Sports

[gardenman]

So, part of me wonders when the Eagles decided to tank the season. There have been some pretty questionable play calls, and personnel decisions made all season. Did they enter this season planning to get an upper-tier draft pick? Is that why they did some of the stuff they did all season? Were they just subtle about it until the end? Is that why Wentz and some of the other vets have been so upset all year? We know from the year that the Eagles drafted Wentz that they look ahead to upcoming drafts and the players likely to be available. Did they decide early on that they needed some upper-tier talent and this would be a good season to tank to get it? 

By and large, the playcalling this year was horrible. Personnel decisions often had you scratching your head. Travis Fulgham for four weeks led the NFL in receptions then they stopped throwing him the ball. Even benching him in favor of Alshon Jeffrey. Why? It made no sense. Unless they were trying to tank and he was spoiling it by playing well. 

Looking back, it's not hard to speculate this was the plan all year long. Lose your way to a top ten draft pick and add lots of new talent in the draft. Losing gives you an excuse to cut/trade older, higher-paid players to get under the cap and replace them with high draft picks. With no fans in the stands, there's no risk of them booing or causing a riot.

It would explain a lot. We'll probably never know for sure, but I'm suspecting this was all the plan all the way along.

[Spurt]

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@sunshine45 wrote:

this sunday night game has to be the WORST of the season......it is a comedy of errors indeed. what a bad way to end the regular season.

congrats washington fans on moving forward!

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@sunshine45 

Sorry Sunshine,I appreciated your support for my team and apologize for the poor exhibition of a game that set the NFL back 50 years.....😄

Tom Brady and Company will make mincemeat out of us, and that Buc's defense must be smiling.....🤨 Our offense was downright pathetic...and Turner's playbook and Smith's inability to move made it downright awful....SMH! BUT my WFT set foot in the promise land and at least it gives my WFT hope for the future.....😁

CONGRATS TO YOUR RAVENS!!! GOOD LUCK IN THE PLAYOFFS! 

[Spurt]

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@gardenman wrote:

Not a fun game for any Giants' fan to watch. It was pretty brutal, but we knew what the Eagles were planning to do and they did it. Now, the question is, how does tanking so obviously affect the players going forward. Players hate to lose. Forcing them to lose on purpose really irks good players. (And good coaches too I might point out.) We're going to need a few new good players and some new good coaches. Will they want to be on a team that's capable of tanking on purpose? Probably not. The Eagles really treated the game like a preseason game and just threw whoever we had on the bench into the game. I didn't even know some of those guys were on the roster and I live and breathe Eagles football.

That game likely encouraged a few guys who might have come back to retire. Jason Kelce who played the whole season despite multiple injuries is a guy who hates to lose. Having his team lose on purpose will not make him happy. He almost retired after last season, but now he likely will retire. Chances are quite a few players will ask to be released or traded. It's not a good situation in Philly. Firing Doug Pederson might be the only way to flip things, but the new coaching hire would have to be a top-tier guy who players would really want to play for and I don't know who that would be. Maybe Duce Staley? I don't know. An obvious tank like that doesn't go over well with players. We're heading for a very interesting offseason in Philly.

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@gardenman 

I bet all those Giant fans are burning up social media letting the Eagles know what they think............😆 But that's what the Giants get for not taking care of business for themselves...

Tell Doug Pederson you can go to hades for lying,  I cant believe he actually said,  ...."I was coaching  to win"...yah, right....🙄....As the George Strait song goes, "I got some ocean front property in Arizona to sell ya...." Perhaps Pederson didnt want to give Hurts too much confidence going into the off season....or perhaps didnt want to alienate Wentz if Hurts had pulled out a win?????  Florio said that the Eagles lost part of their soul.....Wow even Philly legend Seth Joyner said ....He has never been more ashamed to be associated with the Eagles organization.

It will be interesting to see who the Eagles pick for their DC too....  And on the sidelines Hurts didnt look very happy either, he knew he was moving the offense....And then there's the question of Wentz....The Eagles will have a lot of decisions to make on many levels....

