2012 Week 8 Picks

This week is going to be, to put it mildly, interesting.

The Eagles are coming off a bye week in which Andy Reid replaced his DC and there are widespread rumors of problems in the entire front office.

The Falcons, also coming off a bye, are the only remaining undefeated team.

Andy Reid has never lost the game the week after the bye, including the infamously disastrous 2005 season. 

This is a must-win game for the Eagles. We all have the sense that their season is hanging by a thread. If they come up with a win at home against the undefeated Falcons, one in which Michael Vick takes care of the football, the offense manages to put up some points, special teams doesn't give up big plays, and the defense shows improvement, I think we're all going to release a breath we didn't even know we were holding.

If, on the other hand, Andy and Marty refuse to run the ball, Mike turns it over, the receivers drop passes or can't get open, special teams continues to give up big plays, and/or the defense lets another 4th quarter lead slip away, the wheels are going to come all the way off the bus and roll across the Ben Franklin bridge into Jersey.

This game should be winnable. No, I'm not crazy. Why do you ask?

The Falcons wins have come over:

The Chiefs (1-5)
The Broncos (3-3)
The Chargers (3-3)
The Panthers (1-5)
The Redskins (3-3)
The Raiders (2-4)

So no teams with winning records.

And the Eagles backs are against the wall. I think - I hope - they pull it together and live to fight another day. Because I just can't give up on them yet.

Eagles.

Buccaneers at Vikings: Chef Spouse's best friend Steelers Transplant, who now lives in Tampa, is in DC this week and will be watching the game with us Thursday night. Sadly, I think he'll be watching his second adopted team lose. Vikings.

Panthers at Bears: And the losing streak continues for the Panthers. Bears.

Chargers at Browns: Chargers. The Browns are kind of a mess.

Seahawks at Lions: High-powered offense versus high-powered defense! And the Seahawks are not at home. I've got the Lions again, who better not let me down after taking them as my upset pick last week.

Jaguars at Packers: The Jaguars are going to get killed. They might want to see if they can get a doctor's note or something. Packers.

Dophins at Jets: I think this will be a close game, but I've got the Dolphins. I know, I know, but they are looking better and crazy things happen in divisional games.

Redskins at Steelers: I'm tempted to go with the Skins as an upset pick, but the Steelers don't lose at home, they don't lose to NFC teams, and they REALLY don't lose at home to NFC teams. Steelers.

Patriots at Rams: I've got the Pats, but I think this is going to be a closer game than most people expect. The Rams have been solid at home this year, and they'll probably be able to slow Tom Brady down, but I don't think they'll be able to stop him.

Colts at Titans: Colts all day.

Raiders at Chiefs: I'm not picking the g-d Chiefs again. But wait! The Raiders have been burning me, too! Damn it! I'm doing it. I'm going with the Chiefs, God help me.

Giants at Cowboys: I think the Cowboys are going to sweep the Giants. And much as it pains me to pick them, it will help the Eagles. So, Cowboys. Don't hate, Bleeding Green Nation.

Saints at Broncos: I *want* to pick the Saints, but I just can't. Not gonna happen. Broncos.

49ers at Cardinals: I'm bumming that K2 won't be playing. After John Skelton won the QB competition, then went down, then Kolb came in and did great, it was sad to see him get injured. It was nice to see a former Eagle doing well. It's always nice to see a former Eagle do well. And it made me happy to see that the potential Andy saw might be really be there. Oh - who's going to win the game? The 49ers, of course. But I'm still sad that K2's struggling.

On bye: Bengals, Bills, Ravens and Texans (they need to rest after the beat down they laid on the Ravens last week)

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2012 Week 3 Recap

Eagles at Cardinals, Sunday, September 23, 2012

Yikes.

Stud of the week: Uh...Alex Henery? Hey, at least he made both field goals and provided all the points the Eagles were able to muster. So yeah, I guess Henery wins by default. Chaz Henry had a pretty good day of punting, too. On the other hand, he was getting plenty of practice.

Given the problematic wins of the past two weeks, we all had to figure that things were going to go awry sooner or later. But I don't know that anyone expected them to go so spectacularly awry, and against the Cardinals.

Where to start? There's plenty of blame to go around.

Michael Vick. Yes, there were O-line problems with two new guys out there. And I'm guessing his receivers weren't getting open downfield. But he is holding the ball WAY too long. No one doubts his toughness, but he's not going to make it to the bye week at this point. And he constantly seems to run into the pressure rather than staying calm and, I don't know, maybe stepping up in the pocket. Is there going to be a QB controversy? After some of Andy Reid's remarks today, one might think so, but since I don't see any way Vick holds up with the pounding he's taking, it very well might end up as a forced option.

The O-line. See above. Y'all have 5 days to get better, because if you play like that during the game where the Eagles retire Wolverine's number, you're going to need to hire police protection to leave The Linc.

DeSean Jackson. Here's a tip: DO NOT get stopped on the two when your team is down by 17. NO MATTER WHAT. Also, here's another tip: it's a lot easier to make the argument that you were interfered with when you don't quit on the route and start waving your arms at the refs while the ball is still in the air, donkey.

The defense did OK - other than having no answer to Larry Fitzgerald, boneheading some penalties (what else is new?), and, of course, giving up 27 points. Then again, they played about 58 of the 60 minutes and were in some very tough field position situations, so I'm guessing they were mentally and physically tired.

And Andy Reid. 

How do you not have a better game plan to cover Larry Fitzgerald? I mean, he's only one of the best receivers in the entire league. It's not like you didn't know what was coming.

How do you, once again, run the ball pretty much not at all when your QB is struggling and no one is getting open downfield? Shouldn't that, by process of elimination, mean there's some room to run? And then they get to the 4th quarter, down by 21 points and decide to...start running the ball. Seriously. Little late, yo.

How do you burn a timeout at the beginning of the second quarter? How? Just how? If you recall, the Birds really needed that timeout at the end of the half...right before Vick was stripped of the ball and the Cardinals went ahead 24-0, instead of going into the locker room at 17-7.

It was actually at that point that I suggested to Chef Spouse that we might want to start watching a game that was actually, you know, good.

(Of course, some of the head-scratching moves weren't entirely Andy's fault).

(Also, Kevin Kolb is a game manager as a QB. The Cardinals, given what I've seen the past two weeks, may be a strong enough team outside the QB position that that's all they need.)

Jeff Lurie has basically put it out there that the Eagles make a deep playoff run this year or it's curtains for Big Red. I've been a huge supporter over the years, and if the Eagles win the Super Bowl this year, I'll gladly eat crow (I hear it will go well with the celebratory champagne), but maybe it's time for Andy to go.

Around the rest of the NFL:

If they don't get the real refs back soon, the 2012 season won't finish in time for the 2013 season to start. I'm not saying the games took too long, I'm just saying Chef Spouse had an 8 am meeting today in the Philly area (2 1/2 hour drive), and he drove there straight from the end of SNF and barely made it. Look, if you have to have a 10 minute conference after every single play in order to figure out where to spot the ball and what down it is, that's not good.

Giants over Panthers: OK, so I was a little wrong about my upset pick. The Giants dominated the Panthers as thoroughly as the Cardinals dominated the Birds, if not more so. That's saying something.

Bears over Rams: Even with Jay Cutler's emotional problems, the Rams weren't up to the challenge. Sam Bradford was brought back down to earth.

Bills over Browns: Did you notice that the Bills are tied with the Jets for first place in the division? OK, OK, it's only week 3, but still.

Cowboys over Buccaneers: The Cowboys won their home opener, but they did not exactly look dominant against the team that many of expected to be the dregs of the NFC South this year. Well, at least until the Saints fell apart.

Jaguars over Colts: What?!? Well, I'm sure that's what the Colts must've been saying after they went ahead with under a minute left, and lost anyway. Big day from MJD, too.

Jets over Dolphins: Who would've expected this game to go to OT? Of course, losing Revis Island didn't help the Jets. Also, could we please stop with the dumb timeouts trying to ice the kicker? All it does is give him a do-over. Thanks.

Vikings over 49ers: This is totally what I meant to make my upset pick! Can *I* get a do-over? Sorry, but this one is just shocking.

Chiefs over Saints: Hey Eagles fans, it could be worse. I'm having to talk my Saints friends down off the ledge at this point. This is shaping up to be one heavy-drinking season for members of the Who Dat Nation. Fortunately, New Orleanians' livers are up the challenge. Unlike their team.

Titans over Lions: Another shocking outcome. Did I mention that week 3 was also disastrous for my picks?

Bengals over Redskins: The Skins lose RGIII's home opener. And it wasn't his fault - he had a good game. Who manages to climb back from leading 24-7 and then giving it up? Right - Andy Dalton. And did you see Shanny get all up in the ref's face? And then he thinks he shouldn't be fined? Right. Hey, at least DC has the Nats. 

