"Playoffs?!"

"Are you kidding me?!"

Ahh, it's that time of year again. Jim Mora is famous for his post game rant about the playoffs. You see all the commercials with him on it. That's all you need to know to find out that it's playoff time.

With just two weeks left, the Eagles still have a fighting chance. They'll just need some help from the football gods.

First, the Birds need to win the last two games. We play Dallas away, and then the Skins at home. Next, we need the Jets to beat the Giants this week. The following week we need the Giants to beat the Cowgirls.

Then we're in.

It may sound far fetched, but it could actually happen. The Jets and Giants are two of the most inconsistent teams in all of football.  I expect the Jets to win that game 24-23.

That means that the Giants will have dropped two straight. They'll be fired up. But so will Dallas. I see the Cowgirls to take an early lead, but then choke in the fourth quarter. I think Dallas will walk into the fourth quarter with a 31-17 lead. However, I think they'll walk away from it with a 34-31 loss.

That will put the Iggles in the playoffs.

We'll just have to wait and see. Until then, go Birds!

The Jets Crash Land

Holmes had a couple of turnovers.

It was a beautiful rout. The Birds kept their playoff hopes alive with 45-19 win over the Jets. The Eagles have now outscored the Ryan brothers this season 79-26. We face off against Rob Ryan again this week.

Shady led the way with three touchdowns. Along the way, he broke the Eagles' record for most touchdowns scored in a single season. Brent Celek had a tremendous game, catching 5 passes for 156 yards and a score.

The Eagles are now 6-8 and only looking forward. It finally looks like this team is focused.

Steve Smith Goes On the IR

Na na na na, hey, hey, hey, good bye.

The Eagles have placed Steve Smith on injured reserve. YES! This pretty much spells the end for Smith, as his one year deal is up, and he has produced nothing this season. It would be a huge surprise if the Iggles resigned Smith.

He only has 11 catches for 124 yards and one score. Now, there is no chance for him to improve those numbers. $2.3 million down the drain. This guy never wanted to play for us, he just wanted some money.

That's all I have to say about this piece of garbage.

The Fins Get Finned

Kurt Coleman gets his fourth pick of the year.

The Eagles needed to win, and needed the Giants to win. Both happened.

The Birds played a great game all around. However, most of the credit should be given to the defense. They racked up nine sacks, and held Miami to just 3-18 combined on third and fourth downs. We stuffed Miami on four different occasions, and got a safety. It was about time these guys played up to their potential.

The offense struggled at times, so the good performance by the defense was much needed. The Eagles managed to run the ball just 1.6 yards per carry. Our third down conversions we're terrible, we were just 4-15.

Thank goodness our defense gave us great field position.

Just a quick note, Jason Babin got his sack total up to 15, a career high. It's the quietest 15 sacks I've ever seen.

The Real McCoy

Go Shady, go.

This is my 25th blog post, so I decided to honor number 25. All the way back to my first ever blog post, I stated that LeSean McCoy is one of the best in the league. I'm glad I was right.

LeSean "Shady" McCoy has been the main bright spot on this disappointing Eagles season. Shady is currently second in the league in rushing yards. He trails Maurice Jones-Drew by just three yards. However, Jones-Drew has 35 more carries than McCoy, and is averaging 4.5 yards per carry. LeSean is averaging 5.3 YPC. Shady also has 12 rushing touchdowns, while MJD has 5.

McCoy faces a tough test this week though. The Eagles play Miami which means he will be playing against the 5th ranked run defense. This also means he will get less carries, just because Andy Reid loves to throw the ball. McCoy has been a factor in the pass game as well though. He has caught 42 passes for 277 yards and three scores. His longest catch went for 24 yards, and he averages 6.6 yards per catch.

LeSean McCoy for President, anybody?

Eagles Finally Healthy Again

It'll feel great to see Vick play again on Sunday.

The Iggles are getting Michael Vick back this week, for sure. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Jeremy Maclin are most likely going to play as well, and just in time.

We face off against the Dolphins this week. The Fins are on fire right now. They've won four out of their last five. That one loss was against Dallas, and they only lost by one point. Needless to say, we need everyone this week.

