I'm sure by now anyone in Philadelphia who had one has thrown out their 'No World Series Ring, No Cup, No SuperBowl Title, etc." t-shirt or has at least relegated it to the car wash pile. But then again, I live here, so I know it's more likely to see black lines through the reference to all the years spent without capturing the World Series pennant.Santa assures me of not just 1 more parade...
But shouldn't we be happy? Or at least content? Of course not. While any Phillies fan will be quick to remind you(or any Mets fan for that matter) that we're still 'World F#$%*&# Champions!' that doesn't mean we're quite satisfied. Look at Boston afterall. The Sox amazing run in '04 capped off a year that saw the Patriots win the 2nd of 3 Superbowls in 4 years( the third coming a year later, against the Eagles of course) , and then the Sox '07 Championship run was matched by a dominating performance by the Celtics to give Beantown yet another title in the spring of '08.
That's not to say we're jealous or we cannot appreciate the triumph of a World Series victory, it just means as a sports town as equally as ravenous as Boston(okay, we're hungrier, in fact wir haben baren hunger!!!*) and as such, we're always hoping for more.
Besides sheer want though, it seems two other parades are entirely probable. Before I incur the name of a certain cartoon patriarch, along with a slew of unkind adjectives, I'd like to point out my reasons behind backing both the Eagles and the Flyers for a laudatory trip down Broad St.
The Eagles, for any dream to come true, must make the playoffs first. Besides having to knock off two tough division opponents in the final weeks, they have to hope for either the Buccaneers or the Falcons to drop at least one of their remaining games. Their best hope in this last regard comes this Sunday as the 9-5 Vikings face the 9-5 Falcons, a match pitting the #3 rushing offense vs the league's #1 ground assault. If the Vikings have another steady performance at QB( a starter has yet to be named) than perhaps their #1 ranked rush defense will prove the difference, and combined with a big win over the always tough Redskins(yes, they've dropped key games of late but there's never an easy game in the NFC East) the Eagles game against the Cowboys on the final day of the season would be a monumental showdown with one of the two teams advancing to the playoffs.
And once in, why not back The Eagles to go all the way, just as the Giants did nearly a year ago. If the Eagles do take the wildcard, they will do so on better terms than the sputtering '07 Giants who looked anything but a contender when they entered at 10-6. While the Eagles can finish no better than 10-5-1, they will seem all the more solid since a a berth will mean 5 straight wins( 3 against opponents from the toughest division in football) for a team that seemed to struggle with its own failings rather than the opposition for most of the season(it's easy to imagine a 12-4 record had they ironed out these issues earlier with all the close losses they experienced). With the play calling tilted predominantly towards the run of late, Brian Westbrook has alleviated the pressure on McNabb thereby allowing him to effectively orchestrate the offense down the field; rather than suffering the lack of a #1 receiver, the increased use of the running game enables McNabb to flourish with the talent he has( last week's game against the Brown's saw a career effort form Jason Avant as he posted 5 receptions for 101 yards). The benching of McNabb earlier in the season has served as ample motivation for all and if Jackson, Avant, and Baskett, et al, continue to raise their game to match the elevated play of number 5 than the Eagles offense will be unstoppable. Let's just hope that we can see more production from the tight end position as L.J. Smith and Brad Celek were virtually invisible against the Browns( 3 passes total for a combined 22 yards).
Equally as important is the play of the defense which has been even more ferocious of late. Playoff beards, anyone? As though SS Brian Dawkins didn't do enough as a motivator, he's borrowed a tradition from the NHL as a way to state that the Eagles are in it for the long hall. And indeed #20 has been playing like a man possessed, silencing any who suspected he might be getting too old. With the 7th ranked defense in the league(274.4 yds/game) and the 2nd best allowance per play(4.5 yards; tied with Baltimore) the Eagles D, like the offense, is keyed by the notion that every single second on the field counts. Thank God then, that Andy Reid has finally decided to run the ball more, thereby eating up the clock while keeping the D fresh.
Speaking of playoff beards...
Given the play of the Flyers its very likely they'll look like lumberjacks come late spring. While it's early in the season, the Flyers are showing the attributes of a contender with balanced scoring- they are the only team in the league with six players in double digits- during a 17-4-3 run following a hesitant start out of the gate(0-6). Simon Gagne has rebounded from a series of concussions that restricted him to 25 games last season to lead the team in points and Jeff Carter has continued his ascent, as he is currently 2nd in the NHL with 22 goals. For a team that came up short in the Eastern Conference Finals last season, they look keen to push for greater things, and have improved their greatest liability from last season with the emergence of young mobile defender Luca Sbisa and the acquisition of fellow defenders Ossi Vaananen, Andrew Alberts, Matt Carle, and Steve Emminger to compliment the solid play of Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn. Everything with the Flyers begins with how well they move the puck out of their zone and its reassuring that they now have a much more mobile and reliable backline. Add to this the greater emphasis on team defense- Simon Gagne and Mike Richards lead the way with an impressive +/- of + 20 and +16, respectively- and the improved play of goalie Martin Biron and backup Antero Niittymaki, then the Flyers seem set to only improve, especially since they've so far thrived on special teams play; while they've wowed with the ability to score off the penalty kill( a league leading 12 goals) and the power play( second only to Detroit) they will be onstoppable if they can improve their goal production on 5 on 5 play. The return of Daniel Briere in a few weeks(groin injury) will surely help to make an already potent offense explosive.
That extra edge that I see both the Flyers and the Eagles playing with reminds me of the steel the Phillies had in their eyes upon landing in the Division Series against the Brewers in October.
Perhaps both teams have borrowed some of the energy from that magical run and Philly sports fans are entitled to shed their inherent pessimism and dream big.
