Eagles, Are they Back? Plus, Joe Gibbs commentary, Steroids, College Hoops Parity, Bowl Season, & Baseball Fiscal Irresponsibility

First of all, if anyone reading this did not receive my Dils Bowl Pool, and is interested in joining, shoot me an email or put a comment in the comments section at the bottom of this post and I will get you a copy of the rules….

The Eagles are now like the mob: just when you try to get out, they suck you back in. I actually think the Eagles win on Monday is more a testament of how the Carolina Panthers have been huge underachievers all year than about any real resurgence in the Birds. Some Bird fans that I know are getting all excited that the team may make the playoffs (which they would if the season ended right now), and then, the NFC is so bad that who knows. I counter that argument by saying who cares if the team goes 8-8 or 9-7 and ekes out a wild card spot. Despite the lack of great teams in the NFC, this team is simply not good enough to win three straight games on the road against some combination of the Cowboys, Bears, Saints, and Seahawks. No chance. And being that the goal is to get to and win Super Bowls, not just get to the playoffs (they have done that plenty), I refuse to get overly excited. Second, they still have to go on the road for three straight divisional games, and that still makes getting to the playoffs a long shot, even if this conference with the depth of a wading pool.

Now, does my attitude make me less of an Eagles fan, as some claim that I have become? I would argue absolutely not. I still follow the team just as closely. I still watch and dissect every play of every game. They still aggravate me when they do something stupid. No, it does not make me any less of a fan. It simply makes me a realist. I am not sure when some fans a) became optimistic, which is not what has been ingrained in us as a collective group after 23 years of failure in all sports, or b) when an 8-8 record that happened to back you in to the playoffs became an acceptable result for a team whose fans thought could win a Super Bowl this year. So, I point back at those fans, and remind them that this team has been extremely disappointing, and that a wild card first round playoff loss does not cut it. So, unless this team is going to pull a St. Louis Cardinals and go all the way once they back into the playoffs, what’s the point?

A couple of Redskins fans have asked me to comment on Joe Gibbs and what is going on with the Redskins. People could argue whether or not they think Joe can still coach in this league. From my standpoint, I think he can, but that he has a couple of factors that are tough to overcome. He has talent that is simply not good enough to win in this league, first and foremost. Next, he has a guy (Daniel Snyder) playing fantasy football for big stakes that is making way too many football decisions. What is it with owners these days? Even Arthur Blank is looking like a major putz, but that is another story for another day. So, I would say the verdict of whether Gibbs can still be an effective coach is still out, but that I think it is more likely that not that the answer is yes. My bigger question on Gibbs is why in the world does he still want to do this? He has won Super Bowl titles. He is in the pro football Hall of Fame. He has a passion in stock car racing at which he has had a lot of success, winning two championships there as well. And he has enough money that he does not need Daniel Snyder’s $5 million per year (and the headaches that come along with it on and off the field) and can continue to compete in Nascar at the highest level. So, while I think Gibbs can probably still coach, I urge him to remember that life is short, and so is Dan Snyder. Walk away and do what you love, racing.

Speaking of the NFL, my friend Ari makes a great point that we go ballistic when baseball players cheat by using Steroids but it barely makes a blip when a football player gets suspended for the same offense. Why is that? Shawne Merriman is one of the best defensive players in the NFL, and it barely caused a murmur when he was suspended. Hollis Thomas is having a career year with the Saints. Now we find out it is because of his steroids use (er, asthma medication). Is does seem to be a double standard, and I would love to stir some debate as to why that is.

Last week, I raved about Kansas, Florida, and Maryland (among others) when discussing college basketball. Of course, Florida promptly lost to Florida St (which has been abysmal early this season), Kansas lost to DePaul (also not good so far), and Maryland lost to a Notre Dame team which was manhandled at home by Butler and lost most of its good players from a team that could not make the NCAAs last year. My natural response to all this is twofold. First, it just reiterates the point I made last week about unprecedented parity in the world of college hoops, and second, North Carolina is absolutely unbeatable (wink!).

As for college football, we have less than two weeks until the bowl season starts and a record 32 bowls, including perennial powers Rice, Troy, Northern Illinios, and San Jose St., among others. On the George Rogers show yesterday (http://georgeorgersradio.com), we hypothesized that the should add a 33rd bowl game called the Toilet Bowl, and let the Nation’s two winless teams, Duke and Florida International, battle it out to see who trult is the worst team in the country.

This BCS selection really proved that we desperately need a new system and that this is not working. Please let us have a playoff. It is not that Michigan should be in and Florida should be out (as you saw, I argued that Florida should be in given the ridiculous system we have in place); it is just that Michigan, Boise St., and Louisville can all make an argument they got screwed. And if we had a playoff, we could decide it on the field once and for all.

By the way, Michigan and Southern Cal may make the Rose Bowl th ebesat bowl game of all for the third straight year.

Has baseball completely gone insane? I thought the 3 year, $34 million deal that the Rangers gave to Vincente Padilla was the worst deal I would ever see (topping the absurd $24.5 million that the Philberts gave Adam Eaton over the same time period), but then I saw the most overrated man in baseball, Mr. Theo Epstein, use his stupid stats only analysis to give J.D. Drew $70 million for five years. This is a guy who is a career .286 hitter, has hit 30 home runs exactly once, does not steal bases any more, and plays so-so defense. This is a guy who wilts under the spotlight like week old flowers. This is a guy who does not play hurt. It is amazing that Theo gets a lifetime pass because he made one good move (Schilling) then got lucky (say what you want, but coming back from 3-0 down has never happened before or since, it was lucky) and won a world series. I look forward to seeing what Bill Simmons says about this awful signing. And Julio Lugo for 4 years and $36 million. At least when New York makes signings and buys high priced talent, it makes strategic sense.

Check back tomorrow and/or Friday for more ramblings.