Hello Friends!

I apologize for missing last week’s blog, but I picked up what I think most of Berks County has and was pretty sick. I'm back and ready to go, but let's take a look back at the Seattle game. I knew going into this game that it was going to be a huge task if the Eagles were going to come out of it with a win. It was going to take a lot of heavy lifting by the Eagles to come out of Seattle victorious. In fact, at the beginning of the season I had the Seattle game circled as the toughest test of the year. What an advantage the Seahawks have with that stadium and crowd noise; it's unreal and deafening.

The Seahawks have a very good team - especially that defense - but if we could have played them at our house things might have turned out differently. The proof came this past Sunday when the Buccaneers beat up the Seahawks in Tampa Bay, handing them a tough loss which will effect home field advantage in the playoffs for the Seahawks. I hate to say this, but those stinkin’ Dallas Cowboys probably will have home field advantage throughout the playoffs and are playing extremely well. OUCH. Did I just compliment that team from Big "D?" I must still have a fever!

I had a blast and have received so many calls from folks that saw me on the NBC 10's Eagles Game Day Kickoff show two Sundays ago. Thanks everyone for the kind words about the show. Did you like my new Eagles business suit? This year has been a whirlwind so far here in the Locker Room with so many great things happening for yours truly and I'm thrilled beyond words. In addition to NBC being here this year, another major TV network was also here in September to film a new show. I am not at liberty to mention the network or the show’s title or release any details, but I'll say this...it is HUGE! When the network announces news of the show I will most certainly give all of you a heads up.

“The Hatchet's" Locker Room was also named as the #1 Man Cave by the Bud Light company a couple of weeks ago. I am also excited to say I've been informed that Bud Light is blown away by the Locker Room and  they want to tell “The Hatchet's" story on a national stage in conjunction with the NFL Bud Light Fan Can promotion. This old man is very, very happy and blessed to say the least and as I get news regarding Bud Light I will let you know.

The Doctor Makes A House Call To The Locker Room

What an honor and thrill to have our friend Dr. Gary Dorshimer, Eagles & the Flyers team physician, pay a visit this past Saturday for our semi-annual "Party With The Doc.” All our friends that attended had a great time as Dr. Gary tried to stump us with some awesome trivia questions. He also shared many funny stories about our Eagles and it was a very entertaining day for all of us. He even thrilled our friend Sherry and her beau Andy by inviting them to a Flyers game where he's gonna take them into the Flyers Locker Room to meet the players. Good stuff! We thank Dr. Gary for taking time out of his hectic schedule to spend time with us here at the Locker Room and we look forward to the next party for sure.        

Three Things To Know About This Week’s Game:

1. Help Wanted. Both the Eagles and the Bengals are two teams that are in all reality playing for their jobs in 2017. The Eagles after a dynamic 3 & 0 start have tumbled down to earth in a hurry and there looks to be a lot of question marks instead of answers heading into the offseason. Of course with a rookie QB as well as a rookie head coach, along with a bunch of new players on defense and many new coaches, no one really expected much from the Eagles this year. The fast start to the season really had many people (including me) very optimistic. But it's clear that the Birds need a lot of help if they're going to hang with the big boys of the NFC. The Bengals, on the other hand, came into the season with high expectations after going 12 & 4 last season. The Eagles must play a lot better vs. Andy Dalton and the Bengals than they did vs. the Packers or Sunday will be another road loss. The Bengals probably will be without their best receiver, AJ Green, which should help the Eagles feeble secondary. Also their best running back, Gio Bernard, is out and they have practically no running attack. In fact, against the Ravens they rushed for only 64 total yards - not very impressive. If the Eagles defense plays like it did against the Packers it will not matter though who the Bengals have on their side of the ball. It all comes down to who wants a spot on the Eagles roster in 2017, so I hope they realize the urgency and put forth a strong effort! Malcom Jenkins, a sure fire pro bowler, should take our other d-backs behind the barn to have a talk with them. I have to tell you from what I saw this past Monday night vs. the Packers, I could suit up and torch our secondary for big yardage. You'd pay to see that wouldn't you? Haha!
    