Thanks Eagles for helping my WFT win this game...😀....

[Spurt]

@teganslaw @AuntG 

Congrats and good luck in the playoffs to the Colts and Packers....

And CONGRATS to fans of all the teams heading into the playoffs........

Triple lineup of games on Saturday/Sunday.,....

😀🏈

[teganslaw]

Chase Young said that he's coming for Tom Brady. Now he needs to back that statement up by playing well. Tampa usually has a good defense, but there have been some games where they gave up a lot of points. 

Here's an idea: Washington can sign Nick Foles and have him play some quarters next week. Brady has struggled against Foles in the past. Facing him another time might work for Washington. 

[Spurt]

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@teganslaw wrote:

Chase Young said that he's coming for Tom Brady. Now he needs to back that statement up by playing well. Tampa usually has a good defense, but there have been some games where they gave up a lot of points. 

Here's an idea: Washington can sign Nick Foles and have him play some quarters next week. Brady has struggled against Foles in the past. Facing him another time might work for Washington.   

@teganslaw 

One of the bright spots in this game, Chase Young...This game has a double meaning for Chase.... a former Ohio State Buckeye vs a QB that played for their greatest rival, the Michigan Wolverines!

WOW TEGAN that sounds like a plan...😉..I'll take Foles, I fear and shudder to think that perhaps Rivera might be thinking about re-signing his old QB, the inconsistent Cam .Newton....NO RON NO!!!...I wonder if Eli's available... LOL

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This is a bit Twilight Zoneish.....At 7-9, the Washington Football Team is the first squad with a losing record to make the postseason since Carolina won the NFC South at 7-8-1 in 2014. That team was also coached by Ron Rivera.......Good omen was that Ron's Panthers won their playoff wildcard game against the Cardinals...27-16

[gardenman]

I don't think any Eagles players were happy last night or today. Players want to win. Zach Ertz, Wentz, and Jason Kelce sat on the bench for a long time after the game together talking. All three are likely gone in the offseason. I'm quite sure they weren't happy with how things ended. They're all warriors and they likely felt betrayed. Hurts was caught on the bench saying, "I hate this." A lot was made of Doug Pederson bringing a winning attitude to the Eagles, but he murdered that this year. They pretty much threw away this whole season. They're very lucky there were no fans at the games or the fans might have stormed the field and created some coaching vacancies. 

Speaking of which the Adam Gase era in NY is done as is the Doug Marrone era in Jacksonville. Will Doug Pederson be gone tomorrow? Rebuilding the right attitude in the organization now is going to be a challenge. The trust between players and coaches is arguably at an all-time low. A whole lot of football gets played between the earholes and right now, these players are a lot less likely to play flat out for this organization.

[gardenman]

Chase Young might want to hold his tongue for a bit. Last night he lined up against Matt "The Human Turnstile" Pryor, who frankly didn't even try to block him half the time and he got two tackles and one sack being largely unblocked all night. Giving Tom Brady incentive to kill you is never a good idea. I don't have a good feeling about the WFT's chances in that game.

[Spurt]

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@gardenman wrote:

Chase Young might want to hold his tongue for a bit. Last night he lined up against Matt "The Human Turnstile" Pryor, who frankly didn't even try to block him half the time and he got two tackles and one sack being largely unblocked all night. Giving Tom Brady incentive to kill you is never a good idea. I don't have a good feeling about the WFT's chances in that game.

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@gardenman 

Yep, no bulletin board material is necessary for the rookie to motivate Tom Brady...But I think Chase couldnt help himself----the Ohio State/Michigan rivalry thing...Personally I dont give my WFT an inkling of a chance to win.....our offense is a MESS and we have a QB that reminds me of the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz without his oil can....Although I applaud and admire Alex Smith for his perseverence and dedication in making a remarkable come back from a life threatening injury.....

[AuntG]

I would have won our pool, but the Eagles let me down last night. Why didn't they take a field goal when they had the chance?