Tag Archives: Philadelphia Eagle

As Broad & Pattison Turns Week #5: Eagles at Giants

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So it seems that my prediction for last week might have been just a little off, but hey, even “Nostrad-Amit” can be wrong once in a while (that is an understatement I know…my batting average on picks this year has been along the lines of “Chooch” without the help of Adderall).

On a sun-splashed Colorado afternoon which would surely have had John Denver singing “Rocky Mountain High”, the Eagles were actually competitive for the 1st half, and down only 21-13 at halftime before acquiring a “flat tire” (no pun intended for you Colorado beer fans) and getting blown out in the 2nd half and losing 52-20 in what was surely a “rocky mountain low” on the young season for the Birds.

Perhaps it was the thin Rocky Mountain air that did them in in the 2nd half?  Or perhaps, in anticipation of the series-finale of the AMC hit TV series “Breaking Bad”, the Eagles decided to watch some reruns during the 2nd half and send out members of the Indian table tennis and badminton teams as replacement players.  Coming to think of it, the Indian badminton team may have done a better job covering Demaryius Thomas and Wes Welker than whoever was playing in the secondary in the 2nd half.

Got to give props out to Denver though…nice stadium and nice people (though I do prefer the intimacy of our 65,000 seat “LINC” over the 76,000 seat Sports Authority Field).

Sitting in my Denver hotel lobby the morning of the game in my Eagles attire, I was easily approached by a handful of Broncos fans asking if I was headed to the game and initiating conversation (and when does that ever happen in Philadelphia?).  One fan who was working on his laptop, after chatting for 10 minutes, asked if I could watch his computer for a few minutes while he went up to his room.  This writer suspects that if that was, instead, an Eagles fan from home, he would have probably been afraid that I was going to steal his laptop.   Just keeping it real yo…

This week the Birds face the Giants, and while in the past, this has often been a marquee matchup played at 4:25 or on Sunday night, this week’s contest marks a must-win for two teams that have one win between them.

From a prediction standpoint, this game makes me uncomfortable.  I know the Giants are 0-4.  I know the Giants are aging.  I know the Giants have a porous offensive line….which makes picking the Eagles just way too easy.

Just like the Denver Broncos, sitting at 4-0, can’t continue to win forever (and I actually think the Cowboys will upset them this week), the 0-4 Giants, as bad as they are, can’t continue to lose forever either.

With the G-Men playing in front of their home fans this week, I think they’ll unfortunately put together enough quality play to defeat the Eagles, 28-27, and send fans around the Delaware Valley asking all next week if Chip Kelly was the right hire.  But as Yoda once preached patience to Luke Skywalker, we as Eagles fans will have to have patience as well (and a few more solid drafts) before this team will turn things around.

The Last Word – At least in the “something good comes out of something bad” category, an Eagles loss will mean that Glen Macnow, from the WIP midday show with Anthony Gargano, will be forced to wear a dress on Monday’s show.  Perhaps they can get Dustin Hoffman from “Tootsie” and Robin Williams from “Mrs. Doubtfire” and rename Monday’s show “The Three Amigas”??

Amit’s Marquee Matchups of the Week (all times in EST and on Sunday unless otherwise noted):

Saints at Bears  1:00 PM FOX

Lions at Packers  1:00 PM FOX

Seahawks at Colts  1:00 PM FOX

Patriots at Bengals  1:00 PM CBS

Chiefs at Titans  1:00 PM CBS

Ravens at Dolphins  1:00 PM CBS

Broncos at Cowboys  4:25 PM CBS

Texans at Niners  8:30 PM NBC 

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As Broad & Pattison Turns Week #4: Eagles at Broncos

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Last Thursday, a guy was talking to an attractive woman in a bar, and she was giving him every hint that she would gladly give him her number, and he never took the bait.

Did this really happen?  No (at least not last Thursday), but it’s the best analogy I could use to describe last week’s Eagles – Chiefs game, which resulted in a 26-16 Eagles loss, leaving the Birds at 1-2 on the young season.

The Chiefs were basically GIVING the Eagles the game, but the Birds just wouldn’t take the bait.  Early on, Kansas City couldn’t move the ball on offense, and the Eagles were moving it against a team with an above average defense.  Yet the Birds would constantly shoot themselves in the foot, be it a bad pass, center snaps hitting players’ body parts, or the inability to make a fair catch on a punt.

During the 1st two weeks of the season, it looked like Michael Vick had donned a red cape to play the role of Superman, but he was much more like Clark Kent against the Chiefs, as his ability to make accurate decisions was greatly diminished due to the unrelenting Chiefs pass rush and some bad decisions on his part.

Add to that the pomp and circumstance at halftime, when, instead of the fans having to wait in long lines in the stadium concourse for food, they were treated to a helping of extra value meal #5 – One D-Mac, a side order of pretentiousness, and one large ego…make that super-sized.

I have no argument that Donovan McNabb’s number should be retired – McNabb was the greatest quarterback in Eagles history in my opinion.  But after his “rousing” halftime speech when he was basically preaching to the crowd about how “#5 loves you”, I am now lobbying to change Whitney Houston’s 1992 hit song “I Will Always Love You” to “5 Will Always Love you”, (as mentioned by McNabb in the 3rd person, which was strange in itself).

At least for Donovan’s sake, he had Brian Dawkins as the MC, who is easily the most revered Eagle in modern history, and his presence helped to mask any boos that may have rained down from the crowd when McNabb was introduced.

As for the Birds, they now head to Denver, where Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning will be looking to zip passes past them in the thin, light air of Colorado without much interference.  The difficult job of covering Manning’s receivers will fall on the shoulders of the Eagles secondary and much-maligned safety Nate Allen, who couldn’t cover a hoagie tray with saran wrap.

Having said that, I don’t think it will be a blowout the way many are predicting.  The Eagles have played two straight sloppy games and still had the chance to win both in the 4th quarter.  And while the Broncos may be a superior opponent than both the Chargers and the Chiefs, their defense is very suspect.

The Eagles will put points on the board against the Denver defense, their defensive line will put enough pressure on Manning to mask the deficiencies of the secondary, and with ten days to prepare, they will SHOCK THE WORLD!   Birds win 37-34 in a nail-biter.

Amit’s Marquee Matchups of the Week (all times in EST and on Sunday unless otherwise noted):

Seahawks at Texans  1:00 PM FOX – If this game was played between utilities, it would be a clash of “gasoline against green energy”.  A possible Superbowl preview?

Bears at Lions  1:00 PM FOX – A showdown of two teams in the NFC “Snowbelt” division…pre-snowfall that is.

Jets at Titans  4:05 PM CBS – Hard to fathom that one of these teams will be 3-1 as of Sunday night, barring the ever popular overtime tie.

Dolphins at Saints  8:40 PM ESPN (Mon) – A showdown of two 3-0 teams as South Beach invades the French Quarter.

The Last Word – Speaking of Miami, am I the only person who thinks of “Miami Vice” (the TV show, not the movie) whenever a Phil Collins song from the ’80’s comes on?