I had to resist the urge to lead the paper this morning with this headline:
‘How ‘bout those Flyers!’
Yeah, it was that kind of weekend.
This of course started Friday night, when the Phils stuck another dagger in the hearts of Philly sports fans. It was the latest indignity in a long, sorry parade of bad coaches and even worse teams.
But this wasn't supposed to be this way. This was Phillies and their The Four Aces. This was the Dream Team Eagles.
I have just one question about the Phils? Have they scored yet? Didn’t think so.
They assembled a much ballyhooed starting rotation and promptly won 102 games in the regular season, a franchise record.
And none of it means a thing.
Because they could not squeeze a single run out of their impotent bats Friday night, in the process losing a 1-0 heartbreaker to the Cardinals.
Their season, which held so much promise, is over.
To add injury to insult, their big man, Ryan Howard, went down on the last play of the game. He suffered a torn Achilles tendon and likely will miss the start of next season.
No one is thinking about that now.
They’re too busy trying to figure out what is wrong with the Eagles.
Yes, they also played gthis weekend. And they continued their miserable string of efforts since being anointed as the “dream team.”
Yesterday’s game had all the trademarks of an Andy Reid team. They blew an opportunity to score at the end of the first half because they had no timeouts left and used too much time running one more pass play, in the process watching the last tick go off the clock.
It’s not like we haven’t seen that before.
And how many fans were telling themselves late in the game when the Bills faced a fourth-and-1 to be wary of them lining up and trying to draw the Eagles offsides. Of course the Bill had no intention of running a play. They would either call a timeout or take the penalty and then punt the ball away.
Unless, of course, the unthinkable would happen, something most high school teams would not do. That, of course, would be one of the Eagles being drawn offsides by the quarterback’s cadence. Take a bow, Juqua Parker.
It was a day in which both Michael Vick and Jason Avant had huge games, and both made more than their share of blunders. Vick set a record for rushing by a quarterback in the NFL, scrambling for 90 yards on the ground and throwing for another 315. But he also threw four interceptions. Avant hauled in 9 passes for 139 yards, but he also coughed up the ball on two crucial occasions.
The defense continues to be a mystery, seemingly out of the grasp of offensive line coach turned defensive coordinator Juan Castillo. Anyone care to explain the formation that allowed Bills QB Ryan Fitzpatrick to rumble untouched for a first down on third-and-five.
Just call it the lost weekend, a true 1-2 punch to the gut of the most passionate sports fans in the world.
After Friday night’s epic Phils Phailure, this town desperately needed a reversal of fortune from the Eagles.
Instead we got another virtuoso performance from Andy Reid, more bungling, and more tired “I need to do a better job of putting players in position to make plays” blather.
How about we start with this, coach. Remind your players that it’s an age-old ruse to try to draw them offsides on 4th-and-short.
Most of us know that. Apparently Juqua Parker didn’t.
Time’s yours. Again.
We are left to wonder if the Phillies have seen the window of opportunity slam shut. Clearly there will be changes in their lineup. They could have a new third baseman and left-fielder, and the status of Jimmy Rollins is in question, let alone when Ryan Howard will return to the lineup, and what effect the torn Achilles will have his output.
The Eagles? Clearly it's time for change, starting at the top. At a minimum, you would think something would be announced today, perhaps replacting Juan Castillo.
I won't hold my breath. The folks down at Nova Care Nation who set this so-called 'gold standard" do not usually respond to the cry of the peasants who fork over their hard-earned money for all those tickets and gear.
We have just experienced what easily could be the most depressing sports weekend in Philadelphia sports history.
The Sixers and the NBA remain locked out.
How 'bout those Flyers? Remind me again, when is the Winter Classic?
‘How ‘bout those Flyers!’
Yeah, it was that kind of weekend.
This of course started Friday night, when the Phils stuck another dagger in the hearts of Philly sports fans. It was the latest indignity in a long, sorry parade of bad coaches and even worse teams.
But this wasn't supposed to be this way. This was Phillies and their The Four Aces. This was the Dream Team Eagles.
I have just one question about the Phils? Have they scored yet? Didn’t think so.
They assembled a much ballyhooed starting rotation and promptly won 102 games in the regular season, a franchise record.
And none of it means a thing.
Because they could not squeeze a single run out of their impotent bats Friday night, in the process losing a 1-0 heartbreaker to the Cardinals.
Their season, which held so much promise, is over.
To add injury to insult, their big man, Ryan Howard, went down on the last play of the game. He suffered a torn Achilles tendon and likely will miss the start of next season.
No one is thinking about that now.
They’re too busy trying to figure out what is wrong with the Eagles.
Yes, they also played gthis weekend. And they continued their miserable string of efforts since being anointed as the “dream team.”
Yesterday’s game had all the trademarks of an Andy Reid team. They blew an opportunity to score at the end of the first half because they had no timeouts left and used too much time running one more pass play, in the process watching the last tick go off the clock.
It’s not like we haven’t seen that before.
And how many fans were telling themselves late in the game when the Bills faced a fourth-and-1 to be wary of them lining up and trying to draw the Eagles offsides. Of course the Bill had no intention of running a play. They would either call a timeout or take the penalty and then punt the ball away.
Unless, of course, the unthinkable would happen, something most high school teams would not do. That, of course, would be one of the Eagles being drawn offsides by the quarterback’s cadence. Take a bow, Juqua Parker.
It was a day in which both Michael Vick and Jason Avant had huge games, and both made more than their share of blunders. Vick set a record for rushing by a quarterback in the NFL, scrambling for 90 yards on the ground and throwing for another 315. But he also threw four interceptions. Avant hauled in 9 passes for 139 yards, but he also coughed up the ball on two crucial occasions.
The defense continues to be a mystery, seemingly out of the grasp of offensive line coach turned defensive coordinator Juan Castillo. Anyone care to explain the formation that allowed Bills QB Ryan Fitzpatrick to rumble untouched for a first down on third-and-five.
Just call it the lost weekend, a true 1-2 punch to the gut of the most passionate sports fans in the world.
After Friday night’s epic Phils Phailure, this town desperately needed a reversal of fortune from the Eagles.
Instead we got another virtuoso performance from Andy Reid, more bungling, and more tired “I need to do a better job of putting players in position to make plays” blather.
How about we start with this, coach. Remind your players that it’s an age-old ruse to try to draw them offsides on 4th-and-short.
Most of us know that. Apparently Juqua Parker didn’t.
Time’s yours. Again.
We are left to wonder if the Phillies have seen the window of opportunity slam shut. Clearly there will be changes in their lineup. They could have a new third baseman and left-fielder, and the status of Jimmy Rollins is in question, let alone when Ryan Howard will return to the lineup, and what effect the torn Achilles will have his output.
The Eagles? Clearly it's time for change, starting at the top. At a minimum, you would think something would be announced today, perhaps replacting Juan Castillo.
I won't hold my breath. The folks down at Nova Care Nation who set this so-called 'gold standard" do not usually respond to the cry of the peasants who fork over their hard-earned money for all those tickets and gear.
We have just experienced what easily could be the most depressing sports weekend in Philadelphia sports history.
The Sixers and the NBA remain locked out.
How 'bout those Flyers? Remind me again, when is the Winter Classic?
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