Did you happen to catch the professional football contest on television on Sunday? Well, the Giants of New York took on the Eagles of Philadelphia. And, in the end, the Eagles triumphed when a little man juggled an oblong ball made of pigskin before he ran it into a painted area of the field and threw it into the stands. It was a most ripping victory!
[“Son, if you want to keep working here, stay off the drugs.” -Cleo McDowell]
In “real life,” everyone knows about the moments that define the times. Everyone in my parents’ generation knows exactly where they were the moment they heard about the JFK Asssassination or Neil Armstrong walking on the moon. For our generation, it is the 9/11 Attacks or the OJ Chase. Without a doubt, these moments are etched in our brains for obvious (and, oftentimes unfortunately tragic) reasons. And, that is to be expected with “real life.” That is also one of the reasons I choose not to write about “real life;” it is oftentimes too “real.”
That is what draws us to sports. Sports often imitates “real life” in sort of a nonconsequential way. With certain exceptions, we can replicate “real” joy through sports without the risk of tragedy. Yes, we risk pain and heartache (for passionate Philly fans, those are VERY “real” emotions tied to sports), but we almost never have to deal with tragedy. In “real life,” the images that are etched in our brains for eternity are disproportionately linked with tragedy. In “sports life,” these eternal images are, depending of course which teams with which you choose to live and die, about equally split between those that evoke intense pain and heartache and those that evoke an unbridled, euphoric joy.
Bry's favorite all-time NBA moment...and, it will never be topped
The landscape of my “sports life” is postmarked by several moments etched in my heart and mind forever – some evoking pain and suffering, others evoking elation and euphoria. Kim Batiste’s fair ball down the leftfield line in Game 1 of the NLCS is on one side and, about a week later, some home run in Canada is on the other side. The Brad Lidge’s 0-2 pitch to Eric Hinske will forever bring me joy, while Ryan Howard’s called third-strike from Brian Wilson makes me feel like someone just kicked me in the groin. The year 2000, to me, is polarized by a couple of Tys. There’s the high of seeing Ty Lue’s face after Allen Iverson hit the three and stepped over him in the NBA Finals to the low of seeing Ty Shine’s face after coming off the bench to drop 30 on the Temple Owls in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Anyway, the point I am trying to make here is that all of these moments are specific, distinct moments in my “sports life” from which I can bring up where I was and how I felt the moment they happened, whether it be surrounded by friends and family in my brother’s garage or completely by myself in my lonely room in the fraternity house. Well, another one of these happened on Sunday.
What does DeSean Jackson have in common with Kato Kaelin? Well...almost nothing
I could live another 100 years and I will never, ever forget where I was, who I was with, and how I felt the moment DeSean Jackson picked up the line-drive punt and stuck a knife in the gut of the hated New York Giants. And, it doesn’t matter whether this leads to a Super Bowl or a disappointing playoff upset. Honestly, I don’t remember exactly what happened the year that Brian Westbrook did almost the same thing to the Giants, but I certainly remember exactly where I was when it happened.
So, this was one of those moments. Enjoy it, Philadelphia. They do not come around all that often – and they’re not always so sweet.
The Birds Situation, Now
Okay, on to some “other” Eagles news. Expect a post about playoff scenarios up some time in the next day or two, but for now, let’s just talk Eagles and their seeding. This win has essentially locked up the division for the Birds. I cannot see them losing to a bad Minnesota team, at home, next week, which will officially clinch it. So, let us start thinking about the first-round bye. I have always thought that the difference between the 2nd position in the conference and the 3rd position is the biggest difference besides that between 6th and 7th. Homefield advantage is good, but the bye is huge. The Birds have a real shot at it, too. Right now, it is between them and the Bears. Both are 10-4, but the Bears hold the tiebreaker. That means that the Eagles have to pick up a game somewhere in the next two weeks. Like I said, I think the home game versus Minnesota is as close to a gimme as there is in this league with Joe Webb at QB and Toby Gerhart at RB. So, it will then come down to whether or not the Eagles can win at home against Dallas in Week 17 and find the Bears a loss somewhere along the way. Chicago is home against the Jets this week and then at Green Bay to finish the season. Hopefully, the Packers will still have something to play for.
