Flipping The Bird: A Post-Mortem Look at the Now Lame Duck Philadelphia Eagles

Last night, I purchased tickets for the Eagles' Monday Night Football tilt on Stub Hub for 60 bucks. I took an old friend out to get him out of the house. I listened to the radio all last week to hear the reaction to the Eagles putting up a solid 6 spot in a blowout loss to the Redskins. There was an amazing range of emotions. They were discussing why you would go to the game, how you should cheer or boo or chant. I personally am a fan of the team, and even though they were 3-7, I still thought perhaps I should take advantage of this opportunity to see my team playing in Monday Night Football, thus completing the full slate of game times I have now seen (although the Sunday Night Football Game I saw was in New York, not Philadelphia).

So, I got the standing room only tickets. It is absolutely awesome in my opinion, if you don't mind standing for 3 hours. There are standing areas in the 100 level, but you practically have to be there like 30 to 50 minutes early to stand their first as, especially me, it is very hard to see over the shoulder of a 6 feet tall man when I am only 5 feet 7. I always preferred to stand in the concourse as you can see most of the field from an angle and usually the cast of characters that pass through can provide some sort of entertainment.

I was expecting a crowd of angst. There was that aura of uncomfortableness that the fans were ready to diss the team on a national stage. The National Anthem is sung and the game starts. Even the opening fireworks were week. The typical Rocky opening starts, and the crowd actually seems to kind of come alive. The Eagles get the ball first. They are making some major headway on the opening drive, an unfamiliar site. When the public address (PA) announcer says "First dowwwwn EAGLES!" and I heard somebody shout from the level above me, "What's that?!" I mean the Eagles were making catches that they have typically shied away from. Celek caught a deeper pass as the hit was coming. Maclin and Jackson were doing what they could seemingly playing with what I initially thought was courage. Turns out they were playing professionally. That's what they were supposed to do. That thought is kind of lost on us after this dismal season. Cheering our asses of at something as simple as a catch was ridiculous. Sure enough, when the run and some tricky wildcat plays got the Eagles close, they went for the passing touchdowns that wouldn't come. They had to settle for the field goal. At least they had the lead.

What happened next was inexplicale. Two drives for the Panthers, two touchdowns. It was an annihilation already. The Eagles could only muster up another field goal. 14-6, for this team, has been insurmountable. However, something happened, and Bryce Brown broke off a ridiculous 65 yard touchdown run. The crowd exploded. It still wasn't as loud or energetic as games I have been to in the past, but for the season, it sounded like the crowd woke up. What happened next was just a total folly that could sum up the season. It seems like every game lately has one of them. A missed extra point against the Cowboys, a ridiculously deep touchdown reception for the Redskins, and the Eagles going for two just to tie the game rather than being 1 point down with the extra point. There was no chance in Hell that the Eagles would convert. And they didn't. They did manage to hold the Panthers actually and soon enough scored a field goal to go ahead before the end of the half. That was pretty awesome, to see them carry a lead into halftime. When this happens, they tend to blow it.

 

The third quarter saw a lead swap and eventually had the Eagles up 22-20. Sometime in the third quarter, the defense came alive again. Mike Paterson, who had BRAIN SURGERY in the off-season, made an amazing sack. The Panthers punted, and the Eagles looked prime to make a good run to the end zone. Adrenaline was flowing and the fans could...wait Bryce Brown fumbled. That was his second of the day, I think, by that point. It was essentially a pause in the game for the Panthers offense that gave them like 40 yards of progression. The Panthers either did a field goal or a touchdown at that point. I think it was the field goal. Eventually Cam Newton jumped and extended the ball into the endzone, and the game score was set. 30-22. I forget if it was a punt or kickoff, but Boykin was making a very good return (another rarity for the Eagles) and the crowd is starting to get frothy at the mouth that they may see something finally that is posi...oh Boykin fumbled at like the 40 yard line. 

