January 2013
2 posts
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Oh, Those Sneaky Eagles: Thoughts on the Chip... →
Round Table Discussion: The Search for a New Head... →
December 2012
4 posts
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An Ode to Andy Reid (If This is Indeed THE END)
I’ve been told I was exposed to the Eagles in 1995, but my first vivd memories of being a fan were formed in 1996 (i.e. James Willis’s interception of Troy Aikman in the endzone, which he then lateraled to Troy Vincent to take the rest of the way to pay dirt), including my first heartbreak (14-0 Wild Card Round playoff loss to the 49ers). I was a few months away from my 11th birthday...
More Eagles 2013 Offseason: UFA QB and OL, Draft
First off, I know lots of fans are rooting for the Eagles to lose out in order to maximize their draft position, but it would be such a sweet ending to a bitter season to dash the playoff hopes of two division rivals in consecutive weeks. Hopefully Sunday is Andy’s last home game as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, and hopefully the crowd gives him an exultingly heartfelt sendoff. As...
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Examining 2013 Free Agency: Safety
I made a commitment a few weeks ago to start looking ahead to the offseason, and I’m sticking to it. That will start in the next paragraph. Sunday’s thrilling and cathartic victory over the Buccaneers was extra sweet because, like douches, they celebrated the Super Bowl team that broke our hearts nearly ten years ago. It was good to have that (forgotten) winning feeling again, and I...
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A Preliminary Look at the Eagles' 2013 Offseason
Losing to the Cowboys is always the antithesis of fun, a fate that typically tortures my soul and ruins my week. However, seeing as how I gave up on the season a long time ago, I’m now viewing games through the prism of preparing for next year and beyond. With that in mind, I saw reasons for optimism Sunday night. Nick Foles put forth by far his best performance to date. While he still...
November 2012
5 posts
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Where Do We Go From Here?
Think Monday night’s game was rock bottom? Who knows, maybe this Eagles team is looking to redefine the phrase. It sucks, it’s terrible, it’s humiliating. But listen, sometimes you have to reach this nadir in order to understand the gravity of the situation, to cut the cord and start anew. Maybe a total implosion and widespread public ridicule is what it had to take for the...
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NHL Lockout: No Good, No Bad, All Ugly
Guest post by Michael Alloy
(Editor’s note: This article was submitted last week, before the most recent round of NHL/NHLPA meetings that are currently taking place in New York City and emitting a faint heartbeat of positivity. If you’re wondering why I haven’t written a piece about the lockout, it’s because ignoring the lockout altogether is my personal form of...
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Eagles/Redskins: I Refuse To Write About This Game →
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Week 10 Recap: Cowboys 38 Eagles 23
Rock bottom hit Sunday evening at Lincoln Financial Field, with the Eagles spectacularly imploding in the fourth quarter and handing Dallas the win on a silver platter. It happened in the span of 2:35 from the end of the third quarter through early in the fourth quarter, when all three phases of the team — defense, special teams, offense, in that order — utterly failed. Fitting,...
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Week 9 Recap: Saints 28 Eagles 13
As I drove home from work Monday night, the radio host mentioned the Saints hadn’t lost a game in November since 2008. That seemed like a bad omen. Sure enough, it was. Honestly, I don’t feel like wasting a lot of time with a lede for this game recap. I’m exasperated and fatigued, an utterly defeated man begging for mercy. What more can I say that I haven’t already for...
October 2012
7 posts
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Week 8 Recap: Falcons 30 Eagles 17
Sigh, I guess that’s what I get for dialing up the optimism going into this game. I knew it was an inadvisable idea. I tried to give Andy Reid the benefit of the doubt, but all he did was further prove he’s likely in his fourth season past expiration. Sunday’s drubbing also continued to hammer home the notion that this era of Eagles football concluded with the NFC Championship...
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The Beginning of the Rest of the Season
Yeah, I suppose this past week qualified as a tumultuous one for the Eagles, all set in motion by a humiliating late collapse and loss to the Lions. A seventh blown fourth quarter lead in 22 games was, apparently, critical mass for the ill-fated Juan Castillo experiment. Andy Reid decided to hold himself responsible for the mess by going into terminator mode and firing the good soldier he’d...
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Revisiting the Juan Castillo Hiring
In light of Juan Castillo’s unceremonious and scapegoat-y dismissal, I thought I’d take a look back at what I wrote the day he was hired:
Well, this is sure to appease a lot of fans. The three-week long search for a defensive coordinator is finally over, and suffice to say that no one saw this move coming. The news started to filter out late this afternoon that the Eagles hired the...
