This guy wants to play...football!!!
 

So far, the NFL season has been incredibly interesting.

My beloved Rams went 0-5, found another third-string miracle in Marc Bolger, and are now only 2 games behind the 49ers. God (Kurt Warner) will return against the evil and hated Washington Redskins on Sunday.

God, I fucking hate the Redskins...probably more than I hate the Cardinals.

With Donovan McNabb out for the season, I am incredibly concerned about Koy Detmer leading the Iggles to the division title. They should still win it...but barely.

The guy I used to sit next to at work is a huge Niners fan. He loves to rip on all the Eagles fans in the office...yet he has fear...fear that the Rams could still very well win the NFC West. I hope Koy Detmer throws for 300 yards on Monday night and leads the Eagles to a win over the Niners.

The AFC is a sea of mediocrity, though the AFC West is interesting. Three of the four teams in there could very well make the playoffs. San Diego...I am definitely surprised.

I see the Super Bowl champion coming from the NFC in the end though. You just have the better teams over there: Green Bay, New Orleans, Tampa Bay, San Francisco...and of course, St. Louis. And even without Donovan McNabb, the Eagles aren't a bad team.

(Did you all hear about the Eagles trying to woo Troy Aikman back to play? He declined. Fuck that...go get Randall Cunningham back...I'm sure he can still play.)

The regular season ends on Monday December 30th...San Francisco at St. Louis...should be a great game to watch. :)

If Green Bay's road does not include St. Louis in the playoffs, they should take it all. Otherwise, it's anybody's guess...I'm leaning towards New Orleans or San Francisco. From the AFC, I'm leaning towards Denver...maybe...MAYBE...San Diego. In the end though, the NFC will return to the top spot after a 2-year break.

San Fran or Green Bay will win the SuperBowl I'd bet a whole fifty cents on it. The eagles would have been my pick before McNabb got injured, just don't see him able to come back and lead the team after such a devestating injury.

Michael Vick is fucking amazing on the field. I don't have anything to compare him to the best thing I can think of is Barry Sanders with an arm. And a god damn good arm at that.

By the way syc Cunnigham would be a perfect fit for the Eagles. He has legs and can throw though he's not nearly as disciplined as McNabb was.

Bulger and Warner are both products of a great team, the Rams are not a product of a great Quarterback, to many people get those things mixed up.

Okay so I feel like I'm following Sycamores post with the same idea. Well screw it these are my insights to the first part of the season. And someone actually posted in the sports section so I'm excited.

Lessee...it's about 1:30 out in the midwest...you've been drinking, haven't you, Cam? :)

You caught me syc. These late night drunken rambles in the Cellar have got to stop.
I'm editing my post, wouldn't want visitors to get the wrong idea. That was one attrocious bit of writing.

The thing about Cunningham is that he refuses to do any actual work, he just wants to go out and play sandlot football.

True UT, but sometimes the system is made for that, that's why he had that great year with the Vikings, it was possible for him to play that way. Once again an example of the team making the quarterback. Cunningham could have been the future at QB but now McNabb is. Cunningham is just another example of great talent that went to waste becuase of a pathetic work ethic.

Speaking of work ethic, I'm still shaken from the loss of Touchdown Tommy. If I wasn't already sick as a dog, the thought of Stewart taking the snaps this week and wasting all that receiver talent... Cunningham just had a little too much talent, he could get away with that sandlot stuff. He was spectacular when it all came together though.

The football season is driving me nuts, it's impossible to choose a winner. If I was placing bets on my predictions I would be broke now. Texans win, Jets are back, and the Rams lost again (wait, I think I guessed that one). Strange season

I thought the Saints were slump proof, the freaking Browns beat them? The Steelers looked awful yesterday. With Kordell driving they couldn't be as aggressive as they had been passing, although he is still a tough guy who'll run on you. I really think they need to stick with Amos Z in the backfield. I like Bettis but he isn't explosive enough. Z doesn't need a big hole and has developed into quite a pass catcher. Bettis depends on the offensive line taking over the game. Oh yah, the pass defense is terrible.

That Rams loss hurt...but I'm holding out hope for an Eagles win tonight.

Yesterday was incredibly bizarre...anyone see the exchange between Mike Sherman and Warren Sapp? That almost got incredibly ugly.

