Flipping The Bird - A Post-Mortem Look At The Whimpering Series Finale to an Era that Made Me a Lifelong Fan of the Philadelphia Eagles

Mercifully, the 2012 Season for the Philadelphia Eagles is over. At long last we can stop getting our hopes up for a desperate win to show some life in a team. Now, something I always took for granted about the Andy Reid led Eagles, we enter the first rebuilding phase since 1999. I was not really a fan until about 2000-2001. I know that's when they started their hot streak and I can be considered a bandwagoner, but alas I still go out of my way to see this team. I still make my financial sacrifices to see the games when I can live in person. I still will maybe leave my family for a few hours to watch my second favorite thing in the world. I believe myself to be a good fan. I am not one of those who will turn my back on them for making the same mistakes year after year as a way to "send a sign" to management that the team is not good enough. My last great Eagles moment came just a couple weeks ago when they came from behind and beat the Buccaneers with 0 seconds left on the clock. I knew their season was awful and the winning season hopes, or even a 0.500 season was over. Alas, I saw some actual heart from the team.

Yesterday I saw the heart start again but then quickly stop. The Eagles started the game with a bang by performing an onsides kick that brought them the ball to start the game. It was energizing. I saw the game on a delay, and unfortunately started watching it after I inadvertently saw the score on NFL Network. Oh well. I heard a brief touch of the game on the radio on my way to Brandon's. All I heard was Merril Reece say, "The Eagles will need Miracle at the Meadowlands number 3, 4, and 5 combined." I knew it would be bad. But how they started, the team seemed to be ready to kick some ass. Play all out with their futures on the line. The offense struggled, and the announcers said the only game Vick didn't have a turnover in was the first meeting with the Giants in Week 4, then suddenly threw an interception. I saw Rueben Randle catch a touchdown over Nnamdi Asomugha. Nnamdi made a jump with his form reminiscent of Super Mario jumping to break a brick over his head.

Unfortunately Nnamdi, like Mario above, he didn't have his mushroom yet to make him bigger than he needed to be. Or better. The dude has been a colossal bust and has yet to be on a team with a winning season. Ever. And he had been touted as a future hall of famer. Eli went on I think to have 4 touchdowns in the first half, I think? And 5 total. Two different rushing touchdowns. A David Wilson backflip. King Dunlap inadvertently hitting an official. Maclin getting rocked on almost every catch. Damaris Johnson showing that he is just not good enough. Colt Anderson showing the most heart on a team that he probably won't be starting for again next year. And ultimately being at the bottom of a division the Washington Redskins won for the first time in 14 years.

As soon as I got home from Brandon's I saw on NFL.com's mobile site that Andy Reid has already informally been fired, as early as this past Friday when Jeffrey Lurie told him personally what would happen after Sunday. And now, all we as fans are waiting for is the official word. It is merely hours away until the press conference comes. I know it would kill Jeffrey Lurie to fire Andy Reid. I heard somebody say that Lurie was a business man, and his partner (Reid) earned him a lot, A LOT of money. He bought the franchise for merely a few million and turned into an over $1 billion operation.

Andy Reid had a regular season record of 129-88-1 (from Wikipedia, though that doesn't add up to a full 14 seasons). Correcting this stat, he was eligible for 224 games in fourteen seasons, and this left him 6 games short. Therefore I believe the corrected record should be 130-93-1. That is a 0.580 winning percentage. Keep in mind his last 4 seasons his team has gone 33-31, 3 seasons 22-26, and last two seasons at 12-20. A decline for sure. Five full seasons ago, the Eagles were almost all but out of the playoffs, and some miracles happened and they EARNED their way to the NFC Title game in Arizona, only to lose the game they were favored in. The next year McNabb went OFF for some great numbers comparable if not even better than earlier in his career. 11-5 was not good enough to win the division as they suffered a regular season ending loss to the Cowboys, not only losing the division title but also the number 2 seed in the NFC, and followed up with another blowout to the Cowboys the following week. The lone highlight in that game was a Vick-Maclin wildcat touchdown. In 2010, McNabb was traded away, Kolb was the starter until he got hurt (in the first game) then Vick game in to almost have the team beat the eventual Super Bowl champs on opening day. Vick had that Miracle in the Meadowlands number 2 and it has all been downhill since. The Eagles made the playoffs, but ended the season how they started - losing to the Packers, at home, by one score yet again. The following year the Eagles signed every available B-level or better talent and went 8-8, but with a rallying cry 4 game winning streak making a lot of fans, me included, confident about this year. Then they started out 3-1, while looking sloppy, and many fans, me included, thought that perhaps if we could win ugly imagine how good the Eagles would be when it all came together. Unfortunately it did not come together until the aforementioned game in Tampa.

The argument is being made over the radios about what was so great about Andy Reid's time, be it Jim Johnson, the draft picks supplied by previous coaches, etc. I believe Andy Reid just had some kind of magic for most of his tenure, and the players were more blue chip players who made the franchise what it became rather than the current crop of players who think they are why the franchise is regarded so highly. I will never EVER forget the miraculous 2006 season. McNabb went down with his knee problem, one year after the Eagles had their first losing season (6-10) when he left the season to have his sports hernia corrected leading the way to Mike McMahon to stink up the joint. The Eagles learned the lesson of not having AJ Feeley on deck as a back up that year and got themselves Jeff Garcia. I remember the game vividly. The Eagles had been at 5-6 on a Monday Night Football game against the panthers. The Eagles were down at half time, by maybe just 13 points at the most, but the way they played leading up to halftime for the game and since McNabb went down, all seemed lost. However, Garcia took control of the team, and the defense stepped up and the Eagles won 5 straight, clinched the division, beat the Giants in an exciting game, and lost a heartbreaker to the 2 seed Saints. This, in my opinion, was purely the peak of Andy Reid as a coach. Taking his team out of the dumps, putting the ball in the hands of his players, and letting his defense know he trusted them to do their job. Those players played for each other, the coach, and to win.

Unfortunately, when McNabb left, so did all of Reid's available magic. There were some great spots in 2010. The Miracle at the New Meadowlands. The comeback victories over Houston and Indianapolis that I saw in person were inspiring. However, once they clinched their division by the Giants losing on a Sunday, the Eagles really had nothing to play for on the Tuesday Night Football debacle against the finally Brett Favre-less Vikings, only to lose to the Joe Webb led team and thus lose all their steam.

