Eagles Fumble Away a Victory in Dallas

Wendell Smallwood 4th Quarter Fumble. Image Courtesy: NBC10.com

• The Philadelphia Eagles would be sitting pretty at 5-2 and tied for 1st place in the NFC East if last nights game was 56 minutes and 47 seconds long, but that is not real life and just like last week this fan-base can not have nice things!  There are a couple of resorts to place the blame on for the L, but without a doubt the biggest reason far and away the Eagles lost to the Dallas Cowboys last night was that quote, unquote "very special guy"!  I'm not calling for his job but Head Coach Doug Pederson let a 10 point lead in the fourth quarter slip away as the Cowboys were able to drive down the field on the first possession in overtime and score a touchdown to a wide open Jason Witten, Tight End of the Cowboys.   Final score of the game was Dallas 29 Eagles 23 in Overtime, but if this game were coached properly the Eagles would've won by double digits and I will explain.

• Doug Pederson's Coaching Follies 

• Not Stretching The Field - In the NFL there is a theory that if you throw the ball down the field you can keep the defense honest and make them vulnerable by opening up the field and giving yourself more space.  Well, Eagles Rookie QB Carson Wentz never threw the ball for more than 20 yards down the field the entire game.  Yet WR Josh Huff threw a deep pass to WR Jordan Matthews on a trick play that was almost completed for a Touchdown, but that play should've never happened and I will get to that in my next point on Pederson's play calling.  Wentz was 32/43 passing yet he threw for 202 yards, an average of 6.3 yards per completion, making him captain check-down.  Doug must have read Les Bonehead's...I mean Les Bowen's piece on not throwing the ball down the field which is the opposite of what he should be doing.  I have been saying for weeks that Eagles should take shots down the field with WR Dorial Green-Beckham, who at 6'5 runs a 4.5 40, and the aforementioned Josh Huff, who has track star speed similar to former Eagle Desean Jackson, just to keep defenses on their toes.  Green-Beckham and Huff don't have the best hands, but it does not matter if it is an incomplete pass, they just need to let the Cowboys defense knows that they could go over the top of them and that will open more of the field for the offense to work with.

• Play Calling/Game Strategy Late in Game - As I have made abundantly clear above not stretching the field falls in this category, but I have 3 specific examples of decisions that cost the game.  
• 1.) With 13:05 remaining in the 4th Quarter as the Eagles offense started on their own 41 yard line with a 23-13 lead.  Rookie RB Wendell Small saw his first action of the game and he fumbled the ball in the backfield of the first play and Dallas recovered the ball and would go on to kick a Field Goal to cut the Eagles lead from 10 to 7.  I have been a big component of getting Smallwood carries but you can't leave a rookie cold and throw him in, in late in a big game to run down the clock.  RB Darren Sproles had been surprisingly effective as the lead back all game, at that point you have to stick to what you know.  This is now the 3rd time in 4 weeks an Eagles Running back has fumbled the ball in situations where they were trying to seal a game and twice it has cost them W's.
• 2.) Dallas resorted to trick plays twice in this game because their backs were against the wall and they were pressing.  One was a fake punt run in which they were successful and the other was a screen pass to Cowboys WR Cole Beasley, who overthrew an open Terrance Williams.  The Eagles were driving down the field, converting a couple first downs with 8 minutes left in the game with the lead and they ruined their rhythm by pulling out the same trick play the Cowboys did.  Here I am referring to the play I mentioned above, the Huff to Matthews TD attempt.  Even though the play almost worked it showed a sign of weakness in Pederson's play calling as he wanted to do what the Cowboys did instead of being conventional and moving the ball the way they had been successful most of the game.
• 3.) The Eagles defense played well most of the night, holding one of the best offenses in check and towards the end of regulation the Eagles got a big momentum swing when they could've used it most and didn't capitalize.  On the Cowboys last possession of the game that began with 38 seconds left the Eagles forced and incomplete pass followed by a huge 10 yard sack of Cowboys Rookie QB Dak Prescott with 33 seconds left.  The issues here is the Eagles still had all of their timeouts and could've have forced to cowboys to run a couple more plays deep in their own side of the field maybe forcing them to make a mistake or have to punt to one of the best punt returners in the game Darren Sproles who was on fire most of the game.  Instead the Cowboys did not attempt another play as they just let the time expire and head into overtime giving the Cowboys a potential momentum swing by receiving the ball to start OT, eventually winning the game on that possession.

