Hello Friends!
I'll get to the upcoming game in a moment but I have to tell you about last Sunday here in the Locker Room. This past Sunday for the Bengals game we were honored to have a former Eagles player here to party with us. Bob Picard, who was a standout special teams player back in the 70s as well as the special teams captain, paid us a visit. Bob, who wore #82 before Mike Quick did, was known for his Seek & Destroy way of playing on special teams. In fact, former Inquirer reporter Bill Lyon once wrote that it was always easy to spot Bob Picard in the Locker Room as Bob was always the one covered in blood. Bob's nickname on the team was "Blood & Guts" because of his tough style of play. Bob and his father-in-law Carmen are two of the nicest folks that we've ever had the pleasure of meeting and Dawn and I hope they come back again soon. We thank Carol & Bob Mazzarella for bringing Carmen and Bob here to the Locker Room. Yo Bob & Carmen: next time bring your wives along!
There Are No Words...
Ugly, disappointing, pathetic! Those are just some words (that are printable) I can use to describe that horrible performance Sunday against a team (that's as ugly as their uniforms), those Cincinnati Bengals. There is not enough Alka Seltzer, Bromo or Zantac to take away the horrible feeling that Eagles fans have after witnessing that debacle against a very bad Bengals team that came into the game with only one win in their last 7 games. They looked like the 85 Chicago Bears against the Eagles and that was without the Bengals two best players on offense. I am going to see about having my family doctor Leif Christiansen and my cardiologist Dr. Louie Borgata on call here in the Locker Room because my beloved Philadelphia Eagles are slowly killing me!
Three Things To Know About This Week’s Game:
- It starts with coaching. I think one of the key things to watch in this week’s game against the Redskins is how the Eagles coaching staff is going to respond after that awful performance last week. I was fit to be tied last Sunday as we watched what looked to me like a team that, for the most part, laid down. Once again the Eagles killed themselves with stupid penalties and that is a lack of discipline, which is the fault of the coaches. We're not in the first weeks of the season here folks. This was their 12th game and the mistakes still haunt the team on offense and on defense. The coaches have to share the blame for this loss as besides the lack of discipline, the game plan and play calling were atrocious! I don't care how great your QB is, you are only asking for trouble if you have him attempting 60 passes. Are you kidding me? First of all, you're risking crippling the franchise QB, and if not that, maybe destroying his confidence in the future. You have to establish the run to take the pressure off Wentz. You can't run the ball a few times and if you don't have success abandon the run all together. It all starts with the head coach, who also is calling the plays. So I am very curious to see if Pederson and his assistants are still in control or has this team tuned them out? I know one thing: I don't think that Jeff Lurie can be happy with the way this team has shown no improvement from week to week and is regressing instead of progressing.
- There is absolutely no defense for this defense! What was supposed to be a strong point for this Eagles team has been anything but, and again I have to ask defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, what the heck are you doing? I know he loves to talk about getting to the QB with the front four but by God if the front four isn't getting it done why the heck don't you try some blitzes? I know one thing: the late greats Jim Johnson or Buddy Ryan wouldn't stand pat and let the opposing teams QB torch you with completion after completion without bringing everything to disrupt things. Yes, I realize that you run the risk of making your secondary look even worse that what they are, but at least you have to try something. Another thing: where is Vinny Curry? What's really scary is the Redskins have way more weapons on offense than the lowly Cincinnati Bengals have. QB Kirk Cousins has Desean Jackson(thanks Chip Kelly), Pierre Garcon and Jamison Crowder as wide receivers. Add in the great Jordan Reed along with the reborn Vernon Davis at tight end and you have to wonder what they might do to the Eagles very weak secondary! Oh brother, we might be singing Christmas carols here in the Locker Room by half time as this game could get ugly in a hurry, or maybe we can play Bingo!
- Eagles Need the 12th Man. The Eagles could use an extra man on both offense and defense, but since the league won't allow that, it has to be the greatest fans in the NFL to help the Eagles pull out a win! Lincoln Financial Field has to be louder than it’s been all year to help build a fire under the Eagles. Let's hope that the Eagles get up early so that the crowd will stay stoked and make it very difficult for those Redskins from Washington! The Eagles are my team and will always be my team and just because the season hasn't gone the way I had hoped I still love the Eagles! Locker Room members we will be open this Sunday and sure hope that we can count on you to be here with us as celebrate our team as well as the Christmas season.
Join me next week as I look back at the Redskins game and take a look ahead to the Baltimore Ravens. Fly Eagles, Fly!
