Eagles enter bye week firing on all cylinders

If you thought the Eagles would have the best record in the NFL after nine games, you’re lying.  But after a 51-23 demolition of the Denver Broncos, here we are with the Eagles sitting at 8-1 heading into their bye week. So far, nothing has fazed this team in the second season of the Doug Pederson era. Despite questionable officiating in a road win against the Carolina Panthers and long-term injuries to Jordan Hicks and Jason Peters, there’s yet to be a road block that has slowed down the well-oiled machine the Eagles have turned into.

                                                    Matt Rourke/Associated Press
Wentz continues to lead the NFL in passing touchdowns
with 23 after tossing four more yesterday.

Quarterback Carson Wentz is at the forefront of the team’s success. In his second season, the North Dakota State product is looking every bit the part of the franchise quarterback the Eagles moved up to draft second overall in the 2016 NFL Draft. Wentz is the MVP favorite through nine weeks and has proved the Eagles have a chance in any game they play with him under center. Pederson has answered a lot of the questions surrounding his competence as an NFL head coach as the Eagles have already surpassed last season’s win total. Several of the moves made by Executive Vice President of Football Operations Howie Roseman have worked out. Smart decisions made in the front office, good coaching and stability at quarterback often result in lots of wins and the Eagles have all three working in their favor right now.

Aaron Rodgers is unlikely to play for the Green Bay Packers for the remainder of 2017. Expected contenders Atlanta and Seattle looked largely pedestrian at times in the first half of the season. Therefore, media members, odds makers and fans have all recalibrated expectations for the Eagles and Philadelphia is now the favorite to win the NFC and play in the Super Bowl. Granted, there have been other surprises like New Orleans and Los Angeles both at 6-2 and Minnesota and Dallas are very much in the mix as well, but no one has looked more impressive in the NFC than the Eagles.

With all of that said, there are still plenty of challenges to come for the Eagles before the end of the regular season. They still have two games against Dallas, the only team that even has a chance of catching them in the NFC East. A road game in Seattle awaits on December 3. After that, another game out west against the Rams. A Christmas showdown with the Oakland Raiders may prove to be difficult as the Raiders could enter fighting for their playoff lives. But, the Eagles have passed every test so far. Early on, there were questions about how consistently they could run the football. They’ve since found balance offensively and added running back Jay Ajayi in a trade with Miami last week to strengthen the backfield. There were questions about the secondary after Ronald Darby went down in the season opener against the Redskins. But, Patrick Robinson’s steady play has been one of the better stories of the first nine games and Darby should return after the bye week. Many wondered if Nelson Agholor could ever figure things out and he’s blossomed into a trustworthy slot receiver for Wentz. Tight end Zach Ertz looks to be worth the hefty contract extension Roseman gave him in 2016.

The way this season has gone so far, there’s been an answer for everything. This year marks the fifth time in franchise history the Eagles have started 8-1. The previous four times they advanced to either the Super Bowl or the NFL Championship and there’s no reason to think this season bucks that trend. There’s a long way to go, but this feels like a special season. Stay tuned.

Photo: https://sports.yahoo.com/carson-wentz-tosses-4-td-passes-eagles-beat-213652608--nfl.html

2017 World Series Preview

And then there were two. The Washington Nationals added another chapter to their ongoing narrative of postseason disappointments. The Cleveland Indians put their city through more anguish. The New York Yankees proved to be a gritty bunch that never quit and appear to have an extremely bright future. Both the Nationals and the Boston Red Sox opted for managerial changes after their seasons ended. The final two teams standing are the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Houston Astros in what appears to be a highly-intriguing World Series.

This October, the Dodgers have looked every bit the part of the team that was on pace to set the single season wins record back in August. They’re scoring plenty of runs, the back end of their bullpen is lights out and the starting pitching has been good enough to keep them in games. What’s not to like? The Dodgers are complete from top to bottom and it’s possible the only team that stops them from winning this series is the Dodgers. Toss in the fact that Los Angeles dispatched of the defending champion Chicago Cubs with relative ease in five games without star shortstop Corey Seager due to a back injury and it’s easy to see why LA enters as the favorite here.

