I'm Just Saying......

A weekly collection of random thoughts and observations for you to consider.

• "Manny" takes a shower during the dramatic 9th inning Phillies rally in Game 4 of the NLCS, yet the TBS and ESPN commentators continue to be apologists for him. Its just more evidence that Manny is about Manny. When questioned about it, Joe Torre said he has been doing it all year and it was only getting attention because it is the NLCS. Does that make it right and isn't the whole season riding on those games?
• After the Phillies clinched the NLCS, Torre said that the Dodgers "weren't the best team this week." I can appreciate supporting your guys, but Joe, I have news for you....you wouldn't be the best team next week or the week after or the week after that. Maybe its time to acknowledge that the Phillies are better...period?
• Every time that I see players like Alex Rodriguez and Manny make big contributions in the playoffs, I wonder how much of the success is attributable to modern science? And, its hard to feel admiration when the announcers marvel over their supreme capabilities.
• Wasn't Sherman Lewis, the Redskins new "Offensive Play Caller in the Press Box Consultant", the guy on "The Jeffersons?"
• With all the controversy over bad calls in the Major League Baseball playoffs, perhaps they could give umpires iPhones with streaming video so they could take a peak at pitch tracker or see replays showing two guys standing off of 3rd base or a ball landing a couple feet fair?
• Speaking of umpiring mistakes, it seems that an inordinate number of the blown calls have benefited the Yankees. I'm just saying....
• It seems that in order for Cole Hamels to get back on track, he is going to need to mix in his curve ball a lot more because his other pitches are both very straight. Speaking of which, did James Loney bait him into throwing the curve by praising the pitch and then sitting on it for a home run?
• The whole Oakland Raiders coaching controversy reminds me of a Monty Python skit. So, apparently Tom "Piranha" Cable has no idea how the coffee table got nailed to his ex-assistant's head. And, the witnesses, who are still currently employed by Cable and the Raiders, say that their ex-associate must have accidently fallen on the coffee table.
• Certain Fantasy Football team owners are rejoicing now that Tom Brady has his "running up the score groove thing" back. Five TD passes in one quarter projects to 320 TD's over a full season. And, Brady doesn't have to worry about an angry defense retaliating now that the NFL has given him his own yellow hanky to throw when he gets bumped.

Redskins Making Me Worry

The more I hear about the Washington Redskins and examine their season thus far, the more I get worried about Monday night's game. This, of course, is fueled by last Sunday's totally improbable loss to the Oakland Raiders, a futile team in seemingly total disarray. The Redskins have some similarities, but have also played close games every week, albeit against some bad teams.

The Redskins take a 2-4 record into the game, having eked out wins against the Rams and Bucs at home. They lost their other home game against the Chiefs, as well as their three road games. Except for the Giants, all their opponents have losing records and are a combined 1-23 against the rest of the league.

Despite playing such a soft schedule, the most points they have scored is 17. Averaging a meager 13 points per game, only a handful of teams have performed worse. In an unprecedented move, the team announced yesterday that they are going to have a consultant in the press box take over the play calling duties from their current coach.

Perhaps they preferred torturing Jim Zorn rather than simply cutting him loose? Sounds a little dysfunctional, somewhat like the Oakland Raiders. At least detectives and law enforcement officers are not involved, but it is not your typical, sure fire way to jump start an NFL offense. Zorn did say that he gets a chance to walk around and listen in to the play calls.

Are you getting scared, yet? Similar to last week, all conventional reasoning and odds would seem to favor the Eagles this week. A team in turmoil, with a futile offense taking on another team that is supposed to be a Super Bowl contender. Unfortunately, things did not work out as most everyone would have expected against the Raiders. Could the Eagles experience deja vu?

