Monday Morning Mehta 9/26/05
Edition # 133
September 26, 2005
www.mondaymorningmehta.blogspot.com
(Please feel free to use the comments section on the bottom of the website to provide feedback - well, as long as it's positive feedback...)
EAGLES
In a game that you could tell was going to be a sweat from the opening 'kick'off, the Eagles pull out a nice 23-20 victory over a desperate Oakland Raiders team, who now drop to 0-3. Let's get to the breakdown...
Positives:
- Brian Westbrook. In a game that was hyped by the presence of two of the games' premier WR's in Randy Moss and Terrell Owens, Westbrook once again proved who is the most important player in the Eagles offense. His versatility separates him from every other RB in the game.
- Jeremiah Trotter. Trotter has never been a pass coverage expert, but there can't be more than 3-4 MLB's playing better against the run. He was absolutely awesome, spear heading the Eagles holding the Raiders to 21 yards on the ground.
- Lito Sheppard & Sheldon Brown. Randy Moss is no easy task, give these guys credit. I know Rod Hood and Michael Lewis looked asleep on the final drive by the Raiders, but the Eagles secondary could be the best in football.
- D'hani Jones. Jones was a huge part of the run stuffing effort and made a couple of very nice plays on pass coverage.
Negatives:
- David Akers. I know I'm going to sound like a miserable Eagles fan, but this was ridiculous. Akers was obviously injured, it's only the 3rd game of the year, so you just need a healthy body to kick attempts inside of 35 yards, why in the world is this guy out there? I know it turned out great and everyone thinks Akers is a hero, but this had disaster written all over it for about 59 minutes and 51 seconds. I realize Andy Reid needs to take some of the blame for not activating Todd France (was signed to a contract earlier in the week). Akers got hurt last week, it's not like this was a surprise to anyone.
- (I write this knowing it'll never change once again) I would've thought after the Super Bowl Reid may try to balance run and pass, but 52 passes and 18 runs in a game the Eagles led most of the 2nd half??? Pure comedy.
- I'm a huge L.J. Smith fan and love to see him do well, but this is the 2nd time in 6 games Smith has coughed the ball up inside the 10 yard line (member the playoff gaffe that fell right into Fred-Ex's hand?). Unacceptable.
Overall, I thought McNabb played decent considering they didn't run the ball at all. He made a few stupid throws, a few silly mistakes, still looks banged up, but he made the throws he had to. 50% on 3rd down conversions is always going to help you win.
Hello, anyone seen Javon Kearse? Robert Gallery had him draped most of the day.
3 areas that need to improve: Front four pass rush. Penalties. Special Teams in general hasn't been strong suit as in previous years.
The Eagles now go on to face the Kansas City Chiefs, who'll play on Monday Night at Denver. The next two games will test where the Eagles stand right now. You can't commit the turnovers they did yesterday if they plan on winning in Kansas City. Note from Mike K: The game has been moved to a 4:15pm (3:15 local time) game, which is a bummer for Eagles fans who are making the flight and wanted to leave on the final 5pm flight out of KC...
Around the League
The Game of the Week was the Dynasty New England Patriots vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers. In a game which the Steelers had plenty of chances early to take control, the Pats showed why they're so good once again. Every team in the league, the last 4 years (Including the Eagles in SB39), has been saying the same thing after losing yet again to the Patriots..."We ALMOST beat them, we had them right where we wanted". No you didn't, they had YOU right where they wanted.
You have to be impressed with Byron Leftwich and the Jaguars. This is going to be a force in the AFC for years to come, starting with this one.
Jon Gruden has got to get some credit for what he's done with the Bucs. I still can't see Brian Griese holding up too much longer, but Gruden has rebuilt this defense very quickly, and Cadillac Williams has been awesome.
Bad, yet predictable loss by Carolina in Miami. Teams just don't fare well after beating the Patriots.
A very good win by the Falcons in Buffalo. Should be a message to Eagles fans that the Falcons are going to be in the Home Field advantage race all year.
The Minnesota Vikings finally get off the mat to win a game against the Saints. I feel bad for the Saints, not having any home games and traveling all over the country every week has got to be taking it's toll. That being said they look like the same inconsistent Saints.
Drew Bledsoe passed Joe Montana for 8th on the all time career passing yardage list. Just goes to show how bogus passing yards are.