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Week 6 Recap: Lions 26 Eagles 23 (OT)
I yearned for the Eagles to be focused, play smart, and put forth a dominating effort against the Lions, but they did not oblige. It was the kind of game that leaves you wondering why you even bother with this team. No, seriously, I had four friends text me asking that. Here was my answer to them, in GIF form. Are we sure it wasn’t 2011 yesterday? Because with the way the Eagles played, it...
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Week 5 Recap: Steelers 16 Eagles 14
Alright, be honest with me. Before the season started and you were going through the schedule ticking off wins and losses, like every fan does, you put an “L” next to October 7 against the Steelers in Pittsburgh. While we’re being honest, I’ll admit I thought this was a game the Eagles were going to lose by two touchdowns. Coming off an emotional win and going on the road...
College Football Update (2012)
Well, hype season for the Heisman has started. That Geno Smith, he’s pretty good. And this past Saturday’s playground football affair between West Virginia and Baylor in their Big 12 opener was the perfect way to get his campaign started. It was just like last season’s Orange Bowl, except Baylor scored more than Clemson. After the blurbs about this weekend’s top five games,...
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Week 4 Recap: Eagles 19 Giants 17
First thing’s first: Brian Dawkins, I love you. You were my first jersey and remain my favorite all-time Eagle. I hope one day we’re lucky enough to experience another safety of your caliber. Next stop: Canton.
Has your heart resumed beating? Wow. Cardiac kids, these 2012 Philadelphia Eagles. That’s now three wins by a grand total of four points, all involving late fourth...
September 2012
6 posts
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Week 3 Recap: Cardinals 27 Eagles 6
Oof. Just when you hope the Eagles might be ready to put it all together and cement their standing as one of the league’s elite teams, they take a steaming dump in the middle of the desert and remind you there’s still a lot left that needs to be fixed. That’s to take nothing away from the Cardinals, who looked and played like the better team. But the Eagles… oh, the Eagles. Dennis...
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Week 2 Recap: Eagles 24 Ravens 23
Remember my season preview, where I said the Eagles had to create a new identity? How they had to engender a toughness we hadn’t seen before? A toughness they’d so often lacked in crucial late-game situations? Well, it’s happening, and that’s why, despite all the other eyesores, I couldn’t be more encouraged.* Toughness. Heart. Grit. Guts. Character. Wherewithal. Pick...
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It's Okay to Admit a Mistake
I’m certainly no stranger to being wrong, though becoming a writer has forced me to face and deal with the accompanying ignominy. Then what follows is the realization that the only difference between Joe reader and I is my faux pas are out there for the world to see, vulnerable to the vitriolic nature of public criticism. Even so, it remains a sobering and humbling experience, but also one...
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Week 1 Recap: Eagles 17 Browns 16
Before I begin, this was my first time watching a professional sporting event — or anything — from the press box. I drove with my roommate six-and-a-half hours from DC to Cleveland, where we stayed for exactly 24 hours. I’d like to thank my Dear/Fearless Leader (and editor) at SB Nation and Bleeding Green Nation, Jason Brewer, for hooking up the media credentials and making such an experience...
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2012 Philadelphia Eagles: Time to Create a New...
Over Labor Day weekend, Reuben Frank, on the heels of Jimmy Kempski’s revelation that the Eagles are the second-youngest team in the league, penned an article entitled “Eagles hope youth translates to Super Bowl.” At the end of the piece, he wrote:
The Eagles have tried every other way to win and still no sign of a Lombardi Trophy in the lobby of the NovaCare Complex. So maybe...
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2012 AFC Preview: Avengers Assemble!
Guest Post by Brian “Class” Callahan
In honor of the end of the 2012 summer blockbuster season and the dawn of the 2012 NFL season, I present to ye Rumbling, Bumbling, Stumbling, Tumbling, a preview of the American Football Conference, starring some notable characters from the summer past.
AFC South
Texans 13-3 (5-1 division)
I’m stretching back to March for what was really the first big movie of...
August 2012
3 posts
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Why Angel Pagan is a Better Signing than Michael...
David Murphy over at High Cheese touched on this two weeks ago, but I thought I’d take it a step further. Please, Ruben, don’t do anything rash and stupid this offseason. The last thing this team needs is for you to go out and give another unnecessary, overpriced contract to one of the most hyped free agents on the market. It’s not smart, and it’s not a cost-effective...
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The Eagles Should Sign Plaxico Burress
I don’t have a reason much better than, well, why not? It’s just a gut instinct. You cannot tell me adding the luxury of Plaxico Burress, especially with this team’s problems in the red zone, isn’t something the Eagles should at least try. As he showed last year, catching touchdowns is still something he can do quite well. And is there really a better fit out there for...