If the Birds win this week, I may carry an ounce of hope. Unfortunately, it will be hard to win this game. However, if we do win, it will be a quality win that will keep us Eagles fans happy for a little while. If nothing else, at least we get to watch Mike Vick this week, and not the atrocious Vince Young.

I am so sick of seeing his face. I'm sick of seeing him in an Eagles uniform as well. Good thing his contract is up. Thanks for costing us last week's game, Vince. Four interceptions, ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!

Why am I so worked up about that? Well, last week both Dallas and the Giants lost last week. We would have just been two games back out of first if Vince didn't completely stink.

Let's just be happy we get to see a real quarterback Sunday.

Don't Jump, You Have So Much To Live For! Oh, Wait...The Eagles Are 4-8.

Vince Young is terrible.

Unbelievable. It's hard to even wake up anymore. I mean, what's the point?

This team showed absolutely no heart in the loss to Seattle on Thursday night. It's just pathetic and sickening. This is one of the most talented teams the Eagles have ever had, but we seem to do everything wrong. There's some bad luck mixed in there too. Andy Reid proved last night he doesn't have control of this team, and he has no idea what he's doing.

Fire him, please. Juan Castillo, too.

I'm beginning to think this team is cursed. If we don't blow those fourth quarter leads, we're 9-3. But we're 4-8. We just have to deal with it, and get ready for next year. Get Michael Vick healthy, and just call it quits. LeSean McCoy is the only person who has lived up to his potential this year. Heck, he surpassed it. But one guy can't do it all. I wish he could though.

It would give this city something to live for.

A Bitter Pill To Swallow

Wes Welker scores in the 2nd half.

The Eagles suffered another blow this week as they fell to the Patriots. Their defense did not show up.

I'm getting real sick of saying that line above.

Let's just move on. We face the Seahawks next. A terrible team. But we'll probably lose to them, because this team is terrible with Vince Young at the quarterback position. It's a Thursday night game, with no Maclin, Vick, or DRC again. Even the leagues leading rusher, LeSean McCoy, is suffering from a sprained toe. Unless the Eagles win out, we're done. I won't be convinced we can do that until we win at least three straight.

Which we haven't done all year. Not once.

This team will do anything to kill the spirits of Philly fans. I'm beginning to think this is all just a sick curse. It's just depressing and heartbreaking.

That's all I have to say about that.

Patriots....Enough Said

This game is going to be the biggest challenge the Eagles have faced all year.

Especially with all of our injuries.

I'm not trying to make excuses here, but anytime you're playing without Michael Vick, Jeremy Maclin, and DRC questionable, it doesn't help. Not to mention the fact that Nnamdi Asomugha is a game time decision. I think you can see my concern here. Brandon Hughes against Tom Brady? Yikes. Luckily for us, the Pats receivers aren't very good. The main focus should be Gronkowski and Welker. The Nnamdi injury wouldn't be as bad if DRC wasn't banged up.

Vince Young. Andy Reid needs to make sure he does a similar game plan as last week. Short passes, with the occasional DeSean Jackson pass deep down the sideline.

This game should come down to our defense, and LeSean McCoy. Our best chance of scoring is with Shady, and the longer we can keep Tom Brady off the field, the better. We need long drives on offense, and turnovers on defense. That is how we win this game. Just don't play sloppy.

Perform.

An Ounce of Hope

Riley Cooper's touchdown catch capped off an 18 play drive in the fourth quarter.

Being 4-6 is no cup of tea, trust me. Especially since we've had the opportunity to close out all but one of our games, and failed each time. Until Sunday night, that is.

Gosh, it sure does feel good to beat the Giants.

All you can do is enjoy this. The Eagles' season is a disappointment, obviously, and the playoffs are looking out of reach. But there is still a chance.

But that chance is slim as Philly is banged up and facing off against Tom Brady and the Pats on Sunday.

But what the heck, let's just enjoy a quality win.

Hop Aboard the Pain Train

This already disappointing season is getting worse.

As if it wasn't bad enough, things seem to just be getting worse. The injury bug has finally bit the Eagles, and it just so happen to bite three superstars.