Falcons over Chargers: I had called the Chargers, but admitted I could see this one going either way. In actuality, the Falcons kicked the crap out of the Chargers, which I didn't expect.

Texans over Broncos: As I expected.  Now that Peyton doesn't enjoy a rock solid O-line anymore, funny how he looks mortal.

Raiders over Steelers: No wait! THIS is what I meant to make my upset pick! Really! On a serious note, how does Steeler Ryan Mundy get away with hitting Darrius Heyward-Bey so hard he knocks him out and sends him to the hospital with a neck injury and no penalty is even called?

Ravens over Patriots: There were some egregiously bad calls in this game, too, as Cris Collinsworth and Al Michaels kept reminding us, maybe even some that would've turned the game, but I can't complain about the Ravens getting a win against the Pats, who knocked them out in the AFC Championship game last year, and on a night when Torrey Smith was playing in memory of his brother, Tevin, who'd been killed in a motorcycle accident only that morning. Also, maybe now the Ravens will quit whining about how they didn't like the playcalling against the Birds last week.

The Seahawks are currently beating the Packers. What is going on with the NFC West these days? All these guys started eating their Wheaties or something?

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2012 Week 3 Picks

This week the Eagles travel to Arizona to take on former teammate Kevin Kolb and the Cardinals. The Cardinals, like the Eagles, stand at 2-0, having just shocked the Patriots and most of the football punditry with a two point loss at home. The Eagles, meanwhile, were busy shocking the Ravens with a win after turning the ball over 9 million times (actual figure: 4).

In other words, both of these teams could be in for a let down game.

And the Eagles are struggling to field five offensive linemen.

In the end, I think this will come down to two things: one, the Eagles D is going to make K2 miserable all day, and two, Michael Vick is getting the team to win by sheer force of will. It will be another close game, guaranteed, but I think the Eagles will escape with another narrow win. And I'll have yet another coronary watching it.

Giants at Panthers: Panthers, in my upset pick. They're at home, it was a short week and Eli's gotta still be tired from throwing for 5,634,736 yards Sunday (actual figure: 510 yards, which is still a lot).

Buccaneers at Cowboys: I'm soooo tempted to call the Bucs, but I just can't see the Cowboys dropping their home opener, particularly after laying an egg against the Seahawks last week.

Jaguars at Colts: Colts. I don't necessarily think the Colts are that much better than the Jags, but they are at home.

Bills at Browns: Browns, again at home, and coming off a "most improved" type effort against the Bengals, getting their first win of the season.

Jets at Dolphins: Jets. Who are think are going to be up and down all season, but it's the Dolphins, for chrissakes.

Chiefs at Saints: No way the Saints drop two in a row at the Dome. They'll get their first win this week.

Bengals at Redskins: Look for the Redskins to bounce back from their surprising loss in St. Louis, even without Brian Orakpo. The Bengals, after last year, are looking pretty disappointing so far.

Rams at Bears: Jay Cutler pouted and whined last week, while Sam Bradford led a furious comeback over the Redskins. I think Cutler will pull his head out of his ass and do enough to let Brian Urlacher lead the Bears to victory, thus holding off their pending circular firing squad for one more week.

49er at Vikings: 49ers all the way. Is it too early? Juggernaut.

Lions at Titans: Lions.

Falcons at Chargers: This one could go either way, but I think I'm going to Chargers because a lot of teams have trouble traveling west and because they're at home. But I could easily be wrong.

Steelers at Raiders: Steelers. Man, Raiders, y'all are making me look foolish already. Pull it together! Play some AFC South teams or something!

Texans at Broncos: Texans. Peyton is going to have another bad day, because the Texans' D is for real.

Patriots at Ravens: Some NFL commentators who shall remain nameless (*cough*Rodney Harrison*cough*) were calling the Pats the best team in the league after week 1. It was so fun to watch him eat crow after they lost to the Cards last week. And he'll be getting another big helping this week, because the Ravens are pissed (ha!) and look to take it out on a conference rival that, really, all right thinking teams love to hate.

Packers at Seahawks: I know the Seahawks are tough at home and looked great against the Cowboys last week, but I just can't see them beating the Packers who, while not as dominant as last year, are still a damn good team.

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2011 Week 17 Picks

This is it - the end of the road. Well, at least for some teams, two of which will be facing off at the Linc this week, as the Redskins travel to Philly to close out the season.

The other day, the Washington Post sports section did a "the last time the Redskins and Eagles played on New Year's Day" feature. They made a HUGE deal about the fact that the Redskins won, 31-20. Do you remember when it was? Does Jan. 1, 2006 ring a bell? You remember - the final game in the disaster season, when literally every player on the entire team was injured at one point or another, and Mike McMahon was under center?

Yep, that's how bad things are in DC - the local sports writers have to relive the glory days of 5 years ago, when the Redskins first team was able to take out the Eagles practice squad.

Things are going to go a little different this time, bitches.

Eagles.

In the rest of the matchups - things get tough to pick as teams consider resting their starters. But do they tell US who they'll be resting? Nooooo, of course not!

Jets at Dolphins: Dolphins. Because I think the Jets are mess, and I figure if they can't beat the Giants for us, they don't deserve to win another game.

Panthers at Saints: The Saints are in the running for the first round bye, and they should be able to handle the Panthers in their own house. But they need the 49ers to lose to the Rams, too, which ain't gonna happen.

49ers at Rams: 49ers. See above.

Titans at Texans: The Titans need a miracle to make the postseason. The only thing they can control is beating the Texans. And although Wade Phillips will be be back, the Texans have nothing much to play for, seeing as they've already won the division and can't get the bye. I think the Titans will do what they can and win this game, but I don't think the rest of the cards are going to fall the right way for them.

Lions at Packers: I'm going with the Lions. I think they'll want it more (I cannot overstress how important holding on to the 5th seed will be), and, with nothing more to gain, I think the Pack will rest some of their dinged up starters.

Bears at Vikings: aka the Pee Wee Bowl. The Bears have lost their last five. The Vikings have lost four of their last five, and the one win was over the Redskins. Neither team has anything to play for at this point, other than maybe draft position. I'm going with Vikings, just because they're at home.

Colts at Jaguars: The Colts better watch it, or they'll play themselves right out of the Luck sweepstakes. Jaguars.

Bills at Patriots: It's probably too much to ask the Bills to beat the Pats twice in one season. Patriots.

Seahawks at Cardinals: Man, have the Cards disappointed this season, particularly Kevin Kolb. Guess we know now why Andy Reid didn't mind letting him go. Seahawks.

Chargers at Raiders: Back on the "which team has something to play for?" theme, I'm going with the Raiders.

Chiefs at Broncos: Chiefs. And not just because I want the Raiders to win the division. I think Tebow's luck has run out, at least on the 2011 season. During the offseason, he might want to look into actually learning how to play his position.

Buccaneers at Falcons: The Falcons, of course, ALSO don't want the #6 seed in the NFC. Particularly after last Monday night. And they'll win this game, but it won't be enough.

Ravens at Bengals: Both of these teams really want this game, too. The Bengals need it to make the playoffs, and the Ravens need it to hold off the Steelers, who will DEFINITELY win their game. Ravens.

Steelers at Browns: See above. Steelers.

Cowboys at Giants: Giants. And not just because I don't want the Cowboys to win the division. I genuinely believe the Giants are the better team. I also genuinely believe that whichever team wins this game will go down in the first game of the playoffs, because the NFC East is just not very good this year. But Giants fans will at least get one week to dream.

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It's a Madhouse! A madhouse, I tell you!

As I predicted (What you don't follow me on Twitter? What are you waiting for? An invitation? Consider yourself invited), free agency is now pretty much spinning into barely controlled chaos. I quite literally can't even keep up with what's going on with the Eagles, much less the entire league. I have a day job, here, people. So I'm cheating and sending you other places for free agency news.

• Tommy Lawlor is covering all the trades at Iggles Blitz and all the rumors on Twitter (yes, you should follow him, too)
• Bleeding Green Nation is blogging at a blistering pace, covering all the rumors and including periodic open threads where you can share your thoughts on who's going to end up where - they also have a sidebar ticker of news from the other teams' SportsBlogNation blogs
• Bird's Fan is also doing a good job of periodically (like "multiple times a day") summarizing all the trades and rumors of trades (seriously, am I the only one who works here?)
• Even The 700 Level has taken a time-out from Phillies coverage to talk Kolb, Cromartie and McNabb (and while we're on the subject, two SIXTH ROUND picks?!? C'mon man!)
• Inside the Iggles wants us to pick up Albert Haynesworth, which just...no. No. A thousand times no, Fat Albert.
• At least the Favre rumor looks to have been bogus. Thank God.

