Monday Morning Mehta 2/7/05

Edition # 105
February 7, 2005

I've started out the last two season ending losses with a one word description of my feelings. Edition # 8 of MMM after the Tampa loss, the word was "Shock". Edition # 55 after the Carolina loss was "Numb", and today I can only think of one word, "Devastation". You just don't get these chances often. The window of opportunity in the NFL rarely lasts longer than 5 seasons even if you are winning. The Eagles have now lost in one of the final 2 games of the season 4 straight years. Let's take a painful look back at the game yesterday and then talk a little big picture.

Game Negatives:

1. Donovan McNabb. I thought about giving a 1 & 1a. here, or possibly putting the defense in this spot, but just can't because McNabb's performance was quite awful. McNabb's decision making, field leadership, all lacked at many times throughout the game. If there was any doubt about that, just look at the guy on the opposite end, Tom Brady and how he played. McNabb started off the game looking very shaky. He then actually played OK in the middle of the game, but was again bad in the end. I don't care about the 3 TD's and 357 yards. He threw 3 interceptions and it could've easily been 4. One pick was dropped, while another was called back because of a penalty (but he then turned around and threw a pick anyway). If McNabb throws the ball away, settles for FG's when in NE territory, the Eagles win yesterday. Two things to look at in NFL games, 1. Turnovers & 2. 3rd down conversions. You lose the turnover battle you are basically cooked barring a Special teams TD. I'm going to analyze a thousand different things but turning the ball over as much as the Eagles did is debilitating.

2. The defense. You can say what you want about how good this defense has played all you want... I don't buy it. Tampa's defense outplayed this team in the '03 playoffs. Carolina's defense outplayed the Eagles defense in the '04 playoffs. And in the 2005 Super Bowl, the Patriots defense outplayed the Eagles. After the first quarter, besides one hit by Michael Lewis, Brady went untouched in the meat of the game. And please don't defend the defense saying they got the ball back late in the game. They gave up 17, let me spell that out, SEVENTEEN 2nd half points. Unacceptable. On the three scoring drives the Eagles defense was just flat out beat at the line of scrimmage. I don't want to hear about Bill Belichick vs. Andy Reid, the offensive line of the Patriots knocked the Eagles off the ball. No coaching there, just a better team.

3. The soon to be infamous drive with 8 minutes left. This one has Eagles fans in a tizzy. Whose fault was it? I blame McNabb much more than Reid. Also, don't discount the fact that if the Eagles did go hurry up, they probably would've turned it over again anyway. I think the reason they scored was because they slowed it down. Nonetheless, McNabb needs to get to the line quicker and move the team. He is the leader, he is the $100 million QB. Sure Reid has to tell them to hurry it up, but again, if they hurry it up, they probably throw a pick anyway.

4. Javon Kearse. Word is Kearse had the flu on Friday. No excuses please. Look across the field, Terrell Owens played his behind off with half an ankle.

5. The Outside Linebacker position. I'll get to the Eagles off season needs next week, but Mark Simoneau and Dhani Jones are weaknesses. Keith Adams is nice, but I am talking impact OLB's.

6. Offensive Line, in particular Artis Hicks. One saving grace McNabb may have was the play of the O-line. For a majority of the game McNabb had a guy in his face. It was also completely obvious to me that the Eagles were not going to be able to run on this team on first down. The game plan all along should've been throw on first down (same as what the Steelers should've done).

Game Positives:

1. Terrell Owens. If there was ever a doubt as to this guys desire to win, and yes, LEADERSHIP, let's put that all to rest. Owens showed he is a Leader, not just some guy who mouths off. If the Eagles won that would've gone down as one of the greatest performances ever.

There were some other players that had nice games but I just can't really see any more positives. Derrick Burgess played well as did Greg Lewis once Todd Pinkston (who also played decent in the first half) went down.

Deion Branch won the game's MVP with 11 catches tying a Super Bowl record, but I would've given it to Rodney Harrison. As much as it pains me to say it, Harrison was all over the field. I'm glad Freddie had something for him. That one catch for 11 yards had Harrison shaking in his shoes.