Speaking of Bledsoe, he seems to have developed a decent chemistry with Keyshawn Johnson and Terry Glenn. Johnson is his go to guy in the redzone (3 TD's) and Glenn has over 300 yards receiving already. This is a dangerous team if the defense gets into gear (I think it will).
Phillies/MLB
Sunday is over. Football is done for the week. Every Philadelphia fan's eyes should be on what is turning into an incredible NL Wild Card race as the Phillies and Astros battle it out with 6 games left. Here's the schedule:
Phils M, T, W at home vs. the Mets. F, Sat, Sun at Washington. The Phils will not face Pedro Martinez as he's probably shut down for the season. But the Mets have always given the Phillies fits. The Nationals will hopefully lay down and die...
Astros have 2 road games in St. Louis on Tues, and Wed. They then have 4 at home vs. the Cubs who helped out greatly this weekend. The Cardinals will pitch two struggling pitchers, Matt Morris and Chris Carpenter.
This has one game playoff possibility written all over it next Monday (would be played in Philly). Next Sunday: Phils game 1pm, Astros game 2pm, Eagles game 4:15pm. Could be a huge day...
Jimmy Rollins is the story for the Phillies the last 3 weeks. He's been flat out amazing. It hasn't been one hit a game, it's been two or three. For now, eating crow every game has gotten to be an experience I can get used to. If Jimmy keeps this up I don't see why the Phils can't go 5-1 this week.
Everyone is stepping up the last 3 weeks (since the Astros series). David Bell's dramatic 3-2 pitch, 2 out 2 run homer has been the season's trademark moment to date.
Chase Utley has broken out of his post all star funk in a big way. I'm really worried about the health of Bobby Abreu. He barely looks like he can run the bases (he never looks like he can run in the field).
I was very disappointed to see Eude Brito pitch Saturday night. That could prove to be a costly win, I would've shortened it to a 4 man rotation at this point. The Phils are/were 1 or 2 games behind you have to throw the kitchen sink out there, and Lidle only pitched 59 pitches last time out.
Nonetheless, because of the off day, it'll be Myers, Lieber, Padilla, Lidle, Myers and Lieber the rest of the way. It's setting up as Seo, V Zambrano, Trachsel for the Mets series, and missing Livan Hernandez for the Nationals series.
Around the MLB
If you think the NL race is good, check out the AL race this week. It's looking like a final weekend showdown between the Red Sox and Yankees, with the loser possibly getting in, but maybe not.
In the NL Central, you have a huge game series to end the year pitting the White Sox vs. the Indians. Same scenario, winner goes on, loser will be watching the Red Sox/Yankees series with intrigue.
President's Cup
I realize not many people watch golf on a football weekend, but the President's Cup produced some great golf this weekend.
Not that it really matters, because the U.S. really needs to win a Ryder Cup again, but the U.S. finally showed some guts this weekend.
Quick points:
- Just take Fred Couples until the guy can't play anymore. He beat Vijay Singh yesterday on a birdie on the 18th in dramatic fashion that played a huge role in giving the US the Cup. Play him with Love in every 4-man competition and just leave them alone.
- It looks as if the U.S. has found some of the magical pairings the British always seem to come up with. Tiger and Jim Furyk as one team, Phil and Chris Dimarco were great together.
- Speaking of Dimarco, if you didn't watch, he was by far the best golfer this weekend. It was scary. Seemed like he hit every putt inside of 15 feet, this guy is winning major(s), it's only a matter of time. Wouldn't be surprised if he gets a green jacket as early as April.
OK, no more golf until the Masters, I promise...
NHL Week in Review By : Ed Wasser
- Wanna know the coolest thing about Phillies left fielder Pat Burrell? His intro music when he comes to bat is the song Holy Diver by Ronnie Dio.
- Cool observation by Phillies broadcasters Larry Andersen and Chris Wheeler; did you know that the Cincinnati Reds ball boys, when they catch a foul ball, keep the ball and don't throw it into the stands or give it to a kid? How cheap can the Reds ownership be?
- OK this will be short and sweet because I forgot to buy beer and I'm not drunk enough to write. First of all I want to thank the people that e-mailed me about my NHL preview. The preview took me like 3 hours to write; 2 hours and 50 minutes to think of the jokes, 5 minutes to make sure the players' names were spelled correctly, and 5 minutes to research the teams and decide how they'll do. So Gabe B., Joe Z., and Chris Paul thanks again. Chris Paul is a no joke hockey guy so from here on out I have to lace up my skates a little tighter and make sure I bring my A game.