Seager is likely to return for the World Series which only makes the Dodgers that much more formidable heading into tonight’s game one at Chavez Ravine. One thing we haven’t seen so far in the postseason that is probably the best chance for Houston is a starting pitcher for the Dodgers knocked out of the game in the first three innings. The biggest advantage for the Astros this series is the strength of their lineup and they’ll have to come out of the gate with an aggressive approach.  Knocking a Dodgers' pitcher out of the game early stretches things out for Dave Roberts and makes his bullpen decisions a lot tougher. The Los Angeles bullpen is deep enough to where even if its starter doesn’t pitch more than five innings, piecing things together for another four innings isn’t that difficult for Roberts. Therefore, eating into that bullpen as early as possible gives the Astros their best shot.

There’s no doubt Houston enters as an underdog, but this certainly isn’t David vs. Goliath. Few would argue with the claim that the Astros are the best offensive team in baseball. Dallas Keuchel is one of the best left-handed starting pitchers in the game. Justin Verlander has turned back the clock and deserved to be the ALCS MVP. The big questions for Houston will be can its rotation beyond Keuchel and Verlander hold up and if their bullpen can hold any leads it’s tasked with preserving. General Manager Jeff Luhnow was under lots of criticism for his lack of activity at the non-waiver trade deadline at the end of July. While acquiring Verlander at the end of August added some stability to the rotation, the bullpen remains a question mark for the Astros. If Charlie Morton and Lance McCullers can pitch the way they did in game seven of the ALCS, that would go a long way in helping Houston pull the upset.

There will certainly be lots of emotions for Houston after the city was hit by Hurricane Harvey at the end of the summer. Both rosters are mixed with a young core of players that came through the minor leagues and older veterans that came aboard to supplement what was already in place. Some of those veterans, most notably Houston’s Carlos Beltran, are in search of their first World Series ring. How important is this World Series Clayton Kershaw's legacy? He'll likely make two starts and there continue to be doubts about his postseason performance. There’s no shortage of headlines as another Fall Classic is set to begin. I’ll take the Dodgers in six.

2017 MLB Postseason Preview

The Major League Baseball playoffs begin tonight with the AL Wild Card game in The Bronx as the New York Yankees host the Minnesota Twins.  There are a lot of arguments to be made for several of the qualifiers to make deep runs as eight of the 10 playoff teams won over 90 games. Here’s how I see each of the playoff teams faring this October.

American League

Minnesota Twins: The Twins are an example of an overachieving team that’s playing with house money in the playoffs. Paul Molitor’s team became the first to make the postseason one year after losing 100 games. There are many reasons to be excited about the Twins and their young core moving forward, but this doesn’t look like a good spot tonight on the road. Ervin Santana gets the ball for the Twins and his 0-5 record at Yankee Stadium certainly doesn’t inspire confidence. Toss in the fact that Minnesota is without Miguel Sano, a power hitter who could change the game with one swing of the bat, and it doesn’t feel like the Twins season goes any further. Nevertheless, hats off to the entire organization for such a drastic turnaround in 2017.

New York Yankees: The Yankees also exceeded expectations this season going 91-71 and proving that their hybrid rebuild was wrapping up quicker than expected. Remember, the Yankees are just over a year removed from trading Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller for hefty prospect packages. They were in the Wild Card game in 2015 with a roster that included several veterans that are not with the team anymore. However, there’s always going to be a certain degree of pressure on the Yankees when they make the playoffs. Brian Cashman made it clear he felt they could compete this season by going out and adding Sonny Gray and David Robertson in July. It would be a big surprise if the Yankees lost this game tonight at home against Minnesota. A win puts the Yankees up against the Cleveland Indians. The defending AL Champions would enter that series as the favorite, but the Yankees are certainly capable of making a run. Having Gray, Luis Severino, and CC Sabathia to go with a potent young lineup gives the Yankees a chance in a short series.

