Monday Morning Mehta 11/15/05
Edition # 140
November 15, 2005
Special Guest Column below...
There's been 4 times in the 140 editions of MMM that I've dreaded writing this column. The previous 3 were after 2 NFC Championship losses and a Super Bowl loss. Today is the fourth. So, I'm going to keep it short this week. I don't feel like writing about the Eagles, as I'm sure you don't feel like reading about them...
Eagles
Eagles blow a 20-7 lead in the final 3 minutes of the game in an absolutely crushing defeat to the Cowboys, 21-20.
Game Negatives:
- Donovan McNabb. Blowing a 20-7 lead falls squarely on the shoulders of the QB, in my opinion. Let's face it, it was the interception that lost this game. If they punt, the defense probably stops the Cowboys.
- Andy Reid. Eagles should have won the game 34-7 last night. I blame that on the coach. All the stupid penalties throughout the game have to fall on someone's shoulders.
- Lito Sheppard. Pro Bowl to Pro Goat. How do you a let a WR get behind you when you're winning 20-7? I'll tell you, you get full of yourself. Eat some humble pie kid, you aren't Chris McCalister yet.
- 2003 all over again. I seriously felt like this was 2002/2003 again, with Todd Pinkston and James Thrash as our WR's. Yes, I officially want T.O. back already.
Game Positives:
- Trent Cole. Maybe we've found this year's Derrick Burgess?
Is the season over? No. But the way they're playing, Super Bowl is completely unrealistic. After 3 straight losses, the Eagles are on the verge of "not winning it in November, but certainly putting themselves out of contention". If McNabb takes a couple games off due to injury, it's over for sure.
How does Jon Runyan get multiple false start calls at home? Next Question....
Are you still going to the Giants game at the Meadowlands this Sunday? Next Question...
Does LJ Smith or Jevon Kearse get hurt every game? Next Question...
Do you think that there are people that still think the Eagles won last night? Next Question...
What play call was dumber, the throw on 2nd down that led to the pick, the draw play early in the game from the 40 on 3rd and 13, or the shovel pass which Dat Nyguen yelled out 3 seconds before the snap? Next Question...
One last thing, today is officially the day Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb go from the golden boys of Philly sports to being on the firing line. Not saying Reid's job is in jeopardy, but neither guy has won a Super Bowl, they shouldn't get too much slack.
Around the League
The Raiders and Kerry Collins showed why they aren't going anywhere. Collins is a turnover machine and is a nice fantasy QB, but you don't want him running your team.
Gutsy aka stupid call by Jon Gruden to go for 2 with 50 seconds left from the 1 yard line.
Best game of Sunday was the windy bowl in Chicago. The quality of play was putrid, but the comedy was awesome.
Can we please stop carving Eli Manning's bust for Canton? Eli has a knack of making plays down the stretch of games, but his inaccuracy is almost comical at times. There's many times Eli misses his target by 10 feet.
Watch out for Jacksonville in the 2nd half. They play their next 3 games on the road vs. weak opponents, if they can go 2-1 in that stretch, they're a lock for the playoffs.
NBA - Derreck Sura
- The Sixers (4-3) went 3-0 this week and rode a 4 game winning streak to the top of the Atlantic Division (which translates to the third seed in the East). They caught a break on Wednesday when Dirk Nowitzki only played 17 minutes after straining his back in the second quarter. On Friday Philly took care of a mediocre Laker team, which is nothing to get overly excited about. Then on Sunday they handled a Clipper team that had been playing pretty well. Although the Clippers really have not played anyone yet, but they are still the only club that has beaten Washington (5-1). Before I get accused of bashing Philly, let me explain myself. Like Ftaok says in the comments section, "a win is a win", and I agree with that 100%. Yet just like it was too early to abandon ship last week, it's still a little premature to be singing their praises from the roof tops. I will say that it's an encouraging sign that the Sixers are beating teams around their same level at home.
I blast GM Billy King a lot, so I have to give him credit when does something smart. Trading Marc Jackson and cash for essentially Steven Hunter and a 2006 second round pick was a quality move. Where would Philly be right now without Hunter to fill in for Samuel Dalembert in the middle? Sam D averaged 8.2 points on 52.4% shooting, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.68 blocks in 24.8 minutes last season. Hunter is playing 27.7 minutes and scoring 9.1 points on 65.1% shooting, while grabbing 4 rebounds and blocking 1.71 shot a night. Obviously Stevie H needs to improve his rebounding numbers, but the rest is pretty similar, if not better then Sam D's production, and comes much cheaper taboot.
Last week I dropped some awful numbers associated with the Sixers. Well I'm glad to report that they have improved in every category, if only slightly. Philly went from 30th in points allowed to tied for 27th (104.3 ppg). They were also dead last in team rebounds per game, and have upped that to 27th (37.4 rpg). The Sixers are now 24th in both rebound differential (-5.4 rpg) and total rebounding percentage (46.6%), up from 28th and 29th respectively. One thing to still worry about is opponents field goal percentage though, where they only moved from 29th to 28th (50.5% to 47.7%). Coach Maurice Cheeks must get his team to play better defense as the season rolls along.
Philly has Toronto & @Toronto (back to back) and @Miami & Cleveland (b2b) this week. Coming away from that 2-2 would be fine.
Sixers' side note: Andre Iguodala did a great job defending Kobe Bryant, holding him to 7-27 from the field. However, I have to wonder how AI2 can log 47 minutes, 41 of which were spent guarding Kobe, and have ZERO fouls at game's end? I thought this was the NBA.....
- After only two weeks it's still too early to draw concrete conclusions on any team, but these three teams have been especially awful so far.
Seattle (2-4) - Besides Toronto, no team plays with less passion then the Sonics. Before beating the hapless Raptors on Sunday afternoon, Seattle had lost their three previous games by a combined total of 93 points. Included in that was their 41 point drubbing at the hands of the Wizards. The Sonics let Washington shoot 58.5% from the field and 47.1% from behind the 3 point arc, not to mention the Wiz ending up with seven players scoring in double figures. Obviously defense is optional for Seattle. The Sonics are last in points allowed (111.2 ppg), scoring differential (-15.2 ppg), and opponents field goal percentage (50.3%). Their problem is that they miss former coach Nate McMillan's leadership, intensity, and attention to detail. New coach Bob Weiss appears lost, and is already losing control of the team. It looks like it's going to be a long year all around in the Pacific Northwest.
New York (2-5) - Believe it or not, I expected a pretty slow start for the Knicks. Now maybe not this bad, but coach Larry Brown loves to tinker and play mind games with his new teams, and his latest stop in NY has been no exception. The players are already questioning their roles and President Isiah Thomas has been burning up the phone lines making just about the entire roster (not an exaggeration) available for the right price. Yes, they've only played seven games, but I read a new rumor about a different Knicks' player almost daily (I'm not kidding). When you combine those two factors (mind games & constant trade rumors), it can't make for a happy locker room. Never the less, I'm still confident that NY will improve eventually and "get" what LB wants them to do. My worry is that they are in danger of falling too far behind here early on. Mainly because they don't have the firepower to make up ten games or more in the loss column for 8th place.
