Tag: NFL

Birds Gettin’ It Goin’ Again

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Well, the Eagles looked pretty good again tonight. I’m very pleasently surprised to see new quarterback Nick Foles play with a LOT of poise in the pocket tonight. He’s made a lot of smart plays and really looks like a seasoned veteran tonight. I wouldn’t change a whole lot that has gone on. The team looks pretty solid. The offensive line is holding their own against a Cowboys defense that doesn’t rush the quarterback all that much, but keep in mind that DeMarcus Ware is still on that defense.

You are never safe on offense with THAT guy on the defense coming to find you.

The Eagles defense looks weak once again. It’s a disgrace. Tonight, however, the problem isn’t Nnamdi Asomugha or Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. The problem with the passing defense is the zone defense calls and the safeties Nate Allen and Kurt Coleman. These two are complete garbage. To be honest, I’m in complete shock that Coleman has a job. He doesn’t look to be good enough to play for a Pop Warner team. He goes for the big hits and 9 times out of 10 he misses. He’s a disgrace. I’m not as hard on Allen. He has played well for a long time but is completely overshadowed by the disgusting play of Coleman. Kurt Coleman is a big guy but at this point, I’d rather have Gary Coleman over Kurt.

No, there’s no relation.

While the outcome was not a victory, there were some highlights.

Minus his fumble resulting in a Dallas touchdown, Bryce Brown had a flawless night in LeSean McCoy’s absence. We now know that we have two running backs worth playing and third option, Dion Lewis, that could be used in specific situations. We knew coming into the season that the running back core was going to be deep. But we were never certain as to how well Bryce was going to play.

So far so good for the rookie.

Another big play was when another rookie, Damaris Johnson, took a punt all the way to the house. A 98 yard return from a rookie is something I haven’t seen the Eagles do since DeSean’s rookie season.

It was a good night for the most part. Only thing missing was the win. But we will get back at it next year. I only have to bare through four more Eagles games.

Hopefully, next season will be without that fat sack o’ losses we call Andy Reid.

Random Disney Trip

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As I write this, we are about to leave for a day long trip to Disney. These past couple days away from school have been filled with excitement, heartbreak but most of all, FOOD!

Yesterday we found a place in La Jolla that advertises the sale of a cheesesteak. Before yesterday, the only place I was getting cheesesteaks from in this town was Jersey Mike’s and Philly station. Both of which are somewhat subpar.

Yesterday, the restaurant had the ingredients that we were waiting for.

Amoroso’s rolls? Check!

Provolone and Cheez Whiz? Check!

Pennsylvania Dutch Birch Beer? Check!

Every thing was falling into place. That was until we found out that the cheesesteaks were made with roast beef.

Now I’m not going to sit here and pretend to have any idea what kind of meat goes into a classic Philly cheesesteak, but it ain’t roast beef. Something about the taste just wasn’t right. We quickly recognized that the meat ruined the sandwich.

But I wanna mention one massive heartbreak from today. The Eagles, once again, lost.

At this point, I’m not surprised. I’m just annoyed and pissed off. I’m disappointed. It was hard to watch my team fall so pathetically. But I digress. We move on. That’s the Philly way.

Well, hopefully Mickey Mouse and all that crap will help me feel better. I’m going to spend tomorrow in Disneyland with my family and my girlfriend.

I hope nothing goes wrong. What could possibly, right?

I sure screwed THAT up!

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In my last blog, I began praising the rookie quarterback Nick Foles for taking the reigns and looking like a pretty solid performer during his first regular season action of his career. Vick went down with a concussion and Foles was looking pretty good. I was really excited. It was now time for the new era to begin.

Foles played great ball, but the Cowboys put up 21 points in less than 3 minutes with a Romo touchdown pass to Dez Bryant, a punt return touchdown and a pick six that I don’t blame on Foles. The ball bounced off BOTH hands of DeSean Jackson. The throw wasn’t great but in the NFL, if you get both hands on the ball, you better flippin’ catch it. We didn’t give him a contract to screw up.

That isn’t me trashing DJax. The guy has played well this year despite the crap going on with his team. But there are definitely problems with this team.

There are only a couple bright spots for the offseason this year.

