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Philly Phile | Birds Win the Bowl ... Right?

8/31/2015

I am sold. Seriously, count me in.

With Sammy “Lights Out” Bradford at the offensive controls and Chip Kelly, the most innovative mind in the history of sports, if not all of mankind, having his imprint on every aspect of this Eagles squad, there is no denying that greatness awaits.

The sky is the limit? Puh-leeze. These guys have no limit.

When it comes to practicing in shorts and then playing three series on gameday, no one, and I mean, NO ONE can touch these guys.

So, mark it down: They win the whole thing.

The Super Bowl, the Preseason Super Bowl, it is theirs, baby. Fuhgettaboutit.

OK, kidding aside, c’mon, Eagles fans … and, apparently, national media. Get somewhat of a grip. We’re talking three preseason games here, and already Philly’s gridiron finest are being anointed division winners, conference champs and, gulp, league-titlist favorites?

As much as I’d like to jump on board, that seems to be an express train to heartbreak. Right now, still two weeks away from the start of the regular season, that is insanity. Not for nothing, but with the lengthy injury history charts to so many key cogs in Capt. Chip’s third edition of Birds, jumping on board with these guys is a slippery slope that I may never be willing to navigate.

Yeah, heck yeah, I’m going to acknowledge any success – legit success – the team experiences … and be happy to do. But projecting into the future off camp and half-speed scrimmages dominated by third- and fourth-stringers? No.

For me, thanks to the china-doll stability of DeMarco Murray, Ryan Matthews and Bradford – ahem, the hardcore CORE of your offensive backfield, bleeding-green peeps – there is no way I could commit “certainty” to what Week 1 of the regular season holds never mind what we can expect in November, December and January.

Hey, the NFL being such a violent affair in any scenario, it’s kinda tough to be 100-percent cocksure confident in any predictions throughout the course of a season. But the Eagles are an extreme case of questions due to the aforementioned, as well as new defensive ringleader Kiko Alonso and his surgically repaired knee and bruised brain mass.

They have too many uncertainties at crucial spots to be “all in” on any bowl guarantees. Way more so than any other team in the NFL. Hoping for such success with these Birds is one thing. But touting it, or even suggesting it, whoa, nelly.

Bradford looked great Saturday night. He was spotless, perfect, almost, umm, smooth. A 10-for-10 effort through the air, as well as him not lying in a crumpled heap after a hit, were wonderful signs of what can be – when things go well and all joints and ligaments and tendons remain intact.

But, frankly, we’ve seen this before. Bobby Hoying. Nick Foles. Hell, Mark Sanchez, Bradford’s supposedly inferior-stratosphere backup, has been sharp in the same kinda way … for much longer stretches and even, gasp, during times when it actually counted.

I’ll come clean. I have never been a Bradford guy and never will be. I don’t see “it” with him. Never have, never will. On the contrary, I like Murray and I really like Matthews. But neither of them is any more of a sure thing to avoid a season or career derailment than their gimpy quarterback is. Frankly, that’s not a condemnation on any of them. That’s reality, and that’s one reality I think fans, both those in painted faces and those residing in the press box, would be wise to face.

Failing to heed, and truly grasp, those “buyer beware” tags is bad business no matter who is making the investment, be it with money or emotions or both.

Patience not only would be a virtue, but a matter of protection for Eagles fans this fall.

- Jack Kerwin | ydkjack1@gmail.com

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College Football | Yo, Illinois, enough with the MAC Madness

8/31/2015

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Top 5 to Replace ‘Timmy’

GREG SCHIANO
Former Rutgers head coach
He was enough of a teacher, used-car salesman and egomaniac to turn the worst program in Division I into a top-10 team at one point and a consistent bowl entrant. You think Illinois is a tough place to win. It would be the Taj Mahal of college football compared to what Schiano stepped into at New Jersey’s flagship university back in 2000. His time in Tampa was a waste; this is a guy born to coach in college.