• To end on a positive note and give a little bit of hope past the glaring negatives of last nights Eagles loss there were a couple of positives that should be noted that could benefit this team in the future. 
• Defense/Jim Schwartz play calling - The Eagles defense was able to contain the best running back in the league, Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliot, and the Cowboys offense as a whole in general.  When it mattered most Eagles Defensive Coordinator Jim Schwartz dialed up blitzes with his defensive backs and trust the corners in 1-on-1 coverage against a decent set of Cowboys wide receivers, including Dez Bryant.
• Darren Sproles - Even though I am not a huge believer in giving Eagles RB Darren Sproles lead back carries he took advantage of the opportunity running for 86 yards on 15 carries averaging 5.7 YPC.
• Carson Wentz - As I will mention again, Wentz was 32/43 passing for 202 yards with 1 Touchdown and 0 interceptions.  It is not a beautiful stat line but there is a slight silver lining to more than the box score.  6 of the 11 incompletions for Wentz were dropped by his receivers, who as a whole unit have been sub-par at best and Wentz could only throw the ball as much as the play calling of his coaches offered so he made the most of what little freedom he was given and was mistake free.
• Lack of Penalties - The Eagles have been one of the worst teams in football with penalties but they were mostly a non-factor in the loss as they only had 5 penalties for 40 yards as to where the Cowboys had 11 penalties for 84 yards.
• Offensive Line Play - The Eagles O-Line virtually committed no penalties, which they had been accustom to doing in the previous weeks and gave Carson time in the pocket....to throw the ball 5 yards (Womp-Womp.)  Thanks Doug!

• The Eagles now fall to 4-3 and travel north to the Meadowlands in New Jersey to play a MUST-WIN game against the New York Giants on Sunday afternoon.  Do the Eagles make a move to acquire a Wide Receiver by Tuesday's trade deadline?  More to come...

  

What To Take From Sixers Season Opener Against Thunder

Sixers Players Joel Embiid, Dario Saric, Sergio Rodriguez and Jerami Grant/Nik Stauskas

The Philadelphia 76ers opened their season and essentially the 2nd Stage of "The Process" last night at home against the Oklahoma City Thunder.  Unfortunately, there are two national headlines regarding last nights game and neither of them involve the team.  Singer Sevyn Streeter was to sing National Anthem but was pulled due to breaching of contract wearing a "We Matter" shirt and a local Urologist sitting court side Double-birded and screamed "F@#$ You" unnecessarily to Thunder Super Star Russell Westbrook after a fantastic play on his part.  Blah, Blah, Blah, I don't care about any of that so that's all you'll get on that from me.  The Sixers came out strong taking a commanding lead against the favored Thunder and were able to slightly maintain a slight lead throughout most of the game until the final minutes.  In the end Westbrook and the Thunder were able to capture the lead in the last two minutes and won the game 103-97, but that's not the basis of this column.  Below I'll display what I took away from last night's tough, but mostly positive loss to the Thunder

• JOEL "THE PROCESS" EMBIID was absolutely stellar in his long-awaited Sixers debut! - Where do I begin with Joel Embiid?  Last night was Embiid's first official regular season game with the Sixers, after being drafted by the team in 2014, and boy was it worth the wait!  Embiid said before the game that he was nervous playing in his first regular season game, but to me it didn't show.  He fed off of a packed Wells Fargo Center and the crowd fed off of him as well.  Embiid brought an energy on the court that has been missing in Philly for a while and regardless of where the Sixers are in the standings throughout the season he has made this team a must watch.  Embiid was very focused as well as very entertaining throughout the game, which to me is a quality that is hard to find and gives him the potential to be a star in this league.  Now Head Coach Brett Brown and the Sixers staff have made it very clear that Embiid will be on a minutes restriction this season as the team wants to make sure Embiid's foot heals as it should.  As the season progresses and if Embiid does not show any wear or tear in health, his minutes per game will go up, but last night he played just about 22 minutes when he was slated to play 20 and it was the best 22 minutes of basketball this city has seen from one player since Hall of Famer Allen Iverson!  Embiid had a monster game for being on a minutes restriction(22 Minutes) with a stat line of: 20 PTS (6/16 FG) (7/8 FT) (1/3 3PFG) 7 REB, and 2 Blocks (SWAT, SWAT!)...Embiid also had 4 TO (turnovers) but that number has actually from the beginning of the preseason.  The debut of Embiid finally gave solace to all of the "Processers" who never gave up on Sam Hinkie's vision, even after he was essentially forced out by the team as Embiid has taken on the moniker in self-appointing himself as "The Process" and he has done us and Hinkie so very proud in just one game! 

• Sergio Rodriguez took the game into his hands when he needed to. - "El Chacho", which translates to "The dude" in Spanish, is a great way to describe Sergio Rodriguez's play in his Sixers debut.  Rodriguez had what I would call an exciting yet shaky preseason for the Sixers as he turned over the ball a good amount but last night was a different story!  El Chacho's stat line read: 12 PTS (5/11 FG) (2/6 3PFG), 4 REB, 9 AST, and 0 Turnovers.  I was very impressed with Rodriguez last night as he played solid Point Guard last night, cleaned up some of his mistakes from the preseason, and lead this young team when they needed to look to someone to control the game.  He may not have games like last night where he didn't turn the ball over but he should continue to be a strong facilitator with this young band of talent as we await Ben Simmons' Sixers debut!

