Archive for December, 2011

I’ve always imagined Andy Reid takes offense when someone says Buddy Ryan was a better head coach than the man currently heading the Eagles. Reid has been much more successful both in terms of regular season and postseason wins–you know, because Buddy had none. And while we don’t know what Reid thinks of Ryan, there’s certainly some evidence that he’s got it out for his two sons, Rob and Rex. The Eagles have outscored Ryan coached teams by a combined 79-26 score in two contests this season. The 34-7 thrashing of Rob Ryan’s defense was topped today with a complete [...]

Well, how about that one? The Eagles’ ass whooping of the Jets means their improbable dream of reaching the playoffs lives on for at least one more week. This is about to get very interesting. What seemed slightly more than an impossibility last week has now become plausible. So here’s how the Eagles can get in: 1) They must win their final two games. 2) The Jets must beat the Giants next week. 3) The Giants must beat the Cowboys in Week 17. A couple other quick items to note: *The Jets and Giants play at 1:00 p.m. next week, [...]

Editor’s note: Steve Fini breaks down five players who will decide today’s Eagles-Jets showdown. Mark Sanchez (QB/Jets) – Sanchez is like most of the quarterbacks the Eagles have faced this season. He’s solid, can make a play or two, but is turnover prone and his coaches don’t trust him enough to win them the game. Luckily for New York, the Eagles have made these types of quarterbacks look outstanding this season. Sanchez is a fraud of a starter and his head coach, Rex Ryan, does a better job of expressing his confidence in Sanchez to the media than he does [...]

This game is particularly difficult to predict because it might not mean anything to the Eagles by 4:15 this afternoon. We’ll see. Here’s our best guesses as to what’s going to go down in South Philly today. Bob Wankel: This game is about trends. Do the Eagles remain unbeaten against the Jets? Do they continue their stretch are remarkably piss-poor play in front of their fans? Do they continue to torture their fans with “what-ifs” with a spirited win? Or do they fail to put up a quality display in consecutive weeks yet again? I think it’s a tight game. [...]

Well, based on the picks below, the Eagles’ playoff hopes will be smashed before they even tee it up late Sunday afternoon. Fortunately, ESPN expert picks blow. I continue to post these picks because, for whatever reason, it brings traffic to the site. As you can see, only Eric Allen thinks the Eagles will remain alive through play of Week 15. I detailed yesterday why I think Tampa Bay will knock off Dallas. And though it seems likely New York will paste the Redskins at home Sunday, that’s an awfully fishy 6.5-point line, don’t you think?

The Eagles long ago forfeited the ability to control their own destiny over the season’s final weeks. They simply didn’t earn the right. And though their playoff hopes remain alive, such hopes can be considered no better than on life support. In fact, by the time the Eagles and Jets kick-off at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday afternoon, it could all be over for this mess of a team. The good news, if there is any at this point, is that if by some miracle the Eagles can survive the weekend, it becomes exponentially more possible that they could sneak [...]

Men of conviction. That’s cute.

Editor’s Note: Staff writer Steve Fini breaks down the difference makers from Sunday’s win over Miami. Michael Vick (QB/Eagles) – He played solid football given his prolonged absence, but made a few key mistakes. He had four passes batted and threw another awful interception. The turnovers aren’t a fluke any longer. This is the 2011 version of Michael Vick. Additionally, it’s perplexing that Vick continued to take big hits only days after vowing to protect himself. He still possesses the unique ability to take over a game by himself, and he’s used more of his weapons this season. I was [...]

It was another turbulent week in the NFC East as the Giants outlasted the Cowboys to regain the division lead. The Eagles continue to tease their fanbase for at least one more week by virtue of their 26-10 win at Miami. And Washington, well, whatever. This week, we’ll do a little vocab/word association game with our rankings. Enjoy. 1. New York Giants (7-6): Perplexing. Howelse can you describe this team? They spent a month looking like the walking dead, almost knocked off the Packers, then followed that effort with a season-saving win in Dallas. A win that occurred only after [...]

What do you get when you pair a crappy Seahawks team with an even crappier Rams team? You get ESPN using one of its 800 platforms desperately trying to convince you to watch said crappy game.

Eagles WR Steve Smith was placed on IR this afternoon, ending his season after appearing in only nine games. Smith, who defected to Philadelphia from New York, was once thought to be a terrific compliment in the slot to dynamic receivers Jeremy Maclin and DeSean Jackson. It didn’t quite work out that way. Smith signed in August for just over $2 million in guaranteed money. The deal contained an additional $1.7 million dollars in incentives. It’s pretty safe to say he didn’t reach those incentives given that he only caught 11 passes for 124 yards and one touchdown. Despite catching [...]

The Eagles may not be be firing any coaches, but they got another team’s coach fired this afternoon. Despite his team’s resurgent play over the past six weeks, the Dolphins have fired head coach Tony Sparano. I’ve said all along that these final games won’t determine Andy Reid’s fate. Player performance and effort down the stretch is something fans use, not front offices, to evaluate a head coach’s staying power. The Dolphins played out of their minds for Sparano, lost quarterback Matt Moore, and were knocked off by the plucky Eagles on Sunday. There’s no way you can tell me [...]