Eagles cruise past Tampa Bay despite sloppy play

(AP Photo/Mel Evans)

Normally when a team is penalized 10 times and makes an inexperienced quarterback look good, they lose. Not the Eagles, though, as they found a way to overcome their shortcomings on defense and special teams to beat down the Bucs, 33-14.

The reason the Eagles were able to win this one easily? Their offense was dominating. With Donovan McNabb returning to the field, the Birds offense clicked all game long, picking up a number of big plays while basically looking unstoppable. McNabb spread the ball around the field to 7 different receivers, although his number one target was Jeremy Maclin, who started the game at wide receiver in place of the injured Kevin Curtis. Maclin made the most of his opportunity, catching 6 passes for 142 yards and 2 long touchdowns of 51 and 40 yards. Maclin looks like the real deal and it's only a matter of time before he supplants DeSean Jackson as the Birds number one receiver.

As for the things the Eagles did poorly today, there were quite a few. While they did manage to pick off Tampa Bay quarterback Josh Johnson three times, the Bucs offense moved the ball all day long on the Eagles defense. Johnson threw for 240 yards and kept the Bucs driving down the field thanks to some timely throws and some timely penalties on the Eagles. The Birds were mired with penalties all day long, committing 10 of them for 111 yards, all 10 of which seemed to happen at the worst possible time. Despite looking mediocre throughout the day, the Eagles defense does deserve credit for clamping down when they needed to, sacking Johnson three times and even getting a safety late in the game.

The Eagles special teams were also a mess today, committing their fair share of penalties. Just once I'd like to see the Eagles go a quarter or even a half without holding someone or blocking someone in the back on a return. That's not too much to ask, is it?

While some Philadelphia fans will complain that the Eagles weren't dominating enough, you really can't complain with a 33-14 win for the Birds. The Eagles beat down a poor team just like we expected them to despite not being perfect on either side of the ball. They have a few things to work on, a few tweaks to make, but what team has everything figured out 5 weeks into a season anyway? With a game against the Raiders next week, the Eagles have another game to work the kinks before they start playing the real teams.

Great job by the Eagles offense today, now just knock off all those penalties and clean up the special teams and they will be just fine when they start playing some real teams.

Eagles/Bucs Week 5 Inactives: McNabb and Westbrook are back

The Eagles and Bucs have announced their inactives for their Week 5 matchup:

Eagles: DE Jason Babin, WR Kevin Curtis, DB Quintin Demps, WR Brandon Gibson, OG Todd Herremans, DT Trevor Laws, LB Joe Mays, OL Mike McGlynn

Bucs: OL Marc Dile, T Demar Dotson, C Jeff Faine, RB Earnest Graham, QB Byron Leftwich, S Corey Lynch, DT Dre Moore, DE Kyle Moore

The best news for the Eagles are the two players who aren't on the inactive list: Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook will return to action after missing Week 3. The bye week was just what the two stars needed to get healthy, although it wasn't enough time for Kevin Curtis to get himself back on the field. Rookie Jeremy Maclin will get his first start at wide receiver in place of Curtis. The only other inactive player that is surprising is Trevor Laws. Laws wasn't injured this week but I guess someone had to sit because the Eagles chose to have all 3 quarterbacks active for the game. Brandon Gibson returns to the bench, giving the Eagles only 4 active wide receivers. Also, remember that Jeremiah Trotter will make his Eagles re-debut today. Let's see if the old guy has got it anymore.

For the Bucs, Earnest Graham is the biggest name inactive. Graham wasn't doing much in the offense this season anyway, so the Bucs won't miss him. Byron Leftwich has fallen like a rock from starting QB to emergency QB.

With McNabb and Westbrook returning to the field, this game has all the makings of a blowout. The Bucs are a terrible team and the Eagles look ready to hit their stride. Go Birds!

Pitching change: Happ to replace Pedro in Game 3

With the postponement of Game 3 until tomorrow, the Phillies have announced a change in their starting pitcher: J.A. Happ will now take the mound instead of Pedro Martinez. Clearly, the Phillies want a left hander facing this Rockies lefty-heavy lineup, so Happ, given an extra day of rest, makes for the smart choice.

With Happ pitching Game 3, Cliff Lee likely pitching Game 4 and Cole Hamels set for Game 5 if need be, the Phillies are now going to put a lefty on the mound to start every game this series. In the playoffs you take every advantage you can get.

Game 3 canceled today

Bad news: Game 3 was postponed today due to snow, to be made up tomorrow when they were supposed to play Game 4. The good news? This means Cliff Lee should be ready to pitch in Game 4.

Why do they play baseball in Denver, anyway?