Here is the argument that the Birds could be similarly challenged this week:

• The Redskins are 2-1 at home and the game is in Washington.
• It is a Monday night football game, which provides extra motivation as players know their peers are likely looking in.
• The Redskins swept them last season, including a 10-3 win in Week 16 when the Eagles needed a victory to control their playoff destiny.
• Washington has been in every game this season.
• The Eagles offensive line is hurting and surrendered 6 sacks last week.
• The Redskins have a strong pass defense and have a defensive line that can put pressure on the QB.
• Donovan McNabb and his offense were out of synch all day, partially due to the line as well as the play calling.
• The Redskins are ranked 5th in the NFL in points allowed, so they are capable of making things difficult for the Birds again this week.
• The Eagles have a hole at middle linebacker after losing their starter and back-up for the season. The Raiders were able to exploit Jeremiah Trotter's lack of speed last week and just acquired Will Witherspoon will still be learning his abc's.
• Although they have not scored many points, the Skins do have some playmakers in Clinton Portis, Santana Moss and Chris Cooley.

You can see, despite outward appearances to the contrary, there is ample reason for Eagles fans to be concerned about Monday's game. This is especially true if the Eagles themselves take the game too lightly and do not properly prepare. The team would be wise to ignore the Redskins record and all the stuff about their new "offensive play caller in the press box consultant." Instead, they should remind themselves that this opponent swept them last season, and that they could only muster 3 points in a "must win" game at the end of December.

Raiders 13, Phillies 11, Eagles 9

By all appearances, the Eagles got caught looking past the woeful Oakland Raiders, and could never gather themselves to avoid a painful 13-9 loss.  And, to add insult to injury, when Shane Victorino tacked on a late game field goal, the Eagles found themselves outscored by their baseball playing brothers across the street. Of course, the Phillies big victory deflected a great deal of scrutiny off the Eagles lackluster performance and eased the pain of Philadelphia sports fans.

Although no one can really say for sure, Sunday looked like a case of a strong team taking a struggling team too lightly. The Eagles quickly fell behind and could never find their rhythm on offense to put a touchdown drive together. And, the defense could not come up with crucial stops in the fourth quarter to get the ball back into their hands of the offense.

Somehow, some way, the Eagles found a way to lose a game where they had no turnovers, collected two interceptions and held their opponent to 13 points. The biggest culprit was the offensive line's ability to pick up Raiders blitzes and provide protection for Donovan McNabb. This was further exacerbated by the great imbalance in play selection as the Eagles ran the ball on only 14 of 66 plays. This allowed the Raiders to keep McNabb under constant pressure, limit him to less than 50% completion percentage, while getting sacked 6 times.

With the Eagles coming off consecutive high margin victories, and the Raiders coming off 3 straight large margin defeats, the prospects of the Eagles losing this game seemed highly unlikely. Of course, this is the NFL, and "on any given Sunday...." Unfortunately for the Eagles, this was either one of those given Sunday's or the team feared the Raiders so little that they fooled themselves into thinking it would be a "cake walk." I am not sure exactly what type of walk that represents, but lets just say the Eagles players left the field with batter all over their uniforms.

Conversely, the Raiders showed up motivated to save face with an aggressive, attacking game plan. Their defense took a page out of the Eagles book, deploying a blitzing defense all day to limit McNabb's time and harass him into erratic passing. The formula worked, and by the time the Eagles seemed to get a sense of urgency, they could not sufficiently "turn things on" to overcome the deficit.

As it has from day 1 of training camp, the offensive line continues to present questions and concerns. It has played well at times, but it has never been settled. With Peters going down with an injury, the line played most of the day without its top four players as projected prior to the season. Shawn Andrews is on IR, Stacy Andrews is being limited in playing time, Todd Herremans is still fighting back from injury and Peters has a sprained knee. In order for the Eagles to establish themselves as legitimate contenders, they will need to get some order in terms of the players and their roles on the offensive line.

No matter how good, due to the competitiveness of the NFL and simple human nature, most teams experience an unpredictable upset along the way. Lets hope that yesterday was an aberration and the experience awakened a sense of urgency to avoid a similar scenario down the road. A couple small silver linings are that the NFC Eastern Division leading New York Giants also lost and the Raiders are a non-conference team. Beyond that, Sunday and the ensuing dust trail gloomily hang over head. The Eagles would be wise to learn from their red pinstriped brethren, and simply put this one behind them to place their undivided attention on the opponents ahead.