When Kolb was traded away and Vick was the official starter, the Eagles went for 12 wins to 20 losses. Vick did not play all those seasons, but as I heard one analyst say on the radio today that's what happens when you go from developing your foundation (the lines) to developing your new "toys" and "weapons." The fact remains the Eagles are staring at the 4th overall pick and the next 3-5 years of the team depends on this pick. I am certainly no draft expert, or amateur, but I will certainly try do better at my research than I had done earlier this year.

So what exactly do the Eagles need help with? They went heavy defensively in the draft and have some pretty decent young players, and some other players who are finally coming around. Some players should be on their way out. I think their priorities are the following: secondary, big body receiver, backup offensive line, bigger defensive lineman, kick returner, linebacker, quarterback, running back, place kicker, junk for special teams. It's a shame they missed opportunities with players like Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas, or Mo Claiborne. Even Janoris Jenkins and that dude from Buffalo are decent. The secondary is mostly veterans who are playing under their value or younger players who just may never get it, or the Dog with the Biggest Fight inside, Colt Anderson, who just will get burned. He is like the defense's "Rudy." It would just be nice to know that a fourth quarter, Hell, a first quarter lead, won't be given up as quickly as it came about. The rest of the defense is full of young, still malleable (i.e., can be reshaped) players who should be able to adjust. It shouldn't have taken 3 years, but Brandon Graham seems like a potential future cog in the defensive wheel. 

How nice would it have been, looking back now, to have somebody like Dez Bryant jumping up for catches, coming down with the ball and able to get a few extra yards out of a play after contact? I saw Maclin's head snap 5 times, back and forth and back and forth and back after one catch yesterday, and get rocked on another that was eventually ruled incomplete. I like Maclin way more than Desean Jackson, because at least Jeremy works for catches and doesn't rely on just speed (anymore). Took some time, but he could be one of the teams best weapons moving forward if the Jackson bombs were eliminated from the playbook.

So, moving forward...A lot of stupid people on the radio say the next coach has to be prepared to coach in Philadelphia. Didn't Dick Vermeil cry a lot? And he is revered. Who cares. I just need the next coach to be ready to coach. A whole shakeup isn't in order, but rather a gameplan for the year with the proper personnel needs to be established, not making the players forced to be what they aren't. If a player isn't good for your system, don't draft, sign, keep, or trade for them. All I know is for the second straight year, we are looking forward to next year.

All that aside, even though he will never read this, Andy Reid, you sir, have made me an Eagle's fan for life. There were more highs than lows in your tenure. Yes losing NFC championship game after NFC Championship felt like a low to a lot of players, but I was still not as football educated as I am today and therefore I was able to enjoy the ride. The "fly through the season" type of seasons earlier in your tenure were great, but I loved when the team struggled and pulled together. 2006 and 2008 will always stick out in my mind for how what the Eagles really meant to me - don't ever quit and work for each other. That made me fall in love with the entire game of football. I can watch the Eagles in a 1-15 or 15-1 season for the rest of my life, and rise and fall with the emotions of a win or loss. What you did for my local team, what you helped bring to my consciousness and awareness, and you have provided me for 243 Sundays, Mondays, and or Thursdays - I thank you. Watching the Eagles, my emotional investments, all came from what you as a head coach did with these players, no matter who the analysts or radio callers say really deserve the credit. In the most trying times in my life, I always had the joy of watching the Eagles, thinking this was their moment. And for that, Andy Reid, I thank you for your sacrifices and contributions to my enjoyment of the NFL and love of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Now, a parting picture...

And the comical side of you that I enjoyed in watching your mannerisms on the sidelines, swatting a moth, coughing - I will miss that, too. Get some rest.

Christmas 2012 Review

Well folks, I took some time off from the blog, mostly because my work had me at a location ridiculously far away and left me ridiculously exhausted all week last week. Plus I was working on a three part series detailing my Thursday Night Football game experience between the Bengals and the Eagles, but the tragedy in Connecticut greatly affected me. As a parent of a child who falls in that age group that was taken away, no news story every almost made me cry when I read it. Seeing my girlfriend react emotionally to the videos of parents and other family members showing anguish in their loss was also difficult to withstand. With that said, I will skip twenty-six spaces in the only form of a tribute I feel I can do to the twenty-six innocent lives lost in that school, on December 26th.

Okay, now, not to be crass or heartless, I must say I had a fantastic Christmas. For years, Christmas day to me meant the last day I would have to hear Christmas songs on the radio. I do not like Christmas songs with the exception of the Mariah Carey "All I want for Christmas is You" and now some new Paul Simon Christmas song I have heard on my RCN Holiday hits for two weeks straight now. It put me in a good mood as I heard it about 2 times a day. I spent several years in an unhappy marriage or in somebody else's home for the past 10 years, and this year I finally got to spend one with my own family in my own home - albeit under unhealthy conditions.

The Christmas festivities actually started when I took Rocco out with me on Sunday the 23rd so that Kim could complete all the wrapping she needed to. We went to Brandon's house to give his daughter a gift. Unfortunately my baby friend was in a nap and I did not get to see her open her gift. Alas, they provided Rocco with a gift of Beyblade and Beywheelz. Rocco absolutely loved them. They also provided us several soft cookies that were worth their weight in gold. On the way to my brother's house next Rocco said, "I always thought Brandon and his friend [Mandi - his wife] were alright before but now they are awesome!"

I went to my brother's because he said that he had something for us for Christmas we needed to have before Christmas. We went there, Rocco played in the backyard with his dog and his sister-in-laws dog. He then came back in, continued to play with the dog and my niece Leah as well. I got to see Leah's preschool Christmas concert on video taped by my brother who was apparently caught in a tornado/earthquake combination. It was nice though to see her singing and dancing her little heart out and can only look forward to more in the future.

We got back home and Kim was already home, not having had enough time to get the wrapping done she needed as she spent almost 2 hours in line at my local Kmart, which sucks. Rocco's friends from down the street came over for a sleepover so that their parents could finish their Christmas chores. Needless to say they were up till after 11 and we did not get much sleep. The kids had a blast though.

On Christmas Eve Kim, Rocco, and I and her parents went to her brother Joe's house. Joe and his wife have two kids - Joey and Natalie. Kim's parents got Joey a Camaro car and we got Natalie a Minnie Mouse powered ride-on. Natalie was very cute in her winter stepping out gear and Joey was thrilled to see me as I heard him yelling "Duba Duba Duba" through the glass of the front door. I think kids loving saying Duba or DooDoo when they see me. Joey was a little timid to drive the car, so Rocco hopped in the driver seat and took Joey along as a passenger. Rocco drove like a guy who is named Rocco would drive - with reckless abandon, but Joey loved it. One lap around the block was not enough for them. I followed the kids around another block as I slowly felt that burning pain behind my nose/face that usually leads to a horrible sinus/bronchitis bout. Rocco received a Lego Ninjago Samurai kit from Joey and his wife (Kim) that he absolutely loved. We put together the mini figure at Joe's house so that we wouldn't lose any pieces.

