MixBlog 7-27-11: Eagles, Phils, Softball, Etc.

Just a few quick things, since I'm sitting here listening non-stop to a playlist comprised of 70 of Madonna's most famous songs...

Eagles: Now that the lockout is over, putting together the team has begun. Kevin Kolb has finally been traded -- to Arizona for cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and a second-round draft pick in 2012. In other words, for more than they got from Washington for Donovan McNabb (who's now going to Minnesota). And rumor has it that Vince Young might come in to back up Michael Vick at quarterback.  But of all the players who are leaving, the one I think they'll regret losing is kicker David Akers, who's signed with San Francisco. The kicker the Eagles drafted, Alex Henery, might be great someday, but if he starts off poorly he'll cost them some games. By the way, individual game tickets go on sale Tuesday at 10 am. (It's so weird to have that happen in August instead of June.)

Phillies: Just lost two in a row to the Giants in the teams' first meeting since the 2010 NL Championship Series. It's the first time the Phils have lost a series since mid-June and the first time they've lost two in a row since early June. Granted, neither Roy Halladay nor Cliff Lee started in this series, but the fact that the offense was nonexistent the last two nights again emphasizes this team's Achilles heel and portends what could happen in October. Memo to GM Ruben Amaro: Go get Hunter Pence from Houston. Now. Whatever it takes.

Softball: Time goes by so fast. We have just one game left in the season (we're 7-8, so a win would put us right at .500), so you have just one chance to surprise me by showing up. Sunday, 9 am at Dairy Fields #2 in Fairmount Park. Followed by the league's All-Star game. (I'm not in that one.)

Etc.: Still -- still -- need to post about July 4th, plus the long day in East Rutherford while my friend Kurt auditioned for "The Voice." Plus more comics stuff. And I went to see the final Harry Potter movie. Did I like it? You'll find out...hopefully sooner rather than later. Oh, and I really want to head down to Wildwood or somewhere else along the shore. Deep fried Oreos are calling me...

NFL Lockout Ends And I'm...Disappointed?

Saying goodbye to Stewart?

After months of posturing and disruption, the NFL owners and players finally figured out how to divide the billions and billions of dollars in revenue the league takes in. The lockout is over, and only one exhibition game had to be canceled -- the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, which is normally played in conjunction with the induction ceremonies each year. Now, because no league business (other than the draft) took place for months and months, there's this mad scramble by teams to decide which of their own free agents they might want back, which free agents from other teams they might want to try and sign, and so on, as teams rush to open their training camps.

There are reports that the Eagles have decided they don't want any of their free agents back, including linebacker/Daily News Sexy Single/would-be "Sex and the City" guest star Stewart Bradley. There's also speculation that DeSean Jackson might not report to training camp because he wants a contract extension. Considering what Jackson's been up to recently, I'm not sure I care if he disappears from the face of the earth.

Beyond that, though, I'm actually a little sad that the NFL is back. This is the most popular of the four major pro sports leagues, but also very unlikable in many ways.

NFL: No More Eagles, Divisional Picks

Well, it was interesting in its way, yet it's also like a broken record. An Eagles team raises expectations and then drops out of the playoffs. At least this time, there's no Donovan McNabb for people to blame. But the loss to Green Bay didn't expose anything that wasn't already exposed. They have a defense that wasn't all that good during the 10-4 start and didn't get any better during the last two meaningful games (the season-ender against Dallas was just a glorified exhibition), both of which they lost. The offensive line, particularly on the right side, is a mess. Michael Vick, while showing a lot of improvement, still needs work. Of course, the Eagles have to sign him first. He's now a free agent.

Assuming they're still Vick fans, the Eagles have to decide what to do with Kevin Kolb, who still wants to start and has just one year left on his contract. Keep him as a backup again? He won't be happy with that. If they trade him, they need a backup for Vick or they're really in trouble. We saw Vick get hurt and miss some time this year. Imagine if that happens again and Kolb is gone.

Right now the Eagles' biggest problem is a two-pronged issue. They need a lot of upgrades to truly contend for the Super Bowl, but they won't be able to do anything until the NFL and its players' union have a new contract.