Cleveland Indians: This is the best team in baseball. For a while, it looked like it was the Dodgers, but after Cleveland’s red-hot finish to the regular season, the tribe look to be in a great spot to avenge last year’s World Series defeat. Jose Ramirez had the best season of his young career and Edwin Encarnacion gives Terry Francona a big bopper in the middle of the order that the Indians didn’t have last year. Everyone already knew about Cleveland’s pitching depth both in the rotation and bullpen which leaves little to question about its legitimacy as a World Series contender.

Boston Red Sox: Their lineup is good. Their bullpen is good. But will their starting pitching be able to keep Houston’s bats at bay? That’s the question that determines if Boston can beat the Astros in the ALDS. It feels like Thursday’s game one is a must-win for the Red Sox with Chris Sale on the bump. This just doesn’t look like a great matchup for the Red Sox.

Houston Astros: If you like offense, this is your team. Houston was first in batting average, runs scored, and OPS in the regular season and second in home runs. Adding Justin Verlander fortified their rotation and Dallas Keuchel bounced back after a down year in 2016. If Houston can find ways to win the low-scoring games, then it could certainly win its first World Series. Their lineup should be good enough to at least get them into the ALCS.

National League

Colorado Rockies: Tomorrow will be the first playoff game for Colorado in eight years. The Rockies lineup is loaded and they have an above average bullpen. Jon Gray is the right man to start tomorrow’s NL Wild Card game but the Rockies lack the rotation depth to make a deep run. They could win tomorrow, but would be a heavy underdog against Los Angeles.

Arizona Diamondbacks: Arizona is more complete than Colorado and has better starting pitching, but that doesn’t really matter in a one-game series. Zack Greinke toes the rubber for the Diamondbacks tomorrow night in a game that features two evenly-matched opponents. The Yankees are a clear favorite in tonight’s AL Wild Card game but the National League Wild Card game looks like a coin flip. Arizona poses a bigger threat to the Dodgers with some big hitters in the middle of the order to go with decent starting pitching, but it would still be a surprise if the Dodgers lost to either team.

Los Angeles Dodgers: There’s no team with more pressure this month than the Dodgers. Adding Yu Darvish at the deadline with Darvish set to be a free agent this winter was a clear indication that the Dodgers were all in. With Clayton Kershaw and Darvish at the top of a deep rotation and Kenley Jansen slamming the door in the ninth, the Dodgers should be in almost every game they play this October. But if you believe in momentum carrying over from the regular season, then the Dodgers were simply not the same team in the last six weeks of the season that they were for the rest of the year. If they can wipe the slate clean and start over, there’s plenty of talent on the roster in LA to win it all.

Washington Nationals: Maybe it’s not the pressure the Dodgers have, but clock is certainly ticking in the nation’s capital. Bryce Harper is now just one year away from becoming a free agent and the Nationals have unsuccessfully tried to supplement their roster around Harper for years. Washington has not made it past the NLDS and certainly had its fair share of opportunities. They’ll still enter 2018 as a heavy favorite in the NL East, but if this isn’t the year with this core for the Nationals, it’s fair to wonder when that year will come.

Chicago Cubs: It feels like the reigning champions are not garnering the attention you would expect as they set out to begin their title defense. With all the pressure being on Los Angeles and Washington in the National League and given how Cleveland ended the regular season, the Cubs come in slightly underrated, for lack of a better term. That could work in their favor heading into the NLDS against the Nationals. The addition of Jose Quintana gave them the necessary stability in the starting rotation and Wade Davis has been money all year replacing Aroldis Chapman.  They did not look like the champs during the first half, but the Cubs got it going after the All-Star break and are still one of the best offensive teams in baseball. I like them to beat the Nationals.

World Series Prediction: I’ll take the Indians over the Cubs in a rematch of last season’s Fall Classic. The Indians are the most complete team which leads me to believe they’ll ultimately prevail. In the National League, it’s hard to trust the Nationals or Dodgers in October until proven otherwise and from a pure talent standpoint, the Cubs are just as good anyway.