Sacramento (2-5) - My pre-season pick to win the Pacific Division have looked like strangers on the court together. Their starting five, which I thought looked so good on paper, has absolutely no chemistry in game situations. To make matters worse, for some reason unknown to me, coach Rick Adelman has refrained from using his bench more. Granted their bench is not super talented, but the Kings have a lot of solid NBA players sitting around wondering where their minutes are. The two main culprits behind Sacto's slow start are Mike Bibby and Peja Stojakovic, who have not been able to throw in the ocean. Bibby's field goal percentage is down from 44.3% last season to 37% now, and Peja's 3 point shooting has dropped from 46.9% to 40.2%. To make matters worse, Peja's shot selection has left a lot to be desired as well. If the Kings don't get their act together soon, lame duck Adelman will be the first coach fired this year.
- I'd be remiss if I didn't mention some good things that I've seen so far in this young season, but I'm not going to go overboard anyone yet.
Detroit (6-0) - The Pistons are the only undefeated team left in the NBA, and have looked very good up to this point. The addition of swingman Maurice Evans, to go along with Antonio McDyess and Carlos Arroyo, has solidified their bench. Their starters still play the team concept and compliment each other's strengths and weaknesses to a tee. The main difference in Motown though is coach Flip Saunders' new offensive scheme, which has the players enjoying themselves much more overall. Last year the Pistons averaged 93.3 points a game on 44.4% shooting. This season their scoring is up (100.7 ppg) as well as their shooting (48.6%). Detroit's defense has remained relatively the same though. Last year they gave up 89.5 ppg on 43% shooting, as opposed to 87.7 ppg on 44.6% shooting this season. One thing that has not changed with the Pistons though is their propensity to coast during games, and I don't expect it will any time soon.
Elton Brand - Is there a star player that goes about playing the game in a more business like manner then EB? His quiet nature has made him the most under appreciated star (not superstar) player in the NBA today. He has led the Clippers to a 5-2 start while scoring 23.7 ppg (career best & 9th in the NBA) on 61% shooting (career best and 5th overall). It doesn't stop there, EB is also pulling down 9.3 rpg while blocking 2.4 shots a game (5th overall). All this for an undersized (6'8) PF with minimal athleticism. I'd like to see him take the next step in his development by becoming a more vocal leader and demanding the ball at crunch time. I know it's not his style, but he and his team will benefit greatly if he can bring himself to be a little less unselfish.
Tony Parker - Through San Antonio's first seven games TP has really stepped up his scoring. He leads the Spurs (5-2) with 22.7 ppg on 57.4% shooting. Compare that to last year's 16.6 ppg on 48.2% shooting. The thing is, he's doing it in only .2 more minutes a game. In fairness, his new found shooting touch has increased his turnovers per game from 2.7 topg to 3.9 topg, and his assists have gone down .2 per game as well. Looking past the numbers, TP's leadership and decision making when the game is on the line have noticeably improved also. Time will tell if TP can really keep this up, but I'm thinking GM R.C. Buford and coach Gregg Popovich are kicking themselves for not bringing in competition for TP earlier in his career.
- On the injury front this week Utah's Andrei Kirilenko is expected to miss one to two weeks with a sprained left ankle. The Jazz (4-4) can not buy a break. PF Carlos Boozer still has at least a week before he returns from his strained left hamstring, and now AK-47 goes down early in the season again. I still think Utah could have one of the best starting front lines in the league, that is if all three could ever get healthy at the same time. Especially since C Mehmet Okur is off to a career best start in minutes (36.1 mpg), points (22.6 ppg), rebounds (10 rpg), field goal (53.9%) and 3 point percentage (45%).
Another player off to a career best start is the Charlotte Bobcats' (2-5) Gerald Wallace. After a summer of somewhat contentious contract negotiations with GM/coach Bernie Bickerstaff, Wallace was scoring 16.2 ppg (leads team) and shooting 56.6% from the field in 32.4 minutes per game. Not to mention putting up 6.2 rebounds per game, 2.8 steals per game (leads team), and 2.2 assists per game (all career best averages). Now Gerald will miss at least a week with a chip fracture in his right wrist. To me, that injury seems like he'd be out way more then a week, but I'm not a doctor. I only play one in MMM.
*Note: All statistical data does not include Monday's games.
NHL Week in Review By : Ed Wasser
- Quick note on the controversy regarding the two Carolina Panthers cheerleaders who were recently fired for....well, you know. I was always curious why girls in bars always went to the bathroom in pairs. I guess now I know. On we go....
- Speaking of girls I'd like to make Mrs. Wasser, if you go to www.nhl.com you'll find a bunch of hockey blogs. One of the blogs is written by actress Elisha Cuthbert, the girl who's birth certificate says "To Ed, Love God". In the one blog Elisha talks about loving hockey, buying LA Kings season tickets, and while at the games eating hot dogs and drinking beer. These are a few of my fa-VOR-ite things. Shut up Elisha, just shut up....you had me at beer. (Wiping away tears) You had me at beer.
- In the month of October Washington Capitals rookie Alexander Ovechekin scored 8 goals, leading all NHL rookies, and is single handedly trying in desperation to make the Capitals a respectable team. Ovechkin is pretty much the only player in Washington that wouldn't make NHL fans break into violent vomiting fits after watching him play for 10 minutes. So obviously, "Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of the NHL Rookie Of The Month Award for October 2005 is......SIDNEY CROSBY!!!!" Huh?!?! That's Sidney Crosby and his 2 goals in October. Gotta hand it to the kid....Crosby knows how to create a buzz. The NHL probably had Crosby's name engraved on the award back in June. To his credit Ovechkin was asked who he thought should have won the award. Sensing he was being set up Ovechkin said (Calgary Flame) "Dion Phaneuf".
- Now that the NHL has their act together with the on ice rules only one more adjustment needs to be made....winner take all. This is the only team sport that gives a reward for losing. If you make it to overtime in basketball or football or extra innings in baseball you don't get any extra consideration just for making it to overtime. Giving a point to a team just for making it to overtime is silly. The NHL should eliminate the point system and just have wins and losses with no consideration of when you lost the game. You think the overtimes and shoot outs are intense now? Wait until you see if it's winner take all.
- Hey TO!! Why don't you ask Latrell Spreewell how being a loud mouth, malcontent worked out for him? You can find Latrell either in the unemployment line or at his agent's office desperately telling him that he'll play for the Bobcats for the league minimum and he would be willing to carry towels if need be. That guy bitched, moaned, and choked his way out of a career and millions of dollars. And I'm sure all of Spreewell's crap seemed like a fabulous idea to him at the time, ask him about it now.