- A few things served up rapid fire style. 1.) The scores from the preseason games are definitely showing an increase in scoring so it looks like the new rules may be working. 2.) The Penguins, the new marquee team in the NHL, don't play west of St. Louis at any point during the season due to the new scheduling of "rivalry games" which basically means more east vs. east and west vs. west. 3.) Whatever ever happened to the guys in MLB that used to bless themselves before going to bat? Didn't it seem like in the 80's every team had at least one of those guys? 4.) This is why The Hockey News is great....they reported as an actual story that during the NHL draft ex-NHL super agent and current height challenged Phoenix Coyotes GM Mike Barnett would rise to his tippy toes in the split second after a draft pick was taken and the press picture was taken in an attempt to look taller. 5.) Think about this...Detroit Red Wing Pavel Datsyuk will probably play in Russia this year, Russia!!, because there's more money to be made there then in the current NHL. 6.) Is it me or is there more guys in the NFL with long hair spilling out of the back of their helmets then ever before? 7.) For Chris Paul....Olaf Kolzig called Alex Ovechkin "the greatest talent I've ever faced". The Caps will still suck though. 8.) Get it? 9.) Got it? 10.) Good.
- From the world of Bada Boom Racing Stables.....Clemente ran 5 furlongs on the turf last Monday. To set it up, as we all know Rodrigo Madrigal Jr. gave us a DREADFUL ride the last time Clemente raced. He was pretty much fired but our trainer begrudgingly decided to give Rod another chance. When the race started Rod had Clemente laying in 3rd place ready to strike. When they made the turn for home Rod turned on the gas and away he went....Clemente won by a length. It was a great win because Clemente beat a few horses, a horse called It's Shear Luck for one, that have beaten him in the past. Plus Clemente covered the 5/8 of a mile in 57.2 seconds which, trust me, is flying. So come October 10th turf racing will be done at Philadelphia Park and all the racing will be done on the dirt so we have to decide what to do. And by "we" I mean a lot of people but not me. The trainer thinks that a few month layoff for Clemente might be a good idea. But my old man thinks that may not be a good idea because, well......because it's boring. So we'll see.
Comments? (Website or...)
saurinmeht@aol.com
ewwasser@hotmail.com
September 26, 2005
www.mondaymorningmehta.blogspot.com
(Please feel free to use the comments section on the bottom of the website to provide feedback - well, as long as it's positive feedback...)
EAGLES
In a game that you could tell was going to be a sweat from the opening 'kick'off, the Eagles pull out a nice 23-20 victory over a desperate Oakland Raiders team, who now drop to 0-3. Let's get to the breakdown...
Positives:
- Brian Westbrook. In a game that was hyped by the presence of two of the games' premier WR's in Randy Moss and Terrell Owens, Westbrook once again proved who is the most important player in the Eagles offense. His versatility separates him from every other RB in the game.
- Jeremiah Trotter. Trotter has never been a pass coverage expert, but there can't be more than 3-4 MLB's playing better against the run. He was absolutely awesome, spear heading the Eagles holding the Raiders to 21 yards on the ground.
- Lito Sheppard & Sheldon Brown. Randy Moss is no easy task, give these guys credit. I know Rod Hood and Michael Lewis looked asleep on the final drive by the Raiders, but the Eagles secondary could be the best in football.
- D'hani Jones. Jones was a huge part of the run stuffing effort and made a couple of very nice plays on pass coverage.
Negatives:
- David Akers. I know I'm going to sound like a miserable Eagles fan, but this was ridiculous. Akers was obviously injured, it's only the 3rd game of the year, so you just need a healthy body to kick attempts inside of 35 yards, why in the world is this guy out there? I know it turned out great and everyone thinks Akers is a hero, but this had disaster written all over it for about 59 minutes and 51 seconds. I realize Andy Reid needs to take some of the blame for not activating Todd France (was signed to a contract earlier in the week). Akers got hurt last week, it's not like this was a surprise to anyone.
- (I write this knowing it'll never change once again) I would've thought after the Super Bowl Reid may try to balance run and pass, but 52 passes and 18 runs in a game the Eagles led most of the 2nd half??? Pure comedy.
- I'm a huge L.J. Smith fan and love to see him do well, but this is the 2nd time in 6 games Smith has coughed the ball up inside the 10 yard line (member the playoff gaffe that fell right into Fred-Ex's hand?). Unacceptable.
