I'm in the Baltimore airport and I just missed my flight. So I've got a little time to scratch down some notes here.
I had planned on doing a Super Bowl blog, detailing what was happening and my fluctuating mental state throughout the game. That didn't pan out, as I was way too into the game to write down anything coherent. But it's all the same anyway. Another year, another heartbreak. I should be used to it now, but every year is worse than the last. But I'll keep coming back. The worst part this year is that the defense let us down, which never happens. Seventeen points in a half?? Never. Of course, the fact that the refs were calling the game like the Pats were the Chicago Bulls in the mid-'90s didn't help (seriously, Jevon Kearse was not double teamed all that much and he never got held? Give me a break). As much as I'd like to, though, I can't blame this one on the zebras. The thing that hurts the most is that we should have won. We only got outplayed because we weren't sharp in the second half. Those picks that Donovan threw--it wasn't anything the Patriots did to mess him up. He just made bad throws. I can't talk about this anymore.
So I guess now I've seen every team I follow lose in the finals of their respective sport to a team that had won it recently. The Phillies in '93 lost to the Blue Jays (who also won in '92). The Flyers in '97 lost to the Red Wings (who won again in '98). The Sixers in '01 lost to the Lakers (who also won in '00, and won again in '02). And now of course my beloved Birds. But I'll be back next year, expecting the best and getting crushed if the worst happens. I think that's what makes Philly fans so unique. After years and years of losing, we still expect to win. We don't hope. We expect it. The analysts will tell you that we expect to lose, and that it disappoints but doesn't surprise us, but how else do you explain the overwhelming ratio of Eagles fans to Patriots fans (that insufferable bunch) in Jacksonville?
That brings me to an interesting point--the Boston fans complain all the time about Yankee fans going around all cocky and obnoxious. Now they're even worse with their two winning teams. This shall not stand with the Football Gods. (There are no Baseball Gods, or else there would be a salary cap.) It's not fair. We had that game in our hands. Should've won it. Frick.
I'm sure I look pretty good right now. I'm riding on Mountain Dew, Vivarin, and five hours sleep in the last two days. And I've still got my McNabb jersey on. No one will look me in the eye. They all just look away when I look up. So to get back to why I'm not on a plane right now, I woke up at 3 am, and arrived at the airport at 4:45 for my 5:30 flight. Normally plenty of time. Problem was, I had a rental car and the place to return the car is 5 miles from the actual terminal. I sat on the shuttle bus for 15 friggin minutes waiting for a driver, and eventually I just ran out of time. So now, instead of going from Baltimore to Charlotte to Indy, I have to go through Pittsburgh on standby. Hopefully that works out. Whatever.
The trip to Delaware: I woke up at 3 am (this seems to be a theme), and actually made my 5:49 flight to O'Hare. In the process, I bashed my knuckle somewhere, though I didn't know it at the time. I got off the plane in Chicago and didn't notice I was bleeding until I looked down and saw my finger dripping onto the carpet. So that was fun. I would've stopped and washed it off, but I had to catch the bus to another terminal, which I soon found out was not running. Luckily, I had about 20 minutes until boarding, and the walk only took about 15 minutes. But anyway, other than that it was pretty uneventful. I did discover, however, that the airport cops in Baltimore have Segways. I'm not even joking. I don't know how they expect to be taken seriously.
You know, even though I spent $200 to come watch the Eagles lose a game they should have won, it was worth it. Even though it kills me. I guess I don't have too much else to say. I have no voice (that's been the case since the first quarter yesterday), and now I'm listening to a Muzak version of "The Way You Move". I keep seeing replays of the game in my head. Somebody shoot me.
A final note before I depress everyone that's reading this: I hope T.O. shut everybody up with how he played yesterday. He was absolutely amazing. It just makes it that much harder to take that it wasn't the receivers that hurt us this year, like it was for the past couple years. The defense and a few bad throws. It's going to take a while to get over this.
9:50 pm: The preceding has been presented in its original form, save it being in longhand. For those of you who read my last post and also watched the game, you saw that what I detailed was happening in the first half, for the most part. If not for one interception in the red zone, the Eagles go up 14-7, and we've got a whole different ball game. I don't think that anyone who comments regularly would give me any flack about what I said before, so that note is for the lurkers who think it was just wishful thinking from a deluded fan. We had that game. We had it.