LANE KIFFIN
Alabama offensive coordinator
Like him or not, he’d bring instant name recognition to a program sorely in need of it. Kiffin seems to have burned bridges wherever he’s been, including head coaching stops with the Oakland Raiders and at Tennessee and Southern Cal. But he wins (35-21 in college) and he’s an old-school innovative mind in that he uses what is at his disposal and uses it well. He’s also a top-notch recruiter.

BO PELINI
Youngstown State head coach
Some may wonder if he is of sound mind, but the guy was quite successful already in the Big Ten, carving out a 67-27 record at Nebraska … and it would be nice to see someone at the controls terribly invested in wanting to stick it to a divisional foe that typically will stand in the way of a conference title-game spot.

CHRIS ASH
Ohio State defensive coordinator
He has no head-coaching experience, but he’s been dynamite in running the defenses in Columbus and previously at Arkansas and Wisconsin. Bonus, snatching him from Ohio State would be quite a coup and, at least temporarily, sting the Buckeyes.

SCOTT FROST
Oregon offensive coordinator
The fact he runs arguably the most vaunted attack in college football should be enough to sell anyone. But he’s also the youngest guy on our all-40s list here, checking in at 40. Not to mention the fact he was a tremendous player in college, which can make a difference in who you recruit and how they respond.

Wildcard
BILL CUBIT
Illinois interim head coach
Ironically enough, he served as Schiano’s offensive coordinator at Rutgers before moving on to Western Michigan and eventually becoming head coach. He previously was a head coach at Division III Widener as well. Simply put, he’s been a positive influence ever since arriving in Champaign, sparking an offense that had been lifeless for years. He’s not young, as he’ll turn 62 in October, but he has some spryness to his game and, frankly, he seems to like it at Illinois. Believe it or not, there is value in that.

Enough already.

Enough with the academic standards being too tough. Enough with the facilities lagging too far behind. Enough with the feigned “woe are we” indifference. Enough with the defeatist attitude.

Most of all, enough with the suggestions of bringing in yet another MAC coach to redeem a foundering football program.

Illinois, you are better than that. Better than all of that.

As a faithful alum who isn’t obnoxious enough, or shortsighted enough, to believe things relating to the Fighting Illini on the gridiron only have merit if they’ve occurred during my lifetime, as if what happened before then doesn’t matter, and nor do the people who remember, it is with every fiber of my being that I say, stop the excuses. Stop the inferior-school thinking. Just, really, stop the insanity.

With all respect justly due to the men who run the shows in the Mid-American Conference, Illinois has no business schlepping around the campus of some directional school in Michigan in search of its next leader. They may be fine coaches deserving of an opportunity, but if I hear the names of P.J. Fleck or Dino Babers as “ideal” or “perfect” for the gig in Champaign, Ill., I am going to lose it.

Even if one of them turns out to be the next Brian Kelly or Butch Jones, Illinois has to have more respect for itself than to serve as a stepping-stone to another job. It is one thing to be mediocre but continue striving for something more. It is quite another to be mediocre and continually place oneself in the position of remaining that way.

As members of the Big Ten, the Illini should be bound and gagged anytime they even insinuate delving into the murky waters below, well below, the power-5 schools for a head coach. The conference has a level of decorum, of, well, feeling superior … that, frankly, the Illini would do well to start following.

You want to get better, you look up, not down. That means the NFL, or better, more successful programs at the FBS level.

Considering the Illini’s struggles for several decades, it’s not like options are lacking there … but they shouldn’t include a lesser program, and, sorry, Western Michigan and Ball State are just that. So was Toledo, where Illinois AD Mike Thomas unearthed the just-fired Tim Beckman.

Heck, the MAC isn’t even the best among the non-power-5 conferences. It’d rank, at best, third behind the American Athletic Conference and Mountain West Conference.

Like, seriously, how low do you want to go?