Bad Day To Miss The Eagles

If you follow me on Twitter you already know that I went to play softball this morning (after a couple of skip weeks, one due to bad weather). This was the only week so far that the schedule threatened to cause me to miss part of the Eagles game. The other weeks either my games were scheduled earlier or the Eagles didn't play until 4 pm or later. Today, however, the softball games were set for 11 am and noon, and the Eagles started at 1. So I figured I'd miss a little of the game but go to a bar and watch it. If I went directly home I'd miss the first half, at least.

I got to the FDR Park entrance at 10:30 (these fields are actually convenient for me despite being all the way down near the stadium complex, since the Broad Street Subway is right there) and took this picture of the WIP pre-game show hosts, as this is their broadcast location for home games. It wasn't very crowded around their stage at all at this point, 2 1/2 hours before kickoff.

There were two problems today: the softball teams were scrambling to have enough people to field teams (apparently a fair number of players either quit or just didn't show up), and the games either didn't start on time or ran beyond their alloted time. Thus, my first game didn't start until almost 11:20, and the second one was similarly delayed. I didn't get out of the park and back to the subway stop until 1:30, then had to wait 10 more minutes for the next train to arrive (thanks, SEPTA).

Two things amazed me at this point. One:

Phillies Clinch...Something; Also: Eagles/NFL Stuff

Even though the Phillies have lost two in a row (to the whiny New York Mets, no less) they still clinched a playoff berth today after the San Diego Padres lost. The explanation is here, if it's important to you. It's not important to me. I've decided to save my post-clinching drinking for when they reach their real goal for the regular season, the NL East title. They've clinched a tie for it thanks to Atlanta's loss today. Tomorrow the Phils are in Washington (weather permitting) and the Braves are home against Florida. A Phils win or a Braves loss and I start downing rum and diet cokes and writing up a blog post while under the influence. It's now a yearly tradition, with a bonus drunk post after another event of some significance, so be sure to read it!

Meanwhile, a 28-3 pounding of the Jacksonville Jaguars has the Eagles at 2-1, and all by themselves in first place in the NFC East. While the Eagles played quite well, I don't think Jacksonville is very good, so I'm still not entirely sold. And even with Donovan McNabb, Washington is 1-2 after they lost today. McNabb brings his new team to town next week, and then the Eagles go to San Francisco, a team that would have been better off getting McNabb from the Eagles instead of sticking with Alex Smith at QB, and a team with a coach, Mike Singletary, that I've come to believe to be highly incompetent. I think the Eagles will be 4-1 going into their game against Atlanta (currently 2-1, having won at New Orleans today) and we still won't know how good they really are. They lost to the only good team they've faced.

I think the league is mostly wide open this year. There are five unbeaten teams -- 3-0 Pittsburgh and Kansas City, 2-0 Miami (playing the Jets as I write this), 2-0 Chicago and Green Bay (they play each other tomorrow). Of those five, only Green Bay and, to a lesser extent, Pittsburgh seem to be for real at this point. Some highly touted teams -- Minnesota, NY Giants, Dallas, Cincinnati, New England -- have some issues. I think that, and the disaster zone that is the offensive line, is why Andy Reid decided to stick with Michael Vick at quarterback even after Kevin Kolb's concussion symptoms went away. That will work now, against weak competition. We'll see how Vick does when he has to face a real defense again.

By the way, I've been eliminated from that WIP Suicide Pool. I went with Washington this week. Thanks, Donovan.

My Pool's Alive, Eagles Alive, Kolb's Career On Life Support

Here's an update on my previous post regarding the Eagles and the 610WIP Suicide Pool: before Week 1, there were 26,100 contestants in the suicide pool. After two weeks, only 11,989 remain. More than half the contestants have been wiped out. The losses by Dallas and Minnesota that had me so ecstatic were the main cause this week. I, on the other hand, am still alive in the competition thanks to my pick of the Eagles.

