We approached sports perfection this weekend. Then Andy Reid and the Eagles got involved.
First the Phillies clinched their second straight National League East crown with one of those plays that simply will forever be etched in the minds of Phillies’ fans.
Jimmy Rollins’ gem diving into the hole behind second base to smother what looked like a base hit with the bases loaded that could have put the Nationals ahead, will be one of those moments Phillies’ faithful will remember with unbridled joy for years.
It wiped out that knot in your stomach, that déjà vu that after successfully closing the door on 40 straight save opportunities, Brad Lidge was having the wheels come off at the worst possible time.
Rollins to Utley to Howard.
And on to October.
It was perfection. Or at least part of it. A few minutes later, the Florida Marlins were driving a stake into the heart of the New York Mets. “Shea Goodbye,” Mets fans. On the last game ever played at their decrepit stadium, the Mets completed their second straight epic collapse. Just like last year, they coughed up their shot at the playoffs on the last day of the season.
A click of the remote then revealed the delightful images of the hated Dallas Cowboys falling from the ranks of the unbeaten in front of their home fans.
Then Andy Reid and the Eagles got involved. So much for perfection.
The Bears did everything they could to hand this game to the Eagles last night. And Reid and the Eagles kept spitting it right back at them.
After a pretty good first half the Bears decided to hibernate after halftime. They turned the ball over four times. And still the Eagles could not win a game that was theirs for the taking.
All eyes will focus on the Eagles’ last series, when they failed to punch the fall in on three straight plays from the 1-yard line. Andy Reid, who never met a pass he didn’t like, and who insists on putting the game in Donovan McNabb’s hands, instead decided to feature Tony Hunt and Correll Buckhalter. How’d that work out? A quarterback sneak with McNabb simply falling forward might have done the trick, but Reid apparently believed his QB was so banged up from last week that he didn’t want to put him in that position. I guess it didn’t bother him nearly as much to have McNabb drop back and throw the ball 41 times.
This is the spot where Brian Westbrook often launches himself over the line and into the end zone. Only problem with that is that Westbrook was in civilian clothes on the sideline, resting an achy ankle.
Buckhalter tried the same act, and came up woefully short. The next play, he tried again to stuff it into the end zone, running behind the spot where Shawn Andrews is usually clearing space. The only problem with that was that Andrews was not even in Chicago. He was back in Philly nursing a sore back.
That was the key moment of the game, but it wasn’t the only downer. David Akers did not exactly help, missing two lengthy field goals that would have meant a win instead of a kick-in-the-gut loss.
It also was not the best of nights for rookie DeSean Jackson, who muffed a punt in the first half that led to an easy touchdown for the Bears, then later did not seem to be on the same page with McNabb on a route that ended with McNabb throwing the ball directly to a Bears’ safety.
The loss drops the Eagles to 2-2. Oh, it also dumps them into the cellar into the suddenly “cream of the NFL” NFC East.
Perfection? Not exactly. The Eagles could have won this game with mediocre, but they didn’t get it done.
Now they host the Redskins next weekend at the Linc in what is looking like an early must win for the Eagles to keep pace in the NFC East.
Forget perfection. We’ll settle for any kind of win. And the same goes for the Phils, who also could be playing Game 4 of their series in Milwaukee.
We had our shot at perfection yesterday. The stars seemed to be aligned.
Then Andy Reid and the Eagles strode out onto Soldier Field in Chicago and threw mud all over our Mona Lisa of a sports weekend.
First the Phillies clinched their second straight National League East crown with one of those plays that simply will forever be etched in the minds of Phillies’ fans.
Jimmy Rollins’ gem diving into the hole behind second base to smother what looked like a base hit with the bases loaded that could have put the Nationals ahead, will be one of those moments Phillies’ faithful will remember with unbridled joy for years.
It wiped out that knot in your stomach, that déjà vu that after successfully closing the door on 40 straight save opportunities, Brad Lidge was having the wheels come off at the worst possible time.
Rollins to Utley to Howard.
And on to October.
It was perfection. Or at least part of it. A few minutes later, the Florida Marlins were driving a stake into the heart of the New York Mets. “Shea Goodbye,” Mets fans. On the last game ever played at their decrepit stadium, the Mets completed their second straight epic collapse. Just like last year, they coughed up their shot at the playoffs on the last day of the season.
A click of the remote then revealed the delightful images of the hated Dallas Cowboys falling from the ranks of the unbeaten in front of their home fans.
Then Andy Reid and the Eagles got involved. So much for perfection.
The Bears did everything they could to hand this game to the Eagles last night. And Reid and the Eagles kept spitting it right back at them.
After a pretty good first half the Bears decided to hibernate after halftime. They turned the ball over four times. And still the Eagles could not win a game that was theirs for the taking.
All eyes will focus on the Eagles’ last series, when they failed to punch the fall in on three straight plays from the 1-yard line. Andy Reid, who never met a pass he didn’t like, and who insists on putting the game in Donovan McNabb’s hands, instead decided to feature Tony Hunt and Correll Buckhalter. How’d that work out? A quarterback sneak with McNabb simply falling forward might have done the trick, but Reid apparently believed his QB was so banged up from last week that he didn’t want to put him in that position. I guess it didn’t bother him nearly as much to have McNabb drop back and throw the ball 41 times.
This is the spot where Brian Westbrook often launches himself over the line and into the end zone. Only problem with that is that Westbrook was in civilian clothes on the sideline, resting an achy ankle.
Buckhalter tried the same act, and came up woefully short. The next play, he tried again to stuff it into the end zone, running behind the spot where Shawn Andrews is usually clearing space. The only problem with that was that Andrews was not even in Chicago. He was back in Philly nursing a sore back.
That was the key moment of the game, but it wasn’t the only downer. David Akers did not exactly help, missing two lengthy field goals that would have meant a win instead of a kick-in-the-gut loss.
It also was not the best of nights for rookie DeSean Jackson, who muffed a punt in the first half that led to an easy touchdown for the Bears, then later did not seem to be on the same page with McNabb on a route that ended with McNabb throwing the ball directly to a Bears’ safety.
The loss drops the Eagles to 2-2. Oh, it also dumps them into the cellar into the suddenly “cream of the NFL” NFC East.
Perfection? Not exactly. The Eagles could have won this game with mediocre, but they didn’t get it done.
Now they host the Redskins next weekend at the Linc in what is looking like an early must win for the Eagles to keep pace in the NFC East.
Forget perfection. We’ll settle for any kind of win. And the same goes for the Phils, who also could be playing Game 4 of their series in Milwaukee.
We had our shot at perfection yesterday. The stars seemed to be aligned.
Then Andy Reid and the Eagles strode out onto Soldier Field in Chicago and threw mud all over our Mona Lisa of a sports weekend.
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