Ahh, November. The leaves are changing, the jackets are coming out, and...for the first time in what seems like forever, there wasn't an Eagles or Phillies game this weekend. It is quite depressing, especially considering that our last memories at the moment are Juan Uribe and Kenny Britt sticking daggers in our hearts. So, since there wasn't much actual sports action this weekend, this may turn into more of a rant than anything else, but who knows.
I hate baseball.
Yeah, that about sums it up. I didn't watch a single pitch of this World Series, which really just means I have something in common with 99.99% of the country, because frankly, no one cares. I have nothing against the Giants, even though they beat us, which is unlike me - I'll usually root against a team that beats a Philly team in the playoffs. They're a team who pitches well and plays scrappy ball, and they beat us straight up. No one on their team really bothers me, and of course I love Pat Burrell, even though it's really wrong that he may very well retire with more rings than Roy Halladay. I also didn't watch because every time I'm reminded of baseball, I want to throw the nearest fragile object at a wall. My frustration has subsided quite significantly by now, however, and the recovery stage is slowly beginning.
Kenny Britt is not that good.
But Ellis Hobbs may very well be that bad. I believe I mentioned something before the season about not trusting him as a starting corner and, well, I still lack said trust. I swear, every time anyone on the Titans made a big catch, and the TV camera would pan to the defender most responsible, it was good ol' number 31 walking away. I give Nate Allen a pass because he's a rookie and he was defensive rookie of the month in September, and looks like he could turn out to be a really nice player. Hobbs is a veteran who was absolutely embarrassed by Kenny Britt all day long. It got to the point where it was downright funny, with Kerry Collins looking more like he was playing a game of 500 just lobbing balls in the air and Britt coming down with them. It sucks because this defense actually looks better than I expected, but I still fear that the secondary will let us down big time in the end. Things aren't getting any easier throughout the remainder of the schedule, especially with the Colts next on the slate, so this group had better figure it out.
But there is a silver lining to this cloud...
Yes, there were a couple things that brought a little grin to my face this weekend. First was the Redskins benching Donovan McNabb for...and no, this is not a misprint...Rex Grossman. Yes, the great Rex with his whopping career passer rating of 69.6. Coach Mike Shanahan later revealed that he 1) isn't a huge fan of McNabb's practice habits and 2) doesn't feel that Donnie is in the greatest of shape (read here). Now, it's not that I hate McNabb, but as I've expressed before, there were things about the guy that we Eagles fans didn't like, but we were pounded into the pavement for expressing those feelings. Now, it appears that a very successful NFL head coach has similar thoughts.
Shanahan's qualms with McNabb's practice tempo and conditioning don't surprise me one bit. McNabb strikes me as the kind of guy who got comfortable being Mr. Carefree on the Eagles knowing Andy Reid had his back, but his laid-back approach might be a little too much for his new coach. On the Eagles, it was always McNabb's team, which may have led to some complacency, although a former Eagles backup QB who was on the team with McNabb mentioned that the one point the Eagles coaches continually tried to stress to McNabb was indeed picking up his tempo, which is critical in a West Coast offense. You don't have to do a ton of critical analysis to draw the conclusion that Mike Shanahan is seeing some of these qualities.
We shall see if the media comes to McNabb's defense as fervently as they have in the past now that it wouldn't also give them a chance to bash the Eagles and Philly fans. Maybe they should give some of us credit for thinking the time was right to trade McNabb, and for thinking that there were plenty of legitimate reasons to move on. And, maybe cows will fly. Oh, and if this wasn't funny enough, Shanahan actually is rumored to have considered benching McNabb AFTER beating the Eagles a couple weeks ago, despite his team getting the victory. That right there should tell you that it wasn't McNabb's effort that beat the Eagles, although, in typical Donovan fashion, he made the comment in the locker room post game that "they (the Eagles) made a mistake" in trading him. Yeah, boy, I wish we could have that one back.
Oh, and the other silver lining this weekend? The Cowboys getting beat up on yet again. It never gets old, Romo or no Romo, to see Dallas getting rocked, especially when they were the consensus pick to with the NFC East (even by me) and picked by many to go to the Super Bowl. Now, at an embarrassing 1-6, the team has become a punchline. The downtrodden state of the Cowboys will hopefully make it the perfect time for the Eagles to exact some revenge on them after being swept by Dallas in three games last season.
Orange and Black is Back
I guess I should also mention that the Flyers are looking good right now, having won four straight and sitting atop the Atlantic Division with 15 points after a 3-2 win against Carolina tonight. I don't know that there's been enough time yet to get over the Phillies to the point that I can get myself excited about the Flyers, but it looks like we have something to look forward to this season. Young goalie Sergei Bobrovsky (the "Bob") has been impressive so far, and the Flyers seem to be picking up where they left off with last year's magical playoff run. It's too early to start getting our hopes up too much just yet, but the Flyers are the one bright spot in the world of Philly sports right now.
R. Scott will be back next week, as he is again vacationing on the lovely beaches of Florida. Quite the life.
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