Post Christmas Miracle

All the stars align perfectly and Eagles crush the Cowboys to send them packing



Yesterday was the happiest day ever and I was never happier to be wrong. I couldn't have been more wrong on all my prognostications. I had the Eagles losing to Dallas, Oakland falling to Tampa, and us looking at another gloomy offseason.

Boy was it great to be wrong! We witnessed a miracle yesterday. How else can you explain Oakland coming back from 10 down and the Texans upsetting the Bears?

Yesterday's turn of events was about as improbable as you'll ever see and the Eagles particularly Andy Reid and the defense deserve all the credit in the world for taking advantage of the opportunity given to them. On a day with weather that was summer-like there was definitely something strange in the air in Philly.

First off, Oakland was down 10 points with a little over 12 minutes left and came on like a house on fire to take down the Bucs.

Then shortly after that the Texans sealed the deal over the Bears in Houston.

The Eagles then at kick-off had their destiny in their hands. And, they didn't let up from the opening moments.

Chalk this one up to Reid getting back into the balancing act and the defense. Those two turnovers for TDs destroyed the Cowboys and there was no coming back from it.

One could argue this one was over once the Eagles had a two-touchdown lead in the first quarter.

No matter what happens in the playoffs (and the Eagles can go very far in a wide-open conference) the lasting image of this season will be that of Reid waving his arms up to get the crowd pumped up. Finally, he got it...at least yesterday he did. And, the lasting image of the Cowboys will be of Romo laying face flat on the turf.

Amazing what this game has done for the fortunes of this franchise. Instead of discussing the Kolb-era it's almost a lock McNabb will return. And, you can bet Reid will return as coach. It's another story if he'll remain the GM though.

The Birds will head to Minnesota next week to take on the Vikings.

Leaving the Nest?

Sunday's game against Dallas could be McNabb's last as an Eagle


The writing is already on the wall. For a year now Howard Eskin has been saying that the "contract extension" would be the deciding factor if McNabb remains an Eagle in 2009. And, that means Joe Banner put that in his ear.

We could sit here and talk about it until we're ready to pass out by analyzing the repeated failures of the Andy Reid regime and why he shouldn't return in any capacity to the Eagles. I happen to think he'll return as coach but the brain trust will actually put a real GM in there with a voice and not just some puppet like Tom Heckert. They realize the talent evaluation on this team is sub-par and by keeping things status quo it's going to further infuriate the fanbase.

Another huge change for the Eagles organization could be at quarterback. The word is he is going to want a contract extension after the season and the timing couldn't be better for the Eagles. Andy Reid wants to save his ass and will pin this "lost season" on McNabb, who didn't have a great season as he said or even a very good season. I'd say McNabb was adequate this year. He had some good games against poor competition, didn't lead the team to any 4th quarter comeback victories (he hasn't since the Raiders game in 2005), and stunk up the stadium against the Bengals and Ravens. I still think McNabb can hang with the big boys like Manning and Brady but he needs a better coach, more weapons, and a better system. It's not happening though-at least not here.

Sunday could very well be McNabb's last as an Eagle and it will mark the end of an era of another "what could have been" story in town. He'll join the ranks of Randall, Sir Charles, and Lindros as athletes in Philly who were very successful, but didn't win the big one.

And, we can pin that on Reid. McNabb should have won at least one Super Bowl and that year was in 2003. Had Reid kept utilizing Duce Staley in the game against Tampa Bay in 2003, the game known as The Debacle I, the Eagles would have went on to play Oakland and win. However, Reid in his stubborness blew many opportunities by abandoning the run in the big games. Look at all of the Eagles meltdowns and ye shall see a laundry list of out-of-whack pass to run ratios.

As you know the Eagles will not only need to win, but they'll need Chicago to lose and Tampa to lose as well. Oh yeah, Chicago plays Houston and Tampa plays Oakland. Don't bet on both of those teams losing.

Wasted Opportunity

Eagles blow opportunity to leap frog Dallas



During yesterday's 10-3 nightmare loss there was not a single positive thing one could take away from the offensive play calling. It was quite frankly offensive.

In what is the latest chapter in Philly sports misery we witnessed some of the worst 60 minutes of offensive football you can watch.

46 passing plays were called to just 16 running plays. And, this was in a game that was never beyond reach for the Eagles.

You may know by now that 15 straight passing plays were called in a 3rd quarter in which the Eagles were down 10-0.

Suffice it to say this madman of a coach, whom has gone back to his addiction will never "get it." The Eagles were in a perfect spot to set the stage for a playoff appearance with a win yesterday and a win next week against Dallas.

The only thing, which saved the Eagles' season is the fact that the Bucs failed to get the job done at home against a San Diego Chargers team that stinks.

Now the Eagles need to beat Dallas and hope Tampa Bay loses to Oakland. And, Tampa is at home once again.

Unless a miracle happens we can expect another season without the playoffs for the Eagles. This will make it three out of four years that the Eagles will miss the playoffs.

At least they can ruin Dallas' season with a win next week. This is all we have to look forward to because Andy Reid has his head so far up his you know what he can smell the brill cream on his face, to quote Junior Soprano.

Let's think this through though. Should the Eagles finish up 9-6-1 you just know the organization will spin this somehow. They'll tell us, "if we had Brian Westbrook and Shawn Andrews healthy" or "if we had a few calls go our way" or "if (insert whatever other BS excuse)" we would have had our 6th playoff appearance in 10 years of Andy Reid's regime.

Well guess what IF's don't win a damn thing sports. If I were a betting man I'd say the Eagles keep Reid and allow him to throw McNabb under the bus and start anew with Kevin Kolb next year.

Can you say four wins? Sign me up!

And, then when the Eagles are 4-12 they can trade down in the first round for a lower pick and a future first round pick and tell us they have a plan to rebuild for the future that includes drafting more players rather than the best players.

Look how far that's gotten them in the past few years!

In a bizarro world the Eagles are a championship team. They were 3rd in the NFL in defense heading into yesterday's game and 7th in total offense. And, they'll most likely watch the playoffs in January once again.

Meanwhile their coach pulls the plug on something that's working in favor of firing away.

And, anybody with half a brain can see this isn't working. We saw it with the Flyers when they had a lack of a goalie, with the Eagles in the early part of the Reid era before they had an elite wideout, the Phillies with lack of pitching, and we see it now with Reid.

The writing is on the wall, but does the ownership care?

Two To Play

Eagles head into Sunday's contest 1/2 game behind Atlanta



Suddenly the Eagles look like contenders once again after winning three straight games and sporting the NFC's top ranked defense. Yep folks they have the top ranked defense in the NFC and third ranked in the NFL behind Pittsburgh and Baltimore.

And, the offense isn't too shabby either, clocking in at #7 in the NFL.

Why is this team fighting for their playoff lives? Is it incompetence on the part of the head coach? Is it lack of effort and toughness by the 11 and 11 on the field? Bad luck?

Probably a combination of all of these in some way, shape or form. They Eagles find themselves behind the Cowboys and Falcons, whom are 9-5 at this juncture. Meanwhile, they are sporting an 8-5-1 record and need to not only win out, but receive a bailout of their own in the form of a Vikings victory this weekend over the Falcons.

Matt Ryan on the road against the Vikings. Hmmm. I'll take that and say the Falcons win this Sunday unless they suffer a letdown. The Falcons are the NFL's best story this year, having crawled out from the depths of the ocean amongst the bottom feeders to become a contender in the NFC.

Matt Ryan is an NFL MVP candidate-yep the same Matt Ryan from our area. There hasn't been a rook in the NFL to take the most coveted individual award since Jim Brown did it over 50 years ago.

The Eagles are going to have count on a Falcons letdown this weekend or dare I say it against the Rams. And, those aren't good odds.

This season could be another case of "just what if" and they'll end up a 10-win team.

Who would have thought 10 wins couldn't get you in the playoffs in the woeful NFC. Newsflash, the NFC has gotten much better. Just like the Eastern Conference in the NBA.

There's little doubt that the Eagles will run over the Redskins this weekend. The Skins are a dead team and their coach as yours truly predicted, is a joke. And, little Danny Snider will fire him at season's end and hire his 27th head coach in the past 10 years.

And, what pray tell was the NFL thinking by putting the Eagles-Skins and Falcons-Vikings games on at the same time? Sure, they couldn't bump the Panthers and Giants from the spotlight, because that game has implications for who is the top team in the conference (great move trading for Carolina's 1st rounder by the way Big Red) but at the very least they should have put one of the games on at 1:00.

I wouldn't want a Sunday night game anyway. I don't know about you, but I'm about suck of staying up late to watch the Eagles on prime time. Some of us have to get up at 6:00 in the morning for work you know.

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The State of the Sixers = Sad

Sure, the Sixers are coming off a 2-game winning streak, but lets just put a fork into this team now shall we.

The easiest job in the world is being a Monday Morning Quarterback, but a GM's job is to not F up.

I praised the move of signing Elton Brand and still think he'll pan out-well at least I hope so.

However, there is no reason in hell the Sixers should have ever signed a second-rate player like Andre Iguodala for that kind of contract when he still had a year left on his rookie deal!

Heck, they should have let him walk if he wanted that kind of money. This is the kind of contract Billy King would have signed a player too. And, now the Sixers are stuck with a middle of the road player on their roster making superstar money.

And, unless Isiah Thomas is reincarnated or possesses the mind of a GM in this league the Sixers are going to be back in salary cap hell for the next few years.

After all they went through to get out of cap hell, they decided to sink right back into it.

What the hell was Stefanski thinking? I thought the guy was a smart basketball guy. Boy was I wrong.

So were so many of us.

Sloppy Blowout

Eagles win 30-10 but look sloppy in the process



Those are two words you rarely see in the same sentence of phrase, but the Eagles were sloppy in their blowout win over the Browns last night.

