See you next week!

RG3PO Coming to Town

Next up for the Eagles...the 3-6 Washington Redskins.  The redskins have been struggling this year and a lot has to do with the main man RG3.  RG3 hasn't been the same this year after he suffered a torn ACL at the end of last season.  The Eagles beat the Redskins in the first game of the season, which was thought to be a great start for the team and everyone thought the offense was going to be unstoppable.  The Eagles came back down to Earth after the first game and are now 5-5.

The Eagles defense this week looks to keep up, as they have been playing very solid over the past few weeks.  This will be a good test as the Redskins have been putting up about 30 points on average the past 4 weeks.  It could come down to a shoot out the way these two offenses have been playing.

Which brings me to Nick Foles, the talk of the town the past couple weeks...but not necessarily in a good way.  Yes Foles has been playing basically lights out, putting up a QB rating of 158.3 and 149.3 over the past two weeks which has never been done in the NFL, EVER.  But even with these performances people still aren't sold on Foles.  Can he play in the NFL? Yes.  Can he start for several NFL teams right now? Yes.  The big questions are whether or not he can be consistent with the games he is putting up or will he revert back to the Foles of the previous Cowboys and Giants games.  It looks like we will be able to get a better gauge on Foles after the season is over since there is no reason why he shouldn't start the rest of the games.  Being able to see Foles in crucial spots (maybe get to the playoffs in this sucky division) and how consistent he is for the rest of the season will let the Eagles know if they have to go out in the draft next year and get a new QB.

How about the Eagles go out Sunday and take back their turf, and finally get a win back at home(0-10, last 10 games) and take first place in the division.

EAGLES > redskins 27-17

GO EAGLES!


ski

And Another One!

The Philadelphia Flyers have won three straight games, as they knocked off the Pittsburgh Penguins last night, 2-1.

Brayden Schenn scored both goals for the Flyers and goalie Ray Emery stopped 30 out of 31 shots he faced. Schenn was interviewed after the game having this to say,

"Obviously, we're working on trying to put some wins together right now and playing pretty sound defensive hockey. We're waiting for our opportunities to score and right now we're scoring when they're there, so we have to keep it going."

Say whatever you want about the Flyers start, which was 1-7. The team is now, 6-3-1 in their last 10 games and have collected points in five of their last six games. Flyers are now, 9-2-1 at Consol Energy Center since the arena has opened. Sean Couturier played shut down defense on both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, which really seemed to frustrate Malkin, as he threw some cheap shots on Couturier's face. Head coach Craig Berube was very pleased with the win,

"I like the fact that we grinded the win out. We played the night before and did a lot of the little things right tonight."

Another little fun fact. Remember the brawl? The one that people said was so disgusting and disrespectful to the game of hockey and the city of Philadelphia. Well the Flyers are now, 4-1-1 since that brawl and it seems it has sparked this team to another level. They are now playing much more sound defense, winning all the puck battles and winning the battles along the boards. To top it all, they have now scored 14 goals since the brawl, which was missing to start the season.

Next up for the orange and black, the Winnipeg Jets. Another tough road game for the boys, but if they go out and execute the way they have been on this winning streak, they will be just fine.


CroJack

Serious question: Marlon Byrd, Really?

No, seriously. I don't get it, I'm really asking here. I've been trying to get a grasp of this signing since it has happened to figure out the plan here but I still just can't wrap my head around it. Obviously we all know that the Phillies need a right-handed power bat, some outfield and pitching help but I don't see this filling any of those needs. 

Ok I know he bags from the right side but the power just isn't there. 24 home runs is his career high for a season, which happened last season after a PED suspension the year prior. Jimmy Rollins has 2 seasons with more than 24 homers, yea "Jimmy Hustle" has more power than Byrd. And at the age of 36 I can't envision his power numbers jumping up for the next two years. 

Speaking of 2 years, it seems like Ruben doesn't have any plans of getting any younger any time soon. With the aging core, why wouldn't you add an aging vet to a squad on the downside of their careers? Of course that doesn't even include the option for the third year that could keep Byrd here til the age of 39. Of course the price doesn't help either, 8 mill per does not sound like the type of money you give to a bench player either.  That's the type of money that you are going to give to a someone who is going to be starting. Unfortunately, Marlon Byrd is not a player that is going to be starting on most playoff teams (yea, I know he did last year but he wasn't completely relied on to be a productive bat and came to the pirates towards the end of the season).

Honestly I would have been ok signing Byrd later in the winter as a bench player after exhausting the rest of your options. Instead as it stands we have a starting outfield with the killer B's (Brown, Ben and Byrd) who doesn't inspire much confidence. Maybe I am missing something with this signing or I am not looking at the whole picture somehow, but I don't get it. If anyone at all knows something about this that I don't please enlighten me because Ruben has lost me with this one. 