- So I'm reading about the NHL's problems with the Outdoor Life Network, Dish Network, Comcast, and Cablevision. Basically Comcast owns OLN, Cablevision and Dish Network wanted to charge customers an additional $4.95 a month to get OLN because of the newly added hockey. Comcast got pissed because they believed it was unfair to customers, which it is, so they blacked out NHL games on Cablevision markets which, by the way, is about 90% of New York City. So Dish Network and Cablevision retaliated by completely pulling OLN from their subscriber channels. In short, it's a debacle that would have never happened if the NHL had just stuck with ESPN. So me, being as sharp as a cue ball, finally realized something.....the Flyers are owned by Comcast and the Rangers are owned by Cablevision. So it's impossible for them to work this out on every level. And where the hell is the commissioner on this? Basically the Hockey News said there's contractual issues so Bettman has to watch his step. Bettmen implied on NHL.com that it's really a beef between three companies, none of which are named NHL, so it's none of his business. Huh? I don't believe it, I think Bettmen's intimidated. You think this would ever happen to any other sport? You think David Stern would let this happen? Or even Bud Selig? And forget Paul Tagliabue....I think Congress has ruled that he is legally allowed to assassinate anyone that stands in the way of the NFL. If Taglibue wanted to bulldoze Mt. Rushmore and build a stadium on top of the site Congress would say "is Tuesday OK for you?"
- By the way.....did anyone else who saw Terrell Owens on "Punk'd" this week think that would be a great way to get him back on the field? Hire Ashton Kutcher and a camera crew to storm the practice field and tell Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb "YOU GOT PUNK'D!!" Terrell comes out in full uniform, puts his arm around Andy and says "a 9 month Punking!! The longest one ever!! So guys, let's practice". It's similar to the "Seinfeld" episode when George quit his job on a Friday, totally regretted it, and just showed up on Monday morning pretending like nothing happened.
- Here's a funny thing I've noticed when I'm watching Penguins games. The announcers, especially the Canadian ones, constantly refer to Mario Lemieux in terms like these...."Lemieux is excited about the play of so and so". Or "Lemieux needs a more consistent effort from so and so". It's like you want to tap on the announcer's shoulders and say "ahhh guys, the coach of the team is Eddie Olczyk and the general manager is Craig Patrick...not Mario Lemieux". But the more I watch the team the more I realize that Lemieux is the leader of that team on and off the ice. Just watch them play, they have ZERO defensive accountability, just like the way Mario plays. Don't get me wrong, it's as exciting as hell to watch. I fully expect one day to be reading the scores scroll on the bottom of ESPN II and I'm going to think I'm looking at a Steelers score. Pittsburgh...17, Tampa Bay...14. Ultimately that style of play will kill them though.
- Line of the week - From the .50 Cent video game "Bulletproof"..."You eva have one of dose days were everything starts out awe-ite but ends up wit bullets flying everywhere?" Who hasn't?
- Quick notes from around the NHL.....the one player that has benefited the most from the new rules is Jaromir Jagr. The guy has been dominant. And I mean DOMINANT. First of all he's impossible to knock off the puck so when he's in the offensive zone the whole game stops like a construction site when a hot girl walks by. And he's the most patient player in the NHL. He'll skate into the offensive zone with the puck and wait. And wait. And wait. And wait. And wait. And, like it's written in a script, the defenseman covering him will think A.) I better close in on him, which opens up somebody, and that's when Jagr passes the puck to the open man for a shot or B.) the defenseman will think that Jagr knows something that he doesn't and will peel off Jagr looking for the open man and that's when Jagr fires a shot. The guy is a magician.....remember about 8 years ago when the Flyers could have had Mats Sundin for Eric Lindros straight up? Well trust me it happened. One of the reasons Bobby Clarke didn't do it was because of his belief that European players weren't tough enough for the NHL. This week Sundin is back playing for the Leafs, wearing a visor only, with fractured bones in his face. Lindros on the other hand signed with the Maple Leafs to be closer to his mother.....I don't wanna say that Harry Neale and Joe Bowen (the announcers for Hockey Night in Canada) are Canada-centric but when they announce the referees they tell the fans their Canadian home towns. "The referee tonight is Bill McCreary, FROM GUELPH, ONTARIO!!!".....Wanna know what I'm good on? The Eagles Pep Band. If you don't know who they are they consist of two guys and a reject from an Oak Ridge Boys tribute band that go around singing "Fly Eagles Fly" with more glee and enthusiasm then I had when I learned that "Busty Cops" came out on DVD. God they're annoying!! And I hear they're available to play parties. So they come out and play "Fly Eagles Fly" and then what? Is there a dance remix I don't know about about? That band is like tequila, it's good in small doses but repeated exposure can make you sick.....Brendan Shanahan told "The Hockey News" that in the new NHL when he gets off the ice after a shift he's really winded, the way he used to be when he played junior hockey which always tends to have a north/south style. It got me thinking (I know that's dangerous) how some of the older teams will handle this Go Speed Racer Go pace all year long. Including pre-season and playoffs it's like running 100 marathons in 9 months. We shall see.....The Blues have 2 wins so far. To Blues head coach Mike Kitchen, I know you have ownership issues and all but whatever the preseason plan was for the Blues just scrap it because you guys are terrible. And if there is no plan B then just remember that you can save as much as 25% when booking a vacation 90 days in advance or better.
- A decent week for the Flyers. They had a 3 - 2 win against the Islanders, a nice come from behind, overtime, 4 - 3 win against the Bruins that featured Joni Pitkanen scoring the tying goal and the OT winner, and an incredible win against the Panthers in which Mike Knuble scored with 3 and change seconds left in the game. But yesterday the Flyers had a lazy effort against the Lightning, losing 5 - 2. I was watching as much of the Flyers game as I could after the Eagles game started but I felt like I was the only person in the Delaware Valley watching the Flyers, like the Flyers' announcers could have just start yelling out the F word and nobody would have noticed. Anyway, the Flyers are playing well, including goalie Robert Esche who I thought would struggle, and far be it from me to tinkle on their parade, but they have a problem that I believe could eventually bite them in the arse. It's their defensive speed, especially now that Desjardins is injured. Mike Rathje and Derian Hatcher are big, physical players but they lack skating speed. And Chris Therien...forget him, that guy is a turtle. As time goes on and teams start falling out of contention I think getting a speedy defensemen will be the Flyers number one priority. Think Alexei Zhitnik, Janne Niinimaa, or Teppo (Hello) Numminen.
- From the world of Bada Boom Racing.....Clemente ran last Tuesday, 7th post position, 6.5 furlong race with Rodrigo Madrigal Jr. in command. This was the first time Clemente has raced on the dirt in about 6 months, all the other races were on the grass. Prior to the race there was somewhat of a let down, the number one horse at Philadelphia Park (Senor Cielo Two) was scheduled to run but was scratched a few hours before the race. It would have been cool to see if Clemente could have beaten him. Senor Cielo Two's trainer claimed that he was injured but I honestly believe that since there are a few horses gaining on SCT for the Horse Of The Year Award at Philly Park (given out the horse with the most wins for the year) they want to put him in easier races to ensure he wins and gets the award. Don't ask, it's an ego thing. At any rate Clemente broke out of the gate really well and was in first place for the first few furlongs but Rodrigo, as he was instructed, pulled him back for fear that he would prematurely run out of gas. In retrospect Rod should have let him run and took his chances; breaking out fast, slowing him down, and then trying to refire the engines was probably more tiring for Clemente. He finished 4th. At first it looked like a bad fourth because Rod might have been able to get third with a harder ride but he stood up in the irons with about 30 yards to go. Rod said he could really feel Clemente tiring badly and he thought it would be best to pull him up. That was cool of Rod, third place would have meant a few more dollars for everyone but you have to think long term. An injured horse doesn't do anybody any good. Speaking of that our other horse, Second Story Man, was scheduled to run today in the 9th race but we had to scratch him because of what's called a "cracked quarter" which is like a cyst right behind his back hoof that needs to be removed. Cracked quarter is a name that makes it sound a lot worse then it really is, it only takes 3 days to heal. That's the bad part of the horse business, they still eat and cost money when they don't run. He should run again in a few weeks.
