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.

Game 2 of NLCS

After a strong performance from the Eagles this afternoon all the attention turns to the Phillies for tonight's crucial game 2 of the National League Championship Series. The Phillies send mid season acquisition Roy Oswalt to the mound to face Jonathan Sanchez. While all of the attention will be on Oswalt after Roy Halladay's less than expected outing last night, the attention should really be on Jonathan Sanchez. Sanchez has pitched well against the Phillies and this Giant will be looking to put the Phillies into an 0-2 hole. The offense needs to strike early and try and get into the Giants bullpen. If Sanchez comes out and dominates it puts all of the pressure on Oswalt who needs to have a better outing then his 5 inning 5 hit 4 run outing in game 2 of the NLDS. The Phillies will rely on him early to keep the Giants off the board, but the Phillies offense needs to score first. The first run is always the most important, especially when there ace beats our ace at home to steal home field advantage. The Phillies have been in many pressure situations before and once again have to prove to everyone why they are considered by many to be the best team in the National League.

Eagles/Phillies same time

Tonight presents an interesting choice for all Philadelphia sports fans, a dreaded choice of who to watch the Phillies or Eagles. The Phillies have a chance to beat the Cincinnati Reds and clinch and advance to the National League Championship Series, andthe Eagles really need to beat the San Francisco 49ers to go to 3-2 on the season. Where does your loyalty lead you? The Phillies are a recent popular choice because of their success and are in a heated post season series. The Eagles have been the #1 team in Philadelphia for many years. Their are more die hard Eagles fans then Phillies fans, just a fact. We all remember the days of hearing E.A.G.L.E.S shouted in the stands at Phillies games. However, you do not hear those cheers any more so the choice becomes more interesting. If you are not at a bar, you will have to make that decision at roughly 8:20 when the Eagles kick off after catching a glimpse of the Phillies starting at 8:07. The decision isn't easy and I am not even going to attempt to answer that question as I need to watch both. The only reasonable solution is splitting the cable and bringing down another TV. Go Phillies and Eagles, its a big Sunday Night in Philadelphia.