Sunday Schedule: November 1, 2009

Bring on the G-men! Here's hoping we can be Giant-killers and get our first quality win of the season!

1 pm - Eagles/Giants
4 pm - Vikings/Packers
8 pm - no SNF because of the World Series - go Phillies!

MNF - Falcons/Saints

Chef Spouse will be leavin' on a jet plane for San Antonio first thing Sunday morning, which leaves me in charge of the kitchen. I'm thinking chili and cornbread. Bring something to go with!

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2009 Week 7 Recap

Eagles at Redskins, Monday, October 26, 2009

In attendance: For MNF, me, Chef Spouse, Deadhead Redskins Fan, her friend the season ticket holder, Cool Web Dude (Skins Fan), Hottie Web Chick, and a Fed Ex field that looked about 1/2 and 1/2 to me.

Sunday football was a whole new crew - McLovin, Wingman, Mr. Wingman, and Tweety Monster (all friends from my professional me life)

Menu: Potage au pistou, a really yummy French veggie soup with white beans and pesto, lots of different cheeses and olives, rosemary bread, the infamous guac, the equally infamous garlic crack, and lots of fun cocktails - Chef Spouse was on a roll.

Stud of the Game: You know it's gotta be #10, DJax, the Dime of 5 & Dime, your favorite and mine, DeSean "Peanut" Jackson. 67 yard rushing TD, 57 yard receiving TD, 29 yard punt return. My man is bringing it in his sophomore season! Honorable mention goes to new Eagle MLB Will Witherspoon who created two turnovers last night, one that went for 6 and the other for 3. Welcome to the Eagles, Will! We're glad you're here.

So we won, which is good. And our D looked pretty solid, particularly on that goal-line stand (which was helped by Jason Campbell's fumble). And we held Clinton Portis to 43 yards on 14 attempts (he's not the threat he once was, but that's still pretty good). And our O line looked better. And when BWest went down, our offense didn't completely fall apart, as we often have in previous years.

Our offense was completely out of sorts other than the two big 5 & Dime hookups. In my totally-has-no-effect-on-anyone-who-could-make-a-difference opinion, the problem is that Andy and Marty keep screwing around with trick shit every third play. Here are other items on Andy's Chinese food menu laminated play card that he just didn't get to last night:

• Have DMac line up at tight end
• Bring Trent Cole in as a receiver
• Lineup BWest at center
• O-line and receivers switch places
• EVERYONE lines up to the left, including Stacey Andrews and Winston Justice
• Everyone moves one position to the right
  
• All 3 QBs on the field at once
• Once DMac has the ball, he fakes to the left. No! He fakes to the right. He doesn't fake. He thinks about faking. He pretends to fake. (extra points if you recognize the reference)

It's one thing if your QB is Chad Henne. But here's a thought: have you heard of this guy named Donovan McNabb? 5 time pro-bowler, as of last night, only the 21st player in NFL history to have 200 TD passes and 30,000 passing yards? One of only FOUR players to have 200 TD passes and 3,000 rushing yards? Maybe you might want to consider just LETTING HIM PLAY QB. Sorry, haters, but when he's on the field, he's our best offensive weapon. Why in the hell are we taking him out of the huddle every third play? I know Vick is Big Red's community service project, and that's lovely, but we need to win some f-ing games here! We ALL know that one of DMac's problems is that he's streaky. He can't get ON a streak if he's constantly coming off the field.

We won, but we won ugly. A fellow Eagles fan emailed me earlier today asking if the Iggles had their first quality win. I'm sure my Skins fan friends appreciate the upgrade, but the Skins are no one's definition of a quality team. We're still - STILL - looking for our first quality win. Next week would be a GREAT time for it to show up.

And in injury news, there's more bad news for the Skins. Not only do they have the third worst owner in football and a TOTALLY ineffective GM (seriously, I think I'd do a better job than Vinny Cerrato), but Chris Cooley is out, maybe for the rest of the season, with a broken ankle. He's one of their few reliable players at this point. And as for Westy, thank God it's just a concussion. Not that they aren't serious, but when he wasn't moving we were ALL freaking out. I thought it was really nice that DMac stayed with his brother Byron (who, as you may recall is a Redskin) after Andy motioned for him to stay on the field.

Are we playoff material this year? Going into the season I thought "for sure." Now, I'm not so convinced. One thing in our favor is that we do tend to get hot at the right time (November/December) - and next Sunday is Nov 1. We'll know in just under 6 days if we *are* playoff material this year.