• Can Nik Stauskas actually play?!?!?! - I was a very big believer in Nik Stauskas before he came into the league as he was a sharp 3-point shooting Canadian who was a big contributor for the University of Michigan Wolverines.  In the 2014 draft, same draft as Embiid and Saric, the Kings took "Sauce Castillo" 8th overall and traded him away to the Sixers after a disappointing rookie year.  Ever since he got here he had been a major disappointment, not being able to connect on his many 3-point attempts but we saw a much different Sauce last night as he put up 13 PTS on 5/6 FG and was a difference maker on the floor for the Sixers.  Now it is only one game and I am not going to get ahead of myself but he looked much more aggressive as he put the ball on the floor and drove to the basket for most of his points.  We'll see how he plays, but if he can actually be a player for this team it will be a breath of fresh air for the kid who was once regarded as a great shooter in college!

• Richaun Holmes could take Nerlens Noel's place on this team - Richaun Holmes in flashes throughout his short career has shown that he can bring a different energy off the bench for this squad in their crowded front court.  In limited time last night Holmes scored 6 PTS and filled Noel's spot in defensive presence by grabbing 3 REB and denying the Thunder with 3 Blocks.  I have always admired Noel's defensive presence for this team and had always preferred him to Jahlil Okafor in regards to the crowded front court but with Free Agency looming for Noel it might be beneficial to ship Noel and bring in Holmes more often than not to replace Noel's defensive presence.

• "The Homie" Dario Saric(Rookie) and 2nd-year Big Man Jahlil Okafor did not have great games but don't worry! - Dario Saric had an excellent preseason for the most part for the Sixers but in last nights game I felt he pressed too much in forcing up some shots at times when he shouldn't have but he did show the hustle and aggressiveness that will translate to being a great 6th man in this league and for this team eventually!  Saric can be a decent scorer in this league but is more of an all-around player who does everything else well and it showed in his stat line as he shot just 2/12 FG for 5 pts BUT had 7 REB and 2 AST.  Give it time, he will work on his clutch 3-point shooting as he relaxes and catches up to the speed of the NBA game.  Now Jahlil Okafor, who I am not the biggest fan of did play decent for someone coming off of knee surgery as he scored 8 PTS on 4/10 shooting while grabbing 3 REB and getting 1 Block.  I think Okafor as he gets his knee fully back under him will play much better offensively but I think he needs to work on his rebounding and defense or as I mentioned above Richaun Holmes could eat up some more of his big man minutes.

•  Ben Simmons spoke for the first time last night, after having surgery on his foot.  1st Overall pick in the 2016 NBA, Ben Simmons was supposed to make his debut alongside Embiid and the Sixers last night, but that dream fell short due to a foot injury on the last day of training camp that should sideline him at least 3 months.  Simmons was in attendance on the bench for the squad showing his support last night and before the game spoke with the media on his current state.  There were rumors after Simmons' injury that his agent wanted to hold him out of the season entirely even though he would be able to at least play the second half of the season when healed, but as Simmons sat at the podium before last nights tip-off he stated he would be on the court as soon as he's told by his physicians that he can go out there and play.  We are used to injuries on this team and we are used to delays so we will see what happens, so I cannot say this was 100% confirmed by Simmons last night even though he has the best intentions, but all we can do as a fan base is hope to see Simmons with these other young stars ASAP so we can see what the future holds because we've been patiently waiting long enough!

#TrustTheProcess 

Eagles Down Vikings, Yet We Can't Have Nice Things!

WR/KR Josh Huff Flipping into the Endzone at conclusion of game-changing 98 Yard Kickoff Return TD.  Image Courtesy of CSNPhilly.com

First Off, if you know me and even if you don't...DON'T SLEEP ON JOSH HUFF!!!

That is all.

Anyway...

• On Sunday, The Philadelphia Eagles beat the formerly undefeated Minnesota Vikings 21-10 as the Birds defensive unit shined, ruining Former Eagles now Minnesota Viking Quarterback Sam Bradford's return to his old nest...So cliche, right?  Anyway (again), the 1st quarter itself saw 5 turnovers between the two teams(at one point 3 straight plays changing possession) and 8 total for the game(4 each).  Eagles Rookie Quarterback Carson Wentz did not look great as he had a sub-par game going 16-28 for 138 yards, 1 TD and 2 INTs, but I will discuss more about Carson below.  For the most part the Eagles offense will rise and fall based on the play of Carson Wentz as they also did not have a great day, but in total the unit did just enough to win the game.  On the other side of the ball the Eagles defense maybe had their best overall game causing 4 turnovers as well as sacking former Eagles Quarterback Sam Bradford 6 times.  