If there is a weekend to catch the NFL matchups this season this one is it. Here are the ones to catch in my opinion

Buc's vs. Falcons
The Buccanears are the only team that have contained vick this season. It's also a pivitol matchup in the playoff race. Even without those two things, the inclusion of vick deserves your time.

Buffalo vs. New England

Bledsoes return to New England. Should be a good game though the last matchup wasn't that great. Bledsoe was unstoppable last week.

Minnesota at Green Bay

Minnesota beat Green Bay two weeks ago, I'd like to say this game is going to be good, but I'm going to go ahead and predict a Green Bay blow out. Last weeks loss to Atlanta had to have just killed Minnesota, their's no heart at all anymore.

Hubris, you need to head up to GB to give your guys some wall-to-wall...what the hell is wrong with them?

Michael Vick is something special to watch...that run last week was fantastic.

I always have liked Bledsoe...he just goes out there and throws for 2000 yards a game like it's nothing.

Watch that Eagles/Seahawks game on Sunday too...the Eagles are like the Ravens of 2 years ago, only with a better offense. An Eagles win and a Giants tie or loss gives Philadelphia the division.

Eagles/Seahawks I will watch, as I watch all Eagles games, but this'll be a snoozefest. A great team with a third-string QB against a poor team. Final score might well be 6-3.

Check out the Vtech Miami game today, sadly I'm working so I'm going to miss it, but It could turn out to be a pretty decent game, though I expect Miami to win.

I usually try to keep it to one ball game per weekend. That said, I'm tempted to watch the Falcons as well as Pburg. Vick really makes it happen, he is what everybody thought Stewart was going to be. He's just about the perfect quarterback.

You might be right on that. Just give the ball to Duce Staley and Antonio Freeman and call it a day.

Vick makes football games more exciting, a la when the Rams are firing on all cylinders. There are times when I simply can't sit through a whole Eagles or Ravens game, b/c they come across as boring.

nice comeback
 

Wouldn't it suck to be a Browns fan right now? Bwahahahaha!

Or a Packers fan? (Sorry HB)

Great comeback by the Steelers. What a romp by the Jets. And the SF-NY game...I could have gone either way with that.

I don't know if Vick is going to be able to handle that Eagles D next weekend...plus Donovan's back. And Steve McNair is having a hell of a season...that should be a good game. I would like to see TB win, just b/c they have a history of choking in cold weather games. And I'll take Oakland, though I am impressed with the Jets over the past 2 weeks.

Mr. Vick, meet Mr. Douglas. Mr. Vick, meet Mr. Turf.

Hugh was playing it casual on the news tonight..."I only know what I know from what you guys show on TV...I don't watch the games..." or something like that.

$10 says he'll be watching game film all week, salivating.

Apparently, some people here are starting to get jazzed up over a possible Steelers-Eagles Super Bowl. But I don't think the Steelers will get past the Titans.

The Steelers are really thin at cornerback, which wasn't a strong position for them anyway. Any team that can protect their quarterback can pass on them. That said, the Browns understand the Steelers pass rush better than any other organization so they are going to have more luck... All in all that comeback was a great anniversary present... 12 years man what a blessing.

Eagles could make it but the Steeler run would be difficult.

The front page of today's Philadelphia Daily News

And then there were four...
 

I watched all the games this weekend...good games for the most part. I particularly loved that ass-whipping the Bucs gave the Niners.

And so, we have the Titans in Oakland next week, which is going to be a fine offensive game. McNair and Gannon are going to be airing it out big time. And if Eddie George is good to go, the Raiders could be in trouble.

But let's talk about the other game...the very last football game at Veterans Stadium is to be played next Sunday afternoon: Bucs vs. Eagles. What a great defensive battle this will be. But McNabb looked good yesterday, and Brad Johnson had a fine day today. Both teams are good at spreading the offense around...and I was glad to see James Thrash back in the mix yesterday.

But let's look at one glaring statistic here: In 27 years of existance, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have never won a game when the game-time temp is below forty degrees. And the forecast for next week looks like low-to-mid 30s here in Philadelphia.

Next week is going to be crazy around here...and good riddance to that piece of shit on South Broad.

This might be a good time to introduce this team to people who haven't watched one moment of Eagles football.

Because they are special. The Eagles are a great team to be a fan of.

Head coach Andy Reid was named coach of the year this year. He deserves it.