Overall, I thought McNabb played decent considering they didn't run the ball at all. He made a few stupid throws, a few silly mistakes, still looks banged up, but he made the throws he had to. 50% on 3rd down conversions is always going to help you win.
Hello, anyone seen Javon Kearse? Robert Gallery had him draped most of the day.
3 areas that need to improve: Front four pass rush. Penalties. Special Teams in general hasn't been strong suit as in previous years.
The Eagles now go on to face the Kansas City Chiefs, who'll play on Monday Night at Denver. The next two games will test where the Eagles stand right now. You can't commit the turnovers they did yesterday if they plan on winning in Kansas City. Note from Mike K: The game has been moved to a 4:15pm (3:15 local time) game, which is a bummer for Eagles fans who are making the flight and wanted to leave on the final 5pm flight out of KC...
Around the League
The Game of the Week was the Dynasty New England Patriots vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers. In a game which the Steelers had plenty of chances early to take control, the Pats showed why they're so good once again. Every team in the league, the last 4 years (Including the Eagles in SB39), has been saying the same thing after losing yet again to the Patriots..."We ALMOST beat them, we had them right where we wanted". No you didn't, they had YOU right where they wanted.
You have to be impressed with Byron Leftwich and the Jaguars. This is going to be a force in the AFC for years to come, starting with this one.
Jon Gruden has got to get some credit for what he's done with the Bucs. I still can't see Brian Griese holding up too much longer, but Gruden has rebuilt this defense very quickly, and Cadillac Williams has been awesome.
Bad, yet predictable loss by Carolina in Miami. Teams just don't fare well after beating the Patriots.
A very good win by the Falcons in Buffalo. Should be a message to Eagles fans that the Falcons are going to be in the Home Field advantage race all year.
The Minnesota Vikings finally get off the mat to win a game against the Saints. I feel bad for the Saints, not having any home games and traveling all over the country every week has got to be taking it's toll. That being said they look like the same inconsistent Saints.
Drew Bledsoe passed Joe Montana for 8th on the all time career passing yardage list. Just goes to show how bogus passing yards are.
Speaking of Bledsoe, he seems to have developed a decent chemistry with Keyshawn Johnson and Terry Glenn. Johnson is his go to guy in the redzone (3 TD's) and Glenn has over 300 yards receiving already. This is a dangerous team if the defense gets into gear (I think it will).
Phillies/MLB
Sunday is over. Football is done for the week. Every Philadelphia fan's eyes should be on what is turning into an incredible NL Wild Card race as the Phillies and Astros battle it out with 6 games left. Here's the schedule:
Phils M, T, W at home vs. the Mets. F, Sat, Sun at Washington. The Phils will not face Pedro Martinez as he's probably shut down for the season. But the Mets have always given the Phillies fits. The Nationals will hopefully lay down and die...
Astros have 2 road games in St. Louis on Tues, and Wed. They then have 4 at home vs. the Cubs who helped out greatly this weekend. The Cardinals will pitch two struggling pitchers, Matt Morris and Chris Carpenter.
This has one game playoff possibility written all over it next Monday (would be played in Philly). Next Sunday: Phils game 1pm, Astros game 2pm, Eagles game 4:15pm. Could be a huge day...
Jimmy Rollins is the story for the Phillies the last 3 weeks. He's been flat out amazing. It hasn't been one hit a game, it's been two or three. For now, eating crow every game has gotten to be an experience I can get used to. If Jimmy keeps this up I don't see why the Phils can't go 5-1 this week.
Everyone is stepping up the last 3 weeks (since the Astros series). David Bell's dramatic 3-2 pitch, 2 out 2 run homer has been the season's trademark moment to date.
Chase Utley has broken out of his post all star funk in a big way. I'm really worried about the health of Bobby Abreu. He barely looks like he can run the bases (he never looks like he can run in the field).
I was very disappointed to see Eude Brito pitch Saturday night. That could prove to be a costly win, I would've shortened it to a 4 man rotation at this point. The Phils are/were 1 or 2 games behind you have to throw the kitchen sink out there, and Lidle only pitched 59 pitches last time out.
Nonetheless, because of the off day, it'll be Myers, Lieber, Padilla, Lidle, Myers and Lieber the rest of the way. It's setting up as Seo, V Zambrano, Trachsel for the Mets series, and missing Livan Hernandez for the Nationals series.
Around the MLB
If you think the NL race is good, check out the AL race this week. It's looking like a final weekend showdown between the Red Sox and Yankees, with the loser possibly getting in, but maybe not.