• Notes To Take Away From Game
• WR Dorial Green-Beckham caught his first Touchdown of the season in the Redzone on a bullet from Carson Wentz.  Even though DGB only caught 2 passes on Sunday he has been getting more opportunities, which to me is inspiring.  He has definitely made bone-head plays as he may not be the smartest player on the field but my unpopular opinion and hope is that by the end of the season the Eagles coaches are able to teach him into be a solid wide receiver with raw talent and athleticism.
• WR/KR Josh Huff returned a 98 Yard Kickoff return touchdown swinging the momentum in the Eagles favor as they never looked back the rest of the game.  In general Special Teams may not get as much credit as they deserve at times but good teams usually have good special teams and this is the 2nd week in a row the Eagles have taken a kick return to the house.  Also in regards to Huff, this new coaching staff has finally learned how to use Huff on offense as he caught 4 passes for 39 yards with most of those plays creating first downs.  Huff is not your prototypical wide receiver, as was the case when he played his college ball in Oregon, he was used as a Running Back/Wide Receiver hybrid, look for more of this play design as the season goes on and the team needs to get creative on offense.
• The Eagles Defense lit up the stat sheet on Sunday completely disrupting Vikings QB Sam Bradford, which was the biggest reason for the Birds win.  LB Jordan Hicks had quite the bounce-back game as he recorded 11 Tackles(8 Solo) 2 Tackles For Loss (1 Sack) and 2 Pass Deflections.  FS Rodney McLeod may have had an even better game than Hicks, making 7 Solo Tackles (1 Sack), grabbing his 3rd interception of the season as well forcing one of Bradford's 2 lost fumbles.  I can keep going down the list but one more defender that stood out on Sunday was DE Brandon Graham who piled on the pressure for Bradford as he recorded as sack and hit Bradford a team-high 6 times, as Bradford played under duress all afternoon in South Philadelphia.
• One glaringly negative aspect of Sunday's game for the Eagles was RB Ryan Mathews' play.  He rushed the ball 14 times for 56 yards which isn't terrible, but he fumbled the ball for the 2nd time in 3 weeks when the Eagles were trying to close out a game, running out the clock.  Mathews had a couple good runs on the afternoon creating a first down or two, but his "fumblitis" in closing out games may have the coaching staff looking to their younger backs such as rookie RB Wendell Smallwood in the near future as trust has been lost with Mathews.

• Here is why the city of Philadelphia Can't Have Nice Things: Carson Wentz
• The growing narrative in Philly has been that the Eagles rookie signal caller needs to lose his gun-slinger tendencies because he is costing the Eagles football games.  Local writers such as Jeff McLane, Zach Berman, and Les Bowen have written pieces saying his play is ill-advised and detrimental to the team.  To me there are many, many, many, many, many things wrong with this narrative, so I will go though them.  Don't get me wrong, Wentz's play of the past 3 weeks has not been as good as it was the first three weeks of the season, but that is normal, did we really expect Wentz to stay perfect?  Has he sailed balls over receivers heads at times?  Has he made decisions that may not have been the best possible? Sure he has, but the level of play has been better and he has learn to become resilient and has corrected some mistakes from early on in the season.
• But before I get into those reasons, I want to establish how frustrated I am with people who can not see the forest through the trees.  We live in a society in which you can have information on anything in seconds by way of a smartphone, which is great, but it debilitates seeing something for what it is in full because we need one answer right now!  This is why I suggest more people read my blogs because there is no agenda on my end and that I will be as objective as I possibly can be.
• Reasons Why Carson Should Continue To Play His Way:
• Average to Sub-par O-Line: RT Lane Johnson serving 10-game suspension for PED's(stupidity), C Jason Kelce has been a shell of himself for 2 seasons now and is too small to play as a "West Coast Offense" offensive lineman.  The line in general is not giving Wentz enough time in pocket to survey the field and make accurate passes.  Wentz is one of the best QB's in the league against the blitz, just imagine if he got used to having time in the pocket.
• Lack of Skill Position Talent: Pretty self explanatory.  WR Jordan Matthews is Wentz's best target yet is wildly inconsistent.  TE Zach Ertz has not been the player that we thought we were getting when being drafted.  This team is plagued with drops, which is an issue that still needs to be worked on.  I believe the Eagles should throw bukku money at Chicago Bears WR Alshon Jeffrey this upcoming off-season as he is a big-time consistent play-making receiver, when he has a QB that has a good head on his shoulders and can throw the ball farther than 20 yards.
• He's a Rookie: Before Sam Bradford was traded to the Minnesota Vikings, Wentz was listed as the 3rd QB on the Eagles depth chart who was coming off of an injury and wasn't even going to dress this season.  A rookie needs to make mistakes so he can learn how to avoid them in the future.
• Very High Football I.Q. and willingness to learn: In the beginning of the season when he was doing well he was doing one thing very poorly and has since corrected this issue.  The issue was putting himself in harms way, running around carelessly on the field.  These same writers who are saying he needs to be more cautious are not saying how he has not put himself in harms way the past three games.  The offensive coaches told him he needs to improve in that area of his game and so far he has not put himself in harms way.  Me personally I have not had any heart palpitations over the past couple of weeks!!!
• Teams have more game tape on Wentz: Let's be honest, teams are going to learn a QB's tendencies when watching more and more game tape.  Oh! And the Eagles on Sunday were playing the best defense in the NFL on Sunday against the Vikings...COME ON!
•  Most Successful QB's in NFL take chances: The last time I checked, most of the most successful QB's in the NFL made their way in the league by taking chances, doing things that most other QB's could not do. 
• Wentz Emulated his game after Brett Favre: Former NFL QB Brett Favre, who spent most of his illustrious Hall of Fame career as the signal-caller of the Green Bay Packers, was best known for his Gun-slinger attitude on the football field.  So I ask you, Brett Favre was one of the best to ever do it, wouldn't you want the second-coming of him?  I know I sure as hell do!  Also, The Eagles organization took a chance in trading up to draft Wentz because of the way he played in college, Gun-slinging.  Why would the Eagles take the Gun-slinger out of a guy who was successful being one?
• Wentz is the future of this team: We came into this season not expecting much and so far the team and Wentz has been out-performing expectations.  I want to see this team do well this year, but I know this team getting to the Super Bowl and winning is near impossible.  With that being said, I want to see Wentz grow the best way he can as his track record leading to the NFL speaks to himself and I want to see the Eagles build the rest of this team up to match the play and talent of Carson Wentz.  So if his Gun-slinger mentality brings mistakes this year its not the end of the world because he will fix them and he will grow into a Franchise NFL Quarterback leading this team into many victories in the future!