The Defense
All year, Doogan and I have had differing opinions of this defense. I think they are decent, bordering on good; he thinks they are mediocre, bordering on bad. Against the Giants this week, we were both right. The Giants have a vaunted running attack, but could not get anything done against the Birds front seven. Even without the defensive signal-caller, Stewart Bradley, the Eagles D stepped up. In fact, what is lost in the furious comeback and the stardoms of Vick and Jackson is that the Giants could have, on several occasions, put this game away with a sustained rushing attack, but the defense held. On the other hand, Eli Manning (of all people) exposed this pass defense as pretty shoddy. With Ellis Hobbs out and Asante Samuel gimpy, the secondary went into the game rather thin, and they have now lost Nate Allen for the season. The rest of this season may hinge on whether or not this pieced-together secondary can just be “adequate” or not. Personally, I am optimistic. Samuel is a gamer and is getting healthier by the week. On the other side, I have been really impressed with Dmitri Patterson, despite his over-documented struggles this week. He had taken the starting job from Hobbs before he got hurt, so he’s not exactly a second-stringer. And, at safety, I think Quentin Mikell may be the most unsung player on this Eagles team this year. He is having a great year back there. We will see if Kurt Coleman can be an every-down replacement for Allen (who had a terrific rookie season), but, overall, I remain bullish on this Eagles defense, despite giving up 31 to the G-Men on Sunday.
Who Invited the All-Pro O-Lineman?
Everyone who says Jason Peters is a bust has not been watching this season. Friends, we have a bonafied star left tackle, who is only 28 years old. Lost in the fanfare of Michael Vick & His
It's hard to change the minds of Philly fans if you don't play well early on here, but Jason Peters deserves another look. He's really good...I think
Weapons has been the incredible play of the “Big Uglies.” Now, I am not going to pretend to be able to evaluate offensive line play, so take the first part of this paragraph with a grain of salt, but allow me to explain. This is a pieced-together offensive line with a backup center and an inexperienced right side, but they have been playing lights-out football. Yes, Vick has been hit recently, but, overall, this o-line dictates play on the line of scrimmage and opens ridiculous holes for McCoy and, for the most part, gives Vick a ton of time. So, someone (or a couple someones) are dominating out there. King Dunlap and Max Jean-Gilles have held their own, and, from what I hear, Mike McGlynn has been playing great at center, but if I had to guess as to who is really leading this group, I am going to go with the left side of Peters and Todd Herremans. Andy Reid was one of the best o-line coaches in the league before he got the head coach duties, so he knows talent in there. When the Eagles signed Peters, Reid called him “without a doubt, the best left tackle in the league.” I believe him, and I believe what I see.
Beat the Cowboys, signed Cliff Lee, and then THAT win in that way, to basically take the division? Second best sports week of my life, after the last week of October, 2008.
And you’re right, I’m definitely worried about the defense. The D-Line has been great, but the linebackers do nothing for me. I know Jamar Chaney had a nice game Sunday, but how many plays have Ernie Sims and Moise Fokou made this year? Aren’t outside linebackers supposed to be playmakers?
I can’t be optimistic about Patterson after that game Sunday. I know he beat out Hobbs, but I’m not a Hobbs believer either, so that doesn’t tell me much. Even if the foursome of Samuel, Patterson, Mikell, and Coleman can be decent, what happens if we have another injury? Could be big-time trouble. We have nothing left behind these guys at safety.
Would I be crazy to root for the Giants on Sunday? We haven’t clinched the division yet but, like you said, we’re close, and I would much rather face the Giants in the playoffs than the Packers, especially considering Aaron Rodgers going up against our aforementioned secondary.
Doogan, I think you are wrong to root for the Giants this week, for reasons other than an unrelenting loathing of everything they are.
1). I’m not sure that the Giants are a better matchup for the Birds. Their d-line is fast and they have bruising running backs. The Packers RBs don’t scare me and, though Rodgers and their receiver are great, I’m not sure the Giants are that much worse on offense. I am actually pretty scared of a rematch with the G-Men in Round 1. But, more importantly…
2). I think that the difference between the 2- and 3-seeds for the Eagles is gigantic. If they get the #2-seed, they are at least co-favorites (with Atlanta) to win the NFC. But, I think if they get the #3-seed, it’s more of a longshot that Vick and company can beat the Giants/Packers in Round 1, then win AT Chicago and then go to Atlanta to win. So…that being said, we need the Packers to win on Sunday so that they have something to play for against Chicago in Week 17. If Green Bay loses this week, they are eliminated and we’re going to be resting our #2-seed hopes on Matt Flynn against the Bears in Week 17 (that is, if the Jets don’t beat Chicago this week).