Special Guest Column - Frank Tang, out of the comments section and into the limelight...
OK,
I'm back and I've completed my expose. I have to warn you, when I started, I was more ambitious. As the week progressed, I lost interest and now, we got what we got.
Here's the premise. Andy Reid and the Eagles Management have preached that the players are interchangeable. When one goes down, you plug another one in and never miss a beat. They feel that if someone asks for more money or steps out of line, they cut ties and pop in a new player. Well, this is the case for every player except McNabb.
Good theory, but does it work? Well, let me tell you. After exhaustive research into the archive that is known as Yahoo!, I think the stance that the Eagles have taken is not founded on anything but HOT AIR!
Here are the facts. Since the Eagles have become a good team (aka 2001), the Eagles have compiled the best record in the NFL. The team is very eager to let you know that. However, when you go inside the numbers, you realize that sometimes, numbers lie. Since 2001, the Eagles have a record of 52-21. That's a lofty 71%, and that includes last night's debacle.
Now, back to my point. If the players (except McNabb) are as interchangeable as the Eagles say, then it stands to reason that the team's record would be the same, with or without the individual player. I surmise that the Eagles three most important players are McNabb, Westbrook, and Owens. So let's breakdown the overall winning percentages for each of these players.
Westbrook - We all know what Westbrook means to this offense. And the Eagles finally realized it as well when they gave him a contract extension. So let's see if Westbrook's importance is real or imagined. Since 2002, the Eagles have gone 38-13 (75%) with Westbrook in the game and 2-4 (33%) without. That tells me that Eagles are much better with Westbrook than without. No brainer, right? So let's give the Eagles credit for recognizing that Westbrook is an important part of their team and not as interchangeable as they want to think.
McNabb - The QB is the most important part of a football team. This is the axiom that has been taught at the NFL Temple since the beginning of time. The Eagles have invested $$$$$$$$$$millions on McNabb, thus sending the message that McNabb is the one player that is not interchangeable (and honestly, with guys like Feely, Detmer, McMahon, Blake, who could blame them). But, when you dig into the numbers, you might think differently. Since 2001, the Eagles are 46-19 (71%) with McNabb and 5-3 (63%) without. Sure, they're better with him, but they're not bad without. Hmmmm. Maybe guys like Detmer and Feely aren't as bad as we think. Have we been fed a line by the Eagles brass?
Owens - Terrell Owens has been an important part of this Eagle team since they got him. It started out with a fiasco involving the 49ers, the Ravens, the NFL, and his former agent. It would only get crazier from there. So, we all know how the T.O. - Eagles experiment ended up, but what happened in between. Well, what happened was that the Eagles offense went bonkers and together, they compiled an NFC best 13-3 record on their way to the Super Bowl. However, something else happened along the way. T.O. broke his leg and many thought the Eagles season was over. The consensus among the fans was that T.O. was irreplaceable. Here's how the numbers break out. With Owens, the Eagles are 17-4 (81%). Without him ..... the Eagles are 0-4 (0%) ..... wtf?!?!?!?!?! The Eagles have yet to win a game without T.O. How could this be?
Well, the numbers don't lie. Some players are irreplaceable and some are not. It's just that the Eagles have been telling us the wrong ones.
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Onto my weekly rant against the NFL's grudge against the Raiders.
Isn't it funny how the Raiders are always scheduled to play the Broncos (probably their fiercest rival) in Denver when it's snowing. I remember a game in the 90's where the Raiders beat the Broncos in Mile High with the snow falling and the wind blowing. The winning play was a 59 yard field goal by the great Jeff Jaeger. Great times.
Anyways, it seems a little unfair that the Raiders always play in Denver when the weather's bad, thus giving Denver a bigger home field advantage. Just once, I'd like to see the Oakland at Denver game played in September. Rhetorical question: is it the NFL schedulers number one objective to screw the Raiders? Why all the hostility against the Silver and Black?
OK, so I dove into the numbers and here's what I found.
Since 1995 (why 1995? Because that's all Yahoo! had), the Raiders have played in Denver 11 times (that includes this year's yet unplayed game). Of those 11 times, there has been only one played in September. YES! One lousy September game. Well, how about October? The weather is still nice in Denver in October. OK, I'm glad you asked. Since 1995, the Raiders have played only one game in Denver in October. WTF?!?!?!?!? So that leaves nine other games to be played in the horrible, blustery weather of Denver during the months of Novemeber and December. This reeks of Tagliabue's manipulation. For the record, there have been 6 November and 3 December games in Denver.
Here's a bonus: Since 2001, the Broncos have had 5 bye weeks. One for each season. Now, the Broncos play 13 teams a year. What are the odds that the Broncos will have Oakland scheduled the week after a bye? I'm no mathmetician, but 1 in 13 sounds right. How about 3 in 5. YES! That's right, the Broncos have played the Raiders the week after a bye 3 times in the last 5 years. CRAZY!
And people think I'm crazy when I rant about the NFL's vendetta against Oakland.
Message to Tagliabue: TUCK YOU!
Comments:
saurinmeht@aol.com
dsura@peacehealth.org
ewwasser@hotmail.com
ftaok1@gmail.com
November 15, 2005
******BREAKING NEWS******
Ed Wasser of MMM is reporting that Donovan McNabb is done for the season.
Special Guest Column below...
There's been 4 times in the 140 editions of MMM that I've dreaded writing this column. The previous 3 were after 2 NFC Championship losses and a Super Bowl loss. Today is the fourth. So, I'm going to keep it short this week. I don't feel like writing about the Eagles, as I'm sure you don't feel like reading about them...
Eagles
Eagles blow a 20-7 lead in the final 3 minutes of the game in an absolutely crushing defeat to the Cowboys, 21-20.
Game Negatives:
- Donovan McNabb. Blowing a 20-7 lead falls squarely on the shoulders of the QB, in my opinion. Let's face it, it was the interception that lost this game. If they punt, the defense probably stops the Cowboys.
- Andy Reid. Eagles should have won the game 34-7 last night. I blame that on the coach. All the stupid penalties throughout the game have to fall on someone's shoulders.
- Lito Sheppard. Pro Bowl to Pro Goat. How do you a let a WR get behind you when you're winning 20-7? I'll tell you, you get full of yourself. Eat some humble pie kid, you aren't Chris McCalister yet.