 

My friend asked me if I wanted to leave. There was just over 4 minutes left. I didn't want to. I said, "Sorry brotha, I'm a fan. I still believe there may be some kind of chance. I need to see how this ends." Yeah, I may be a delusional fan, but hey, the defense was 50-50 all night, maybe they could be 51-49 for the night. Alas, the Panthers ran out the clock to the two minute warning. Cam started taking knees and we rolled.

If this was like 2 years ago maybe the crowd would have thought they had a chance to see something magical. I don't know why I expected two teams with a previously combined 5 and 15 record would put on a classic game. Shame on me. Now those teams combined records are 6 and 16. At least it was one of the closer Monday Night Football games as they have recently been real clunkers. I don't know how the game came across on TV. But the Eagles actually showed that they may be able to pull something off when they work together. I hope it was respectably entertaining. 

So, moving forward, I realize I start a lot of my paragraphs with "so." Next week, the Eagles are featured in prime time again. We are talking Sunday Night Football!!! More like Sunday Night Foolsball. The 3-8 Philadelphia Eagles are coming Dallas to get obliterated by the contending Cowboys. I honestly have no faith in this game. If the rookie is our quarterback, he will get eaten up. He mustered a touchdown against the Cowboys in his first pro playing time. However, that would be his last and he was eventually owned by the Cowboys defense.

What are the Eagles now? They are the Kansas City Chiefs. I like the Chiefs, too. But they are now the team you start your fantasy team against. Don't trust the Cowboys defense for the rest of the year? Start them against the Eagles. Remember when Kevin Ogletree was the shit in week 1? Bring 'em back.

What do I want with the Eagles at this point? I want them to finish 0.500. If they fail next week, I want them to finish 7-9. And so on. Even if they finish 3-13, I want to see my team. No matter who is the coach, the quarterback, the line, the secondary - I just want to see a team that wants to play for my city. But I don't see that. You are all grown men. Just play like you are proud of yourself for making it to the NFL, not just being complacent with it. What about some pride in your work. I guess what I am looking forward to, and what I HAVE to look forward to, is people playing for their jobs, and possibly knocking some teams out of playoff contention. Rebuilding will be more painful than this. So I want to enjoy what there is left to enjoy of this season.

Runaway golf cart mows down celebrating coach after football championsh...

There several things to look for when you replay this video. It's kind of like "Where's Waldo." In that case, Waldo is a golf cart. And then there's all those other things. See if you can spot the following:

 

1. 4 shoes that go flying off
2. 1 hat knocked off
3. Guy in white shirt who falls for no reason
4. Guy in blue shirt who just cant do it anymore and gives up
5. Woman who runs after cart with minimal effort
6. How many people initially take the hit
7. How many camera men slowly follow the cart
8. Finally, how high do you think the guy in the grey shirt lept whence he saw the cart coming.

Only in Dallas.

Flipping the Bird: A Weekly Look at the "Oh Please God Don't Let us Lose to the Redskins" Philadelphia Eagles

Let's just go ahead and look at my favorite team's upcoming tilt with the loathed Washington Redskins:

Week 11: Eagles at Washington Redskins

Ah yes. For 7 whole days we get to hear about the comparisons of RG3 and Vick. Too bad that is about all the Redskin have to compare to the Eagles. I have no faith in the Redskins until they have a first round draft pick again in a couple years. Maybe RG3 will have some heroics in him, but who knows. I certainly could see him being something special for the Redskins, but not at the Eagles' expense. At least not this year. Way Shanahan coaches his team, John Beck may even be the quarterback by the time they meet in week 11. I hope that after a romp of the Cowboys the Eagles do not overlook the 'Skins. I don't think they do, though. Eagles 23, Redskins 13 (8-2)

Well, there is really just a rookie quarterback comparison, and it isn't even close. The Redskins found something for their team they can build around, and things looked extremely good for them in their first game - a win over the Saints AT New Orleans, with Pierre Garcon looking like he has earned his fat contract. Instead, they have seemingly lost Garcon for the year, and Fred Davis is out as well. Instead RG3 is throwing to Aldrick Robinson and Leonard Hankerson. Who?