Perception and reality often struggle to meet at the same juncture, and, often, they get confused. Normally, for instance, you’d see a Big Ten school, that’s any Big Ten school, and deem it superior to, say, an AAC squad. But anyone who tried to pitch that two years ago when Cincinnati was set to visit Illinois would have been laughed at.

What happened? The Bearcats, fresh off two straight conference crowns, got run out of Memorial Stadium, falling 45-17. They went on to win 9 games and reach a bowl. Illinois finished 4-8.

The point is, even in a wretched state, the Illini were, and are, a better operation than a non-power-5 one. They just are.

Other silliness, like the difficult academic standards? Puh-leeze. Northwestern, the Midwest’s version of an Ivy League school, doesn’t moan as loud about such things as Illinois and its fans do.

Yes, compared to other, more high-profile and more successful Big Ten football programs, the Illini do not stack up in facilities. Still, they do play in a 60,000-seat stadium on a campus that takes a back seat to few, if any, others, and they’re a part of arguably the best conference in all of college sports.

It’s time, once and for all, they started acting like it.

Man up, step up, think big and fork over the cash for a coach worthy of a Big Ten gig, and wanting to make Illinois his long-time domain.

Which, by the way, would eliminate 62-year-old Jim Tressel. C’mon, Illini fans, get real.

- Jack Kerwin | ydkjack1@gmail.com

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Philly Phile | Wake Me Up When Real Season Starts

8/29/2015

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Gameday. Preseason. Week 3.

Typically, this is the one that most Eagles fans, and, frankly, fans of any team, get a chance to really see where their first-string players are at, how the squad is shaping up. In general, the third act of August usually gives the best glimpse into what Week 1 of Reality Check will hold each fall.

But things have changed. This isn’t your father’s exhibition season anymore. Or your grandfather’s. Heck, it ain’t even your own.

Nope. More than ever anymore, player safety or player pampering, take your pick, rules the day. It’s a preemptive strike against injury seemingly embraced by a league concerned about its image and credibility – not so much with you the fan, but those who actually take the field.

With “health,” “safety” and “the welfare of players” the buzzwords governing football like never before, organizations from the youth to professional levels will, if anything, err on the side of caution in any decisions they make.

In other words, don’t expect to gain any better insight into Sam Bradford’s knee, Kiko Alonso’s head or DeMarco Murray’s overall being with tonight’s contest at Green Bay … unless, of course, any step onto the field and incur some mishap.

With Eagles coach/GM Chip Kelly anointed the end-all, be-all of innovation at the NFL level, it should be obvious that your team would be ahead of the pack with protecting its players any way possible before “unleashing the hounds” once the standings matter. But the Birds are not alone in that. Don’t expect to see uber-star QB Aaron Rodgers performing for the Pack in this one, unless he’s doing some stand-up routine on the sidelines.

Not really if this is progress or not, but it does confirm one thing: the preseason matters far less than it did in years, decades and generations past.

FRESH BLOOD: With the Phillies, finally, thankfully, giving in to the rebuilding realities that a “future” required, we’re getting to see some new faces and what they’re providing has been a mixed bag. The most positive since the purge has to be Aaron Nola. Last year’s first-round pick out of LSU was rock solid for his second straight outing Friday night, allowing just one run in seven innings. He stands at 5-1 with a 3.26 ERA.

But he ain’t the only one turning heads. Aaron Altherr has come from, well, nowhere to provide some pop. In just eight games with the club, he has two homers and seven extra-base hits all told. His slugging percentage is a Ruthian .704.

HARD TO BELIEVE: Temple football failing to sell out a home opener at the Linc still a week away isn’t exactly a surprise. The fact Penn State is the opposition and seats remain right now, though, is.

Yo, what gives, Nittany Lions fans? Considering that PSU, its alumni and its supporters dominate, or claim to dominate, the city and surrounding area, it’s kinda hard to believe.