- 2003 all over again. I seriously felt like this was 2002/2003 again, with Todd Pinkston and James Thrash as our WR's. Yes, I officially want T.O. back already.
Game Positives:
- Trent Cole. Maybe we've found this year's Derrick Burgess?
Is the season over? No. But the way they're playing, Super Bowl is completely unrealistic. After 3 straight losses, the Eagles are on the verge of "not winning it in November, but certainly putting themselves out of contention". If McNabb takes a couple games off due to injury, it's over for sure.
How does Jon Runyan get multiple false start calls at home? Next Question....
Are you still going to the Giants game at the Meadowlands this Sunday? Next Question...
Does LJ Smith or Jevon Kearse get hurt every game? Next Question...
Do you think that there are people that still think the Eagles won last night? Next Question...
What play call was dumber, the throw on 2nd down that led to the pick, the draw play early in the game from the 40 on 3rd and 13, or the shovel pass which Dat Nyguen yelled out 3 seconds before the snap? Next Question...
One last thing, today is officially the day Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb go from the golden boys of Philly sports to being on the firing line. Not saying Reid's job is in jeopardy, but neither guy has won a Super Bowl, they shouldn't get too much slack.
Around the League
The Raiders and Kerry Collins showed why they aren't going anywhere. Collins is a turnover machine and is a nice fantasy QB, but you don't want him running your team.
Gutsy aka stupid call by Jon Gruden to go for 2 with 50 seconds left from the 1 yard line.
Best game of Sunday was the windy bowl in Chicago. The quality of play was putrid, but the comedy was awesome.
Can we please stop carving Eli Manning's bust for Canton? Eli has a knack of making plays down the stretch of games, but his inaccuracy is almost comical at times. There's many times Eli misses his target by 10 feet.
Watch out for Jacksonville in the 2nd half. They play their next 3 games on the road vs. weak opponents, if they can go 2-1 in that stretch, they're a lock for the playoffs.
NBA - Derreck Sura
- The Sixers (4-3) went 3-0 this week and rode a 4 game winning streak to the top of the Atlantic Division (which translates to the third seed in the East). They caught a break on Wednesday when Dirk Nowitzki only played 17 minutes after straining his back in the second quarter. On Friday Philly took care of a mediocre Laker team, which is nothing to get overly excited about. Then on Sunday they handled a Clipper team that had been playing pretty well. Although the Clippers really have not played anyone yet, but they are still the only club that has beaten Washington (5-1). Before I get accused of bashing Philly, let me explain myself. Like Ftaok says in the comments section, "a win is a win", and I agree with that 100%. Yet just like it was too early to abandon ship last week, it's still a little premature to be singing their praises from the roof tops. I will say that it's an encouraging sign that the Sixers are beating teams around their same level at home.
I blast GM Billy King a lot, so I have to give him credit when does something smart. Trading Marc Jackson and cash for essentially Steven Hunter and a 2006 second round pick was a quality move. Where would Philly be right now without Hunter to fill in for Samuel Dalembert in the middle? Sam D averaged 8.2 points on 52.4% shooting, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.68 blocks in 24.8 minutes last season. Hunter is playing 27.7 minutes and scoring 9.1 points on 65.1% shooting, while grabbing 4 rebounds and blocking 1.71 shot a night. Obviously Stevie H needs to improve his rebounding numbers, but the rest is pretty similar, if not better then Sam D's production, and comes much cheaper taboot.
Last week I dropped some awful numbers associated with the Sixers. Well I'm glad to report that they have improved in every category, if only slightly. Philly went from 30th in points allowed to tied for 27th (104.3 ppg). They were also dead last in team rebounds per game, and have upped that to 27th (37.4 rpg). The Sixers are now 24th in both rebound differential (-5.4 rpg) and total rebounding percentage (46.6%), up from 28th and 29th respectively. One thing to still worry about is opponents field goal percentage though, where they only moved from 29th to 28th (50.5% to 47.7%). Coach Maurice Cheeks must get his team to play better defense as the season rolls along.
Philly has Toronto & @Toronto (back to back) and @Miami & Cleveland (b2b) this week. Coming away from that 2-2 would be fine.
Sixers' side note: Andre Iguodala did a great job defending Kobe Bryant, holding him to 7-27 from the field. However, I have to wonder how AI2 can log 47 minutes, 41 of which were spent guarding Kobe, and have ZERO fouls at game's end? I thought this was the NBA.....
- After only two weeks it's still too early to draw concrete conclusions on any team, but these three teams have been especially awful so far.
Seattle (2-4) - Besides Toronto, no team plays with less passion then the Sonics. Before beating the hapless Raptors on Sunday afternoon, Seattle had lost their three previous games by a combined total of 93 points. Included in that was their 41 point drubbing at the hands of the Wizards. The Sonics let Washington shoot 58.5% from the field and 47.1% from behind the 3 point arc, not to mention the Wiz ending up with seven players scoring in double figures. Obviously defense is optional for Seattle. The Sonics are last in points allowed (111.2 ppg), scoring differential (-15.2 ppg), and opponents field goal percentage (50.3%). Their problem is that they miss former coach Nate McMillan's leadership, intensity, and attention to detail. New coach Bob Weiss appears lost, and is already losing control of the team. It looks like it's going to be a long year all around in the Pacific Northwest.
New York (2-5) - Believe it or not, I expected a pretty slow start for the Knicks. Now maybe not this bad, but coach Larry Brown loves to tinker and play mind games with his new teams, and his latest stop in NY has been no exception. The players are already questioning their roles and President Isiah Thomas has been burning up the phone lines making just about the entire roster (not an exaggeration) available for the right price. Yes, they've only played seven games, but I read a new rumor about a different Knicks' player almost daily (I'm not kidding). When you combine those two factors (mind games & constant trade rumors), it can't make for a happy locker room. Never the less, I'm still confident that NY will improve eventually and "get" what LB wants them to do. My worry is that they are in danger of falling too far behind here early on. Mainly because they don't have the firepower to make up ten games or more in the loss column for 8th place.
Sacramento (2-5) - My pre-season pick to win the Pacific Division have looked like strangers on the court together. Their starting five, which I thought looked so good on paper, has absolutely no chemistry in game situations. To make matters worse, for some reason unknown to me, coach Rick Adelman has refrained from using his bench more. Granted their bench is not super talented, but the Kings have a lot of solid NBA players sitting around wondering where their minutes are. The two main culprits behind Sacto's slow start are Mike Bibby and Peja Stojakovic, who have not been able to throw in the ocean. Bibby's field goal percentage is down from 44.3% last season to 37% now, and Peja's 3 point shooting has dropped from 46.9% to 40.2%. To make matters worse, Peja's shot selection has left a lot to be desired as well. If the Kings don't get their act together soon, lame duck Adelman will be the first coach fired this year.
- I'd be remiss if I didn't mention some good things that I've seen so far in this young season, but I'm not going to go overboard anyone yet.