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Trade Rumors

I don't usually post about these because it's mostly just a waste of time, but there are two I can't ignore:

1. It's looking like Kevin Kolb might be headed to the Cardinals - I KNEW it!
2. Plax might be coming to the Eagles. Are they trying to corner the market on ex-cons? Of course it's all "if the price is right" talk. The Eagles don't need receivers, but ever since they dumped Hank Baskett, they don't really have anyone good for end zone fade routes, since all their excellent receivers are four feet tall. As long as they can get him for used DVDs of the Waterboy and The Longest Yard, plus two packs of smokes, I figure why not take a chance?

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Welcome to the Eagles, Danny Watkins

I don't usually write much about the draft. I don't follow college ball, so I generally don't have anything original to say. I could recap scouting notes and combine results, but why would I add myself as a middleman? Waste of time.

But last night I saw something truly unexpected: the Eagles took a 26 year old ex-fireman and ex-hockey player who's only played football for about 5 years with their #1 pick.

Reasons why I'm not freaking out this morning:

• Andy Reid picked up someone to protect Mike Vick's blindside. Thank God, because Max Jean-Gilles wasn't getting it done.
• Danny may be 26, but he's regular 26 not football 26 thanks to his relatively short career to date.
• I quote Fellow Eagles Maniac: "Love this quote about Watkins: 'Watkins is a mature, physical player with a nasty disposition.'" That'll work.
• How fun was watching his fire fighter posse go nuts when he was picked?

Yes, I know we still need a CB opposite Asante Samuel. Yes, I know Jimmy Smith was still on the board when we picked. You think after the T.O. mess Big Red will EVER voluntarily take a hot mess player again? Because I don't. I figure Andy's got a plan that involves Kevin Kolb and a team that needs a QB like the Raiders or the Cardinals.


In the meantime, I'm looking forward to the presser at 4 today.

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2010 Wildcard Weekend Recap

Eagles v. Packers, Sunday, January 9, 2011

In attendance: Shoegal, Ex-Navy Cheesehead, Chef Spouse and me

Menu:  cream of tomato soup and grilled cheese, plus shrimp and crudites for snackies from the gang and yummy desserts courtesy of Shoegal. And bourbon. LOTS of bourbon.

Stud of the week: Seriously? There isn't one. I can't think of a single player who didn't make at least one major mistake yesterday. 

So the 2010 season was bookended by losses to the Packers. Can I get an "F that!"? I think I can.

I was right about the 3 road teams pick - I just messed up WHICH road teams. Oy.

This was the game of almost - the Eagles almost had sacks and picks and field goals and big catches and tackles and 2 point conversions and almost broke big runs.

Almost.

But they didn't.

I really don't have it in me to recap the game, other than to point out that if David Akers made even one of the field goals he missed...if Brent Celek didn't inexplicably go out the back of the end zone, negating the 2 point conversion...that last pick never even happens, because Andy knows they can take the 3 and go to overtime.

At least the guys went down swinging. 

So here's the thing: back in August, I predicted the team would go 6-10 (or maybe 7-9) and be at the bottom of the NFC East. They way overperformed my expectations. Even getting to the playoffs was definitely icing on my cake, as was another NFC East championship.

Looking to the offseason, the Front Office needs to lock down our QB situation. My guess? Trade K2 for a high draft pick - there are plenty of teams with high first round picks who need quarterbacks, and no, I don't think that's an unreasonable ask - and sign Mike Vick to a deal that would've been a lot fatter had they signed it a month ago. The FO also needs to pick up another corner back to play opposite Asante Samuel. Because it sure as hell ain't Dimitri Patterson. I hear a guy named Nnamdi Asomugha might be available - maybe you've heard of him?  And if they're going to stick with Mike Vick at QB - and I think they are - they need to do something about the O-line, because he seriously will not make 16 games at this rate. Akers seems to think he won't be back in Philly, and his contract is up, but I don't see that happening. Good kickers are not so easy to come by, right Mike Vanderjagt?

But really, Andy Reid said it best: very few teams can completely retool the way the Eagles have in the past two years and still get to the playoffs both years. The future looks good. As long as we can stop this emerging trend of losing in the first round of the playoffs at 2.

In the rest of the matchups:

Seahawks over Saints: OK, as bummed as we all are over the Eagles loss, it's not shocking. Two 10-6 teams, evenly matched, popular vote, bloggers, and professional sports commentators pretty much splitting 50/50 on predicting the winner - it could've gone either way. But the defending Super Bowl champs losing to a 7-9 team in the wildcard round? WTF? I totally attribute this win to the Seahawks 12th man. And the Saints played like they'd all taken the Nyquil Drew Brees has been shilling for prior to the game. Anyway, I don't guess the Bears will take Nyquil before next weekend and the Seahawks don't get to bring ALL their fans to Soldier Field with them, so I'm guessing their freaky playoff run will end, but in the meantime, seriously, Saints, WTF? Best line? On Twitter: "Marshawn Lynch just stiff-armed Tracy Porter into Puget Sound." I hope they fished him out for the flight home.

Jets over Colts: Great game. Also, how weird is it to watch a team that's mostly about "run the ball and don't make the QB do anything too hard where he might screw up and blow the game for the team"? I wonder what that's like. Also, perhaps the Colts should pick up an ACTUAL head coach and an ACTUAL offensive coordinator? Peyton seems to be a smart guy, but asking him to be the QB, the OC and the HC all at once seems like too much, you know?

Ravens over Chiefs: This was the only game that really sucked. Not that it was unexpected, but still - Chiefs' fans? It's the FREAKIN' PLAYOFFS, which your team hasn't sniffed in years. SIT YOUR ASSES DOWN AND WATCH YOUR TEAM LOSE. That stadium was EMPTY mid-way through the 4th quarter, and that is just unacceptable. It's the PLAYOFFS, man!

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2010 Week 17 Recap

Eagles v. Cowboys, Sunday, January 2, 2011

In attendance: Shoegal, the triumphant return of Ex-Navy Cheesehead, Chef Spouse and me

Menu: brats, saurkraut, homemade soft pretzels, brussels spouts - have to ensure good luck in the New Year, after all!

Stud of the Week: Chad Hall. Pipsqueak had a great day, even scoring his first TD in the NFL. He even managed to jump up into the stands with a little bit of a boost from his team mates. Feel good story for sure.

So the Cowboys' entire first team (other than QB Stephen McGee) managed to beat the Eagles' practice squad, plus some guys they signed in the parking lot during pre-game tailgating. I think maybe one or two starters were out there, only by virtue of having no one else left to back them up. And the Cowboys won by one point. Uh...congratulations? I guess?

Remember how at the beginning of the season a bunch of people (including me) thought the Cowboys were going to dominate? Talk about going out with a whimper. The practice squad seriously gave the Cowboys a run for their money, and had it not been for the DeMarcus Ware TD off the Anthony Spencer forced fumble that came about because K2 was holding the ball out on a tray for him, we would've won. There was a fair amount of "Good job...uh....who IS that guy?" going on in my living room.

Anywho, on to the Packers! And let's hope Vick doesn't go down, because Kolb did not look brilliant. Somebody tell Clay Matthews the game is on Saturday, OK? At Lambeau?

Around the rest of the NFL...

Pats over Dolphins: Seriously, why would you play your starters?

Jets over Bills: The Jets didn't need their starters to whip up on a bad team. Just sayin'.

Ravens over Bengals: Think TO will be playing anywhere next year? He seems to think so, but homie is mostly delusional, so that's not reliable.

Steelers over Browns: And Eric Mangini's been fired. How many does that make this season? 4?

Raiders over Chiefs: The Chiefs weren't going to do better than the #4 seed. And apparently, the Raiders might get a new QB next year: Donovan McNabb. He and Jason Campbell are bros, so that should work out. And they can both kick back and talk about how glad they are to be the hell out of DC.

Lions over Vikings: Next year, Lions. Next year.

Falcons over Panthers: So during the 4 pm games, we were talking about who we'd want the Eagles to face in wildcard weekend. "Can I pick the Panthers? I want the Panthers." Yeah, no.

Bucs over Saints: Well, the Bucs did what was in their power to try to get to the playoffs. It wasn't enough. Odd loss, though.

Texans over Jags: Yeah, the Jags gave up.

Giants over Redskins: Whatevs. They'll both be watching the playoffs from their rec rooms, accompanied by umbrella drinks.

Chargers over Broncos: Same as above.

49ers over Cards: Wow. The 49ers kicked the Cards' asses. What lit a fire under them all of a sudden? Head coach gets fired, all of s sudden no one is safe?

Packers over Bears: I think this is a good thing for the Eagles. I definitely didn't want to see the Giants again this year, and it does lend a nice symmetry to the season, with the Packers coming back to the Linc next week. Hopefully with a different outcome.

Colts over Titans: Raise your hand if you think the Colts are going down to the Jets wildcard weekend. Me. I have my hand raised.

Seahawks over Rams: OH. MY. GOD. The West was won by a 7-9 team. I think the Seahawks should voluntarily cede their playoff spot to a better team. The fact that the 11-5 Saints have to travel to Seattle to play a 7-9 team is just NOT acceptable.