If you look at the game negatives, the Eagles were dominated off the ball (o-line vs. d-line) on both offense and defense. You don't win football games that way.

On the final Patriots punt of the game with 50 seconds left, there should be no reason to have two punt returners. None. In fact, why did they even do that yesterday?? They hadn't employed it all year yet they decided to pull it out in the final game? Made no sense. Anyway, on the final punt Westbrook should've been the lone returner with 10 guys looking to block. Which then leads to Westbrook should pick that ball up and not let it roll down to the 3 yard line.

Exactly how does a Linebacker have hands to make a TD grab like Mike Vrabel did? Amazing.

Tom Brady's legacy continues. Saying "Don't make turnovers" and actually not making turnovers is two completely different things (Brady did lose a fumble, but made many great decisions in his throws). To consistently play so well in big spots is amazing. Brady is now 9-0 in the postseason and officially punched his ticket into Canton and the Pro Football Hall of Fame yesterday with his 23 for 33, 233 yards and 2 TD performance.

One thing I don't want to hear today is how it was such a winnable game and we should've had it and non-sense like that. The Eagles were losing 24-14 in the fourth quarter of this game, gimme a break how are you 'supposed' to win that game. It would've taken a miracle or at least something historic for the Eagles to come back and win yesterday.

Here's my point, how many teams have felt the same exact way against the Patriots? Think the Panthers felt that way last year. The Patriots don't blow people out. And it isn't all smoke and mirrors by Belichick. We can sit here and analyze ever little play to death (which, actually, I think I am) but it all comes down to one simple point;

The Patriots players make plays when they need to, the Eagles players did not, period.

Big Picture

Donovan McNabb is still in his prime, as is Terrell Owens. The defense is still young and good. This team will be fine next year. But loss after loss has to take it's toll. I am a big Andy Reid supporter and don't think he's going anywhere, don't get me wrong. But the question has to be asked and one has to wonder if he is the coach to take this team to the next level. 1-4 in Championship games & Super Bowls is pretty awful. There are many examples of coaches that can take a team to a certain level, but just can't get them over the hump. Maybe this is the case with Reid. There is also the fact that players stop listening to coaches after a while. A coaches shelf life with a team can only be so long. Oddly enough the longest tenured coach is Bill Cowher, a man with exactly Zero rings.

End of year QB rankings:
I have my current rankings, with the prior ranking 2 months ago in (parentheses)

1. Tom Brady (1)
2. Donovan McNabb (2)
3. Peyton Manning (4)
4. Michael Vick (3)
5. Chad Pennington (6)
6. Daunte Culpepper (7)
7. Steve McNair (5)

One good year, too early to tell
Ben Roethlisberger
Drew Brees
Matt Hasselbeck

You can rip putting McNabb # 2 all you want, but the fact is Manning can't beat the Pats either.

NBA - Derreck Sura

- The Sixers (23-24) went 5-3 over the last two weeks, and currently hold down the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference. Philly has been playing better as of late, and they seem to be coming together as a team. The camaraderie I've seen on the court recently leads me to believe that the Sixer players are finally getting comfortable in their roles, and better chemistry has been the result. Conversely, Allen Iverson's strained left rotator cuff looks like it will be something he has to deal with for the rest of the season. With the pounding AI's body takes, I have to wonder if that shoulder is going to be able to hold up for 35 more games and the playoffs. The week ahead will be very challenging for Philly with: @New Jersey, Memphis, @Toronto & Orlando (back to back). With the way the Nets have been playing lately, the Sixers going 1-3 is not out of the question.

Sixers quickie: GM Billy King called Toronto GM Rob Babcock to inquire about what it would take to get Donyell Marshall. When Babcock asked for rookie Andre Iguodala in return, BK wisely laughed and hung up the phone.