Detroit (6-0) - The Pistons are the only undefeated team left in the NBA, and have looked very good up to this point. The addition of swingman Maurice Evans, to go along with Antonio McDyess and Carlos Arroyo, has solidified their bench. Their starters still play the team concept and compliment each other's strengths and weaknesses to a tee. The main difference in Motown though is coach Flip Saunders' new offensive scheme, which has the players enjoying themselves much more overall. Last year the Pistons averaged 93.3 points a game on 44.4% shooting. This season their scoring is up (100.7 ppg) as well as their shooting (48.6%). Detroit's defense has remained relatively the same though. Last year they gave up 89.5 ppg on 43% shooting, as opposed to 87.7 ppg on 44.6% shooting this season. One thing that has not changed with the Pistons though is their propensity to coast during games, and I don't expect it will any time soon.
Elton Brand - Is there a star player that goes about playing the game in a more business like manner then EB? His quiet nature has made him the most under appreciated star (not superstar) player in the NBA today. He has led the Clippers to a 5-2 start while scoring 23.7 ppg (career best & 9th in the NBA) on 61% shooting (career best and 5th overall). It doesn't stop there, EB is also pulling down 9.3 rpg while blocking 2.4 shots a game (5th overall). All this for an undersized (6'8) PF with minimal athleticism. I'd like to see him take the next step in his development by becoming a more vocal leader and demanding the ball at crunch time. I know it's not his style, but he and his team will benefit greatly if he can bring himself to be a little less unselfish.
Tony Parker - Through San Antonio's first seven games TP has really stepped up his scoring. He leads the Spurs (5-2) with 22.7 ppg on 57.4% shooting. Compare that to last year's 16.6 ppg on 48.2% shooting. The thing is, he's doing it in only .2 more minutes a game. In fairness, his new found shooting touch has increased his turnovers per game from 2.7 topg to 3.9 topg, and his assists have gone down .2 per game as well. Looking past the numbers, TP's leadership and decision making when the game is on the line have noticeably improved also. Time will tell if TP can really keep this up, but I'm thinking GM R.C. Buford and coach Gregg Popovich are kicking themselves for not bringing in competition for TP earlier in his career.
- On the injury front this week Utah's Andrei Kirilenko is expected to miss one to two weeks with a sprained left ankle. The Jazz (4-4) can not buy a break. PF Carlos Boozer still has at least a week before he returns from his strained left hamstring, and now AK-47 goes down early in the season again. I still think Utah could have one of the best starting front lines in the league, that is if all three could ever get healthy at the same time. Especially since C Mehmet Okur is off to a career best start in minutes (36.1 mpg), points (22.6 ppg), rebounds (10 rpg), field goal (53.9%) and 3 point percentage (45%).
Another player off to a career best start is the Charlotte Bobcats' (2-5) Gerald Wallace. After a summer of somewhat contentious contract negotiations with GM/coach Bernie Bickerstaff, Wallace was scoring 16.2 ppg (leads team) and shooting 56.6% from the field in 32.4 minutes per game. Not to mention putting up 6.2 rebounds per game, 2.8 steals per game (leads team), and 2.2 assists per game (all career best averages). Now Gerald will miss at least a week with a chip fracture in his right wrist. To me, that injury seems like he'd be out way more then a week, but I'm not a doctor. I only play one in MMM.
*Note: All statistical data does not include Monday's games.
NHL Week in Review By : Ed Wasser
- Quick note on the controversy regarding the two Carolina Panthers cheerleaders who were recently fired for....well, you know. I was always curious why girls in bars always went to the bathroom in pairs. I guess now I know. On we go....
- Speaking of girls I'd like to make Mrs. Wasser, if you go to www.nhl.com you'll find a bunch of hockey blogs. One of the blogs is written by actress Elisha Cuthbert, the girl who's birth certificate says "To Ed, Love God". In the one blog Elisha talks about loving hockey, buying LA Kings season tickets, and while at the games eating hot dogs and drinking beer. These are a few of my fa-VOR-ite things. Shut up Elisha, just shut up....you had me at beer. (Wiping away tears) You had me at beer.
- In the month of October Washington Capitals rookie Alexander Ovechekin scored 8 goals, leading all NHL rookies, and is single handedly trying in desperation to make the Capitals a respectable team. Ovechkin is pretty much the only player in Washington that wouldn't make NHL fans break into violent vomiting fits after watching him play for 10 minutes. So obviously, "Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of the NHL Rookie Of The Month Award for October 2005 is......SIDNEY CROSBY!!!!" Huh?!?! That's Sidney Crosby and his 2 goals in October. Gotta hand it to the kid....Crosby knows how to create a buzz. The NHL probably had Crosby's name engraved on the award back in June. To his credit Ovechkin was asked who he thought should have won the award. Sensing he was being set up Ovechkin said (Calgary Flame) "Dion Phaneuf".
- Now that the NHL has their act together with the on ice rules only one more adjustment needs to be made....winner take all. This is the only team sport that gives a reward for losing. If you make it to overtime in basketball or football or extra innings in baseball you don't get any extra consideration just for making it to overtime. Giving a point to a team just for making it to overtime is silly. The NHL should eliminate the point system and just have wins and losses with no consideration of when you lost the game. You think the overtimes and shoot outs are intense now? Wait until you see if it's winner take all.
- Hey TO!! Why don't you ask Latrell Spreewell how being a loud mouth, malcontent worked out for him? You can find Latrell either in the unemployment line or at his agent's office desperately telling him that he'll play for the Bobcats for the league minimum and he would be willing to carry towels if need be. That guy bitched, moaned, and choked his way out of a career and millions of dollars. And I'm sure all of Spreewell's crap seemed like a fabulous idea to him at the time, ask him about it now.
- So I'm reading about the NHL's problems with the Outdoor Life Network, Dish Network, Comcast, and Cablevision. Basically Comcast owns OLN, Cablevision and Dish Network wanted to charge customers an additional $4.95 a month to get OLN because of the newly added hockey. Comcast got pissed because they believed it was unfair to customers, which it is, so they blacked out NHL games on Cablevision markets which, by the way, is about 90% of New York City. So Dish Network and Cablevision retaliated by completely pulling OLN from their subscriber channels. In short, it's a debacle that would have never happened if the NHL had just stuck with ESPN. So me, being as sharp as a cue ball, finally realized something.....the Flyers are owned by Comcast and the Rangers are owned by Cablevision. So it's impossible for them to work this out on every level. And where the hell is the commissioner on this? Basically the Hockey News said there's contractual issues so Bettman has to watch his step. Bettmen implied on NHL.com that it's really a beef between three companies, none of which are named NHL, so it's none of his business. Huh? I don't believe it, I think Bettmen's intimidated. You think this would ever happen to any other sport? You think David Stern would let this happen? Or even Bud Selig? And forget Paul Tagliabue....I think Congress has ruled that he is legally allowed to assassinate anyone that stands in the way of the NFL. If Taglibue wanted to bulldoze Mt. Rushmore and build a stadium on top of the site Congress would say "is Tuesday OK for you?"
