I Want to See Cowboys Cry

Well I was right on several things in the Green Bay game, and almost completely right on the biggest play to win it. We needed Landry to neutralize Finley, which he did on the first play from scrimmage by knocking him out for the year. We needed to get pressure on Rodgers, and did rather effectively, with Jarmon ultimately knocking him from the game as well on his last play. And I really wanted Carlos Rodgers to redeem himself with the big interception, but the defensive player of the week (and thus far year) Landry stepped up with the big interception. We knew bringing Haslett in would net us more turnovers in exchange for giving up more yards, but the unintended effect is that the Skins whole team and attitude is vicious. Not only were Finley and Rodgers among the wounded, Clay Matthews joined the list as the Skins rolled another tough opponent.

The reason the Skins have not succeeded in so long is that they had plenty of talent at skill positions, but no grittiness at the key parts of a football team, especially a NFC East football team. Now, the defense and offensive line on the Skins are literally something to be feared. Thus far Trent Williams, while battling injuries of his own, has beaten down both DeMarcus Ware and Clay Matthews, and both have made an early exit against the Skins. Hopefully the O-line can keep it up tonight as the Head Hog Russ Grimm goes into the ring of fame. I said Rodgers needed to be nervous, but apparently Finley needed to be too. Manning better hope he makes the right reads tonight, or his health could be in peril as well.

He will. I think without a doubt Manning is the best QB to ever play in the NFL. He had an off performance last week and seldom does he make it two in a row. The Colts can't fall to 3-3 while the Skins can and probably will. Some Skins fans are already talking about the team not getting enough respect and its a bit too early for that. If they somehow beat the Colts on Sunday night they will get plenty of it, if not they are just a 3-3 team headed to Soldier Field next week. Furthermore, the injury bug is going to turn around to bite us at one point or another, and then our lack of depth could kill this season.

Maybe McNabb can pick apart the cover 2 that he could not beat in his Super Bowl against the Patriots. (And that the Skins employed against Reid this year to defeat Vick and Kolb.) Maybe Haslett can pull another bend but don't break gem to shut down another potent offense. However, if the Shanahans have some new trick plays up there sleeves, this is the week to use them. Hopefully the crowd at Fedex is earsplitting and the noise can shut down Manning's check-down offense, because defensive formations usually don't do it. Playing against Manning must be similar to playing against Ovechkin. You just have to hope the guy has a bad game, otherwise you are in trouble.

Even if we lose, at least we can root for the Cowboys to fall to 1-4. The Girls really should win, but if they don't, Skins fans can laugh at them if we lose. I predicted the Cowgirls would be in the NFC East cellar, but I didn't think they would fail this spectacularly. I think it is hilarious that they are complaining about the rules after their loss. They know not to complain about the refs, they get more calls than any team in professional sports other than the Penguins, so they have to go after an "unfair rule." Talk to Calvin Johnson and the Lions, and don't celebrate tying a game in the future and you might not be such losers. I honestly thought Romo was a hair away from crying after the Cowboys loss to the Titans. If he throws three picks again en route to another loss, I expect a complete emotional breakdown and I can't wait. Aikman has done the last two Skins games and that has been unfortunate. I didn't hear him during the Green Bay game, but I heard his anti-Skins bias shone as brightly as it did in the Eagles game. The guy is slowly unraveling as the Cowboys fail and the Skins win, and is becoming even more intolerable. I hope he cries too.

Its That Time of Year: Football, Hockey, and Somone Else's Baseball Team

Hockey is back in America's Hockey Capital and it is damned good. The Caps steamrolled the Devils, who many people fail to forget were the #2 seed who were knocked out first round as well. The Devils are a tough team, with 11 players making over $3 million a year, leading the league, and a future Hall of Famer in goal. After a somber opening night where the Caps honestly thought the opposing goalie may have died of fright facing a team of all-stars, they rebounded with a great home opener. Anytime you beat Brodeur you have to feel good, anytime you chase him from goal in favor of Hedberg you have to feel great. Anytime you beat him with a rookie goalie who is playing on the back end of back-to-back nights, you have to feel fantastic. If Neuvrith stays healthy and Boudreau can stay off his Varlamov-in-the-playoffs kick, thats the guy who will and should be in net come the playoffs.