- The biggest story of the past week, even trumping the Super Bowl hype for day or so, was the resignation of Rudy Tomjanovich as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers due to health related issues stemming from the stress of the job. If you saw or heard Rudy T's press conference where he stepped down, you witnessed a man that looked beaten up and sounded worn down. At first I was shocked and a little angry, but after seeing him at that presser, I have no choice but to be OK with it. The pressure of returning the league's premier franchise back to prominence was obviously too much for him to handle. Rudy went 24-19 as Lakers' coach, and did a pretty good job all things considered. He was able to get L.A.'s plethora of new players to perform like a team almost right off the bat. Rudy also settled on his rotation promptly, which allowed the Lakers' chemistry to develop much sooner then anyone could've anticipated. It wasn't all peaches and cream though, as the team's defensive effort was very inconsistent. L.A. also had a penchant for standing around on offense and taking way too many 3 pointers under Rudy, but overall I was happy with the direction of the team. Assistant coach Frank Hamblen will coach the Lakers (24-21) for the rest of the season on an interim basis. Under the circumstances, there's probably no better man for the job. Hamblen has been an NBA assistant for 36 years, and was the only hold over from the Phil Jackson era, which at least gives L.A. some type of continuity in this time of turmoil. Unfortunately for Frank, no matter how good of a job he does, his stint as Laker head coach won't last beyond this year. I've come up with 3 candidates I'd like to see GM Mitch Kupchak consider.

The first is former 'Showtime' era coach Pat Riley. It will take a truck load of cash, and maybe a partial ownership stake, to get Riles to give up his cushy position as president of the Miami Heat. Sounds like long shot, but Pat has a rather large ego, and the opportunity to finish his coaching career where he started could be enough to entice him. There are two reasons Riley is #1 on my list. A) He knows how to deal with owner Jerry Buss, and understands the pressure's that come with the job. B) Lamar Odom has always wanted to play under Riles, and getting the most out of Odom is the key to L.A. being a contender in the near future. The next nominee is the "Zen Master" himself, Phil Jackson. To me, this is an even longer shot then Riley, but if Kupchak doesn't ask, he'll never know. All of you have to be thinking, "No way does Phil come back after the way he left, the book he wrote, and his relationship with Kobe Bryant." All valid points, but remember that Phil has an even bigger ego then Riles, loves to have people kiss his behind, and really just needed a break from the whole Shaq-Kobe drama. Jackson also knows that Kobe, Odom, Caron Butler, and Vlade Divac would be a perfect fit in his triangle offense. For Phil to come back, both Buss and Kobe would have to do some serious pride swallowing. That's not even mentioning the astronomical amount of money Jackson would ask for. I don't think this is as crazy as many people might think because Phil still needs one more ring to break his tie with Red Auerbach at 9, and Buss and Kobe want to win no matter what the cost.

The final contender is Memphis assistant Eric Musselman. While E Muss does not have the pedigree to instantly command the player's respect like the other two, he did a very nice job for the two years he was in Golden State compiling a 75-89 record. If Kobe would accept and listen to him, Musselman might actually be the best man for the job because he is young, energetic, and can flat out coach.

- On 1/27/05 Denver Nuggets' GM Kiki Vandeweghe replaced interim coach Michael Cooper with 17 year veteran George Karl. I like how Kiki moved quickly with this change because the team wasn't responding to Cooper (4-10 record as head man), and was falling further into the Western Conference abyss. The Nuggets (21-26) are 4-1 since Karl took over, and seem to be playing with a renewed energy and focus. Only time will tell how much of that can be attributed to the "hiring-of-the-new-coach-bounce", but it's still a positive sign none the less. According to Karl, "Sometimes in the NBA, you don't have enough intensity. For me, I think the game begins at the defensive end of the court." Those two statements are exactly why I like this move for Denver in the short term. The Nugs have a tendency to not show up every night, and are 16th in points allowed (97.1 ppg) and 21st in opponent's shooting (45.3%). If Karl is able to remedy those two issues, Denver might start to live up to their lofty pre-season expectations. On the other hand, I'm not near as sold on this move for the long term. George's demanding in your face style has had a history of grating on "star" players after a while. His last stop in Milwaukee ended in a messy break up of the Bucks' big three (Ray Allen, Sam Cassell, & Glenn Robinson), which ultimately led to his firing. In fairness to Karl, he claims to have learned how to better deal with players since his dismissal from Milwaukee. I'm not so sure of that when he says referring to Carmelo Anthony, "I'm going to be demanding of certain things that he might not be happy with, but there are some habits that have to change. It's my job to change them. It's not my job to be a nice guy." Melo is not the only combustible personality on the Nuggets' roster either. Kenyon Martin, Nene, and even the normally mild mannered Andre Miller have all had clashes with coaches at one time or another. Even if "Furious" George does not have a long stay in Denver, all the Nugget player's will learn something about the professional attitude and effort it takes to win on regular basis in the NBA.