Then again, maybe cockiness would keep them away (shocking). Or, perhaps, fear (shocking, with tongue not firmly planted in cheek).

- Jack Kerwin | ydkjack1@gmail.com

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College Football | Beckman Dismissal ... Positive Step or Not?

8/29/2015

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Never was in favor of the hiring. Then again, not really sure about the firing, either.

As a proud University of Illinois alum, my interest in the goings-on of the Fighting Illini football program runs extremely high and, often, I’m sure, makes no sense to many of the people I connect with in any fashion. Living on the East Coast and amid a pro sports-centric society that is to be expected.

Still, the latest out of Champaign, Ill., should signal a red flag to anyone interested in athletic competition, especially that which occurs on the gridiron in governed fashion.

By dismissing Tim Beckman as head coach, Illinois AD Mike Thomas has further solidified a growing trend in the sports world: The inmates run the asylum.

The issue is … is that a good thing or a bad thing?

Natural instinct, or impulse, would jump to the latter. After all, that’s the whole intent of the suggested words as we’ve been taught. But, really, the argument could be made that, well, who knows the asylum better than the inmates? The answer: No one.

Essentially, governing themselves is what administrators are suggesting is best with actions such as the one Thomas made Friday.

The problem here is regarding a common goal. What is it? To win, to succeed, to evolve as human beings? I’d wager that for the most altruistic among us, or those seeking some sort of PC validation, the answer to all would be yes.

If so, can the inmates in the asylum put aside their own personal agendas, their own personal wants – not needs – and make the common goals an utmost priority in a team setup?

Not for nothing, but all that I’ve heard out of Illinois runs along the lines of “woe is me, look at me” rhetoric, mixed in with distaste for Beckman’s Forrest Gump-level awkwardness, than any hard evidence of a coach doing his players wrong. For every complaint about mistreatment, three tales of fatherly, caring love would be submitted about the man.

He pushed players to play through pain, he tackled one player to curtail a fight with another and he yanked on a player’s facemask when that player shirked orders by not strapping on his helmet … these – not his 12-25 record – were his sins?

Umm, really? Sounds pretty, well, normal.

Anybody else get the impression that the same, exact treatment given to two separate Illini players during Beckman’s three years at the helm would be viewed completely different ways?

As the trigger man for Beckman’s departure, former Illini offensive lineman/whistle-blower Simon Cvijanovic may be prophetic in stating that this could be a turning point for college athletics, that it could trigger a much-needed self-analysis by the NCAA, universities and their athletic departments in order to unearth a better way to treat student-athletes.

The end result, though, may be to no one’s liking – including those same youths that Cvijanovic believes he is representing.

Make no mistake, I was no Beckman fan. He seemed to be overmatched in many ways, mostly when it came time to use his mouth to express any thoughts. He went 21-16 at a MAC school (Toledo) and, in my opinion, he had no business getting the gig at a Big Ten school off that. But I didn’t dislike him, and he did stabilize a program that seemed to be careening out of control before he arrived and he dramatically improved the football team’s academic achievements to levels they’d never reached previously. His statement, as posted on The Champaign Room, in response to his firing, frankly, is brilliant – whether he had any part in crafting it or not.

Ironically, he brought in his replacement, Bill Cubit, just a year into his reign. Following Cubit’s ouster as head coach at Western Michigan, Beckman saw an opportunity to spark the Illini offense and hired him. For me, that hire signaled Beckman’s leaving long before Cvijanovic’s tweets appeared.

Cubit looks the part. Older, taller, commanding presence, authoritative and confident voice, he makes Beckman look like his stocky, dorky, dim-witted nephew. But how different is he? If you get past the superficial stuff and break down his words, they sound just like Beckman’s. If you get past the stat sheet and watch a game, you’ll see him make the same kind of “afraid of change” stubbornness that plagues most coaches.

Will he do anything different than Beckman in how he treats players? Or will it just be viewed different?