1) The Eagles are only faced with one player who they may want to resign. Last year, the Eagles resigned just about everyone that needed to be resigned. The Eagles are entering rebuilding mode. But that doesn’t mean losing everyone. Defensively, I’d resign DRC if they can. Is it the end of the world if we don’t? No. But that’s a fast guy with almost sure hands and pretty good vision. Plus, he’s only 26 years old. He’s got time to develop, cut down on penalties and improve his skill set as a top 10 cornerback. He’s got incredible potential. However, the Eagles will be cleaning their defense up this offseason. In my eyes, the only defensive starters I would keep are DRC, Nate Allen, Kurt Coleman, DeMeco Ryans, Mychael Kendricks, Trent Cole and I would bump Fletcher Cox into the starting lineup over Mike Patterson.

A lot of you guys are probably wondering why I left Nnamdi Asomugha, someone I was obsessed with coming into Philadelphia, off the list.

Quick answer, look at his stats over the past two years. Actually look over the past three years.

He’s over 30 and somewhat washed up. If not for how massive his contract is, I’d hold onto him. But he’s scheduled to make about 15 million dollars next season. I believe only 4 million is guaranteed money, and now there are murmurs that Nnamdi might be released if they can’t negotiate his contract. I’m disappointed at this thought, but that’s what you get from being a free agent bust.

2) The Eagles will be under new management. The team is going to have to find a new group of coaches that can mold the new-look Eagles. Andy Reid is finished, that much is for sure. Is Vick gone too though? The answer appears to be yes at this point. Only time will tell. Foles will start this weekend against Washington. It’s his first pro start. I’ll be watching with excitement of course.

That’s all the good we got. There isn’t much else. Nothing to see here. We just suck.

Choices Follow Up

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So I was thinking again yesterday, occasionally it can be dangerous when I do that, but it wasn’t, it rather was quite productive.

I went home and turned on the TV and was looking for some sport to watch being as the NHL is STILL locked out… cough* cough* Bettman (still waiting).

Any who, I saw something called “A Football Life” and turned it on.

It is a series who follows a different player every week, but it shows their life through the season.

Yesterday’s episode was featuring Ray Lewis, “the Ravens 16 year defensive soul,” as the show called him.

He is actually someone I can admire and look up to.

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Vick Doesn’t Use Protection

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I have finally found one of the many issues surrounding the Philadelphia Eagles. Aside from the porous defense, the Eagles appear to have signed 5 members of PETA to block for Michael Vick.

For those living under a rock the past few years, Vick killed dogs. It was kinda hard to miss. That’s the joke people.

In all seriousness, the Eagles line has been completely unacceptable this season. Vick has given the ball away and been taken to the ground more than any other quarterback in football. I don’t want to see my quarterback bite the dust whenever he drops back to pass.

This offseason, the Eagle offensive line looked rather strong. Center Jason Kelce, who had a strong rookie season last year, accompanied by All-Pro left tackle Jason Peters, veterans Evan Mathis and Todd Herremans, and weak link Danny Watkins made up Vick’s protection.

During the offseason, Peters torn his Achilles tendon TWICE, ending his season for the most part. The team has stated repeatedly that they hope Peters will return sometime this season. I find this highly unlikely.

Ok, while Peters is the best we got, losing one guy won’t render us useless. The Eagles then went and signed Demetress Bell to fill the void left by Jason Peters. He’s not bad so I guess we will still be fine.

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Here We Go Again!

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Well, this sucks. The Eagles, once again, are underachieving. Despite the firing of ex-defensive coordinator Juan Castillo, the Eagles have once again fallen far from expectations. The team just doesn’t look solid, and we are close to the halfway point.

One major red flag was this past weekend. The Eagles, with Andy Reid as head coach, have never lost a game following their bye week. This year was a different story. The team looked even sloppier following their bye, almost as if they hadn’t put in any extra work to help their cause.

I don’t blame this recent loss on Michael Vick. I blame this one on coaching and defense. I do not blame new DC Todd Bowles. He was given two weeks to turn a lackluster unit and completely transform them. That’s a tall task considering how much star power the defense has.

Let’s go down the list.

Jason Babin has been horrendous. He hasn’t been able to get to the quarterback at all this season. He’s far behind his 18.5 sack mark from last year.

The other defensive end, Trent Cole, hasn’t had any success either. However, if both pieces can improve, the entire defense will improve as well.

I now turn the attention to one of the most incredible busts (although still somewhat too soon to tell) I think I’ve ever seen.

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One More Time

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This is a pretty emotional blog for me to write being as I’m unsure on my future. This weekend may or may not be the last football game of my career. It’s been an amazing road since I first strapped on the pads. Before I get too sentimental, I would like to point out that there is still a strong chance that I will be eligible to play next year for OVS.

