Thank you 2016 for Joel Embiid

Sixers C Joel Embiid celebrating a 3.  Image courtesy: bleacherreport.com

Dear 2016,
        
         For us Philadelphia Sports fans it's been a year full of ups and downs as another calendar year has come and gone without a legitimate contending team in the four major sports, but hope is on the horizon.  The Eagles failed to make the post season after a 3-0 start, but they may have found their franchise Quarterback in this years draft with the 2nd overall pick in NDSU QB Carson Wentz.  There was not too much to expect with the Phillies this past season as they are in the midst of a rebuilding process that should have begun a few years prior, but better late than never, right?  Dating back to the 2nd half of last season and the first half of this season, the Flyers have seen the emergence of Rookie Defencemen Shayne Gostisbehere and Ivan Provorov along with Forward Travis Konecny and a 10 game win streak to boot, all thanks to former Flyers goalie great and current GM Ron Hextall.  Now you would think here is where I talk about how the Sixers FINALLY won the NBA Draft Lottery (after 3 years of tanking) selecting Australian Guard/Forward  Ben Simmons in a year when there was a clear-cut top selection, unfortunately he broke a bone in his right foot in Training Camp and has still not made his debut yet.  That leads me to what I am absolutely the most thankful for this year, being its just about the conclusion of the Holiday season, Sixers Rookie Center Joel Hans "The Process" Embiid!

         Like Batman, Joel Embiid may not have {originally} been the hero that we wanted, but the hero we needed.  The 7-plus footer, who hails from Cameroon did not start playing basketball until the age of 15 and besides half of a season at the University of Kansas that put him on the map he has not had too much basketball experience.  Along with his inexperience he has faced a great deal of injuries in his young life, which can eventually take a toll on a basketball player of his size.  In 2014 Embiid was days away from being drafted 1st overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers until a back injury and a foot injury put him in jeopardy of his draft stock plummeting.  Insert Sixers Former GM Sam Hinkie (Died for our Sins and should still be here), who in the tanking process saw the potential of what Embiid could be compared to the players available after and took the chance on him with the 3rd overall pick that year. 

         Fast forward to October 26th, 2016 in Philadelphia PA at the Wells Fargo Center and there you have Embiid's first career regular season start in a Sixers uniform.  But before that, it took Embiid two whole seasons before he could get on the court due to multiple surgeries on his foot, but with the "Trust The Process" movement revolutionized by Sam Hinkie, Sixers fans learned to become patient as this team has not been legitimately relevant since the 2001 NBA runner-up Sixers lead by Hall of Fame Guard Allen Iverson.  Joel spent a good amount of time rehabbing overseas where he would heal as well as work on perfecting his shot, which was already good for a 7 foot 2 inch center and found a way to get better.  Embiid before stepping on the court slowly but surely won over the fans via his hilarious social media antics, such as for example, reaching out to Rihanna who he has a crush on and pretending to be on a date with her.  Having a great personality, especially in Philly, can only get you so far...bottom line: your play better be bigger than your mouth and we would soon see that he put his money where his mouth is!

       The Sixers lost the first game of the season (as mentioned above) to the Oklahoma City Thunder in a close one 103-97 and in his debut Embiid was an impact player scoring 20 points with 7 rebounds and 2 blocks in 22 minutes.  Joel has continued to put up great numbers night after night and has a real chance of making it to the All-Star game with his stats and popularity across the country.  All season Embiid has been on a minutes restriction set by team doctors which started at 24 minutes a game and has increased to 28 minutes a game just a couple of weeks ago.  Along with the minutes restriction Embiid is not eligible via team doctors to play on back-to-back days.  What is so incredible about all of this is that Embiid in limited time has not only been the best "rookie" in his class but has been one of the better players in the league averaging 18.7 points per game along with 7.4 rebounds per game and 2.4 blocks per game.  Fun Fact: Embiid has scored in double digits in 20 out of the 21 games he has actually played in.

       Not since Iverson has there been such a player who can command the attention of all who watch him play.  There is a complete difference in the crowd when Embiid is on the floor and when he is not, as well as when he touches the ball everyone anticipates something exciting will happen and so far more times than not Embiid has not disappointed.  One way to really understand how much of a difference Embiid has been making in this town so far in a limited amount of time, his jersey is next to impossible to find anywhere, his popularity is only going to continue to grow.  Joel Embiid for being 7 feet tall can make a difference on both sides of the court in ways a player of his size has not really ever done.  Embiid's potential has even been compared to one of the 50 greatest NBA players of all time in Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon.  By the way, Embiid himself has taken on the "Trust The Process" mantra and has made it his own as he has even given himself the nickname "The Process" and still gives homage to former GM Sam Hinkie who drafted him without saying his name.  I mean come on, who does that?  It's truly incredible how one player can completely turn around the mindset of a franchise and city and make them believe again that this team can become something special AND we haven't seen him with Simmons AND the most-likely high draft pick that the Sixers should be getting in the next draft with plenty of talented guards coming out of college.  IF, a very big if, the luck of the Sixers has changed for the better than the possibilities for this team going forward are endless.  Joel Embiid has been a breath of fresh air and has restored my faith that we will not have to wait another 25 years for a championship in Philadelphia.  So thank you 2016 for giving us Joel Embiid and thank you for giving us hope!

Sincerely,
     
        Philadelphia

      

      

        

        

       

As Birds are eliminated Sunday, Jeffery Lurie is the focal point of it all

McLeod/Bradham trying to bring down "Fat Rob" Kelley on his TD run against Eagles.  Image Courtesy: Insidetheiggles.com

Real quick I am going to break down the Philadelphia Eagles Week 14 27-22 loss at home against the Washington Redskins.  I have decided that since the Eagles are mathematically eliminated from Playoff contention (technically have 5 Million to 1 odds of making it), a game recap is unnecessary.  Instead I will continue my Eagles post in this short game recap format and use the rest of my efforts in evaluating this team going forward by roster, coaching and front office structure.