Once we got home, I began preparing bacon wrapped scallops as Kim baked the ham. I unfortunately got bay scallops instead and had several small bacon wrapped delights. They are very fishy. Rocco's friends and their parents came over for dinner as I battled being on the verge of sickness. After dinner, the kids got to unwrap a group gift from Kim and I - LAZER TAG! We suited the kids up, I reviewed the rules and how to play, and then we turned most of the lights out and let them run amok. Despite having painless lazers (actually infrared beams) and needing to play from a distance, I still heard several instances of the kids gear banging into each others gear. Next they opened a gift from his friend's parents - Nerf Guns! Their dad quickly demonstrated the power of the gun by accidentally shooting his son in the nuts and we immediately made rules as to where they can and can shoot the guns as well as what not to target on each other. They had a blast. As the night wound down and Christmas day quickly approached, his friends were playing with random stuff as Rocco focused on the Samurai. He got most of it done before his friends left and wished his friends and their parents the merriest of Christmases.

Rocco's friends brought him a special package of reindeer food/glitter that he tossed all over our balcony. He also prepared a plate of Christmas Oreos, a candy cane from our tree, and a glass of egg nog with ice in it. He had no problems going to bed or to sleep as it was maybe about 1030ish at that point. Once he was asleep, Kim and I exchanged our gifts. We left one each for Christmas day - a gift from me and Rocco to Kim and a previously purchased tool kit that Kim got for me in Kohls that I was present for. The best gifts I received were, at long last, a Brian Dawkins #20 Eagles Jersey! My favorite player ever finally retired earlier this year and it was safe to have his jersey. The only jersey I ever got was a Javon Kearse jersey, and the following season he tore like every knee ligament. This was by far the best gift ever. Other notable great gifts included a new jacket, other assorted Eagles gear (including the official team practice shorts), dri-fit underwear because my ass sweats a lot, hair clippers, and a sweet multistage, multitemperature long-handled massager, to name a few. As far as Kim goes, she got the the Uggs, earrings, and camera she wanted and I also apparently picked out a prize-winning purse for her. It should be noted that I wrapped her gifts in paper with "Ho ho Ho" written all over it and she got my joke.

We quickly cleaned up our trash, exchanged Christmas pleasantries, and then put on our Santa hats to unload the gifts from the basement storage to the Christmas tree. Once everything was stacked and stuffed animals in place, stocking stuffed, and Oreos consumed, we chugged Nyquil and went to bed. I tried sweating out my oncoming illness best I could and woke up very smelly and grimey.

Rocco woke up at maybe 6 a.m. to use the bathroom. We had told him not to go to the Christmas tree without waking us up. Fortunately, at 6 a.m. it is still pitch dark out so he went back to bed. He woke up again about 7 and stood in our doorway innocently and excitedly chanting, "Merry Christmas!" over and over. Kim needed a minute to get herself awake, but Rocco went into the living room. He quickly freaked out at his Skylander's Giants stuffed animal of "Tree Rex" sitting atop his gift pile. He ran into the kitchen to see 1.5 Oreos were consumed, 1/2 a candy cane, and a lightly coated glass with egg nog at the bottom in the kitchen. He wondered why the reindeer food was still out there, so I told him it was wet and it probably would have made the reindeer bloated.

So then the fun starts. We had everything stacked in an order that was quickly dismissed. He opened up some packages that included a Skylanders Giants figure - Legendary Bouncer. He quickly panicked that he did not have the game yet. He eventually found the Skylanders Giants game and all subsequent Lego Ninjago mega pieces he got. When he was on camera, he opened his great grandparents' presents and put on his best excitement for his gifts from them. It was sweet. His tally included Skylanders, Ninjago Epic Dragon Battle and Cole's Tread Assault and Character Encyclopedia, Gremlins, Gizmo, Wii Games, and numerous other things I can't recall. Santa also dropped off a pair of walkie talkies for me and him to use together plus Reece's Peanut Butter Cup candy canes. Rocco gave Kim the gift from both of us (it had two bows). It was pictures taken from a session we did on Saturday while she was out doing her own thing. We had matching outfits on and I picked a picture of us with him leaning up on me. There was also a "funny" picture set we took in a photobooth together before our portrait session. I also purchased the copyrights to the picture so that we could give her the whole session. She actually teared up at how nice it turned out. Making mommy cry on Christmas made my heart melt. I opened my toolbox while Rocco and I tested the walkie talkies. We played Skylanders Giants as Kim prepared breakfast. I started feeling ill again.

Kim's parents came over. Her dad, also named Joe, drove his work truck because it had Rocco's mega gift - the Green Machine from Hot Wheels. It is basically a powerwheels-type bike with peddles and handle bars to shift the wheels. Rocco was just a little too short to reach the peddles comfortably but by the time the weather gets nicer he should be able to reach them. Joe wanted to show Rocco how to work the controls. He got a full head of steam up the hill that is our road and spun out, then back down the hill and spun out. He repeated this a couple times. He got greedy once and allowed himself to accelerate for like 5 seconds down the hill and went to spin out again. Only he fucking FLEW OFF the bike. His feet literally sailed over his head while he was in the air violently flying off the mean Green Machine! He rolled down the hill for like the length of two houses. Rocco looked upset at first until he saw his pop-pop stand up laughing and we all had tears from laughing at this Christmas Fail. It was seriously the funniest thing I saw all year.

We went in for breakfast and Kim in a panic asked me to get orange juice from Wawa. I rushed over there but forgot my wallet, which I realized when I went to check out. I sure could have used some though as that burning behind my nose got worse and worse. We had a breakfast hodgepodge of leftover ham, eggs, peppers, cheese mixed with cheesey hashbrowns while I snuck in some pieces of chocolate covered bacon. We exchanged gifts with her parents that included several Wii games. Joe was recently tipped with a Wii for a job well done by one of his customers. Later that night Kim's mom called and she thanked us for all the games they played together all night. It was nice to hear.