In the NL Central, you have a huge game series to end the year pitting the White Sox vs. the Indians. Same scenario, winner goes on, loser will be watching the Red Sox/Yankees series with intrigue.
President's Cup
I realize not many people watch golf on a football weekend, but the President's Cup produced some great golf this weekend.
Not that it really matters, because the U.S. really needs to win a Ryder Cup again, but the U.S. finally showed some guts this weekend.
Quick points:
- Just take Fred Couples until the guy can't play anymore. He beat Vijay Singh yesterday on a birdie on the 18th in dramatic fashion that played a huge role in giving the US the Cup. Play him with Love in every 4-man competition and just leave them alone.
- It looks as if the U.S. has found some of the magical pairings the British always seem to come up with. Tiger and Jim Furyk as one team, Phil and Chris Dimarco were great together.
- Speaking of Dimarco, if you didn't watch, he was by far the best golfer this weekend. It was scary. Seemed like he hit every putt inside of 15 feet, this guy is winning major(s), it's only a matter of time. Wouldn't be surprised if he gets a green jacket as early as April.
OK, no more golf until the Masters, I promise...
NHL Week in Review By : Ed Wasser
- Wanna know the coolest thing about Phillies left fielder Pat Burrell? His intro music when he comes to bat is the song Holy Diver by Ronnie Dio.
- Cool observation by Phillies broadcasters Larry Andersen and Chris Wheeler; did you know that the Cincinnati Reds ball boys, when they catch a foul ball, keep the ball and don't throw it into the stands or give it to a kid? How cheap can the Reds ownership be?
- OK this will be short and sweet because I forgot to buy beer and I'm not drunk enough to write. First of all I want to thank the people that e-mailed me about my NHL preview. The preview took me like 3 hours to write; 2 hours and 50 minutes to think of the jokes, 5 minutes to make sure the players' names were spelled correctly, and 5 minutes to research the teams and decide how they'll do. So Gabe B., Joe Z., and Chris Paul thanks again. Chris Paul is a no joke hockey guy so from here on out I have to lace up my skates a little tighter and make sure I bring my A game.
- A few things served up rapid fire style. 1.) The scores from the preseason games are definitely showing an increase in scoring so it looks like the new rules may be working. 2.) The Penguins, the new marquee team in the NHL, don't play west of St. Louis at any point during the season due to the new scheduling of "rivalry games" which basically means more east vs. east and west vs. west. 3.) Whatever ever happened to the guys in MLB that used to bless themselves before going to bat? Didn't it seem like in the 80's every team had at least one of those guys? 4.) This is why The Hockey News is great....they reported as an actual story that during the NHL draft ex-NHL super agent and current height challenged Phoenix Coyotes GM Mike Barnett would rise to his tippy toes in the split second after a draft pick was taken and the press picture was taken in an attempt to look taller. 5.) Think about this...Detroit Red Wing Pavel Datsyuk will probably play in Russia this year, Russia!!, because there's more money to be made there then in the current NHL. 6.) Is it me or is there more guys in the NFL with long hair spilling out of the back of their helmets then ever before? 7.) For Chris Paul....Olaf Kolzig called Alex Ovechkin "the greatest talent I've ever faced". The Caps will still suck though. 8.) Get it? 9.) Got it? 10.) Good.
- From the world of Bada Boom Racing Stables.....Clemente ran 5 furlongs on the turf last Monday. To set it up, as we all know Rodrigo Madrigal Jr. gave us a DREADFUL ride the last time Clemente raced. He was pretty much fired but our trainer begrudgingly decided to give Rod another chance. When the race started Rod had Clemente laying in 3rd place ready to strike. When they made the turn for home Rod turned on the gas and away he went....Clemente won by a length. It was a great win because Clemente beat a few horses, a horse called It's Shear Luck for one, that have beaten him in the past. Plus Clemente covered the 5/8 of a mile in 57.2 seconds which, trust me, is flying. So come October 10th turf racing will be done at Philadelphia Park and all the racing will be done on the dirt so we have to decide what to do. And by "we" I mean a lot of people but not me. The trainer thinks that a few month layoff for Clemente might be a good idea. But my old man thinks that may not be a good idea because, well......because it's boring. So we'll see.
Comments? (Website or...)
saurinmeht@aol.com
ewwasser@hotmail.com
posted by Monday Morning Mehta at 8:07 AM
1 Comments:
Here's a comment - Phils suck.
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