What happens when he yells one thing to a player, then turns around and yells the exact same thing to another in the exact same way … and one of those players cries foul?

Will Thomas dismiss Cubit then? Maybe, if he hasn’t been done in by empowering the inmates himself – you know, as long as the preliminary findings from an external investigation came in at least.

- Jack Kerwin | ydkjack1@gmail.com

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Philly Phile | Eagles' Injury-Prone Players a Concern

8/27/2015

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Chip Kelly apparently has more faith in the healing process than I do.

With each critical move the Eagles’ GM/coach made this offseason, my right hand instinctively rose to my head and started scratching it.

Ryan Matthews … injury prone.

DeMarco Murray … injury prone.

Sam Bradford … injury prone.

Kiko Alonso … maybe not injury prone, but coming off knee surgery that cost him the 2014 NFL season.

I dunno, maybe it’s in my own failure to recover from sports-related injuries. No matter the time, the effort, the self-proclaimed “success” by the surgeon, it never seemed to matter. Once a ligament snapped here or a tendon severed there, that was it. Nothing was ever the same. Goodbye, see ya later.

Granted, we’re talking professional athletes here with Matthews, Murray, Bradford and Alonso. These guys have been through the athletic wars at the highest level and performed to varying degrees of “elite.”

The problem is, history shows each of the first three guys mentioned have a propensity for coming up, well, lame. The fourth guy? He’s already incurred a concussion that essentially held him out of the majority of training camp.

For players who likely will be in the line of fire a lot if things go according to Kelly’s plans, that is not a good sign, and I wouldn’t bank the Eagles’ success on any of them.

NOT SO FAST: Villanova hiring Mark Jackson away from FBS power Southern Cal to be its new AD obviously will have many wondering, and some perhaps hoping, that the move will trigger the Wildcats’ jumping up from the FCS level. Don’t count on it.

Frankly, I think the program could make the jump now just going by on-field indications, and Jackson is reputed to be a fundraising whiz. The critical issue, though, is fan base – and I’m not seeing the alumni size or non-alum interest to support in a pro sports-heavy region with a bigger university with a much larger alumni base in the area already struggling to succeed in the FBS beyond wins and losses.

HARD TO ARGUE: Anyone curious about the State of the Phillies, especially with hopes slightly rising from the ashes as new faces enter the equation, consider this: they’re 1-11 against the Mets this season entering tonight’s series finale at Citizens Bank Park, including eight straight losses.

Perhaps no greater indictment of just how far they have sunk, personnel, performance and “heart” wise, was submitted with Monday night’s, umm, effort, that saw the Phillies jump out to a 7-2 advantage only to get outscored 14-0 the rest of the way.

GIVE IT A REST: Can we knock it off with the adulation for Phillies coach Larry Bowa acting like a jackass once again already? Even for a town that considers Chase Utley’s greatest “achievement” being him dropping the F-bomb at the 2008 parade, this preposterous praising of “Bo” borders on the pathetic.

Check that, it knocks down any damn border and breaks it into pieces. Great, the 70-year-old played here four decades ago. He was a feisty and fiery cat then, too … and the act was just as old and tired and lame.

TOUCH OF IRONY: In this, one of the worst seasons in Phillies history, it’s nice to get a break from the likes of myself and others ripping the proceedings. That being the case, check out today’s Inky story on the Phillies’ best pitcher of all time.

No, it’s not Steve Carlton, or Robin Roberts, or even the history-deprived fans’ choice of Roy Halladay. It’s actually their best pitcher of all time.

- Jack Kerwin | ydkjack1@gmail.com

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Philly Phile | Birds Win the Bowl ... Right?

College Football | Yo, Illinois, enough with the MAC Madness

Philly Phile | Wake Me Up When Real Season Starts

College Football | Beckman Dismissal ... Positive Step or Not?

Philly Phile | Eagles' Injury-Prone Players a Concern

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