First off, before I get crucified, the Eagles should get credit for overcoming their Monday Night jinx and beating who they should have.

By no means was it a great win and there was some real head-scratching moments, but there was no moment where I or any rational person thought they would lose.

Steve Olenski breaks down this snooze fest in his Morning After blog.

G Cobb thinks B West should have been worked a little less in this game.

And, Jon Runyan hit a milestone last night-his 200th NFL game and 190th consecutive start.

And, once again they nearly gave up a TD before the half. Just what McNabb was thinking on that throw is beyond me. The DeSean Jackson pass on the goal line was another Andy Reid special (stupid play).

All in all it was an OK win by the Birds. Asante Samuel took advantage of a horrific throw by Dorsey and looked like a player that deserved that fat contract...until he nearly dropped the damn ball before the goal line DeSean Jackson style. Fortunately the Birds got the extra point off before the play could be reviewed.

The Eagles are on a short week and take on the Skins next who are in the midst of their annual late-season implosion. Ah, it feels good to be right. Not only was I right about Zorn being a boob, but the Skins have imploded once again.

That's all for now.

Downgrade

Phillies sign Chan Ho Park



Say goodbye to Jamie Moyer people. The Phils have inked Chan Ho Park to a contract.

Yes, the same Chan Ho Park who hasn't done jack squat since 2001.

So, the Phillies are going to replace their third starter Jamie Moyer with a borderline 5th starter in a hitter's ballpark.

Huge downgrade.

And, Chan Ho Park said publicly that the reason why he chose Philly is because he will start here.

You can forget about them signing Derek Lowe now. This is the Phillies' plan for replacing Moyer.

I gave the signing of Ibanez an A, but this signing gets a stone cold F.

Today the Phillies are a weaker team than when they were on Ocober 27th.

We caught up to Ruben Amaro today about this horrid signing and he had this to say.

"F**k you Bakay. I have to listen to your horses**t every time I don't go out and spend $100 million on some big name pitcher. What did the signing of Kevin Brown do for the Dodgers. Or, how about the signing of Randy Johnson for the Yankees. What in the f**k did that do for them? They watched in October", said Amaro as he spilled coffee on himself.

I guess Amaro never heard of Josh Beckett, Curt Schilling, or Roger Clemens. These were all big-name signings who enabled their teams to win championships.

Bye Bye Pat

Pat Burrell era comes to a close with Phils' signing of Ibanez



Raise your hand if you're a little saddened by the end of the Pat Burrell era.

Sure, he drove us nuts at times and when things got bad he didn't come up big, but he really did help to get this team into the playoffs in 2007. 2008 was a bit of an up and down year. He started off the year like a house on fire and slumped in the latter months.

But, he epitomized what it is to be an athlete in Philadelphia-he's a hard worker. You can't take that away from him.

Gonna be sad to see him go, but Raul Ibanez isn't exactly chopped liver. The Phils have signed the former Mariners outfielder to $30 million over 3 years. Yes he's 35 years old, but he gives the Phils a bat that produces 20-plus homers and over 100 RBIs annually. And, he did that in Seattle. The 36 year-old outfielder hit .293 with 23 homers and 110 RBIs last year.

Fans are going apes**t about this signing though because god forbid the Phillies add "another lefthander" in the lineup. Is the lineup too heavy on lefthanders sure, but they can break it up with Werth and Victorino. Don't forget that Rollins can switch hit.

I give this signing a B-plus. Good move by Rube.

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TO is losing his mind again

In case you haven't heard, T.O. is losing it once again. This time he's accusing Tony Romo and Jason Witten of conspiring against him by putting together a secret gameplan that cuts him out of the plans.

One of our people in the Dallas area spoke to TO about this.

"Look, I know what Tony and Jason are doing and the s**t aint cool. Terrell doesn't want to be left out of the loop. Terrell wants to win a Super Bowl and the only way to do it is if Terrell gets the ball as much as possible. And, that aint happening. I know they is conspiring. And, I know this because history repeats itself. You know Hitler's soliders wanted to shoot him because they was jealous of the man. And, like any great leader I had Jeff Garcia conspiring against me in Frisco. In fact he tried to make me a gay. And, in Philly Donovan and Andy plotted against me.", said Owens as he shot some baskets outside his driveway.

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Whitey's Picks Week 15

Whitey's Weekly Winners
Last Week: 9-7
YTD ATS: 102-101-2

Monday night games are killing me this year (losing 10 of 14 on Monday Nights- that
is hard to do if I tried to lose the damn pick!).
Now I'm just in a pissed off mood...

Super Bowl Prediction
Giants over Titans

Thursday Night
New Orleans at Chicago (-3): I know the Saints have had some problems playing in
Chicago the past few years, but I think that offense is going to be too much for
Chicago to overcome. Teams have had success passing on them this season, and nobody
throws the rock better than Brees...
Saints 27 - Bears 20.

Sunday
Green Bay at Jacksonville (+2½): The Jags have been terrible at home, while there
aren't any real glaring deficiencies in the Packers game. They just haven't been
nearly as good this year as last, and it has little to do with #4...
Packers 30 - Jaguars 20.

Detroit at Indianapolis (-17½): The Lions have a chance to do something special in
the upcoming weeks as the first ever 0-16 team during a regular season. I don't
think Indy will have any need to run it up on Detroit, who have played better away
from their home field all season...
Colts 30 - Lions 17.

Washington at Cincinnati (+7): Even though the Bengals are a complete disgrace
this season (and most seasons if we are keeping it real), I don't like the Skins
offense enough to lay a TD...
Redskins 21 - Bengals 17.

Tampa Bay at Atlanta (-3): I've done well backing the Falcons at home this year,
and see no need to change up now...
Falcons 31 - Bucs 26.

San Francisco at Miami (-6½): Never a good idea playing the west coast team
traveling east for the early game. The Dolphins at home have had some success, but
offensively I don't think they're a team that is good at laying anything over a FG.
Heck, the 49ers could march in the Joe Robbie, or whatever the hell its called and
steal this one...
Dolphins 20 - 49ers 17.

Seattle at St. Louis (-3): Both suck. Coaching difference is enough to lay the
number...
Seahawks 28 - Rams 21.

Buffalo at Jets (-7): "Same old Jets" last few weeks, with a defense that has
broken down for no visible reason. "Same old Jets" philosophy works well here
though, as they usually are tough at home vs. Buffalo, a team who has folded up like
a pup tent down the stretch...
Jets 31 - Bills 17.

Tennessee at Houston (+3): Line looks very low for me, even though the Texans did
play Tennessee pretty tough earlier this year in Memphis. I don't think the Titans
stumble here though, they are too well coached...
Titans 26 - Texans 16.

Pittsburgh at Baltimore (-1½): Love Baltimore at home. Will be a very long day for
Ben Roethlisberger...
Ravens 30 - Steelers 13.

Denver at Carolina (-7½): Panthers are rolling, and have to continue to do so to
win the scrappy NFC South. Denver continues to under impress...
Panthers 30 - Broncos 19.

San Diego at Kansas City (+5): Since nobody on planet earth knows what to make of
San Diego, I'll take the Chiefs at home to cover. They nearly won big in Southern
Cal the first go around...
Chiefs 27 - Chargers 26.

Minnesota at Arizona (-3): Love Arizona at home. It doesn't hurt for them to know
what Minnesota is good enough to win this game too, so they won't mail this one
in....
Cardinals 31 - Vikings 14.

New England at Oakland (+7): Okay, I'll give you the whole Seattle at home can be
a tricky opponent, and thus the non-cover last week for New England. This week's
opponent carries no such mystique...
Patriots 34 - Raiders 10.

Giants at Dallas (-3): Dallas is falling apart, and even though the Giants don't
need the game, losing to the Cowboys is never an option...
Giants 36 - Cowboys 27.

Monday
Cleveland at Philadelphia (-14): I like the Eagles to take advantage of a lousy
Brownies team, but the way Cleveland has played in the national spotlight it's tough
not to jump all over the gratuitous line here, with or without Dorsey...
Eagles 31 - Browns 24.

Bored? Stop in for a mental cocktail at Whitey's Pub!
www.geocities.com/crwhitey2000

Deals to be made

Phillies in talks to land DeRosa, while Moyer wants 2 years



It's quite fitting that this year's 2008 Winter Meetings are taking place in Vegas. This is the time of the year when teams take gambles. Sometimes they work out incredibly.

The Rays hit the jackpot when they landed Matt Garza for Delmon Young, who is turning out to be a jagoff.

The Phils hit the jackpot with Brad Lidge who was their MVP.

Both of these moves helped these respective teams to make it to the Fall Classic and the rest is his.

Ruben Amaro Jr. would do best to abstain right now. Who the hell wants the Phillies to help the Cubs land Jake Peavy? Are you kidding? And, the word around the proverbial grapevine has the Phils sending J.A. Happ (a future #2/3 starter) for Mark Derosa, who is a rich man's David Bell.

If the Phillies make that move, it would be David Bell Part Deux. DeRosa is an aging journeyman coming off a couple career years. And, Happ solidifies a rotation that may be without Jamie Moyer and in need of a replacement.

One of our flunkies at Phillypurge.com went up to Ruben at a crap's table in the Bellagio and put this to him and he had this to say, "I'm not going to comment on any of that. We don't comment on other team's players, but if you think I'm going to s**t the bed right away and start making bad moves then f**k you", said Ruben as he gave us the finger and walked away.

I personally don't think Amaro Jr. will do a bad job at this point. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and hope he's learned the lessons from Ed Wade's blunders and learned a good deal from Gillick about how to make those small moves to build a winner.

DeRosa for Happ would be a bigger mistake than swapping Polanco for Uggy Urbina. And, yes the Phils did win the World Series with Feliz, but imagine how good they would have been in '06 and '07 with Polanco in that lineup.

