going with his never ending pen in these playoffs. He has pushed all the right buttons.... If you are a fan of the NFL 2011 game, scoring, scoring and more scoring, you should like the upcoming World Series. With both of these lineups and the lack of star starting pitching (save Mr. Carpenter who did what he did to the Phils in game 5) we should be seeing a whole lot of scoring in the Fall Classic...If you are going to watch the World Series, "Do Me A Favor" and see if you think Tim McCarver does any on-air rooting for either squad during the series and let me know what you hear. (Guarantee we'll get some on each side. Always amazes me on how fans can't seem to come to grips with a national announcer who calls it down the middle) Like Mike Breen and Jeff Van Gundy calling NBA games again soon enough...Oh, that's right, we don't know when they'll be calling games again!!