Impressive. What the Philadelphia Eagles front office has done since the lockout was lifted has been simply impressive. Not only did they shock the world by adding top free agent prize CB Nnamdi Asomugha, but they acquired a few more nice pieces; most notably CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (via trade), RB Ronnie Brown and DT Cullen Jenkins. They also upgraded their backup QB position by adding Vince Young (who in my opinion is better than a bunch of QB's around the league who will be starters this year). The Eagles even got a 2012 2nd round pick from the Arizona Cardinals in the Rodgers-Cromartie trade (QB Kevin Kolb was delivered from Eagles). But adding the current bodies to the already talented Eagles team, which boasts such studs as Michael Vick, DeSean Jackson and Trent Cole, is what has some people already calling them the "Dream Team". Some have even started comparing this Eagles team to the 2010 - 2011 Miami Heat of the NBA. Really??? Slow it down folks - these comparisons are way off base.
First of all, you really can't compare football teams to basketball teams; it's a classic apples vs. oranges scenerio. In basketball, one great player has a lot more impact on a team than one great player does in football. It's basic math; basketball teams have only five players that are starters while football teams have twenty-two players that are starters (exluding special teams). As good as the players are that the Eagles acquired, none of them (for the slight except of Asomugha) are considered the best in the league. The "Dream Team" which was the moniker given to the 1992 USA Basketball Olympic team, were not only made up of some of the best players in the league, it was made up of some of the best players in world of all time! Probably never in the history of sports has a nickname fit a team so perfectly. So lets stop that comparison immediately. The Heat - Eagles comparison is a bad one also for very similiar reasons. LeBron James and Chris Bosh joining Dwyane Wade in Miami created a team which boasted three starters which are considered to be the three of the top players in the NBA. Now while Vick and Asomugha may be hailed by some as elite NFL players, I don't see anyone calling Rodgers-Cromartie, Jenkins, Jason Babin or any of the remaining new Philly starters as best in the league. Also the Heat pretty much had to retool their whole team to accommodate their new star players. The Eagles team will still have most of their personnel from last year's campaign.
Now I know that some of this talk was started by some of the new Eagles (Young & Babin) but I think the media and fans have run with their words. The Eagles acquisitions have been great copy for training camp and the "Dream Team" "Miami Heat" chatter has been an excellent complementary piece. But the bottom line is neither title is accurate no matter how Philadelphia's season will play out.
Showing posts with label philadelphia eagles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label philadelphia eagles. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
Green Bay Packers: Super Bowl XLV Champs!!!
Congratulations to the Green Bay Packers! They are now the reigning champions of the NFL after defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers 31 - 25 in Super Bowl XLV. The Packers jumped out to a 14 - 0 lead early and even though they were tested throughout the game, they never gave that lead up. Super Bowl MVP Aaron Rodgers was mostly sharp in this game as he continued his hot streak through the playoffs. Rodgers threw for 304 yards and 3 touchdowns; he also had a bunch of dropped passes from his receivers that might have made this game a blowout. The Packers was able to overcome some key injuries in the game, most notably losing their defensive leader CB Charles Woodson right before halftime. But we should not be surprised that they kept the train moving because that is what the team has done all season. I don't ever recall seeing a team win a Super Bowl after losing as many key personnel as the Packers did this season. Kudos to their front office, coaching staff and backup players for illustrating the meaning of the word "team".
The Steelers have to be kicking themselves and will find it hard to get over this loss. The most obvious reason for them going home without the Lombardi Trophy is turnovers. They had a total of three; two in particular that were killers was QB Ben Roethlisberger's first interception which was a floater returned 36 yards for a touchdown by Packers S Nick Collins and RB Rashard Mendenhall's fumble at the start of the 4th quarter when the Steelers had momentum and was driving to take the lead. What was less obvious but more influential to the final outcome was the inexplicable playcalling by the Steelers. The Packers could NOT stop the Steelers running attack. After the Steelers grabbed the momentum in the game in the 3rd quarter, they were close enough on the scoreboard to go to their smashmouth, running assault. But they didn't; they continued to pass the football. The Steelers averaged nearly 5.5 yards per carry but only rushed 23 times (4 of those were Roethlisberger scrambles). And the "eye test" clearly showed a Packers defense that was incapable of stopping any of the Steelers' ball carriers, particularly Mendenhall. I really think this oversight killed their championship chances.