The Andrew Bynum Trade: Buyer Beware, But Who...
(I know, I know, I don’t write about the 76ers. In fact, only once since I started blogging back in December 2010 have I dedicated a full article solely to them, and that was in March 2011. Listen, it’s not that I don’t want to like the Sixers, but, I’m sorry, they just simply haven’t been an entertaining team since I was in middle school. I’ll still watch the...
July 2012
2 posts
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2012 Eagles Training Camp Preview
The last of the veterans report today, and tomorrow training camp in full will commence. Thus begins another season of Eagles football. Another season filled with hope, if a wee bit less hype. Another chance for this franchise to prove it is something more than the poor man’s Buffalo Bills of the NFC. And for the first time in a decade, there’s no excitement surrounding the Phillies to...
Blow Up the Phillies?
It looks like despite my instincts, I went with my heart instead of my head in the season preview. Be honest with me: Did you look at the Phillies roster at the beginning of the season and think, This is a team that can challenge for the division title? I know I had serious doubts and thought they’d struggle to make the playoffs. What I didn’t expect was a precipitous collapse and a...
June 2012
2 posts
2012: A Flyers Offseason Plan
Special thanks to Mike Alloy for his contributions to this article and general role as a sounding-board
(Here’s last year’s edition)
It’s been over a month since the season ended in anticlimactic and disappointing fashion thanks to a thorough spanking at the hands of those detestable New Jersey Devils. The fucking Devils! Ugh. Just when I thought we might be over the Devils,...
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A Letter to Howie Roseman -- Written in 2010
I was going through my hard drive recently and came across this letter I wrote to Howie Roseman back in late September 2010. Full of a what-the-hell attitude and extreme wishful thinking, I knew my efforts would likely be fruitless but figured it was at least worth a shot. If nothing else, I felt the letter could serve as a time capsule for me to one day look back upon, especially if it turned out...
May 2012
1 post
Eagles Offseason Review: They're Doing It Again
Getting the fans’ hopes up, that is. Last year it was the splash in free agency, this year it’s a coup in the draft. But seriously, I love what the Eagles did over draft weekend two weeks ago and am just as giddy as everyone else about the results. Add that to the solid moves the team made in hiring Todd Bowles to coach the secondary, extending Todd Herremans and Trent Cole, retaining...
April 2012
5 posts
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2012 NFL Draft Preview
Admittedly, I haven’t been as diligent with my draft coverage as in years past; still, I’d like to think I’ve done enough research to put out a worthwhile preview. But first, just in case you want a refresher or feel the need to judge my legitimacy when it comes to player evaluation, here are the position previews I wrote for last year’s drafts: Quarterback, Running...
Jacob Grill-Abramowitz: Blogger and Truth... →
My good friend Jacob Grill-Abramowitz, or simply “GA” to everyone except his parents, was tapped by Grantland writer Jonah Keri via Twitter to help with some research concerning MLB games this season that have been directly impacted by an umpire’s missed call. I’m here to acknowledge GA’s accomplishment and new-found fame, as well as immortalize his contribution to...
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Flyers Season Review and Eastern Conference...
With the playoffs set to start in less than an hour, I’ve found myself thinking a lot about how we got here. Going into the season, no one really knew what to expect from this iteration of the Flyers. Paul Holmgren overhauled and restructured the roster during a summer unlike any other. While there were those who thought subtracting Mike Richards and Jeff Carter would debilitate the team, I...
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2012 National League Preview
Yes, I’m late, but whatever, I do what I want. This won’t be as extensive as Class’s American League preview, but maybe that’s a good thing.
NL East
This division is going to be a bloodbath, and I’ve been saying for months now that it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if the Phillies’ reign as champions comes to an end.
1. Florida Miami Marlins (Record:...
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2012 American League Preview or The Modified...
Guest post — by Brian “Class” Callahan
(Editor’s note: It’s long, but worth the read.)
During a conference call meeting a few months back at work, we discussed what we would have to do to make the leap to compete at the next level in 2012. As people reflected on the past year and described the challenges to come in the year ahead, we realized that we needed to shift...
March 2012
4 posts
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Hey, Did You Hear That Andy Reid "Goofed"? →
Of course you did, everyone has heard it — some people (me, for example) even lamented the egregious roster oversights as a harbinger of inevitable failure before the 2011 season started. I don’t have an advanced degree in football genius or anything, but I looked at the linebackers and safeties on paper in the preseason and could think nothing other than, Dear God, we’re...