• Eagles QB Carson Wentz played one of his best games all season throwing for over 300 yards but he did unfortunately drop back 46 times to do so.
• The Eagles won the time of possession battle yet they still lost the game.
• TE Zach Ertz caught 10 balls for 112 yards and WR Jordan Matthews caught 8 for 79 yards both helping Wentz throw for over 300 yards.
• The defense wasn't terrible per say but this defense, like last season, is vulnerable to giving up the big play, as Redskins WR caught an 80 yard bomb,  RB Rob Kelley ran for a long TD, and RB Chris Thompson took a screen pass 25 yards at the end of the game to seal the win for Washington.

Let's Start At The Top... 

• Eagles current owner Jeffery Lurie bought this franchise back in May 1994 for $195 Million and now the franchise is worth about $1.5 Billion.  That is all well and good...it's a nice story for a failed movie and television producer from Boston who happened to come from money.  On paper such a financial turn around should be applauded and revered, if this were any other organization outside of sports Lurie would be considered a roaring success, but in sports its easy to see results without looking at a spreadsheet.  And how would one do that?  Championships.
• Let me preface how I continue forward by saying Lurie has not been a terrible owner.  He hasn't "Cleveland Browned" up the joint by continuing to put out a terrible product year after year.  Lurie has even had some contending teams in his regime with 12 playoff appearances, including a Super Bowl appearance in 2004 where the Eagles lost a close one to the New England Patriots.  Also, Lurie has also done a superb job at keeping the Eagles relevant year-in and year-out.  Lurie in his time here has opened a new stadium, taken a strong green initiative with such additions to the stadium being solar panels and wind mills, and has made big splashes in coaching and Free Agency. 
• Now I will explain where my problem with Jeffery Lurie as the owner resides.  I can understand for a new owner it is not easy to step right in and build a winning franchise so with the history of Philadelphia sports he gets a pass for his first 5 seasons of average to below average success, even though they made the playoffs twice in that time(95 and 96).  Then Lurie struck gold with the hiring of Head Coach Andy Reid and the drafting QB Donovan McNabb back in 1999.  Reid came from Green Bay where he was the QB coach to one of the best Quarterbacks to ever play the game (Brett Favre), but Reid was not an overly recognizable figure to the general public, so Lurie had the leverage on Reid and to me held that over him during his time here.  In doing so Lurie didn't meddle too often throughout Reid's tenure and Reid eventually became GM because Lurie knew that Reid could be trusted and would not rock the boat.  With Lurie not being a football guy he wasn't able to see what Andy was doing wrong on the field and in the off season because he quite frankly didn't know better.  For example Lurie could've stepped in and realized that in most of the Reid playoff glory days the team was missing a wide receive, then came Terrell Owens for a year and then they let him leave over a little bit of money and they didn't address the position again for another couple of years.  Eventually Reid's time would run out in Philadelphia as his act got old and he wasn't relevant anymore but a big problem in my eyes was that Lurie held onto Reid a couple of years too long delaying the process of rebuilding this team.  In the mean time a not so well known accountant worked his way up the ranks assisting Lurie throughout the years and that was now current GM Howie Roseman.  Don't get me wrong I am a fan of what Howie has done this past off season but my problem is that Roseman and Lurie together are non-football guys who believe too much in analytics and can't decipher legitimate talent on the grid-iron from experience.  Together Lurie and Roseman have a tight bond and if anybody tries to get in the way of that they will eventually have them removed, such as former Head Coach Chip Kelly, who deserved to be fired for being a fraud but if the Lurie/Roseman brain trust could've seen eye to eye with Chip MAYBE things could've been different.  Also, another talent who was dismissed due to not getting along with Roseman specifically was ESPN's Louis Riddick who is a bright football mind in my opinion.    Back to Chip Kelly, only 3 years into a 5 year contract with Kelly, Lurie dropped the hammer on Chip last year before the final week of the season firing him because of public opinion essentially in an emotional decision.  Kelly was short with people/media, stubborn, rude, and unwilling to adjust which eventually got him fired which in the end was the right move but where the Eagles and Lurie went wrong was hiring current Head Coach Doug Pederson who is the anti-chip filled with emotional intelligence.  Before I continue with the Pederson hiring I have to say Lurie has said some pretty interesting things in his time here, when he actually decides that he wants to show his face because he loves to just pick and choose.  He has called this organization "The Gold Standard" when they have nothing to show for it.  He believes a coach needs to have "Emotional Intelligence" and that they should "Open Up Their Heart" to the team and the city.  These quotes are damning to me at least because he has turned this organization soft and with that being said I continue with Pederson.  Lurie hired Pederson in my opinion because he knew Doug would be the lap dog-yes man that wouldn't rock the boat for him and Howie while trying to bring back the Andy Reid days.  I'm sorry but that is not how the NFL works.  The coach needs to have a say in the moves that are made and the coach also needs to be able to know how to coach a game in the NFL, how to run plays in certain situations and I believe Pederson is and will not be the guy for it, but I don't blame Pederson, I blame the man at the top for that, Jeffery Lurie.
• Final Statement on Lurie: In MY Opinion (everyone is entitled to thiers) Lurie is a businessman who claims he wants to win but does not bring in the people who can help make that happen.  His ownership of this team is still a failure in my eyes as he has not brought a championship to this city and I believe as long as he is the owner a Lombardi trophy will never be paraded down Broad Street.  I hope I'm wrong but my faith and confidence in this organization as a whole has been shaken.