Jeremy Maclin suffered a shoulder and hamstring injury last week against Arizona. He did not practice Thursday, and most likely will not play against the Giants Sunday night. He's listed as questionable.

Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie tore some ligaments last week. He is listed as questionable, but it's almost a guarantee he will not play. It also doesn't help his case that he didn't practice Thursday either.

As I wrote earlier in the week, Vick broke two ribs last Sunday. He was another Eagle that did not practice Thursday. He too is listed as questionable. The opinion of most people is that he will not play against the Giants. However, the Eagles' offensive coordinator, Marty Mornhinweg, said that Vick did not have to practice to play Sunday. It would not surprise me if the Eagles were just doing this as a strategy to hopefully throw off the Giants gameplan. They may hope the Giants over prepare for vick, and under prepare for Young.

No matter who plays, we'll see if the Eagles have given up on their season yet, or still want to play come Sunday night.

Vick Proves Toughness, But Will He Play?

I wonder which hurts more, his ribs, or the loss?

It has been reported that Michael Vick broke two ribs on the second play of Sunday's game, and told no one. He played the entire game with two broken ribs. Now that's tough. Vick has been criticized before for not being tough enough.

I guess he proved his critics wrong.

The injury is most likely the reason for Vick's inaccuracies on Sunday, although he was not willing to put all the blame on the injury.

While his effort seems heroic, what does this mean for the Eagles upcoming game against the Giants? Vick's status is unclear for Sunday night's game. Here's what it means for the Eagles. If he plays, we still have hope. If he doesn't, the season is pretty much over. Why? It's because Vince Young stinks. He is just awful. I, along with the majority of Eagles' fans, believe that Kafka should get the start if Vick is unable to play.

Earlier in the season when Vick went down, Kafka came in and almost led a comeback against the Falcons. If it weren't for a Jeremy Maclin drop, he would have led a comeback against the Falcons.

However, when Vick was "hurt" (London Fletcher, a LB for the Redskins, acted as if Vick were injured), Young came in. What did he do? On his first pass play, he was sacked. On his second pass play? He threw a terrible interception, that put the Skins deep in Eagles territory. Fortunately for him, the Eagles got the ball back and no damage was done.

All in all, the next couple of days should be very interesting.

Fire Andy Reid; Fire Juan Castillo

Now Andy, you of all people should not be pointing fingers.

I hate to even say it. I've always defended Andy, but not this time. I give him credit, the benching of Jackson was gutsy. It was something fresh. But after 13 seasons, this town needs something fresh. A new coach. Sure, we've won a lot under Reid, but that's plagued by all the disappointments over the years. This year especially. However, Lurie loves Andy, so it's a stretch Reid gets fired anytime soon.

Get your pitchforks Philly, because it looks like we'll have to run him out of town.

Next up, Juan Can'tcoach-illo. Er, I mean Castillo. This guy is a part to do with my desire for Andy Reid to be fired. Andy hired him from the O-Line to the defensive coordinator. An obvious questionable decision. At first, I liked the move. Just because I watched Castillo head-butt a linebacker with his helmet on. I liked how firey he was.

Now, I realize it would help if he knew what he was doing.

I'm not entirely against the wide nine. I'm against the constant defensive strategy changes. Also, why was Nnamdi permanently on Fitgerald on Sunday? He can do it better than anyone else on our team, so let him do it.

All in all, this is pathetic. It's time to move foreword.

The Cards Come To Town

The Eagles square off against the Cardinals Sunday at 1:00.

Another week, yet another must win. But this time, it's against the lowly Cardinals. The Cards come into this game with a 2-6 record. They have yet to win an away game. While the Eagles are just 3-5 themselves, these are two completely different teams. The Eagles have won only one of their four games at home so far, but this game is very one-sided.

The key to this game is easily the fourth quarter. The Birds are dead last in the league as far as being outscored in the fourth quarter. That's pathetic. That means they are behind the Colts in that category, a team that has yet to win a game. So expect the Eagles to go up big early, but allow some points late in the game.

I've got the Birds winning this one, 37-23.

Another Painful Day



The look of every Eagles fan right now.