Rumbings and Grumblings

Jamie Moyer wants two years and $10 million annually according to Bill Conlin of The Phila Daily News.

Ruben Amaro Jr. isn't worried that the Mets signed Francisco Rodriguez.

Charlie Manuel gets his extension.

Eagles Draft History

Phillypurge.com has you covered from Jay Berwanger to King Dunlap

Taking a different track today and unleashing a little something I put together with some research; the Philadelphia Eagles draft history.

I compiled the list of every single Eagles draft pick since 1936. What's insane is how many rounds their USED to be when football was small fries compared to the other sports.

Eagles Draft History

Enjoy!

Giant Victory

Eagles pull off the upset in Sunday's 20-14 victory over the Giants



First off, we at Phillypurge.com would like to say congrats to Andy Reid and the Eagles on their resounding victory over the Giants. And, we will be the first to say when we're wrong on something.

We expected the Eagles to get bushwhacked by the Giants on Sunday because the evidence over the past 9-plus seasons suggested that Andy Reid would go into New York yesterday and try to beat a good team with a pass-first strategy. We felt the only way they'd win is if the Giants made plenty of mistakes. Turns out that wasn't the case.

Now, onto the game. This is what happens when you emphasize a balanced mentality on offense; good things happen.

Even though the Eagles had just 6 yards on their first 7 carries, Andy Reid decided to stick with it. Hell Brian Westbrook had a career-high 33 carries yesterday.

Let's not give the entire credit to the running game though. The Eagles' defense was terrific. And, Trent Cole's blocked field goal was as picturesque as Sedona Arizona at sunset.

"I was trying to impersonate Bobby Boucher, you know dude from that Adam Sandler movie", said Trent Cole as he got onto the bus after the game.

Judging from yesterday's victory you'd think the Giants just gave the game to the Eagles. And, the New York scumbag fans were in a frenzy after the game.

"Hey yo, the f**kin refs f**ked us the game. It was bulls**t call after bulls**t call and if there weren't those 40 mile an hour winds we woulda won", said a Giants fan as he cleaned up puke from his filthy sweatshirt.

Another Giants fan had this to offer. "Philthadelphia had a cheap ass victory and that's all the f**k I'm gonna say. If they woulda played us 100 times we woulda beat them f*gs 99 times", said another drunken Giants blowhard fan.

Isn't that what happened in the Super Bowl though? The Patriots played their worst game and the one time the Giants could have won out of 100 times, they actually did.

One of our reporters saw another Giants fan urinating on someone's lawn in the 'burbs of Jersey afterwards and they attempted to chase after them mid-urination when they saw our reporter had on an Eagles hat.

Suffice it to say Giants fans aren't a happy bunch. And, we couldn't be happier to see them miserable after a great victory.

Andy Reid was all smiles when we caught up to him back in Philly late last night. "You a**holes happy now? We ran it down their throats and we're winning", said Reid. Then we asked him if he'd continue to go with the balanced attack he had this to say. Reid said, "Look I may be stubborn, but I'm not an idiot. I know this team stinks if we pass 50 times a game. And, I still want to have a job next year."

What does this portend for the 7-5-1 Eagles? They now just have to leapfrog the Falcons and Cowboys for that 6th playoff spot.

All three of the Eagles' NFC East foes lost yesterday. And, Dallas has some brutal games coming up against the Giants, Ravens, and the regular season finale against the Eagles. The Eagles on the other hand have the Browns and Redskins up next.

With the Redskins imploding once again late in the year you can count them out.

As long as the Eagles continue to utilize a balanced-attack and getting the job done on defense, it's not unreasonable to think they can finish up 10-5-1 and sneak into the playoffs.

Does that make them a Super Bowl team? Not even close. Let's just see what they do these next three weeks first.

7-point Dogs

The Eagles head to New York a 7-point underdog



The amazing thing about Sunday's game coming up is that the Eagles are just a 7-point underdog to the Giants. These are two teams who headed in opposite directions since their last meeting.

Sure, the Eagles beat up on the Cardinals 48-20 on Thanksgiving, but let's keep it real and admit to ourselves that it was more a matter of the Cardinals heading East and suffering what NFL observers have termed "The West to East coast travel effect" during this 2008 NFL season.

The Giants are 11-1 and since their 36-31 defeat over the Eagles they are 3-0. The Eagles are 1-1-1 since they met and two of those games were hideous.

Don't tell that to Andy Reid though. He told us all is well in Eagle-land. "You guys on your blogs or whatever can say that I don't know what I'm doing as a coach, but I think we have a good football team. That Bakay a**hole who writes for your website can talk about winning close games, getting turnovers, and running the ball all he wants, but he needs to keep his mouth shut and let me do the coaching", said Reid as he stepped out of the bathroom.

Rich Hoffmann is drinking the Kool-Aid now. In his column on the Daily News he says "playcalling not the problem with Eagles' running game."

Huh? Really?

Is he watching the same Eagles team as the rest of us? I'm sorry, Andy Reid must not have called over 60 passing plays in the Cincinatti and Baltimore games.

We caught up to Mr. Hoffman today outside of the Starbucks on Walnut Street in Philly and he had this to say. "Look I know what I wrote is complete bulls**t, but that's my job when I'm taking a paycheck from Joe Banner. How come you guys aren't tougher on Eskin. He's been kissing Andy Reid's ass so much over the years he no longer has a sense of smell", said Hoffman as he sipped on his latte.

While that may be true to a certain extent, but Eskin didn't write this fluff piece, you did Mr. Hoffman.

Look at this gem right here, which stinks of the spin that only Joe Banner or Dave Spadaro could rival.

"The Eagles run the ball 25 times a game. The average NFL team runs it 27.4 times a game. That's it. That's the difference between Reid and typical - two play calls a game. People say that if they would just stick with it, they would be better at it - as if they never try. It isn't true. Yes, Reid likes to throw the ball a lot - but deal with reality."

The reality is Mr. Hoffman that in the Eagles' defeats this year they didn't emphasize balance. And, historically the Eagles are much better football club when they run the ball then when they aren't. Their record speaks for itself. They are 37-5 when they run the ball at least 30 times. That's a fact. And, another fact is they got knocked out of the playoffs every time when they called a plethora of passing plays.

After our little chit-chat with Hoffman, we happened to run into Sean Avery of all people who is spending his 6-game suspension in the area.

"Dude, the Eagles are a motherf***in' joke. Why even bother writing about them? They're not even worthy of being the Giants' sloppy seconds", said Avery as he grabbed his crotch.

Now, onto Sunday's game. What can we expect out of the Eagles? I'll say the same thing I said before the Ravens game. I expect Reid to think he's going to call over 50 passing plays and expect a win.

And, the Eagles will go home with their season down the drain once again. Nothing he has shown makes me convinced he'll do otherwise against a good team.

And, if this game does become a close game do you expect the Eagles to pull it out when they have just a 1-8 record in their last 9 games that were decided by 5 points or less? The Giants on the other hand are 10-1 in their last 11 games decided by 5 points or less.

He'll tell us after they lose that the season isn't over and they just need to keep "firing away."

Great. What has that accomplished? Oh, it's gotten them a 54-53-1 record over the past four years since that Super Bowl loss to New England in Jacksonville.

Phils After Lowe

Phillies and a mystery team make offer to Lowe



Word on the street is that the Phillies and a "mystery team" have made offers to Derek Lowe.

We at Phillypurge.com have figured out who that mystery team is.

It's not even a team in Major League Baseball. Nope. The Yomiuri Giants made a lucrative offer to Lowe in the range of $80 million over 4 years and partial ownership in their team.

An unidentified spokesperson for the Yomiuri Group, which owns the Yomiuri Giants said the following, "We're offering Lowe the real money. We offer him f**k you money. We want to give big f**k you to Major League Baseball and especially the Phillies. Bud Selig can suck on my b**s two times after this!"

Now apparently a darkhorse has entered the Derek Lowe sweepstakes. We're talking about Hugo Chavez, the president of Venezuela. Chavez has reportedly flown Lowe into Venezuela and is hoping to lure him to the Venezuelan Baseball league in hopes of raising the league's international profile.

"Nothing would bring more joy to me than to see Derek Lowe become the new face of Venezuelan baseball. Well, that and for Dick Cheney to have a stroke", said Chavez as he enjoyed a prime rib steak.

Now, if the Phillies can outbid the other suitors it would give them a formidable rotation with Hamels and Myers at the top, with Lowe as the number three starter. Blanton would be the four. And, there would be a myriad of possibilities at the fifth spot ranging from Jamie Moyer (if he re-signs), Kyle Kendrick, J.A. Japp, or Carlos Carrasco.

As of yet, no big-name players have signed anywhere. All eyes are still on C.C. Sabathia because the player's association is pressuring players to wait until the highest paid players sign so they can set the market.

Don't you just love the player's union? It's bad enough that you have the Scott BorASSes of the world ruining the game, then you have the union basically holding players hostage.

At the rate they're giving money away in baseball, the MLB.com store is going to have to blow out a lot of merchandise to keep up. By the way, raise your hand if you're annoyed with their incessant emails about the so-called "blow out specials" and the buy one get one free specials. I took a look at their "blow out special" today and the only buy one get one free items which are eligible are complete junk. Sure, I just can't contain myself with the excitement I have of being able to purchase a Chris Carpenter bobblehead doll for 15 bucks. I wonder if it's arm falls off like his in real life.

Good luck with that.

Suspended

Burress is suspended for the final four games of the regular season



Plaxico Burress was suspended by the New York Giants for the final four games of the regular season yesterday.

And, don't expect him to be on the field in the playoffs either.

Not that the Giants need him anyway because they are what...oh just 11-1 and since his 10 catch 133 yard game in week one, he's managed to catch just 25 balls for 321 yards.