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DJ Big Redd Breaks It Down

you've probably already seen this, but...

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2010 Week 7 Picks

Eagles at Titans:  I'm torn this week. On the one hand, you can't stop Chris Johnson - you can only hope to contain him. And the Eagles are not brilliant against the run. Also Mike Vick is likely still out, even though he returned to practice today. On the other hand (is that too many hands?), K2 did great last week against a Falcons team that EVERYONE expected to win. On the other hand, DeSean Jackson's likely out for awhile, too. Of course, so is Vince Young. And while he's not an amazing quarterback, he's better than Kerry Collins by a long shot.

Of course, I keep picking against the Eagles - and they keep winning. Chef Spouse says I'm overly superstitious, but...

And 4-2 in AFC South is different than 4-2 in NFC East, at least this year.

Everybody's picking the Titans. Then again, everybody picked the Falcons last week.

But I think they're right this week - Titans.  Or maybe I'm just superstitious.

In the rest of the matchups:

Bengals at Falcons: Falcons. Things are not well in Cincinnati.

Jaguars at Chiefs: Chiefs. The Jags got spanked on Monday and lost their quarterback in the process. Not good.

49ers at Panthers: 49ers. I still believe in Mike Singletary.

Browns at Saints: Seriously? This isn't even fair. Saints. Also, ouch.

Bills at Ravens: Also ouch. Ravens.
 
Rams at Buccaneers: This is an interesting matchup. Both teams are performing better than expected this year. People are mostly calling Bucs, but I'm going with Rams - just a hunch.

Redskins at Bears: Donovan tends to play well in his hometown of Chicago, and Jay Cutler's getting smacked around the way Jason Campbell did last year. Actually, come to think of it, so's Donovan. But he pops up like a Weeble, as long as it's not November. And it's not. Redskins.

Steelers at Dolphins: Can I pick a 3-2 team over a 4-1 team? Yep.  Dolphins.

Cardinals at Seahawks: Tough call. Seahawks I think. But this one's really a push.

Raiders at Broncos: The Broncos are scoring an ass-load of points. I don't think the Raiders can keep up. Broncos.

Patriots at Chargers: Patriots. The Chargers are a mess.

Vikings at Packers: Packers all the way, baby! Team Rodgers!

Giants at Cowboys: I have a theory about the Giants and their slow starts - the team hates Tom Coughlin so much they're willing to throw some games at the beginning of the season in hopes that he'll literally have a stroke on the sidelines so they can get another coach. By the time they're about a month in, they're all like "Yeah, not this year. Sigh. OK, I guess we gotta play for this asshole another season. Let's pull it together." Which happened 3 weeks ago. Too bad for the Cowboys (not really)! Giants.

On bye: Lions, Texans, Colts, Jets

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2010 Week 6 Recap

Eagles v. Falcons, October 17, 2010

In attendance:  only me.  On business in Minneapolis.  Chef Spouse was at home with some of his friends.  But I was all alone with Supercast.  F'ing business trips.

Menu:  room service. Bleh.

Stud of the week: DeSean Jackson.  No contest.  He'd put up 14 points on the Falcons before the BS hit Dunta Robinson laid on him.  Which, by the way, looked totally intentional.  Fines? You bet. Suspension? Well, I wouldn't be opposed.   

So this will be quick due to the business trip, but a few game notes:

I have to start with the cheap hit on Brent Celek late in the second quarter.  I think it was the Falcons' safety, and it resulted in a pick and K2 drawing a 15 yard penalty for a horse-collar tackle, but what was up with that not being called in the first place?

I was loving that lights out D for entire first half and parts of the rest of the game. Where have these guys been for the past 6 weeks? Matty Ice is going to be having nightmares about Trent Cole.

I was freaking out about Akers missing those field goals. Uncharacteristically, he was visibly pissed, throwing his helmet twice. Just before he made the the 30 yarder in the 4th quarter, the problem became apparent:  his shoes (or actually, I should say "shoe" on his left/kicking foot).  David, I love that you want to show your support for breast cancer research, but not at the cost of missed field goals. Put the black shoe back on, hon.

Kolb looked good. He looked calm and confident, not least because of good play by the O-line. Maclin's clearly his go-to guy, but Jackson had a big day before that cheap hit, too.

The running game was clicking, too, more props to the O-line. LeSean McCoy continues to be a stud, and Eldra Buckley had a good day, too.

Finally, Jorrick Calvin, where have you been all my life?  Let's get that rookie some more playing time, yo!

Around the rest of the NFL...there were a lot of good games!

Dolphins over Packers. This game wouldn't have gone to OT if the Dolphins hadn't completely whiffed on the 4th and goal QB sneak that tied the game.  Good thing for them they pulled it out, because I don't think firing your special teams coach AND your defensive coordinator within a week DURING the season is a very good idea.

Rams over Chargers. Well that was unexpected. What's wrong with the Chargers this year? Seriously, real question - if you know, post in the comments.

Patriots over Ravens. Another OT win. How did this happen?  The Ravens were leading most of the game, Brady threw two picks. Being on a business trip during football season kills me - I missed the game AND all the commentary about why it went down the way it did!

Steelers over Browns.  Well, duh.

Texans over Chiefs.  Close game, though. I think the Chiefs just might win AFC West this year, at least if the Chargers keep stinking it up.

Giants over Lions. Again, not surprising. Again, close game. The Lions are missing, like, 1 thing, but whatever it is, it's key, because they lose ALL the time. They don't get blown out, of course, but they lose.

Seahawks over Bears. Also unexpected. What is wrong with the Bears O-line? Again, serious question. If they don't pull it together, Cutler's not going to last the season.

Saints over Buccaneers. Well, yes.

Jets over Broncos. Again, not that surprising, even thought Tebow got in and played well.

49ers over Raiders.  FINALLY! Mike Singletary was about to blow a gasket.

Vikings over Cowboys. The hotel I'm staying in for my conference is the same hotel the Vikings stayed in the night before the game. And I didn't kick Brett Favre in the crotch or throw a drink on him or anything. And I totally had my boss lined up to bail me out. I know - wasted opportunity. Also, Cowboys? HA!

Colts over Redskins. Not surprising, although the Skins made a real game of it. You know it's killing McNabb that he's never beat Peyton Manning.

I'm currently watching Titans/ Jags, and BOTH starting QBs are out.  I think Kerry Collins is preferable to Trent Edwards, but we'll see.

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2010 Week 6 Picks

Another weekend of business travel during football season!  ARGH!  What is wrong with these people?!?

Thank DirecTV for Supercast, because Eagles/Falcons isn't being broadcast nationally, and I'll be in Minneapolis.  Somehow I think the local 1 pm (well, technically, noon) games there are going to be NFC North games, because 3 of the 4 teams are playing in the early slot (Lions/Giants, Dolphins/Packers, and Seahawks/Bears). 

Anyway, we're in "will he or won't he?" territory this week.   You KNOW Mike Vick wants to face - and preferably kick the asses of - his old team.  But can he play?  Unknown.  If he can't go, can K2 put up enough points - and avoid enough mistakes - to win?

The Falcons are a tough matchup.  Not only are they looking solid this year, winning their last 4 games after a season-opening loss to the Steelers, but they're currently the #2 rushing team.  Know where the Eagles rank against the run?  Not #2 - try #24.  Ouch.  And that might be the story of the game right there.

The Eagles do have Brian Westbrook the Second, aka "Mr. Stud of the Week two weeks running" LeSean McCoy.  (In other news, Nate Allen really is looking like the next Brian Dawkins - and not a moment too soon.) On the other hand, this is mostly a passing offense, at least for the past 12 years under Andy Reid.  And there's better news there - the Falcons are #19 against the pass. Oddly enough, though, this year the team is ranked higher in rushing (#10) than in passing (#13) - at least so far, but I supsect some of that's due to K2's tendency to check down FIRST and some big runs from Mike Vick.

But enough stats - what does my gut say?  My gut says Falcons.  I know they're facing off at the Linc and homefield advantage and whatnot, but I truly believe the Falcons are the better team at this point.

In the rest of the matchups:

Dolphins at Packers:  The Packers are REELING from injury.  Big time.  Aaron Rodgers' concussion is just adding the proverbial insult.  Dolphins.  Also, the Pack better start looking for some more players, STAT.

Chargers at Rams:  The Chargers are struggling, but there is no way the Bad Luck Monster bites them this week the way he did last week.  Two blocked punts?  That's more in the territory of "Tom Cable sacrificed a goat to get a win."  And, since they aren't blacked out at home, I can call Chargers.

Lions at Giants:  I really think the Lions are a better team than their 1-4 record indicates.  Unfortunately, I don't think they're good enough to beat the Giants.