The team gave the crowd a show with four fights as well, a penalty shot for MVP OV's second goal of the year, and a crazed Boudreau almost climbing over the plexiglass to get after the Devil's coaching staff to retaliate for the cheapshot on Johansson 2.0. The sellout crowd for the third straight season was great as well, so much so it prompted newly acquired Matt Hendricks to note that the atmosphere was "like nothing he had seen before." He came from Colorado, which used to have the best rivalry in the NHL when the Red Wings came to town. The fact that the Caps have already surpassed this for a non-rivalry, non-division game in October really does show that DC has become America's Hockey Capital.

In fact I can't remember the last time that I was at a Caps game and no one talked about the Skins while they were in first place, but it happened tonight. No one thought they would win last week, and I hate to say I told you so but I told you so. Shanahan rebounded after letting his team falter to the Rams. Don't let any of the talk about the Rams being better than people thought fool you, the Skins should have beat them. But they rebounded by going into the cesspool that is Philly and beating them with plain old nasty NFC East football. They've been playing that way all season and that has been the best part of the Shanahan regime. They have knocked the opposing team's best player out of the game in all but one game thus far. (And in the one, they knocked Andre Johnson around so much he hasn't been the same since.) DeMarcus Ware, Stephen Jackson and Vick (not to mention McCoy and Samuel) have all been subjected to the new attitude that Shanahan has infused, and while I am not condoning intentionally hurting someone, if I was Rodgers I might be nervous.

The Washington Post had a great article on how much Orakpo has been held so far this year. If the refs keep an eye on him, it could be a long day for Rodgers. Green Bay has an improved line, but Rodgers was still the most sacked QB in the NFL last year. (Yes, even more than Campbell.) I would look for the Skins to pass around out of the gate to show they can do it, then turn to the run game to keep that Green Bay offense off the field. That is, if Trent Williams, still the offensive MVP, can get back on the field. This is a winnable game, as opposed to the Indy game the very next Sunday, who will not drop to 3-3 or even less likely, 2-4. The Skins are going to need to beat either the Pack, Bears or both to have the kind of season I expect from them. It is a big game for Landry, who can elevate himself from team defensive MVP to talk of league defensive MVP if he can keep Finley to two or three catches and continue on his tackling tear. Furthermore, if we can get the aforementioned pressure on Rodgers, he should be forced into some errant throws. If three or four of those errant throws bounce off Carlos Rodger's hands and he can manage to hold onto one of them, the Skins should win. I understand it is not as bold of a pick as last week's Eagle prediction, but that's my take.

And as for last week, the simpleton Philly fans who say that the Skins never would have won if Vick wasn't knocked out just show how dumb they really are. Of course that was a possibility, but injuries happen in football. Philly sure seems to have wimped out for a town that talks about Buddy Ryan like he is Vince Lombardi. The Skins have gone without their starting safety for two games, their offensive MVP for over two, and our starting running back for parts of two and now an additional 4-6. We still lead the East and beat the Iggles, and it is not our fault their back-up QB and McNabb heir apparent can only dump off to his backs and Carlos Rodgers' hands of stone. And for the record Philly, you should be headed to Cincy in a 1-1 series. The umps blew the call that handed the Phils game two, and only in that podunk town could a postseason no-no be overshadowed by chicanery. You reap what you sow.

Philly Sports' Claim to Fame

For some reason it seems like Philly fans are incredulous recently when people suggest that their sports fan base are out of control animals who actually know very little about the sports they follow. I've heard it in the papers, talk radio, and with the people who seem quite enthralled with the fact that the Philly fans gave McNabb a brief ovation on his first trip back after leading the Eagles to their best era of football ever before they booed him right out of town. Maybe you didn't see how great they were when Holliday threw his no hitter? (Not perfect but close and the strike zone was way too disputable for a playoff game.) These "fans" suggest that of course there are a few bad apples, the media blows these cases out of proportion, the whole booing Santa thing was so long ago, and for the most part Philly fans are really great.

