Both McNabbs /Teams Showed Up

Everyone who bleeds green was stunned that our Eagles made it this far. HOWEVER, there was a cautious optimism amongst the faithful at Champs in King of Prussia.

I tested the football gods by changing my viewing habits. Some of my crew had game tickets or were watching the game at Chickie & Pete's. My family was spread out over the county.

My sane alternative was to watch the game with a buddy at Champs. The place was packed and the crowd was nuts. Even the wait staff was fired up. We were settled in for an afternoon of football. In the event of an Eagles win, we were prepared to watch the Steelers game.

I said to my companion," if the good McNabb shows up we are in great shape, if the devil McNabb shows up we're in trouble."

The first half was horrendous. Short passes, dropped passes, clock management struggles and the defense was a no-show. Special teams were dreadful.

One large party left at half-time. It was beginning to snow, I was beginning to question my judgement. If I was driving my old car, I would have called it an afternoon.

The second half got off to an awesome start. The restaurant rocked with each drive. Could the Eagles actually pull this off?

Warner unlike McNabb threw catch able passes and controlled the tempo of his game. Kudos to the Cardinals offense coordinator, Todd Haley. He simply out coached our defensive guru Jimmy Johnson. Damn.

Whether we like it or not, the Cardinals deserve the trip to Tampa. Our birds earned their trip to an early vacation. Larry Fitzgerald is tremendous. A no drama wide receiver who can catch anything.

Sadly, we may have seen the end of Runyan, Dawkins and even Westbrook. All have had good runs, but the Eagles management as a history of disposing of older players.

Reid and McNabb will both be back. Reid needs to stick to coaching and let someone else make critical personnel changes.

McNabb needs to be able to thread the needle to his receivers. Sigh.

In parting, my friend said "You know, both McNabbs and Eagles showed up, the good Eagles weren't strong enough to pull it off."

Needless to say, I watched the Steelers game at home. (On a serious, note prayers go out to Ravens Willis McGahee. After a legal but nasty blow, he was taken from the field on a stretcher. A painful reminder of the brutality of the sport.)

The Phillies won, Obama is our new President, my baseball team won in Florida, the Eagles winning is just pushing my luck.

Oh well, there's always next year.

Broken Ribs, Broken Economy

I spent part of my day getting my hair braided. When I emerged from the salon, I flipped on the radio as the market was descending by 785 points.  Accepting the fact, I will NEVER retire, I switched to the local sports station to find out Brian Westbrook had three broken ribs.

Thank God for the Phillies because the Eagles Offensive line, Akers' reliability and Reid's play calling are in the witness protection program.

One Night Stand

Lately work has been nuts, client renewals, audits and inspections have kept me & my staff very busy. Adding to my schedule are the Nov. 6 election and my family.

The funky news is a dear friend of my daughter & her fiancee' picked up a rare virus and died. The eighteen year old was the son of my future son in law's employer. The father owns a mid-size landscaping and contracting firm.
He has been incredibly supportive of my future son in law. (Believe me.) His kindness speaks to his character.

What is truly sad about this situation, his son had the best medicine money could buy. My prayers go out to the grieving.

My favorite uncle was released from the hospital to the loving arms of his first wife, to the dismay of his current girlfriend. No drama there. He had problems with his pacemaker. More problems lie ahead...

In the middle of my schedule, I managed to sneak in some fun. Since we had to renew an account in western PA, a friend provided tickets to the Steelers-San Francisco game. Steelers tickets are a premium, this was huge. When I shared our good fortune with my associate, I thought he would do a backflip. The last time I saw this side of him was the birth of his child.

We dined with my friend and his family of five kids at wonderful Italian restaurant Saturday night upon our arrival.

The next day we began our day with breakfast at the Steel City Diner, which was around the corner from our hotel. It was there where the magic began. We watched this slow ripple to then the tidal wave of black gold stream down the street.

We had no clue how close we were to the stadium. Watching this sea of people heading to the stadium at 10 am was unbelievable.

What is different than what I have seen is Philly was the foot traffic. Along the "parade route" were vendors selling Steelers stuff. My associate knew that I fell in love with football during the Bradshaw, Stallworth, Greene, Swan era. I switched to the Eagles in college, to this day I'm not sure why.

After parading the mile & half to the stadium, the sights, sounds and smells from the tailgating were amazing. A high school band performed. The local radio station had a huge barbeque and the reps were dragging people to their tent.

A local charity was collecting money for the homeless. Their buckets were full of cash. What was absent were the local police.

