Sunday, September 30, 2007
EAGLES NEWS
How Bitter it is. Leave it to that stinkin city up north that never sleeps, to ruin what started out as such a great day. They say Sunday night is football night America, well someone forgot to tell the Eagles that. For a franchise that's suffered a lot of them over the years, this one ranks up there as one of the most embarrassing losses in Eagles history. If not for their final few drives, the Eagles offense would have nothing to show for themselves. As it is they wound up with only 190 yards of total offense, and a measely 3 points, on a 53 yard David Akers field goal. Donovan Mcnabb was sacked a whopping 12 times, and although he hit 15 of 31 passes for 138 yards, the Eagles as a team only gained 76 yards in the air. However, thanks to 114 yards rushing, 103 for Correll Buckhalter, the Eagles did actually pound to 16 1st downs, and won the time of possession battle, with 30 minutes and 26 seconds of possession time. Well, aside from the defense somehow holding New York to 212 yards, and only 16 points, mostly because of Giants mistakes, that's about all of the positives for the Eagles tonight. So what happened, well there were couple things that killed the Eagles. First, injuries hurt the Eagles, as William Thomas, Brian WestBrook, L.J Smith, and Brian Dawkins all sat the night out. Okay, so Dawkins and Smith weren't missed all that much, but other two, well, the Eagles were lost without them. Thomas' replacement, Winston Justice, was overmatched all night long, allowing Osi Umenyiora to sack Mcnabb 6 times. Perhaps, with Thomas in the game, and Westbrook bouncing around all over the field, Mcnabb would have had the time and the target he needed to spread the field against the Giants. 2nd, the Eagles' inability to provide Justice with some help blocking Umenyiora. It was pretty clear even in the 1st half, that Justice, in his first pro start, wouldn't be able to stop Umenyiora on his own, but Andy Reid, was either unwilling, or unable to realize that this was the case. Perhaps, if Justice had a tight-end blocking with them, he could've protected Mcnabb. Finally, Mcnabb's sudden lack of escapability, ruined virtually all of the Eagles' drives. The old elusive Mcnabb, could easily have scrambled away from the Giants pressure and made some things happen, but this Mcnabb jus wasn't fast enough to slip away. Time after time, he stepped up under the pressure, seemingly a tackle from escape, only to slip up at the last moment, for a sack, just before he could fire the ball down field. If only he could've stayed on his feet a little longer, he could've gotten his recievers open down field. This became pretty clear towards the end of the game, as when he finally eluded the rush for the 1st time, he found Reggie Brown wide open in the endzone for a TD. Of course he had stepped over the line of scrimmage just before throwing the ball and the play was called back, kind of microcosm for the entire game, which also featured 15 Eagles penalties for a 132 yards.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils sure know how to make things dramatic. Adam Eaton, got the start today, and well, he was on a short lease, got into jams in each of the first 3 innings, and was lifted from the game early in the 3rd inning, after allowing 1 run on 5 hits. The bullpen did a solid job, allowing just 3 more runs on 6 hits. However, the Phils just couldn't get themselves going. Aaron Rowand and Ryan Howard finally got the Phils on the board with solo homers in the 7th and 8th innings respectively, but it was too little too late. Chad Cordero sent the Phils down in order in the 9th, as they took the tough 4-2 loss, to drop to 88-73 overall. So the Phils are now back in a tie with Mets for 1st in the NL East, and remain 1 game behind the Padres in the wildcard. Thus, life sucks again.
Friday, September 28, 2007
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils are a team of destiny now, that is their own destiny, for they now control it after tonight. Cole Hamels got the start tonight as the Phils began their final series of the season, a 3 gamer versus the Nationals at the bank. Hamels rebounded from the early exit in his last start, to go 8 shutout innings, allowing overmatched Washington, just 6 hits, while striking out 13. Meanwhile, the Phils needed 5 innings to get going, but once they did, they never looked back. In the bottom of the 5th, Greg Dobbs singled, Carlos Ruiz, was hit by a pitch, Cole Hamels bunted them over, and the man who would be MVP, Jimmy Rollins, slapped a single to score both. One out later, Chase Utely slammed a double to score Rollins, and finish the scoring in the 5th. Then in the 7th, Ryan Howard crushed a 2 run homer to put it away for good as the Phils led 6-0. Hamels then bowed out after the 8th, and Clay Condrey came in to pitch the 9th, and afer hitting Austin Kearns with a pitch, he retired the side, for a 6-0 Phils win. So the Phils improve to 88-72, and with the Mets losing again, are now 1 game up in the NL East with the 2 to play. Thus, life remains beautiful.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils continued their playoff push today, as they finished off their series with the Braves. Rookie sensation Kyle Kendrick got the start today and as usual he delivered, allowing just 3 runs on 6 hits in 6 strong innings of work. Meanwhile, the Phils used Braves errors to jump out to an early lead in the 1st inning. Jimmy Rollins leadoff with a single and shane Victorino bunted and reached base and Rollins scored on a throwing error by John Smoltz. Chase Utley then reached base and Victorino scored on a throwing error by Mark Texeira. Finally,Ryan Howard stepped up and crushed a 2 run homer, and just like that the Phils lead 4-0. Later in the 3rd inning Pat Burrell slammed a 2 run homer of his own to put the Phils up 6-0. By the time Atlanta finally got on the board against Kendrick, with 3 runs in the 6th, it was too late. Tom Gordon shut them down in the 7th, and J.C Romero did likewise in the 8th. Finally, Brett Myers came in to close it out in the 9th, and after allowing a leadoff homer to Jeff Francoeur, and one out single to Matt Diaz, he retired the side for a 6-4 Phils win. So the Phils improve to 87-72 overall, now tied with the Mets for first in the NL East, and still 1 game behind the Padres in the wildcard. Thus, life remains beautiful.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
PHILLIES NEWS
It was a big night tonight for the Phils. They had lost 2 in a row coming in , and a 3rd loss might be fatal to their playoff chances. Kyle Lohse got the start tonight, and delivered 7 strong innings of work, allowing just 2 runs on 6 hits, while striking out 5. Meanwhile, the Phils jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. Jimmy Rollins tripled and scored on a two out single by Ryan Howard in the 1st. Chase Utley was hit by pitch, moved up to second on a fielder's choice, and scored on a Chipper Jones throwing error, and Greg Dobbs slapped a 2 out, 2 run single in the 3rd inning. Finally, with the Phils clinging to a 4-2 lead, Shane Victorino slammed a pinch solo homer to leadoff the 7th inning. Tom Gordon, and J.C Romero combined to blank the Braves in the 8th inning, and Brett Myers closed them out in the 9th for a 5-2 Phils win. So the Phils improve to 86-72 overall, now just 1 game behind the Mets in the NL East, and as of now .5 games behind the Padres(they currently lead the Giants 10-2, in the 7th inning) in the wildcard. Thus, life is beautiful once again.
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