The Eagles blew it, again. Another heartbreaking loss as Philly fell to the Bears 30-24...and people wonder why we are the way we are. I think you'd be irate too if your team always found new ways to lose. This is a never-ending saga.

Seriously.

Sure, the Eagles had turnovers, but so did the Bears. Other than the turnovers, I feel as if we played well. There was more zone coverage by the Eagles than I would have liked to seen, but otherwise the coaching staff did their job right.

It's just disheartening. This team IS good, I promise you that. We've just lost close games to elite teams. Games that we should have one. Almost every single one of those games we blew a fourth quarter lead.

In the words of Kanye West, "Welcome to Heartbreak".

The Eagles will be back, either later this year, or next year. What everybody should expect is for us Eagles fans to be fired up, and filled with even more hate. Just because everyone is hating on us. People that don't know us, don't understand us, or how much this team means to us. We live and die with this team.

All we can do is just tough it out, and wait for it to be our turn again. 

Patriots Don't Help Eagles

The Eagles needed the Giants to lose. Badly. Unfortunately, the Giants edged out the Patriots. The Eagles will be either two or three games back from first depending on tonight's game.

The game was scoreless in the first half. Then the scoring started. The Pats scored with 1:36 left in the game. I'm not gonna lie, I thought for sure the game was over when they scored.

But, as fate would have it, the Giants put the final score with 15 seconds left.

Gee, thanks Patriots.

Jason Avant...I Love You

Jason Avant is getting this team fired up. He said to reporters that the team didn't want any bandwagon fans. This makes me so proud. I'm sick of listening to the media bash us one week, and then praise us the next.

Leave us; we don't want you.

We die-hard fans are sick of all the wanna-be fans treading on our turf. We stick with our team no matter what. It's basically a religion, and for someone to come in and try to say they've always been a "fan" is sickening.

Some people are angry about his comments. Why? He said nothing wrong. He just offended people who are fair-weather followers. There is nothing that frustrates me more as far as fans go.

So I say "thank you" to Jason Avant for letting the Bandwagons fans know that we just don't want them.

Bears vs Eagles Preview

The Eagles look to improve to 4-4 on Monday Night Football. You should be expecting an exciting game. Ultimately, I think this game will come down to turnovers. Whoever coughs up the ball the most will lose this game. Chances are, this will be a sloppy game as well. Both teams have good defenses and a great pass-rush. The Eagles secondary is better, but the Bears' linebackers are far superior to the Eagles'.

The Eagles are ahead of the Bears in every category except rush yards allowed per game. However, the Bears are allowing 108 rush yards a game. I like that matchup against LeSean McCoy and Michael Vick, especially since the Eagles are averaging 180 rush yards per game. That's first in the league.

The Bears are also allowing 380 yards per game and 21 points per game. Meanwhile, the Eagles are averaging 449 yards per game, and 25 points per game (Thanks, ESPN.)

With all this being taken into consideration, the Eagles are the clear favorites to win this game. But Eagles fans shouldn't feel overly confident about this game. Chi-town is a tough team, and, much like the Eagles, are looking for a big win to stay alive. Da Bears have one more win than the Eagles this season.

Let's just hope the Eagles want the win more.

Dallas Beatdown

Michael Vick led the Eagles to Vick-tory.

Victory tastes sweet. But it tastes even sweeter when it's against the Cowboys. It was pure domination for the Eagles, winning 34-7. The only falter was a big touchdown pass in the fourth quarter from Romo to Robinson.

LeSean McCoy led the way with 185 rushing yards on 30 attempts. That's good for 6.2 yards per carry. Along with that, he had 2 rushing touchdowns. A very impressive feat considering that Dallas was going into this game as the number one rushing defense in the league. Dallas hadn't allowed a hundred-yard rusher until they faced McCoy.


Michael Vick was sharp as well. He was 21/28 with 279 yards and 2 touchdowns. His quarterback rating was 129.9, in large part due to the fact that he didn't throw an interception. Vick's biggest target of the night was Brent Celek, hooking up with him 7 times for 94 yards and a score.