 

 

Eagles 2nd Loss in a Row Drawing Concern

Wentz being sacked by Redskins DE Ryan Kerrigan. Image Courtesy: NBC10.com

      The Philadelphia Eagles and their fans came off of last week's disappointing loss to the Detroit Lions hopeful as their 2nd half comeback in that game fell just short due to a Ryan Mathews fumble in the last 2 minutes.  So the thinking going into Sunday's game against the Washington Redskins was that the team would right their wrongs, shake off their bye week rust, and play with a chip on their shoulder...WRONG!  If not for a Wendell Smallwood kick-off return touchdown and a Malcolm Jenkins Pick 6 in the first half the final score of this game would've been very lopsided in Washington's favor as they surprisingly lost a close one, 27-20. 

      The first three weeks of the season we saw three well coached games with players being held accountable, available, and executing.  On the flip side, in the last two weeks we have seen awful execution, lack of accountability, and an egregious amount of penalties.  Penalties the last two weeks have played an integral part in the teams losing ways.  In the past two games the Eagles have committed 27 penalties for 225 yards and they are now on a record breaking pace for penalties in a season, not good!  Don't get me wrong, the NFL is getting flag-friendly, throwing excessive amounts of penalties left and right and some of them in the past two weeks against the Eagles have been egregious, but this team right now is shooting themselves in the foot by committing poor penalties, showing a lack of discipline.  As to no surprise, penalties and game planning have gone hand-in-hand during this losing streak.  It's simple, when a team is playing poor there is a much better chance they will commit penalties as they play with their back against the wall.  As much as they players are not executing and are committing penalties, the coaching staff deserves just as much of the blame for not having their players better disciplined.

      Another issue that has reared its ugly head is players not being available.  In particular RT Lane Johnson, who is now in the midst of serving a 10-game suspension for violating the NFL's Drug Policy for the 2nd time in his career, has been a horrific blow to an Offensive line that was playing surprisingly well this season.  Eagles 5th-Round draft pick in this past springs NFL Draft, RT Halapoulivaati Vaitai (Big V), got his first career start against the Redskins on Sunday getting destroyed by their defensive line.  Now, I can't fully blame him as this was his first game and he didn't have much help and he is a 5th-round draft pick, meaning he's not looked at as an elite player who is ready to jump right into the NFL.  The problem I have here falls on the coaching staff because as I said they did not provide him with much help.  Myself and many others thought going into Sunday the Eagles would've line up the tight ends next to Vaitai to help chip off Washington's pass rushers to give QB Carson Wentz more time to make plays...WRONG!  It was evident on the first play of the game for the Eagles offense as Big V was lined up by himself against Skins DE Ryan Kerrigan who completely blew up Big V and sacked/ripped Wentz's jersey.  The trend continued throughout the game which had me especially frustrated that veteran TE Brent Celek was not out there next to Big V as he only played on 13 snaps the whole game, which I can only blame Head Coach Doug Pederson and the rest of his offensive coaching staff.