Super Bowl XL. Detroit. We'll be back.
Monday, February 07, 2005
Friday, February 04, 2005
I Give Up
Alright. I'm sick of it. I've had a lot to do at work all week and I didn't want to get ahead of myself, which is one of the main reasons I didn't post about the Super Bowl much. But I've had enough. I try to turn on ESPN or the NFL Network to get some coverage. What do I hear? What do I see? The Patriots channel. It's all Pats all the time. Sure, they mention T.O. every now and then, and then they say how it won't matter whether he plays or not. So now, my wrath is full. And I'm going to tell you how the Eagles are going to win this game.
-Pressure: The Eagles had the second most sacks in the NFL this year. That was no accident. Sure, the Pats' offensive line is good. But the Eagles' defense is better. They bring too many people from too many places for them all to be picked up effectively. And if you watched the Pats this year, you saw that Tom Brady's weakness is when he doesn't have much time in the pocket, or when he's under pressure. The Eagles are masters of bringing pressure. Yes, the Colts had the most sacks in the league and couldn't get to Tom Brady. But the Colts got all but six of their 45 sacks from the defensive line. Every defensive starter for the Eagles except for SS Michael Lewis has at least one sack. You never know who's coming and where they're coming from.
-Special Teams: The Patriots are at the bottom of the league in coverage for punts and kicks. the Eagles are at the top. Special teams will be huge in this game. And as far as kickers go, David Akers is the second most accurate kicker in league history. He's been playing for five years. He will become the new trendy clutch kicker by the end of this game. Everyone talks about how Vinatieri never misses the big ones, and he doesn't. But neither does Akers.
-Donovan F. McNabb: If you don't know what the "F" stands for, you'll find out Sunday. The Patriots will be saying it all day long. They can't handle a quarterback like McNabb when he's playing his best game. If you throw out the Steelers game (yeah, they got stomped, but everyone has a bad game--unfortunately their bad game came against a good team), you'll see how McNabb has picked apart opponents all year long. A mobile quarterback will give them fits. Especially one so elusive. If he sees a defender coming, there is nobody in the league that can bring him down alone. The only times he gets sacked are when there's two guys that hit him at the same time, or if he's hit from behind. Also, the Eagles' offensive line will be blowing the Pats' D-Line off the ball. If he gets any amount of time--if he makes time for himself even, he'll get his completions and his TD passes. Speaking of which...
-Seondary vs. Receivers: Go ahead and talk about how the Eagles' receivers can't get off the jam. Try jamming Pinkston and Greg Lewis at the line and see what happens when Westbrook, L.J. Smith, or Freddie Mitchell gets open downfield. And that's only if the jam works. Lewis and Pinky are skinny guys, sure, but Pinkston especially has seen the jam before, and he can work with it better now than he could in the past. The Eagles' receivers are faster than the Pats' secondary. Look for the Eagles to go long, and then open up the short game and the run/play-action. As far as the other way around, try sending any of the NE receivers after the Eagles secondary. Everyone talks about how physical the Patriots' defense is. If anyone catches a pass over the middle, they will miss at least one play afterwards, because Brian Dawkins or Michael Lewis will knock them out of their shoes. Sheldon Brown is no slouch either. And if you try going deep on Lito Sheppard, you'll regret it. None of these guys can out-jump the defensive backs like receivers such as Randy Moss. (I won't even mention that the secondary shut down Moss twice this year. Oh, did I just mention that? My bad.) Watch the Eagles front 7 shut down the run and short pass, then take away the long ball.
-Brian Westbrook: I've said it before and I'll say it again. No one in this league can cover him. I don't care how fast the LB's are for the Pats. They aren't as fast as Westbrook. He's shifty, he'll get away from them, and he'll burn them downfield. Look for him to line up at wide receiver a lot. He's number 36.
-NE Linebackers: They have arguably the best LB corps in the league. But if you go long and get them to back off the line, that opens up the run, and it opens up the short passes to TE's. They'll get everyone watching Brian Westbrook, then they'll bang Dorsey Levens up the middle.