I think that getting the #2-seed trumps any possible matchup advantage we would have in Round One, so I think it’s really important that Green Bay stays alive this week with a win.
But, your point is valid. Not having to worry about Aaron Rodgers would be nice…
Alright, good points. I didn’t want to root for the Giants anyway, obviously. I’d still rather face the Giants than Packers, but I’m on board with needing the Packers to beat the Bears. Though I think they’d play Rodgers no matter what in that game. It’s a division rival, they’d have to play their normal starters. But they won’t be as motivated if they’re already eliminated.
Hey, how about the season Jeremy Maclin has had? Vick and Jackson get all the attention, and I’ve heard a lot of “McCoy is under-rated/overshadowed”, but Maclin has 10 touchdowns! I looked into this the other day. Maclin red-shirted his first year at Missouri, then played just two years and went pro. He was a 1st team All-American BOTH years! Guy is a stud. This offense is just ridiculous.
The offense is ridiculous – how are we going to keep them all on payroll though? I guess we can just enjoy the time we have with them and worry about that later.
December 19th (this past Sunday) is my birthday, and if you check your calendars…it’s been a TERRIBLE day for Philly sports in the last decade. TO broke his leg on a then-legal horse-collar tackle against Dallas back on my bday. THEN we traded AI to the Denver stupid-name-for-a-franchise Nuggets. I’ve felt that any recognition of my birthday only brings further damage to our sports teams and ultimately to this great city.
The way that Sunday’s game began seemed to fall right in line with my birth’s supposed curse. Every time Vick got up slowly….limping….after getting hit over and over again, I asked myself if he would be this year’s lucky recipient and get totally Farved out of the game. But somehow, in the most spectacular way imaginable, the curse was lifted.
“Punt team got it done!” – #10
Brilliant game. Once Jackson broke past the first wave, I let out an “Oh my god!” and knew he was going to score. I’ll not hear a bad word spoken about Foku (Go SPRET!), and since if you can’t say something nice you shouldn’t say anything at all…let’s not say anything about him. And the O-line has been a huge surprise, given all the injuries.
Oh, and Coming to America is one of those movies where if you’re flipping through the dial and find it, you must watch the rest of the movie. Even the 100th time, it’s great.
Great article Doogan! I wish I had a chance to get to it until just now, since the wonderful “tingly” feelings we all had after the Giants game were all but washed away after the Vikings abortion. I may have told you that I was at the game when Howard struck out looking to Brian Wilson (and needed to be escorted out by the police after yelling obsenities on the field for a half hour after the game), and I also tore my dorm room to pieces after Ty Shine hit what must have been 9 three-pointers on Temple that year. I was also at the Eagle game this past Tuesday night, and I hate to say it, but the feeling was not much different for me. That being said, I really hope that the Minnesota debacle ends up being a blessing in disguise. Not necessarily because it gives our starters a chance to rest, but it just might prevent the birds front office from making a collosal mistake- letting Kevin Kolb walk. A guy who has won NFL player of the week honors 2 out of his 5 career starts! A guy whose only fault was getting a concussion after a sluggish pre-season. Sure the Michael Vick experiment has been a momunental success thus far, but in the last 4 or 5 weeks, he’s looking more and more like the Atlanta Falcons version than the 2010 “new and improved” one we were all so excited about. Clearly the offensive line is a disgrace, and the play calling hasn’t been much better. (When you have a pro-bowl running back who looks like Brian Westbrook Jr. with his pass-catching abilities, there’s no reason why he was such a non-factor for much of the last two weeks) But don’t kid yourself, Vick hasn’t been superman either. Far from it. Take a look at the other playoff QB’s. He’s not even in the same class as Brady, P. Manning, Brees or Ryan. But can you really afford to give away a young QB who just might be, if given the kind of protection that those guys enjoy? The answer is NO.. Vick is going to ask for a fortune this off-season. The jury is still out on whether or not his former demons are even expelled. His playing style puts his body at risk like none other. In two years he will be another Donovan McNabb…No way can you let this happen..Just watch Kolb this Sunday and you will see. If he can stay upright that is!!!
Thanks Neylan, but Bry actually wrote this, not me. I hope they keep Kolb around too, but also feel like Vick is definitely Super Bowl-caliber, and will be for the next few years. I remember we were talking about Hamels and his contract a few weeks ago. His contract does expire after this year, but he still won’t have enough service time to be a free agent, so he’d go to arbitration for 2012.