The circus atmosphere that surrounds the Eagles took another twist. Tonight they suddenly announced that Michael Vick was their new starting quarterback even though Kevin Kolb has been cleared to play after the concussion he suffered in the first half of the opening game. This, despite Andy Reid repeating over the last week, after Vick replaced Kolb in Week 1 and gave the offense a lift and after an even stronger performance this past Sunday in beating the Detroit Lions, that nothing had changed and Kolb was still the starter.

The Eagles traded their 2007 first-round draft pick to Dallas for some lower picks. With their first pick in the 2nd round they unexpectedly drafted Kolb, essentially anointing him Donovan McNabb's successor. They ended up spending three seasons grooming Kolb for the job. Although some fools said that McNabb's benching in a 2008 game marked the end of McNabb's Eagles career, it actually didn't occur until the 2009 season ended in infamy at Dallas (and Kolb, substituting for an injured McNabb, became the first QB to throw for 300-plus yards in his first two career starts). The Eagles finally sent McNabb to Washington in April, then signed Kolb to an extension through 2011.

Eagles And...Sudden Death

I was going to be a bit snarky with the title of this post. Why? I entered the 610WIP Suicide Pool again this year. The concept of the suicide pool is that you pick one NFL team each week to win a game -- no point spreads, just to win. If they win, you get to keep playing. If they lose, you're out of the contest. Hence the "suicide" you commit by picking the wrong team. Once you pick a team, you can't pick them again the rest of the season. That makes it more difficult because you can't pick the same obvious winner every week.

Last week I went with Arizona to beat St. Louis, and they did, although it wasn't easy. However, over one-third of the 26,100 contestants who entered the contest are already gone. A lot of them went down in flames because they picked San Diego, who lost to Kansas City on Monday night.

So this week, I decided to go with the Eagles and get it out of the way. The snarkiness of a title such as "Will Eagles drive me to suicide?" would be based on the absurdity that once again surrounds this team, even though they've only played one game, and despite all the proclamations about how this was a fresh new era now that Donovan McNabb and his drama are down the road in Washington.

Random Insomniac Ramblings

I'm up late (and will probably be up all night since I had major trouble dragging myself out of bed today), so...

• If you haven't seen the links I posted on Twitter and Facebook, check out Jersey Circus -- a hilarious melding of "Jersey Shore" lines with the "Family Circus" comic strip. Here's a sample:

• The weather is heating up again. It's supposed to be in the 90s all week. The humidity isn't supposed to increase until around Wednesday, which may be a problem. I fear my central air system needs maintenance, since the last time I had it on the air blowing from the vents didn't seem very cool at all. Problem with this is I can't afford said maintenance right now. Luckily, we've had a stretch where it's been nice enough that, at worst, I've had to use a fan. This coming week concerns me, though. It's good that summer is almost over, except that means winter's coming, and you know how I hate winter cold.

• I've watched very little of the Eagles exhibition games. I planned to watch the first three quarters of Friday's game at Kansas City, because the next-to-last exhibition game is the one where the starters get the most playing time. In the early games they don't play much; in the final exhibition they may be on for a handful of plays at most. So this is the one game where you can get some sense of where things stand for the upcoming season. Plus, with the game starting at 8 and the Phillies' game in San Diego not starting until 10, it set up the evening perfectly.
  
  Unfortunately, I fell asleep in front of the TV not long after 8 and missed a good chunk of the football. (This explains my off-kilter sleep schedule.) From what I've read, though, the defense seems much improved from last year but the offensive line is something of a mess, which is part of the reason for the struggles by Kevin Kolb and the first-team offense. It will be an interesting season nonetheless. Maybe not a great season, but interesting.

• Speaking of football and interesting, ex-Eagle Shawn Andrews has signed with the Giants and is posting to Twitter for the first time in months. How we've missed entries like this:

• Yes, I am still thinking of the podcast idea I've mentioned. That's another money issue. There's a site that I would use to host it but the plan I figure I would need would cost $15.00 per month. (See above reference to centrail air re: affordability.) So, until I feel comfortable with the expenditure or I had a sponsor (and how cool would that be? "The Joe in Philly Experience: The Podcast! is brought to you by..."), it's on hold for now.