We were supposed to go ice skating at the River Rink in Penns Landing, using the free guest passes my brother and sister in law provided us, but alas I did not feel up to it. I felt like my heart was beating outside my chest as all I was good for at that moment was laying on the floor building Legos with Rocco. I was also supposed to go to my brother's at 5 to meet my family for Christmas, but by the time we needed to start getting ready I just felt so awful moving around. With two young girls at my brother's house and a hellish short work week coming up, I did not want to risk getting sicker or anybody else sick. I called my brother to tell him and he informed me my oldest niece had like a 103 degree fever! What a crappy way to have Christmas for her! Hopefully we can all catch up this Saturday. 

I continued to rest on the floor in Legoland and we decided on getting Chinese food and watching Gremlins. Rocco was a little bored at first, but once the Gizmos and Gremlins came about he was loving it. I told him it was the best Christmas movie ever. He held his stuffed Gizmo throughout. Soon thereafter he went to bed at 8:40, and Kim and I were right behind him.

Before I fell asleep I turned to Kim and told her that I think I finally realized what Christmas was all about. Seeing Rocco so happy and nice and thankful at his gifts, while sharing in the experience of building them for him and playing with them with him, truly made me appreciate this holiday for what it really was. From seeing Kim excited about her gifts to Rocco's cheering every gift he got, to the breakfast and Chinese food, Joe flying through the street, and the soon to be smiles on my niece's faces, I truly appreciate and am grateful for my family's Christmas cheer.

Coming up, my Dubannaul Year in Review!

Flipping the Bird: Tailgate Party Review Version of Last Night's Demolishment of the Philadelphia Eagles - Part 1

PART 1

Tailgate Part-aaaaaaaaaay!

Ladies and Gentlemen, let's turn this into a fun sandwich trilogy, shall we? I was afforded the opportunity last night to attend the last Thursday Night Football game of the year. When somebody lands four tickets for free, you gotta weasel your way into one. Luckily I made the cut again this year. I shall start Part 1 with reviewing my tailgate experience from the back of a Hyundai, the game, and the elements of the game that makes sitting in Section 110 always fun.

Attendees

Brandon: Loves football, and I try my best to show my thanks for all his help over the past couple years by taking him to any game I can get tickets to. He was hoping the Eagles would win so he could have positive thoughts. He rates players potential based on their thickness. I have noticed that the thicker one is, the more of a player they are in Brandon's eyes. You think I am making jokes, but I am not.

Mandi: Brandon's betrothed...She is a newer football fan and never been to a game before. She lost her virginity in that sense with three guys. She laughs at all my football jokes and that instantly raises my level of enjoyment. In the good old days when the Barrett household had DirectTV, there was a button on the remote control that when pressed during normal TV mode would make a dull "donk" sound. It was glorious during football games or UFC fights. I told Mandi to make her night more enjoyable I would be the de facto "donk".

Duba: Always the man with the grill who cleans, uses, and places it back in storage once every year for such occasions. Eagles fan and also owner of the Cincinnati Bengals defense on my two remaining playoff fantasy teams - win win situation. Unfortunately, the good lord did not bless me cooking skills, mechanical skills, good looks, good luck, above average height, a certain future head of hair, increased metabolism, or normal toes, but he did bless me with an ability to always cross a line and never care about what I say.

 

Jay: The man with the tickets. He is eligible every year to use tickets his sister's boss wants to give away. He also had on approximately 12 different articles of clothing last night with 28 total pockets.

 

Food

Bubba burgers, kettle cooked chips, buns, ketchup. 

 

Brandon packed away pretzels somewhere, and I never saw them. I totally prefer pretzels to chips and I don't owe you any explanation on that. I struggled to assemble the mini Coleman propane grill as I dropped pieces of it everywhere. I was about to light it with a lighter until I realized it had a push start/light. I surely would have been in flames. I need to use this thing more than once per year. I am not good at grilling Bubba Burgers. I could not get the flame right on the grill. Any type of small adjustment I thought I could make turned it off. So, flamebroiled burgers it was. I mean these things looked like the insides of a Russian trash stove. However, with a little bit of cheese and heaving helping of ketchup, they were delicious. I am a bad food flipper. I crushed the burgers or mashed them several times into the grill. I was constantly a threat to drop the burger on the ground and I liked watching Brandon sweat as his potential floor burger was being crafted. And mashed. I was the only person short enough though to reach the burgers with the tongs on our street level grill without bending over.

Beer

Keystone Light, Pabst, Some Hipster Beer

I am not known for my drinking prowess or capacity, but I was able to imbibe two total cans of the 'stone in the near three hours of tailgating we partook. Brandon and Mandi rewarded Jay for his tickets with some kind of "unfiltered" beer that had chunks of wood, cinnamon, finger nail clippings. I was told I wouldn't like it, but the more disgusting it is the more I will probably like it. Mandi and Brandon consumed mostly Pabst's. Jay immediately brought up we needed Southern Comfort, which always takes me back to the day that I drank a bottle of it and a rescue party found me in the woods sleeping in poison ivy. Oh to be young again.

Jay also had a grape flavored 5 Hour Energy that we split. I took about 2 hours of it and Jay had the other 3. It takes a special flavor to mask the chalky texture of the drink, and I instantly washed it down with my Keystone Light. I would've washed it down with a homeless man's bathwater. Anywho, the drink kept me thriving all night while Jay was dragging ass by the end. His unfiltered hipster loving disease coated beer had 8.something percent alcohol and he appeared on the tail end of his nightcap.

Entertainment

Brandon pulled his Hyundai Santa Fe into the parking spot but I backed into mine. I live maybe 15 minutes south of the stadium and wasn't going to pass the city three separate times and drove myself. We popped open that bad boy of a trunk and I immediately laid everything pertaining to the grill that was black onto the black plastic coated mat, thus looking everywhere in a frantic search for the missing pieces. I could not properly put together the grill as I was dropping pieces everywhere. Once the grill was set up, we immediately realized all the stuff we forgot that could have been fun.

 

If you were not one of the attendees, odds are we were entertained at your disposal. Common topics include when Brandon's brother Matt killed a rabbit with a rock and Brandon telling Mandi when they first started dating that I had a lip fungus. About a month later I had some nice beer that I offered to Brandon to take a swig of, and Mandi was appalled. She confronted him saying he couldn't kiss her now, but then Brandon caved and told her it was a lie. The most disturbing part of this lie is that I found out about it like a year or two later. Next year, we need the following: Chairs, table, real grill, real cook, plates, entertainment, and more people.