The Eagles Rookie Quarterback, Nick Foles, finally gets the start after stupid fans have been clamoring for the majority of the season. He had a couple bright spots last weekend. I listen to a lot of football podcasts (CBS Sports Fantas Football Podcast, ESPN Fantasy Focus, ESPN Fantasy Underground, and the Football Guys) and I have heard everything from he looked great to he looked awful. I tried working through the NFL.com stats lab to try and see his performance, but it is an awful web page that I have no idea what I am doing. I know he did have one nice bomb of a touchdown to Maclin. People have praised it and called Foles short throw out on it. It did go 43 yards in the air and Maclin took it in for one yard thereafter. He was wide open, but I don't see how he DOESN'T get praised for that one. It was indeed a bomb, and he had plenty of time. The offensive line seemed to be doing their best for the rookie. This broke down though as the immobile quarterback later made an unforgivable throw that resulted in a pick 6 and later a fumble for a touchdown by Dallas in the closing moments of the game. Some say the pick 6 was Desean Jackson's fault with his alligator arms, but remember Foles was on the run and the pass was kind of away from Jackson, in the opposite direction he was running. THAT is not good from a team perspective. You have an immobile quarterback who supposedly can excel in the pocket who has none to throw from.

RG3 on the other hand has the cannon arm and the quick feet, and he is fearless. Trying to live up to his number 1B draft position. He is trying to play like the 2010 Michael Vick wishes he was. There also appears to be no confusion anymore about the Redskins running game as Alfred Morris clearly has that number 1 role on lockdown barring injury. Morris has seemingly slowed down a little bit, but after what Felix Jones just did, perhaps the Redskin can get going again against the Eagles.

Both teams sit at 3-6, sitting at the bottom of the NFC East. Things look bleak for both teams, but the Redskins probably have more to look forward to at this point. The Redskins are 1-3 at home, and the Eagles are 1-3 on the road. Something has to give. Each team ins only three games back from the Giants, and stranger things have happened before where one of these teams could turn it around and make it to the playoffs. I certainly hope the Eagles are that team.

That is what this season has become for an Eagles fan. Hopeful. Some are hopeful, like me, for miracles and everything to go the right way, from some good teams losing and the Eagles playing like a lot of people predicted they could. Others hope that Nick Foles shows them something this weekend, in his first full time start in an NFL game, against a suspect Redskins defense. A lot of times young players just need confidence. Some also hope that the Eagles get utterly embarrassed by the Redskins and Andy Reid is fired when he gets off the bus. Still others hope that a new regime will come in and make it all better.

My question to the latter half of those hopefuls is, "Why wouldn't you want your team to win?" I only get to see the Eagles play a guaranteed 16 times per year. 16 Weeks out of 52, or 30% of year-ful of weeks. That's only 16 days of the year as well, or 4.4% of the year. Fortunately I really do love football and can find enjoyment when my team is not doing well. Just please please no Giants-Patriots III in the Super Bowl this year. The bottom line is as a real fan, you should want to see your team do the best possible job to get themselves out there and ready to play a professional football game. 

Players certainly have to make that happen. There is a mixed bag of players on the Eagles. Some are veterans just coasting along apparently, or suddenly realizing they are in their respective career's twilight. Some are rookies who have everything to prove, and even some of them have either all or nothing to lose.

Now, with that out of the way, I really hate the Redskins. I never really like the division rivals and was always more focused on the Cowboys. However, one play, 4 years ago, changed everything:

This was a last second attempt to tie the Redskins in Week 15 of the 2008 season. The Eagles I think were just fresh off their tie with the Bengals and things looked BAD for the Eagles. Even another tie would have been better than Reggie Brown landing one foot short of the end zone. I thought at that moment the season was over. The Eagles went on to handle the Giants I believe the following week and then, a miracle happened. The horrible Raiders beat the resilient, Jeff Garcia led Buccanneers in the last seconds of their 1:00 game. Another team lost ahead of the Eagles in the playoff standings as the night before, I believe. Suddenly, the ensuing Cowboys at Eagles 4:30 game became a preliminary playoff game that the Eagles easily won. The Eagles went to the NFC championship game at 9-6-1 and should have WON that game outright. So yes, a miracle, glimmer of hope, can happen until the Eagles are numerically eliminated.