Quick side note: If these are the types of signings Ruben has planned for the winter, I don't think he is planning to be the GM much longer. 

Goins

Showing Improvement

The Philadelphia Flyers got their second straight win, beating the Ottawa Senators last night 5-0.

This was a very good win for the orange and black. Ottawa were coming off a 3 game winning streak and got their number one goalie back between the pipes, which ended up being his and their first shutout lose of the season.

Jake Voracek netted 2 goals and goalie Steve Mason got his first shutout victory and recorded 24 saves on the night. Needless to say these two were the Flyers top performers in this game. Matt Read had this to say after the game,

"We got back to the basics," said Reader, who had the Flyers' first goal Tuesday, on a beautiful wrap around. "The first month we tried to do things when we didn't have them and now we're just keeping things simple by getting pucks deep and getting pucks out when we have to and winning puck battles along the boards. "Those little things turn into victories."

Vincent Lecavalier and Brayden Schenn also scored for the Flyers and captain Claude Giroux recorded 2 assists. Goalie Steve Mason was very pleased with the team effort in this game.

"This was an extremely sound effort all around and from a defensive standpoint we didn't give a lot up."

Next up for the Flyguys, the Pittsburgh Penguins, the dreaded rivals. The Flyers will be traveling to Pittsburgh and in recent years the Flyers have played very well on the Penguins home ice. They will look to build off that and the last 2 wins to fuel them into another victory tonight. It will be a tough game no doubt, the Penguins are a good and very sound team.


CroJack

At 7pm on ESPN, Worlds Collide

Both stand 6'8 with 7ft wingspans and phenomenal skill sets. So alike, but couldn't be more different. Andrew Wiggins, the pride of Canada, Maple Jordan, Canadian Lebron. Jabari Parker, Chi-Towns finest, the unassuming star.

The 2014 NBA draft will feature a 1, 2 combination of these two and tonight's tilt between Wiggins' Kansas Jayhawks and Parker's Duke Blue Devils could go a long way in deciding whose name gets called first. 

The scary thing? This game may not include the best pro prospect. At 7pm Tom Izzo's very veteran and very tough Michigan State Spartans take on John Calipari's Mcdonalds All-American all-star team led by another super frosh, Julius Randle, who quite frankly is better than 75% of our beloved Sixers roster right..now. He's a man's man, a bruiser in the paint and gets you 15 and 15 and 4 blocks on a lazy night. 

Goodies on deck folks, get your popcorn ready. 

Zo

Freddy "The Fog" Shero

"Win today, and we walk together forever." One of the most repeated and talked about quotes in sporting history, was thought of by the late and great Fred Shero. He had written this quote on the dressing room blackboard for inspiration to the players heading into game six of the 1973-74 Stanley Cup Finals, which the Philadelphia Flyers ended up winning and thus the series against the Boston Bruins, becoming the first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup.

Fred Shero was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame yesterday in Toronto and many believe it was a long time coming and he was very deserving of it. Accepting the award was Ray Shero, Fred's son. Fred passed back in 1990, he was 65 at the time of his death, but his legacy has lived on through the players that he coached and his innovation on the beautiful game of hockey. "Freddy was a genius behind the bench," said former Flyer goalie Bernie Parent. "If Freddy didn't coach, he would have made a good psychologist. He made us believe in ourselves. He made us believe in the system."  Bobby Clarke was also in attendance for Shero's induction, having this to say prior to the ceremony, 

"The only thing I can think of was that people on the committee thought he was responsible for the mayhem that the Flyers caused in those days. He never was. You'd never see much anger in Freddy. 'Take the body. He had that line, 'shortest route to the puck and arrive in ill humor,' but I never heard him ever mention fighting or hitting people or stuff like that. Most of that was brought on ourselves as players, I guess."

Fred Shero will forever be immortalized in the game of hockey and now, the Hall of Fame. "People said he was ahead of his time," his son said. "Maybe he was an innovator. Maybe it was because he was video before most. Or maybe hiring the first assistant coach in 1972, Mr. Mike Nykoluk." Whatever it is, Freddy will always be loved in the city of Philadelphia and loved by fans of the game he loved so much.


CroJack

Who wants a mustache ride?

The Philadelphia Flyers got the offense going on Saturday when they defeated the Edmonton Oilers 4-2 at home.

Claude Giroux, sporting his bright red mustache, played like a madman the whole game and it paid off for him and the team, netting his first goal on the season and his first in 21 games, in the third period. Eric Cartman's nightmare came true because ginger's apparently do have souls and are real, Scott Hartnell also netted a goal during the win at home. He had this to say after the game,

 "It's great," Hartnell said. "We didn't hear a boo all night here at home, first time in a long time. Our efforts haven't been great at home and we wanted a big effort 60-minute game and that's something we did tonight. We have to continue that and carry that forward."