 

I kept my eyes  peeled for this guy in a power chair. He wasn't just any old guy in power chair. We aren't talking about a power chair provided by this guy

 

 

 

This was a guy who had a stereo set up throughout his chair, with a microphone for karaoke, only he had no teleprompter. He would sing a sexy soulful song to crowds of ladies throughout the parking lot. He let a musical interlude take over last year and turned to a woman suggesting he could take her higher. The woman responded, giggling, "Are you serious?" Too which the man declared, "I'm as serious as a heart attack" right at the end of the musical interlude and straight up into the song. I am searching everywhere for my video, but alas I cannot find it.

Speaking of Tom Kruse, a gaggle of streetwalkers were traveling through the parking lot handing out posters and postcards of Tom Cruise's new movie - Jack Reacher. Brandon stopped the ladies of the evening to ask, "You do know that nobody is going to see this, right?" The soulless women laughed and said "I'm just getting paid so I don't care hahahahahahahahahasoullesslaughahahahahaha". Brandon finished the conversation by declaring that Jack Reacher sounded like a porn star.

Overall

I don't care if I am with one friend or several, as long as I am hanging out with somebody who's company I actually enjoy I can have a good time anywhere. We certainly do have great intentions to party to the max, but partying was put on hold for long pee lines and Jay to suit up all his wintry mix gear. Partying was also cut short by Mandi's overactive bladder and her refusal to duke it out in the "Royal Flush."

That said, the burgers were quite filling and was technically my 5th and 6th burger patty of the day (two McDoubles earlier in the day - no wonder I can't lose weight), the beer was like water, but thus is the nature of Keystone Light; the conversation was grand - just an all around good time. I finished my hijinks by dropping my grease filled grill on the ground and leaping away from grease spray.

What's Your Fantasy? thegreatjimduba Fantasy Football Team Playoff Update

Well folks, since nobody else around the world (minus the U.S. and Spain) wanted to participate in the first ever "The Great Jim Duba Intercontinental Fantasy Football Championship" I took it upon myself to put the namesake of your favorite blog into a randomly selected fantasy football league on NFL.com. For those who read my blog before September and liked my non-football topics, be patient. This will all be over soon. Hopefully not TOO soon.

As it stands, the league, known simply as "NFL Managed-983785" has completed its regular season. The league consisted of 10 teams, and the top four made the playoffs. I was cruising for a while in this league and at one point had the best record at 7-1 heading into Week 9. Then I lost, by 20 points, and it was more of a "meh, can't win 'em all" type of feeling. Then I lost again, by 40 points. Keep in mind my opponent scored 145 points. THEN the number 1 overall player beat me, by 2 points. After that, I went back on my tear, gaining back a win from one of the teams that beat me and finishing 10-4. I finished number two in the standings and won the second seed. I also was awarded a trophy for most points scored at 1,494.30. The next highest was the fourth place finisher at 1,454.34 points. I guess I was at an advantage as I had only the 4th highest points scored against (which factors into difficulty of schedule).

So, there are no byes in this playoff. My next opponent, the three seed, I have split a win and a loss with. This is the rubber match. Below is my opponent's lineup:

QB - Stafford

RB - Marshawn Lynch, Doug Martin

WR - Miles Austin, Vincent Jackson

TE - Owen Daniels

FLEX - Stevan Ridley

K - Matt Bryant

DST - 49ers

Reserves: Steve Smith, Black Unicorn Martellus Bennett, Sidney Rice, Ryan Mathews, Lance More, and Andrew Luck

There is some trickery here on how I root for this matchup to go. I have Matt Bryant and Marshawn Lynch in the only other league (out of 3) that I am still in the playoffs for. Lynch is the man, and he went off last week. He has another chance to go off in the great city of Toronto. His (I assume it's a "he" as I can't see a girl having a team this good) projected score is 119.72 points.

On the other side, thegreatjimduba has the following starting roster:

QB - Peyton Manning

RB - Chris Johnson, Arian Foster

WR - Demaryus Thomas, Donario Alexander

TE - Tony Scheffler

FLEX - Knoshown Moreno

K - Matt Prater

DST - Bengals

Reserves: Jermaine Gresham, Dez Bryant, Jordy Nelson, Pierre Garcon, Trent Richardson, and Da Bears

I like my team. It is one of the more automatic teams I have. Except for having to decide on Chris Johnson. He was a waiver wire pickup along with the following: Pierre Garcon, Dez Bryant, Knoshown, Alexander, Gresham, Scheffler. At one point I had Bryce Brown and Greg Jennings, but I only had them when they went kablooey. I am really trying to find the first thing I can on the internet that will tell me not start Chris Johnson over Trent Richardson. As it stands, my total projected points are at 123.26. It used to be hire but I switched the Bears out for the Bengals. I had to make that choice tonight, and despite what I want to happen, I need the Bengals to do some good things tonight to the Eagles. I get to root for both teams tonight, which should make it better. Go Clay Harbor. Go Bengals.

I will update you all on Monday. Wish me luck. Your input helps. Go Duba, GO!

Flipping the Bird: A Post-Mortem Look at the "What the Hell is a win" Philadelphia Eagles

Seventy Days is a long time. That is almost 20 percent of a year. That's 59 percent of the regular NFL season (17 weeks). More than 62 percent of the 16 weeks a team plays in the regular season. That is how long it has been since I was legitimately happy watching a football game. 

When the season started, I tolerated close wins - after all the Eagles had 3 wins by a combined 4 points. Make that four wins by a combined 6 points. 

And thus I cannot predict football as I have accepted that over the years. Previous incarnations of my blog have failed to capture any knowledge of what teams may actually do, as I have been wrong on in years past. I always predicted game outcomes based on what I now realize is my "homer" mentality. I honestly thought when I was writing my Bold Eagles Predictions back in April that this team stood a legitimate shot at greatness. I had them going 12-4 and 10-3 by Week 14. I thought maybe my playoff predictions were a little absurd, with the Eagles running the table to the Superbowl to face the Broncos. I may only be half right on my prediction as the Broncos are already division winners and look good. As it stands, my prediction record is as follows: Predicted the Eagles to go 12-4 for the season and 10-3 by this point, however they are now 4-9, and I predicted last week that they would lose and now be 3-10. What the Hell. I started the year out great with having the Eagles correctly at 3-1 in Week 4, albeit swapping a win over the Cardinals for a loss and vice versa against the Giants. I was correct on only 5 games - Wins against Cleveland, Baltimore, Tampa; and losses against Detroit and Dallas. My prediction percentage is 38 percent. Take away my change of heart last week and with 4 wins that would make me 30.7 percent correct. What this means is you cannot really project a season 5 months before it starts.

