Hey Philly, It’s Gonna Be a Long, Cold Winter

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Hey Philly, it’s going to be a very long, dark, cold winter. Months ago, the outlook was sunny and rosy. Now, not so much. It’s as if a polar vortex has straight up smacked Philly sports fans in the face and doesn’t plan on leaving anytime soon. The days are getting shorter. Clocks will turn back in two weeks. The winter forecast gets more grim with each passing day it has absolutely zero to do with the weather.

The Phillies rebuild looked to be ahead of time. A couple of free agent signings this offseason and the Phillies would be set. Then, the wheels completely come off the rebuild. Gabe’s unorthodox bullpen use and lineup jockeyed ran its course. No young players look to be the future aside from Nola and Hoskins. We witnessed an epic collapse, the likes of which had not been seen locally since the Vet came down.

The 76ers opened the 2018-19 season on national TV and proved to the world that an offseason without a GM or any substantial roster moves placed them a distant second behind the Boston Celtics. Then, the Toronto Raptors pasted the Celtics, letting the reality set-in that the Sixers are probably the 3rd best team in the East, barring a roster move or Fultz becoming a star. Neither seems to be on the horizon. Oh, and Ben Simmons back has become an issue a week into the season.

The Flyers season started a nice victory over Vegas and they lost their major free agent signing, JVR, for six weeks. The Flyers can’t keep a beach ball out of the net as they are tied for fourth worst in the NHL in goal differential at -6. The defense, which figured to be a strength, is problematic and they really don’t have an NHL starting goalie on the roster. Without Carter Hart being called up, which isn’t going to happen before January at the earliest, this team will struggle to stay above .500. The team does not play with any consistency. That stinks like a coaching issue to me. Dave Hakstol should be on the hot-seat without some serious development from the youngsters.

And then we have our Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles. What the hell is going on?! Doug Pederson looks and sounds, especially in his recent press conference, like a guy who is overwhelmed after the departure of assistant coaches Frank Reich and John DeFilippo. Frank Reich would still be here, if not for the Patriots last minute shenanigans of persuading Josh McDaniels to stay after he agreed to terms to become the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts.

Howie Roseman ignored safety depth for the past few seasons and it came back to bite him in the ass this year as they lost Rodney McLeod. Jay Ajayi is out for the season. Today, Derek Barnett is officially out for the season with shoulder surgery. Mike Wallace and Mack Hollins are on the IR. Tim Jernigan is somewhere, maybe PUP. Sproles is hurt.

With Jay Ajayi and Sproles hurt and LeGarrette Blount in Detroit a running back is needed. It’s a shame that the 2017 RB draft pick of Donnel Pumphrey didn’t work out. Seems like every other running back from the 2017 Draft worked out. Big swing and miss by Howie.

They had a ton of injuries last year, but at positions with a bit of depth and the backup players all stepped up. This year, not so much. Jordan Matthews? Did he even play against the Panthers?

Carson is pressing in clutch time. He’s missing wide open guys, throwing up ducks, and fumbling. Does he feel a different kind of pressure now that Nick Foles, his backup, has won a Super Bowl?

The Eagles are 3-4 with hideous losses to Tampa Bay, Tennessee, and Carolina. They teams they’ve beaten have a combined record of 6-15. Is there a glimmer of sun and warmth? The site FiveThirtyEight gives them a 45% chance of still making the Playoffs.

There’s always the Philly Soul. They have a 25% chance of winning the championship since there’s only four teams in the league.

This sports winter looks to be brutal. At least we have Gritty to keep us warm.