Ravens at Patriots:  Ravens all the way!  Also, I'm watching the NFL Network right now, and Sterling Sharpe literally just said, "The Baltimore Ravens win this one, 33-23." See, he knows.

Browns at Steelers:  Big Ben (who I now pretty much hate more than the Cowboys) is back this week - and the Steelers are going to end the Browns winning streak at 1.
Edited October 17 add:  as was pointed out to me in the comments, the Browns actually lost last week to the Falcons.  They had won the prior week, beating the Bengals 23-20. Not that any of that's really going to matter, since they're going to lose this week regardless.

Saints at Buccaneers:  The Saints are looking downright...ordinary lately. And the Bucs are technically ahead of them in division due to not having a divisional loss.  That'll end this week.  Saints.

Chiefs at Texans: The Texans are trying to break my heart this year.  But I still believe. Also, 3-2 in the AFC South is a better record than 3-1 in the West.  Texans.

Seahawks at Bears: If the Bears can turn the ball over 1,463,638 times and STILL win (thank you very much Matt Forte), they'll get past the surprisingly competent (talk about damning by faint praise) Seahawks.  Bears.

Raiders at 49ers:  OK, maybe I'm wrong.  Maybe the 49ers stink.  Raiders.

Jets at Broncos:  Talk about dominant - the Jets look awesome this year.  The Broncos?  Not so much.  The air's pretty thin in Denver, but I don't think that'll slow down the Jets or Rex Ryan's highly entertaining and R-rated patter.  Jets.

Cowboys at Vikings: I know I rail against Brett Favre a lot here, but (so far) I haven't touched the sexual harassment allegations, the whining about his elbow (but I notice it only seems to bother him when he's playing bad), and the whole "my streak is more important than the good of the team" BS. Yeah. He's a complete ass.  So are the Cowboys, but they're going to win this week.

Colts at Redskins: I SO want to call Redskins here, and they've been pulling off some improbable wins this season, but come on.  The Redskins were 4-12 last year, and they're up against the Colts.  DMac and Shanny haven't had enough time to make THAT much of a difference. I don't think. Also (and this is unverified), I don't think McNabb has EVER beat the Colts.  I'm calling Colts, but I'd love to be wrong.

Titans at Jaguars:  Titans.  You can't stop Chris Johnson, and I don't think the Jags can even contain him.


On bye:  Cardinals, Bills, Panthers, Bengals.

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Who in the what where?

AR on Monday: Kevin Kolb is absolutely, positively the starting QB of the Philadelphia Eagles.

AR on Tuesday: Mike Vick is absolutely, positively the starting QB of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Now, admittedly, it's been a rough start to the season for starting QBs. Sunday, 5 got benched (Jason Campbell of the Raiders, Derek Anderson of the Cardinals, Matt Moore of the Panthers, Vince Young of the Titans, and David Garrard of the Jaguars), and some of them have or appear to have lost their starting jobs, at least temporarily (definitely Matt Moore, possibly Jason Campbell). The Bills' Trent Edwards has been demoted this week as well.

But Andy's quick and total reversal has me scratching my head. We're going to pull the plug on Kolb after one bad half? When we traded away the most successful QB this franchise has ever seen because it was time for the heir apparent to move up? Again, I look to the Packers Rodgers/Favre situation a few years ago. And remember that Rodgers went 6-10 his first year. I can hardly believe I'm writing this, but maybe a little patience is in order here?

Then again, who knows what schemes Reid has in that ginger noggin of his....

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2010 Week 1 Recap

Eagles v. Packers, Sunday, September 12, 2010

In attendance:  I was all by myself in Chicago, but Chef Spouse reports that Shoegal joined him back in DC

Menu:  I got a room service burger.  Chef Spouse made fajitas and guacamole, which appears to have lost its magical powers in the offseason.

Stud of the Week:  Mike Vick.  Damn, I don't remember him looking that good back in Atlanta. And with K2 out for, well, we don't really know how long at this point, could we see a QB controversy brewing? Probably not - Big Red has said definitively that K2 is the future. But Vick looked terrific - his wheels are back, he was accurate, he made good short and long passes and good decisions, and he took what the defense gave him.  I know a lot of people are pissed he didn't run it in mid-way through the fourth quarter when we took the 3 points instead, leaving us down by 7, but he was about 12 yards out and while there were no Packers DIRECTLY in front of him, there were several nearby between him and the end zone.  Other than that (and I do think he made the right decision in attempting the pass, because the run was all or nothing at that point, and it had little chance of succeeding), he played a great game, jumpstarting our moribund offense and nearly bringing us back from an ass-whuppin' that was a lot more one-sided than the 17 point (at its widest) differential reflected.  Did you know that Vick is now one of only 3 QBs with over 4000 rush yards? The other two are Steve Young and our own Randall Scramble.
Other than that, there wasn't a lot of good.  Both teams start game day with a 45 man roster, and by the end of the first half, I was pretty sure one or both teams was going to run out of players.

At the beginning of the game, I was thinking: "I'm really surprised Jamal Jackson is back! It seems awfully fast after a torn ACL and, although he's clearly a better center than the other options (Cole and McGlynn), he and K2 have had NO time together."  Did you miss that he was even there? That's because, basically by the time I finished thinking that thought, he was out (maybe for the season - again) with a torn triceps.

Packers rookie Clay Matthews had a great day, if by "great day" you mean "physically incapacitated every single Eagle he came within 10 feet of."

K2?  Out with a concussion for who knows how long.

Stewart Bradley?  Same.  Now, he did fall down after getting up because he tripped on his own feet, but he seriously got his clock cleaned, which you could tell by looking at his eyes.

I already mentioned our center.

And then there's Leonard Weaver.  That was literally a sickening collision.  Knees are not supposed to bend like that.  He had to pretty much be carried off the field, and it looked like he was crying.  Think he's out for the season?  Yeah, me too.  During the game Adam Schefter tweeted that the Eagles were thinking it was probably a torn ACL (it is).  I quote @BleedingGreen:

My eyes reported that when it happened.

The Eagles sideline was starting to look like the train station scene in Gone with the Wind, only less cheerful.

I remember at one point, Clay Matthews had drilled Mike Vick and the Idiot Twins were blathering on about God knows what on TV and Vick's holding his left arm and they're not addressing it and I about flipped out.  Because I saw Mike Kafka at training camp, and trust me, we do not want him to be our only option.

On to the game itself.  K2, until he went down, looked like a rookie.  He's still keying on particular receivers and not going through his reads.  I hope he's able to fix that.  Also, son, you're not Big5.  Don't throw off your back foot.  I also didn't like the constant screwing around with taking him out and putting Vick in, because it seemed to me that he never got a chance to get comfortable.  Just leave him alone and let him run the offense for chrissakes!

David Akers continues to be money.  He was good from 45, and he's pretty much the only guy on the team over 30 at this point. Something to think about.  Of course, he is a kicker, and they tend to have long careers, but still.

I expected penalties from this bunch of young'uns.  But more penalty yards in the first half than total yards?  Only 7 total yards of offense?  NO catches for Peanut?  NO catches for Celek?

And then we started the second half without K2.  At least it made AR and/or Mornhinweg quit screwing around and just play a QB.  But we still couldn't seem to do anything right.  Vick started with a solid run and a great pass - and then Charles Woodson knocked the ball loose as Eldra Buckley fights for more yards, and the Packers waltzed on down the field for another score, taking the score to 20-3.

After that, our offense starting to making things happen, but the defense fell apart.  We got in the end zone - FINALLY - and then the Packer got a great run back on the kickoff  and then 4 plays later, SCORED AGAIN.  Were they just gassed in the second half, are the Packers that good (possibly), or can they just not cover anyone (I sure as hell hope that's not it)?

I definitely didn't like the draw call on our last chance to put together a drive on the 4th and 1.  Vick's a great outside runner, but he's not big or powerful enough for the draw play.  And the Packers clearly knew it was coming.

And, as usual, our clock management was a mess. In other news, gravity is still in effect.

I suspect Vick will start again against the Lions next week, given the concussion situation, and after that, we'll have to see.  But again, Andy's 100% that Kolb's the future, so let's hope he can get over his beginner jitters soon.

Around the rest of the NFL...

(I'm operating at a bit of a handicap here, since I'm on a business trip and it's seriously curtailing my SportsCenter and NFL Network viewing time.  I'll do my best, and I promise to return to full-on snark next week.)

Saints over Vikings:  Not exactly the dazzling offensive fireworks we were all expecting, but a good game, and a good start to a Saints season that will hopefully see at least an NFC South repeat.  Brett Favre looked RUSTY RUSTY RUSTY.  Shouldn't have spent the entire offseason in Mississippi, Gramps.

Bucs over Browns:  For a while there (OK, the first half) it looked like the Browns might actually win one.  Nope.

