Eagles squeak by with another win

It wasn't pretty, but the Birds managed to pull another win from a tough team like the Baltimore Ravens. Maybe the Eagles are a better team than I thought they were because they've had a bunch of turnovers in both games and somehow managed to still come out with wins. It's not how you start, it's how you finish. Michael Vick made some pretty good throws in that last possession to take the lead. Brent Celek was equally amazing with some of his catches. In the end, it came to down the defense needing to make a stop to close out the Ravens and they did.

I always say, a great defense will take a team a long way. It's still early but the eagles defense has so far proved to be invaluable. They've made some key stops when needed to. I hope they continue to play at the high level. It hasn't always been the case in the past. I hate to go back to ancient history but if the Eagles defense had made a stop in the 2008 NFL championship game against the Arizonal cardinals at the end of the game, I believe they would have gone on to win the Superbowl. But enough about the past. This current defense seems like a defense I can trust in the final seconds of a game to make a stop. Time will tell.

Phillies making a Surge

The phillies have been on a tear lately winning 6 straight games and pulling to just 4 games out of the final wild card spot with 20 games to go. The St Louis Cardinals currently hold the last and final wildcard spot in the NL. The Phillies could get into the playoffs being one of the hottest teams going in. Only time will tell but it would be special. I'm hoping that this year's Phillies would do what last year's Cardinals did, win it all as a wild card team.

Superbowl '10

Congrats to the Saints on their first Superbowl win. Watching this Superbowl brought back some bad memories particularly those from last year's NFC championship game where the Eagles lost to the Cardinals. I watched the Saints take the lead and saw their defense clamp down, had a key turnover which ultimately won them the game.

In last years NFC championship game, i watched the eagles take the lead over the cardinals with a different result. McNabb and the offense scored 19 unanswered points to take a one point lead over the cardinals. Instead of the Eagles defense clamping down on the Cardinals offense, which i thought would win us the game, they allowed 8 points to give the Cardinals a 7 point lead. As Peyton Manning proved today, its not always that easy playing from behind. I really did think our defense has been our biggest downfall. Also the fact that McNabb has played much of his career without any solid supporting cast as a result of Reid's choices.

Another example was last years Superbowl. Sure Roethlisberger brought the Steelers back to win the superbowl but the key play in that game was on the defensive side. The Steeler defense intercepted Warner in the red zone and returned it for 7 at the end of the first half. That changed the whole game. Had the cardinals score a TD, i believe they would have won the bowl. The eagles defense has yet to have a signature moment in big games(zero takeaways in last yrs NFC championship game)

So to all the frustrated Eagles fans, lets put the blame where it truly belongs, on Andy Reid's head. Its not that McNabb can't win the big one, its Andy Reid failing to put the team in a position to win over and over again. Getting Reid of McNabb is not going to solve Eagles problems because Andy Reid's philosophy is never going to change...

My take on the NBA

The sixers are in a bad situation and because of David Stern's trade matching contracts, they're stuck being bad for a long time. You can't trade a player for draft picks in the NBA, the players contracts have to be within 20% of eachother's value. It's no wonder there is no competition in the NBA. His league is pathetic. Since 1999 the lakers and spurs have made it to the NBA finals every single time except 2006 when the Mavs got jobbed by the refs to give the heat(Shaq & Wade) that championship!! Bad teams stay bad for too long in the NBA and stars get all the calls. Its not like that in any other sports. In the NFL, the Saints didn't make the playoffs last yr but are undefeated at 13-0 right now. How long have the NY Knicks being bad?

Tim Donaghy makes a lot of sense. Think back to the Lakers/Sacremento conference finals back in '02. Sacremento was clearly the better team but the refs made sure the lakers won the series. When was the last time an eight seed, matter of fact a fourth seed won anything in the NBA?? My point exactly! You can look at it right now and say the lakers or celtics will win the championship and you'll be a 100% right come june 2010. In other sports: baseball, hockey, football, the competition in the playoffs is much more even. Everyone has a chance and anything can happen. For example in football, you can guess all you want but you'll probably be wrong on who will win it all. The Cincinatti Beagals have just as much chance to win a superbowl as the Colts this year. In 2008, my Phillies won a championship after getting swept in the first round of the playoffs the year before. Not so in the NBA, you have to make a mega blockbuster deal like the Celtics did to have that happen.

The sixers best bet right now is to lose games and get a top three pick. In two yrs, Greene and Dalembert's contracts are coming off the books. With some solid picks in the next two yrs and Drew Holiday as the starting PG, i see this team being a lot better than it has been in recent years. That being said, in Sterns NBA, they'll still have no shot at winning a championship.

Eagles Vs Giants

After watching the Sunday night performance the Birds had against the Giants, I'm beginning to firmly believe that the Eagles can compete with teams like the Vikings and Saints, who really don't have that much playoff experience.

As happy as i was with the offense and special teams of the Eagles, the defense is and has been a part of the team that calls for concern. I believe, without fixing, the defense is eventually going to hinder us(Eagles' fans) from celebrating a championship down broad street, like they did last year in the NFL championship game against the Arizona Cardinals. What i saw yesterday was a giants team that scored 38 legitimate points against the Eagles defense. They couldn't tackle anymore! The Eagles won the game but it had to take 45 points to do it. That's not always going to happen(score 45 points), which is why the defense has got to allow less points.

Trent Cole is a beast of a pass rusher. It would be great to have another dominate pass rusher to help him out. I believe if the Eagles were to pull a trade for Richard Seymour from the Oakland Raiders, this defense will instantly be a championship type of defense. With that much pressure coming at opposing QB's from both sides (Seymour and Cole), chances are all those long completions and third down conversions that this defense has had troubles stopping will be a thing of the past. Andy Reid might not make any additions to the defense but i know one thing in order to win the big one, this defense has got to get better.

Redskins/Saints

I was on my laptop following the Redskins and Saints. Redskins up a TD and driving in the redzone with a little over 2 minutes left. I counted it a saint's lost (1st lose of the season). Yes!! Got in the car, hit the highway. Got home and was told the saints won! Unbelievable! How did it happen!? How could it be!?

What a season it has been for the Redskins! It's almost like there's a force out there against the Redskins. First the disappointing lose to the the cowboys, then to my beloved eagles and now the Saints? All games the redskins should have won...bad luck or Could it be, could it be the curse of the Indians is finally catching up to the Redskins? Maybe a name change might serve the redskins some good after all...