We asked some Eagles fans about their thoughts on Burress' suspension and many are relieved.

Eagles fan #1 proclaimed, "F**k yeah dude this is great that Burress is gone for the year, I mean he's their #1 receiver and having a great season."

When we told Eagles fan #1 that Burress has basically s**t the bed the entire season he couldn't believe his ears and stormed off.

Another Eagles fan we spoke to agreed and said "Burress is an overrated bag of s**t and couldn't hold Mike Quick's d**k to take a p**s."

Whatever that means.

The bottom line is the Giants are getting it done with the best offensive line in football, a smash-mouth running game, and stellar defense. Eli Manning isn't put in a position where he has to win games and voila you have yourself an 11-1 football club.

We caught up to Burress at the Hard Rock Cafe and he had this to say.

"Whatever happens, it's all good man. I been in this game for 9 years and s**t. I still got my loot. Got my ladies. Got my bling. Got my ride. Got my nine you know. It aint not motherf***in' thing man if I never play in NYC again. I might just start a new career and s**t. I'm already working on some lyrics for my first rap album. I got my man Jerome ready to spin s**t and lay down some s**t in the studio. I already got my first song ready to go and it's called "She aint nuttin' but a hoe to me." Mark that s**t down it will be a hit! Double platinum bitches! So, I don't need football. If football don't need Plax, Plax don't need it. So, y'all can write that on your website and print that s**t. Alright, we're done here", said Burress as he was woofing down an overpriced hamburger and sipping on an insanely overpriced drink.

Seriously Hard Rock Cafe is to the food and bar industry what Acura's are to the car industry. Acuras are nothing more than glorified Hondas but cost much more. Well Hard Rock Cafe is an Applebees with overpriced crap.

--------------------------------------------

The McNabbs have twins

Last night the news broke that Donovan McNabb's wife Roxie gave birth to a pair of twins.

A source inside the hospital tells us that McNabb wanted the papers to "keep his family members names out their mouths."

No names have been revealed for the twins as of yet.

And, we took the high road and didn't even bother trying to speak to him or try to track him down outside of the hospital.

------------------------------------------

The Sixers get off the schide

Breaking News! The Sixers won a game last night.

Yep, they managed to beat The Bulls 103-95 in overtime.

And, in other news Andre Iguodala still hasn't learned how to hit his jumper.

"Get away from me man. I aint talkin' to y'all. I just gotta work on my game and the game will come to me", said Iguodala as we watched him clank his 10th shot in a row off the rim in practice this morning.

The Sixers take on the Lakers tonight in South Philly.

Burress Gets Out

Plaxico Burress gets out on bail



So, the Giants are in turmoil right? Burress is looking at 3 1/2 years in the clink, Antonio Pierce is being investigated and all hell is breaking loose in The Meadowlands.

Not so fast. We caught up with Burress in an exclusive one on one on the streets of New York yesterday evening after he posted $100,000 bail on his weapons charges, thereby getting released from the joint.

"I aint worried about that s**t. It aint no thing. I know coach gonna let me do my thing when I come back and s**t and this will be history when my lawyer do his thing", said Burress as he sipped on a Remy Martin at a local bar.

We asked him how he feels about playing this Sunday against The Eagles. "I'm gonna make Lito, Sheldon, and Asante my bitches like I do everytime I face them chumps."

Antonio Pierce wasn't quite as forthcoming. "I aint talking to you fools. You motherf***rs are just trying to dig up s**t and I aint playing into it. I'm gonna knock you the f**k out if you come any closer", yelled Pierce.

Burress is officially back with the team and Tom Coughlin could really care less. Coughlin said, "Our team has gotten the job done with and without Plax. We're 11-1 and the Eagles and Redskins are a joke. And, the Cowboys have a tough schedule and can't catch us. We pity whoever faces us in the playoffs."

----------------------------------------

Andrews Done?

A renowned orthopedic surgeon was on with Angelo Cataldi and The Morning Team on 610 WIP this morning and he feels that it's highly unlikely Shawn Andrews will ever play football again.

He feels because of his back injury coupled with his mental issues, his career is likely over.

That's a far cry from preseason when Andrews returned and we expected him to contribute.

Shawn Andrews had this to say when we grilled him about it. "I will let this be in God's hands. Whatever he wants me to do, I'll do. If I don't play that's fine. I can just watch Sponge Bob Squarepants in my bedroom and I'll be happy", said Andrews as he was watching an episode of Spongebob Squarepants on his iPhone.

Getting The Message?

Sixers lay an egg after Mo Cheeks' speech on Saturday



Mo Cheeks reportedly delivered a message to the Sixers at practice on Saturday after an ugly loss to Boston on Friday night.

The players pulled a George Costanza and did the exact opposite of what he told them to do in taking a dump in yesterday's 103-92 defeat.

"I just try to do the opposite of whatever the coach says to us. If he says to go high, I go low. If he says to go into the paint, I try to run out of bounds", said Samuel Dalembert.

A few players on the Sixers have nicknamed Dalembert the preying mantis because he resembles one when he handles the ball on offense.

"That's cool man if they think I look like a praying mantis. I don't give a s**t. I just go out there and play. Sure, I'm making three times amount of money player like me should make, but I didn't put gun to they heads to pay me. I tell agent, make 'em pay me. He did so they pay me", Dalembert acknowledged as he was programming songs into his iPod at his locker.

Mo Cheeks is losing his mind watching the players make fundamental mistakes and he can't take it anymore.

"There's an old saying where I come from. You can't teach a dog how to take a s**t. You can't try to reach up the dog's a** to pull it out. You just gotta hope the dog can learn how to do that on it's own. Dribbling a motherf***ing basketball, passing the f***ing ball, and manning up on D is some fundamental s**t. If these guys can't do that, then why am I even coaching?", said Mo Cheeks.

Elton Brand was all smiles after the game though. Brand said, "I'm just glad I'm out of that s**thead franchise in LA. I mean, I came here for the money, but what player isn't doing this for the money? I'm just glad I got paid and now I can just ride this out and hope the team doesn't take a complete s**t this year."

The Sixers are now 7-10, last in their division and showing as much life as the zombies from Night of the Living Dead. The only thing more excruciating to watch than their horrific defense is the inept decision-making of Andre Miller, coupled with Dalembert's failures on offense. What has to boggle even a casual observer's mind is why Dalembert is being given more looks on offense.

Back to the drawing board Mo.

---------------------------------------------------

Plexiglass Burress turns himself in to the cops

Idiotic Giants receiver, Plexico Burress, who did his best impersonation of the character Cheddar from 8-Mile in shooting himself in the thigh, has turned himself into the police today.

Lost in all of this suspension talk is the real issue at hand and it's 3 1/2 as in 3 1/2 years, which is how many years in prison Burress is looking at for failing to carry a concealed weapons permit.

The penalty for violating this law is felony and the 3 1/2 years is without exception.

Burress has retained the services of high-profile defense attorney Benjamin Braffman who has defended mobsters.

An anonymous client of Braffman's had this to offer us. "If I were Burress, I wouldn't worry too much. Braffman knows the right people and he'll find some sort of loophole to get Burress off. And, if that doesn't work, he'll have the evidence tainted by the right guy. It worked for me when I whacked my brother in law for f***ing my wife. I couldn't eat for a week and then I got the call that the evidence got "fixed" and I was a free man", said the anonymous client of Braffman's.

When we mentioned this to Braffman he had us escorted away from him and shouted some obscenities at us.

Whether or not Burress plays this season should be irrelevant because the Giants are 11-1 and have done it largely without their so-called star wide receiver. They have arguably the best offensive line in football, their run to pass ratio is nearly 50/50, and their defense has been fantastic.

Balance

Eagles exhibit balance on Thursday night



The Eagles' running game was released from the witness protection program on Thursday night and the results were obvious.

48-20 was the final score and when Andy Reid was asked about balance on offense after the game.

"I tried to explain that," Reid said. "Efficient balance is . . . say you are running the football and for the first eight carries you average 1.2 yards, and you're throwing the football and averaging 10 yards per throw. To me, you're probably going to throw the football a couple more times than you're going to run the football.

"Efficient balance would be to get it up around 4 yards - 31/2 to 4 yards per carry - then let's have a good completion percentage, and let's go to work."

Rueben Frank grilled him further about it and Reid told him "he's probably right" and that he'd get his "little book out about the stats."

And, off camera when Reid was grilled about it further by our reporter on hand and he had this to offer. "Look I know my passing offense is a joke, but I'm in so deep that I have to continue to act like what I do is right. (cough) (cough) If I come out and say that passing the ball 50 times might not be such a good idea then I look like a complete a**hole."

As assistant coach on the Eagles chimed in with this nugget the day after the game at the Novacare complex. "I don't know how many times I tried to tell that a**hole (Reid) about running the godd**n ball more. Hell, just run the ball 7 more times a game. Andy, you'll be surprised to see the difference it makes. He told me to just shut the f**k up and let him run the team."

Ray Didinger spilled the beans when it comes to the Eagles and running the rock. Since 2000 when they have more rushing attempts than their opponent they're 52-10, and 37-5 when they run the ball more than 30 times.

Don't tell that to Andy though.

Brian Westbrook was giddy about his four touchdown performance. "About damn time Big Red let me do my thing. I was telling him that I was healthy and just let handle the rock. Look, I aint trying to hate on coach, but a blind man can see how good we are when we run the rock."

L.J. Smith threw a bottle of water at us when we asked him about his opinion on the Thursday night game. He's a little pissed at us about the you know-name of the blog and all.

The Eagles are off until next Sunday when they take on the Giants.

Blow it Up



When I think about the Giants anymore I am pretty envious. Hell, it borders on jealousy. They had one shot to win it all during their latest upswing and got the bleeping job done.