The Eagles are a team that was specifically built to be what it is, over a period of several years. The team has been built mostly through the draft, but Reid has also made several free agent signings that are remarkable.

Part of Reid's focus is on character. There are no prima donnas on this team. Everyone is relentlessly focused on the team. When they talk team in interviews, they are sincere.

It reflects the top guy. Reid is all business. He's got zero charisma for the big media; he barely tolerates all the attention. It's all about the football.

The center of Reid's attention is team leader and Quarterback Donovan McNabb. McNabb has been a long-term project, brought along at a pace that infuriated the fans. At first he wasn't even allowed to play at all; the team brought in a lifetime backup to start in front of McNabb. Before he could play, he had to watch half a season of game films and study what happens out there. In effect, the team blew a season to develop the guy.

But it went further than that. McNabb was limited in other ways during his next two seasons. Learning the difficult "west coast" offense, learning to read defenses, at times they would have McNabb game planned to never run, then, never to throw deep as he and his teammates developed together.

Finally, this season, McNabb was completely let loose as he would really run the team. He has become the type of quarterback that would pick the team up and carry it on his shoulders. So much so that, in an early-season game the Eagles were losing, he actually vomited on the field, just before taking the snap from center. The pressure was all on his back.

And again, when he actually broke his ankle early in a game, he simply limped back in and won the game. He could barely run, and when headed to the sidelines he was visibly limping. He was hit several times and had to run to avoid sacks. He refused to let them take him out. And he won the damn game.

While McNabb healed, the colorful backup Koy Detmer beat the 49ers on Monday Night, becoming a legend himself before getting hurt. And then 3rd stringer A.J. Feeley came in and went 4-0 before finally succumbing to a desperate Giants team. On other teams, the backups go in and the team falls apart, thinking it has no chance. On this team, the rest of the team decided it would now have to pull together and win it on their own shoulders, without McNabb. And they did.

In the next post: what to watch for!

3 pm Sunday
 

When you watch the Eagles offense:

It's usually all about Donovan McNabb. Number 5. A special talent. He's re-defining the role of the quarterback with his remarkable talents, his intelligence, his dedication and hard work.

When it isn't about McNabb, it's because the team has gone into a game plan mode where they believe, for some reason, that they can win if they relentlessly run, run, run the ball. This happened during the last game, which made the birds' offense seem a little boring and unproductive.

The running game doesn't have to be boring, though, because it's headed by Duce Staley. Number 22. He patiently paid his dues while running behind Charlie Garner; he tried to hold the team by himself when things were bad; he didn't get respect when he was injured; now that he's back, he's a top-10 running back. The fans admire this and you'll hear the chant of "Duuuuuce" when he's got the ball.

McNabb splits his passes amongst the whole team. On short passes you see workhorse TE Chad Lewis #89. One big play receiver is Todd Pinkston #87. He's fun to watch, partly because he's about 6-foot-4 and and about 145 pounds in weight. No, I don't know what his actual weight is, but you just look for the guy who looks impossibly skinny, and that's him.

The Eagles will run "trick" plays including reverses, double reverses, flea flickers, and unexpected onside kicks. People theorize that Coach Reid does this so that other teams have to practice for them. He has guys who specifically run the reverse, so Reid is really playing chess with his opposition coaches: is it a trick play now?

When you watch the Eagles defense:

Good lord, don't miss the Eagles defense.

There's a special secret about this defense, which is this: they will give up yardage. Oh yes, they may give up yard after yard after yard, and the other side may march right down the field. But during that time, three things will happen:

1. Havoc will be wreaked. The Eagles defense is all about speed. They do things no other defense would ever consider. They might send any player in on a blitz, rushing the quarterback, because the entire defense is so fast. All this leads to interceptions, sacks, botched plays.

2. Time will be used. There will be no big plays that move the team downfield in a hurry. Passes will complete towards the middle of the field, where a receiver can't run out-of-bounds and stop the clock. The opposition takes all day on a drive and only finds that...

3. No touchdown will result. Any drive ends with the Eagles' great "red-zone" defense. Once a team reaches the 20-yard-line, the Eagles stop them cold.