• Coming attractions: I do need to write up this week's comic book purchases. (I ended up with 7 after doing some browsing at things I wasn't expecting to buy.) I haven't seen any movies in over a week. I hope to see one or two this week. Other than that, who knows? Something will inspire me, I'm sure.

I'll leave things there for now. As always, I'd love some feedback on my blog -- some suggestions or some requests or something. Or ask me a question.

Eagle Todd Herremans' "Barrage Of Homosexuality"

If you believe that beautiful people or jocks are generally stupid, here's one example to support both theories. Eagles player Todd Herremans (this is the "jock" part), a 2008 Philadelphia Daily News Sexy Single (here's the "beautiful" part, although that is, of course, a matter of taste), had this to say about the HBO series "True Blood" on his Twitter feed:

"So ... caught up on Trueblood last night .... Not a fan of how they get u hooked with the 1st 2 seasons then bring on a barrage of homosexuality."

The original post has been deleted, which is why I don't have a screen capture, but the text was quoted by both Philly.com and CSN Philly.com. As for the rest of this, as far as I can tell, this is the correct chronological order. First, Philadelphia Inquirer columnist John Gonzalez tweeted at Herremans:

Herremans' reply is not on his feed, but was quoted by Philly.com: "I have no issues with homosesxuality, to each his/her own... Its just not for me.. #jussayin." Gonzalez' nest tweet:

Is Stewart Bradley A Samantha?

If you've ever wanted to hear a professional football player proclaim, "Let's buy some shoes!" this is your lucky day!

Eagles linebacker (and 2009 Philadelphia Daily News Sexy Single) Stewart Bradley posted a link on his Twitter feed to something he posted on YouTube. It's an audio recording of his interview on a local radio station's morning show. On the show Bradley debuted an a capella rendition of the "Sex and the City" theme as performed by himself and teammates Brent Celek, Todd Herremans (a Sexy Single from 2008), Hank Baskett (co-star with his wife Kendra Wilkinson in a "reality" TV series) and new starting quarterback Kevin Kolb.

Bradley is the one who recites the "shoes" line, and possibly the one that follows (which is even more fun; you'll have to listen -- I won't spoil it). The pertinent portion begins at about the 0:50 mark:

What Are The Eagles Thinking?

The Eagles finally traded Donovan McNabb, and still managed to screw it up. After an offseason of speculation that came to a full boil in recent weeks, McNabb was traded to the Washington Redskins for the Redskins' 2nd-round pick in the 2010 NFL draft (37th overall) and a conditional (either 3rd- or 4th-round) 2011 pick.

As I've previously said, the combo of McNabb and Andy Reid was never going to win the Super Bowl. Reid has never put together an offense that completely maximized McNabb's abilities. Whether it was the lack of a running game, a meager receiver corps, lousy playcalling or absymal clock management, something was usually missing at critical times -- the Tampa Bay and Carolina NFC title games, the Super Bowl against the Patriots -- and that was never going to change with Reid still in charge and McNabb at quarterback.

And with the Eagles not only not making efforts to sign quality free agents but, in fact, releasing or trading players and stockpiling draft picks, leaving the team right now in even worse shape than it was after the  season-ending double debacles at Dallas, it was clear that keeping McNabb with an Eagles team that is obviously rebuilding (though they refuse to say so) would be unfair to him.

Shut The Hell Up! Two Things I'm Tired Of Hearing On WIP

Presenting a pair of rants on topics that I no longer want to hear discussions about on our sports-talk radio station, WIP:

One: the endless Donovan McNabb debate, which goes a little something like this: The Eagles should get rid of him and give the starting QB job to Kevin Kolb. The Eagles should keep McNabb, Kolb sucks and/or isn't ready to be the starter. McNabb is a lousy quarterback. McNabb is a future Hall of Famer. McNabb isn't an accurate passer. McNabb throws interceptions much less often than almost every other QB. McNabb isn't a good team leader. McNabb's teammates love him. McNabb doesn't win the big games. McNabb's won plenty of big games. McNabb can't let go of the booing he got when he was drafted. McNabb always says how he loves being an Eagle and wants to remain an Eagle. McNabb threw up at the end of the Super Bowl...and on and on and on...enough! This is the one compelling reason I have for hoping the Eagles do part ways with McNabb: so this debate will end once and for all. Over a decade of this, thanks to Andy Reid (the one who really should be going, but isn't) -- I'm sick of it! Shut the hell up!