What comes to mind is the scene in Harold and Kumar when Anthony Anderson's character thinks of those tasty burgers at White Castle and how it's enough for him to "burn this motherf***er down."



With that said, it's time for the Birds to "blow this motherf***er up."

One of our insiders spoke of the prospect of blowing up the team to an unnamed source in the Eagles' organization. Here's what they had to say.

"Sure, we want to blow it up. Why the (expletive deleted) not? That means Reid must go though because if you mention "blow it up" to Reid and he thinks you mean the toilet after he takes one of his dumps following a meal from Wawa", said the unnamed source.

We ran into L.J. Smith after practice yesterday and he had this to offer. "I don't give a (expletive deleted) what they do. I'm just glad I suckered them into franchising my ass. Hopefully someone else thinks I'm not a stiff when I sign elsewhere next year", said Smith while drinking his 7th Corona at the Fox and Hound in Center City.

So, what about the game tomorrow night?

One of the coaches said we can expect the following in tomorrow night's game. "You'll get your usual 15 scripted plays. McScabb (I guess that's what the coaches call him now) will throw some worm burners at the receivers' (bleeping) feet and Reid will call passes on about 12 of those plays. They'll have a delay of game on at least one no huddle play. Then the defense will be on the field for 12 of the first 15 minutes, be gassed and game over. I'm just pissed I gotta miss the (bleeping) dinner for this sheep s**t."

This coach, who refuses to be identified despite not caring if he loses his job, had some other things to say about Reid and his kids but we will take the high road and not print it.

-------------------------------------------------

Utley's surgery is successful

Dr. Bryan Kelly said Chase Utley's surgery was successful. Then again, when the hell does a doctor not say a surgery is successful.

Sure, the doctor is gonna say this, "Yeah we (bleeped) up Utley's hip and he'll be lucky to be on the field in another year."

Ruben Amaro told us to leave him the hell alone when we tried to chase him down yesterday, but told the Daily News that "I don't think anyone can predict until he is into his rehab and moving around."

New Format

Starting today, we're going with a new format for the daily blog at Phillypurge.com. I decided to call it the L.J. Smith blog, because he epitomizes the muck and crap that has become the Philadelphia Eagles. And, the Philadelphia Eagles deservedly so are our whipping boy in this town.

Now that the blog format has changed this doesn't mean I won't continue with my observations of our teams, rather think of it as an evolution for Phillypurge.com. Rather than reveal the new style of my blog, I'll just let the words speak for themselves in the coming days and months.

I'd like to thank all of you for supporting my site and hope you enjoy the new format.

Dennis Bakay

Still Confident

Reid and McNabb still remain confident



I'm sure you know by now that Andy Reid abruptly cut his press conference short after 10 minutes when he was being harrassed by the media.

Howard Eskin, who is annoying me to no end with his defense of Reid insisted it was the PR department that cut it short and that radio stations and the TV media alike shouldn't ask the same questions over and over for their personal needs.

I've never heard such excuses. Eskin's defense of Reid is beyond ludicrous at this point. It's one thing to "be on an island" and defend somebody, but it's another to completely ignore the ship sinking into the ocean.

Merrill Reese was on WIP this morning and thinks Reid is as confident as ever and one thing is certain he won't quit. That might be the danger in all of this though. Just like when they were 5-8 last year and on the way to at least getting a better draft pick this team won 3 straight games almost out of spite-to prove a point how bad they weren't.

Now they're sitting at 5-5-1 and Reid and McNabb are confident once again and ready to shake off this latest calamity as but another bump in the journey.

This is the type of logic that an addictive gambler exhibits after losing 10 straight hands of blackjack, hoping to make it back on the 11th.

And, soon they end up with both legs broken.

On the other hand, you can't expect Reid and/or McNabb to just say they flat out give up. It sure would be great if Reid did though.

One guy Reid is pretty mad at is Sal Palantonio, who he got pissed off at during the press conference yesterday for talking about the team meeting, the same team meeting that was public knowledge.

And, Reid had this to offer later on yesterday.

Reid was quoted as saying, "I forgot more about this game last night then you people will ever know-you too Sal Palantonio" as he grabbed a cheesesteak at Geno's on Monday.

Emmitt Smith had an interesting comment too on Monday Night Countdown last night.

Emmitt Smith was quoted as saying, "Them Eagles is a bits off but and sure looking to make change to be on the right track for Friday Night's Thanksgiving game against my former team the St. Louis Cardinals."

So, am I the only one who's had an opportunity to get tickets to this game? The company I work for is putting them up in a raffle. And, my company rarely does this. They hold onto tickets like gold bulliion, but of course this is a game nobody wants to go to.

Hell, you couldn't pay me $200 to go to the game Thursday night.

I'll be relaxing comfortably in my apartment with drink in hand cursing at another Eagles loss on primetime TV.

That's all for now.

Gutless

Eagles lose to Ravens in blow-out fashion



The key thing I can take away from yesterday's 36-7 loss to the Ravens is that the Eagles are a gutless team and it stems from their gutless coach.

I happened to agree with the coach's decision to pull McNabb after a woeful first half. But, for him to have one of his cronies tell McNabb he was being benched is absolutely gutless.

Reid is gutless-period and it's ironic considering the one thing that stands out on him is his enormous gut. Week after week he refuses to answers questions head on and does nothing but speak in doubletalk.

He didn't have the guts to look his quarterback of ten years in the eyes and tell him he was being yanked. That's all you need to know about Reid as a head coach.

And, during the press conference today as the reporters continued to harangue Reid about McNabb's status and his control over the team he eventually walked out on the reporters.

Reid is one thing and it starts with the letter "P" and ends in "Y." Period.

He is an embarrassment to the organization and if he had any respect for the fans he would step down as coach of this team.

But, he won't because he's so full of himself and so committed to proving to us his pass-happy system works that he'll continue to run this franchise down the drain.

Is it any wonder that this team is collapsing further than oil futures? Yesterday you have the franchise quarterback looking like a rookie against one of the elite defenses in the NFL and he's yanked. So, what does this bumbling fool of a coach do? He throws a rookie quarterback out there to pass, pass, and pass some more.

I predict Reid will either be fired or forced to resign as coach at the end of the season. Nothing will save him at this point, not even trying to throw this all on McNabb's shoulders.

Let's not get things confused-McNabb has worn out his welcome too. You can't say he doesn't have the offensive personnel. If this team were run properly and there was a semblance of balance on the offense they'd have at least three more wins. But, the point is they're not because the coach is a gutless madman and he's determined to "do it his way" or else.

McNabb is slated to start on Thursday, but the real story is that Reid has lost this team and is clearly ready to lose it.

If you listened to or watched the press conference today then you witnessed someone on the brink of self destruction.

The Eagles have yet to hit rock bottom. Oh, if you think yesterday was rock bottom think again. The Eagles will lose by at least 3 touchdowns on Thursday night in front of their home crowd. The Cardinals will be hungry after taking a tough loss yesterday to the Giants. And, let's not forget that primetime is the Eagles' kryptonite.

Even when they lose on Thursday night it won't be rock bottom yet.

Rock bottom will occur when this team gets slaughtered by the Giants next weekend and falls to 5-7-1.

And, here's something I thought I'd never say. I actually think George Bush might be better at being a president than Reid is at coaching a football team.

My, my, my how far Reid has fallen.

We'd better hope whoever takes over this new regime knows if Kolb is the answer. Let's not judge him on that one half of football though. Remember John Elway was 1 for 8 in his NFL debut. And, Kolb was thrown to the lions yesterday.

The Eagles will take on the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday night. Who cares at this point?

Rocking The Boat?

Andy Reid reportedly rips into the players yesterday



In Bob Ford's column today for The Inky he states that Andy Reid "rocked the boat" when he had a meeting with the players yesterday.

Quinten Mikell reiterated what Reid brought up in the meeting yesterday. "That's what we need [to hear]. We need to get back to playing football and stop worrying about the B.S. that we can't control. Just play football. Sometimes you've just got to say what's on your mind, and he did that."

Wow. That's a quantum leap! On second thought, no not really.

If Reid would come out and say they are going to start running the ball 30-plus times a game, allow their offensive line to attack (instead of being attacked by pass blocking), utilize Brent Celek more, and try to find somebody, anybody to play fullback then maybe I'd be on board. The only chance they have of salvaging this trainwreck of a season is to do those aforementioned things and maybe by chance if their defensive tackles step up.

Otherwise, it's more of the same. And, that's what I expect to see on Sunday. I expect them to use Buckhalter two times, bench Brent Celek, throw to L.J. Smith (and he'll drop about 3 balls), force Westbrook to play on a bum leg, and get their asses handed to them by the Ravens' pass rush and running game.

I hate to sound so negative, but this team has done nothing to show me they can beat good teams. And, this coach has done nothing to convince me he'll consider adapting.

I'm not asking for Reid to blow up like Lee Elia or Tommy Lasorda, but he is delusional if he can't see the forest through the trees and adapt. Maybe he doesn't care because he knows he has job security.

My prediction for Sunday is the Ravens will win 21-7.

-------------------------------------

Who the hell is Mayberry?

That's probably what you were thinking when the Phillies made that trade with the Texas Rangers yesterday, a trade which sent outfielder Greg Golson to the Rangers for outfielder John Mayberry.

Just who is this Mayberry you're probably wondering? He, like Greg Golson was drafted in the first round, but in the 2005 draft. Golson was the Phils' first round selection in 2004.

Mayberry, 24, played in double-A and triple-A ball last year and hit a combined .264 with 38 doubles, 20 homers, 71 RBI, and 10 stolen bases in 135 games. In 2007, he had 30 homers in single-A ball. So, the power numbers are there.

Could he be the next Pat Burrell?

