Monday, December 08, 2008

This week in Philadelphia sports email chatter (Part Two)

By Jeff Glauser
The Phanatic Magazine

From: Matt
Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2008 10:36 PM
To: Jeff
Subject: RE: It goes well!

I had to look up Ibanez, as he may be the most obscure guy who's hit at least 20 hr, 100 RBI the last 3 years. I can barely pciture him; he is 36, as you mentioned, but may not be a bad move. Better career numbers than I thought. Would you take him over Rocco Mediate, er, Baldelli, if the latter's healthy? Hey, you remember the infamous Slim Pickens? He'd be the best yodeler in MLB.Either Burnett or Lowe would be great. I'd probably prefer the younger power pitcher, but would happily take either.

Flyers won in overtime - whoulda thunkit. Richards and Carter huge again.

Sixers: Is Lou Williams taking a step back, or just getting off to a slow start? He's been very disappointing so far this year. Maybe, he's got the star mentality, and not reacting well to still playing under 20 mins/night? Likable, bright guy with lots of talent; hope he bounces back strong.
Matt

From: Jeff
Subject: RE: It goes well!

To: Matt
Date: Wednesday, December 3, 2008, 9:04 PM

Baldelli’s a big health risk, though I’d be satisfied with either one, since they’d both give an instant power threat off the bench and/or a power platoon to Jayson Werth. Although, technically, we were supposed to have something like that already with Geoff Jenkins. And another much cheaper version in Matt Stairs. But we’ll see.

Yeah, they can win in OT. But a shootout’s a different story!

Frankly, as impressed as I was with Maurice Cheeks’ coaching ability last season, I’m just as disappointed so far now. Yes, Williams if off to a slow start, but he’s also getting sporadic minutes and not much of an opportunity to build some momentum. I’m sure Mo is simply frustrated with his players and trying to find a right combination, but there also needs to be some consistent PT that he doles out to his guys. Williams was terrific as a 6th man last season who provided a spark off the bench and could keep the opposing ‘D’ on its toes. He’s not getting those same chances this year and thus it’s affected his aggressiveness on the court.

And then came gameday…

From: Jeff
Subject: RE: It goes well!
To: Matt
Date: Sunday, December 7, 2008, 4:17 PM

The only thing I can say after today is, has it really taken Andy Reid ten years to realize that everyone is right and he is wrong about the importance of the running game? The past two games have been two of the most efficiently run offenses the Eagles have had in years. Yes, efficient - not explosive. Just like the kind of offense the team on the losing side of things today used to win the Super Bowl last year.

Part of me feels that there may have been some sort of ultimatum conveyed to Big Red behind closed doors by the Powers That Be after the Ravens debacle. Because what has been done these past two weeks is simply what 90 percent of the Deleware Valley has been pleading for for about a decade or so.

Play just like this for the remainder of the season (minus the Akers' line drives) and they win out - and just maybe sneak into the playoffs after all. But can the intelligent playcalling really last that long?

From: Matt
Sent: Sunday, December 07, 2008 6:03 PM
To: Jeff
Subject: RE: It goes well!

It was an unusual game. I thought that our O and D lines would both get their asses kicked, and they did --but only for the first quarter. After that play that Westbrook bounced off the right side for the TD, our O line started to dominate. I was surprised, and gratified, to see that Reid stayed w/ the run after it didn't work at all for the first 8-10 carries, including the unsuccessful calls to DeSean.

Other notes:
- Eli was horrible, and worse than his final stats w/ that nothing drive. In fact, the Birds had really beaten the Giants 27-0 from scrimmage before that drive. Yeah, I know Hixon dropped that one. (Still, I was sweating that onside kick.)

- The refs sucked, especially on the PI calls and non-calls

- The two blocked FG's swung a net 13 points to the Giants, but we still got it done - w/ nothing froom DeSean.

- LJ looked like a player today; I doubt it's a trend

- I know the D played very well overall, but can they pick off a couple of those Eli wounded ducks (ahem, Assante) and can Q fall on that fumble?

- I still maintain that #5 is the best QB in the conference: Who would you want instead? Eli...nah...Romo (yet to win a truly big game, and should have huge stats w/ that team)...Brees (good, not great yet - what has he done yet?)...Warner (case can be made, but I don't see it)...Garcia? Delhomme? Hasselback?

- I'll take D-Mac...(I may trade him for a Matt Ryan, given his youth)

- Atlanta losing was big; I hope the Steelers offense freakin' does something. If the Cowboys lose, playoff destiny is just one more Falcons loss away, if the cowgirls lose.

From: Jeff
Subject: RE: It goes well!
To: Matt
Date: Sunday, December 7, 2008, 9:26 PM

Can't say I agree with your assessment on McNabb. Although, upon further review, the talent level of QBs in the NFC right now is pretty f'ing atrocious. The Drew Brees/Matt Ryan matchup today may have pitted the two best against each other (and as far as what Brees has done...quick, name a receiver on the Saints! Yeah, not that easy. Plus, their running game is very subpar this year. Now look at Brees' stats. Case closed.) So, I'd put the following ahead of McNabb in the NFC:

- Ryan
- Brees
- Jason Campbell (He's just simply getting the job done. Very efficient and, therefore, effective).
- Kurt Warner

And yes, I must say, after the Cowboys loss, that it's looking more like the Eagles can control their own playoff destiny just by winning out. Now which of the final three games will they blow it?

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