Random Thoughts as 2023 dawns
by John Kincade
EAGLES STUMBLING AT THE WORST POSSIBLE TIME
If you were told that the Eagles would follow up last years (9-8) regular season and playoff loss at Tampa with a (13-3) start and a chance to clinch the top seed in the final week all of us would have applauded. Instead we have a team that started out (13-1) and saw their starting QB get injured in that game. They have stumbled in Dallas and now at home vs the Saints. The way you get to the point matters and concern is large in Eagles country.
Nick Sirianni claims he doesn’t get too high after the wins or too low after the losses. Watching him address the media after the loss on Sunday and yesterday after a night to sleep on it was troubling to me. He has the look of a guy feeling the heat. He doesn’t appear comfortable and the happy go lucky approach seems to be missing. At times of stress you look to your leader for a sense of calm, I’m not seeing it.
A win on Sunday isn’t going to tell me much about whether the Eagles are real or not. It will tell me about their potential resilience. The deer in the headlights look isn’t a good one. I didn’t see any kids at the post game presser and the answers provided little insight. This is the biggest test of the Sirianni tenure. If the Eagles were to lose the top seed, they will have completed one of the greatest choke jobs in Philly sports history.
FINALLY HEALTHY THE 76ers START TO MAKE THEIR MOVE
After starting (12-12) and finding themselves as the 10 seed, the 76ers have managed to get healthier and are making a run up the Eastern Conference standings. A (10-2) run has them now in the 5 seed but just a game out of the 3 seed in the East. A season that has looked very disjointed now appears poised to lead to another impressive regular season standing. The goal of course should be a conference title, but a top 2 seed would guarantee home court in the first 2 series which could be critical. We have definitely seen that health is truly what is most important. The 76ers have a lot to prove but they won’t prove anything until May.
WINNING WHEN YOU DON’T WANT IT
The Flyers have finally decided to play some solid hockey. All it took was a 2,800 mile plane trip. They are now undefeated post Christmas after sweeping a California road trip for the first time in franchise history! They beat LA, Anaheim and San Jose. That’s very praise worthy unless you are dreaming about them getting the opportunity to draft Connor Bedard next summer. That’s the thing about bad teams, the players don’t want to be bad. They try to do things to right the ship. While we root for better draft position, they fight for jobs. John Tortorella has done an impressive job. It’s clear the the Flyers finally gave an adult in charge.
