PEDS: The Lost Cause

Performance-enhancing drugs. PEDs. It’s got the sports world partially livid, partially curious, and partially confused. Throughout the world, athletes train, compete, get injured, and it becomes an ongoing cycle of will power. How long can their body compete at its highest level? When athletes ask themselves this question, they put themselves in the biggest pressure cooker known to man. Here’s where PEDs come in. 

Let’s face it, in a nation that rakes in roughly $20 billion annually through professional sports, not including amateur sports aka the NCAA because, they don’t pay their athletes, there’s a lot of pressure to perform at a very high level. Gone are the days where one team dominated sports, now you have everybody fighting to get to the top. Enter: PEDs. Now, am I a fan of PEDs? No. Should cheaters be punished for using PEDs? No. Why not? Because look at the list of cheaters…and how excited we, as fans, were, at least I was, when they performed at high levels….

Marion Jones

Barry Bonds

Roger Clemens

Alex Rodriguez

Ben Johnson

Shawne Merriman

Rafael Palmeiro

Sammy Sosa

Mark McGwire

Lance Armstrong

The list goes on…but, for those, while they accomplished amazing feats in their respective sports, we were all glued to our seats…wanting more….begging for more…only to look up and see that, oh, they were using banned substances. It’s a cycle that will never go away, until major professional sports realize that legalizing PEDs are the only way to go. For years, these people lied….denied allegations…held press conferences to clear their name. The worst of the bunch by far is Lance Armstrong. He took people to court and single handedly ruined any reputation or honor they had by standing up to him. We all believed him…we were all fooled into believing his lie until it unraveled and everybody who was once Armstrong’s friend became his enemy. Look at the mediastorm it’s all created. Now, all those lawsuits Armstrong got paid millions for because “he wasn’t on PEDs” are null in void. Now, all the people who accused Armstrong of doping are looking for their apologies, their check in the mail. Now, there’s an even bigger mess than when we first started.

Now, don’t get me wrong, the long term effects of PEDs are dangerous, but so is drinking alcohol and people of legal age drink quite frequently. These athletes are adults. If they want to take PEDs and mess up their bodies, let them. If they want to have a performance edge, let them, because eventually their bodies will break down in unexplainable ways and to our conscience, whether the athlete denies it or not, they used and abused PEDs because they can’t play anymore. There’s the silver lining. Eventually, athletes will realize these drugs used to pump them up eventually plateau and will ultimately break them back down. We saw it with McGwire…Bonds…Sosa…Giambi…they showed us there are consequences for the use of PEDs. It’s like player safety in football. Many of those players who are doing that high impact tackling will eventually face brain trauma and could quite possibly have memory problems after their careers are over, but they still go out there and perform at their highest ability. 

Everything in life comes with a price. The sports world has put a price on PEDs that many athletes view as a small price to pay. These athletes are fueling an industry that gets bigger and better every year. We, as fans, have to realize that players who cheat aren’t cheating to beat the system but they’re cheating to survive…sports is about survival of the fittest. Would we know the names of those who followed Lance Armstrong and Marion Jones had it not been for PEDs? I think not. 

The problem is we live in a world that acts solely on the current emotion. We see an athlete lied or got in trouble with the law on the news and instantly, we pull out our invisible gavels and begin our own court proceedings of judgment. It happens time and time again…even when it doesn’t have to do with PEDs. Hey Manti.

The Eagles Made The Right Pick With Chip Kelly

It’s like another chapter out of a mystery novel…Chip Kelly, after turning down the NFL a few weeks ago, is the new head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. Shocked? So am I. While I was relieved to hear Chip Kelly announce he wasn’t moving up the coaching ranks and making the jump to the NFL before, I was a little ticked he turned the Eagles down the first go round. While at Oregon, Kelly has amassed a 46-7 record in four seasons, 2 Pac-10 Coach of the Year Awards, three 12-win seasons, and produced 3 consensus All-Americans. But what sets Chip Kelly apart from other college coaches who’ve made the jump to the NFL? 

Kelly Brings A New Dynamic on Offense 

Granted, he was at Oregon, home of Phil Knight, founder of Nike, but let’s also not forget recruiting doesn’t always mean you recruit for the #1 rank every year. Kelly’s highest recruiting class rank while at Oregon? 9 in 2011, according to Rivals.com. Since arriving at Oregon in 2009, Kelly has ran the spread option offense to relative success using a combination of speed and power. He ran a dynamic offense that promoted scoring quickly. What do the Eagles need? A new dynamic on offense that utilizes its speed (Mike Vick and DeSean Jackson) and power (LeSean McCoy), and I call McCoy “power” because he is quick and can’t be stopped when used properly. Andy Reid failed to use his offensive weapons properly, granted they had injuries to their offensive line but that’s also why you have free agency. The way the Eagles have handled free agency in the past has boggled my mind, having a gambler like Chip Kelly in the driver seat makes me optimistic. Last season, the Eagles averaged 17.5 points per game, ranked 29^th in the NFL. Last season, Oregon scored 49.5 points per game, ranked 2^nd in the NCAA. His offensive prowess led Oregon to their first Rose Bowl appearance in 2009 since 1995. Since 2009, Kelly has led Oregon to a National Championship and 2 Rose Bowls. In terms of coaching, he became the first coach to win the outright Pac-10 Conference Championship back when they had 10 members in 2009. 

Pac-10/12 Coaches Are A Model for Success

Since 2009, Pete Carroll and Jim Harbaugh have made the jump to the NFL. Now, look at what they’ve brought to their organizations: a revival of sorts, a fresh start, a new look, a type of joy and youthful exuberance only successful football fans can understand. In two seasons, Harbaugh has coached the San Francisco 49ers to a 24-8 record and they’re currently one game away from a Super Bowl trip. Carroll, while his progression was a bit slow, has one of the most intimidating and cockiest defenses in the NFL and has the most underrated quarterback at his disposal for a whole offseason. Chip Kelly is up for the challenge in the same breath. When he took the head coaching job at Oregon, nobody knew much about him. Now, he’s known as the coach of one of the most exciting college football offenses in the NCAA. In 2012, Oregon led the nation in rushing with a whopping 315.2 rushing yards a game, ranked third behind Army and Air Force Academy, 2 teams who faithfully run the Triple Option Offense. Kelly changed the face of the Oregon program in a mere four years, the amount of time it takes the average student to graduate college. Becoming the head coach for the Philadelphia Eagles is a sort of commencement ceremony Kelly has earned by turning Oregon’s football program around so quickly. 

This is what the Philadelphia Eagles need, a coach who can implement a system that is a model for consistency and success. Andy Reid lost control of his team because of success. The guys who got out of control at Oregon? They got kicked out. Chip Kelly is a no-nonsense kind of guy and his attitude is perfect for the city of Philadelphia. Granted, yes, Kelly never won a National Championship, but how many times did you stop changing the channel when Oregon was on the TV? How many times did you say “Whoa, that was fast!” while watching Oregon play? I rest my case.

Guest Q&A: First Impressions of Hokies under New Coach James Johnson

Good evening.  We’re happy here at All Sports Discussion to interview@HereGoJayAgain, who is a blogger at Sports Words of Wisdom. Jay Anderson was also a manager for the Men’s Basketball team from 2006-2010. Anderson attended the first Virginia Tech men’s basketball practice under new head coach, James Johnson, on October 12, 2012.  We are here today to get his reaction.

@HokeGuru:  Give us your initial impression of the first practice under James Johnson.

@HereGoJayAgain:  Initial impressions on the first practice under James Johnson was one of optimism. There’s a different vibe Coach Johnson has with these players that was, in a word, lacking in the past. With this group, these guys actually push each other and play well together. I liked the energy on day one but this group has little room for error. I will say, however, Hokie fans will learn to love a walk-on by the name of Christian Beyer. Beyer is a tweener who can play the 3 or 4 and considering how thin this team is in the post, he should definitely see some time, lets think Jeff King 2.0 here. I also liked what I saw from Jarell Eddie. He’s put some size on since I’ve last seen him and it looks like he might buy into being this team’s defensive stopper this year.

@HokeGuru:   Many in the media say that we didn’t really have too many set offensive packages that were run under Seth Greenberg.  Did you get any clues on a James Johnson operated offense?  Did you see Erick Green running the point guard the majority of the time – or was Rankin getting some ops, too?

@HereGoJayAgain:  Considering its the first day, there wasn’t much offense aside from the fast break offense that was put in on day one. The thing with this team and even past Greenberg teams is they are going to have to put a body on somebody and set screens to get open, every time. You can have all the offensive packages in the world, but if you don’t work to get your teammates open, your offense is going to struggle. Granted in practice some guys cheat the play because they know what’s coming but so will our opponents. In order to be good, we’re going to have to limit turnovers, get back on defense, and run, run, run.

@HokeGuru:  James Johnson says he wants to run this year – wants some up-tempo play – I, however, am skeptical about this notion in that we have limited depth – tell me where the flaws are in my arguments – in other words, help me open my mind to the possibility.

@HereGoJayAgain: The thing about the ACC that makes it one of the top conferences in college basketball is that a lot of teams have an up-tempo style of play. Duke, UNC, NC State all those teams love to run and get up shots quick. In order to be successful, this team is going to have to run and convert on every fast break opportunity. It’s possible for any team to accomplish this when you have the right group of guys. In my opinion, this is the right group of guys. With Raines patrolling the middle and a guard like Erick Green who sees the floor really well, they have the pieces to play 7-8 guys and run like crazy. Coach Johnson won’t run many plays where the ball sits in one spot but he will put these players in the best positions to score, every time.  Marshall Wood is going to surprise some teams this year because for his size, he can shoot the heck out the ball. Erick Green will be Erick Green, he looks like he’s been ready to play since last season ended.

@HokeGuru:  Give us your initial impression of Cadarian Raines (who is healthy for the first time in a long time) and C.J. Barksdale – how do are our post guys look?

@HereGoJayAgain:  Raines and Barksdale looked good for the first day. Sometimes you tend to forget about Barksdale out there but for his second year, he has the game experience to make plays for this team whether it’s from the high or low post. I really liked how he and Raines played when they scrimmaged towards the end of practice. You could see a different chemistry between them.

Cadarian Raines, I always tell him he’s my favorite player and he is. I love watching this kid play and he’s finally healthy. He’s still trying to get into game shape but they’ve got plenty of time for that. He’s got a lot of pressure on him this year though to stay out of foul trouble because like I said, this team has little room for error.

@HokeGuru: How do the guys look together on the court?  Would you say there a sense of cohesion?

@HereGoJayAgain:  Raines and Barksdale looked good for the first day. Sometimes you tend to forget about Barksdale out there I liked this team’s demeanor practicing. They pushed each other the whole time with little input from their coaches which was huge. One instance a guy got tired and was gassed and they all said the same thing “Come on man, get up, we’re all tired!” These guys have an opportunity to be good but they’ve got to buy into the philosophy of what they want to do. We’re not a very big team so we’ve got to play smarter than everybody else. We’ve got weapons to use on offense whether inside with Raines or stretching the floor with Green to drive and kick. Robert Brown and Jarrell Eddie have to be ready to shoot every time. In order to do well, they’ve got to perfect the little things. What hurt me the most about our past teams is the sense of animosity you could just feel walking in the gym. These guys all communicate, they all hold each other accountable on the court including the coaches and it showed this first practice. They believe in each other and know what they all do well. I wouldn’t go out on a limb here and say this team will be a top 5 ACC team but they have a chance to surprise and upset some teams if they continue to get better and push each other every day.

Replacement Referees: Give or Take, They're Part of the Game

As I pondered what to write about this week, the only thing that would inevitably have to be written about was the amount of criticism the replacement referees have faced since the season began.

Now, do I like the replacement refs? No, they're losing control of games. They're slow with the calls they make. They're making calls based on if a player complains for it...we could do this all day. BUT...what nobody wants to talk about is the NFL completely dropping the ball and letting these replacements refs even touch the field.

Now, referees will always be a topic for discussion whether we as fans like it or not, but looking at their performance, I wouldn't say they're doing a horrible job. The reason why these refs are taking so much heat is for two reasons: 1) They don't know the rules and 2) They're not used to the speed of the NFL. Granted, we just had a lockout where the players were cut out of everything, but seriously, I miss Ed Hochuli and his overgrown muscles making calls man.

Watching the Eagles/Ravens game last weekend, I'm surprised nobody was seriously injured. Players scuffled pretty much every other play in the first half, the second half it died down a little bit. But I think it gave the Eagles some much needed "Man-Up Energy" that they've lacked pretty much the past 4 seasons, give or take a few games here and there. Instead of continually collapsing when things got tough, I watched Michael Vick take hit after hit, dust himself off, and lead the Eagles to a victory. Now, was the offensive pass interference call on Jacoby Jones a bad call? No, we all saw him push off, but considering the amount of "defensive holding" calls the replacement refs made against the Eagles defense, I think it evened out. Especially when you consider about 3 or 4 of the "defensive holding" calls they made should have been "defensive pass interference" calls but, at least they called something right? But this game was beyond the realm of chippy...it almost got ugly a few times after plays with players jawing, grasping each others' face masks, and all that. Why? Because the replacement refs lack control of the game.

As a fan, I don't blame the regular NFL refs for not negotiating a deal, and I see why now. The NFL has made it their agenda to say "Hey, with these replacement refs, the players are on their own so everyone act accordingly during the game!" And "Act Accordingly" should be how we judge these referees. Its too easy of a cop-out to blame an official for not your team not scoring because of a penalty they may or may not have missed, that's going to happen with regular refs. But, ask Josh Morgan if "Act Accordingly" is his motto now, the referees aren't missing the penalties that matter, that's for sure.

But what the NFL is trying to hide is the fact that, these replacements refs lack the proper training to even be out there on the field. Its embarrassing from a professional standpoint, when you have refs who don't know the procedure for viewing calls and have sideline refs pushing them onto the field stopping the game and probably all the momentum a team has to get ONE call right. All the money the NFL has and they can't run a replacement ref training camp of some sort to make sure they at least are coherent while officiating games. You got refs officiating games with teams they're a fan of and you got refs officiating games and telling players they're on their fantasy team, are they replacements refs or fans that have the luxury of becoming referees on a temporary basis? A brief background check can solve these problems very easily.

Now, with all that being said, I think the replacement refs aren't bad because they're part of the game. That's where we're lost as fans. We see these refs, hear the coaches complaining, players complaining, and media complaining and what do we do? Eat it right up and complain with them. But, why complain as a fan, when you could either 1) stop attending games until an agreement is reached or 2) chalk it up as that thing called "Life isn't fair" and keep it moving. Where we are lost is where we say: "Oh these replacement refs suck!" We know! But, to say something sucks, does it make it okay to watch them as people get cussed out and berated on the sideline by coaches? Is it okay that Mike Wallace knocked a replacement ref out his way for accidentally bumping into him? No. Just because they're bad doesn't mean players and coaches have the moral right to blatantly treat these replacements refs in such a disrespectful manner when we knew going on, they wouldn't be very good. For Christ's sake, one official is from the Lingerie Football League, have you ever watched that league for its officiating? Didn't think so.

The NBA Conundrum: Should Players Distance Themselves From Their Competition?

First and foremost, let it be known, I’m the biggest LeBron James fan, but I’m also his biggest critic, at least in my own eyes. I was watching First Take the other day and Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith were debating something that was very intriguing; the fact that LeBron James and Kevin Durant are working out together again this summer. And it had me thinking, should athletes of the NBA distance themselves from their competition? The days where players naturally hated their opponent are gone. Granted you never saw Michael Jordan working out with Larry Bird or Magic working out with Isaiah Thomas, but, this relationship formed by LeBron and Durant is something the NBA has done on its own. With all the new rules, dress codes, and push for sportsmanship after the infamous “Palace Brawl” that once scarred the league, the NBA has done its best to lose its “bad boy” image of the past. Yes, you’ve still got your trash talk and technical fouls and altercations here and there, but tell me the NBA Finals last season wasn’t one of the most competitive if not, fun to watch series in a very long time, I’ll wait.

Now, is it good that two of the biggest names in the NBA are working out together? Yes, it is good because you see the carry over, you see what each player has learned and improved upon. LeBron’s jump shot and shot selection last season was much improved; can we credit Durant for that? Durant actually posted up a lot more last season than he did any other previous seasons; can we credit LeBron for that? Don’t get me wrong, yes, they’re two of the biggest names in the NBA but what you can’t take away from their relationship is the fact that you don’t see one of them taking it easier on the other. If anything, you see that it’s harder for the other to score when they’re guarding each other because they know every in and out of each other’s game; THAT’S competition at it’s finest.

 I remember the days when my sister’s would bully me on the court because I was smaller than them even though they were girls. But naturally, they were better because they knew my weaknesses, what I didn’t do well, what they could do well, and so on. Basketball isn’t football. Basketball is all about timing and knowing where players are going be on certain cuts and screens. Basketball is about scoring two or three points based on taking what the defense gives you and doing what works in order to win. Basketball is a much more fluid sport than football. You’re not resetting every time and lining back up, you have 24 seconds to score each possession, that’s it. That’s where I think the fan’s perspective is lost. All you hear is “LeBron and Durant are working out together,” but to what extent? We, as fans, don’t really know, but we’re forced to look at the NBA’s history and make snap judgments. Yes, Bird and Jordan would never work out together but when Jordan came in the league, not many people liked him because of how good he was. Players even went as far as to not pass Jordan the ball in the 1985 All Star Game. It wasn’t until that 1992 Olympics in Barcelona that those players really put down their pride and egos and worked together for a common cause: Winning.

LeBron and Durant working out together is about winning. Their relationship is built on and has always been about winning. Many fans screamed at LeBron to stop talking and win a ring, he did that. Why can’t Durant learn from a guy like that? LeBron took the most criticism out of any player for two seasons, not because of his ability to play basketball, but for his want to be liked by all of those around him. You could see the fire and will to win in his eyes last season, he was a complete player, maybe Durant helped him deal with that mental piece? How many NBA players read “The Hunger Games” or any other book to clear their minds before games? Physically, LeBron had all the tools already to win a ring, but mentally, he couldn’t handle the boos and constant reminder of how bad “The Decision” was in many people’s eyes. Maybe Durant helped him quell those inner demons, is that a bad thing?

Let’s face it, Durant is one of the quietest assassins in the NBA. His demeanor on the court was something to marvel at when he hit shot after shot with ease and lead Oklahoma City to the NBA Finals. But it wasn’t Durant who failed his team in the NBA Finals last season, it was his team who ultimately failed him. James Harden never showed up, Perkins and Ibaka couldn’t stop the Heat in the paint as the series wore on. Couldn’t those players benefit from working out with outside influences in the offseason rather than trying to go it alone?

Now, do I agree with LeBron and Durant working out together? No…but they can do what they want, they’re professionals. The NBA has changed its rules to deal with less non-sense and headaches and to cater to more professionally dressed and mature adults, minus the Playoffs post-game conferences of glasses and wild colored shirts. Working out together didn’t hurt the NBA Finals. LeBron and Durant still played stellar but the LeBron and Co.’s experience of losing to Dallas in the 2011 NBA Finals drove LeBron to reach out to others for help. He tried to do it on his own and failed to the delight of many fans but now that he has a ring, all of a sudden, it raises fans eyebrows that he’s working out with one of the rising stars in the NBA? I call cop out. If we really looked, you’d see a lot of players work out together in the offseason, it’s just magnified when LeBron and Durant do it because they’re the best. Some people feel the best shouldn’t work together since they’re on opposing teams but who cares? I could understand if they were on the court joking back and forth or taking it easy on each other, but can you honestly say that about LeBron and Durant? As a basketball player, when you step on the court, you’re a totally different person. You’re a teammate first and somebody’s friend second. The friendships are dropped when the ball is thrown up in the air to start the game and the team comes before the friendship. You may say, “Oh well, Durant wasn’t physical enough with LeBron because of their friendship,” but since WHEN has Durant ever been labeled a physical player? Not only that, but when’s the last time somebody was more physical than LeBron? Ask Danny Granger how “being physical” with LeBron worked out for him. LeBron’s one of the strongest guys in the league for his size. Maybe Durant is trying to learn how to be more physical from LeBron? Is that a bad thing?

Now, what does this tell us about the NBA? Not much. Players are free to do whatever they want in the offseason until training camp starts in October/September. You see guys playing in summer leagues from California to North Carolina, wowing fans who may not always get to see them play in person. So why be upset that LeBron and Durant are working out together behind closed doors? Because that’s what the media wants you to do. Drive home the message they want you to believe: “There’s no room for friendship in the sports world.” We, as fans, forget that these athletes are people too. They have wives, aunts, uncles, and kids just like the average fan does. I hate to sound cliché but they put their pants on one leg at time too. They’re not always going to do what the fans like, but are they hurting anybody by doing it? So why not just take this working out as what it is, a chance for NBA players to come together and get better. After all, the 2012 NBA Finals was one of the most watched playoff series’ since 2004. Think about that before you’re so quick to judge such a small thing like two superstars working out together.  

Philadelphia Conundrum: What's Wrong With the Eagles?

56. This is the number that boggled my mind all night as I tried to figure out how in the hell the Philadelphia Eagles managed to pull out a win. 56 is the number of pass attempts Michael Vick threw in the Eagles sloppy and unacceptable 17-16 victory over the Cleveland Browns. When you look at the head-to-head team statistics after the game you see 25 first downs and 456 total yards from scrimmage and you’re happy until you look at the final score and the total number of plays.

The Eagles ran 88 plays with a time of possession of 35:58 but they turned the ball over 5 times…against the Cleveland Browns. If it wasn’t for our defense, Philadelphia fans would have been booing Andy Reid upon his return to Lincoln Financial Field, if they aren’t booing already. Now let’s put these numbers in perspective. The Cleveland Browns ran 59 plays with a time of possession of 24:02. The Eagles offense managed to outplay the Browns offense yet keep them in the game with costly turnovers. LeSean McCoy fumbled early, which happens sometimes, but what was even more costly, were the amount of times I sat and thought to myself “Vick, what are you doing?!” He was just out of sync, very out of touch with the offense. He had receivers twisting and turning trying to catch bad passes, threw horrible passes when he should have ran and ran when he should have thrown the ball away. Reading other articles I got the main gist of what Vick’s problem was and I even tweeted an idea about it to anybody who wanted to listen: “I will never take preseason for granted again.” And with good reason, Vick ran 8 pass plays in preseason, a stat that doesn’t quite translate to 56 passing attempts (a career high) in Week 1 of the regular season.

Granted yes, Michael Vick is a bit injury prone, but how many QBs in the league play scared to get hurt? Not many. Michael Vick is one of the most elusive, if not the fastest QB in the league when he’s on. But when he’s off like he was in Week 1, you’re left asking more questions and getting less answers. The Eagles threw the ball 56 times, something I haven’t seen them do ever. If anything, I’m left screaming pass when they run it. McCoy was unstoppable when he got the ball, especially on the last drive where the Eagles won the game. But it was as if the Eagles coaches wanted Vick to do everything humanly possible to throw a passing touchdown to silence a critic that wasn’t there. Don’t get me wrong, Vick’s passing is his strong point, but his accuracy isn’t. The throws he was trying to make were either forced or the timing was off with his receivers and they tipped it in the air and it got intercepted (this happened twice).

In other words, any fan could tell he wasn’t the Vick we all knew and have come to love, or hate depending on your love for dogs. Now I could understand if McCoy wasn’t averaging 5 or 6 yards a rush per carry or if the Eagles had a hard deficit to come back from but neither was the case. The conservative Eagles team is usually one who takes the lead and mixes up runs and passes. In retrospect, last season, the Eagles averaged about 35 passing plays and 28 rushing plays. Not to mention, McCoy was a 1000+ yard rusher last season, so it’s not like we didn’t have the players on the field to take some of the load off of Vick. Vick was sacked only twice, hit only 11 times, so it’s not like the offensive line wasn’t doing enough to help him out but WOW, did they really need to go vertical so much against the Cleveland Browns? Joe Haden played out of his mind as did D’Qwell Jackson in the Browns secondary but wouldn’t any secondary play well when you just drop back and throw the ball on just about every down?

The Eagles were one-dimensional against the Browns, a team who was 4-12 last season, with no reasoning behind it. Not once, until the last drive, did the Eagles take some pressure off of Vick and give McCoy the ball. And even then, Vick almost threw an interception in the end zone that any other team not named the Cleveland Browns would have caught, thus ending the game. McCoy had 20 carries for 110 yards, not bad considering the 56 passing attempts. Not to mention when McCoy did get the ball, he was explosive. The Browns defense wouldn’t have been able to handle him had the Eagles mixed up the run and pass so Vick could have some sort of window to throw to and not just watch the Browns defense sit back in a zone defense. And why am I so critical of things like this? Because Mike Vick has put this pressure on himself with saying things like “The Eagles have to win now” and “This one is for Andy…” if it is for Andy, you’re doing a bad job of representing him.

Now, with all that being said, should Eagles fans panic? No, not yet, but they play the Baltimore Ravens next week. Throw 4 interceptions next week and the game will be over by halftime if not the first quarter. Let’s not forget what happened last time the Eagles faced the Ravens, I haven’t. Remember Donovan McNabb and that benching? Yeah, that Baltimore Ravens team that drubbed us 36-7 back in 2008. My fingers are crossed the Eagles offense can get it together because it’s not on the O-Line this go round, it’s on Mike Vick and the Eagles coaching staff.