Hello Friends!
Three little words: Could've, Would've & Should've - all would just about sum up this past week's game vs. Andy Reid's Kansas City Chiefs. The game was a very winnable contest and I'm extremely proud of the way the Eagles played, especially the defensive unit.
As I stated last week, Arrowhead Stadium is absolutely one of the toughest venues for a visiting team in all of sports and yet the Eagles were in the game until the final play. You can't ask for a more exciting game, but unfortunately, that will not cut it at the end of the year. The only thing that matters at season's end is wins & losses; they don't have a column in the standings with a rating for excitement. That being said, I really was encouraged after seeing how the defense played and they are a force to be reckoned with. You can bet that the entire NFL knows it. I could harp on all the things that went wrong in the game, but you can't put the toothpaste back in the tube, so I will move on to this week's contest after I fill you in on some of the happenings in the Locker Room during last week's game.
This Locker Room Was Electric!
The joint was jumpin' with a standing-room-only crowd lathered up from the opening whistle until the very end. If the past two weeks with all the excitement that is surrounding the team are any indication, I think each and every week is going to be SRO crowds. There was a huge variety of food on the banquet tables and we thank everyone that brings all the great eats to add to our selection. I won't even begin to attempt to list all the foods as the menu was just too huge. Our friend Denise Messersmith Stern brought cookies with all the Eagles players' names and numbers on them and there were even Mr. & Mrs. Hatchet's cookies. I had a big old glass of milk while enjoying these tasty morsels Sunday night watching the stinkin Cowboys lose to the Denver Broncos. Denise tells me that they were made by Karen Jermacans Red Tie Bakery.
The "Hatchet" was honored to be presented with our good friend Ginger Frantz' late father's Eagles cap, which he always wore during the Eagles games. Mr. James Samuelian was a huge Eagles fan and Ginger has been trying to get him here to the Locker Room for the last couple of years, but the scheduling just didn't work out. Sadly, James passed away four months ago and Sunday his widow June attended the Locker Room along with Ginger and her sisters Linda, Stacy & Tammy to dedicate Jim's cap to the Locker Room. It will proudly be on display here forever. I thank June Samuelian and her beautiful daughters for this honor.
As I'm sure that all my fellow Eagles fans know, former Eagles long snapper Jon Dorenbos underwent a very serious heart operation last week. We made a video with all of us here at the Locker Room last week wishing Jon a speedy recovery and I know his spirits will be lifted once he sees it. I thank each of you for being here with us last week and participating in the video-it turned out great! I also thank our oldest grandson and Locker Room Co-Commissioner Griffin Klee for shooting the video.
Three Things To Look For In This Week's Game...
1. Let's Run!
It is pretty obvious, even to the novice, that the Eagles lack of a running game is hurting the production, and it just might get Carson Wentz killed! I know that the NFL has become a passing league, but you have to have some sort of balanced attack, and in these last two games the run game has been non-existent. You have to at least try to establish the run and I feel the Eagles have the right O line and running backs to produce a solid running game; you just can't give up on it. I know that the players on the O line can run block and I'm sure they would welcome the opportunity to prove it. This week's opponent, the New York Giants, are coming into this game with an 0-2 record and will be looking for their first win of the 2017 season. The Eagles need to get the run game going and that will make our passing game even better than what it's looked like so far(and that's pretty good.) Alshon Jeffrey, Torrey Smith, Zach Ertz, Nelson Agholar and even rookie Mack Hollins are getting more in sync every day with Wentz and I predict they will put up explosive numbers this year. To make this happen though, they have to have a more balanced attack and hopefully we'll see that this week. On offense, this week my player of the game is Zach Ertz.
2. Sack the Quarterback.
The Eagles front 7 on defense are going on a hunting expedition and the prey is Giants quarterback Eli Manning. After watching the Detroit Lions destroy the Giants last night on Monday Night Football, I just know that Fletcher Cox, Brandon Graham & company are licking their chops at the opportunity to build on their sack totals. The Giants have an explosive arsenal with receivers like all-world Odell Beckham Jr., Brandon Marshall and Sterling Sheppard to go along with rookie first round pick tight end Evan Engram. At running back, Rasheed Jennings the teams leading rusher the past two seasons, was released and it looks like they will rely on second year player Paul Perkins and veteran Shane Vereen. Rounding out the Giants running back group is fourth year player Orleans Darkwa and rookie Wayne Gallman out of Clemson. The Giants did absolutely nothing, nadda, zilch in the off season to solidify their offensive line and it showed in the Lions game...BIG TIME. Yes, Eli Manning is tough and has two Super Bowl rings, but I feel that the Eagles defense is extremely hungry and will FEAST on Manning, and I look for multiple turnovers in this game by our defensive play. My player of the game on defense this week is Tim Jernigan.
3. Go Sproles.
Special teams are a very important part of the game where good or bad plays on special teams can have a major impact on the outcome. The Eagles have had major turnovers on their special teams units with Rick Lovato taking over for Jon Dorenbos at long snapping and rookie Jake Elliott replacing the injured Caleb Sturgis as the placekicker. Elliott missed a chip shot 30 yarder, which is unacceptable and he has to do a better job; hopefully it was only first game jitters. Donnie "Long Ball" Jones is still very efficient. The Giants special teams are also questionable with rookie placekicker Aldrick Rosas out of southern Oregon. Doing the punting is fourth year man Brad Wing out of LSU and rounding out the specialists unit is long snapper 11-year veteran Zak DeOssie, a Brown University grad. Let's hope that the game doesn't come down to a play on special teams. My player this week on special teams is "Mighty Mouse" Darren Sproles. I have a feeling he's going to get the crowd at Lincoln Financial Field all JACKED UP with his electrifying run backs.
Well, that will do it for me, and I invite you to check back next Thursday as we look back on the Giants game and look ahead to our matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers. Till then I wish you...
Love, Luck, Lollipops and Linguini,
Barry "The Hatchet" Vagnoni
Fly Eagles, Fly!