That said, the Eagles face yet another team coming off their bye and/or Thursday night game (5th time this season now). The Eagles are currently 1-3 in these games, the only win against the defending Super Bowl champs New York Giants who played on Thursday night, 10 days earlier. The worst part is, the Eagles had the Steelers and Lions at a loss until the last couple minutes. This resulted in Juan Castillo losing his defensive coordinator position during the Eagles' bye week, and later to a blowout loss to the Falcons (coming off a bye). 

Last week, the Eagles showed their weaknesses in every part of their game - The Offensive Line is porous, the majority of the defense cannot tackle, the special teams just can't return a ball or stop the ball from moving. Most of these players on today's team are either inexperienced rookies, veteran Eagles who once knew greatness, or veterans brought in from other teams who either had a stellar reputation or came off teams that performed very well. You put them in losing situations two years in a row now and none of them know how to handle it. The Redskins, on the other hand, are gunning for respect and to energize the fanbase in D.C.

Typically a lot of Eagles fans travel to D.C. to support their team. The Monday Night blowout in 2010 of the Redskins by the Eagles had a very loud vocal majority of Eagles fans. Last year's game in D.C. had the same, when the Eagles started their 4-0 season ending "fools gold" run. There is no reason that this year the Redskins fans will NOT not out-energize the stadium this time.

The only thing I think that will help in this game is that Andy Reid has Mike Shanahan's number. This game will be decided on a couple brash calls by the Lorax.

The key to the game is the Defense needs to hold up. Traditional Eagles teams (i.e. before 2009) had a defense that motivated the rest of the team. They need that back. RG3 needs to go 3 and out several times, and hopefully the defense realizes that. If they do that, and the Eagles get ahead with a good pocket presence and tosses from Foles, then the Eagles can bag this one up easily. I think the Eagles play like this in quarters 1, 2, and 4 to beat the Redskins 24-17.

Fliping the Bird: A Weekly Look at the "At Least We're Not The Jacksonville Jaguars" Philadelphia Eagles

Fresh off another defeat (4 in a row) I looked to the Thursday night game last night between the Colts and the Jaguars. I thought maybe the Colts were picking up steam, but I never thought the Jaguars could be that bad. This was my lasting memory and a reminder that Rashad Jennings equals Maurice Jones Drew for fantasy football purposes:

 

Now, I know that if the Eagles get blown out in this next game, especially against the rival Cowboys, we will have bags over our heads, too. I have taken the liberty of coming up with a few names:

• Bag-les (using bags, with Andy Reid Mustache)
• Balding Eagles (skin head caps that have "we suck" written on them)
• The Clock Stoppers (everybody where a series of old-school clocks around their necks like Flava Flave in reference to Andy Reid's propensity for establishing the timeout)
• Unemployment line (wear an all black wind-breaker jump suit with fake/real mustache ala Andy Reid's outfit or a number 7 jersey)

Seriously, what more can happen to this team this year? Below is the current Eagles' depth chart for this week:

 

 

 

 

Maybe it is too small to read unless you click the picture itself for maybe a bigger read of it, but just so you know the starting line is King Dunlap (LT), Evan Mathis (LG), Dallas Reynolds (C), Danny Watkins (RG), Todd Herremans (RT). Okay, so this depth chart is obviously outdated as Herremans is out for the year now and possibly into next season. I believe I heard yesterday that the revised line is Demetress Bell (LT), Evan Mathis (LG), Dallas Reynolds (C), Dennis Kelly (RG), King Dunlap (RT). Well, the only starting lineman to still be healthy is Evan Mathis, and he had a down to up year last year by season's end. Jason Peters went down so the Eagles picked up Demetress Bell, who lost the starting job to KING DUNLAP. This eventually turned into a rotation of Bell and Dunlap that still proved to be terrible, helping lead Vick to make poor throwing decisions/getting hit and McCoy not being anywhere near as effective when Peters was running downfield with him. Vick still makes his bonehead throws, but then again this happens also:

 

 

What happened hear is Celek had the ball thrown at him at the 1 yard line. It looked like maybe his arm was held, but replays later showed he was slow bringing his left hand around to grasp the ball. What happened next was #21 intercepted it, FELL TO THE GROUND, and ran it 99 yards for a touchdown. That's right, the Saints defense scored as many touchdowns as this vaunted Eagle's potentially prolific offense. Disgusting. Celek used to be a sure bet in my mind. Not any more. None of them are. I saw Vick do his scrambling routine in the second half, and when he was doing that and throwing a bomb to Desean Jackson for their only touchdown strike, I thought maybe they had a chance.However, when the Saints fumbled the following kick off and the Eagles picked up the ball in the red zone, an overthrow of Jeremy Maclin killed the game. I knew that once this now-momentum-having offense had another quick chance to strike and they established the field goal again, well, it was time to start rooting for Drew Brees again to rack up points for my fantasy team.

 

So, let's look ahead to Week 10 by going back in the past at my previous projections for this game:

 

Week 10: Dallas Cowboys at Eagles

Dallas got waxed the last time they came to Philadelphia and the hype around Demarco Murray died down a little. The Cowboys now have Brandon Carr to help against the speedy receivers, but the rest of their secondary has more holes than _______________(insert hole joke here). I always have an uneasy feeling watching the Eagles take on Dallas, as I think the fans tend to get TOO confident. Who knows, maybe this is the year Tony Romo finally keeps it together for a season? With Laurent Robinson gone, I think you will see Romo have a very bad game, Dez Bryant look mediocre again, and Miles Austin slowly become the pre-Miles Austin Miles Austin again. Not to be one of those too confident Eagles fans, but, c'mon. Eagles 40, Cowboys 21 (7-2)

 

Well,  there is no Demarco Murray this week. That is a plus. The Cowboys have Brandon Carr and a decent rookie cornerback who have helped shut down pass attacks. I am still waiting for a hole joke. The radio hosts are already condemning the Cowboys to lose. Tony Romo has the most turnovers in the NFL (just ahead of my own Michael Vick). Romo has had more bad games than good, almost at a 3-1 margin, Dez Bryant is stupid, and Miles Austin is back to the pre-Miles-Austin Miles Austin.

 

However, both of these teams are tied for second, in the NFC East, but at 3-5. Second place doesn't mean shit anymore in this division as it is not the once toughest division it used to be considered. The Giants are 6-3 and go on bye next week, I believe. This is a great chance for one of these two teams to get on a winning streak to make up some ground. Cowboys fans are ready to kill their team, and Eagles the same. If something goes wrong in the first series, whether it be offense or defense, the fans will boo. Put the bags on their faces. Put the balding caps on. Chant "We Want Foles" or "We Want Juan" or "Fire Andy." The latter was chanted like midway in the third quarter in the last home game to the Atlanta Falcons.

 

Regardless of record/fans, the Eagles AND the Cowboys are not statistically out of contention in the division, let alone a wild card. The wild card contention teams are hovering at or slightly above 0.500. The schedule for the Giants will only get tougher, but they show they can get it done. The Eagles schedule is supposedly getting easier, although they only put up a 13 spot on the Saints (who were the beginning point of this supposed easier run). I don't know, man. I never in my life have counted out the Eagles. Ever. Only time was when they accomplished over 8 losses during the Mike McMahon year (McNabb had a sports hernia that year). Maybe this is the week the Eagles forget the criticism, forget the fans chanting, forget how to lose. I really like the idea of an early round draft pick, but never thought I would see the day when we are competing with teams like Kansas City, Jacksonville, Redskins, Rams, Browns, Bills, Panthers for a lowly spot. Unfortunately, that is how the Eagles are playing.