I was stunned at the multi-generations. I would never take my dad or my grandson to an Eagles game at their current ages.

Our seats were in the club section on the FIFTY YARD LINE. Wow. It was cool. It was like Christmas in September.

It was sooo exciting. The fans were fired up and LOUD. I don't know how the either team could hear the plays being called. Even though it took Big Ben three quarters to get it together, they were more supportive than critical. Wow.

After the game, we lingered in the stadium soaking up our experience. My associate turned to me with a quizzical look and said, well? I shook my head and said "no baby, I still love my Birds."

I slipped into the colors and cheered with the hometown crowd. But like a discreet and brief love affair, I have returned home to the comfort of my Eagles.

The Price of having Dorks in charge

The problem with major franchises being managed by the dorks who were never picked FOR ANY SPORTS is they make decisions like throwing anyone in a jersey on the punt return team. They are moving players around like chess pieces. If they actually played SOMETHING they would know every TEAM MATE has a role.

Welcome Home Mahe, I hope they paid you a nice bonus.

Eagles Management dumbass' of the week.

JR Reed

Young Mr. Reed has entered Philly sports lore. He has joined the ranks of Herm Edwards, Bill Bergey, Harold Carmichel and Randal Cunningham. Unfortunately, he will not be looked upon with much affection.

Being a true believer, I was convinced that the Eagles could manage to pull a win out of their collective backsides Sunday. The defense played well. The offense was not offensive.

What killed the Eagles was their special teams. For years, our special team was not sexy, except for David Akers if you talk to my daughter, but just a quietly productive unit.

For reasons known only to Reid and Jesus, our special teams unit are suddenly suspect.

It is understood that the punt returners are like fire fighters. It takes a truly unique individual to run into a burning house. A punt returner has to have the presence of mind to know when to go after a ball, field it all the while ignoring, a pack of 300 lb men running toward you at full speed. That is a whole lot of physics.

It was painful enough watching Greg Lewis who has NEVER served in this capacity try to keep his legs from shaking as he was just terrible. Then it got worse.

I didn't even know we had a JR. For what was to become the last play of the game, Reid served up JR REED. GB punted the ball poorly, Reed called a fair catch. No problem. Then the wheels fell off the Eagles bandwagon. He started toward the ball.

It was like a guy explaining to his girlfriend that she didn't gain that much weight. You are screaming stop, stop, STOP.

Well, you know the rest.

Coach Reid, go find a punt returner or two before the next game, PLEASE.

On a very serious note, football is a violent sport. Just ask Buffalo's Kevin Everett. He has been earning a living playing a sport that he loves. He has provided entertainment for people like me who love this sport. Believe it or not, I never get used to seeing guys get carted off the field, even Cowboys.

Everett is in a hospital fighting for his life. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

Owens wants McNabb????

TO is clinical. It would kill him not to throw his current quarterback under the bus. I'm just glad he found his way to the Cowboys (BOOOOOO).

They will never win anything with that bonehead prancing around.

h/t Bob Glauber

It's so hard to say goodbye to yesterday........

When the end of the Trotter era was announced there was a flurry of e-mails. There was a combination of furry and sadness.

I was the only one in our little corner of Eagles Nation, not surprised. At the end of last season, it was obvious that Trot had lost a step. Teams were running through the middle at will. Defensive coordinator Jim Johnson blamed it on the extra weight he was carrying.

Team Lurie has focused on building a 'consistent winner." Think about it. They were grooming two cornerbacks to step up to replace Pro Bowlers Troy Vincent and Bobby Taylor. Fine and Fabulous (chick moment). Neither one returned to the Pro Bowl after their departure. Coincidence?

The Eagles used their first pick in the draft on a QB. There was a collective chorus from the media, that Lurie was sending a message to chronically injured McNabb. What they missed what the message that was sent to the entire team. "We may love you, but this is business." Ouch.

When Trot reported to camp, he was nine pound lighter. BUT, there was a different energy radiating from him and the spin machine. You could sense it.

When I offered that opinion, one of my associates informed me that I was nuts. "There was no way, Eagles would cut him,"he argued passionately. "he's the man, he is too important of a leader, he bleeds green," the sermon continued.

"Trot's thirty and slow", I countered. In Eagleville, 30 is old.

I love Trotter, so do the Eagles but his career as a player in Philly is over. He may land some place, even play a year or two. When he retires, he will do so as an Eagle.

I wouldn't be surprised if he landed back Eagleville as a coach.