- When Portland Trail Blazers' owner Paul Allen hired John Nash to be his new GM in the summer of 2003 my initial reaction was "Oh no, not him". I couldn't believe that someone with JN's track record as a GM would ever get another job in the league. Well I was wrong, and Allen gave JN and team president Steve Patterson one directive: "Clean up the image of the franchise." I don't think failed miserably is overstating the job JN and Patterson have done so far. The team is less competitive then ever, and still has the same "character" issues they've always had. That said, I really liked the first couple of moves JN made, and thought he had the franchise on the right track.

JN's first major deal was sending Bonzi Wells to Memphis for Wesley Person, a 2004 first round pick, and cash. This trade was addition by subtraction, and I felt like Bonzi really wasn't worth anything more then a first rounder considering his attitude issues. Next, JN sent Jeff McInnis and Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje to Cleveland for Darius Miles. While this deal did ship another malcontent (McInnis) out of the Rose City, it was much more the addition by subtraction. D Miles' energy, defense, and ability to finish in the open court were all major factors in the Blazers' late season push toward the playoffs last year. JN's coup de gras was trading Person and Rasheed Wallace to Atlanta for Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Theo Ratiliff, and Dan Dickau. Not only did he parlay one big man into two, but Reef and Theo both had only 1 year left on their contracts. After the draft (see below) he shipped Dickau and Dale Davis to Golden State for Nick Van Exel (also with 1 year left on his deal). Couple those 3 expiring contracts, with Miles also only having 1 year remaining on his deal, and Portland WAS looking at some serious cap room this up coming summer.

Then came the 2004 draft, and that's when JN's true colors finally started to shine. He picked high school PG Sebastian Telfair at #13. While this pick was pretty much universally ripped at the time, Telfair has shown me enough to where I think he'll be a player in a few years. He then went on to pick Viktor Khryapa (in a trade for Eddie Gill and cash), Sergei Monya, and Ha Seung-Jin. I suppose no one told JN that Khryapa and Monya played the same position on the same team in Russia, and couldn't wait to get away from each other. HSJ is a 7'3 South Korean that is years away from being a bad NBA player. To sum it up, JN drafted 4 guys that are years away from being regular contributors, and may, or may not, pan out at all.

Those picks would have been fine for a rebuilding team looking toward the future, but what JN did next blew that to smithereens. In span of 2 months JN resigned Miles (6 years 47 million), Ratliff (3 years 35 mil), and Zach Randolph (6 years 84 mil) basically eliminating all the cap space he had worked so hard to acquire. Never mind that he could've let them all play out their deals, waited to see what they were worth on the open market, and then spent Allen's money. Now when Reef, NVE, and Damon Stoudamire come off the books this summer, the Blazers will still be 5 million dollars over the cap. Meaning they can only use their mid-level exception to sign free agents.