So, now that the actual game is in the books and reviews have been reviewed, I must say yesterday's win was a mixed bag. The Eagles started out pretty well against the Buccaneers surging offense. The defense was all over the field making key stops when needed. Vincent Jackson was a nothing. Doug Martin was relegated to just "Hamster." The announcers touched on the new hire of "first name escapes me" Brasher who seemingly abandoned the wide 9 defensive front and had a decent pressure on the quarterback. The announcers also stated that Andy Reid went to Nnamdi Asomugha and DRC saying their jobs were on the line. They played like it. For the most part. We as Eagles fans have seen far too many times Nnamdi jogging after a receiver who is heading toward the red zone because he was not his man to cover. They even showed DRC and Nnamdi dogging it together from last week. What I saw out of Nnamdi this week was something I never thought I would see him do. In the second quarter I believe Nnamdi went up to break up a pass, practically jumping over the intended receiver. He landed hard from maybe 10 feet in the air after flipping over landing hard on the ground and not moving. It didn't look so bad compared to how players go up and fall on a weekly basis, but the fact he didn't move was crazy. The announcers even had a dark tone when they came back from commercial as he was still lying on the ground motionless. Eventually I heard the Tampa crowd applaud and Nnamdi was up, x-rayed, and back in the game later. Maybe if Reid had not told Nnamdi his job was on the line he would not have come back in. I get that he has been more liability than lifeblood of the defense, but he could have stayed out. The fact that both these cornerbacks and the safeties did their damndest against the Bucs when their coach, a perceived lame duck in the eyes of the fans, responded with an honest effort was pretty good. I know that there is a lot of money invested in #24 and he may not even be back next year, and that many would argue that he should play that way every game, the WHOLE game, but he is what he is and we learned that last year. I appreciate effort, even if it should have been there the whole time. Another high priced 2011 free agent signing, Cullen Jenkins, had a sack and a beautiful follow up dance.

In Special Teams, the Eagles think they have something special with Demarus (sp?) Johnson. He returned a punt 98 yards for a near record return for the NFL, and set an Eagles record. However he badly muffed a punt and helped put the Eagles down even further heading into the fourth quarter. The offense, with mostly the youngest unit the Eagles have put out there in years, had highs and lows.

As the season started, the Eagles never carried a lead into half time. In at least the past two weeks, they carried a lead into halftime. This week, they had a 10-0 lead. Tampa was worse for wear and the boo birds were actually out. The Eagles had Clay Harbor, Nick Foles, Bryce Brown, Riley Cooper, Demarus Johnson, and a line consisting mostly of unheard of rookies and one King. They punted several times in a row and hit pay dirt in the second quarter, but all they needed to do was maintain. Tampa scored 21 unanswered points through the next two quarters, and the 21-10 lead, for these birds, seemed like the nail of death. There were 7 minutes, 21 seconds left, and the Eagles got the ball. Three minutes 26 seconds later the Eagles had moved down the field and gotten into the end zone via Clay Harbor, filling in for the now concussed Brent Celek. I was pretty stunned. There were now under 4 minutes left in the game and the Eagles, for what seemed like the first time in years, managed the clock pretty well to get the ball back in their possession with 2 minutes 44 seconds remaining. I was impressed at Andy Reid's patience in this and thankful the defense stepped it up. This has been uncommon lately in the past two-three seasons. However, the prospect of the Eagles getting down the field with rookies and other inexperienced players in 2:44 seconds after a failed 2 point conversion worried me. I knew they had nothing left to play for for the season, but I still wanted to see what they were capable of. I felt kind of cheated last Sunday night after the Eagles tickled my balls with a feather by scoring the return TD just to fail on the onside kick with 34 seconds left. The drive that Nick Foles put together was spectacular. One thing the Eagles have not done well in the Michael Vick and early years of Desean Jackson era is have sustained long drives. They certainly were not trying to eat up the clock, but essentially had only one timeout with the two minute warning remaining.

The Eagles slowly moved the ball and seemed to be stalling around the 23 yard line of Tampa. An incomplete pass with 22 seconds left on third down made it a do or die fourth down play. It was 4th and 5 to go and Nick Foles, on the run, facing pressure, hit Jason Avant down at the 1 yard line. He went down at 16 seconds and the Eagles and Tampa scrambled to lineup in a formation to spike the ball, stopping the clock at 2 seconds. At this point Kim and I were ready to leave the house to pick up our son from his grandparents, and she was cool with me seeing the end of the game (as it was 21-10 when she was ready to go). Even she was excited. I hadn't sat down in almost 20 minutes. I was on my feet getting dressed to step out when the Eagles started driving for that first 4th quarter touchdown. It was like that Bud Light commercial about superstitions. I did not want to change anything about what I was doing that had been going on when the Eagles were driving. Two seconds left. Last play of the game regardless (or second to last if they scored). My palms were sweating. I knew they couldn't convert the two point conversion earlier, so this was almost too story book of a play for both teams. Tampa stops them on a last second play, and they are heralded for fighting off a fighting opponent. Eagles score and their team rallied around the rookie and gave their all for him and each other. Foles, much like the play before, called the play to get Maclin where he was in the end zone. Maclin did what he could to make sure he was in bounds. An  incomplete/out of bounds catch would have me very upset. I cheered the moment the ball left Foles' hands because I had a positive feeling. The dude looked crisp most of the 4th quarter and like he was in the zone. He seemed determined to not aim at a wide receiver if he didn't know he would catch it. For the first time in 70 days, I cheered, jumped, and was finally happy.

As an Eagles fan, even though they have never won the Superbowl, wins are almost always expected over the past decade. Yesterday's game meant absolutely nothing in the long run of the season but perhaps more so in the long run of the team. One thing I need to temper my expectations and excitement for is that this was Tampa, one of the easiest teams to pass against. They bottled up Bryce Brown for 6 rushing yards on 12 rushes, with his longest being for 11 yards. Therefore, minus his biggest play he was 11 rushes for -5 yards. Foles is not a highly touted rookie though and nobody expected this type of clutch play on the team's last two drives of the game. Great win. I legitimately feel happy today as a football high is always a very good and very close second to any other form of happiness I can draw from my family or friends. Maybe they lose out, and the misery continues, but fight for it, Eagles. You still have me as a fan. And I will see you Thursday night.

Yes, I am going back for another round of potential punishment to Lincoln Financial Field. I was going to buy some tickets and luckily came across a couple of free ones. My record watching the Eagles in person now is 3-4. Every year, I have seen the same amount of wins as I have losses. The Javon Kearse jersey must reach it's 0.500 status once again.