      I could continue to go on and on and on about all of the mistakes the players are making on the field, such as receivers not running the correct routes/dropping the ball, or both offensive and defensive lines committing awful penalties, or the linebackers and defensive backs missing tackles, but I'm not going to do that because it is a continuing trend that we are seeing every week and we know what they are doing wrong by now.  What I and many others across Philadelphia would like to know is who, what, when, where, why, and how are they going to fix these issues?  All of our expectations arose after the Eagles 3-0 start, including their Week 3 win at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers, rightfully so, but the flaws we saw before the season are now showing up and after two bad games there seems to be no sign of growing or improvement.  This season is a process and we did not expect them to start as well as they did, but now there is a hunger for more, especially from the fans.  To me Doug Pederson has a lot to prove this season, as all eyes will be on him and how this team either progresses or regresses, so for his sake and ours I hope he can get to his players and make the best of the rest of the season, because as we all know this city can turn on you very quickly.

P.S. - I blame almost nothing on QB Carson Wentz because he is the GOAT and he is the main reason why the team still has a chance to win these games even when they are playing awful!

Flyers Future Bright with Konecny & Provorov

Koenecny (Right) & Provorov (Left): Images Courtesy of Philly.com

• The Philadelphia Flyers begin their 2016-17 campaign tonight on the road against the Los Angeles Kings with the future looking bright!  The Flyers have decided to bring up two 19 Year-old's, Left Winger Travis Konecny and Defenseman Ivan Provorov, to start the season for the first time since 1984(Peter Zezel and Derrick Smith). Konecny and Provorov are only two of a group of sought-after Flyers prospects drafted by Former Flyers Goalie and current General Manager Ron Hextall that have the city excited for the future of this team.  Even though the Flyers made the playoffs last year after a horrific start this team is still in the middle of a rebuild.  

• Travis Konecny will be joining the likes of Veteran Forwards Claude Giroux, Wayne Simmonds, Jakub Voracek, and Brayden Schenn.  There is definitely a good amount of talent spread throughout the Flyers front line's, but they do not have that constant scorer who they can rely on.  For example Captain Claude Giroux, who a couple years ago was regarded as one of the best players in the world, can do almost everything as he is a great all-around player but when it comes to scoring it is hard to rely on him as he is very streaky when it comes to putting the puck in the back of the net.  The hope here is that Konecny will provide a scoring youth movement for this team and give players such as Giroux a chance to thrive and see their potential.

• In 183 Games over 3 seasons in the OHL (Ontario Hockey League) for the Ottawa 67's and Sarnia Sting, Travis Konecny scored 85 Goals and tallied 154 Assists totaling 239 Points.

• Ivan Provorov is actually joining, what in my opinion is the bright spot of the team, the Defense.  Provorov will be bringing star power to a unit that already has a star in last year's Rookie Phenom Defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere who brought on the beginning of the rebuild and the youth movement.  Gostisbehere and Provorov are somewhat of a new kind of Defenseman that is forming in the NHL, hybrid defensive scorers.  Provorov almost plays the position as if he were a Forward, who can score goals and can stick-handle the puck with the best of them.  To really get a good grasp for the kind of game Provorov plays just go on Youtube and look up Provorov's highlights and you will understand!

• In Two seasons (122 games), with the Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL (Western Hockey League) Ivan Provorov scored 36 Goals and 98 Assists tallying 134 Points. 

• There is still talent that needs to grow and work its way up to the big time, as the Flyers still need to find another legitimate scorer and solidify the Goaltender position, but with all of that being said the future looks as bright as it did during the beginning of the Lindros era!  The Flyers organization has a lot to look forward to for the future and two of the biggest pieces will be getting prime time action tonight in Los Angeles.  Even though the game will be starting at 10:30 PM local time it is a must watch if you are a fan of this team!  

Below are highlight videos for Provorov and Konecny!

Ivan Provorov #9 Brandon Wheat Kings Highlights

Travis Konecny - Highlights 2013/14/15/16 


      

         

Eagles: Recovering From Loss to Lions

Carson Wentz Rolling to his Right on Sunday in loss to Lions.  Image Courtesy: http://billypenn.com

      After Ryan Mathews fumbled the football late in the 4th Quarter of Sunday's 23-24 loss to the Detroit Lions, I had to isolate my self in another room as I watched the Eagles lose the lead with a Lions FG and a Carson Wentz deep-ball interception on the first play of their last drive.  To very quickly summarize the game, since it's now Thursday and we have been through it over and over again 29 ways since Sunday, the Eagles came out flat after the Bye week in the first half and the Lions took advantage, while the Eagles comeback in the second half fell just short.  Little bit of good news, Rookie QB Carson Wentz had another good game, despite the late-game interception, which was poorly played by WR Nelson Agholor.  What I want to do today is point out what the Eagles did wrong last Sunday and how they can adjust this Sunday for a win against the Washington {Redskins}.