- By the way.....did anyone else who saw Terrell Owens on "Punk'd" this week think that would be a great way to get him back on the field? Hire Ashton Kutcher and a camera crew to storm the practice field and tell Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb "YOU GOT PUNK'D!!" Terrell comes out in full uniform, puts his arm around Andy and says "a 9 month Punking!! The longest one ever!! So guys, let's practice". It's similar to the "Seinfeld" episode when George quit his job on a Friday, totally regretted it, and just showed up on Monday morning pretending like nothing happened.
- Here's a funny thing I've noticed when I'm watching Penguins games. The announcers, especially the Canadian ones, constantly refer to Mario Lemieux in terms like these...."Lemieux is excited about the play of so and so". Or "Lemieux needs a more consistent effort from so and so". It's like you want to tap on the announcer's shoulders and say "ahhh guys, the coach of the team is Eddie Olczyk and the general manager is Craig Patrick...not Mario Lemieux". But the more I watch the team the more I realize that Lemieux is the leader of that team on and off the ice. Just watch them play, they have ZERO defensive accountability, just like the way Mario plays. Don't get me wrong, it's as exciting as hell to watch. I fully expect one day to be reading the scores scroll on the bottom of ESPN II and I'm going to think I'm looking at a Steelers score. Pittsburgh...17, Tampa Bay...14. Ultimately that style of play will kill them though.
- Line of the week - From the .50 Cent video game "Bulletproof"..."You eva have one of dose days were everything starts out awe-ite but ends up wit bullets flying everywhere?" Who hasn't?
- Quick notes from around the NHL.....the one player that has benefited the most from the new rules is Jaromir Jagr. The guy has been dominant. And I mean DOMINANT. First of all he's impossible to knock off the puck so when he's in the offensive zone the whole game stops like a construction site when a hot girl walks by. And he's the most patient player in the NHL. He'll skate into the offensive zone with the puck and wait. And wait. And wait. And wait. And wait. And, like it's written in a script, the defenseman covering him will think A.) I better close in on him, which opens up somebody, and that's when Jagr passes the puck to the open man for a shot or B.) the defenseman will think that Jagr knows something that he doesn't and will peel off Jagr looking for the open man and that's when Jagr fires a shot. The guy is a magician.....remember about 8 years ago when the Flyers could have had Mats Sundin for Eric Lindros straight up? Well trust me it happened. One of the reasons Bobby Clarke didn't do it was because of his belief that European players weren't tough enough for the NHL. This week Sundin is back playing for the Leafs, wearing a visor only, with fractured bones in his face. Lindros on the other hand signed with the Maple Leafs to be closer to his mother.....I don't wanna say that Harry Neale and Joe Bowen (the announcers for Hockey Night in Canada) are Canada-centric but when they announce the referees they tell the fans their Canadian home towns. "The referee tonight is Bill McCreary, FROM GUELPH, ONTARIO!!!".....Wanna know what I'm good on? The Eagles Pep Band. If you don't know who they are they consist of two guys and a reject from an Oak Ridge Boys tribute band that go around singing "Fly Eagles Fly" with more glee and enthusiasm then I had when I learned that "Busty Cops" came out on DVD. God they're annoying!! And I hear they're available to play parties. So they come out and play "Fly Eagles Fly" and then what? Is there a dance remix I don't know about about? That band is like tequila, it's good in small doses but repeated exposure can make you sick.....Brendan Shanahan told "The Hockey News" that in the new NHL when he gets off the ice after a shift he's really winded, the way he used to be when he played junior hockey which always tends to have a north/south style. It got me thinking (I know that's dangerous) how some of the older teams will handle this Go Speed Racer Go pace all year long. Including pre-season and playoffs it's like running 100 marathons in 9 months. We shall see.....The Blues have 2 wins so far. To Blues head coach Mike Kitchen, I know you have ownership issues and all but whatever the preseason plan was for the Blues just scrap it because you guys are terrible. And if there is no plan B then just remember that you can save as much as 25% when booking a vacation 90 days in advance or better.
- A decent week for the Flyers. They had a 3 - 2 win against the Islanders, a nice come from behind, overtime, 4 - 3 win against the Bruins that featured Joni Pitkanen scoring the tying goal and the OT winner, and an incredible win against the Panthers in which Mike Knuble scored with 3 and change seconds left in the game. But yesterday the Flyers had a lazy effort against the Lightning, losing 5 - 2. I was watching as much of the Flyers game as I could after the Eagles game started but I felt like I was the only person in the Delaware Valley watching the Flyers, like the Flyers' announcers could have just start yelling out the F word and nobody would have noticed. Anyway, the Flyers are playing well, including goalie Robert Esche who I thought would struggle, and far be it from me to tinkle on their parade, but they have a problem that I believe could eventually bite them in the arse. It's their defensive speed, especially now that Desjardins is injured. Mike Rathje and Derian Hatcher are big, physical players but they lack skating speed. And Chris Therien...forget him, that guy is a turtle. As time goes on and teams start falling out of contention I think getting a speedy defensemen will be the Flyers number one priority. Think Alexei Zhitnik, Janne Niinimaa, or Teppo (Hello) Numminen.
- From the world of Bada Boom Racing.....Clemente ran last Tuesday, 7th post position, 6.5 furlong race with Rodrigo Madrigal Jr. in command. This was the first time Clemente has raced on the dirt in about 6 months, all the other races were on the grass. Prior to the race there was somewhat of a let down, the number one horse at Philadelphia Park (Senor Cielo Two) was scheduled to run but was scratched a few hours before the race. It would have been cool to see if Clemente could have beaten him. Senor Cielo Two's trainer claimed that he was injured but I honestly believe that since there are a few horses gaining on SCT for the Horse Of The Year Award at Philly Park (given out the horse with the most wins for the year) they want to put him in easier races to ensure he wins and gets the award. Don't ask, it's an ego thing. At any rate Clemente broke out of the gate really well and was in first place for the first few furlongs but Rodrigo, as he was instructed, pulled him back for fear that he would prematurely run out of gas. In retrospect Rod should have let him run and took his chances; breaking out fast, slowing him down, and then trying to refire the engines was probably more tiring for Clemente. He finished 4th. At first it looked like a bad fourth because Rod might have been able to get third with a harder ride but he stood up in the irons with about 30 yards to go. Rod said he could really feel Clemente tiring badly and he thought it would be best to pull him up. That was cool of Rod, third place would have meant a few more dollars for everyone but you have to think long term. An injured horse doesn't do anybody any good. Speaking of that our other horse, Second Story Man, was scheduled to run today in the 9th race but we had to scratch him because of what's called a "cracked quarter" which is like a cyst right behind his back hoof that needs to be removed. Cracked quarter is a name that makes it sound a lot worse then it really is, it only takes 3 days to heal. That's the bad part of the horse business, they still eat and cost money when they don't run. He should run again in a few weeks.
Special Guest Column - Frank Tang, out of the comments section and into the limelight...
OK,
I'm back and I've completed my expose. I have to warn you, when I started, I was more ambitious. As the week progressed, I lost interest and now, we got what we got.
Here's the premise. Andy Reid and the Eagles Management have preached that the players are interchangeable. When one goes down, you plug another one in and never miss a beat. They feel that if someone asks for more money or steps out of line, they cut ties and pop in a new player. Well, this is the case for every player except McNabb.