Some Game Notes:
The Eagles had 31 first downs in the game. That's eight shy of tying the record.
The Eagles had ZERO turnovers in the game, something they've needed to improve on. Desperately.
We were 7-12 on third down conversions, and 1-1 on fourth downs.
The Eagles also dominated possession time 42:09-17:51.

Overall great win, but we must have a short memory in order to keep winning.

Asante Samuel...Please Stop Talking

It looks like the Eagles have another unhappy player after Asante Samuel claimed that the Eagles do not want him. The last player we had that was unhappy was T.O.

T.O. is nothing but a joke. Nobody in this world knows how funny it is to me that he is finally recognized as unsuccessful. He destroyed our locker room and ultimately our whole 2005 season. Of course, it didn't help that Donovan McNabb went down with an injury.

Don't get me wrong, I still love Asante. I just think that he needs to stop drawing attention to himself in a negative way. The last thing the Eagles need right now is a player being a distraction to the team. However, as long as the Eagles start winning games, I really don't care.

Let's just see how this affects his play.

Watch Nnamdi Destroy Cooley

                                                                              Boom.

If You Like Bias, You'll Love Merril Hoge

Merril Hoge's favorite drink is Eagles' Haterade. Every week, no matter who we play, he picks against us. Trust me, it's getting really old. When the Eagles play the currently 0-6 Dolphins, I guarantee he picks the Dolphins. That's how bad he is.

 The ESPN "experts" all chose the Eagles to beat Dallas this week. All except one, that is. Care to take a guess as to who the one expert who picked against the Eagles was?

Yep, you guessed it. Merril Hoge.

I find it amazing that ESPN is still allowing this bias monster to be a part of their organization. This just gives the Eagles one more reason to win this week.

As if we didn't already have enough.

Let the Hate Flow, Because It's Dallas Week

I'd like to see this happening a lot on Sunday night.

Trash talk. Passionate hate. Burning desire to win. All describe this rivalry.

Dallas week is a special week. It's almost like a holiday. Every Eagles fan gets pumped up more than usual, just in hopes of crushing Dallas. Every Eagles fan DREAMS of crushing all of the Cowgirls' hopes.

This week is no different in that we still need a win.Why not start our winning streak by beating the Cowgirls? This game is huge. It's a primetime game, and it will show what this team is really made of. We control our own destiny.

I hate to admit it, but, the Cowgirls have quite a few playmakers. The Eagles will have to account for Miles Austin, Jason Witten, and, yes, even Dez Bryant. I hate all three of those players, so it would be especially nice if we could completely shut them down.


By the way, what's the difference between the Dallas Cowboys and a dollar bill?
You can still get four quarters out of a dollar bill.

The Best Fans in All of Football

510-544-26. That is the Eagles all-time record. People always criticize the Eagles fans for their bad behavior. But you have to understand why. Look at that record, just look at it. Even with that record, we still continue to show up to the games. We've never won a Super Bowl. At one point, we lost three straight NFC Championship games. But we still show up. People that aren't Eagles fans just don't understand. This team is the reason we get up in the morning. It gives us hope, it gives us life, and most importantly, it gives us something to cheer about. The Eagles are a way for us to scream and yell. There is a perfect quote to describe us, and I can't help but smile every time I hear it.

"Do we make this city, or does it make us?"

Let's Look Ahead...and Pray

If there is any 2-4 team that could make a furious comeback, it's the Eagles. Bad luck and misfortune have haunted the Eagles so far. Although we have had some sloppy plays, we've still been in every game we've played. They were all close. So if we can fix those mistakes, why couldn't we make a comeback? The division is weak, and if we start winning those close games, we WILL come back.

After the bye, we face the Cowgirls at home. We're undefeated after byes in the Andy Reid Era. I hope we can keep that going. It'll be close though. The Cowgirls are a tough team, and they proved that by just falling short to the Pats.

Then we play Chicago and Arizona at home. This is our homestand, in which we HAVE to win just about every game to stay alive. So in the next three games, I have us going 2-1. 4-5 at the halfway mark would be ideal. We should have some momentum going with that record, too.

After that,  we travel to the Meadowlands to play the Giants. Then we go back home to play the Pats. Then we're at Seattle, and then at Miami. Again, I think we will go 3-1. So at this point we would be at 7-6, with tons of momentum.