Week 15: Cincinnati Bengals at Eagles (TNF)

This is way, way better than last year's TNF game for the Eagles. Last year, after getting gauged by the Patriots, the Eagles flew to Seattle for another thrashing, 4 days later. Yes, they went on a run to try to salvage the season, but too little, too late. The Bengals are slowly becoming a team I am more interested in because I like their style of play. I like Andy Dalton's play last year. They have some good talent on both sides of the ball, but as McNabb would say, they show their youth. This will be a tough game as I am sure the Bengals will be in the hunt all year in the AFC North. The last time they played, it was a tie. As I heard Merrill Riece say on the radio, "If a tie is like kissing your sister, than the Eagles have a very ugly sister." This is a different type of Eagles team that I think is running on all cylinders (like we hoped for last year) - the same team that demolished the Jets, Giants, Dolphins, Redskins, and Cowboys at the end of the year (and YES Giants fans, I consider Vince Young beating your team by a touchdown in their own stadium to be worthy of the term "demolish"). It will probably be a tough game at start, but the Eagles will just prove to be too powerful on both sides of the ball. As if I was not bold enough in having the Eagles going 10-3 to this point and soon 11-3, I will also predict that Brent Celek has the game winning touchdown in a late rally. Eagles 24, Bengals 20 (11-3)

Geez. Wrong. Brent Celek is most likely out with a concussion. The Eagles are not running on all cylinders, but rather all the cylinders run at different times, different frequencies. Just like the Milankovitch Cycles,  these moving parts moving at different frequencies cause some catastrophic things until the apex and valley of the frequencies meet up in perfect synchronization and form a couple points of constructive interference with each other. The Bengals are hurting after a last second loss to the Eagles, and the Eagles are on a high. Typical Thursday Night Football games have featured the home team winning all but 4 times. The teams that lost include the Jets, Raiders, Vikings, and Panthers - certainly not the most intimidating lineup. These games feature mostly running plays and tight ends and are usually defensive dream matches. Perhaps the win on Sunday gives the Eagles some momentum and a positive vibe for the Eagles fans to feed on in the first home game in 3 weeks. The crowd was pretty electric for a dead season on Monday Night Football when I was there, and with these young Eagles playing for each other and as a team, perhaps they can pull it off. I will go on a limb...perhaps I am jinxing myself here, perhaps I am loyally blind to the Eagles, but the Eagles will win 20-13, and be 5-9 before the clock strikes midnight Thursday night.

Flipping the Bird - A Post-Mortem Recap of the Sinking Ship Philadelphia Eagles

Well, the Eagles free fall continued last night. Swept by the Dallas Cowboys for the first time in a long time that I can remember and on their worst losing streak since I think the 1960's. Obviously the players of today have nothing to do with the those players of yesteryear, but the fact remains the Eagles stink. It is a very painful admission for me. However, I was able to garner some joy out of last night's game as it was exciting and nice for Sunday Night Football to finally get a game that came down to the wire practically.

Let's first look at the attrition of the Eagles:

Vick - Concussed, still can't do basic math.

McCoy - Concussed, can do math but reading comprehension is down

Jason Babin - Cut. He had more success running with the bulls in the summer

Desean Jackson - Broke every single rib in his body

Jason Peters - Achilles ruptured. Was using a walker that he slipped in and ruptured it again. He may not be a senior citizen, but he needs Life Alert

Todd Herremans - Tore something crucial for him to finish the season

Danny Watkins - His pride hurts. Thinks being a football player is equal to being a fireman.

Jason Kelce - His giant beard should be even gianter next year when he returns

King Dunlap - He has been better, but he needs his body to be 100% healthy just to be okay at his size.

Asante Samuel - Traded in the off-season. Just helped his defense pick off Drew Brees 5 times

Juan Castillo - Had the 11th ranked defense and was fired. Ever since, opposing quarterbacks have had their best games of the season and posting near perfect QB rankings

Jim Washburn - Defensive line coach was fired this morning.

Howard Mudd - Offensive line coach who already committed to retiring at the end of the year, two years after he was coaxed out of retirement by the Eagles.

Andy Reid - Already has 9 losses, and the Eagles owner already stated that up to 8 losses is not acceptable. Oh and his son died.

This list is just compiled off the top of my head. I have seen that Colt Anderson on special teams has been in and out, and he is pretty much all I ever notice on that unit anyways. The team has had several second or third stringers step in and play like garbage but seem to be kind of jelling now. I think Demarcus Ware and some of the other obscenely large defensive linemen of the Cowboys should have had their way with Nick Foles and the run game of the Eagles, but they held up. King Dunlap let Ware around him in one crucial play where Foles fumbled the ball and came up holding his arm. The announcers noted that Dunlap (or Dunlop as the horrible Chris Collinsworth called him) had a bad knee. This is why Dunlap needs to be 100%. A weak King makes Foles at risk to get hit. And when he did get his arm whacked, the fumble was recovered, but Foles clearly had a disturbing pain in his arm. This is one of the bigger concerns to me.

Foles is much taller than Vick and I think that helps his downfield throwing capability as well as his patience in not running away as the pocket begins to collapse. I realize now that Vick HAD to run just to continue to see his plays. And defenses knew that. However, Foles is nowhere near as mobile as a 32 year old Vick but is gaining valuable experience. His play calling and decisions kept the team in that game all night. However, when his arm got hit and he came up holding it, I suddenly realized something about him - The dude is skin and bones. He has taken some massive hits in his time as the lead quarterback, but when one whole body is hit the pressure and pain is spread across his longer frame. The second his arm got whacked I feared he was hurt. I am sure many of you would wince whenever anybody got a hit on Vick, whether it be his whole body or one part. Perhaps that will help Foles prepare to get some muscle on to help absorb these kinds of blows.

And what to do with the running back situation? Andy Reid loves to pass, but the Eagles ran Bryce Brown down the throats of the Cowboys and Panthers. I know he fumbled, but Adrien Peterson used to that, too. Last night's fumble was certainly more painful to the game outcome, but he looked great. I felt like McCoy this year has had trouble getting up to the line of scrimmage, but when he could get there, he was good. Brown is finding every way to get past the line and get, as Andy Reid said, "every stinking yard." It almost felt like once Peters went down (insert erectile dysfunction joke here) McCoy's season expectations were tempered. There were many Lesean highlights last year that had Peters with him at the end of the play. Meanwhile, Bryce Brown gets in, and he almost can see 3 seconds into the future and knows how certain portions of his offensive line (all backups now) will react. It is only two games of production, but the skills he has showed have far outnumbered what McCoy has shown all year.

