Vick forgiven?

A controversial issue that has been adressed in the media recently is if Michael Vick is and should be forgiven for what he has done in his past. Obviously no one will ever forget the fact that he killed dogs and used them to fight eachother, but is it time to forgive him? ESPN recently ran an article about the fact that most fans have forgiven Vick, mostly based off of his on the field play. Michael Vick has played great this season, and it has made it easier to look the other way at what he has done in his past. The ESPN article (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/commentary/news/story?id=5838668) does a good job explaing that it is more than that. Vick, like everyone else deserves a second chance. He is not the first to do something very wrong and he certainly will not be the last. The most profound point made in the article is the following, "The one thing Michael Vick will never outrun is his own past. As he himself said, his life is a work in progress -- as it is for me and for you and for everyone everywhere." People need to recognize that they themselves are not perfect and that is why they should find it easier to forgive Vick. Another article (http://thepulpit.freedomblogging.com/2010/11/22/what-does-mike-vicks-redemption-say-about-forgiveness/8172/) uses a quote from religious scholar, Anthea Butler, "Perhaps this is sacrilege, but the football field, basketball court, and golf course, make for better spaces for repentance than the altar." It is easier to forgive him because we watch him on TV every sunday and we feel somewhat of a personal connection to him because of all the media attention. Americans see how this man has been through the worst and has picked himself back up and without blaming others got back to the top. This view of him has made it easier for Americans, because we are not a perfect people, to forgive him.

With Asante Samuel Out the Eagles defense looked terrible against the Bears for 3 quarters. They stepped up, with a strong effort in the fourth but ultimately the offense did not have enough. The Eagles fell to the Bears in a game in which they were more then a field goal favorite. The Bears relentless defense, led by Julius Peppers, contained Vick for the most part the entire game. Towards the end of the first half all looked good for the Eagles, they were at the four yard line and were looking to at the very least take a 16-14 lead before halftime. However, a tipped pass led to Vick's first interception of the year and the Bears marching down and taking a 21-13 lead before halftime. The lead grew to 31-13 and the Eagles got scrappy in the fourth cutting it to a 31-26 Bears win. The defense was missing the turnover spark, and the Bears were the ones able to force the Eagles into mistakes. The presence of Peppers and the absence of Samuel was the key difference today. The Bears forced the Eagles to go underneath coverage all day, taking away Jackson as well and the deep ball. Even still, on a day where they really struggled at times, they managed 26 on a very good Bears defense. The Eagles have very quick turn around as they face the Houston Texans on Thursday night in Philly.

Eagles vs Giants

After an impressive Sunday night victory against the division rival Washington Redskins, Michael Vick and company are looking for another big division win. The Eagles host the Giants tonight in prime time on NBC Sunday Night Football in a battle for first in the NFC East. With a win tonight over the Giants the Eagles can put themselves in position to take a one game lead in the division. A win tonight also puts them in the drivers seat towards a playoff birth. There is a lot of eyes on Michael Vick and the Eagles tonight, after what he did last week he has a lot of expectations. People are talking a possible MVP season for Vick, who is just doing what he has always done, running and throwing his team to victory. The Eagles are one of the most exciting teams to watch and tonights game should be a good one. The Eagles enter the game a favorite, but up until last week it was the Giants who were the favorite in the division. After a humiliating loss to the Cowboys last week the Giants are sure to be hungry for tonights game. The Giants have a very talented team, Hicks at wide reciever, Bradshaw at Running Back and of course Eli Manning at QB. However, there defense is also having a very good year and will look to put a lot of pressure on Vick. The Giants defense knows what they need to do to win, they need to contain Vick and put him on the ground. It will be a tough test for both teams as they both come down the home stretch and are both looking for another division title.

Monday Night Showdown

Baseball free agency is not keeping us entertained, just yet, as Jayson Werth and Cliff Lee the two biggest names on the market are likely to sign elsewhere. All of the attention in Philadelphia is on Monday nights Eagles vs Redskins matchup. McNabb vs Vick round 2. The Eagles didn't fair so well in that one, but things are looking up after an impressive Sunday night win against the Colts. The Eagles Offense is still kicking too many field goals. They look great between the 20's, but once they get into the red zone they have at tough time getting in. The Defense has come up big when it needs to. Asante Samuel had two picks last week, none bigger then the last pass of the game for Manning, that found the hands of Samuel to secure the Eagles win. Tomorrow nights game should be another win for the Birds who are a 3 1/2 point favorite at the moment. Michael Vick has been the best player in the NFC since when healthy and LeSean McCoy, DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin and company have been putting up big numbers. The Eagles are looking towards another NFC East title and this win would be huge in accomplishing that. The Cowboys beat the Giants today and the division is wide open.