He is a big kid, standing at 6'6" and 230 pounds. He comes from a baseball pedigree. His father John Mayberry Sr. played in the majors for 15 years and topped 20 homers eight times.

Greg Golson, who is thought to be the next Michael Bourn isn't what this team needs in the long run. They're going to need to add power to that outfield eventually and whoever replaces Burrell this year will likely be a stop-gap option until one of the youngsters is ready.

Could turn out to be a brilliant trade by Ruben Amaro. Only time will tell.

Spadaro-isms

Some classic quotes by our favorite Eagles' spokesperson Dave Spadaro



Gonna take a different track today. It's getting old talking about the same things everyday. We all know that the Eagles drink swamp water. Their coach is clueless. Their talent evaluation blows. And, McNabb has made an ass of himself.

But, let's have a little fun shall we?

I frequently check out Igglephans.com, which is the greatest thing since galvanized steel if you're a Birds fan. It's a great message board and there are many knowledgable posters on there, plus it's fun to rip on the Eagles haters and nitwits who post on there. A poster on there posted some Spadaro quotes, and I felt it would be a great idea to post them in a blog for you all to see.

Let er' rip.....

"I expect a great rest of the season." - October 14, 2008
"16-0 and here we come, NFC playoffs!!" - 4/13/05
"Eagles Better Now Than in 2004? I'm Saying Yes..." - 6/26/07
"Jeremy Bloom can play. It is time to take him seriously." - 7/28/07
"Jeremy Bloom is coming, folks." - 8/1/07
"J.R. Reed will run hard and break tackles and Greg Lewis will be sure on his punt
catches and has quick feet to get up the field."- 9/8/07
"Jevon Kearse is having such a good camp, it's ridiculous." - 8/6/07
"David Akers is the best in the history of the franchise and not ready to slow down
anytime soon." - 8/6/07
"Takeo Spikes is going to make a gigantic impact." - 6/26/07
"There is more young talent waiting in the wings along the offensive line than this
franchise has ever had. It isn't even close." - 6/26/07
"[Reggie] Brown is likely to be the "No. 1" receiver, whatever that means." - 6/26/07
"Brown Continues To Grow Into Top-Flight WR" - 7/10/2007
"The Eagles have used their salary-cap room brilliantly, locking up a gaggle of
young and talented players to long-term contracts and still having one of the most
-- the most, maybe, right there with New England? -- active off-seasons in the NFL."
- 3/27/07
"I watched [Winston] Justice with great interest, and he was extremely impressive.
He has outstanding mechanics and tremendous athletic ability. If something happens
with William Thomas at left tackle, there would be no qualms here if Justice were to
step in and start." - 5/16/06
"However, I will go this far: There is more talent here than I've ever seen." - 6/9/05
I have to tell you that I don't see one matchup that the Eagles are lesser than the
Bengals in. I'm being honest. It doesn't mean the game is going to play out this
way, but I think the Eagles are a far, far superior team. - 11/15/08

The Eagles are about to play the Bengals in a game that I just can't fathom the
Eagles losing. Oh, I know this is the NFL and I have respect for every team in the
league, but I just don't see it here. I don't see the Eagles losing. No way. -
11/15/08

Part of me, I admit, is stuck in the early part of this decade. I remember those
teams and I look at this team and I think there is no comparison. This team is far
superior -- on paper, which means nothing -- to the teams from the 2000-2003
seasons. - 11/1/08

Super Bowl? Yeah, the Eagles are good enough to win it all. I honestly believe that
as training camp races closer, ever closer. - 7/13/08

The idea that the Eagles haven't "significantly improved the offense" just doesn't
wash with me. - 5/26/08

Lorenzo Booker has lived up to the pre-camp hype. - 7/28/08

It is hard not to be impressed with Lorenzo Booker. - 5/23/08

Kris Wilson is an impressive player in this camp. - 5/23/08

I bristle when I hear that the Eagles are the same-old, same-old on offense. That
just isn't the case, and when you see the structure of the personnel and the way the
additions can help, I think you will agree that this offense has a chance to get to
where it wants to go -- the end zone -- on a much more consistent basis than a year
ago. - 5/26/08

...the combination of Smith and Celek recalls the primo combo the Eagles had years
ago with both Smith and Chad Lewis. - 6/2/08

What the Eagles surely will have is a threesome at tight end that can make a lot of
plays. - 6/2/08

Eat clock in the second half running the football behind a powerful offensive line.
- 7/19/08

Now, I've never been one to just bash the guy for the hell of it. He seems like a really nice guy who has fun with his job and at times gets carried away with his cheerleading for the Eagles' organization. But, he runs the website and it's his job.

I met the guy once when I was hanging out with some friends and one of them is a pretty good friend of his. I've never heard anything bad about the man on a personal level.

But.....yes but, these quotes are foremost ludicrious, but disturbing.

For him to honestly say that Lorenzo Booker lived up to the hype in training camp is preposterous. Number one, Low Rent as I call him was only hyped up by the organization. I call this Ryan Moats II. They figured Westbrook would probably hold out and his career would be done in Philly so they needed a back-up plan to Westy, much like when they drafted Ryan Moats-another jagoff.

Low Rent Booker is one of those guys the Eagles acquire or draft and you just know immediately it's a mistake. I knew it when they drafted Matt McCoy and I knew it when they wasted a fourth round pick in a trade for Booker. He couldn't get on the field in Miami last year when they lost Ronnie Brown for the season and didn't even play much after their back-up Jesse Chatman went down. And, Miami was a 1-15 team. If that doesn't tell you enough you need to know then I don't know what does.

The way this organization hyped him up in the offseason you'd think they have the next Marshall Faulk in the stable. Well, here's your Marshall Faulk for you Banner and Spadaro:

16 rushes for 32 yards, good for a 2.0 average and 5 catches for 10 yards, also good for a 2.0 average.

Woo hoo! Make that reservation for Canton! I'm friggin' stoked over those numbers!

There are so many other ridiculous statements in there that you have to question this guy's football knowledge. Or maybe it's all bullshit-just because Joe Banner forces him to say these things. But, why? Any football fan with any knowledge whatsoever would see through this slop.

Another classic was on November 1st of this year after the Eagles had many disappointing games when he said, "
Part of me, I admit, is stuck in the early part of this decade. I remember those
teams and I look at this team and I think there is no comparison. This team is far
superior -- on paper, which means nothing -- to the teams from the 2000-2003
seasons. - 11/1/08

That right there just blows my mind. Far superior on paper? Just what is he looking at? The defense is pedestrian at best. The offensive line stinks. McNabb's skills as an athlete have eroded. And, the Coach makes decisions as if his brain is comprised of cream of wheat.

And, here's the best one. "Jeremy Bloom is coming, folks." Let that one sink in for a second.

I could go on and on for the rest of the afternoon about this, but those are a few of the ones that really stood out to me. Hope you enjoyed.

Just 90 days until pitchers and catchers report. We better hope the Sixers play better this winter.

No Regrets

McNabb says at his press conference today he has no regrets about not knowing the rule



First there was "Practice Gate" with A.I. And, then there was "Hoagie Gate" in 2003 when the Eagles opened up The Linc and wouldn't allow hoagies into the stadium. Then, there was "TO Gate" in 2005. Alas, our latest controversy is here and it's called "OT Gate." Just flip them letters around and with the Eagles you get another controversy. With the Phillies flip 80 around to 08 and you get a winner. Just food for thought!

OT Gate has reached it's fourth day and McNabb spoke about it at his weekly press conference at noon.

When he was asked about whether he has any regrets about not knowing about the OT-tie rule he said he had "no regrets."

I'm not shocked by that one bit. How can he defend himself at this point? It's indefensible. When Andy Reid was grilled about it on Monday he tried his usual BS-spin tactics, but could only offer, "he's not responsible" when asked by a reporter about McNabb's ignorance to the rule.

While some may say we're making a mountain out of a molehill, I couldn't disagree more. This whole thing speaks to the incompetence of the Eagles' organization as a hole and is a microcosm of how far this team has fallen.

They used to be the class of the NFC. We expected them to make a trip to the Conference Title game, not just hope for them to make the playoffs. And, now they are the armpit of the NFC East, just an absolute joke.

When people rip me for destroying this team (like our one reader yesterday) my question to you is this. What exactly has this team done in the past FOUR years?

Four years is a long time.

A presidency lasts four years.

Four years ago our economy was in the midst of a boom. Now, our nation is on the verge of economic collapse.

Four years ago my father was alive.

Four years.

The Eagles are in the state they're in today for one primary reason-talent evaluation. It's horrific. Take a look at their drafts between 2003 and 2007. I'll leave out 2008 since it's unfair to judge rookies.

2003 Draft:

1-J. McDougale
2-L.J. Smith
3-B. McMullen
4-J. Green
6-J. Bridges
7-N. Lejune

2004 Draft:

1-S. Andrews
3-M. Ware
4-JR Reed
4-T. Darilek
5-T. Tapeh
6-A. Hall
6-D. Wynn
7-A. Clark
7-B. Perry
7-D. Furio

2005 Draft:

1-M. Patterson
2-R. Brown
2-M. McCoy
3-R. Moats
4-S. Considine
4-T. Herremans
5-T. Cole
5-S. Young
6-C. Armstrong
7-K. Marshall
7-D. Bergeron

2006 Draft:

1-B. Bunkley
2-W. Justice
3-C. GoCong
4-M. Gilles
4-J. Avant
5-J. Bloom
5-O. Gaither
7-L. Ramsey

2007 Draft:

2-K. Kolb
2-V. Abiamiri
3-S. Bradley
3-T. Hunt
5-C.J. Gaddis
5-B. Celek
6-R. Barksdale
7-N. Iloa

There were a total of 43 players drafted in those five drafts. Out of those 43 players just 17 players remain with the team. And, of those 17 players, just Shawn Andrews, Mike Patterson, Todd Herremans, Trent Cole, Brodrick Bunkley, Omar Gaither, and Stewart Bradley are guys you can call difference makers. And, I'm being very generous because all of the above players have problems staying healthy or playing consistently throughout an entire year.