So, back to the game. My overall thoughts was that it was actually a fun game to watch. The fumble return for a touchdown made me feel like perhaps the game was still within reach. However, the Cowboys got another Dez Bryant touchdown (propelling YOUR FAVORITE blog's fantasy football team to a win) and the game seemed lost. I hung on, though, as I wanted to see what the reaction from this team would be. Rookies and imported free agent/trade personnel were in, and perhaps this newer lifeblood would react differently than the list of veterans who were now out. Foles had a lot of time to throw, and he made some great plays along with Brown. The Cowboys were playing foot to the throat, and I think they maintained themselves pretty well for what the offensive unit is right now and this season. The defense made some great stands. I never thought I would see the era when the Eagles secondary was weak though. However, all three parts of the defense held their own in the last half of the fourth quarter. Especially when the Cowboys were trying to run out the clock on their second to last possession. It was 3rd and something, and the clock had maybe hit the one minute mark. Murray up the middle, into a crowd of Eagles and Cowboys. The crowd opens up to reveal #95 Mychal Kendricks picking up Murray by the legs and delivering a Double A spinebuster that was felt throughout all of Arlington. Then, on the ensuing punt, Demarus Johnson returned the third longest punt in NFL history 98 yards to get the Eagles within a touchdown with 31 seconds left. A two point conversion failed, but at least there is enough tape on file from that play to help Foles see why he missed it. No matter, as the following on-side kick attempt was recovered by the Cowboys and the Eagles were done.

Coming up next week is the "no longer considered 'upstart'" Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I wrote back in April the following about this game:

Week 14: Eagles at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Ah the Bucs. A team that thinks it is better than what they truly are. Last relevant when Jeff Garcia was their QB, in my opinion. Josh Freeman showed some potential 2 years ago, and the coaching philosophy changed to a more pass-happy offense thinking he could carry the burden. Hard for a second year guy to do that when he has garbage to throw to. Now the Bucs have gone on a spending spree and have a new coach. New coaches on any level combined with free-agent spending out the wazoo nets you an 8-8 record (see 2011, Eagles). I think the Bucs will spend the week discussing how they are tired of being disrespected by the media and will be looking to take down the charging Eagles. The Bucs will want to play spoiler by this point. I will probably have traded for Vincent Jackson well before this game, get mad at his (lack of) production, and sit him against the Eagles, where he will have his best game of the year. Still, I do not see this year's version of the Eagles losing two games in a row, ever. The Eagles bounce back and completely knock the snot out of Tampa Bay. Eagles 42, Buccaneers 13 (10-3)

Wow. How much of a loyally blind fan am I? The Eagles are 3-9, lost 8 in a row, and are looking at being 3-10. The Bucs meanhwile appear to be one of the potential playoff teams. They just got shut down by the Broncos, and will host the Eagles. The Eagles are now unfortunately one of those "just what the doctor ordered" kind of teams. The Eagles stand no chance, unless the passing game can be more productive. The secondary is supposed to be weak while their run defense is tops. This is where we will find out what Bryce Brown is really made of and what Nick Foles could really do. I just don't see the Eagles having enough experience as a whole with the younger players to overcome a probably more hostile environment in Tampa than they encountered in Dallas (i.e., Arlington). Let's say the Bucs struggle defending the Eagles passing game, good days from Riley Cooper and Maclin, but most likely better games from Vincent Jackson and Mike Williams. Buccaneers 34, Eagles 24. (3-10).

Randuba Stuff

Not much news to report. I have been on vacation, "staycation," if you will, and I have the following random observations:

1. The movie "The Chernobyl Diarries" was pretty decent. It ends with a newer Marilyn Manson song as well and is pretty good at building suspense and creepyness. My girlfriend was completely scored and loved being scared with me. Good date or date rape movie
2. I saw black headed vultures in the wild.. They are a ridiculously long wingspanned bird and are monstrously huge. I saw about 6 of them. Another 2 hours later we were on another pseudo hike when we saw all 6 vultures circling overhead, perhaps waiting for something to die
3. My son slept on the top bunk of a set of bunk beds during our camping trip for the first time. It was a glorious moment for hiim
4. Kim, Rocco, and I have had a game of monopoly going on for the past 5 nights. Rocco owns all four railroads, little properties, and about 7 $500 bills. I am gaining money, but Kim spends her three turns in jail while Rocco and I build houses on our property. We were going soft playing him and let him get the railroad. My next strategy when playing monopoly with friends will be to BUY ALL THE RAILROADS.
5. I hate the woman in the commercial who shows up to her friend's recital practice teasing her about the lunch she has. She proceeds to sing "Mozerala-la-la-la-la-la" and I make a face that can best be described as me saying, without words, "Shut up, asshole!"
6. No matter how nice you try to make the Chuck E. Cheese in my neighborhood, the locals can still bring down the value of a newly renovated one.
7. The Kansas City Chiefs murder-suicide debacle is a horrendous story. What always impresses me about football is how a tragedy makes players just go out of their mind. The deceased player killed himself in front of his coach and general manager after murdering his girlfriend. How anyone can move on the next day after that and work their ass off is beyond my comprehension. Even if you only kind of knew the guy, to pull together as a team and pull that off, when your shit players played at least on a normally professionally acceptable level is a real amazing feat. It does nothing to replace the loss that poor three-month old child must grow up with, but what the 53 players and dozens of coaches could do under duress is great. Tragedy befalling an NFL player, like Torrey Smith's brother dying to Brett Favre's dad passing away, is like an automatic death sentence for the sufferer's opponent.
8. Tony Romo has the most passing touchdowns in Dallas Cowboys history with the least hardware to support it. None actually. The Eagles have none, either, but they have at least been to the dance since he has been eligible in the league. And, if NBC shows me his wife one more time, I may just drown myself in hot candle wax.
9. I have not been to work since November 21. I used to be begging for going back to work during my vacations years ago. While I am not necessarily dreading back to work, I certainly will miss all this time off with my family.
10. My (step)son said to me the other day, "Jim, I can't wait to be a dad." When I asked him why, he replied, "Because then I will be just like you. And I want to be like you."

Not much left to discuss, except that tomorrow I have another post-mortem "Flipping the Bird" recapping the back and forth, fantasy football fate determining battle between the Eagles and the Cowboys. One thing that I will touch on right now briefly is that when I think about this season and the previous season, once the Eagles have been all but eliminated from the playoffs, and the pressure to win now is off, they play pretty good. This game has been a treat, much like most of last Monday's game was. Another thing that has been great is that the young players seem to be playing like more of a team with some of the veterans now out of the lineup. I think in time this team can be good again, no matter who the coach is.