Good theory, but does it work? Well, let me tell you. After exhaustive research into the archive that is known as Yahoo!, I think the stance that the Eagles have taken is not founded on anything but HOT AIR!
Here are the facts. Since the Eagles have become a good team (aka 2001), the Eagles have compiled the best record in the NFL. The team is very eager to let you know that. However, when you go inside the numbers, you realize that sometimes, numbers lie. Since 2001, the Eagles have a record of 52-21. That's a lofty 71%, and that includes last night's debacle.
Now, back to my point. If the players (except McNabb) are as interchangeable as the Eagles say, then it stands to reason that the team's record would be the same, with or without the individual player. I surmise that the Eagles three most important players are McNabb, Westbrook, and Owens. So let's breakdown the overall winning percentages for each of these players.
Westbrook - We all know what Westbrook means to this offense. And the Eagles finally realized it as well when they gave him a contract extension. So let's see if Westbrook's importance is real or imagined. Since 2002, the Eagles have gone 38-13 (75%) with Westbrook in the game and 2-4 (33%) without. That tells me that Eagles are much better with Westbrook than without. No brainer, right? So let's give the Eagles credit for recognizing that Westbrook is an important part of their team and not as interchangeable as they want to think.
McNabb - The QB is the most important part of a football team. This is the axiom that has been taught at the NFL Temple since the beginning of time. The Eagles have invested $$$$$$$$$$millions on McNabb, thus sending the message that McNabb is the one player that is not interchangeable (and honestly, with guys like Feely, Detmer, McMahon, Blake, who could blame them). But, when you dig into the numbers, you might think differently. Since 2001, the Eagles are 46-19 (71%) with McNabb and 5-3 (63%) without. Sure, they're better with him, but they're not bad without. Hmmmm. Maybe guys like Detmer and Feely aren't as bad as we think. Have we been fed a line by the Eagles brass?
Owens - Terrell Owens has been an important part of this Eagle team since they got him. It started out with a fiasco involving the 49ers, the Ravens, the NFL, and his former agent. It would only get crazier from there. So, we all know how the T.O. - Eagles experiment ended up, but what happened in between. Well, what happened was that the Eagles offense went bonkers and together, they compiled an NFC best 13-3 record on their way to the Super Bowl. However, something else happened along the way. T.O. broke his leg and many thought the Eagles season was over. The consensus among the fans was that T.O. was irreplaceable. Here's how the numbers break out. With Owens, the Eagles are 17-4 (81%). Without him ..... the Eagles are 0-4 (0%) ..... wtf?!?!?!?!?! The Eagles have yet to win a game without T.O. How could this be?
Well, the numbers don't lie. Some players are irreplaceable and some are not. It's just that the Eagles have been telling us the wrong ones.
-----------------------------------------------------
Onto my weekly rant against the NFL's grudge against the Raiders.
Isn't it funny how the Raiders are always scheduled to play the Broncos (probably their fiercest rival) in Denver when it's snowing. I remember a game in the 90's where the Raiders beat the Broncos in Mile High with the snow falling and the wind blowing. The winning play was a 59 yard field goal by the great Jeff Jaeger. Great times.
Anyways, it seems a little unfair that the Raiders always play in Denver when the weather's bad, thus giving Denver a bigger home field advantage. Just once, I'd like to see the Oakland at Denver game played in September. Rhetorical question: is it the NFL schedulers number one objective to screw the Raiders? Why all the hostility against the Silver and Black?
OK, so I dove into the numbers and here's what I found.
Since 1995 (why 1995? Because that's all Yahoo! had), the Raiders have played in Denver 11 times (that includes this year's yet unplayed game). Of those 11 times, there has been only one played in September. YES! One lousy September game. Well, how about October? The weather is still nice in Denver in October. OK, I'm glad you asked. Since 1995, the Raiders have played only one game in Denver in October. WTF?!?!?!?!? So that leaves nine other games to be played in the horrible, blustery weather of Denver during the months of Novemeber and December. This reeks of Tagliabue's manipulation. For the record, there have been 6 November and 3 December games in Denver.
Here's a bonus: Since 2001, the Broncos have had 5 bye weeks. One for each season. Now, the Broncos play 13 teams a year. What are the odds that the Broncos will have Oakland scheduled the week after a bye? I'm no mathmetician, but 1 in 13 sounds right. How about 3 in 5. YES! That's right, the Broncos have played the Raiders the week after a bye 3 times in the last 5 years. CRAZY!
And people think I'm crazy when I rant about the NFL's vendetta against Oakland.
Message to Tagliabue: TUCK YOU!
Comments:
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dsura@peacehealth.org
ewwasser@hotmail.com
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posted by Monday Morning Mehta at 10:20 AM
11 Comments:
Enjoyed reading blog. You may want to check out my stock options web page stock options Keep it up.
The saga that is the 2005/2006 Eagles parallels the fall of the Archbishop Wood dynasty that occurred in 1988/1999. The internal strife was not caused by TO but by Patrick Wasser, an even more selfish individual that destroyed an even stronger. The team eventually recovered to win a championship a 5-10 years later, so take comfort Eagles fans.
Frank...you have never seen The Girl Next Door? Are you serious? Go to your boss right now and quit your job and go and rent that movie and then tell me what movie is better, TGND or Bewitched.
EW
Frank, I didn't feel like proofreading your crap so I just posted it, looking back, a terrible mistake....
In your Owens column, you say the Eagles are 0-4 w/o T.O.
First of all, the two games they lost were against the Rams on Mon Night, and against Cincy at home at the end of last year, when they had already clinched and sat everyone. So those can't count. And also, they went 2-0 in the playoffs with him, which certainly should count.
So before last night, when you came up with this theory, they were 2-1 w/o TO (66.7%)
I'd like to apologize to my readers for using the phrase "To make matters worse" twice in the Sacramento paragraph. I was rushing to get done before the Eagles game, and missed it during my 6:15 AM proof reading session. I promise to bring my writing back up to it's normal level next week.
- Derreck
Who is Pat Wasser and is he related to the hockey writer?
MMM subsciber Buster Grebe was one of those Rudy Ruttiger-esque guys on his high school football team but he lacked all of Rudy's talent. So my brother Patrick, knowing that the team was a clusterfork, didn't take it seriously and Grebe has been resentful ever since. Their team finished 2-8 with Grebe as captain.
EW
I was a little resentful of Patrick telling me to shutup during my inspiring pep talks, blowing his blocking assignments as a CENTER, and keeping food (ie pretzels, hotdogs) in his uniform while on the sidelines.
I heard Patrick's shoulder pads were actually bags of popcorn and his mouth piece was actually a large Jolly Rancher.
EW
Frank, you're a lot funnier in print than in person....
"Have a nice time"...classic...
I will say this, The Girl Next Door isn't as good as it could have been. But Elisha's scenes when she swims in the principle's pool and when she gets banged in the limo were worth the rental for sure. And there's just enough skin to make it interesting. It's a solid B+.
EW
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