Around the rest of the NFL...

WHAT WAS WITH ALL THE BLOWOUTS!?!? Geez - BOOOOOO-RING! Sigh.

Packers over Browns. I have no comment about this. NO ONE has a comment about this. The Packers didn't even feel like finishing the game, but they were contractually obligated.

Texans over 49ers. It was a close game. Shaun Hill's been benched. Alex Smith got to play. Good for him! After the big Alex Smith/Aaron Rodgers draft in 2005, it was like both of them died. Or went to play in the CFL. Or decided to trek in Nepal for a while. It's nice to see them both playing. Mike Singletary obviously hopes Smith will play *better* but maybe he will when he actually gets the reps with the rest of the first team offense.

Chargers over Chiefs. Which team is the biggest whipping boy so far this season? I would say the Chiefs, but they have actually won a game. Over the Redskins, true, but in the race to the bottom, they aren't leading. That dubious honor would be reserved for....

Patriots over Buccaneers. Yes, the Bucs are the worst team in football. Except for maybe...

Colts over Rams. Hm, maybe the Rams are the worst team in football. What do y'all think? In other news, the Colts have lost Adam Vinateri for 3-7 weeks and have signed Matt Stover as a replacement. Why did they bother? All Peyton does is throw TDs. A placekicker seems superfluous.

Steelers over Vikings. Now THAT's the Brett Favre I love to hate - no TDs, a pick, and a lost fumble. Let the suck begin (I hope)! And the rest of us learned a valuable lesson. Want to beat the Vikings? Shut down Adrian Peterson (only 69 yards), and make Favre do it. Because the old man CAN'T.

Bills over Panthers. Speaking of teams that suck...well, it's probably not the *whole* team. Actually, it's mostly Jake Delhomme. At least he's really fun to watch while he's losing. Once he's out of football - which at the rate he's going could be next week - he should definitely not look to get on the professional poker circuit.

Jets over Raiders. What was I smoking when I picked the Raiders to win? Must've been the same thing as Wilbon. Apparently, we're BOTH knuckleheads.

Bengals over Bears. Man, was that embarrassing. The Bengals put up 45 points on the Bears. How's that bend-don't-break D working out in Chi-town?

Cowboys over Falcons. Damn it! We had the chance to go up one game on the whole division, and the stupid Falcons couldn't pull it together for us! ARGH! It looked pretty promising for the first half, and then Tony Romo remembered that this guy named Miles Austin is supposed to be his #1 wideout and, hey, he actually played like a #1 wideout! Damn.

Saints over Dolphins. 46 to 34. That's like a high school basketball score. 80 points? BOTH teams defenses should be embarrassed.

Cardinals over Giants. I punked out and couldn't stay awake to see the end of this game and I am SO PISSED. I even said to Chef Spouse: "This is a great game, but the Giants will pull it together, and I'm beat. I'm going to bed." STUPID STUPID STUPID. And if you look at the stats, it looks like it should've been all Giants. Other than those 3 picks Eli threw. Will Witherspoon and Asante Samuel, are you paying attention? Also, I do believe that Fitz has the best butt in football. Crucial to the game? No, but nice to look at!

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2009 Week 7 Picks

Man, did we stink it up last week. Yes, I'm still on that. Does that mean that we aren't who we thought we were? Nah - just usual Eagles mid-season weirdness. They want to keep it interesting for the fans. If you recall, our Phillies had a mid-season slump too, and look how that's turning out!

Meanwhile, the Redskins have stripped head coach Jim Zorn of his playcalling duties. Zorn, as you may recall, was originally brought in to be the offensive coordinator, aka The Guy Calling The Plays. Sherm Lewis will be calling the plays now. He's had an illustrious career, but he's also been calling nothing more important than bingo games recently, and he's been in DC with the Redskins for approximately two weeks. I'd be amazed if he even knows all the players' names yet. "You! Tall skinny African-American receiver! Run a go route!"

What's really going on? I'm guessing that Snyder and Cerrato are trying to force Zorn to quit so they don't have to buy out his contract when they fire him. Because it's inevitable. As a matter of fact, I'm guessing it goes down Tuesday morning, October 27, after we humiliate the Redskins on national TV. You heard it here first.

In the rest of the matchups:

Packers/Browns - Packers. (Yes, no comment. No comment needed.)