I feel better now. From the way I was just talking, you'd think I'm seeing a blowout. I don't. I'm just pissed. And I'm tired of hearing how the Eagles won't make it a game. You watch. I wouldn't talk like this if I wasn't confident. I've watched this team for a lot of years, and I know when they're in trouble. I saw the Steelers game coming a mile away. Here's how the Bowl will go: End of the first half: Pats 14, Eagles 10. Final score: Eagles 23, Pats 17. You'll see a great ending, as the Eagles will kick a field goal in the 3rd quarter, followed by a Pats field goal. Then the Eagles will drive at the end of the 3rd and kick another figgie at the beginning of the fourth. It'll be 17-16 at this point. 2:08 left, Eagles ball, touchdown drive, ballgame. And I'll be in Delaware. Woot.
-Pressure: The Eagles had the second most sacks in the NFL this year. That was no accident. Sure, the Pats' offensive line is good. But the Eagles' defense is better. They bring too many people from too many places for them all to be picked up effectively. And if you watched the Pats this year, you saw that Tom Brady's weakness is when he doesn't have much time in the pocket, or when he's under pressure. The Eagles are masters of bringing pressure. Yes, the Colts had the most sacks in the league and couldn't get to Tom Brady. But the Colts got all but six of their 45 sacks from the defensive line. Every defensive starter for the Eagles except for SS Michael Lewis has at least one sack. You never know who's coming and where they're coming from.
-Special Teams: The Patriots are at the bottom of the league in coverage for punts and kicks. the Eagles are at the top. Special teams will be huge in this game. And as far as kickers go, David Akers is the second most accurate kicker in league history. He's been playing for five years. He will become the new trendy clutch kicker by the end of this game. Everyone talks about how Vinatieri never misses the big ones, and he doesn't. But neither does Akers.
-Donovan F. McNabb: If you don't know what the "F" stands for, you'll find out Sunday. The Patriots will be saying it all day long. They can't handle a quarterback like McNabb when he's playing his best game. If you throw out the Steelers game (yeah, they got stomped, but everyone has a bad game--unfortunately their bad game came against a good team), you'll see how McNabb has picked apart opponents all year long. A mobile quarterback will give them fits. Especially one so elusive. If he sees a defender coming, there is nobody in the league that can bring him down alone. The only times he gets sacked are when there's two guys that hit him at the same time, or if he's hit from behind. Also, the Eagles' offensive line will be blowing the Pats' D-Line off the ball. If he gets any amount of time--if he makes time for himself even, he'll get his completions and his TD passes. Speaking of which...
-Seondary vs. Receivers: Go ahead and talk about how the Eagles' receivers can't get off the jam. Try jamming Pinkston and Greg Lewis at the line and see what happens when Westbrook, L.J. Smith, or Freddie Mitchell gets open downfield. And that's only if the jam works. Lewis and Pinky are skinny guys, sure, but Pinkston especially has seen the jam before, and he can work with it better now than he could in the past. The Eagles' receivers are faster than the Pats' secondary. Look for the Eagles to go long, and then open up the short game and the run/play-action. As far as the other way around, try sending any of the NE receivers after the Eagles secondary. Everyone talks about how physical the Patriots' defense is. If anyone catches a pass over the middle, they will miss at least one play afterwards, because Brian Dawkins or Michael Lewis will knock them out of their shoes. Sheldon Brown is no slouch either. And if you try going deep on Lito Sheppard, you'll regret it. None of these guys can out-jump the defensive backs like receivers such as Randy Moss. (I won't even mention that the secondary shut down Moss twice this year. Oh, did I just mention that? My bad.) Watch the Eagles front 7 shut down the run and short pass, then take away the long ball.
-Brian Westbrook: I've said it before and I'll say it again. No one in this league can cover him. I don't care how fast the LB's are for the Pats. They aren't as fast as Westbrook. He's shifty, he'll get away from them, and he'll burn them downfield. Look for him to line up at wide receiver a lot. He's number 36.
-NE Linebackers: They have arguably the best LB corps in the league. But if you go long and get them to back off the line, that opens up the run, and it opens up the short passes to TE's. They'll get everyone watching Brian Westbrook, then they'll bang Dorsey Levens up the middle.