It's an indictment on an organization when you have five drafts and can come up with just seven players of consequence.

The drafts that really killed this team were in 2004 and 2005, they drafted 21 players and just six of them remain with the team. Just one player (Shawn Andrews) survived the 2004 draft class, where they had ten selections.

I bash Andy Reid and McNabb about as much as any person out there-be in in the blogosphere or in the media. But, he should be fired solely on his poor talent evaluation skills. The supporters or Reid will try to spin it and say how he just has "final say" and pin it on his flunkies like Tom Heckert and Howie Roseman, but the bottom line is he has a huge hand in who plays for this team.

And, you wonder why the Eagles can't get a fullback to block on a friggin' third and one play. Or, why they can't get a push up the middle. They don't learn from their mistakes. What the hell were they thinking of drafting an undersized lineman in Trevor Laws this past year when they clearly needed another playmaker like Felix Jones. Instead they drafted Laws (who stinks) and traded for Lorezno Booker who is more suited to play in the CFL than even on an NFL practice squad.

The only thing that outweighs the Eagles' arrogance is their utter incompetence. They truly are the laughing stock of the NFC East.

It didn't happen overnight as you can see. It started in 2003 after they fired a lot of their quality scouts and let Reid and his flunkies exercise more control.

And, you wonder why they'll be a bottom feeder once again in the NFC East.

McNabb should regret taking the field when he has to suit up with the likes of Low Rent Booker on Sundays. I'd be embarrassed if I had to share the field with stiffs like him and L.J. Smith.

It's been a long way down and the Eagles aren't there yet. And, it will be a long way back up again.

Replacements

Possible replacements for Reid the GM, and so forth



It's a sad state of affairs when your football team has played it's 10th game of the year and what you can look forward to is who they'll bring in to inject some life into the front office.

And, even more so it's a sad state of affairs when you start to look forward to the draft to see who your team will pick in April. But, wait a minute? This is the Eagles so we know they'll probably trade out of the first round again anyway so we don't even have that to look forward to.

What we can be pretty much certain of is that Kevin Kolb will be the quarterback next season. And, Andy Reid will likely return as the coach of the team for his 11th season.

G Cobb seems to think that Reid will step down if the Eagles ask him to relinquish his vice president of football operations title.

Hugh Douglas is hearing grumblings that Howie Roseman would be the new GM and Heckert will be forced out.

The word around the grapevine is that Roseman is Banner's guy and it would be a cluster F if he becomes the GM, because this guy is about as qualified to make football decisions as Scott Peterson is qualified to be a good parent.

The organization is without a doubt at a crossroads. Something is going to happen in the front office.

Whether this team lures Scott Pioli out of New England or even goes with somebody like Ron Jaworski, they need someone from outside the organization to come in and bring a fresh set of ideas to the table.

That's what the Phillies did when they fired Ed Wade and brought in Pat Gillick in 2005. And, look what it got them within 3 years.

The Eagles are probably a little behind where the Phillies were at that point because they are more than a few players away.

This team first off needs a quarterback who can get it done. Kolb is an uncertainity. You can't go by game film or what he did in Lehigh. They also need a stud left tackle, upgrades in the interior of the offensive line, a superior interior defensive lineman, a big pass rusher, fullback, and tight end.

We're talking massive changes and this is something that can't be done in all likelihood within the span of one offseason.

You can expect the Eagles to be players in free agency and the guy at the top of my wish list is Panthers defensive end Julius Peppers, who is clearly playing for a new contract. He has 9 sacks on the year and is a one-man wrecking crew. Some other free agents include, Matt Birk (Vikings center), Mark Tauscher (OL Packers), and Albert Haynesworth (DT Titans).

There will be many rumors to come flying out there as the Eagles' season continues (goes downhill). In my opinion I can't see them winning more than two games the rest of the season.

I hate to ever say I root against my team, but if this team implodes it will be a catalyst for some real change.

Abominable

Eagles and Bengals play to a tie in horrid fashion



At approximately 4:45 PM on Sunday November 16 the Eagles became an abominable franchise. This didn't happen overnight though and I'm certain rock bottom hasn't arrived yet.

The Eagles seem to outdo themselves every week. If they shock you with their ineptitude at the end of a game, then they stupify you with a whacked out pass to run ratio. And, if that's not enough then they find a way to lose a game even when they protect their quarterback and score 31 points.

Yesterday was a new low for Donovan McNabb and the organization. Forget that they played a tie against a horrid 1-8 Bengals team. But, they threw the ball as if they were down by three touchdowns throughout the entire game.

McNabb went 28 for 58 and had 3 picks and a lost fumble. He should've thrown about five or six interceptions, but was saved by the ineptness of the Bengals' defensive backs.

Between McNabb's dreadful play and Reid's self destructive playcalling it's enough to make one vomit. Merrill Reese summed it up perfectly before signing off yesterday when he said you'd be torturing yourself if you rebroadcasted this game.

As if that wasn't bad enough, Donovan McNabb as you probably know, admitted to not knowing that a tied game after an overtime period is ruled a tie. Sure, there haven't been many ties since the AFL-NFL merger, but there was a tie in 2002. And, Donovan McNabb was in the league then. It's appalling that the quarterback of a team, and one who's been in the league this many years wouldn't know that.

At Reid's press conference today he was under attack from media and rightfully so. He can continue to try and dodge questions and use doubletalk, but it's not going to fly in this town.

There is an underlining problem going on with the team. Judging by their play yesterday it looks like this team is quitting on the coach. And, I'd be willing to bet many are giving up on McNabb.

Reid made a fruedian slip today when he said "Kevin would be the QB-I mean Donovan will be the quarterback and get through this."

I think even Reid knows that McNabb's time is up. You can't say that McNabb doesn't have the players. This is an offense that put up 31 points on the Giants. They have players that can make plays. The problem is the coach, who wants to keep "firing away" to try to get the job done is willing to piss the season away just to try and prove his system works.

And, for Reid to insinuate that a tie was better than a loss is a joke. New flash! The following teams in the NFC all have more wins than the Eagles: Giants, Redskins, Cowboys, Panthers, Bucs, Falcons, and Cardinals. That's seven teams! And, somebody from the NFC North has to win that division, despite three of the teams being 5-5. So, that's a total of 8 teams ahead of the Eagles for a playoff spot.

Doesn't this remind you of the latter stages of the Ray Rhodes and Kotite eras? You see a team of zombies out there. And, the head zombie is leading them down the sewar.



Here's your team people, the Philadelphia Bottom Feeders. But, they still think they're better than they are. The armpit of the NFC East, once again in the cellar will miss the playoffs for the third time in four years. And, they're one game above .500 since the meltdown in Jacksonville in Super Bowl XXXIX.

How bad can this team get? It could reach mythic proportions. You have a quarterback playing to get out of town and a team that's giving up on the coach. And, the coach doesn't give a damn.

Yesterday's game could be a harbinger of what will portend. You witnessed a comedy of errors on Sunday. But, it will get worse.

I'd be surprised to see this team win 3 games the rest of the season. They may not win another game and this team could outdo the epic collapse of the 1994 Eagles, which started out 7-2, only to lose the final seven games of the season to finish 7-9.

But, hey get this. It's only about three months until pitchers and catchers report in Clearwater! We can look forward to that.

No Buzz

This Sunday's game against the Bengals epitomizes Eagles franchise



There is just no buzz with the Eagles anymore. When they were in the their golden years, or as Jeffrey Lurie stated, when they were the "Gold Standard" of the league, each week was an event.

It didn't matter if they played the Houston Texans or the Arizona Cardinals; you looked forward to every game and expected this team to win. Most importantly, you expected the Eagles to display that Eagles brand of football we love.

Now that the Ray Rhodes holdovers are gone and Reid's defensive selections are in there this team's defense has about as much heart as a cadaver.

So what if they win this Sunday against the Bengals. They're supposed to beat a 1-8 team, especially one that is arguably the worst team in the NFL. When this team plays games that actually matter against division opponents they flat out stink on ice. They're 0-3 thus far this season and they were 2-4 against their NFC East foes last year.

Even though people have been saying it for years, they truly have become a predictable team and it's not an Eagles team that we can identify with-not like the ones of the Buddy Ryan era, early Ray Rhodes era, or the early years of the Reid era.

Brian Dawkins is coming to the end of the line. Mike Patterson and Brodrick Bunkley look overmatched anymore. Gocong looks like an experiment gone awry and Omar Gaither is just ok. Stewart Bradley aside from the game on Sunday night hasn't been the impact linebacker we hoped he would be. Asante Samuel isn't tough enough.

So, what's there to look for on Sunday? We want to see a win naturally, but we won't learn anything new about this team if they do win.

It's what football has become in this town-just another game each week.

The Ideal Eagles

Imagine the Eagles the way they should have been assembled



John Lennon's famous song "Imagine" spoke of a world without greed, war, or the yoke of religion.

Many of us have imagined what it would be like if the Eagles had hired Jeff Fisher or Jon Gruden instead of Rich Kotite, drafted Warren Sapp instead of Mamula, and if McNabb had an offense built around his strengths.

We can argue until we're blue in our face what this team would be like if certain conditions were satisfied, but the bottom line is we don't know. It's like the age-old argument as to who would win between the San Diego Chargers of the AFL and George Halas' great Chicago Bears-it's all theoretical. But, that's part of the fun about sports-imagining and debating.

I'm certain of one thing. Had the Eagles drafted Warren Sapp instead of Mamula and had he been on the Andy Reid-coached teams of the early 2000's they would've won at least two Super Bowls.