So I decided to compile a list of 25 specific instances where people from Philly have demonstrated they are the most vile, idiotic, repugnant collective sports fan base in the nation, not just in a few instances, but over a sustained period of time. This is not to say that there aren't a few good ones, just as I'm sure there were a few decent people living in Germany during Hitler's time. Needless to say, I think most people wish they could erase that era of history, just as most sports fans wish they could wash the entire Philadelphia fandom off the map. Some of these pertain to specific individual acts, many to the collective fan base as a whole, all are published incidents. I have not included countless stories that I am sure all have heard from people that have been to Philly to witness their brutishness first-hand. These are not in any particular order, because I do not want to quantify morally what is worse; beating a man to death or vomiting on 11 year old girls, but here is Philly's reminder for why they are so hated.

1.Philadelphia riots after Phillies win World Series (as pictured above.)

2. JD Drew: Drafted by Philly, for some reason did not want to play for those fine people, was pelted with batteries his first time in Philly when playing with the Cards.

3.Eagles Court/700 level at the Vet- they had to put video surveillance in Philly stadiums when even that was not enough.

4. Vomiting Incident- The girl was 11

5. Tasered Fan- Typical Philly idiot, and the very next night some idiot Philly DJ does the same thing again, ruining a great game for Cole Hamels.

6. Flyers fan jumps into penalty box, tries to fight Tie Domi. (That guy was one of the toughest enforcers of the last decade, pretty dumb.)

7. Near riot starts, several people are hospitalized when Eagles fans beat up their own after 2003 NFC Championship Game loss to the Bucs.

8. A woman named Finklestein prostituted herself on Craig's List for tickets to a Phillies game. Was caught by the police, jailed, and promptly given free tickets by a local Philly radio station and car dealer.

9. Toddler swigs beer on national television, adult Philly fans in frame all laugh about it.

10. Another Phillie fan charges field, gets too close to players, specifically Matt Diaz, who knocks him down.

11. Fans throw batteries at Dick Allen, the town's first prominent black athlete, so often he is forced to wear a batting helmet in the field. This was in the 60s, 20 years after Jackie Robinson integrated the Dodgers.

12. Flyers fans attack and overwhelm St. Louis Blues coach and fans in a game in 1973. (I put these two side by side because many Philly fans claim they got their "rough edge" from the Broadstreet Bullies, and took it from the ice to stands everywhere. This was before the Flyers had won a Cup, and in fact this has been going on since.........)

13. 1949- Phillies game is called when fans won't stop pelting umpire Rich Ashburn with batteries.

14. Santa booed- 1968. Given a chance to redeem themselves in this overplayed story, the same Santa is brought to a 76ers game in 2003. He is booed again.

15. Phillies fans booed Adam Eaton in his first game back from winning the World Series. They continue by brawling as the World Series pennant is hoisted for the first time.

16. Cheering Michael Irvin's career ending injury- Ok to be honest its not the worst thing ever, the guy was a horse's ass his entire career, but they could have at least waited until they screwed his facemask off and made sure he wasn't paralyzed before doing it.

17. "Bounty Game"- Eagles fans, including the future Pennsylvania governor, pelted Cowboys with snowballs, as no snow is cleared away in the Vet before the game that was highly publicized to be nasty. Buddy Ryan put a bounty out on the Dallas kicker. Wow, that is pretty tough.

18. Phillie Phanatic's head stolen at a charity event at Wachovia Center.

19.Chief Zee thrown down concrete stairs, has eyeball dangling from his shattered orbital bone, and is confined to a wheelchair for a year.

20. Booed McNabb in draft. Booed Kolb as well. Should have booed Cunningham a lot more than they did.

21. Clinton Portis' mom assaulted, soaked in beer at the Linc.

22. Phillie fan points laser pointer in Albert Pujols eyes repeatedly. The fine people of Philadelphia hide the fan from authorities, keeping the nationally televised game delayed for over ten minutes. Then they mock the entire state of Missouri for being "backwards."