• Came Out Flat.  The Eagles as a whole came out flat on Sunday following their Bye week, as I mentioned before.  The good thing here is that there is only one bye week for each team in the NFL and the Eagles have gone though it, but there is always the possibility of a team coming out flat on any given Sunday.  From what I've read via Twitter, the Eagles have been very vocal and practicing with more energy this week.

• Pass Rush.  In the first half it seemed our defensive line was not getting after Lions QB Matthew Stafford.  Stafford, if given time can take advantage of a defense because of his cannon for an arm.  Against Washington's QB Kirk Cousins the Eagles defensive line will have to get after him because he is a perfect example of someone who when under pressure and will make mistakes.  Again, as mentioned earlier the defense came out in the second half and shut the whole Lions offense down.  If the Eagles play as they did in the second half last week then Sunday should be a success.

• PENALTIES!!! The Penalty bug decided to spring its ugly head for the first time on Sunday for this team.  I'm not saying the Eagles weren't committing penalties through the first 3 games of the season, but they were definitely a factor Sunday.  The Eagles committed 14 penalties for 111 yards, which was by far and away the worst they were this season.  Some penalties were questionable by the refs on Sunday, but some were just so fundamentally bad.  Eagles Center Jason Kelce had two delay of game penalties that were very detrimental to drives, as well as an awful holding penalty by RG Brandon Brooks when the runner had already passed the defender.  For the Eagles to be successful on Sunday in Washington they need to go back to playing smart football, which they had been doing for most of the season before last Sunday.

• Running Game.  RB Ryan Mathews was completely shut down against the Steelers two weeks ago, so RB's Darren Sproles, Kenjon Barner, and Wendell Smallwood took on the workload and were successful, especially the Rookie Smallwood.  This past Sunday on the other hand was not the case, except for change of pace back Darren Sproles who was rather effective.  Barner and Smallwood were barely used at all and I believe the coaching staff made a mistake in not using Smallwood especially because if a Rookie has a good game you have to continue to feed him the ball with his new found momentum to see what you have going forward.  I expect to see Smallwood get more reps this week against Washington.

• Linebacker Play.  Lions RB Theo Riddick ran wild in the first half , like he did last year on Thanksgiving, catching two TD's out of the backfield in large part to the terrible matchup of Riddick vs Eagles LB Mychal Kendricks.  I am not sure what Defensive Coordinator Jim Schwartz was thinking have Kendricks and Stephen Tulloch play a good amount in the first half when LB's Jordan Hicks and Nigel Bradham have been two of the best pass defending LB's in the league so far this season.   Hopefully Schwartz will go back to Bradham and Kendricks playing the majority of the snaps as they did in the second half this past Sunday.  I'm thinking Schwartz just had a lapse in judgement and overthought his game plan against his former team.

• Game Planning.  Just like the team came out flat in the first half, I believe the coaching staff did as well.  Head Coach Doug Pederson needed to get his guys better prepared coming off the Bye, but since he is a first year Head Coach I will hope he will use this past Sunday as a learning experience.  DC Jim Schwartz needs to not worry about matchups and go with the best players who belong on the field because that is how he had been so successful.  The Eagles seemed to have gotten ahead of themselves on Sunday and tried to do things differently then they had been, which I believe was their downfall.  If the Eagles go back to the football they played the first 3 weeks of the season they will be fine against the defending NFC East Champs.

Go Birds! #FlyEaglesFly

Simmons Injury, Where Do Sixers Go From Here?

Simmons Injury

Image Courtesy: bleacherreport.com

• Unless you are a sports fan who has been living under a rock, you know that the Philadelphia 76ers are now expecting to start the first 3 months of the NBA season without #1 Overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, Ben Simmons.  Early Friday afternoon, on the Final day of Sixers training camp at Stockton University in Galloway NJ, Simmons jumped up for a rebound in the teams final scrimmage of the day, but in doing so Simmons' right foot landed on teammate Shawn Long's foot causing him to roll his ankle leading to injury.  Word quickly got out on twitter via eye-witness Sixers reporters and the entire fan base began to panic, but the preliminary word was that Simmons was going to get "precautionary imaging" taken on his foot.  With such wording it was believed by many that it was just a light sprain and the organization would be careful with him in the preseason, but then a bomb dropped later in the day as the the team announced that Simmons actually fractured his right foot.

