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.

Site Comparisons

http://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2010/9/27/1715377/an-eagles-win-over-the-skins-on-sunday-could-ultimately-hinder-the#storyjump

http://www.igglesblog.com/

Excercise 2

I have posted the links for two sites on top, both blogs that follow the Philadelphia Eagles. The first link is for bleedinggreennation.com and the second is for arguably the most popular Eagles blog igglesblog.com.

The connection is obvious the Philadelphia Eagles. However, the reason I chose these blogs was because of the two different ways they went at looking at Sundays game in a couple of the posts. On Igglesblog it talks about whether or not McNabb will be booed in his return to Philadelphia on Sunday. On the other side the bleedinggreennation blog focused on what would happen if the Redskins were to lose on Sunday and the future of McNabb. The point is that Sundays game is a huge game for both the Eagles and Redskins and more importantly for McNabb and Andy Reid. The coach and the player who were together for 11 years and then Reid decided McNabb's time in Philly was over.
This game is so intriguing for so many reasons. There are different angles you can take when covering this story, from the divisional rivalry, the quarterback matchup (McNabb Vs Vick), the Coach vs the Player, the fans vs the Player, the media vs the city of Philadelphia. These blogs are connected with the same topic in a totally different way.
The larger point that these sites are saying is that while this is a game between the Eagles and the Redskins, it is one of the most important games in Donovan McNabb's career. Not only will he finally see the feelings of all of the fans, this is his first major test as a Redskin. Win or lose the game will be completely focused on McNabb. Every snap the Redskins take, every throw, catch, incompletion and interception will be scrutinized for what McNabb does. While the one site focuses on what this means for McNabb and his future the other focuses on the present and his connection with the crowd. Will this former fan favorite receive the boos he defintely does not deserve? Will this game be the key to him signing an extension with the Redskins, or a game that leads to the end of McNabb's career in Washington, almost immediately after arriving there.

Slick, Quick, Michael Vick

It looks like Mike Vick has been named starter for the Eagles game on Sunday vs the Jaguars, according to CSN Philly, http://tinyurl.com/22uy4qt. Just a few years ago everyone wondered as Michael Vick sat in prison if this man would ever make it back to the NFL again. There were always more questions then answers back then. Now the quetions have changed, not to will he get back to the NFL, but how long will he start now. Kevin Kolb was previously declared healthy and the starter. Now there is this sudden change, it seems as if Andy Reid's ear has caught word of what the town has been saying. No one knows what the future will be for Kevin Kolb success wise, however, they do know what they could see now with Vick. The fast paced game that Vick played with such ease during his days with the Falcons, the fans caught a glimpse of Sunday. Not only does he have the touch of a great quarterback, he has the legs like none other. Comparisons are now being made to Randall Cunningham, and for good reason. Randall was great, he was exciting, and that is exactly what you get with Vick. He gives you a chance to score every time he touches the ball and with that a chance to win. Vick just seems like the obvious and correct move here. With the weapons around him it seems as if Mike Vick gives the Eagles a better chance to win, at least in the short term.

Playoff Stretch

It's that time of the year again...that time of year when it gets cooler and the NFL starts. While there is always a lot of talk about the Eagles this time of year, especially now with the Mike Vick situation, it really is the playoff stretch for Major League Baseball. The Philadelphia Phillies find themselves in an unusually familiar situation, leading the National League East and getting ready for another October run. Five years ago this was only a dream, but now once again the Phillies are hitting there stride at the right time. Ryan Howard is once again hitting home runs, Chase Utley is back healthy and hitting. This year in particular it seems as if the Phillies have a great chance at making it back to the World Series and avenging the loss they experienced last year against the Yankees. With three top of the rotation pithcers including ace Roy Halladay as well as Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels, the Phils are poised and ready to make this an exciting October in Philadelphia once again.