 

The only thing there is is hope. Maybe a week of practice with this makeshift line will help them get together. They came together last year after suffering key injuries. Maybe they give up on Celek and make him block more? Maybe they make Havili do a chip block here and there, and get him the ball in the flat? Maybe they have Bryce Brown lead block for McCoy to get his game going? Maybe the Eagles just try not to suck for a week?

 

I think the only thing the struggling key components of this Eagles team (i.e, Reid, Vick, Asomugha, Babin, DRC, Desean Jackson, Celek) is the verocity the fans will have towards the Cowboys. That energy can hopefully be consumed and incorporated by the Eagles. I will never forget the day, 4 seasons ago, when Oakland found a way to beat Tampa in the last game of the year, eliminating the Buccanneers from the playoffs and giving the final spot to the winner of Cowboys at Eagles. That crowd was jacked and I think it was a 44-3 victory for the Eagles. Again, we look at two desperate teams now, facing off in a semi-national spotlight. As much as the Eagles fans want change, they know in the bottom of their heart there is still a possible miracle, the smallest beam of light at the end of the tunnel. Hopefully the players and coaches know it and play like know it. I saw a really shitty Jaguars team last night that I hope doesn't and still don't see how it can become the reality for the Eagles. Rise above. Don't be a Jaguar. Eagles 21, Cowboys 13. Winner takes at LEAST a wildcard spot in the playoffs. Mark my words (which have been pretty much wrong all year).



Dubawkward Moments: Remembering Obama's First Election Win

November 4, 2008, was the most recent historically relevant day in American history. It was the day that Senator Barrack Obama became the country's first black president. Yeah yeah weirdos will argue just how "black" he is, but he is clearly of African-American descent, and regardless of where he was born and who raised him, he is considered a black man in my book. How good of a job did he do? I don't know, he was given a mess to sort through, and even though he probably didn't intend for it to be this way, but perhaps he had to let things get worse before they got better. Time will tell. On the day after his second successful presidential campaign, the president of my country, regardless of skin color, religion, or sexual preference, is my president. Regardless. Gotta root for the guy.

Enough of that. There were two moments I wish I could have recorded before and immediately after the election in 2008.

The K-Mart Incident

So, I was in line a couple weeks before the election at a K-Mart in Moorestown, New Jersey. If you ever waited in line in this store in 2008 you know the wait is terrible and the flow of lines is stupid. There is  also an open space between two registers, so that you can stand in the middle and go to the next available lane, either to the left or the right. The lady in front of me was a diminutive Indian lady checking out with one last item on the left. The register on the right already had their sign lit up that they needed help from a manager to do basic math. K-Mart register operators, in my opinion and from my experience, have to be the least qualified people I have ever come across for that specific job. I am sure there are some very hard working people who do this job, but not where I have been. Anywho, the register on the right looks like it would take a while.

So one person decides to wait behind the right register. All of a sudden the lady at my register has a problem with a coupon or price check or something and I begin what would later be a very long 10 minute stressful wait. Meanwhile a black lady lines up in the middle, slightly favoring the left side behind me. A white family and several other black patrons are behind them. The Indian lady apologizes to me and I tell her not to worry about it I am in no rush. The right lane suddenly becomes operated by a respectable human being again and quickly checks out their patrons. Immediately thereafter, the white family proceeds to the right register, bypassing the black lady who was next in line. The lady, trying her hardest not to sound a hint ghetto, politely lets the man of the family know that she was next in line. The man says something to the affect that she was not paying attention and they thought she was in the left line. The family is being checked out. The black lady gets slightly heated and says that she should have been next regardless of what line opened up. The man laughs it off and says, "whatever lady." The black lady, who kept her cool up to this point followed up with this...

Hoooo boy I hope Obama gets elected because when he does this SHIT'S GONNA

CHANGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You know that deep voiced, arrogant sounding, threatening tone somebody makes when they are ready for a fight? That's how she said "change." It also took her about 3 seconds of stretching the word out. This made the man laugh as he gathered his family and crappy K-Mart products and left.