Fans and spectators have to be happy that they got to see a great Super Bowl game. This came after a week that the Dallas Metroplex area will probably not live down anytime soon. Most of the issues in the hosting city area were weather related (snow & cold temperatures) which was out of everyone's hands, especially this snow riddled winter. But the snafu that occured a couple of hours before the game, where it was reported that 1250 temporary seats were not ready to be occupied by paid fans, may be one of the worst transgressions ever to take place at a Super Bowl. The league announced that about 850 of those folks were relocated to similiar or better seats but the other 400 were left without a seat and they were given the option to stand inside the stadium and watch the game from monitors. The NFL will compensate those folks by paying them triple the face value amount of their tickets. It will be interesting to hear exactly what happened and why were those seats not ready to be used on the day of the Super Bowl.
I am happy that the Packers and the Steelers gave everyone an exciting game to the end. I would like to congratulate the Packers again for winning their fourth Super Bowl in team history. And they should send Michael Vick, DeSean Jackson and the Philadelphia Eagles a playoff/Super Bowl cut as well. You see, if the Eagles had not made the miraculous comeback (28 points in last 7 minutes of the game) against the New York Giants in Week 15, the Packers would not have had the opportunity to play their way into the playoffs by winning their last two games. That NFC sixth seed was the Giants spot; the Pack may want to give a cut to the Giants defense and special teams as well! But that is to take nothing at all away from the Packers themselves. They won their last two regular season games and four playoff games to wrap up the title. Their hard work, perseverance and teamwork is to be commended and emulated. Enjoy your victory Green Bay, it's well deserved!!
The Steelers have to be kicking themselves and will find it hard to get over this loss. The most obvious reason for them going home without the Lombardi Trophy is turnovers. They had a total of three; two in particular that were killers was QB Ben Roethlisberger's first interception which was a floater returned 36 yards for a touchdown by Packers S Nick Collins and RB Rashard Mendenhall's fumble at the start of the 4th quarter when the Steelers had momentum and was driving to take the lead. What was less obvious but more influential to the final outcome was the inexplicable playcalling by the Steelers. The Packers could NOT stop the Steelers running attack. After the Steelers grabbed the momentum in the game in the 3rd quarter, they were close enough on the scoreboard to go to their smashmouth, running assault. But they didn't; they continued to pass the football. The Steelers averaged nearly 5.5 yards per carry but only rushed 23 times (4 of those were Roethlisberger scrambles). And the "eye test" clearly showed a Packers defense that was incapable of stopping any of the Steelers' ball carriers, particularly Mendenhall. I really think this oversight killed their championship chances.
Fans and spectators have to be happy that they got to see a great Super Bowl game. This came after a week that the Dallas Metroplex area will probably not live down anytime soon. Most of the issues in the hosting city area were weather related (snow & cold temperatures) which was out of everyone's hands, especially this snow riddled winter. But the snafu that occured a couple of hours before the game, where it was reported that 1250 temporary seats were not ready to be occupied by paid fans, may be one of the worst transgressions ever to take place at a Super Bowl. The league announced that about 850 of those folks were relocated to similiar or better seats but the other 400 were left without a seat and they were given the option to stand inside the stadium and watch the game from monitors. The NFL will compensate those folks by paying them triple the face value amount of their tickets. It will be interesting to hear exactly what happened and why were those seats not ready to be used on the day of the Super Bowl.
I am happy that the Packers and the Steelers gave everyone an exciting game to the end. I would like to congratulate the Packers again for winning their fourth Super Bowl in team history. And they should send Michael Vick, DeSean Jackson and the Philadelphia Eagles a playoff/Super Bowl cut as well. You see, if the Eagles had not made the miraculous comeback (28 points in last 7 minutes of the game) against the New York Giants in Week 15, the Packers would not have had the opportunity to play their way into the playoffs by winning their last two games. That NFC sixth seed was the Giants spot; the Pack may want to give a cut to the Giants defense and special teams as well! But that is to take nothing at all away from the Packers themselves. They won their last two regular season games and four playoff games to wrap up the title. Their hard work, perseverance and teamwork is to be commended and emulated. Enjoy your victory Green Bay, it's well deserved!!
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