Dolphins over Bills:  The game was closer than I expected.  Dolphins, if you're going to win the division, you need to start playing like the season actually, you know, STARTED.
Pats over Bengals:  Hm.  So the TO/Ochocinco combo didn't produce rainbow, unicorns, and puppies for everyone.  Imagine that.

Texans over Colts:  I actually got to watch the second half of this game.  Jeff Saturday is one of the few centers known by name in the NFL.  He was out Sunday with an injury.  How much do you think Peyton missed him?  What's more than "a lot"?  Midway through the game, I wrote:  "If the Texans lose, the play of the game was Pierre Garcon saving the Glover Quin almost-pick mid way through the 4th. Not too sure about that call, but it led to the Colts' TD, cutting the Texans' lead to 10." But the Texans pulled it out anyway.  I'm telling you, this is their year to at least GET TO the playoffs.
Jaguars over Broncos:  I have literally no comment on this other than, "Hm."

Steelers over Falcons:  I admit it - I'm surprised.  It's too early to tell, but I was expecting the Steelers to struggle due to their offseason messes and the Falcons to be really strong this year.  Both of those could still happen, but not this week.

Titans over Raiders:  WAY over.  So far over, I think Chris Johnson was showered and sipping an umbrella drink in the owner's box by the start of the second half. Jason Campbell also got sacked 4 times.  Maybe it's him.

Giants over Panthers: I still don't think they're going to be very good this year, but then again, neither will the Panthers.

Bears over Texans:  I'm not so sure about the Calvin Johnson TD that was called back with 24 seconds left. He clearly had control.  I call BS.  I get that it's The Rule, but it's one of the rules that makes no sense.

Cardinals over Rams:  Who's even under center in Arizona?  Guess it doesn't matter if you still have Fitz and Tim Hightower.

Seahawks over 49ers:  Is it too late to change my pick for NFC West?

Redskins over Cowboys:  I sure as hell hope you watched the game because it was SUPER exciting.  I am SO glad to be wrong about this one.  I am SO glad DMac was able to start the season with a win over the Cowboys after the ignominious way last season ended.  Both teams made plenty of dumb mistakes, but I have to say that the Cowboys were embarrassingly sloppy.  I thought Trent Williams did quite a good job. I think Miles Austin is a punk.  I think the Cowboys play dirty.  And I think it must be great to be in DC today.

Off to watch the MNF double header with some vendors at a sports bar...no doubt trouble of the best kind awaits....

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Eagles v. Jags Preseason Game Notes

Is that really the best way to hold the ball?

Sorry this is a little delayed - the game wasn't broadcast in my area and I had to hit it on NFL replay.

OK, we all know that that purpose of the preseason is to help the coaches figure out who gets cut v. relegated to the practice squad v. assigned to work their way up through special teams.  So let's not read too much into this.*  But starting with a win is nice.

Assuming K2 isn't a complete bust, we're plenty skilled on offense.  The guys are young and will need time to develop as a unit, but the amount of raw talent is astonishing, particularly after so many years of McNabb, Westbrook, and...well, there wasn't anybody else.  It was just those two.  Admittedly, our Red Zone woes continue, but both Kolb and Mike Vick were able to sustain drives.

(The Eagles Television Network flashed an interesting graphic mid-way through the 3rd quarter:  Eagles starting offense in 2008 v.  2010. The only repeats? Peanut and Nick Cole.  Wow.)

I've been more worried about the defense.  But the first team defensive showing gave me the warm fuzzies.   Two efficient 3-and-outs in a row.  Yeah, it was just the Jaguars, but still.  And Asante Samuel actually tackled a guy!  And, you know, STOPPED him. 

I definitely saw K2 make rookie mistakes, the biggest one being that he keeps keying on a particular receiver and then trying to force the pass, most egregiously missing a wide open Peanut in the end zone while trying to force it to Celek that led to our first offensive drive resulting in a field goal.  Celek's great - I particularly loved him bulling for more yards to pick up the 3rd and 9 on the second offensive possession of the night - but don't lock in before seeing what the defense is giving you, dude!  Fortunately for us, David Akers remains money, scoring over half Friday night's points.  But he still needs to grow back the 'stache.

K2 seems to have nice touch on the ball.  You didn't see many passes hitting guys square in the numbers and them just not able to hang onto it like happens with McNabb. But I did notice a few placement problems, where receivers had to turn back over an inside shoulder to get the ball when an outside placement would've hit them in stride (most notably to Peanut on the second offensive drive).

And did you notice?  They actually included running plays.  I imagine the following went down out at Lehigh sometime in the last week:

Andy Reid: "Wait! You meant we're allowed to RUN the BALL? Why didn't someone tell me sooner?"

As a result Shady had a good game.

Vick looks better too.  He had a sweet completion to rookie Riley Cooper for about 40 yards that was textbook pretty.  Then again, he also turned the ball over in the Red Zone (more Red Zone woes) on a fumble, and thank you Eldra Buckley for saving the 80 yard TD.  He seems to be getting his speed back - on the run that led to the first Eagles TD, it was obvious once he turned the corner that no one was going to catch him. Maybe that's why he was carrying the ball so oddly?  Yeah, just ask Peanut how showboating and, as a result, dropping the ball before you cross the goal line feels Mike.  On the other hand, on our last offensive series of the first half, he threw a dumb ass pick.  I guess Charles Scott was the intended receiver, but he wasn't even looking.  Vick had room to run and didn't, and he had TERRIBLE mechanics on the throw. So a very up and down night for our #2.

Speaking of #2, our second/third string defensive secondary got their asses handed to them.  Repeatedly.  By Luke McCown.  Back to worries about the defense - if we have a good first time but no depth, we'll be in trouble by mid-season, once guys start wearing down a bit.  I really wanted to smack Joselio Hansen - he got beat by the receiver, then he drew a penalty, and he didn't even stop the TD in the process.  REALLY?  Aren't you supposed to know better than that, buddy?

Still speaking of #2, Sav better watch his back - Ken Parrish was kicking off and punting and doing a damn fine job of both. 

Our kickoff coverage, however, could use some work.  Opening the second half, Parrish took a page out of David Akers's book and served as an excellent last line of defense, stopping the run back for a TD. So I'm yelling at the TV, and it was at that point that Chef Spouse came running into the living room to give me a big hug because The Snark yelling at the TV = football season!

Then we were pretty much down to the JV.  I do love me some Chad Hall.  When we were at training camp, he was the first player on the field and the last one to leave at all 3 of the practices we attended.  He's got a great backstory, and he wants it so bad, I can taste it.  I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for him until the final roster cuts on September 4.


One final note:  one of the places this blog is syndicated is Chicks in the Huddle.  We're currently conducting a short survey to help us make the site better, and if you complete it, you could win a $50 gift card to the NFL Shop.  So take 5 minutes and help a sister out.


*Unless, of course, you're a Redskins fan.  They killed the Bills in the their preseason opener, which means it's time to cue the Super Bowl talk here in DC. 

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Training Camp Report

Chef Spouse and I made the pilgrimage to the Goodman Stadium at Lehigh University Friday, August 6, thus fulfilling both this year's New Year's resolution and a life-long dream.  And it truly felt like a pilgrimage - due to major storms in the DC area, it took me more than an hour and a half to cover the 9 miles between my office and my house, and things didn't get any better Friday, as we hit an hour of just sitting there (literally - we turned the car off) on the Northeast Extension due to an accident and then, when we approached Bethlehem, it became apparent that Chef Spouse had gotten directions *to Lehigh* rather than to the stadium.  I should've known we were in trouble when I asked him about directions that morning and he'd gotten directions to Lehigh, PA rather than to Bethlehem.  Important tip: ask more precise questions about whether or not Chef Spouse has directions to the ACTUAL destination next time.

If you want deep coverage of training camp, you've definitely come to the wrong place.  I love the Eagles, I love to write about the Eagles, but they don't know me from Adam (more on that below).  You want opinions from people with stuff like "credentials" and "access" and "this is their full time job"?  Check out Bleeding Green Nation and Iggles Blog (the new home of Tommy Lawlor).  I don't have that kind of time.  Or level of professionalism.

So here's what I saw (in between talking to Life-Long Eagles Fan Mom and You-Two-Calm-Down-or-I'm-Turning-Off-the-TV Dad, who came with us on Saturday.  I convinced Life-Long Eagles Fan Mom to ditch a bridal shower.  Why would you want to go to a bridal shower when there's football to be watched?):

Kolb is not...is not...I can't bear to say his name.  I am NOT talking about Donovan.  I'm still at "denial" in the stages of grief. The current Redskins ad campaign featuring McNabb? Clearly an elaborate practical joke.

Moving on, I did see some good connections between  Kolb and Celek on Friday.  On Saturday, he had some good completions with Peanut for like 60+ yards, some good hookups with Maclin for more like 30 yards, and some very nice short passes to Avant over the middle.