2. Will Someone Get Somewhat Of A Clue With This Offense? Monday night after the Packers opened the game by marching down the field to score a TD the Eagles came right back and matched it on their opening drive. Wentz was a perfect 6 for 6 passing and it looked like it was going to be a competitive game. It seemed to go south for the Birds when out best wideout, Jordan Matthews, went out with an injured ankle. They were short at the receiver spot to begin with when the team didn't dress their #2 receiver, Nelson Agholar, so it was an uphill battle. Our receiving group is just not that good and a major upgrade has to happen in the off season for sure. If Jordan Matthews can't go on Sunday the Birds have to put Agholar in the lineup and hope that he gained some confidence back while sitting out Monday. (Is Riley Cooper still available?) Again, “The Hatchet" is going to shout from the rooftops in hopes that someone on the Eagles staff is listening. Get Zach Ertz more involved in the passing game and while you're at it, Brent Celek, too. PLEASE! I don't know if Ryan Matthews will be able to play on Sunday, but if he can't, Wendell Smallwood and Kenjon Barner played well Monday night. In fact, in the second half the Eagles started out running these two young guys and they did great moving the ball. They picked up a couple first downs and were in the Packers side of the field when all of a sudden they stopped running the ball. Smooth move Ex-Lax! Why, if something is working, would you get away from it? The Eagles cannot have the kid Wentz chucking the ball 40+ times against the Bengals (or anyone) and expect to succeed. Now, if we had some top tier wideouts, then I'd say go for it, but we don't. They need to have a balanced attack running and passing, which will be a huge help for Wentz to have some success!
    
3. Did Someone Say Special Teams? The Eagles special team units are playing extremely well, especially our kicker, Caleb Sturgis, who is playing at a Pro Bowl level. The Bengals kicker, 12-year veteran Mike Nugent, is not having a good year to say the least. Nugent has been very erratic and has missed 4 extra point attempts and is a dismal 18 of 23 on field goal attempts. In the game vs. the Redskins Nugent missed an extra point as well as a 51-yard field goal. The game ended in a 27-27 tie. So, if the game happens to come down to special teams play...I certainly like our chances.

So there you have my take on this week’s game. Please join me next week when I look ahead to next week’s home game against the Redskins. Fly Eagles, Fly!    

Hello Friends!

I apologize for missing last week’s blog, but I picked up what I think most of Berks County has and was pretty sick. I'm back and ready to go, but let's take a look back at the Seattle game. I knew going into this game that it was going to be a huge task if the Eagles were going to come out of it with a win. It was going to take a lot of heavy lifting by the Eagles to come out of Seattle victorious. In fact, at the beginning of the season I had the Seattle game circled as the toughest test of the year. What an advantage the Seahawks have with that stadium and crowd noise; it's unreal and deafening.

The Seahawks have a very good team - especially that defense - but if we could have played them at our house things might have turned out differently. The proof came this past Sunday when the Buccaneers beat up the Seahawks in Tampa Bay, handing them a tough loss which will effect home field advantage in the playoffs for the Seahawks. I hate to say this, but those stinkin’ Dallas Cowboys probably will have home field advantage throughout the playoffs and are playing extremely well. OUCH. Did I just compliment that team from Big "D?" I must still have a fever!

I had a blast and have received so many calls from folks that saw me on the NBC 10's Eagles Game Day Kickoff show two Sundays ago. Thanks everyone for the kind words about the show. Did you like my new Eagles business suit? This year has been a whirlwind so far here in the Locker Room with so many great things happening for yours truly and I'm thrilled beyond words. In addition to NBC being here this year, another major TV network was also here in September to film a new show. I am not at liberty to mention the network or the show’s title or release any details, but I'll say this...it is HUGE! When the network announces news of the show I will most certainly give all of you a heads up.

“The Hatchet's" Locker Room was also named as the #1 Man Cave by the Bud Light company a couple of weeks ago. I am also excited to say I've been informed that Bud Light is blown away by the Locker Room and  they want to tell “The Hatchet's" story on a national stage in conjunction with the NFL Bud Light Fan Can promotion. This old man is very, very happy and blessed to say the least and as I get news regarding Bud Light I will let you know.