Word to the wise, if Dawkins Achilles tendon does not improve, he will be next.........I don't even want to think about it.

A sign of things to come?

Even though I love the Birds, I rarely watch preseason games. The starters smartly play a few downs. The rest of the game is played by players who won't be seen again.

When David Akers misses a field goal my heart just sank. Groan.

The defense seems to continue to struggle with the run.

It's the pre-season, it's the pre-season,

Right?

Keeping up with a good guy

"It's karma, baby! This is what happens when you invest so much monetarily and emotionally in one individual: You ride with him or you die with him. Such is the Eagles' situation.

McNabb is a five-time Pro Bowler, one of only seven players in NFL history to amass 20,000 passing yards and 2,500 rushing yards. He's Mr. Squeaky-Clean, the reason Mama (Wilma) McNabb is seen in all those Campbell's Chunky Soup commercials. But McNabb is also the man who ended 2006 after just nine games with an ACL injury, one season after ending 2005 with a sports hernia, who has failed to finish that 16-game marathon in three of the last five regular seasons.

"We'll keep a close eye on him and just see how he does," Reid said.

Good. Because there is a bright side to this: At least we're watching McNabb for all the right reasons."

Training camp opened this week without any sideshows. No front yard sitsups, or contractual holdouts. The only question lingering is how wll the franchise QB perform or even finish the year?

With a strong supporting cast, as a fan, not a bad place to be.

Maybe Next Year

Maybe next year is the mantra of the Eagles fan. I really hate those three words. They rank up there with "it's not you, it's me."

The Eagles turned things around after stumbling in the middle of the season. The defense found their spirit. The offense rallied around Jeff Garcia after McNabb went down, again.

Instead of the Eagles management whining about about the fans not showing them love, they need to find away to keep Jeff Garcia next season. With McNabb's history of season ending injuries it would be a smart move. Lurie and Banner, two rich nerds who managed to pull together enough money to buy a team, expect the fans to genuflect in their presence. Worse they complained and it hit the papers today. The Eagles fans are making Dumb and Dumber a ton of money by supporting the team. Rich, socially retarded and just stupid.

Newsflash gentlemen, just because you own the team, doesn't mean you are the team. Your whiny-titty baby attitude reminds people why you were never picked to PLAY on a team. The women or the gay fans still don't want to have sex with you. Get over your unresolved high school issues. I digress.

The Eagles played one hell of a game tonight. It was smash mouth football at its best. Few mistakes were made. However, the penalties were costly.

Both teams ran a balanced offense. Reggie Bush and Deuce McAllister are young solid players. If they managed to stay healthy, they will cause a lot of problems for defenses for years to come.

Garcia and Westbrook performed well in a very loud stadium. In the end, it was obvious the Eagles defense ran out of gas. Playmaker Brian Dawkins was a non-factor.

I watched the final game in a small theatre with my best friend, two very handsome cops, the theatre owner and old lady who bragged about making out with deaf boys in her youth. (They did not hurt her reputation, because they didn't kiss and tell. Her words, not mine).

The cops were on duty. They managed to watch the game with little interruption. I guess the criminals were watching the game. To watch the game on a room size screen was awesome. We all moaned when Sheldon Brown drilled Reggie Bush on the first play of the game. It was fun watching the game with other fans, until the end. The mood of the room reflected the play on the field.

The Saints earned the win. I am not in that "zen" place of acceptance of how the Eagles came back from the dead this season. No Superbowl. No Championship. Season over.

Oh, well. Maybe next year............

Lovestruck, as usual

I read Phil Sheridan's article with amusement. For years, I have said that my love for the Eagles is like an affair with a bad boy. You know the relationship is bad for you, but you keep going back. It is as if, he has overheard my conversations.

As the game came to an end, my daughter, the family optimist was a mess. I was holding her son, explaining to him why Andy Reid was letting the clock run down to 3 seconds. With the return of Koy Detmer, to the field goal unit, the knot in my stomach was loosening. Her son slobbered with a smile, as he watched his mother in prayer and ignoring me.

Blessedly, Automatic Akers delivered. He nailed the kick on the rain soaked field with room to spare. Eagles win by three.

Jeff Garcia has done an tremendous job of infusing passion into this team. He is passionate and fiery leader. The team has found their leader. Garcia's leadership coupled with a balanced mix of running and passing plays helped turn around the struggling offense.

The defense has returned to their deadly best. In the last quarter, Brian "Superman" Dawkins literally took flight to make a drive stopping tackle.