Two: the continuing occasional comments (and, with the recent signing of Joe Blanton to a 3-year deal, plus spring training being less than a month away, we'll hear this more and more) about how the Phillies should have kept Cliff Lee as well as acquiring Roy Halladay, especially because they're paying Joe Blanton almost as much as Lee is getting for 2010. If I could call the station and make this point without being interrupted or disconnected, I'd say the following: "Listen up, morons: in an ideal world, yes, it would've been great for the Phils to keep both Lee and Halladay. But this is NOT an ideal world. Time to face reality. Lee's ability to become a free agent after 2010 means he'll be likely to get upwards of $15-20 million per year after 2010. That's much more than the Phils will be paying Blanton, who is now signed through 2012. The Phillies are NOT the wealthy teams the Yankees and Red Sox are, and can't afford to pay top dollar to every single player. There was no way the Phils could afford to give up more minor league talent in exchange for Halladay, especially after giving up some players to get Lee last year. You have to keep some talent in the minor leagues to replace older players and to use for future trades when a need suddenly arises due to an injury. And with the salary Lee is expected to get in his next contract, the Phils would be almost guaranteed to lose him after 2010. That's why the Phils traded Lee after getting Halladay. It was the right decision. Now shut the hell up!"

Eagles...Speaking Of Debacles: The Sequel

You can't say I didn't warn you. The Eagles' stay in the playoffs was brief. Officially it lasted one game but for all intents and purposes they were done before halftime, losing at Dallas 34-14. The game wasn't even as close as that.

The only reason the first quarter ended scoreless was because the Cowboys kept committing penalties. They stopped themselves on two drives into Eagles territory and had to punt both times. But the Eagles' offense, so prolific most of the year, was completely useless -- they couldn't even string together more than four plays in any first-half possession and had the ball for only about 7 minutes.

Even when the Eagles tied the game at 7-7, the TD came on a 76-yard pass from Michael Vick out of the wildcat formation to Jeremy Maclin, and the scoring "drive" lasted two plays and 46 seconds. Their final two first-half possessions ended with turnovers. The defense, already shorthanded and struggling, wore down quickly and it was 27-7 by halftime. The entire second half was garbage time.

So Groundhog Day (the movie scenario, not the holiday) continues. The Eagles show signs of promise, make the playoffs, fall short of the championship. Change continues to be needed. Andy Reid isn't going anywhere, though, so the biggest question will be whether the Eagles will bring back Donovan McNabb. He's only under contract for one more season, but they may not want to risk 2010 with Kevin Kolb at quarterback. There are certainly pieces on offense. Do they want a less-experienced QB handling the offense? The defense needs help at every position, but particularly at linebacker (they can't just rely on Stewart Bradley's return from injury) and in the secondary.

A look at the 2010 opponents: besides the division opponents, the Eagles will have home games against Green Bay, Minnesota, Houston, Indianapolis and Atlanta, and road games against Chicago, Detroit, Jacksonville, Tennessee and San Francisco. Rumor has it that the San Francisco game may be the league's annual London game.

Eagles Blown Away By Strong Brees

The score (Saints 48, Eagles 22) was more lopsided than expected but today's game went sort of how I figured it would.

There was a lot of concern about how the Eagles would fare with Kevin Kolb at quarterback due to the cracked rib suffered by Donovan McNabb last week. I felt the bigger problem would be the New Orleans Saints' offense, led by Drew Brees. Let's face it, Carolina didn't offer much of a challenge last week. Today would be a much tougher test, and the Eagles weren't up to the challenge. Brees threw for 311 yards and 3 touchdowns, and the Saints' offense rolled up 421 yards against the Eagles' defense.