I have been thinking to myself a lot lately about what obstacles and challenges I was forced to face to get where I am today. I wasn’t always a great player. In fact, in my early days, I was down right AWFUL!

I remember my first year of competitive football. We only had one game that season and everyone got a chance to play. It wasn’t really competitive, but it was organized. That season was supposed to introduce the youth of Summit, New Jersey.

That’s exactly what it did. The Summit Hilltoppers had a long tradition of competing for championships annually. My second year of football was a reflection of that tradition. However, none of our success had anything to do with me. Enter Jamie White.

Jamie was a friend of mine. He was a monster of an athlete and he still is to this day. One particular play comes to mind about my youth football days with Jamie White. We were pinned down on our own 5 yard line. We needed 10 yards for the first down but we needed to get away from our end zone. Most teams wouldn’t call a halfback draw right up the middle. That play is usually a short yardage play.

Not for Jamie.

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Finally something good to say about Juan Castillo!

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I’ve done a lot of criticizing of Eagles defensive coordinator Juan Castillo. I’ve questioned his schemes and his coaching methods. I questioned his treatment of the rookies, namely first round draft pick Fletcher Cox. I discussed my displeasure in regards to the handling of All-Pro cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha.

Now, unless something else completely ridiculous occurs, I will end my rampage against Juan Castillo.

Some of you are probably wondering why I’m ending my constant ranting about Castillo.

Juan Castillo has been fired by the Philadelphia Eagles.

FINALLY!!!! WE HAVE BEEN SET FREE FROM HIS MEDIOCRITY!!!! IT’S FINALLY HAPPENED!!! YES YES YES YES!!!!!!

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Worst Person #25-Colts Rush Defense

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Ok, I can understand a defense having a bad day here and there against some top notch players. We saw the Eagles today with a few bumps here and there and the 49ers had some trouble containing the high-powered New York Giants. However, both of those offenses have elite, premier players.

Enter the New York Jets.

The only player on their starting roster right now worthy of any recognition is wide out Santonio Holmes, and he’s out for the season with injury. Despite this fact, the Jets were able to EXPLODE with a vicious rushing game today against the Indianapolis Colts, who just last week, were able to keep the Green Bay Packers in check.

The Packers are loaded with star power. The Jets? Not so much.

Enter Shonn Greene.

The running back burst out today with a 32 carry, 160 yard, 3 touchdown performance.

WOW!!!

I gotta point out that Greene, while not a terrible running back, is not a top 10 or even 20 back in this league. On a good day, he has potential to explode with talent. But most days, like when Rex Ryan and the Jets decide “Hey we drafted Mark Sanchez really high! Maybe he should throw the ball more,” Greene doesn’t get a chance to do much.

Sanchez ended the day with 89 yards passing on 18 attempts. Yes, that’s bad but not as bad as how easily the Colts defense was taken advantage of while the Jets ran the ball. It wasn’t even close.

Greene isn’t really a finesse player, but I guess the dude can play ball.

I also want to reiterate how relatively unknown Shonn Greene really is. I went on to google images to find this picture, and i had to go down a little bit before I found a picture that wasn’t either him in Jets training camp or in college. His pro career is very quiet. Maybe this will kick start him a little bit.

The Forgotten Players (Sucks to be you guys!)

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The National Football League has 267 legendary players that have been enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. This club of incredible athletes grows every year when new enshrines are chosen to join the group.

For whatever reason, I found myself wondering…who was the first person drafted in the league’s first ever draft? I found my answer rather quickly.

The Philadelphia Eagles were granted the first ever NFL draft pick. They decided to begin the tradition of Eagle mediocrity by selecting halfback Jay Berwanger. The year was 1936. That means that if you are 76 years or older, congratulations! You were alive for the first NFL draft.

The reason this pick was so mediocre? Berwanger never played professional ball. Eagles drafted him, traded him to the Bears, and the Bears never worked out a contract with the greedy running back. This is also the first documented contract dispute in NFL history.

This brings me back to the beginning where I was discussing the Hall. I got to thinking…are there any NFL drafts that did not yield a single Hall of Famer?

The answer…is yes. However, there aren’t many.

Be it known, this does not include the years that I have been alive. This also only applies to drafts where all players are eligible to enter the Hall. For those that don’t know the rules of induction, a player must be retired for at least 5 years before he can be inducted. Once he has been retired for 5 years, he then has 15 years of eligibility. If 15 years pass, the player is no longer eligible for induction. Basically, if you aren’t inducted within 20 years of your retirement, you are forgotten. That’s just the way it is.

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