Close out the season with three tough wins at home against the Jets, at Dallas, and then at home against the Redskins. 10-6, win the division. Although it is obviously a big stretch, you just never know.

Especially with a team like this.

Nice Display...Now Let's Keep It Going

 

                                                 McCoy's big day helped the Eagles to a win. 

The Eagles finally played up to their potential on Sunday, and got the win. The defense played great. They stopped the run and got after Rex Grossman. Grossman was picked off four times before being benched in favor of John Beck. Nate Allen got one of those picks, but it was Kurt Coleman who was the star with a whopping three interceptions.

Nnamdi Asomugha finally provided a spark for the D as well. He had a huge hit on Washington's TE Chris Cooley. The hit broke Cooley's hand.

The win brought up the Eagles' playoff chances to 17%. That percentage could have been higher if the Giants would have lost. But that stat isn't all that important at this point. What is important is that the Eagles carry this momentum into the bye week and continue to work hard. They still have to take this season one game at a time. After the bye week, we face Dallas. A truly tough test. But the Eagles are undefeated after bye weeks under Andy Reid.

LeSean McCoy had another big day, running the ball 28 times and gaining 126 yards on the ground. Maclin also had a good day with 5 catches, and 101 yards. Along with Kurt Coleman having three picks, he also led the team with seven tackles. Needless to say, it was both a productive, and impressive day for Coleman.

The Eagles Defense as a whole also had a statistically impressive game. They held the Redskins to just 42 yards rushing, and the Redskins were just 1-10 on third downs. It felt good to finally see them get off the field and let Mike Vick come in and do his thing. While the offense did commit two turnovers, one was from Vince Young, so it almost doesn't count. Neither turnover proved lethal as the defense played solid enough to get the win. The most unimpressive stat by far was that the Eagles committed 8 penalties for 60 yards.

All in all the Eagles played well and are still in the division race. The Cowgirls will be a tough team to beat, but it is a feat that is nowhere near impossible.

New Bonehead Play

Brandon Marshall talks a big game. Unfortunately, that is all he does anymore. Click on the link below to see all the proof you need.

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/09000d5d823397e5/Moore-finds-Marshall-for-big-gain

A Game and a Heartbreak

                                                        A picture is worth a thousand words.


24-23. Two missed field goals, bad play calls, another loss. 1-3. Just say it. 1-3. The Eagles outplayed the 49ers. But yet, another loss. I understand that we have a rookie kicker, and that he will make mistakes, but missing 33- and 39-yard field goals is unacceptable.

I was at this game. It was my first Eagles game. The atmosphere was amazing, the fans were rowdy, and it was everything I expected and hoped it would be. But all of it was foiled by the loss. In short, the experience was great, but the game was bad.

 I thought for sure with a 20-3 halftime lead, the Eagles would win. I thought the day was going to be perfect, and the Eagles were finally going to win a game that they should have won.

But then reality sunk in. I am an Eagles fan, what can go wrong, will go wrong. Near the end of the game, everyone started to get prepared for the Phillies game that night. They took off their Eagles gear and put on their Phillies gear. Everyone started to chant "let's go Phillies!" However, the Phillies ended up blowing a 4-0 lead. They lost their second playoff game to the Cardinals 5-4.

Needless to say, it was one terrible day in Philadelphia.

Why Shady McCoy Is a Top Five HB.

LeSean McCoy is having a tremendous season so far. In fact, he is carrying the Eagles offense so far, not Michael Vick. Don't get me wrong, Vick is still playing well and making some much needed plays. Nobody avoids sacks and then turns them into gains as well, or as often as he does. However, McCoy is turning runs that should go for a loss of three or four into gains of five or six. How? It's because of his remarkable cutback ability. There is no better cutback runner in this league right now. Shady is the best. After you see his cutback skills, you can then throw in his speed and suprising power. He also is great at catching the ball. So far, he has four rushing touchdowns, 57 attempts, and 345 yards. That is a 6.1 yards per carry average. Look for this to be another 1,000+ yard season for Shady, which is very impressive considering the Eagles bad offensive line.