Speaking of Avant, I think he is going to have a break out year (and I'm not the only one), which is a good thing, since I only have a jersey for 1 active player (Trent Cole), so I need to pick another one up ASAP.  Avant's currently in the lead. Kolb likes the short pass (unlike his predecessor), and Avant is Mr. Hands at that distance.

I thought Vick looked bad.  I expected him to have improved his ability to complete passes in the off-season, and I was sorely mistaken.  Worse, rather than going through his reads, he kept taking off running.  Now, he did look faster than last year, but all I could think was:  "You're wearing the red jersey, donkey! Stop running!  No one is going to hit you!  Throw some passes for chrissakes!"

Number 3 QB Mike Kafka looked REALLY bad.  I'd be surprised if I saw him complete even a half dozen passes.  Yikes. 

The defense is kind of an unknown, although it was really good to see Stewart Bradley out there and his knee seems fine.  We picked up Marlin Jackson, and he didn't even manage to make it TO training camp.  Ernie Simms was the big off-season signing, and he looked good, at least in practice.  Asante Samuel still can't seem to tackle (then again, it was training camp).  And if you look at the current roster, there are a LOT of rookies.

It was interesting to see the kinds of drills they run:  blocking kicks using soccer balls, linebackers trying to cover skittering balls, the kickers throwing to simulate punt returns, etc.

So back to that whole "they don't know me from Adam" thing.  I mentioned that there are a LOT of rookies at training camp, and a lot of missing familiar faces. I was having the whole "I don't know who these guys ARE" experience.  And it hit me: I have a one-way relationship with the team. I know, late realization, but it really struck home when I was looking at all the new names on the backs of jerseys (54!...is Brandon Graham?!? Who the hell is that?!?).  Time to start stalking a whole new crowd.

I thought Andy looked a little thinner.  I have a theory:  he stress eats.  Which means he loses weight in the off-season, only to fall prey to the siren song of the Tastykakes once guys start screwing up or getting injured or both.

One thing that was really cool is that you can get pretty up close and person with the players, many of whom turn out to be really nice guys.  There are official autograph signings after the morning practices, and it's a lottery system and it's all regimented and it's only a few players and whatnot.  But a lot of the guys go to the edge of the field after both morning and afternoon practices and will sign anything you shove at them - or take pictures with you.  And they're kind of like normal people - I mean, they aren't like Godzilla to your screaming Japanese person - only amazingly ripped normal people.

I also got to meet up with long-time blog fan rocketman for a beer after Friday's practice, which was nice.  Even though he's really a 49ers fan.  But I forgive him.  (He lives nearby.)

My tips to have a Snarktacular Training Camp (aka, "What I'd do differently next time"):

• Go to Philly for flight night
• Spend the night with the 'rents (You might not have that option. On the other hand, Life-Long Eagles Fan Mom is REALLY nice.  She might let you stay.)
• Drive up from WEST CHESTER (rather than DC) Friday morning
• Stay over in Bethlehem Friday night and hit Musikfest
• Buy a team football
• Bring a Sharpie
• Don't worry about the "autograph rules"

Check out all the snaps on Flickr.

Next up?  First preseason game against the Jaguars...on Chef Spouse's 40th birthday.

And a final note - Brees is on the cover of Madden 11.  He's a dead man.  Want to start an over/under pool on whether he survives the preseason?

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2009 Week 3 Recap

Eagles v. Chiefs, Sunday, September 27, 2009

In attendance: Shoegal, Chef Spouse, and two newbies - Mad Kitchen Scientist and The Executive Committee

Menu: This was our first BIG cooking weekend of the fall (could be related to the fact that it was also our first cool weekend here in DC). On Saturday, we had a dinner party featuring osso bucco, risotto Milanese, homemade baguettes, homemade chocolate cake, and other yummy-ness. Sunday was all about homemade pasta (both fettucini and butternut squash tortellini) with homemade sauces (sage/butter and sausage marinara), with a BIG salad and more homemade bread...and cake...and lots of wine. YUM! (also URP!)

Stud of the Game: Please? Who else could it be other than K2's favorite target, Brent Celek. Yeah, I think our tight end issues are solved. Not only did he catch pretty much everything that was thrown at him, he ALWAYS knew where the down marker was and was willing to drag the ENTIRE Chiefs' secondary with him to get there.

Well...it's good to be 2-1 (it would be better to be 3-0), and we played a complete game. And K2 looked like he might really be our future. And we won big without our A Team (McNabb, Westbrook, arguably Kevin Curtis). Against a shitty team, but still. And it's good to see our rookies (Maclin, McCoy, Macho - is that REALLY his name?) and second year guys (Peanut) playing really well. Kolb? First QB in NFL history to pass for over 300 yards in each of his first 2 starts. Peanut? Well on his way to becoming a truly elite receiver (which is amazing, considering he's 4 feet tall). The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades.

Also, Goodell's decision to sit Mike who? Vick what? for the first two weeks was a good one. The morning pre-game shows? Man, I think I saw Vick interviewed on ESPN, the NFL Network, CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox, and HGTV (hey, he has a really nice crib), and Animal Planet (ba-dum-CHA! I'll be here all week. Try the veal.). Would he have been a distraction? Um, yeah. And then? No completed passes and 1 rush for 7 yards. Whatever, dude. Someone else can pick you up next year. Apparently, you're Andy Reid's community service project.

So here's the thing: we can DEFINITELY use the early bye. Lots of guys need to get healthy again. But we've had a win over a possibly bad team (we'll see what happens on MNF), a win over a definitely bad team (Matt Cassel's not looking so special without the rest of the Patriots, is he?), and a loss to a good team. We have yet to score our first quality win. Are these guys talented? Hells, yeah. Do they have what it takes to go the distance? We'll see - things are pretty soft in October (BYE, Bucs, Redskins, Raiders). That November 1 matchup with the Giants looms large. Then again, under Big Red, we seem to mostly hit our stride late in the season. Could work in our favor this year.

Around the rest of the NFL...

Ravens over Browns. Well, yeah, sure. The Browns are having some issues, on, well, everything. Mangenius? Not anymore. But it wasn't the worst game of the week. Oh no, that's reserved for...

Giants over Buccaneers. The Bucs were shut out. SHUT OUT. Also? Bye, bye, Byron. Man, are the Bucs bad this year. Dumping EVERYONE and starting over may not have been the best decision ever. Speaking 0f bad games....

Lions over Redskins. You would not believe the weeping and wailing here in DC. Actually, you might. "Fail to the Redskins" is right. The craziest thing I've heard? Hogs Haven encouraging the Skins to "blow it up" and fire everyone from the towel boy to Vinny Cerrato. Yeah, that's a great idea. Except it won't solve your problem. Which would be your OWNER. Apparently, the fans haven't caught up on that account yet. Dan Snyder *might* be the problem. MIGHT? MIGHT!?!?!

Jaguars over Texans. Damnit! Just when I give up on the Jags, they start to show some signs of life.

Patriots over Falcons. Double damnit! Stupid Tom Brady. Stupid Bill Belichick. ARGH!

Packers over Rams. Duh. Apparently, Marc Bulger's hurt, and they're now playing Kyle Boller. When Kyle Boller seems like the answer, you're in trouble. Sorry, Spags - you've got your work cut out for you for sure.

Jets over Titans. Or maybe the Titans beat the Oilers. Was I the only one who was a little confused by the throwbacks? Marc Sanchez is off to a hot start.

Vikings over 49ers. OK, sure, but the Niners were without Frank Gore and Vicodin Boy has admitted that he threw that last pass up there with no idea where he was throwing it or who he was throwing it to. You know, Greg Lewis, if you'd made catches like that when you were in Philadelphia, you might STILL BE in Philadelphia.

Saints over Bills. Captain ME! ends his consecutive games with receptions at 185. And whines about it. Of course. To quote Rodney Harrison, "what a clown." And why was he wearing Atlin's sunglasses? (also, watching NFL Network Total Access right now. Mike Martz is a TERRIBLE commentator. Just FYI.)

Bears over Seahawks. OH MY GOD. THOSE WERE THE WORST UNIFORMS EVER. OH MY GOD. Are those seriously the new uniforms?!?!? MY EYES! MY EYES! They deserved to lose just for wearing that horrible, horrible mess. GAHHH!

Bengals over Steelers. Wait....what? The Steelers are #3 in the AFC North. What the frack is going on? I'm sorry, but there is no way that's all the loss of Polamalu. Big Ben spends far too much time on his ass. Is it starting to tell on him? Mike Tomlin's freshman/sophomore magic wearing off? I don't know, but all is not well in Blitzburgh these days.

Broncos over Raiders. Speaking of the Raiders, JaMarcus Russell has regressed. To the Bronze Age. It's bad. I'm amazed he can remember how to tie his cleats. Also, did you hear that head coach Tom Cable might have broken assistant coach Randy Hanson's jaw? Taking that "thug" thing a little too far, there, huh coach? And Dawk seems to be at least somewhat re-energized (which, if past is prologue, means we'll see him again in a year or two, once he gets homesick and decides the money isn't worth it), but even more importantly, seems to have accomplished what rookie head coach Josh McDaniels wanted: lighting a fire under the REST of the defense.