49ers/Texans - You *know* I'm calling my Team of Destiny, the Texans!

Chargers/Chiefs - Dear Chiefs: hope you enjoyed that big one game winning streak, because it ends this weekend. Chargers.

Colts/Rams - Oh my God. Really? I know I joke about this a lot, but I'm totally serious now - the Rams should just forfeit. Even though it means they won't get paid. Trust me, no amount of money is worth what they're going to go through Sunday. None. Besides, they'll be able to to apply to FEMA for disaster relief funds. Do I even need to say "Colts"?

Pats/Buccaneers - Sigh. What is up with the games in London? This is such a dumb gimmick. And jet lag is no joke, both going and coming. Do I really have to talk about the game? The poor Bucs - they're not going to get their first win this week, either. Bucs Chick, you're definitely winning the suck fest. Patriots.

Vikings/Steelers - I'm picking against the Vikings. Again. Since I want them - or more precisely, Brett Favre - to lose, I should probably start picking for them. Yeah, not gonna happen. Steelers. (who have Troy Polamalu back, by the way)

Bills/Panthers - Both teams are bad. Both teams are *not* going to the playoffs this year. Yes, it's only week 7 but I already know. So do you. Bills. But does it really even matter?

Jets/Raiders - Raiders, if you do to Mark Sanchez what you did to DMac last week, you won't even need to score to win. Call it a Raiders win, score 2-0.

Bears/Bengals - This is an interesting matchup. Are the Bengals for real? Well, you know what happened last week. Are the Bears for real? Two words for you: Jay Cutler. Coin flip says Bengals.

Falcons/Cowboys - Falcons. You know it, baby! Cowboys continue to disappoint. YAY!

Saints/Dolphins - The Saints will see something they haven't faced so far this season - efficient wildcat. It's a different look for them. But the result will be the same - Saints win.

Cardinals/Giants - Cards, do you think you can manage to beat the Giants for us? Please? Pretty please? There are homemade cookies in it for you if you do. Not buying it? Me, either. Giants.

On Bye: Ravens, Broncos, Jags, Lions, Seahawks, Titans

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Sunday Schedule: October 25, 2009

The Iggles face the Skins on national TV on MNF this week, and Chef Spouse and I are going with Deadhead Redskins Fan and her friend, who holds the season tickets. After week 6, two things are true: the Iggles are PISSED and the Skins are imploding before our eyes. Should make for an interesting evening at FedEx Field.

Anyway, for your Sunday viewing pleasure:

1 pm - Steelers/Vikings - Go Steelers!
4 pm - Cowboys/Falcons - Go Falcons!
8 pm - Giants/Cardinals - Go Cardinals! (even though I think you're gonna lose)

Menu: It's going to be chilly and we have some yummy leftover pesto a friend brought to a recent potluck, so Chef Spouse is thinking potage au pistou (a French veggie soup with white beans and pesto), accompanied by homemade baguettes (if I can get my act together to start them Saturday) and other yummy snacks. Bring something to go with! (like maybe wine :)

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2009 Week 6 Recap

Eagles at Raiders, Sunday, October 18, 2009

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

Menu: Jambalaya. Geaux Saints! Plus lots of yummy treats.

Stud of the game: there were no Eagles studs. We stunk it up from A to Z. This week's stud? Chad Ocho Cinco, who put up his OWN money to buy (and give away) 1200 tickets so the Bengals/Texans game would sell out and be broadcast locally. That's for the love of the game.

Speaking of stinking it up (cover your eyes, Life-Long Eagles Fan Mom), what THE FUCK was that?

There are (at least) two voices in my head. Voice 1, Ms. Rational, says, "Hey, it's just one game. We always come out totally flat and blow a game we absolutely should have won at least once in the season, usually in the middle third (hello, week 6), and it usually doesn't hurt us. This is just that game. Don't panic. Things in the NFL are never as bad - or as good - as they seem on first view."

That's Ms. Rational.

Ms. Not-So-Rational is PISSED.

No one played well - receivers couldn't catch, McNabb threw some bad passes in the 4th quarter, Akers missed two field goals (margin of victory? 4 points), defenders couldn't get to JaMarcus Russell. Bad all around. But the worst? The real reason for our loss? Two factors:

1. The O-line
2. Jeremiah Trotter

Axeman, I love you, but the Raiders targeted you all day. And you weren't up to it. We're glad to have you back in Philly (for the third time), we love you, we think you're great, but you're not a great linebacker any more. I hear Hugh Douglas's old Bad Assador job is open. You might want to think about moving over to that. It didn't help that everyone else was blowing tackles, too, but dude, I could outrun you at this point.

