2023 was an odd year for Philadelphia Sports. In many ways, it was successful. The Eagles made the Super Bowl, the Phillies made it back to the NLCS, the Sixers and Union both made the playoffs, and the Flyers may have sucked last season, but they are finally turning things around. There have not been many times in our history where 4 out of 5, or 3 out of 4 teams, all had good regular seasons.
But all of them came short. The Eagles lost the Super Bowl. For the 5th time, the Sixers went out in the second round. The Phillies choked against the Diamondbacks. And the Union followed up losing in the MLS Cup by losing in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals.
Now 2023 is almost over. It was full of so many great moments. But zero parades. Winning a championship is hard, but it does need to be the goal, and our teams continue to fall just short of it. And in 2024, that needs to change.
The Eagles will be in the playoffs to start 2024. Right now, it feels like they are not in line to win it, despite having a chance at the 1-seed. But we know they have the talent, at least on offense, to win it. The Sixers are playing great basketball right now. But they still need to prove it when it matters. The Phillies still, have a talented roster. But after everything the Dodgers did this offseason, they have some catching up to do. The Flyers are actually on the right track and have started this season on fire. And the Union now need to figure out how to get back to being dominant.
2024 will hopefully be the year we get to parade down Broad Street, for at least one of our teams. But they all have some changes to make before that is possible. And beyond just winning, here is the New Year’s Resolution every Philadelphia team needs to strive for in 2024.
Here is every team’s New Year’s Resolution for 2024:
Eagles- Get Your S**t Together On Offense
(Photo by Dustin Satloff/Getty Images)
The Eagles’ resolution is simple. This team should be better than they are. 11-4 is not a bad record. And with their schedule, if you were told at the start of the year they would be 11-4 heading into the final two games, people would have been happy. But context matters. And the way they have played is not going to be good enough to win a Super Bowl.
The defense might just not have enough talent on the backend. And there is not much you can do about that now. Hopefully Matt Patricia can make the most out of it, and play at least decent. But the offense has no such excuse. There are All-Pro and All-Pro caliber players all over the field. Their O-Line is elite, their QB was the MVP runner-up, they have two great WRs, and they have a RB with 1000 yards. This offense should be unstoppable. But something has just been off.
Is it coaching? Poor execution? Maybe a bit of both. But whatever it is, they need to get their s**t together. Stop turning the ball over, and get back to whatever you were doing last year.
And no that is not just running the ball more. They have handled the run game pretty much the same way they did last year. In the 2022-2023 season, they threw to get a lead, and then ran the ball to keep it. It worked. They have tried to do that this year, they just aren’t getting the early leads. But they still run the ball more than almost any other team.
The problem is Hurts, and the players, making mistakes, and Nick Sirianni/Brian Johnson are making things harder than they have to be. Watch the 49ers or Dolphins and you will see guys running wide open. Hurts is being asked to throw into tight windows on most plays. That is not the WRS, AJ Brown and Devonta Smith are both great WRS. It’s the plays.
If they lose because the defense just didn’t have enough talent, it will be one thing. But if they lose because they couldn’t put up enough points with all of the talent they have, something is wrong.
The Giants game was a good start, but some of the slopiness was still there.
Phillies- Make A Big Move in The Off-Season
(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
The Phillies still have a very good roster. But this group of players has now come up short two seasons in a row and for the same reason. The star-powered lineup went cold, and the bullpen didn’t have enough reliable arms. You can’t go from losing the World Series to then losing the NLCS, and just run it back.
Especially not after what the Dodgers did this offseason. They added Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Tyler Glasnow. They are also getting Walker Buehler back from injury. The Dodgers will be a force next season. And the Phillies need to keep up.
The best way to do it would have been Yamamoto, but it seems that was never actually in the cards. They need to do something though. Trade for another starter. Trade/sign a good Outfield Bat. Get a real closer. Do something that could maybe make things different in the playoffs this time. Because we now have two examples of this team not being good enough. And if they just run it back, with most of their competition getting better, there is no reason to think things will just be different this time.
The good news is Dave Dombrowski is not known for resting on his laurels. He will definitely try to do something. It is just a question of if that something will be good enough to make a difference.
Sixers- Have Embiid Healthy For the Playoffs
(Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
I didn’t want to say get out of the second round, because it is too obvious, and just getting out of the second round is not a big enough goal. But along that same line, if they want to get there, Embiid has to be healthy come playoff time. Every year it has been something else. Torn ligaments in his hand, a fractured orbital bone, stomach bugs, and a messed up knee. He always has to battle through something. He has stayed on the court for the most part, but it took its toll on his production. That is not his fault per se, but it is still a major problem.
When Embiid is playing his best Basketball, the Sixers can beat literally anybody. He is an elite Basketball player on both sides of the ball, and the best scorer in the league. This year he has been somehow even better. But a consistent problem for the Sixers has been winning when he is not at his best.
They have not had the depth to win without him scoring 30. Their depth is better than it has ever been right now, and Tyrese Maxey is turning into a star. But either way, all of their NBA Finals hopes rely on the big man. He has to stay healthy.
Flyers- Don't Abandon The Rebuild
(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
The Flyers are off to an amazing start this season. As of now, they are in a great position to make the playoffs. And if this group of players is good enough to accomplish that, that is amazing for them. But what they cannot do is sell out the future in some misguided attempt to win something this year.
As well as they are playing, this is not a Championship roster, yet. There are great pieces to build on and more on the way. But they are missing the star talent right now that a Stanley Cup team needs. And you are not going to change that with any in-season move.
Trading any future assets for short-term gains would be a mistake. This is still a rebuild, no matter how well they are playing. So keep an eye on the future. We can enjoy how well this team is playing, without overreacting and selling out the future like so many Flyers teams have done in the past. Thankfully it seems like Danny Briere and Keith Jones understand that.
Union- Replace Kai Wagner
(Photo by Refugio Ruiz/Getty Images)
Kai Wagner is leaving. That we know for sure. His time in Philly ended with him missing the final two games after he was suspended for using a racial slur during a game. But as detestable as those actions were, they are going to miss him on the field. He was one of their main creators and among their key defenders. He led the team in tackles and was 2nd in assists.
They may not get both of those things in one player. But if they can bring in another fullback who is great on defense, and someone anywhere else who can create like Wagner does, it will go a long way to making sure they don’t take another step back without him.
They may also need to replace Julian Carranza, but they may have some in-house options for that. If he does make the move over to Europe there will at least be a sizable amount of money coming back to them. And Tai Baribo joined the team in August and will hopefully be ready to step into a larger role for the 2024 season.
