Things that have happened since the last time the Phillies were in the playoffs:
— The Eagles drafted QB Nick Foles, who led the team to the playoffs in his second year, then got traded the next year, then spent a few years with two other teams, then came back to the Eagles and became the first Super Bowl MVP in Philadelphia history.
— The Sixers drafted PG Michael Carter-Williams, saw him win the Rookie of the Year award, then traded him away, drafted C Joel Embiid, let him sit out his first two seasons, then saw him develop into one of the best centers in NBA history.
— Katie Ledecky won nine medals over two separate summer Olympics.
— Jalen Hurts finished eighth grade, then went on to high school, played football at the University of Alabama for a few years, and then was drafted into the NFL.
— The Phillies lost 893 games.
It’s nice to be back. Ring the bell!
WR: Mike Evans, 22.87 pts — started by Sam
RB: Josh Jacobs, 30.97 pts — on my bench
TE: T.J. Hockenson, 29.93 pts — on Bob’s bench
K: Greg Joseph, 18.00 pts — started by me
DEF: New Jersey Giants, 17.00 pts — on the wire
D: Haason Reddick, 14.00 pts — on the wire
Ooof. Not our best week. I left 34 pts on my bench, almost all of it coming from Jacobs, who managed 26.64 pts in the first three games and all of that and more on Sunday. Mike’s QB mistake meant he started Russell Wilson instead … who scared 30.95 pts and was the fourth-best QB on the week. So, not as much damage there.
The Giants may have just barely edged out the Eagles as the top DEF on the week (17 pts vs 16 pts), but Eagles LB Reddick gets the top individual honors. All he had on Sunday were four tackles, two sacks, two force fumbles and two fumble recoveries. I had thought the team outlawed using linebackers in games after the departure of Jeremiah Trotter in 2009, but apparently not.
“Players we started” edition3rd place: Richie James Jr., -0.80 pts — on Dad’s bench
2nd place: Tampa Bay, -1.00 pts — started by Paul
1st place: Melvin Gordon, -1.20 pts — started by Joel
Mind-boggling work by Gordon on Sunday, who rushed for 8 yds on three carries and fumbled once (which was returned for a Raiders TD). He’s got four fumbles in four games, but the Broncos lead RB, Javonte Williams, is now out for the season with a torn ACL, so he gets to keep his job. The football gods are cruel
Tampa was the top defense in the league coming into this weekend’s games, but the Chiefs made short work of that. Despite recording three sacks and an interception, the Bucs ended up in negative territory, allowing 41 points. The team is 2-2 and QB Tom Brady was complaining about arm pain after the game. Just saying…
** Just because it’s funny and intentional doesn’t mean it isn’t stupid.
During the Phillies/Natinals radio broadcast on Friday, DC batter Luke Voit was heard cursing loudly as he watched Philly P Zach Elfin sail strike three by him. Phillies announcer Chad Durbin didn’t miss a beat:
“Um, I’m pretty sure he said ‘front’ there. As in, he just threw a ‘front’ side slider to get that strike. Or maybe it was ‘Eflin.’ Yeah, I think he was mad at Elfin for striking him out.”
Very dumb, but very funny.
** With 4 minutes left in the game and the Bills tied 20-20 with the Ravens, Baltimore had the ball on the four-yard-line facing fourth and goal and opted to go for a TD. They failed badly, and Buffalo drove down the field and kicked the game-winning FG a few minutes later.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh justified the decision like this:
"If you kick a field goal there, now it's not a three-down game anymore, it's a four-down game. You're putting them out there, you're putting your defense at a disadvantage because they've got four downs to convert all the way down the field and a chance to again score seven, and then you lose the game on a touchdown."
Not only is that an impressive word salad, it makes no sense. If the Ravens were up by 3, the Bills wouldn’t have gone for it on 4th down in FG range. They would have tied the game. Yes, being up seven is better than being up three. But being up on the scoreboard is better than being tied.
Sometimes I wonder if NFL coaches get paid so much that they forget how to count.
** ESPN came out with its weekly NFL power rankings and the undefeated Eagles are … third. Behind the Chiefs, who lost to the 1-2-1 Colts, and the Bills, who lost to the 3-1 Dolphins. They also put the 3-1 Cowboys behind three 2-2 teams and the 3-1 Giants behind five 2-2 teams.
Sometimes I wonder if NFL analysts get paid so much that they forget how to count.
Speaking of undefeated teams, here’s how the last undefeated team in the NFL has fared over the last 21 years:
** Three of them missed the playoffs. This includes the 2014 Eagles, who were 3-0 (tied with three other teams) and finished 10-6 but lost out on the postseason due to tiebreakers.