Tiki Barber cited playing against MLB Jeremiah Trotter as contributing factor to his early retreat to the broadcast booth.

McNabb was on the sidelines showing his support. When the Eagles offense struggled in the first quarter, the cameras panned to McNabb reviewing the photos. He was going to offer his wisdom, I guess.

A telling sight was Garcia politely retrieving the photos. The sight of McNabb pouting was not pretty. The transition is complete.

As the march to the Super Bowl continues, Garcia has earned the respect of his teammates and the passionate Eagles fans.

Fly Eagles, Fly

Eagles peak at the right time

At the beginning of the season, I predicted the Eagles would go 10-6. What I did not predict, was that they would have a shot at going to Miami.

More than a month ago, I was just hoping the Eagles would end the season at .500. When McNabb went down and the defense's inability to find the stadium, I struggled to be optimistic.

In order to win the NFC division, the Cowboys would have to lose to Detroit or the Eagles would have to beat the Falcons. As hapless as the Cowboys have been playing of late, it was unlikely they would lose at home, thereby making the final game of the Eagles regular season significant. The minor detail often overlooked, is the Cowboys have T.O. in their locker room. He dropped more balls than he caught this season. Of course it is everybody's fault but his. Football is a team sport. Like a chain, it is as strong as it's weakest link. He doesn't care about the team winning, all he cares about it is his statistics. Go run track, get out of football T.O. you are bad for football. I digress.

Early in the first quarter, Andy Reid learned that the Cowboys choked at home, handing the Eagles the NFC East division championship and home field advantage. Wisely, Reid systematically replaced the starters giving them essentially a bye and a well deserved rest.

The second team, stepped in and stepped up. They performed well against the Falcons starters. A.J. Feeley ran the offense without missing a beat. My feared defensive unit has found their way home.

The final score, Eagles 24, Falcons 17.

Andy Reid has earned the right to be coach of the year. After a terrible start this season, he turned over the offense play calling to the Offensive Coordinator Marty Mornhinweg. For a control freak, this is a big step. Additionally, it takes a leader not to lose the locker room. It could have gone the way of the Cowboys. But the Eagles were smart enough to dispose of their Hazardous Waste last year.

The way this TEAM has come together, it is not too outrageous to think about Miami. But first up, Tiki Barber and the Giants. Let's send Tiki to an early retirement he so desired.

It is always good not to peak too soon.

Happy New Year!

Look what's under the tree

Merry Christmas Philadelphia!

What a perfect Christmas present. The Eagles beat the 'Boys in Texas clinching a playoff spot. The bow on the gift was the camera focusing on T.O. pouting after he dropped yet another pass.

I give my future son-in-law credit for choking down this loss. He showed up wearing his Dallas garb. The blue stood out in the sea of Eagles green worn by the rest of my family.

Blessedly, my parents made the trip without incident. They took off before the game started because the weather was pretty crappy. Dad looked pretty good and ate too much. Everyone was glad to see him.

After eating dinner, we gathered around the tube to watch the game. It was cool having most of the family together. My kid brother called after dinner. All is well in his corner of the world. My ex-husband, a Philly native, who now resides in Texas called throughout the game to torment the lone Cowboys fan in the house.

All is well in my corner of the world. Merry Christtmas Jeff Garcia, Welcome to Philadelphia.

Eagles 23, Cowboys 7.

Dear Santa,

Dear Santa,

It has been a rocky season with my beloved Eagles. Tomorrow the Eagles will spend their Christmas in the Texas Stadium. They will square off against T.O. and the 'Boys. (BOOOOOO).

If the Eagles win, they will be in pretty good shape for the playoffs. They just have to win.

My family will gather at my place. Dinner will be served at 3:00pm. Standard fare: Homemade mac & cheese, mashed sweet and white potatoes, collards, corn, mushrooms, cornbread stuffing, turkey, gravy and ham.

Everyone should be ready for dessert and coffee around kickoff. My baby is making homemade sweet potato and apple tarts.

Here's the rub, my baby's sweetie is a fan of America's team. Of course, the trash talkin' has begun. You have to admire someone so arrogantly struttin' into enemy territory. At the end of the evening, there will be either 8 happy campers or one very happy soul. My Mom simply enjoys the insanity.

I hope the feared defense shows up and Garcia has the game of his career. If you recall, T.O. made Garcia' life a living hell in San Francisco. He even suggested that Garcia did not like the ladies. Finally, I want T.O. to continue to drop passes. No touchdowns in your stocking for you, just lumps of coal. He has been naughty his entire career.