The O-line. OH. MY. GOD. They were so full of holes they make swiss cheese look butch. Yeah, McNabb was off target in the fourth quarter. That's because Mr. Broken Ribs was running for his damn life for 45 minutes. And the play calling! Westy was getting big yards almost every time he touched the ball. Why in the hell did Big Red call so many pass plays with a QB who's still banged up and an O-line that couldn't stop my 86 year old grandmother who only has one good eye? Maybe we should've asked the pigeon to help out.

And I don't think it changed the outcome of the game, but let's talk about the bad officiating. JaMarcus Russell was clearly and obviously guilty of intentional grounding AT LEAST twice. Called? Nope. DeSean Jackson got hit out of bounds - taken to the ground on the OTHER SIDE of the paint - on a kick return. Called? Hells no. DAVID AKERS got taken to the GROUND and got up with GRASS all over his ass and back after a FG attempt. Roughing the kicker? NO. Seriously? Dude's on his back.

On a separate but related note, did you know that DMac has not drawn a SINGLE roughing the passer call in over TWO YEARS? How is that even possible? Oh yeah - all QBs (coughcoughBrady) are treated equally (coughcoughPeyton).

Oh well, it could be worse - I could be a Redskins fan.

Around the rest of the NFL...

Texans over Bengals. You know, after Ocho Cinco bought all those tickets, the least the team could've done was win, for chrissakes! Maybe what killed them was me finally getting behind them? Sorry, guys.

Packers over Lions. Well, yeah. Shut out. Ouch.

Jags over Rams. Took 'em to overtime, though. Gonna be a long season in Jacksonville. Gonna be longer in St. Louis.

Vikings over Ravens. Damn. It came down to a missed FG. Killer. And will the bad Brett hurry up and show up already?

Saints over Giants. I did call this. What I got wrong was the whole "close game" thing. Not so much. And the Giants even had their starting QB, unlike certain Philadelphia teams I could name. Is it too early to use the term "juggernaut" to describe the Saints?

Steelers over Browns. Well, again, yeah.

Panthers over Bucs. I really thought the Bucs had it in them to win this week. Apparently I was wrong. 0-6 hurts. Just ask the Titans. Or their fans. I really think they should stick with Josh Johnson at QB, but what the hell do I know? Oh! Actually I do know this: the Panthers need to find Jake Delhomme's successor ASAP.

Chiefs over Redskins. See, Eagles fans? It *could* be worse. We're homicidal, but Redskins fans are suicidal at this point. Looks like the Zornmeister is going to be fired, although I still think they'll wait until the bye. But as long as Snyder and Cerrato are running the team, they could have God coaching and it wouldn't make a difference. I absolutely think that the Zorn should shock the hell out of them and just quit. He's gonna get canned and take the blame anyway. Why not go out with a bang?

Cards over Seahawks. See, I should've let myself talk myself into calling the Cards!

Pats over Titans. Why does Bill Belichick's asshatness never bite him? The Pats were up about a million points, it's snowing, and TOM BRADY IS STILL IN THE GAME. Honestly, I was cheering for a career-ending injury at that point, just to punish Belichick for being a dick. Of course, it didn't happen. It never happens. I hate that guy. And what is up with the Titans this year? I'm sorry, but that's not just the loss of Albert Haynesworth. No way.

Bills over Jets. So it turns out that teams have figured out that Mark Sanchez only makes one read. Looks like the honeymoon's over, rookie. Things in the NFL are never as bad - or as good - as they appear at first. But 5 picks looks pretty damn bad. So do the Bills, who still almost lost the game.

Falcons over Bears. Speaking of picks! But still, that was a GOOD game. Very much enjoyed watching both teams, who played well for the most part. Talk about some serious goal-line D? The Falcons allowed one Chicago TD, then forced a fumble, got a pick, and got a turn over on downs. Falcons are looking good (again) this year!

MNF? Tied up. Game's been pretty exciting. Dawkins is out with a hamstring injury. That could hurt the Broncos.