23. Same game, a 22 year old named David Sale is beaten to death by "multiple hits and kicks to the head" in a bar connected to Citizen's Bank Park.

24. Philly fan launches a green flare across the stands during a Monday Night Football game at the Vet.

25.Phillies fans boo the gentleman who received the first full hand transplant as he throws out the first pitch.

26. MNF again, so many Philly fans need to be subdued by mace at Fedex that the mist is caught in the player's fans and shot out onto the field, delaying the game and giving the players a brief scare a year after 9/11.

27......


I said I was going to only do 25, but the point is, the stories are endless. In general, the trash that emanates from that city speaks for itself. The fans that are actually reasonable should either stop their counterparts or hang their heads in collective shame. Just don't complain that the facts are unfair. Go five years without an incident and we can review the issue.

Headscratchers

Last week was on Shanahan. We knew people were going to freak out around here if the game was even a close win for the Skins, and the people who have already lost confidence in Shanahan are crazy. These are the same people who thought the Skins were going to be 12-4. Shanahan will work out here (if Snyder gives him time) but he clearly dropped the ball against the Rams. We have learned thus far this season that when the Skins are at their best they can beat "Super Bowl favorites" like the Cowboys. Even when they just play three solid quarters, they are almost good enough to beat playoff teams like the Texans. But the Skins are bad enough that when they only show up for half a game, they can't even beat the Rams. Its not the end of the world, its good to know, and games like that should never happen again.


The fact of the matter is that it is pro ball and it is not the head coach's job to get his players up for a game that they are getting paid for. However, these are not Shanahan's players. He picked a few and is molding them, but the bulk of the team are left-overs from the Cerrato/Snyder era who are either going to be Shanahan players or gone by next year. He has to find more guys like Fletcher who never take a game off. But in the meantime I thought he would be all over them, because they are not good enough to spot anyone other than the Buffalo Bills 14 points right off the bat, and even that would be a gamble. More frustrating is coming back for the lead, and then giving up all over again.


The Rams are going to be good one day, but they are rebuilding. Part of the frustration is if Snyder had taken 2 years out of his 11 year reign of terror to rebuild instead of "winning now" to drive up revenue to fund his flailing movie aspirations and crippled ego, we could have a future at one time as well. Since the Snyder era began, the Rams have stunk, rebuilt their team into a Super Bowl Champion with multiple appearances, slid downhill, and are now reloading again. Their coach wasn't fired for a 1-15 rebuilding season. We will never have that patience. Their biggest player of the last decade used to bag groceries, he would never sold enough jerseys when we signed him, so we never would. The greatest coach in their history was a retread who came back this millennium and won a Super Bowl, ours didn't. I couldn't tell you who owns the Rams without Google (Kroenke.)But he has a Super Bowl ring unlike our ubiquitous Papa Johns-hawking friend.


Could you imagine what Shanahan could do with a team stocked with young talented guys like Chris Long, Stephen Jackson, and Chris Long instead of Haynesworth, Colt Brennan, and Portis? And then adding guys like McNabb and another key free agent to the team to put them over the top and truly "win now?" For non-Skins fans, that is why Skins fans seem bipolar at times. For 11 years "this has been the year," we always believe that Snyder is telling the truth instead of whispering more sweet nothings into our wallets, and we always lose to a team that is rebuilding right.


For the time being this team can beat anyone and lose to anyone. The one constant was supposed to be Shanahan, who would always have them at their best. He let us down for the first time as a Skins coach; its ok, Skins fans are used to it. He won't let that happen two weeks in a row, and the veterans he kept around won't let it happen. The ESPN saturated coverage of the game all week may have turned your stomach even more than it already was but watch anyways, the Skins are going to win. There is just too much veteran pride on this team to let their coach down again, let their locker room leader McNabb down on his revenge game, and maybe one or two of them will care about not letting down their tortured fans once more. If not it will be a long month or two while Shanahan tries to begin righting a decade of wrongs. At least there is a team overflowing with superstars built from within in town. And their road to the Cup begins on Friday in Atlanta.