So who's fun to watch. Two guys in particular. Safety Brian Dawkins #20 is one guy who leads in havoc production. He doesn't play dirty, he just hits, and when he hits you, you stay hit. Sack leader is defensive end Hugh Douglas #53, who has remarkable agility and speed despite being 280 pounds and regularly having to push 300-pound guys around for a living. These two guys hot-dog it a lot out there, but they back it all up.

The Eagles defense is simply excellent in that they play basic football well. There are few missed tackles; everybody tackles well. There are few missed blocking assignments. Few outright mistakes. Extremely well-coached.

And then you watch the special teams:

No great team can neglect its special teams. The Eagles feature kick/punt returner Brian Mitchell, who in his 13th year in the league (making him ancient), may well be the finest returner ever to return kicks and punts. And kicker David Akers is quite reliable, but also a phenom; he can really kick and so the Eagles may on occasion go for a longer field goal. Akers will practice a 60 yarder before the game. Combine Mitchell and Akers, and no team can feel safe with a small lead; a Mitchell kick return may give the Eagles the field position for Akers to kick a long field goal.

What are you guys prattling on about? The football season ended Saturday evening. :( Now its time to gear up for March Madness. :)

One of the sportscasters here in Philadelphia apparently gave the toll-free phone number to Keyshawn Johnson's call-in show in Tampa the other night. A bunch of Eagles fans wound up calling in. The radio station that hosts the show is apparently pissed b/c of the long distance bill. And of course, Keyshawn Johnson still thinks that he's one of the best wide receivers in the league.

Why does this city not have decent webcams of the Center City skyline? I'll try to get a better pic myself tomorrow night, but here's one I found through Weatherbug. You can see Two Liberty Place in green. Unfortunately, I wish Mellon Bank Center (on the far right) had shown up better on this...the green hue on the top of the building is very noticeable when I'm walking over to Market East Station in the evening.

I'm cheering on the Eagles and the Titans the rest of the way. If both those teams win tomorrow I don't care who wins the Super Bowl both of them deserve it, but I guess I'll have to tip the scales for the Titans just because of the yard short they came up last time. The thing about these two teams is that they both overcame so much throughout the year. Both teams had injuries that cost a star player for a good portion of the season (Javon Kearse, McNabb) that I'm sure left many fans giving them up for dead, but the team stuck with it and took care of business while they were away.

Hopefully the remaining three games are excellent. This season has been way to exciting to have crappy Conference Championships and a boring Super Bowl.

Thursday, a street vendor was hawking Hugh Douglas t-shirts outside the Bourse: The shirts featured a caricature of Douglas, with a caption that said "Fear the Fro." Man, I need to buy one of those.

Preparations for today's game:

--1 dozen Krispy Kremes
--1 2L bottle of Dr. Pepper
--one almost full bottle of Penn Dutch Egg Nog
--several beers
--various foodstuffs

I'm ready. :)

I made coffee and I have a baby blanket to finish crocheting. That's my game prep.

The alternate plan is to turn the tv near the computer around so I can see it and just sit online all afternoon with the game as background.

I really DO have to get to the crocheting though. Too darn many of my friends have gotten knocked up this year. All of this crocheting is interfering in my shooting time.

Suggestion for Xmas presents next year: Birth control

To: Paul Tagliabue
From: Sycamore
Re: Halftime performance at NFC Championship Game
Date: 1/19/03

Dear Paul:

Hip-hop does not work in the NFL yet...especially in Philadelphia.

Thanks,

Sycamore

Good. I thought it was just me.

Will the Iggles once again snatch defeat from the jaws of victory??

I hope so...I don't want to see the city set on fire by angry fans.

Ouch...that hurt. :(

Outcoached by the best. Dammit!

I don't think McNabb was really on all cylinders and I don't know why they freakin' failed to air out the ball a few times... it's the old failure to extend the defense all over again, and the city is going to be bitterly unhappy tomorrow.

Hey, suddenly it's hockey season!

I'm depressed, I don't even know if I'm going to watch the Superbowl this year. Something about the fact that the Raiders and Gruden made it makes me want to hurl. In fact I'm planning on getting very drunk and writing crazy messages about the game here. :D .

Anyways it seems everyone thinks the Raiders are going to win. No one seems to think the Gruden factor is going to weigh heavily enough. No one seems to remember that defense wins championships.

I'm not real amped about watching it now, although I wouldn't mind seeing Jerry get another ring (number 5, I believe).