So I'll close with a little something for Chef Spouse:



(because he's wearing his #20 jersey tonight)

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2009 Week 6 Picks

My prediction as we face the Raiders this week is that the Eagles will continue to make hay in the sunny part of their schedule. Which lasts precisely two more games. On the upside, Vick should see a lot of playing time, since we're likely to be so far ahead that McNabb won't take a snap after the half. My other prediction? This game turns into a Dullsville blow out, and we start watching one of the other games at some point. Eagles. Of course.

Texans/Bengals. I'm still not sure I buy the Bengals, but I'm at least renting this week. Bengals.

Lions/Packers. I so want to call Lions, but I just can't bring myself to. Packers.

Rams/Jaguars. If the Jags can't pull it together to beat the Rams (who might end up owned by Rush Limbaugh - as if they didn't already have enough problems), put a fork in them, because they are D-O-N-E. Jags.

Ravens/Vikings. A. Someone needs to take Brett Favre down a peg. B. Who better to do it than a team that's got to still be smarting after their surprise loss to the Bengals last week? Ravens.

Giants/Saints. I said it before, I'm sure I'll say it again - this is THE game of the week. I am so psyched! And I think the 2009 season NFC picture is going to come into very clear focus in the next few weeks. I can make an argument for this one going high scoring. I can make an argument for this one going low scoring. But either way, I'm positive it's going to be close and MEGA exciting. And I'm calling the Saints, and not just because I love New Orleans. Geaux Saints!

Browns/Steelers. Luckily for the Steelers, there's still ONE easy team in their division. (In case you were wondering, it's the Browns.) Steelers.

Panthers/Bucs. The Bucs gotta win some time, right? I think it will be this week. Bucs.

Chiefs/Redskins. The Chiefs also gotta win some time. And after almost taking down the Cowboys last week, I also think it will be this week. Chiefs.

Cardinals/Seahawks. Matt Hasselbeck had a hell of a game last week. OK, it was against the Jags, but still. On the other hand, the Seahawks are running out of O-linemen. But the Cards aren't exactly burning up the pass rush wires. I'm thinking Seahawks, but I could probably be convinced to change my mind, particularly since they don't exactly have a lock-down secondary, and the Cards still have Larry Fitz last time I checked.

Titans/Patriots. The Titans gotta win some time, right? Ain't gonna be this week. Pats.

Bills/Jets. Jets. The loss to Miami on MNF was pretty crushing, but it wasn't that bad. I don't think it's really going to matter than Mark Sanchez seems to only make one read. The TO cancer has already infected the locker room, and the only possible salvation is to remove the tumor. Barring that? Long season up in Buffalo.

Bears/Falcons. Since losing their season opener to Green Bay, the Bears have been on a 3 game 1 bye week winning streak. Of course, they've played the Lions, the Seahawks, and the Steelers (who are normally a lock, but no so much this year, at least so far). The Falcons WHIPPED UP on the 49ers last week, and, after their early bye week, are also 3-1, losing only to the Pats and beating the Dolphins and Cardinals. Hm. Reviewing that list leads me to call the Falcons to win this one, but I honestly could see it going either way.

Broncos/Chargers. I predict the winner of this game will win the AFC West this year. And I predict that, on both counts, that will be the Broncos. Kyle Orton, Ex-Navy Cheesehead always believed in you. Just wanted you to know. You know, in case famous NFL quarterbacks happen to be reading this blog. Stranger things have happened.

On bye: Cowboys, Colts, Dolphins, 49ers

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Blog Action Day 2009: Climate Change

It's 2009 Blog Action Day, and this year's theme is Climate Change. Which is a perfect opportunity to talk about the Eagles.

I'm particularly proud to be an Eagles fan today. Co-owner Christina Lurie started the Go Green initiative in 2003. Among the Go Green accomplishments:

• The Linc was one of the first sports stadiums to serve beverages in "plastic" cups made from corn.
• The Eagles had their first carbon neutral (thanks to offsets) game in 2005.
• They're using solar and wind power, planting trees, encouraging fans to recycle, helping fans figure out how to offset their game day emissions, turning user Linc fryer oil into biodiesel, and have won a Pennsylvania Environmental Council sustainability award.
• Hell, even the cheerleader calendar is printed on recycled paper, and the bikinis were made from organic cotton and recycled plastic. I'm not kidding - check it out.
• They've partnered with Stop Global Warming since 2005.

What can you do to lower your carbon emissions? Check out the Go Green initiative, other Blog Action Day posts, or the Climate Crisis site to find out.

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