Sports

[gardenman]

@teganslaw 

The Eagles have a good shot. That o-line is a beast. No one has been able to stop the Eagles running game. Hurts has improved as a passer. Our guys will have had an extra day of rest since we played Saturday while the Bucs played Sunday. (Well, our backups played Saturday.) We've got two good receivers in Smith and Goedert. Quez Watkins is pretty good also.

The defense is more of a question mark. Fletcher Cox and Javon Hargrave should be able to get inside push on Brady, and Brady hates pressure in his face. We can't be passive on defense. The defense has to be in hunt and kill mode from play number one. Jonathan Gannon's nature is to be conservative, but Brady will carve up a passive defense. You need to attack him. Will Gannon grow a pair and go after Brady? Eh, we'll see. His nature is to be passive and to wait for the offense to make a mistake. Brady doesn't make many mistakes. We have used a five-man d-line in some situations with Milton Williams playing inside between Cox and Hargrave. That would get Brady's attention.

We've got a few wildcards also. Darius Slay has been on the field for a few offensive plays as a decoy. He's a pretty darn good athlete though and I wouldn't be shocked to see there be a play for him in the game. Former rugby star Jordan Mailata might get a carry on a short yardage play. He's huge, athletic, used to carrying a ball in rugby, and I don't think there's anyone in football who could stop him.

It'll be an interesting game. Will we win? Probably not, but we could.

[gardenman]

The Eagles/Bucs game is one o'clock Sunday, which is perfect for me.

[gardenman]

There is nothing more entertaining than NFL football when the football gods are a bit tipsy as they were yesterday. That Chargers/Raiders game was crazy. Had it ended in a tie both teams would have gone to the playoffs. The Raiders got out to a big lead and the odds of a tie seemed remote. Then the Chargers surged back, and to no one's surprise, tied the game, and sent it into overtime. (For some reason, the Chargers' receivers only catch passes on fourth down, which added to the drama.) The game was still tied with two seconds left when the Raiders lined up for the game-winning field goal. And they got it, eliminating the Chargers.

Justin Herbert played an amazing game and every other AFC playoff team felt relieved to see him knocked out of the playoffs. The Chargers losing let the Steelers slide into the playoffs.

This is going to be a fun playoff season. The Eagles have the least to lose. No one expected them to be there. There's no pressure on them. We've got the youngest QB/head coach combo in the playoffs with no playoff experience. It's a young team also. We've got two mid-tier first-round draft picks already locked in place at 15 and 16 and another somewhere between 19 and 32. 

It's going to be hard for the college championship tonight to match up to what the pros put on display yesterday. It should be an interesting game tonight anyway. Expect at least one, possibly two, or even all three of the Eagles' first-round picks to be on the field in tonight's game. The Eagles have good insight into Alabama's roster with Landon Dickerson, Devonta Smith, and Jalen Hurts all having recently played there. That Georgia defense is pretty heavily stocked with NFL-caliber players and the Eagles figure to invest pretty heavily in the defense. 

There's lots of chatter that the Falcons will move Calvin Ridley this offseason and the Eagles are said to be a likely landing spot. He's a good friend of Jalen Hurts and Devonta Smith. I'm not sure what the asking price would be. A fifth or a sixth would be a no-brainer. If the Falcons want a first or second-round pick it gets more complicated. Ridley hasn't been seen since game five this year when he walked away for mental health reasons. The Eagles have some experience with such issues with Lane Johnson and Brandon Brooks both having recent issues. Do you invest a lot in the kid though?

[Spurt]

@gardenman 

Yep,that Chargers/Raiders game was one CRAZY and ENTERTAINING game, but then what should we expect from a game played in LAS VEGAS......😄😎

Herbert is one heck of a QB.......

[gardenman]

Black Monday is off to a fast start, Matt Nagy is out as the Bears HC. Mike Zimmer and Rick Spielman (head coach and GM) are gone from the Vikings. And it's just 9:30 AM.

The NFC North could be pretty interesting next year if the Packers don't keep Rodgers. The Vikings will likely look to move on from Cousins. (Back to the WFT? No, probably not. It would be interesting though.)

Scott Turner (WFT OC) posted an updated photo on social media for a few minutes the other day that showed him in black in the Raiders stadium. Is there an agreement for him to become their new head coach? He quickly pulled it and replaced it with a WFT photo. Why post the other one though?

Dan Quinn, the Cowboys DC, seems to have a job lined up and the Cowboys seemingly know it as they're reportedly planning to bring in Mike Zimmer to replace him. Or so the rumors go. Already having a new job lined up helps to explain why Quinn didn't take the Jaguars interview.

Things are getting interesting.

[gardenman]

And while I was posting that, Brian Flores got fired by the Dolphins. I wasn't expecting that one. His players reportedly love him and he's done an okay job.

[gardenman]

Oh, and the Bears fired their GM Pace also. A busy day in the old NFL.

[gardenman]

Word is the Dolphins already have a new HC lined up. Jim Harbaugh is the name I'm hearing. We'll have to see.

[gardenman]

Joe Judge is reportedly meeting with the Giants' owners as I type this. He was told three or four weeks ago that he was absolutely coming back in 2022 and he could rest the starters and preserve them for 2022. Do the Maras now backtrack on that? We'll have to see. The fact that he hasn't already been fired implies he might hang on. We'll have to see.

[sunshine45]

the chargers/raiders game last night was so much fun to watch! such a great game right down to the end. i was just a little surprised that the raiders did not just try and run off the clock instead of going for the win. i guess they were playing to win, even at the end. steelers fans must have been biting their nails up until that last field goal.

i do love the chargers, but it is also nice to see the raiders back in the thick of things.