It's clear that the whole operation needs to be overhauled. Jim Johnson's defensive scheme is yesterday's flavor. The Eagles' opponents in the NFC East are making mince meat out of them and they can no longer stop the other teams in the red zone. Sure, they gave up chunks of yards on the ground during their other runs to the Super Bowl, but there were players with heart, whom offenses feared, that could stop them within the 20's.

That's no longer the case. Their under-sized defensive line is a joke. The linebackers look pedestrian at best and make a play once or twice a game. Lito Sheppard thinks he's Deoin Sanders and contributes to the defense about as much as a drug junkie contributes to society. Brian Dawkins, I hate to say it has to hang 'em up.

So, where do they go from here? The only way to go is to get a coach like Bill Cowher in here who adheres to a 3-4 philosophy. And, enough with drafting 290 lb. defensive tackles. They just can't cut it in the rough NFC East. I said it then and will say it now this team needed a force like Haloti Ngata in the 2006 draft. But, that would never fly with the Eagles' braintrust. A championship defense like New England's is built around an anchor like a Vince Wilfork or Sam Adams (2000 Ravens) and bigger ends that can rush the passer and stop the run.

The linebackers need to be more physical. Gocong is ok, but seriously have you heard Stewart Bradley's name called much this year?

And, we've seen how poor this offense is in contrast to teams that have a true tight end and fullback that can set up blocks for his comrades.

The wide receivers believe it or not aren't so much of a problem. Not many of us could have predicted that heading into the year. But, that's the organization's job to detect these faults before they come to a head!

My hope for the Eagles is they somehow lure Jimmy Johnson out of the Fox Studio and bring him in as the president of football operations. Then, they can lure Bill Cowher from North Carolina and hand him the reigns.

What would that portend for Kevin Kolb? It's hard to tell, but this team needs to be blown up. And, they need to build the defense around big, physical defenders that put the fear of God into opposing offenses.

I've spoken to a few people who are respected in the media and the verdict on Kolb ranges from tons of potential to "anybody's guess." I'm inclined to go with "anybody's guess." But, that's what the new regime can assess next year. Let Kolb take over the team and if he can get it done then go with him, if not then they'll stink and be in a position to draft a franchise QB.

It's better that this team start the process sooner than later. We all saw how long it's taken the Sixers to rebuild and so far they're not off to great of a start.

Decisions, Decisions

What should the Eagles do beyond this season?



I think we can safely say that the Eagles have to at the very least strip Andy Reid of his GM duties and move on from the McNabb era.

If your quarterback goes three seasons without leading his team to a 4th quarter comeback, continues to come up small in the big spots, and is injury prone then it's time to move on.

I defended McNabb until I was blue in my face. I did it last year when the team was throwing him under the bus and meanwhile he had little to no weapons to throw to.

But, the facts are the facts. McNabb comes up small in big spots. Years ago he used to come up with a big play by using his legs or finding the receiver when they needed it most. He was 50% of the reason why 4th and 26 became a reality and not fantasy.

Against the Giants in 2002 he came up big on Monday Night football when the Eagles had a 9-3 lead in the 4th quarter. But, he sealed the win with a 40 yard touchdown run.

He was a major reason why the Eagles were so successful in their early years of the Andy Reid regime. The other reason was their dominant defense.

Those years are in the past. It's been four years since this team was "that" team. They weren't even "that" team in 2006. This team was headed for a mediocre season before the defense woke up and Jeff Garcia played efficient football to lead the team into the playoffs.

Andy Reid, who for many years was great at preparing his teams is no longer that coach. And, his talent evaluation is sorely lacking. The years of bad drafts where they struck out on high draft picks like Jerome McDougle, L.J. Smith, Billy McMullen, Matt Ware, Reggie Brown, Matt McCoy, Ryan Moats, and Winston Justice have made this transformed this team into an also-ran.

And, those busts I mentioned were drafted between 2003-2006. Added to that, they were all drafted in the first three rounds.

The two drafts that were deathblows to the Eagles' team were the 2004 and 2005 drafts.

In 2004 and 2005 they ended up with just four quality players in Shawn Andrews, Mike Patterson, Todd Herremans (I'm being lenient there), and Trent Cole. The rest of the players are either out of the NFL or barely contributing to the team any longer (i.e. Considine).

Don't expect the Eagles to cut ties with Reid just yet though. He has three years remaining on his contract. They may take away his GM powers, much like the Seahawks did with Mike Holmgren.

Reid and McNabb have given us some great years of football and are their winningest coach and quarterback in franchise history, but 10 years has shown us they cannot get the job done.

I would cut ties with Reid completely if I were in Joe Banner's shoes and get Bill Cowher on the phone. And, perhaps entice Jimmy Johnson to come out of the Fox studio to handle GM duties.

We can wish can't we?

Two things are certain, Reid probably won't be the GM next year. And, McNabb won't be back.

Mark it down.

Primetime Pounding

Eagles lose their 8th straight prime time game



Remember when the Eagles used to be dominant on Sunday and Monday nights?

Remember when the Eagles used to be unbeatable once the calender turned to November?

Remember when Donovan McNabb would come up with a big play in the 4th quarter?

Remember when Donovan McNabb was in shape?

Remember when the defense would come up with a huge turnover in a big spot?

Remember when Andy Reid would seem to at least have his team prepared to play?

Ok, you get the point.

I went back in forth on this game so many times and on this very blog I predicted an Eagles win on Friday. I didn't expect it to be easy and in order to win they had to accomplish a few things: not making early mistakes and passing too much.

Well, it turns out they did a fantastic job in protecting McNabb, who had to pass the ball a lot. But, their defense couldn't stop a drop of water last night if they held up a bucket the size of the Hoover Dam.

Many will point to McNabb's choke job in the 4th quarter and rightfully so. But, they should have never allowed 37 points. I don't care who you're playing, but if a defense is any good they'll hold a team in the 20's at most.

When your defense gets abused over and over again, failing to stop the run, or rush the passer then you're not going to win many ballgames.

Andy Reid and McNabb have proven once again that they aren't able to get it done during the clutch.

Remember the last time McNabb had a 4th quarter comeback?

Keep thinking, because I have it right here. It was in 2005 against the Oakland Raiders.

Sure, many will say the Eagles had a 4th quarter come from behind win against the Redskins last year, but it was on 57 yard TD to Westbrook. Sorry, but that's not a 4th quarter drive, that's all Westbrook.

McNabb's last 4th quarter comeback occurred over three years ago on September 25, 2005 one Sunday against the Raiders.

This is a stat that can't be measured in a quarterback rating, clutch play. I feel the most important barometer of a quarterback's success is his ability to come up big in big spots. John Elway, Joe Montana, and Tom Brady come to mind. Hell, Ben Roethlisberger has 13 career 4th quarter comebacks and he's only been in the league half as long as McNabb!

The Eagles' braintrust will continue to tell us they're a hair off, or right there with everybody else, but the fact is they're 5-4 and there are several teams in the NFC with better records than them. 10 wins won't get them into the playoffs.

Looks like another year of mediocre football in Philly with our team watching the playoffs from home come January.

When will Lurie and Banner get a clue? Hell it only took the Phillies 8 years of the Ed Wade regime to make a change.

We are talking about Lurie and Banner though. Their prodigal son Andy Reid can never do any wrong.

And, we still suffer with mediocre football.

Showdown in South Philly

Eagles and Giants set to face off on Sunday



This is the Eagles' biggest game of the season thus far. And, the Giants will actually play a real team for once this season.

I've said it before and will say it again that the Giants are the luckiest 7-1 team ever. They've played ham and eggers and caught teams on bad weeks throughout the season. They only decent teams they've played (Pittsburgh and Washington) played their worst games of the year in those weeks.

The Eagles as we know are horrific in primetime games. That is the reason why I think they're in for a tough game. For whatever reason this team just doesn't perform on the national stage.

They have just one primetime victory since 2004. Now, that's pathetic. At some point this trend will come to an end.

I feel it will on Sunday night. I've gone back and forth on this game and it will come down to the Eagles' pass rush and pass protection-yes the cliche "whoever wins the battle on the lines of scrimmage" factor.

But, it's true. Eli Manning is a slightly above average quarterback. And, when he's under duress he's a bottom feeder.

The Eagles will need to utilize Westbrook all over the field and work Buckhalter into the mix as much as possible. The key is 30 and that's number of rushes. If the Eagles run for more than 30 times Sunday night they will win. Mark it down.

If they get down early and are forced to pass the ball a lot then it will be a very tough match.

The Birds will need to avoid making an early mistake on defense or special teams in order to set the pace for this game. And, they've had a plethora of early mistakes this season-against Dallas, Atlanta, Seattle, and Chicago.

Fortunately they've woken up in the second half of games in the past month, but against a pass rush like New York's it will be a mountain to climb if they find themselves down by 14 or more points early on.

The Eagles have pretty much everybody healthy except for Shawn Andrews, but it's looking more and more like a lost season for him.

The Giants have a 7-1 record going into this and should the Eagles win they'll be just one game behind them.

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Phillies interested in Holliday?

I thought this was a ridiculous trade rumor the first time I heard it and now I think it's even more ridiculous.

Todd Zolecki is reporting that the Phillies are talking to the Rockies about a potential trade for Holliday if they can't resign Burrell.

There's two problems though. Scott BorASS is Holliday's agent and he's scheduled to become a free agent after 2009.

That means the Phillies would be renting him for one year.

The other problem is the Rockies are asking for the world for him. They want Victorino, Carrasco and other prospects. Or, they'll take Werth, Carrasco, and other prospects.

They must be high if they think the Phillies will do that.

Sorry, but Holliday isn't coming here and they don't need him anyway. The Phillies already have a great team and need to re-sign Burrell for two years and develop Greg Golson and their other youngsters so they can have a left fielder of the future.