Taking on the Colts...Blog

In preparing for the Eagles vs Colts game, today at 4 PM, I have been reading what some of the opposing blogs have to say about the game. Of course you are going to get your bias, Eagles fans will pick the Eagles and Colts fans will pick the Colts, that's loyalty for you. In particular I will be focusing on one of the more interesting blogs that I read.
http://www.coltsgab.com/
This blog actually does a good job of putting together quotes, and stats before guessing and throwing out a pick for the week. He does a good job of throwing a couple Eagles quotes into his very pro-Colts pick of the week. While he does point out some of the good things the Eagles are doing this season, the play of Vick and Jackson, he neglects to look at the big picture. He throws out stats about the Colts success about the Eagles in the past, and rides history to a Colts 27-21 win today vs the Birds.
My question for this blogger is, how about a very important Eagles stat, Andy Reid is 11-0 after a bye, and not to mention that bye is coming off of a miserable loss to the Titans. When looking at the past, look at the rosters. He notes the last Eagles/Colts game, "The last time Indiana faced Philly, the Colts destroyed them by 24 points in the 2006-07 season." That stat could not be more irrelevant. Talk about two completely different teams, the Eagles were led that game by Jeff Garcia and star RB Brian Westbrook, while the Colts were lead by a Four TD performance from RB Joseph Addai. Where are all of those players today, Addai is inactive with an injury, Garcia is playing in some Canadian Football league and Westbrook, is "playing" for the 49ers. The past really should have nothing to do with a prediction on today's game. The Eagles QB is no longer McNabb, and neither team's defense is nearly what it used to be. While the Colts offense is still very good, they are without Dallas Clarke, who caught well over 100 passes last year. The Michael Vick experience is also back in full effect. He mentions Vick's struggles as a third year QB, at that point Vick was nothing like what he is now. He is much more experienced, and has had a few weeks to essentially just focus on this game.
Jacob Tamme, a player who this Colts blogger did not even really mention, should also be a big factor in this game. The TE has always been a big part of Manning's aresenal, will Tamme after a standout game on Monday night against the Texans play that well today? There are a lot of questions for both teams entering this game. The defenses should be an afterthought today as this game is expected be a big offensive shootout. However, someone will eventually have to stop some one else. The Colts defense is built to take a lead and then blitz the Quarterback, a fact that the Colts blogger forgot to mention. They want the other team to sit back and throw while they blitz the game away. So who has the lead should play a big role in determining the success of this game. The Eagles are three point favorite, if they can get that lead and continue to score with the Colts, they should win. However, if the Colts jump out to a big lead early it could be a long day for Eagles fans. Obviously there is a lot of bias on both sides here, but the one thing that should be certain is that there should be a lot of players finding the end zones today.

Bye Week

What is there to talk about on an Eagles bye week and after the week of World Series games that no one watched. The answer is, Donovan McNabb. The Redskins Quarterback, who after throwing a crucial interception with only a few minutes remaining in the game was benched Sunday. The interception came at the worst possible time, not that there are good times for an interception. The Redskins were leading at the time and were looking to make a safe throws to move the ball and run the clock. Instead in classic McNabb fashion he decided to try and do to much in a key situation and threw the game away. Rex Grossman then came in to fumble away a touchdown and when all was said and done the Redskins lost to the Lions 37-25. The way McNabb has played this year has made it easy for Eagles fans to forget about him. Instead of lighting up the high light reels every night he has underperformed. The Redskins have been surviving on their defense and even with all they did today McNabb managed to throw the game away. The Eagles are on a bye this week and face the Colts next week. Mike Vick will be behind center and the Eagles are in desperate need of a big win to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Thats a wrap

Not a good weekend for Philadelphia Sports fans, unless you only like hockey. The Flyers did manage a win Saturday night 5-2 over the Toronto Maple Leafs. However, the Eagles lost a disappointing game to the Titans on Sunday and of course the Phillies loss to the Giants. The Eagles seemed to be dominating the Titans, but a fumble near the goal line and poor play on both sides of the ball led to a 37-19 loss. Not nearly as crushing as the let down that the Phillies provided Saturday night. When after stranding runners in scoring position all series Ryan Howard finally ended the misery of the NLCS for Phillies fans with a looking strike out. What started out with such promise, Halladay, Oswalt, and Hamels, ended in mediocrity. A fourth straight post season appearance, is nothing to sneeze at, especially with the history of the Phillies. Remember just a few years ago they were the first franchise in sports to reach 10,000 losses. Now they look towards next year about two weeks too early. We probably have seen the last of Werth, Moyer, Dobbs, Romero in a Phillies uniform. However, the toughest part will have to be watching Pat Burrell face off against Cliff Lee in the World Series. As Cliff Lee has basically carried Texas to the World Series just as he did last year with the Phillies. The Phillies certainly failed to reach their goal of a third straight World Series, and next year will be harder then any year has ever been for this club. However, you have to remain positive and grateful for what you have been able to be a part of. Do not forget the walk off wins and the World Championship. Yes, losing is tough, but this team has given us too much and does not deserve to be quit on now. The Phillies will be back next year, hopefully stronger with a full year of Halladay, Oswalt, Hamels.