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The Sweet 16
The first and second round — not the second and third round — of the 2012 NCAA Tournament offered fans something they’d never seen before with a pair of 15 seeds toppling 2 seeds. Was there anything more glorious than watching C.J. McCollum and friends dispatch Duke? The answer, of course, is no. That’s why March Madness is the most captivating spectacle in sports....
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The Karma Rankings
Guest post — by Brian “Class” Callahan
The phrase “wait till next year” applies for me with the annual quest to fill out a winning March Madness bracket. I come close some years but mostly do horrible and say regrettable things to the basketball gods. This year I was particularly worried because I did not watch much college basketball; Maryland was involved in most of the games I did watch,...
2012 March Madness Preview
Ah, yes, it’s that time of year again. March Madness is here (and the NHL playoffs are less than a month away), which means my work productivity will decrease by approximately infinity percent.
What I want to do:
Pick three of the four 14 seeds — St. Bonaventure, Belmont, and South Dakota State — to win their first round games. I think this is the best crop of 14 seeds...
February 2012
4 posts
A Plea to Paul Holmgren
The NHL trade deadline is rapidly approaching on Monday,* and I’m only hoping for one thing: Homer, please, don’t do anything stupid. I don’t know if there’s pressure from Ed Snider to make a major splash (you’ve already acquired two defensemen at what I’m sure was his stern request). If so, that’s a myopic directive from a boss who, as we saw this past...
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Maryland Football is a Disgrace →
This article is sickening on so many levels, and I say that regardless of what I wrote about Danny O’Brien after the first game of this past season. Great, now I’m ashamed to root for both my pro and college football team. The second year of the Randy Edsall shit show should be tons of fun (hey, at least we got Stefon Diggs!). Who would’ve thought a guy who ditched his players...
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Moving On: 2012 Philadelphia Eagles
A begrudging congratulations to the New York Giants, a team that thrived in the face of adversity instead of capitulating like so many others. This team lost, what, six starters to season-ending injuries before the regular season even started? To still have enough talent and depth to overcome that volume of devastating injuries is beyond remarkable. From 7-7 and on life support to 13-7 and Super...
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In Africa, the Patriots are Undefeated
Guest post courtesy of Brian “Class” Callahan
Bill Simmons’ Super Bowl XLVI mailbag opens with readers making the case that a Patriots win this time around will not avenge the loss in Super Bowl XLII, or the loss of perfection, or the game that made us, as one of my roommates likes to say, the worst 18-1 team of all time (Editor’s note: Indeed, 1985 Bears > 2007 Patriots). I...
January 2012
5 posts
It's Senior Bowl Week
I’d rather pretend that the Super Bowl isn’t being played this season. On to the Senior Bowl, where we can determine which player the Eagles will pick in the first or second round pick — just look for who either impresses the most during drills or wins the game’s MVP. So, who will be this year’s Trevor Laws, Brandon Graham, or Danny Watkins? THE SUSPENSE IS KILLING...
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Owning What You Write / Cam Newton: Current NFL...
On the heels of Cam Newton’s record-setting rookie season as a passer and runner, not to mention this feature in the NEXT issue of ESPN The Magazine, I figure it’d be a good time to do this (coincides nicely with the New Years resolutions I won’t honor, too). Especially because I, like most everyone else, am enthralled watching him play. Newton is unlike anything we’e ever...
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NFL Thoughts: Playoff Edition
1. The Eagles are still dead to me… but I’m going to write about them anyway. At some point.
2. The Giants are a dangerous team in the playoffs because they can rush the passer and throw the ball. They can go to Lambeau and beat the Packers, too. Then again, the Giants do have that tendency to lay an egg just when you think they’re ready to take off. Either way, go Falcons.
3....
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Roseman Rejected 2nd Round Pick for Samuel →
mcnabborkolb:
Jeff McLane wrote a massive 2,000 word blog post that highlights all the poor moves Howie Roseman has made over the last two years, while still maintaining Roseman should get more time to prove himself. It’s a convoluted bit of logic, but buried deep within is this scoop:
And tick off Asante Samuel the Eagles did. They should have just traded Samuel when they had the chance...
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(Winter) Classic Flyers
Of course.
It just wouldn’t be the Flyers if a goalie controversy didn’t impact the team on a national stage. The following is something I started writing after the Penguins game but didn’t finish before Bryzgalov broke the news — and pissed off Peter Laviolette — that Sergei Bobrovsky was starting the Winter Classic. It was entitled, “Start Bob.”
Just...
