Random Thoughts
by John Kincade
EAGLES over statements were running rampant
The Eagles drop to (8-1) and the sky was falling in typical Philly sports radio fashion. Thankfully we avoided that on our show. The unexpected loss to the Commanders and the upset of the Bills by the Vikings has removed all wiggle room at the top of the NFC. I know it seems crazy, but Eagles fans should root for the Cowboys the next 2 weeks. They are at Minnesota and then host the Giants on Thanksgiving. Getting the Vikings a second loss and the Giants a third is more critical to the Eagles than anything else.
The severity of the Dallas Goedert injury is a storyline to watch. He may be the last player that this offensive roster can afford to miss games.
76ers back to .500 and looking to build
Joel Embiid had a night for the ages on Sunday, but what he does from here will be the real story. While they await James Harden to return from injury, the 76ers need to start stabilizing what has been a very shaky start. It seems as if the fan base is waiting for Doc Rivers to be fired. That isn’t exactly the kind of drama that a team needs to create buzz. You want positivity and not uncertainty. One thing that Doc Rivers hasn’t managed to create is confidence within the fan base. In what is a very critical year, getting back above the play in tournament line by the start of 2023 should be a minimal expectation.
Phillies off-season plan is at the mercy of others
The Phillies are looking for a star player to add to the roster in order to jump start the 2023 plan. Unfortunately, they are not able to get started when they are shopping in the premium aisle. There are a lot of suitors for Trea Turner and I’m not sure he is the Phillies real target anyway. Xander Bogaerts has an existing relationship with Dave Dombrowski and it might allow them to have more financial flexibility to bolster their starting pitching. This is going to be a waiting game and patience will be the key.
I was told that I should expect everything to be on the table now that they have decided not to move forward with Jean Segura. Where that move leaves Bryson Stott and others is yet to be seen. A Segura return at a far lower dollar figure is reportedly not off the table, depending on how the free agent signings turn out.
Flyers starting to leak oil
I believe that the Flyers have already won more games and collected more points than I expected them to have before 2023. It also may have set them up for fans to be more disappointed than they should be. This roster isn’t full of talent and John Tortorella has been getting the absolute best out of what he has to work with. Fans will now say that this team has fallen apart. In reality, they never should have been this good to begin with. I’m optimistic that the learning process is advancing but I’m not expecting a meteoric rise towards the playoffs.