I feel better now. From the way I was just talking, you'd think I'm seeing a blowout. I don't. I'm just pissed. And I'm tired of hearing how the Eagles won't make it a game. You watch. I wouldn't talk like this if I wasn't confident. I've watched this team for a lot of years, and I know when they're in trouble. I saw the Steelers game coming a mile away. Here's how the Bowl will go: End of the first half: Pats 14, Eagles 10. Final score: Eagles 23, Pats 17. You'll see a great ending, as the Eagles will kick a field goal in the 3rd quarter, followed by a Pats field goal. Then the Eagles will drive at the end of the 3rd and kick another figgie at the beginning of the fourth. It'll be 17-16 at this point. 2:08 left, Eagles ball, touchdown drive, ballgame. And I'll be in Delaware. Woot.
Wednesday, February 02, 2005
Four Days to Glory
In the interest of saving my reader(s) the agony of reading more and more sports posts from me, I'm making this my last Super Bowl-related post. And to ease said agony even more, I'm just going to link to another column. So how do you like that? Daryl Johnston, a.k.a. "Moose", was a tight end for the Cowboys in the '90s. Despite having played for the team that I despise most, he makes all my arguments for me here. I was going to post stats to show how evenly matched these teams are and how good a chance the Eagles have, but I don't feel like it. I still will if anyone wants me to, because I have them. But somehow, I don't think I'll get any requests. I can't believe the game is only a few days away. I'm flying home for one day to watch it with my dad and brother. It's going to be awesome. I'll be leaving Sunday morning and coming back Monday morning, and going to work Monday afternoon. I really believe the Eagles are going to win this game. It's just time. But more than that, they're the best Eagles team I've ever seen, and they're calm. This season has felt so right. In the last three years, I've gotten a bad feeling before the NFC championship game. Now I feel good. I felt good before the NFCCG, and I still feel good. And the team looks loose. They know they can do it. There are even a few "experts" picking them to win. They're seeing the same thing I am (special teams, awesome secondary, pressure on Brady, mobile quarterback, etc). That brings me to one more Super Bowl topic: why do the Patriots keep bringing up the disrespect card? It's ridiculous. Does EVERYONE have to pick them to win? Yeah, Freddie Mitchell said a few things, but all he said was "I got something for you". And the unflappable Patriots let it get to them. Surprising. But anyway...
It's been a while since my last post, because I haven't had much time for anything other than house stuff and work. It looks like we'll be closing on the house pretty soon, which is exciting. Luke is doing well, although I just got the bill from the hospital and he's an expensive little bugger. He may have to learn how to mow the lawn a little earlier than planned to start earning his keep.
Jessica's having her gall bladder surgery next week. She could have done it this Friday, but she postponed it so that I could fly to Philly and watch the game. Now is that the best wife in the entire world? I think so. The poor wives of Eagles fans. If there is justice in the world, they will be rewarded for their diligence with happy husbands in February for once.
In other news, we watched Ray today. It was excellent. Between Ray and Collateral, Jamie Foxx really did have a great year. I haven't seen the rest of the nominees for best actor, but I can say that I never once during the movie thought "Jamie Foxx is doing a good job here". I saw Ray Charles in that movie. Also, that's the third movie out of the last five that I've watched that has made me feel bad for being white (although not to the extent of the other two). Anyway, I can highly recommend the movie. Hopefully this is all coherent. Between everything that's going on, I can barely think straight. I'll just be glad when I'm in Delaware watching the game. Eagles 23, Pats 17.
It's been a while since my last post, because I haven't had much time for anything other than house stuff and work. It looks like we'll be closing on the house pretty soon, which is exciting. Luke is doing well, although I just got the bill from the hospital and he's an expensive little bugger. He may have to learn how to mow the lawn a little earlier than planned to start earning his keep.
Jessica's having her gall bladder surgery next week. She could have done it this Friday, but she postponed it so that I could fly to Philly and watch the game. Now is that the best wife in the entire world? I think so. The poor wives of Eagles fans. If there is justice in the world, they will be rewarded for their diligence with happy husbands in February for once.
In other news, we watched Ray today. It was excellent. Between Ray and Collateral, Jamie Foxx really did have a great year. I haven't seen the rest of the nominees for best actor, but I can say that I never once during the movie thought "Jamie Foxx is doing a good job here". I saw Ray Charles in that movie. Also, that's the third movie out of the last five that I've watched that has made me feel bad for being white (although not to the extent of the other two). Anyway, I can highly recommend the movie. Hopefully this is all coherent. Between everything that's going on, I can barely think straight. I'll just be glad when I'm in Delaware watching the game. Eagles 23, Pats 17.
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