The Doctor Makes A House Call To The Locker Room

What an honor and thrill to have our friend Dr. Gary Dorshimer, Eagles & the Flyers team physician, pay a visit this past Saturday for our semi-annual "Party With The Doc.” All our friends that attended had a great time as Dr. Gary tried to stump us with some awesome trivia questions. He also shared many funny stories about our Eagles and it was a very entertaining day for all of us. He even thrilled our friend Sherry and her beau Andy by inviting them to a Flyers game where he's gonna take them into the Flyers Locker Room to meet the players. Good stuff! We thank Dr. Gary for taking time out of his hectic schedule to spend time with us here at the Locker Room and we look forward to the next party for sure.        

Three Things To Know About This Week’s Game:

1. Help Wanted. Both the Eagles and the Bengals are two teams that are in all reality playing for their jobs in 2017. The Eagles after a dynamic 3 & 0 start have tumbled down to earth in a hurry and there looks to be a lot of question marks instead of answers heading into the offseason. Of course with a rookie QB as well as a rookie head coach, along with a bunch of new players on defense and many new coaches, no one really expected much from the Eagles this year. The fast start to the season really had many people (including me) very optimistic. But it's clear that the Birds need a lot of help if they're going to hang with the big boys of the NFC. The Bengals, on the other hand, came into the season with high expectations after going 12 & 4 last season. The Eagles must play a lot better vs. Andy Dalton and the Bengals than they did vs. the Packers or Sunday will be another road loss. The Bengals probably will be without their best receiver, AJ Green, which should help the Eagles feeble secondary. Also their best running back, Gio Bernard, is out and they have practically no running attack. In fact, against the Ravens they rushed for only 64 total yards - not very impressive. If the Eagles defense plays like it did against the Packers it will not matter though who the Bengals have on their side of the ball. It all comes down to who wants a spot on the Eagles roster in 2017, so I hope they realize the urgency and put forth a strong effort! Malcom Jenkins, a sure fire pro bowler, should take our other d-backs behind the barn to have a talk with them. I have to tell you from what I saw this past Monday night vs. the Packers, I could suit up and torch our secondary for big yardage. You'd pay to see that wouldn't you? Haha!
    
2. Will Someone Get Somewhat Of A Clue With This Offense? Monday night after the Packers opened the game by marching down the field to score a TD the Eagles came right back and matched it on their opening drive. Wentz was a perfect 6 for 6 passing and it looked like it was going to be a competitive game. It seemed to go south for the Birds when out best wideout, Jordan Matthews, went out with an injured ankle. They were short at the receiver spot to begin with when the team didn't dress their #2 receiver, Nelson Agholar, so it was an uphill battle. Our receiving group is just not that good and a major upgrade has to happen in the off season for sure. If Jordan Matthews can't go on Sunday the Birds have to put Agholar in the lineup and hope that he gained some confidence back while sitting out Monday. (Is Riley Cooper still available?) Again, “The Hatchet" is going to shout from the rooftops in hopes that someone on the Eagles staff is listening. Get Zach Ertz more involved in the passing game and while you're at it, Brent Celek, too. PLEASE! I don't know if Ryan Matthews will be able to play on Sunday, but if he can't, Wendell Smallwood and Kenjon Barner played well Monday night. In fact, in the second half the Eagles started out running these two young guys and they did great moving the ball. They picked up a couple first downs and were in the Packers side of the field when all of a sudden they stopped running the ball. Smooth move Ex-Lax! Why, if something is working, would you get away from it? The Eagles cannot have the kid Wentz chucking the ball 40+ times against the Bengals (or anyone) and expect to succeed. Now, if we had some top tier wideouts, then I'd say go for it, but we don't. They need to have a balanced attack running and passing, which will be a huge help for Wentz to have some success!
    
3. Did Someone Say Special Teams? The Eagles special team units are playing extremely well, especially our kicker, Caleb Sturgis, who is playing at a Pro Bowl level. The Bengals kicker, 12-year veteran Mike Nugent, is not having a good year to say the least. Nugent has been very erratic and has missed 4 extra point attempts and is a dismal 18 of 23 on field goal attempts. In the game vs. the Redskins Nugent missed an extra point as well as a 51-yard field goal. The game ended in a 27-27 tie. So, if the game happens to come down to special teams play...I certainly like our chances.

So there you have my take on this week’s game. Please join me next week when I look ahead to next week’s home game against the Redskins. Fly Eagles, Fly!