Eagles Enter Bye 4-3

Right now, things aren't all that bad for the Eagles. They are tied for second in the NFC East at 4-3, and they get a week off after a pretty impressive first half of the season. Going into the bye week 5-2 would have changed everything for this team, but after a poor performance in Tennessee in which the Eagles D was exposed, the team is now looking forward to their meeting against Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts. Given Ried's past success in games coming off the bye week, I expect the Eagles to come out and win in a big way. Michael Vick will be back and healthy. By the time the Eagles play the Colts he will have had over a month of recovery time. For the second half of the season, the Eagles just need to take things one game at a time. The D needs to be more consistent and just give Vick and the offense a chance to win games. I am extremely excited for the second half and I can't wait to see what Michael Vick will be able to do. Looking past the Colts game the Eagles schedule looks like this for their final 9 games:
@ Washington
vs New York
@ Chicago
vs Houston
@ Dallas
@ New York
vs Minnesota
vs Dallas
The Colts game is going to be a tough game no doubt, but I think the Eagles can easily go 6-3 or even 7-2 in their final 9 which would put them at 10-6 or 11-5 and in great position to make the playoffs. When the schedule first came out, everyone saw this as a near impossible second half. But let's go through it game by game.
vs Indianapolis:
Just going on Reid's success after the bye, and the fact they are home, I think that Eagles can beat the Colts. Vick is going to come out gunning and hungry and I expect big things from the offense.
@ Washington:
If Vick had played the entire game vs the Skins earlier this year, the Eagles would have won, plain and simple. Providing that Vick stays healthy, I say the Eagles go into Washington and give their old friend Donovan a little treat.
vs New York/@ New York:
The Eagles still have to play the Giants twice, and the Giants look pretty good. Right now they are 5-2, but they have had some awful losses. The Eagles seem to be able to beat the Giants in important games so I say the Eagles split with the Giants.
@ Chicago:
The Bears don't scare me, I say the Eagles put up a huge number offensively and win big.
vs Houston:
I think this game is going to be a tough one. The Texans have a pretty good run game and I don't know that the Eagles can stop it. For me this one is a toss up.
vs Minnesota:
The Vikings are 2-4, Andy Reid isn't going to lose to his former offensive coordinator, and their home. As long as AD doesn't put up 400 yards rushing, I say the Eagles win this one.
vs Dallas/@ Dallas:
The Eagles got torched by the Boys last year and it was embarrassing. Now Dallas is the embarrassed team sitting at 1-5 in the basement of the league. I say the Eagles take the series and beat them in both by large margins of victory.
The Eagles are a good team, they just need to be consistent and take this second half one game at a time. I'm not worried about the offense, but the D definitely scares me. It's the inconsistency that really scares me because they can look so good one game and then just come out flat the next. All in all this second half is going to be exciting with a lot of good football to be played.

The End Of The Road

When the Phillies are winning, it's easy to update the blog. I get to write about the Phils steam rolling teams with their high powered offense and tell about how the Phils starting staff continues to shut other teams down. But when the Phillies lost in game 6 of the NLCS last week, I couldn't bring myself to write about it. The pain associated with the early playoff exit was tough enough, and retelling the story was just out of the question. I figured I would wait till early February and then maybe start up again. Everything changed last night when I turned on the first game of the World Series and saw that the Giants were beating up on Cliff Lee when it hit me. Maybe this year is just the Giants year. 2008 was our year and everything just seemed to click and go right, remember the Joe Blanton home run? Maybe it just wasn't meant to be this year not because the Giants are the better team, (which they clearly aren't) but because it's just their year and everything is going right for them. Think about it, Cody Ross? Who the hell is he? If the Phillies were to play the Giants again I would bet the house that Ross doesn't have nearly as good of a series as he did. And there are countless plays and calls that went to the Giants. I also felt the Giants were the hungrier team in the series. I think that the playoff experience the Phils have maybe worked against them and that drive and hunger that was there in 2008 just wasn't there this post season. At the end of the day the Phillies definitely had a good year. They finished with the best record in baseball and made it to their third consecutive NLCS. The pain of the loss hurts but I think it was just meant to be for the Giants. Looking ahead to the off season, the Phillies have many question marks. I will try to cover all of the moves for you as best I can in the upcoming weeks and get you ready for next season. Look on the bright side, February is just a few short months away.

World Series Or Bust

Since day 1 the mission has been the same: win the World Series. By bringing in guys like Roy Halladay and Roy Oswalt, the Phillies made it very clear to the city, the team and the entire organization that they will not settle for anything less than another championship. On Wednesday night the Phillies will begin another playoff journey by taking on the Cincinatti Reds. I could get into the matchups and the offense and pitching of the Reds by I really don't think that's necessary. Let's stop and face the facts for a minute. This team coasted all year, and there is no denying that. The offense was inconsistent and while many may blame it on injuries, I simply don't see it that way. I think that this is a veteran ball club, and when August and September came around they stepped on the gas. When they needed to they got it done, and they got it done in a big way. Not only did they manage to put together a 21-6 record in the month of September, but they also managed to become the best team record wise in baseball. The Phillies are the hottest team in baseball and their veteran leadership and experience are really going to show this year in the post season. This year the Phillies have the offense, the pitching, the swag and the experience to bring this team another championship. Anything less, even if they make it back to the World Series, will be a major disappointment to the team and the fans. On Wednesday night, Roy Halladay will begin the Phillies 2010 quest towards anther World Series and I can't wait. This team is dangerous and I think everyone is ready for another parade.