The team played very well together and it seemed they had it all figured out for that game. Granted, the Oilers are not that good of a team, but are a very well disciplined fast paced team and it was good for the Flyers to get a much needed victory. Moving forward Giroux was happy of his play and made clear what is expected,

"It was obviously a lot of relief," Giroux said. "To see all the boys on the bench being happy too, I think that was really fun. But you know what, it's a big win for us. And we go on the road now, and we've got to get on a roll here."

A few side notes before the game started on Saturday. There was a lot of trade rumors flying around on Friday and early Saturday morning between the Oilers and Flyers. Jordan Eberle, 23 year old RW for the Oilers, was mentioned heavily in those rumors. Names attached to the trade rumor on the Flyers side were, Giroux, Simmonds, Coots, and Luke Schenn. Thankfully none of those rumors came to fruition and those players were still in the orange and black come game time. Well, maybe Luke Schenn can go, he has been a turn over machine all season long, and the Flyers do have depth on defense. Lastly, Ilya Bryzgalov made some noise this Saturday, when he signed with the Oilers. Many thought they might start him immediately against his former team, but that did not happen. "I'm not afraid of anything-except bear, but bear in the forest." Yup, that guy.


CroJack

MCW...Point God

Shaquille O'Neal, David Robinson, Hakeem Olajuwon, Patrick Ewing, Rick Smits (The Flying Dutchmen), Tim Duncan, hell, even Yao Ming in his own right, all dominant big men at one point in their respective careers and pillars for their franchises. That was yesterday's NBA my friends.  

Today there's Derek Rose, Russell Westbrook, Rajon Rondo, Derron Williams, Steph Curry, Chris Paul, and the list goes on and on. These young men are all tasked with one thing, take their teams to the mountain top. This is a guard's league, you don't need size to win, you need a fearless floor general that gets stops and buckets. 

You need a point guard to be respectable, but a POINT GOD to contend, and eventually win. We got ours. His name is MCW. 

Build with Us...

Zo

My name is a Chooch.

Free agency has started for MLB and the Rockies and Red Sox are wasting no time in trying to get the signature of Carlos Ruiz from the Phillies. Colorado better be careful with Chooch, he has been known to dabble with prescription drugs and consult his own doctor instead of the teams. He may wind up with a medical marijuana card and suspended from the league again.

There are some big name free agent catchers on the list this year and if Chooch parts ways with Philadelphia, look for the Phillies to pursue them. Topping the list we have Brian McCann, but he may be a tough option to sign. He has played his entire career with the Atlanta Braves and may not want to sign with a divisional rival, plus he has been know to express his interest in the American League. Jarrod Saltalamacchia is another good option for the Phils. He is just coming off a World Series victory with the Boston Red Sox and they may look to keep him on their roster, but with interest shown in Ruiz, this may not be the case. Another name on the list is A.J. Pierzynski. Though he is older than Carlos Ruiz and of the others, he provides a much needed bat in this Phillies lineup and could be cheaper than keeping Carlos. He is a 2x All-Star and a World Series Champion.

All in all, Roob the Boob, needs to make something happen during this off-season and during the free agent period, if he wants this team to succeed next year. My guess, he will f*ck this up for the team and city again.


Crojack

What Does Seneca Wallace Look Like????

What does Marcellus Seneca Wallace look like?!  That is the question going around the NFL this week after Packers QB Aaron Rodgers went down on the first drive with a shoulder injury.  It's obvious that the Packers didn't expect Rodgers to go out and have to throw in the backup, especially for 3-4 weeks. But none the less Seneca Wallace has his time to shine, or burn out, or whatever you want to call it.

That all being said, what a sign of relief for the Eagles, they don't have to face the badass QB Aaron Rodgers.  The Eagles are coming off of a historic win in "The Black Hole" versus the Raiders, where Nick Foles threw for an NFL record tying 7 TDs.  This week's matchup versus the Packers went from winnable to should win with one injury.  The Packers have been plagued with injuries this year and another star that is questionable this week is Clay Matthews.  The Eagles have a great shot here to get back to .500 and hopefully be tied for 1st place after the week is over.

The Eagles defense has stepped is up the past few weeks and have been able to shut down some top tier offenses.  This is a good sign for eagles fans; if they can keep up the defense and put on performances like last Sunday against the Raiders, this team could surprise some people and sneak into the playoffs.

Here's to the defense staying strong this week and the offense keeping up the stellar performances!!

Vine of Wallace live in action, his throw looks very familiar:

Source: https://twitter.com/elibretl

ski