It's doubtful that, even before Sunday's obliteration at the Linc, you would find more than a few local die-hards who believed that the Kevin Kolb-led Eagles could stand toe-to-toe with New Orleans' electrifying offense and come out on top. For 30 minutes of game time, however, it looked like the home team would give itself at least a puncher's chance.
In the second half, though, that same puncher emerged from his corner of the ring, led with his chin and promptly got clobbered. From the beginning of the third quarter on, the Saints outscored Philly 31 to 9. (No need to bother checking the box scores -- if you're like me you've read this part over and over again in disbelief.)
Is this ugly exhibition that we witnessed (and oh, Lordy, how we wish it had been an exhibition) a true depiction of what to expect from this team? Was their domination of Carolina a mere anomaly, a ruse to distract us and fool us into thinking that somehow, this combination of parts could form a juggernaut that would steamroll its way through the postseason?
At the onset of training camp, Joe Banner stated (in retrospect quite foolishly) that this roster which he had helped assemble was "the best" one in the NFL. I don't know... perhaps Joey B. forgot they still play football in New Orleans?
[Click below to wallow in further misery, Dear Reader...]
What works in the Eagles' favor, if you will, is that the upcoming schedule includes games against the worst division in football not named "the NFC West," and an early bye week that gives our all-too-early wounded warriors precious time to heal. It also allows Andy Reid the opportunity to take a long, hard look at both the men he felt were ready to start in their respective positions as well as the strategies he and his coordinators have chosen to employ with this roster.
These issues, you could state correctly, should have been worked out BEFORE GAME ONE. But the victory over Carolina had the unfortunate effect of delaying a critical examination of this team's weaknessses, which were overshadowed by the epic ineptitude of the Panthers' quarterbacks. Thus it took a debacle like the one yesterday to hammer home the realization that no, Andy, this team is without question NOT ready to play with the big boys. Not yet.
Never having had much faith in the abilities of Kevin Kolb, I have to admit that he played as decently as one could expect. His most heinous mistakes did not occur until the game had been all but decided. What really bothers me the most about Kolb is that he has an uncanny ability to throw pick-sixes at least once per appearance. It's difficult to win a ball game when you're handing points to your opponents on a regular basis. That has to stop.
Westbrook is hurt, McNabb is healing, our coach is flustered and our defense has a slew of questions about its character heading into Week Three against the Kansas City Chiefs. If they can't come up big and redeem themselves, then Week 2 may be remembered as "The Day It All Fell Apart."
(Really? Week TWO?!? God help us.)
More after the jump >>>
Monday, September 21, 2009
Expeauxsed
Monday, April 13, 2009
Friday, April 10, 2009
Friday Fun Link: "Here Comes A Greaseball!"
"OK, boy... This is where all the hard work, sacrifice, and painful scaldings pay off."
"I have a feeling this business is going to consume our whole lives."
Duo Accused of Trying to Steal Restaurant Grease [via philly.com]
More after the jump >>>
Saturday, April 04, 2009
And So We've Come to The End of The Road
In reflecting on this Final Four loss to North Carolina, it's easy to forget that Villanova nearly missed their chance to move on four games ago. Save for a brilliant comeback against the American Eagles, the Wildcats could have been licking their wounds over a first-round upset exit instead of failing just short of their bid for a national championship.
The key to tonight's loss was three-point shooting -- if you live by it, you die by it as well. And Villanova most definitely died by it, reaping a paltry percentage for their efforts (worse than 20%, with 10+ attempts by Scottie Reynolds alone).
The Tar Heels, to their credit, shot threes with an astounding amount of success. Villanova's weakness at times has been in defending the three, and when a team gets hot there's little they (or anyone else for that matter) can do. If you can't respond when your opponent heats up downtown, you might as well start the motor on your bus home -- it's going to be a long night.
Still, after the bitterness of coming so close and failing subsides, I can look back on this season with a large amount of pride: Nobody thought the Wildcats would make it this far. In fact, they weren't picked to finish very high in their own conference, one of the best fielded in a long time.
Jay Wright and his team will be back. They have one of the top three recruiting classes coming in, and the young players sticking around have a wealth of playoff experience to draw from. Make no mistake, this was a brutal loss, and all credit goes out to North Carolina. They were the better team, and showed as much tonight.
Still, Villanova represented itself well this season, and their fans (myself included) are nothing but proud and excited for what's to come.
More after the jump >>>
Monday, March 30, 2009
Bracket Update: In Short, I'm Boned
The only, remotely outside chance I have of finishing in the money (note that I didn't say "first place," because that baby flew out the window when Memphis laid down and died) is if North Carolina makes it to the National Championship game. Which, of course, means I would have to root for them to beat Villanova, and that simply won't fucking happen.
Losing $30 to see the Wildcats make it to the final round is a small price to pay.
More after the jump >>>
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Holy Crap: An Elite Eight Summation
Wow. That was certainly not the ending Villanova fans have been accustomed to seeing for the last three rounds of this tournament. No running out the clock here, no sir: Thirteen lead changes in the second half, capped off by a dunderheaded throw by the Wildcats with ten seconds remaining... which was then redeemed after two Pitt free throws by a hot-knife-through-butter layup by Scottie Reynolds which sealed the victory with half a second remaining (although Levance Fields did not give anyone an excuse to exhale until his desperation heave bounced hopelessly away from its target).
If my last sentence left you breathless, well, that's how watching the game felt, too.
And so the Villanova Wildcats -- pride of the Main Line, scourge of the also-rans -- will travel to Detroit as one of the remaining quartet of teams hoping to cut down the net come Monday, April 6. I couldn't be prouder of Jay Wright and this team he has assembled and led with tenacity and brilliance. Excuse me while I get up off of my knees now and realistically examine their chances...
'Nova will play North Carolina for the chance to play in the final round. As you recall, it was the Tarheels who beat Villanova in 2005 en route to capturing their first title since Dean Smith was still coaching there. In later years, it seemed that if you wanted to win it all, you had to beat Villanova to get it. Will this trend continue?
(Continued...)
If you believe the experts, yes. Now that Louisville has been dispatched in shocking fashion, only Connecticut and UNC remain the lone number-one seeds standing, and conventional wisdom says these two will battle for the championship. Unfortunately -- and I would love nothing better than to be wrong -- I think conventional wisdom is right.
This is usually as far as the scrappy underdogs get (if you can call a #2 and #3 seed that). The Huskies and Tar Heels are the elite of the elite, and should Ty Lawson play at full steam the Wildcats may hit the wall by Saturday night. Again, I could be way off, and I pray that I am. But to quote Damon Runyon, "The battle may not always go to the strongest, nor the race to the swiftest, but that's the way to bet."
No matter what happens from here on out, I can only thank these young men from my alma mater for making this a great year to be a Wildcat fan. Go 'Cats!
More after the jump >>>