• As the weekend went along, slowly but surely, details would trickle out about the severity of Ben's foot and how long the rookie would be sidelined.  As I am typing this on Monday October 3rd, 2016 Ben Simmons has a Jones fracture on the 5th Metatarsal of his right foot and the team is looking to be without the rookie for the first three months of the season as he is to getting surgery later this week to repair the issue.  Originally when the fracture was announced there were rumors that it was an avulsion fracture (less severe) and not a Jones fracture, but unfortunately it has been confirmed by many sources that the fracture is the latter of the two.  It seems as if whether the fracture was avulsion or Jones the recovery time would be pretty similary, but the issue with it being a Jones fracture is the chance of re-fracturing the foot is greater and will have to be even more closely monitored.  Some believe the Sixers will be overly cautious with Simmons, which I do believe to be true, but some believe he should be sidelined for the entire season, which I think is bonkers...we'll see what happens.

Sixers Moving Forward

Image Courtesy: newsreportcenter.com

• With or without Ben Simmons there is a log jam at the Forward and Center positions in regards to this team.  Simmons stands at 6'10" and has the skills of a Point Guard, but a 6'10" Point Guard in the NBA is still considered unconventional, so had he been healthy he would have been taking minutes away from some of the other big men on this roster.  Don't get me wrong, we would all love to surrender another players minutes to have Simmons on the court as he is considered one of the best prospects since LeBron James, but I am looking at the glass half full in this instance and saying that getting more of our prized big men on the court can be beneficial for this team moving forward.  This upcoming NBA season is not expected to have the Sixers as a legitimate contender for the NBA Title, so the loss of Simmons now is unfortunate, but it can let the others grow and as Simmons will just be half a season late to the game.  

• In the mean time, the Sixers log jam at Forward/Center consists of Joel Embiid(7'2", 3rd Overall pick in 2014 Draft), Dario Saric(6'10", 12th Overall pick in 2014 Draft), Jahlil Okafor(6'11", 3rd Overall pick in 2015 Draft), and Nerlens Noel(6'11", 6th Overall pick in 2013 Draft).  Embiid(coming off injury) and Saric(coming over from Croatia) will be making their NBA debut's in tomorrow nights first preseason game against the Celtics.  

• Joel Embiid - If Embiid did not have injury concerns and played up to even half of his potential I would lock him in as the every night starting Center right now, but with missing the first two years of a career, no matter who it is, with injuries, you can not consider anything a sure thing.  Joel Embiid in his short career at Kansas showed he can play well on both sides of the ball but has an edge on offense with an amazing shot for a guy standing 7'2".  I do eventually think if Embiid can survive his first full season in the NBA, in which he will not play every night, he is the far and away front runner to be the teams starting Center for many years to come so I do not have questions of talent with him.

• Dario Saric - I actually believe Saric (unfortunately) benefits from the Simmons injury as the two have been compared to each other as having very similar playing styles.  Saric is more of a hard-working facilitator than a natural shooter/scorer but he does have a very nice shot, especially from the outside.  I do believe that Dario Saric will shift some of his focus more to shooting where he and Guard/Foward Robert Covington will eventually provide a 3-point threat beyond the arc for the Sixers generating more offense.

• Nerlen Noel - When it comes to an offensive presence, Noel is the odd man out as the others all have skills that he lacks, but Noel may be the best player far and away on defense (depending on how Embiid can transition to the NBA defensively).  I have always been a fan of Noel's because of what he can do on defense and how fast he plays the game, a quality that Head Coach Brett Brown likes in his players.  Though all of a sudden it seems that Noel is talking his way out of town, making it publicly known that he believes the team having so many big men on the roster is "silly" and that a move should've been made by now.  Part of me can somewhat understand why he is frustrated, he is on the final year of his deal and he wants to be on the court as much as possible so another team will give him a lucrative contract, but he has to realize talking disrespectfully about the organization could be detrimental to his next contract where ever he ends up because it shows bad character.  All-in-all this Simmons injury gets Noel more time on the court to start the season so he should not be complaining anymore.  I just hope that if and when Noel is not here anymore they can find a player who can rebound and defend as well as he can, but his skills today are starting to become rare.

• Jahlil Okafor - Okafor to me is a player who has good footwork his size and can put up numbers down low by putting the ball in the basket, but what worries me is that he is a liability on defense, plays at a much slower pace than the rest of the big men on this team, and does not use his frame as well as he should to grab rebounds.  In the Nerlens Noel vs Jahlil Okafor debate I have always been on the Noel side due to his defense and rebounding, because I knew once the process came together this team would have plenty of offensive players and Noel would make up for the lack of defense on this team.  I theoretically am still on the side for keeping Noel over Okafor but logistically it makes more sense to keep Okafor.  Noel is a free agent at the end of this season and could walk away, where Okafor can still be possibly controlled by the team for the next four years.  Okafor can also be the offensive replacement for Joel when he can't play at times this season and next or dare I say Embiid's injuries continue to linger.  I have grown to the thought of Noel leaving before Okafor and am okay with it for the time being, and I can see Okafor having a bigger impact later in the season with Simmons eventually facilitating the ball down low to him when he returns.

#TrustTheProcess