November 5, 2008 - The Day After

Through my job I have been lucky to work in some stellar cities  like Elizabeth, Union, Union City, West New York, Mantua, Jersey City, Perth Amboy, South Amboy, New Jersey.  No city is too dangerous for ol' Duba. However, I was tasked to go to East Orange up in Essex County. The population breakdown is 86.7% black, 7.9 percent hispanic, 2.2 percent white, and the rest are American Indians, Asians, Hawaiians/Islanders, other. There are 51 registered sex offenders here (1 in every 1,260 people), 6 to 22 murders per year over the last 10 years, 22 to 54 rapes per year in the same span, and 246 to 752 assaults per year. That is a troubling statistic. That is less than 1 to 2+ assaults per day. 2008 had 266 assaults, and I thought on this day I was going to be number 267 and 268.

So I stayed up all night on November 4, 2008. It seemed like Obama was starting to run away with it. But I was actually watching history live and wanted to live in the moment. I woke up and got to East Orange at around 6:30, waiting for the gates to open. As I sat there in my work truck in the street, cars driven by some of the 55,000+ black people were honking their horns at each other, yelling "Obamaaaaaaa" at me. That was weird, but I thought to myself, "Self, they are just happy that one of their own has obtained one of the highest positions in the world." All day long, they were yelling "Obama!" into our job site as me and my white work crew were working while looking over our shoulder.

Lunch break came and I went for a walk down to my deli as the Obama victory cry had subsided for at least an hour. The deli was one block from the site and could be seen from there. As I am about to cross the street to get to the corner, a black man approached me, started swaggering. ***Duba Note - I just tried Googling "Black Thug" to illustrate what the man looked like and proceeded to find black gay porn pictures*** He did that head bob, side to side movement that typically leads to no good. He approached me slowly, looked me in the eyes, and, I shit you not, said, "Obama!....motherfucker!" Can't argue with that.

What was intimidating was he just stood there, staring at me. I could only respond with, "Hey man I picked him, too." He went on his way.

And that is how the election of the first black President of the United States happened.

Flipping The Bird: A Weekly Look At the Soon To Be Led To The Slaughter Philadelphia Eagles

Ugh. Let's just get to the prediction I made in April about this game...

 

Week 9: Eagles at New Orleans Saints

Talk about another coin flip game. By this point, the Saints' assistant coach Vitt will be back to resume his role as interim head coach. I think the saints may be struggling by this point if player suspensions are handed down in a harsh way. However, New Orleans loves their team and hate Vick. I think that if the Saints have struggled by this point (hard to imagine a team with Drew Brees struggling) then they will have nothing to lose by going guns a blazing on the Eagles. The Eagles will need to show all their heart to beat what I feel will be a desperate team. Unfortunately, this is around the time of the season that the Eagles tend to lose their heart. If Demeco Ryans cannot help control Jimmy Graham, then the Eagles have no chance. HOWEVER, I have a feeling the Saints' season will not go the way their fans would hope and I think everybody will have forgotten what they have said about Drew Brees practically being a coach on the field as even this scenario will be too much for him. Hmmmmm. I cannot imagine Drew Brees losing to Juan Castillo though. However, I never imagined Alex Smith out-dueling Brees, either. I say this could go either way, but because I am a homer, Eagles 30, Saints 27 in OT (6-2)

 

 If I have to stay up all night for overtime to watch the Eagles lose, I will punch a baby. Key points to the thoughts above: "...this is the time of the season that the Eagles tend to lose their heart." Yup. Did you see the way slow moving Eagles Defense? How about the look of defeat after every single dropped pass, short yardage gain, punt, long gain by the Falcons that I saw last week.

I also said that I don't think Juan Castillo could match wits with Drew Brees and the high octane offense of the Saints. Fortunately he doesn't have to. Unfortunately, a dude who just ran a defense that looked worse than LAST YEAR'S horrible defense, is in charge now. In my opinion, the Falcons offense is NOTHING compared to the abilities of the Saints offense. Last week the Saints hit a speed bump known as the now dominant Denver Brocnos. However, even back when Castillo was running the defense, the Eagles really have not shown a defense to be afraid either. And last week, when the Falcons decided they could score every way possible on offense. It looked like they were scrimmaging the Eagles. It was bad.