Chargers over Dolphins. Also, Chad Pennington, to quote Keith Olbermann, now looks like a big bag of mashed up Chad Pennington. Uh oh. LT? Who needs him?

Colts over Cardinals. Hey Kurt - what happened? 24 of 26 last week and this week? Not so much. Was I totally wrong about Peyton Manning and not doing as well without Marvin Harrison and Tony Dungy? Apparently, yes.

MNF starts in about 10. I really hope the Panthers can pull it together to beat the Cowboys.

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2009 Week 2 Recap

Eagles/Saints - Sunday, September 20, 2009

In attendance: small crowd - only Shoegal, Chef Spouse, and me (a few others were expected, and, hey, what happened to y'all? Premonitions of doom kept you at home?)

Menu: fajitas, beer, guacamole, bourbon, booing

Stud of the week: hmmm....well, there was...no. But then...no, not him, either. What about the coaching...no way. Man, this is hard. I guess I'm going to have to go with Kevin Kolb, who faced a tough situation in his first start, and did the best he could.

Speaking of, the Philly sports writers were characteristically quick to pile on. Bob Ford feels that we've learned nothing about K2. I disagree. We learned that he was a rookie playing his first start. He wasn't Matt Ryan - although he did complete a sweet 71 yard hookup with Peanut for our first score - and he wasn't Akili Smith either - although he did throw 3 picks (but only 1 that really mattered). Typical rookie first outing. Some good plays, some bad plays, some atrocious decisions.

Chef Spouse and I were talking about the game while walking to the neighborhood liquor store (where everybody knows your name, or at least mine) for a stock up, and he observed that K2 looked best when playing a more traditional West Coast offense - the dink & dunk kind of short pass plays AR & Co have never had an patience for. We've been spoiled - we're a big play offense, and Andy seems to get bored with 3-4 yard gains pretty quickly.

Gonzo assures us we should feel free to boo the Birds, and he's right, but not because of Kevin Kolb. We should boo the Iggles because our special teams were wretched (Ellis Hobbes, I'm looking at you), and our defense was worse. If you recall, I pointed out that the key to this game was lock down D with some scoring on that end and a solid game from special teams. You can throw the entire game on Big 5's back and expect him to be able to work magic. You cannot do that with some poor kid making his first start. It's just cruel, particularly against a high scoring team like the Saints.

And can we talk about the Wildcat for a minute? Even Troy & Joe, aka the Idiot Twins, noticed that Marty had gone crazy for the Wildcat. At one point, they noted that it looked like Boise State out there (if only our D hadn't looked like Boise State - or maybe Boise Pop Warner). Did he really think that calling a trick play every other snap was the best way to let his rookie QB get comfortable and get into a rhythm? Of course, the Idiot Twins were speculating about how worried D-Mac must be watching this and wondering if the Eagles offense was going to be all Wildcat when he got back. Yeah, if you believe that, I've got a bridge I'd like to sell you (never mind - Troy'd dumb enough he'd probably fall for that).

So I think the K2 experiment deserves to be continued, at least for a while. You know what experiment needs to end IMMEDIATELY? Sav Rocca. Sure, every once in a while he booms a 60 yarder. But far too often he dinks a 20 yarder. I see where the front office was going with the whole Aussie rules thing, but call it what it is - a mistake - and move on.

Also, Kevin Curtis, perhaps you should try to remember how to catch the football. That or find a new job. I hear Best Buy is hiring. And while you're at it, get a haircut, young man! And get off my lawn!

There were a few key plays the just KILLED us:

During the second quarter, K2 completed a pass to McCoy. While being tackled, he fumbled. Maclin picked up the ball and was headed for the end zone. Except the play was blown dead, runner down by contact, which he quite clearly was not. Eagles would have gone ahead 14-10.

At the end of the second quarter, Drew Brees completed a 29 yard pass to Reggie Bush that set up a 25 yard TD to Marques Colston. The only reason Brees got the pass off rather than being turfed was a badly blown call by the officials who missed an obvious facemask committed on (I think) Omar Gaither that clearly and obviously prevented him from getting to Brees. Hell, the Idiot Twins saw it and remarked on it, and Aikman HATES the Birds. The zebras pretty much handed the Saints 7 points.

Even with all that, we were hanging in there down only by 4 at the half and due to start the second half with the ball.

Until Ellis Hobbes fumbled the kick off return and handed the Saints 7 more points.

And then, on our next possession, K2 threw the only pick that mattered, handing the Saints another 7 points. The Saints had scored 14 points in under 3 1/2 minutes. Don might've been able to pull us back from a 31-13 deficit (although the way the D was playing, it's pretty unlikely). But that was a horrible position for K2 to be in, with no realistic way to recover, again, given how poorly the D was playing.

And then our last two possessions ended with picks, which was really just adding insult to injury.

Speaking of injury, BWest and Peanut are both hurt. Peanut's got a touchy groin, and BWest is already having trouble with his surgically repaired ankle. I wonder if he can get his money back. Do those things come with a guarantee?

So in answer to the question of: Can the Eagles win without D-Mac? The answer is: not against a high-powered offense, particularly if our D decides to play possum all day. Fortunately, that whole "opponent with a high powered offense" won't be a problem next week, and hopefully K2 will get to win a game. Otherwise he might want to consider entering the witness protection program, to shield himself from the wrath of Philly fans.

Around the rest of the NFL...

Texans over Titans: HAHA, suckas! I rock! Maybe this is really their breakout year, not just my one annual completely wild-ass pick. Do the Texans even *have* a bandwagon to jump on?

Cardinals over Jaguars: WAY over. Kurt Warner LIT it UP. I don't know what happened with the Jags. Apparently their team was with our D, wasting away in Margaritaville.

Raiders over Chiefs: Yet another upset (sort of) score for me! Go me! (Well, if anything in either of the west divisions could be considered an "upset" in any other sense than, you know, pissed off).

Bengals over Packers: OK, now THAT's an upset. And Ochocinco did a Lambeau Leap, as promised. I know a lot of people think he's a complete ass, but he cracks my shit up. We all get so serious about this - he seems to be one of the few people in the gridiron universe (myself included) who remembers that this is a GAME and maybe we should all be having FUN.

Vikings over Lions: Will the Lions *ever* win a game? Well, they do play the Redskins next week...and speaking of....

Redskins over Rams: is it possible to be depressed about a win? Yes, it is. Welcome to the 2009 Redskins season. Only putting up 9 points on the Rams (The Official Whipping Boys of the 2009 Season)? Does not bode well for the next 14 games.

Jets over Patriots: Sometimes, talking a lot of smack works. Sometimes, it doesn't. Tom Brady's not looking so magical these days, is he? Not so easy to come back from a major injury, is it there, Rocks? Maybe everyone should give D-Mac a little more respect? (They already do, outside his home market.)

Falcons over Panthers: NFC South is looking pretty strong this year. Could they rep the NFC in the Super Bowl? Much as I hope *we* will rep the NFC in the Super Bowl, I'm thinking maybe.

Bills over Bucs: The Bills seem much improved. Hopefully their fans will catch on before the franchise gets moved to Toronto.

49ers over Seahawks: Frank Gore is BAAAAACK. The rest of the NFC West should tremble. Everyone else, not so much. Also? Matt Hasselback cracked a rib, too. Wanna bet on who comes back first? No takers? Thought not.

Ravens over Chargers: It was a BILLION degrees on the field. Seriously. We're talking surface of the sun out there. Only thing hotter? The play. The Ravens now have offense. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Bears over Steelers: Well, that was unexpected. Really. Majorly unexpected. Wow. The nearly-Akers-level-reliable Jeff Reed misses a FG, and the Bears pull it out. Guess the Steelers really are missing Polamalu big time.

Broncos over Browns: Buck had a good day. Go, Former Eagles!

Giants over Cowboys: Downside? I picked wrong. Upside? The Giants provided a proper housewarming for Jerry Jones's new Palace o' Football/Monument to His Tremendously Huge Ego. TonyBoy threw 3 picks. I don't think he cried, but it was so hot and everyone was sweating so much, it's hard to be sure. Which shows that the Cowboys are definitely beatable. Are the Giants? I think so. Time will tell.

Watching Colts/Dolphins right now. Gruden needs to calm the F down. Stop shouting, man. I'm right here. Is he better than Tony K? Not sure. What do you say, football fans: who would you add to the solid Tirico/Jaws combo? In the meantime, wondering where Hank Baskett went? Colts. I wonder if he'll play tonight. Also? We're about 10 seconds into the game and BOTH teams have scored. Dear D: THE GAME STARTED. CATCH UP. That is all.

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