** Eight lost in the Wild Card round of the playoffs.
** Four lost in the Divisional round of the playoffs.
** Three lost in the conference championship.
** Ten lost the Super Bowl. This includes the 2004 Eagles, who started the season 7-0, and the 2007 Patriots, who won their first 18 games of the season and lost the last one.
** Only one has won the Super Bowl. That was the 2006 Colts, who started the season 9-0 and finished the regular season with a 12-4 record.
So, the good news is that the final team to lose a game at the start of the NFL season has made it to the playoffs almost 90 percent of the time and to the Super Bowl almost 40 percent of the time. The bad news is that it hasn’t translated into a trophy for most of them.
Still, a trip to Arizona in February would be nice…
Dallas rookie RB Malik Davis still hasn’t appeared in an NFL game yet, but pundits are already calling him a prototypical Cowboys team member. It’s not for his play, or course, but because of his terrible depth of character. Just look at what the letters in his name say about him:
Rookie RB Malik Davis
** I like vodka, I rob rams.
** I like a dark boors vim.
** I like karma voids, bro.
** I like doom via ska. Brr.
** I like bravos, I am dork.
Bravo on making the team, dork. You fit right in.
** Won both of my games against Dad this weekend, so we are even on the year so far. Special thanks to the Raiders and Titans, two awful squads that somehow won to give me the edge. At the moment, Dad and I are both picking winners at a 60 percent rate, which isn’t too bad. ESPN has quite a few “experts” below that mark at the moment…** Don’t look now, but the Blue Hens are 5-0 and have already defeated an FBS school (Navy) on the season. QB Nolan Henderson already has 14 passing TDs, and they’re in the top five in the FCS rankings. It has been 19 years since their last national championship, but a seventh school title could be looming.
** Congrats to Yankees 1B Aaron Judge on his historic march to hitting the seventh-most home runs in a single season. It’s definitely not a totally arbitrary mark.
Week 4 standings
Garrity Family Throwdown
1 — Del-marvelous Diva (Eileen), 3-1/ 576.22 pts
2 — Always Runny in Philly (Capt. Awesome), 3-1/ 565.04 pts
3 — Mary Alice's Primo Team (Mom), 3-1/ 495.94 pts
4 — Jimmy's Chicken Shaq (Jim), 3-1/ 449.56 pts
5 — Stacked Dead Achterts (Carl), 2-2/ 465.00 pts
6 — Chief Little Owl - JJG (Uncle Jim), 1-3/ 518.60 pts
7 — Mailata Man or Beast? (Dad), 1-3/ 497.98 pts
8 — America's Losers (Dak Prescott), 0-4/ 272.98 pts
Unlike the NFL, the family league no longer has any undefeated teams. Mom started trash talking after a positive Thursday night but ended up crashing down to earth by the end of Sunday, losing to my team by 42 pts. Her team has had the softest schedule so far (fewest points scored against) while Uncle Jim has scored the third-most points in the league but sits down in sixth place because he has faced the toughest schedule so far.
Dad gets a much-needed matchup against the Dallas losers this week, but they have managed to score 80-plus pts the last two games. Might be a dangerous spot.
Awesome Cup Standings
1 — JJaw dropping skillz (Capt. Awesome), 518.94 pts
2 — Ouch! It Hurts (Mom D), 502.22 pts
3 — Champ For Life (Jo), 494.73 pts
4 — Crumb Bums (Ant), 487.21 pts
5 — Patriots Secret Cam (Joel), 484.89 pts
6 — More Honey Bunches of Goats (Jonathan), 469.67 pts
7 — Mailata's Size 18 Shoes (Dad), 439.18 pts
8 — Let's Go Iggles! (Paul), 431.57 pts
9 — Room Temperature Icers (Sam), 402.67 pts
10 — Murder Hornets (Mike), 398.59 pts
11 — Blue Collar Killers (Jeff), 391.47 pts
12 — No One Likes Us We Don't Care (Bob), 380.90 pts
Just a reminder that Yahoo picked Bob to finish first in the league in its pre-season rankings, because Yahoo’s algorithms are terrible and should always be ignored.
Another week atop the standings for me, while Jo slides down to bronze position as her mother surges up the charts (70 pts from her three starting RBs will do that). Sam was in last place one week ago, but he jumps into the single digits thanks to the highest score of any team over the weekend (130.70 pts). And Jonathan continues to ask if the Chiefs have one of the best offensives in the league, why then is he starting their defense. And I don’t have a good answer.
Another Thursday night game and another early Sunday London game this week, so check the rosters early. And bye weeks start in week 6, so look ahead two weeks from now to make sure there aren’t terrible gaps your roster similar to the gaps in the Jaguars; offensive line on Sunday. Four fumbles by the QB. Yikes.
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