A telling moment came late in the second quarter with the score tied at 10. It took the Saints two plays to go 54 yards and take a 17-10 lead with 0:43 left in the half. Still, the Eagles got a field goal of their own to make it a 17-13 game, and received the second-half kickoff...briefly. Ellis Hobbs fumbled the ball, it was recovered by the Saints and Brees threw his third TD pass. On the next possession Kolb threw an interception that led to another TD, making it 31-13. After that the Eagles never got closer than 14.

Kolb wasn't that bad. In the first half the Eagles moved the ball decently. Kolb's first-half numbers: 14-for-22, 196 yards, 1 touchdown. On their first possession, already trailing 7-0, Kolb hit DeSean Jackson for a 71-yard score, Kolb's first TD pass of his career. The game plan wasn't dominated by pass plays -- if anything, it was dominated by the Wildcat formation as much as anything. (I guess we can expect more of that next week when Michael Vick is activated.)

Kolb's final numbers reflect the way the Saints opened up the lead early in the second half, making it necessary to abandon the run: 31 for 51, 391 yards, 2 TDs, 3 interceptions (the last two in the last minute of the game really didn't mean much at that point).

The loss today is on the hands of the defense, and especially the hideous special teams; between the Hobbs fumble, the poor punting and the penalties, the special teams need to be put on the short bus and driven far, far away.

Strange Days Part 2: Eagles

The Eagles never cease to intrigue. So many question marks going into the season -- the effects on the defense of defensive coordinator Jim Johnson's death, Brian Dawkins taking his leadership to Denver, the season-ending injury to Stewart Bradley; the injuries to the rebuilt offensive line; the health of Brian Westbrook; the sudden, controversial addition of Michael Vick; the eternal analysis of Donovan McNabb's health/leadership qualities/state of mind -- led many local observers to believe that a slow start was in the offing. Some locals felt a subpar season was likely, even while many national observers were saying the Birds would be strong contenders for the NFC's Super Bowl berth.

Does the 38-10 rout of the host Carolina Panthers to start the year answer those questions? Not really. The defense played well except for the opening drive of the game -- the Panthers took more than half of the first quarter to march down and score a touchdown. It should be noted that a dumb facemask grab by the Eagles' Juqua Parker kept the drive going, and it nearly stalled a few times as Carolina used two timeouts and (on first-and-goal from the one) took two false-start penalties.

After that, the Carolina offense completely collapsed. Jake Delhomme lost a fumble that was recovered for an Eagles touchdown, giving the Birds a 10-7 lead. The Eagles' DeSean Jackson returned a punt 85 yards to make it 17-7, and the Panthers just melted down from there. Delhomme was intercepted four times before mercifully being benched, and the Eagles had a total of 7 turnovers. So it's hard to tell how much of this was due to good defense and how much was lousy offense. Game two will provide a better indicator as the New Orleans Saints will bring a much better quarterback (Drew Brees) and a more powerful offense to the Linc for the Eagles' home opener.

The Saints' defense isn't quite as daunting, so we'll also see what happens to the Eagles' offense. This week they only generated 267 net yards, and 185 of that, surprisingly, was on the ground. Westbrook averaged 4.9 yards per carry. The offensive line, missing two starters, held up well enough. Donovan McNabb had only 79 yards passing halfway through the 3rd quarter, when he scrambled 3 yards for the final TD of the game and suffered a fractured rib on a late hit in the end zone. Kevin Kolb -- the only other quarterback on the roster with Vick suspended for the first two games -- did little of note.

It's not known if McNabb will play this weekend but it seems improbable. Kolb, touted as the QB of the future since he was drafted, now has two challengers. Vick can't play until the third game, but the Eagles have brought back Jeff Garcia, of all people. Thus, a little more intrigue. The McNabb camp (particularly his mother Wilma) was rather miffed by the love affair between Garcia and the city in 2006. McNabb was hurt and done for the year. Garcia rallied the team to a surprise NFC East title and a playoff win. How will things turn out this time?

Before ending this, let's give a proper goodbye to A.J. Feeley, who was cut prior to the season because of the Vick addition. Rather than rejoin the Eagles, Feeley has apparently decided to sign with Carolina. Here's A.J. with his girlfriend, pro soccer player Heather Mitts: