Archive for December, 2013

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Philadelphia Eagles (9-6) vs. Dallas Cowboys (8-7)

December 30th, 2013 by Kyle Lutz | Comments Off on Philadelphia Eagles (9-6) vs. Dallas Cowboys (8-7) | Filed in Eagles, General, Sports

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So alas Dallas we meet again, this time with playoff implications and a division title/playoff spot on the line. Plain and simple: the winner tonight wins the NFC East division title and will be, and can only be, the # 3 seed in the NFC come playoff time. If the Eagles win they can face a number of teams, depending on what occurs today in games around the league. Come January they would play the second (and last) NFC Wild Card team, aka the # 6 seed, with home field advantage. Depending on how the scenarios play out today, they would either play the 49ers, the Saints or the Cardinals.

Getting in is half the effort. All Philadelphia has to do tonight is focus on Dallas and Dallas only, considering they wouldn’t have to worry about winning and trusting another team to lose/tie in order to make it in.

Dallas is coming off of a close 24-23 win at division rival Washington last Sunday, in which starting quarterback Tony Romo threw a late TD with 1:08 remaining in the game to seal the deal for Dallas. In the game, Romo threw two touchdown passes, on 17 completions (out of 27), to an interception, for a quarterback rating of 98.7. He threw for 226 passing yards in the game, an average of 8.4 yards/passing attempt, and completed 63% of his passes on the day. Dallas scored 10 late 4th Quarter points in the game, in the span of five minutes, to give themselves a shot at a playoff berth come tonight.

As for Philadelphia, they went the easier route by handily defeating Chicago 54-11 in a route. In that game, quarterback Nick Foles completed 84% of his passes, throwing for 230 passing yards with two touchdown passes to 0 interceptions, with an overall QB rating of 131.7. Foles, with his ply this year,  is among the best of all time as far as single-season statistics are concerned. He’s ranked third all-time among quarterbacks for the best single-season quarterback rating, with 118.7.

Kyle Orton has 69 career starts, so he has experience, but I firmly believe his rustiness will be a factor. Then again, if Dallas sticks to their running game early, and more importantly, are successful with the latter they can win.

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Eagles Gameday Good Luck Charm

December 29th, 2013 by Leo | Comments Off on Eagles Gameday Good Luck Charm | Filed in Eagles, Football, General

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It’s been a while here in Philly when we really had something big to cheer about with the Eagles, with the Division and the Playoffs on the line tonight, TalkSportsPhilly is putting out a Good Luck Post in support of an Eagles Win!!  FLY EAGLES FLY!!

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Click Vote to Touch Charm

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A Christmas Day look at the 2014 Phillies

December 25th, 2013 by Philly Pressbox | Comments Off on A Christmas Day look at the 2014 Phillies | Filed in Baseball, General, Phillies

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“View from the Philly Pressbox”

With all the hoopla going on about the Eagles and their upcoming trip to Dallas to win the NFC East title and make a trip to the playoffs we wanted to take a step back and take a winter look at the Fightin Phils. Spring Training is right around the corner!

Many feel that it’s time to rebuild the Phillies from the ground up, however, that doesn’t seem to be the approach being taken by General Manager Ruben Amaro Jr. The resigning of fan favorites Chase Utley and Carlos Ruiz to three year contracts indicated one of two things, the organizations feels that it can win now with the players they have or the minor leagues are so depleted that there won’t be anyone ready at those positions for several years. We’re favoring that they think they can win now.

Lets take a look at the roster as it stands today:

The projected outfield: LF – Dom Brown, CF- Ben Revere, RF- Marlon Byrd, Reserves – Darin Ruf and John Mayberry Jr.

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How to Beat the Bears!!

December 21st, 2013 by Philly Pressbox | Comments Off on How to Beat the Bears!! | Filed in Eagles, Football, General

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“View from the Philly Pressbox”

The Philadelphia Eagles and Chicago Bears roll in to the week 15 Sunday night matchup with everything on the line, of course, this depends on whether the Dallas Cowboys show up to play the Washington Redskins or fold their tent and go home after last weeks 2nd half meltdown against the Green Bay Packers. Both teams sit atop their respective divisions by the slimmest of margins. For the Eagles, they need to take care of their own business so they won’t have to worry about Dallas. The Birds will face the most well rounded offense they’ve faced all season.

