Blogganza (sort of) (part #5)

Gabe and I ended up being a lot busier than we thought we'd be this week when we decided to kick off the blogganza.  It's still going, albeit at more of an MJG, rather than an Andrews, kind of pace.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

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Gabe,

Oh no you don't.  You're not tagging and leaving me holding the bag the rest of the weekend.  I'm firing right back atcha.

First off, I don't see why the issue of "did he do that without help?" is something we should just ignore.  And if we do, can we then come back five years later and get all high and mighty about the cheaters when they do come out?

I don't know, I just feel like we pretend as hard as we can that the athletes we watch are all completely clean -- even when there's (much, much stronger than this case here about which I assure you I know nothing) circumstantial evidence to the contrary -- then we act all betrayed after the fact.  At some point it's our responsibility to stop falling for that.

Of course, there's another explanation here beyond simply willful ignorance.  I bet if you polled Eagles fans with the following question:  "If performance-enhancing drugs would allow David Akers to immediately regain his past form coming out of the bye week and you knew he would never be caught, would you be upset that he took them?" 

My guess is the majority of Eagles fans would be upset if he didn't.

(Side note:  Are beta blockers banned by the NFL?)

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I noticed you skipped the "least favorite Eagle" question.  Attaway to duck and dodge.  My only issue with Sheldon Brown is that he clearly seems to be in this thing for Sheldon Brown.  He's not a Brian Dawkins, who really does seem to live for the combat itself.  Instead, he's a guy who wants to play well > so he will be recognized for playing well > so he will be compensated for playing well > so he can then live the kind of life he wants to live.

This is, of course, the same way 99 percent of us feel about our jobs, too.  It's just that -- as with the previous topic -- it's a little easier to root for guys if we can hold on to the belief that they're in it for the game, just like we are. 

With that said, Sheldon's a stand-up guy, an above-average cornerback, does give some of the team's best interviews, and also made one hell of a play in that 49ers game when things were starting to get a little itchy.  He's also popped off at Drew Rosenhaus, so that gets him on my "would buy a drink for" list pretty much for life.

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That's funny you asked about Tony Hunt.  I was just thinking about writing some more about him.

And no, he's not here right now.  In fact, I've never had any success tracking him down.  I actually joined MySpace last year just  so I could contact Hunt through his page (and yeah, I'm pretty sure it was the actual Tony Hunt).  It was soon after the Booker trade, and I was hoping to get Hunt's take on the deal.

They weren't exactly penetrating questions either.  More like, "You've dealt with the doubters since you first got to Penn State, but always persevered in the end and really, aren't you just all about doing the best possible job so you can help the team win?"  Or maybe even softer than that.  Basically he could have taken out the question mark and cut and pasted.

But no.  No response. 

Still, here's the thing about Hunt.  I'm tired of people citing his (dismal) rushing statistics while he was here and saying his departure is no great loss.  (I'm also tired of people saying he can't block -- he missed a couple of blitz pick-ups last year and wasn't the one who decided he should be a fullback.  Every rookie running back misses blitz pick-ups.  He was fine this year.) 

The point isn't even Hunt himself, it's what he represented.  For a brief, shining moment after the Eagles drafted him, it looked like the team had finally accepted the wisdom of building a multi-faceted attack wherein the facets weren't just:  hand the ball to Brian Westbrook, throw the ball to Brian Westbrook, throw the ball to someone else.

Throw early to score.  Pound the ball late to win.  That's what we thought they might finally consider doing.

Because after all, it only makes sense to draft a guy like Hunt if you're planning to use him like that.  If you're only going to give the guy one or two carries a game when Westbrook needs a blow, then it makes MUCH more sense to have that guy be a Ryan Moats / Lorenzo Booker (yeah, they go together now) type home run hitter who might bust out a big play in limited action. 

So yeah, I was annoyed to see Hunt go.  The guy's a very good running back, he's just not flashy and he'll never be the most impressive guy in mini-camps.  But I was more annoyed by what it meant.

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I wanted to see Gonzalez too.  However, I admit it stung a bit that he saw the Giants as a team where he'd have a better chance of finally getting that ring. 

Ouch.

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Last bit here before I head out for the weekend.  My responses to your projections:

a.  Shawn Andrews doesn’t play another game for the Eagles this year, and spends the off-season musing about retirement.

Nah, if there's anything that's going to make Shawn realize how much he misses the game, it will be this extended absence from it. 

Even if he did walk, though, he'll live on forever at the NovaCare complex, where the Eagles are probably already putting the finishing touches on a giant "Don't let skipping training camp happen to YOU!" poster for the lobby.

b.  Dallas misses the playoffs.  Wade Phillips is fired shortly thereafter.  Jason Garrett is named the head coach.  Wow.  That was awesome to type.

Dallas has too much talent to miss the playoffs.  This is, in fact, the one thing holding me back about this Eagles season.  Dallas just looked more talented, at an individual level, when we played them.

Phillips is still getting fired, though.

c.  Washington makes the playoffs.  I can’t believe I’m typing that, but playing solid defense and running the ball can get you pretty far in the NFL.  And for the life of me I’m not going to say nice things about the Giants.

They lost to the Rams.  I realize the Eagles lose to those kinds of teams all the time, but generally that happens in the years we don't make the playoffs.  Washington isn't going to do it.

d.  Brian Westbrook never really gets healthy and rushes for fewer than 900 yards on the season (he’s at 194 after six games, so I’m saying he doesn’t break 70 yards/ game over the remaining ten).

You're nuts.  The return of Curtis and Brown (combined with the current guys holding down the fort) is going to open up all kinds of things underneath for the running backs and tight ends. 

Westbrook is a proud, proud guy.  He's not going to like the fact that right after he got the big money he stopped producing.  I don't think he'll let that happen.

e.  Finally, at long last: Donovan McNabb starts 16 games, and, GASP, is welcomed back as the Eagles presumptive starter for 2009!

But won't it be a fun ride, though?  What's funny about this season is how much crap McNabb took early when he hasn't even had his patented two-game stretch of puzzlingly bad play yet. 

That's the thing about a lot of his non-fans.  They're quiet now (or jumping on Andy Reid), but they're just waiting to jump back out the first time he struggles.

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All right man, you're back on point.  Have a nice, relaxing, non-Eagles weekend.