Thanks Santa.

Love,

Sally

I slept through the second half, so did the Eagles

After spending most of my weekend in the office serving in the capacity of renovations foreman, I was pretty wiped out when I settled in to watch the game.

The first half showed some promise. The Eagles were up 21-3 when I drifted off to sleep. As an Eagles fan, I have been conditioned not to celebrate until the game is officially over. Matt Bryant's walk off record tying field goal still haughts me.

When I emerged from my afternoon slumber, the Eagles were ahead by two lousy points. Ugh. Brian Dawkin's fourth quarter interception ensured a victory. It wasn't pretty but really awful teams lose games like this one. The Eagles managed to put in the books as a win.

The illusion of a fearful smashmouth defense is gone. Jimmy Johnson has aged 20 years this season with this gang. Brian Dawkins cannot be everywhere on the field even though he chalked up his first sack of the seasson.

Aging former Eagles defensive hero, Troy Vincent now plays for Washington. The mere mention of his name had me longing for the good old days of the dangerous tandem of Vincent and the oh so fine Bobby Taylor.

Because I can't help myself, I remain optimistic for a playoff berth. However, I am not so far gone that I will schedule a Superbowl party with an Eagles theme.

Next up the Giants.

Philly Love

Jeff Garcia lead the Eagles to a victory over the struggling Panthers. He efficiently managed Andy Reid's sacred west coast offense Monday evening. What could have been a prime time debacle turned into a competitive contest.

Before the game started, ESPN did the obligatory snowballing of Santa Claus story. It happened 37 years ago. Give me a break. It was just snow.

Unfortunately, the fans did not disappoint. When Garcia finally got up after a brutal hit, Philly's finest showed their love by booing. Nice.

For a player who had no snaps until McNabb went down, he has done a tremendous job. He even went long, which was concern about his arm strength.

I am not making reservations for the Superbowl, but we could sneak into the playoffs on the back of Jeff Garcia. He played with T.O. so he can handle the Philly fans.

Bring on Washington!

Another not so prime time game

After the debacle last week against the Colts, the Eagles will face the Panthers on MNF. The poor slob who scheduled this game was no doubt deactivated by the network.

The Panthers have looked as bad as the Eagles this season. John Madden and Al Michaels groaned very loudly after the first quarter of last Sunday's game. The game started and ended very ugly. I turned it off at half time.

Are you ready for some football? I am. I hope the Eagles are too.

Damp, dreary and awful

At the beginning of the season, I predicted the Eagles would go 10-6 for the season. The down side of that prediction, is that I would have to suffer through six loses.

The Eagles are 5-5. On paper the Eagles should have be at least 7-3, going into the Colts game next week. Donovan McNabb is out for the season, AGAIN. The Eagles have not looked wonderful with the Syracuse Savior. When he wasn't throwing up at critical points of a game, he did manage to make something out of nothing.

The Titans struggle against the run, what does Reid do? Take a QB who has not played all season and utilize the West Coast offense. The Eagles version continues to be offensive. It was 7-3 when journeyman Jeff Garcia entered the game. THE RUN would have given him time to get in a rhythm.

The two killer running plays that Jeff Fisher's offense shoved down the once feared defense sealed the deal. Even the heart of the team, Brian Dawkins dropped a possible interception, which could have shifted the momentum.

When Automatic Akers and the field goal unit walks on the field, you can bank on those three points. Not today. A high hike?
WTF?

Fisher did begin his coaching his career under Buddy Ryan here in Philadephia. But instead of giving the young defensive coordinator a shot, Brahman promoted Rich Kotite....I digress.

Fisher's young team was prepared to exploit the weaknesses of this team.

Reid's team struggles to do the basics, catch passes, run the football and make tackles.

The Colts lost to the Cowboys (BOOOOO) today, ending their streak at 9-1.

The money men at the networks moved the Eagle v Colts game to prime time expecting a great game. They sold their sponsors the same bill of goods, that the Eagles sold their fans.

Unfortunately, this year my beloved Eagles are not ready for prime time.

Two Score and three years ago

My beloved Eagles finally showed up on Sunday and beat Washington 27 to 3. I was enjoying the win, until yesterday.

I am painfully aware of the fact that it has been two score and three years ago that ANY Philadephia sports team has won a Championship. I love the Daily News sports writers, but did they have memorialize this in a front page pull out section.

Sigh

Eagles managed not to lose

My beloved Eagles managed not to lose this weekend. The fact that they did not play this weekend is a minor detail.