 

I really saw the Eagles being 5-2 at this point. I predicted they could go 12-4 for the season. They already got the 4 losses out of the way, right? Can they really go on a 9 game tear? Let's see, the next 9 opponents, in this order, are: Cowboys, at Redskins, Panthers, at Cowboys, at Buccaneers, Bengals, Redskins, at New York. The games I would be worried about the most here are the Saints (tonight), at the Buccaneers and at the Giants at the end of the season. These teams' current combined record: 23 Wins, 34 losses. These teams have won only 40 percent of their games. Comparatively, the Eagles have only won 42 percent of their games. Hmmmm...and people are saying the Eagles schedule is soft to finish the season. I don't think so, especially when other teams' schedules that are considered "soft" involve the Eagles.

 

So, the Saints at home were already beaten by the Redskins and Chiefs at home, certainly not the epitome of successful franchises recently. They did however defeat the Chargers at home. The Saints then went on to battle it out for a win against the Buccaneers, only to fall hard to the Broncos. The Broncos have improved, but can be had. Their last two opponents are the ones who have been had, including New Orleans. The Saints have been on the road for two straight weeks, and their last game at home was actually almost four weeks ago, on October 7, where they eeked out their first victory over the Chargers. So the New Orleans fans have not seen their team play at home in a month and the last memory they have at the Superdome is a win. This energy will be huge for them.

 

We have seen the Eagles struggle with getting plays together AT HOME when the crowd has already emptied out of the stands. I do not see the Eagles with a timeout remaining after the first 10 minutes of the game. I rememer the last time the Eagles played in New Orleans was several years ago when Jeff Garcia led the team to the playoffs. The Eagles practiced in a loud environment to recreate the real life working conditions. They did well, but the Saints were too much. So the question then for tonight is are the Eagles going to play the "Oh I'm so confused" game or will they jack up their big boy pants and play as if there is nobody watching? I don't know. Maybe half of them will play one way, the other half play the latter.

 

You know who shines, or at least thinks he does, in games like this? I don't just mean prime time, Monday night games. I mean a raucus crowd, against his team...a guy who likes to just cut out the heart of the opposing fans. Desean Jackson is great for this.

 

 

 

I know he has done other stuff like this. In fact, his first ever "touchdown catch" was actually ruled a fumble lost because he decided to pump the ball behind him while he leaped into the endzone. Unfortunately, he let go at the 1 yard line, rather than the goal line. They took his fumble away and then Brian Westbrook lept over the pile into the endzone, landing on his back, hurting himself for the rest of the season. But Desean Jackson is an asshole, and I like assholes.

 

While watching the game I will often say, "run you asshole!" or "don't be an asshole!" I do feel that this game can give us some special Desean Jackson moments. I hope so, so that coverage may roll to him and my fantasy man Maclin can do well.

 

Honestly, looking at this game as a whole, we are not a stellar defense. We wish we had one, but we don't. We have more disposable weapons on our offense, as the Saints have just a passing game. I don't know, I think the Eagles just need to focus on their defense staying fresh, slowing the game down, and the Eagles offense actually slowing the game down with an occassional offensive outburst. It would only benefit the Eagles to keep the ball out of Drew Brees' hands as long as possible. When he has the ball, it is inevitable that the Saints will score.

 

So, do I still think it is a coin flip game? Yes. The Eagles as a team, as a record, as a defense, are better. As an offense they are not. If they can hang with the Saints in a tough loss, they can be fine the rest of the season. However, the crowd is going to be nuts. They may have a 12th and 13th man out there tonight. Still, I think the Eagles HAVE to be tired of losing, right? RIGHT??? I am a homer, and it is very, very hard for me to write this. I predict the Saints win, 35-30. Yuck. I hate myself for writing that. Perhaps since I have predicted wrong for 4 of the past 5 games, I can drop to wrong in 5 of th 6 games. So, let's root for reverse psychology.