Given the team's record (20-26), it's going to be hard for a franchise trying to win back it's fan base to sell the same mess of team to the public. Releasing Qyntel Woods was just a public relations move, a band-aide if you will. More drastic changes are needed to fix the problem, beginning with firing's of JN, Patterson, and coach Maurice Cheeks. From there, Allen should hire Detroit VP of basketball operations John Hammond to be his new GM, and give him free reign to do as he sees fit. JH could bring in a young coach, Jeff Bzdelik maybe, and then start to reshape the roster. While Portland's front line is set in stone for a while with Miles, Zach, Theo, Khryapa, Travis Outlaw, and Joel Przybilla, the back court needs help as only Telfair and Monya should be in the future plans. If JH could get rid of Derek Anderson and Ruben Patterson for a shooter or two, and the rest of the squad is given time to grow together, the Blazers may be able to win back some of their fans over time. Rebuilding is a tough sell anywhere, but with a coach like Bzdelik, that preaches hard work, the people of Oregon could at least embrace their lone professional team once again.

- My favorite coach, Larry Brown, was in the news this past week for something other then his team's play. It all started when LB was quoted in a New York newspaper as saying the Knicks' job was one he had "dreamed about many times." He then retreated into full back track mode saying, "I'm not going to coach anywhere but Detroit. It's my last pro coaching job." Hmm, now that sounds familiar... Then he was asked if he would take a college coaching job and said, "Oh, I don't look at that." C'mon already LB, what do you take us for? At this point everyone knows your M.O., and the constant lying about it is only further tarnishing your legacy.

NHL Week in Review By: Ed Wasser

- I'm writing this on Thursday, Feb. 3 and I already know who lost the Super Bowl...the city of Jacksonville. It was a quaint idea to award the Super Bowl to Jacksonville but it's starting to look like they awarded the winter Olympics to Eagle Claw, South Dakota. This is a city hosting a Super Bowl, welcoming 100,000 people from out of town, that has 300 (300!!!!!!!) cabs in the entire city. It was reported that the Saturday before the Super Bowl the cabs will be charging $100 flat rate per hour, so even if you're in the cab for 2 minutes...BANG!!...c-note please.The streets have been gridlocked since last Wednesday.

Jacksonville has 2200 downtown hotel rooms; just so you know New Orleans has over 22,000 downtown hotel rooms. Miami has more than 2200 hotel rooms just on A1A...Beachfront, Ave!! A story came out that all the local ATM's have been rigged to charge a $5 service charge with $100 being the max amount of dough you can get out. This whole thing is an NFL back scratch, they tell the tax payers of Jacksonville that if they give the Jaguars a stadium and the NFL will give you a Super Bowl. I knew there was trouble brewing when the chief of the Jacksonville police (I think his name was Roscoe P. Coletrain) said he wanted Eagles fans to come down and have a good time but 'they would arrest people for things like urinating in the street'. I thought 'oh...boy'. Sorry chief but some dude whizzing in the streets will be the LEAST of your problems. Do you think cops in New York City put peeing on the street on the list of top 1000 priorities on any given Tuesday let alone during the most important weekend in the city's history? It's a small town mentality. Now I've been to Jacksonville the same way most people have; I drove through it on the way to someplace more happening so I don't propose to know everything about it but I know one thing for sure.....put it on the list with Minneapolis as the top two cities that will never, EVER host a Super Bowl again.

- I know everybody was so wrapped up with the NHL labor negotiations, the Phillies signing of Terry Adams, and Sunday's Sixers/Clippers game to realize this but yesterday was the Super Bowl. I'm writing this before the game so I don't know the outcome but I will just say this....if I had to listen to one more day of the Terrell Owens ankle injury watch I would have gone to the nearest clock tower with a Winchester a la Charles Whitman and I would have started picking off pedestrians.

- Actor John Vernon sadly passed away last Friday. I heard one of the last things Vernon said was "I'm just happy I'll live to see the Eagles in another Super Bowl". That's sad. In any event Vernon's biggest claim to fame was playing Dean Wormer in the movie 'Animal House'. As a tribute to his brilliant work here are the top 5 greatest lines from 'Animal House'.

5.) "Pre-med, pre-law...it's the same thing".
4.) "My advice to you....start drinking heavily".
3.) (After suggesting Flounder tell his brother his car was stolen instead of just wrecked by drunken frat guys) "It's gotta work better then the truth"
2.) "You f*cked up. You trusted us!!"
1.) "Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life son".

Please submit comments below (click on Comments)