The Bears have a terrific back in Matt Forte, who is currently 3rd in the NFL in rushing with 1200 yards while averaging 4.7 yards per carry. He also has 66 catches for 522 yards Also, the Bears are the only team in the NFL with 2-1000 yard receivers in Alshon Jeffery, 1265 yards and Brandon Marshall with 1185 yards. The pair have combined for 170 catches. Offensively the Bears can be very good while the Eagles defense, that ranks #31 in the NFL in pass defense, can be very suspect. Jay Cutler will again be the starting QB for the Bears. (more…)

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Fantasy Football Playoffs: Tips for the ‘Ship

December 20th, 2013 by Jeremy Bonnette | Comments Off on Fantasy Football Playoffs: Tips for the ‘Ship | Filed in Football, General, Sports

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If you are one of the lucky few people that still have active fantasy football teams at this stage, give yourself a huge pat on the back.  This is the moment that everyone has prepared for way back when we were scouting our first-round draft picks.  Money and bragging rights are on the line, and there are fewer things that make a person feel better than winning their fantasy football championship.

In the 6 years that I have been actively participating, I have two finals appearances and one championship. This year, both of my teams have made it to the finals (At #1 and #4 playoff seeds), and I am ecstatic.  However, making it is only half of the battle, and if you’re as nervous as I am you’ll do a few things to make sure your team(s) is the one that comes out on top.

My first and easiest suggestion is to make sure that you understand your playoff format.  For example, I play on ESPN.com, meaning that my playoff rounds are two weeks instead of one.  I know that other sites like Yahoo and CBS are a bit different, so keep that in mind when making your match ups. (more…)

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Do the Eagles have a Secret Weapon?

December 18th, 2013 by Philly Pressbox | Comments Off on Do the Eagles have a Secret Weapon? | Filed in Eagles, Football, General

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“View from the Philly Pressbox”

As the Eagles head in to the final two games of the season and, hopefully, in to the playoffs is it time to see if they truly have a secret weapon as part of their team?

We all know that as you enter the playoff run that the defenses get better, well maybe not the Dallas Cowboys, and offenses have to be on top of their game. We know that the Eagles defense can be suspect itself so keeping the offense operating on all cylinders is critical. The Minnesota Viking exposed some weaknesses in the Eagles offense by rushing Nick Foles relentlessly throughout the game. The O-Line struggled some for the first time in several weeks and Foles looked a bit rattled early before settling in while playing from behind. Whether it be the Vikings defense or Chip Kelly’s play calling the running game disappeared with LeSean McCoy getting only 8 carries for 38 yards and Foles 5 carries for 41, a whopping total of 79 yards rushing. It’s safe to say the leading rusher in the NFL needs 18-25 carries and he will get 100 yards.

Nick Foles has done an outstanding job of running the Eagles offense, making good decisions, and maybe most importantly protecting the football.  Foles biggest weakness in the read option offense is his inability to run the ball well. He’s made the best of the situation and done nothing wrong while he’s running the ball but there could be more. That brings us to Michael Vick, the secret weapon! It’s time to have a read option package for Vick, from time to time, against these tough defenses. If nothing else the defense will have to respect him running the football. If keeping one man home gives McCoy more space to run or allows the O-Line to get a better match up then why not. If no one stays home then Vick can run for a lot more yards than Foles and open the field up for the rest of the offense.

Don’t get me wrong, Nick Foles is the starting QB. What I’m talking about is maybe 5-7 situational snaps per game. I don’t want Vick in there throwing the ball and being reckless. Foles has handled everything that’s been thrown his way so I don’t see this as a distraction to him or a break in his consistency but rather utilizing all the talent you have available on the 53 man roster.

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All I want for Christmas (The Philadelphia Sports Edition)

December 16th, 2013 by Jeremy Bonnette | Comments Off on All I want for Christmas (The Philadelphia Sports Edition) | Filed in General, Phillies, Sports

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It is December 16th, and while Christmas is near, one cannot help but think about the Philadelphia sports year. There were home runs, touchdowns, triple doubles, and hat tricks, front office management changes, and even a few surprising draft picks. The year has been busy, and while things are OK. One can only hope what Santa will bring us on Christmas day.

Greetings Saint Nick, Jeremy here. I was hoping you could squeeze some gifts in for me this year. I know it’s a lot and the notice is short. I would’ve delivered this myself, but with all the snowstorms, have you seen the airport? The letter is brief, and trust me it’s not fake. After all, I know you still have IPhones to make.

I will start with baseball, and I think some fans will agree, that our Phillies disappointed this year. It wasn’t very hard to see. It’s easy to look at the players, put your hands behind your head and boo, but hey the front office hasn’t been worthy of praise too. Perhaps a new GM would help us gain. This year Ruben Amaro has proven that we have more money, than brains. Were his decisions the right ones? Eventually, we shall see. But if not, he’s got to go, in fact, HIRE ME! (OK, maybe not the last part). But in any case, I think i’ve made my point clear. I want to woo, not boo, cheer, not jeer. (more…)

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