Hamels falters as Rockies even up series

(AP Photo/Mel Evans)

Today will be a memorable day for Cole Hamels but not for anything he did on the mound. Hamels, who everyone hoped would magically be the 2008 shutdown pitcher once again, had a poor performance in Game 2 for the Phillies, giving up 4 runs in his 5 innings of work. The Phillies eventually fought back into the game but the runs Hamels gave put the Phillies in a hole that they never climbed out of as they lost 5-4 to the Rockies. Oh, and the reason today will be memorable for Hamels? Heidi Hamels went into labor with the couple's first child.

Once Hamels was pulled from the game, Charlie Manuel started making some curious decisions with his bullpen. Instead of turning to the usual bullpen suspects, Manuel went with his starters, putting Joe Blanton and J.A. Happ in for the 6th and 7th innings. The move was a definite mixed bag as Blanton got through his inning unscathed but Happ got beaned with a line drive in the knee and had to be pulled from the game. The injury to Happ is the reason why you don't use all of your starters in relief. While Happ only has a knee contusion and X-rays were negative, he most certainly won't be in the mix to start on Saturday, forcing Manuel to go with a right-handed starter against the lefty-heavy Rockies lineup. Manuel still has two good choices in Blanton and Pedro Martinez but the Phillies have yet to announce who will take the mound for Game 3.

The Phillies did well to fight back in the later stages of the game but eventually fell short. Jayson Werth led the way with a homer as the Phils got all of their offense from their first 7 hitters. It would be nice if the team decided to score a few runs in the early innings but you can't fault the offense for this loss, they nearly had a win if Shane Victorino's line drive in the bottom of the 9th was just a little higher.

So the Phillies now head to Denver with the series tied at 1 game apiece. While some of the confidence of yesterday's loss has worn off, the Phillies are still in a great position to win the series. If they find a way to split the games in Colorado, they will head back home for a Game 5 and throw Cliff Lee out there in the deciding game. Of course, if they lose Game 3, they could always put Lee on the mound for Game 4 to ensure they won't get eliminated early.

Game 2 was a tough loss for the Phillies but there are plenty more games to be played in this series. Game 3 becomes the crucial game that gives one team a major advantage; let's hope the Phillies have a starter ready to give them some solid innings.

Almost too easy: NFL Week 5 Predictions

Week 5 could be the worst weekend of football games I've ever seen. Every game seems like a matchup between a terrible team and a contending team, making for a slew of no-brainer picks. Of course, whenever picks seem this easy, there will always be some inevitable upsets, but who in their right mind is going to pick the Raiders over the Giants? Or the Lions over the Steelers? Or the Bucs over the Eagles? You have to be crazy to think any of those teams have a shot.

Here are my picks for Week 5 of the NFL season. I'm coming off another solid week of picks and continue to have the best record I have ever had. Remember, all picks are made strictly based on who I think will win and do not take the spread into consideration.

Record Last Week: 12-2, .857
Overall Record: 49-13, .790

Byes: Bears, Packers, Saints, Chargers

Sunday Day Games:

Browns (0-4) @ Bills (1-3) The Bills are the lesser of two evils in this one although it wouldn't surprise me if the Browns found a way to pull it out. They will have to win at some point, right? Switching to Derek Anderson at QB makes them more tempting, but I've got to go with the home team here. My pick: Bills

Steelers (2-2) @ Lions (1-3) Poor Detroit. Just when things start looking better, Matthew Stafford gets hurt and everything is bleak again. If Daunte Culpepper has to start this game, expect a blowout. If Stafford someone suits up, expect a fairly close game. The Steelers will win this one no matter how poorly they play in the 4th quarter. My pick: Steelers

Cowboys (2-2) @ Chiefs (0-4) The Cowboys aren't any good, but the Chiefs are much, much worse. Not even Tony Romo can screw this one up. My pick: Cowboys

Vikings (4-0) @ Rams (0-4) How good are the Vikings right now? Brett Favre is back to his old self, they have the best running back in football, they still stop the run better than most teams and they have a great pass rush starting with Jared Allen. This team is so good they are making Brad Childress actually look like a respectable coach. The Rams, on the other hand, continue to be awful. They are Steven Jackson and nothing else right now. Kyle Boller shouldn't even be in the NFL right now, let alone a starting quarterback. My pick: Vikings

Raiders (1-3) @ Giants (4-0) Eli or no Eli, this one is a rout for the Giants. If you are betting on this game, no matter what the spread is, you better take the Giants at home. The Raiders have no quarterback and no chance. My pick: Giants

Bucs (0-4) @ Eagles (2-1) Simple math: Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook return + terrible Bucs team = big win for the Eagles. Of course, the Eagles could trot out Kevin Kolb and LeSean McCoy again and still come up big in this one, the Bucs are that bad. It will be more interesting to see how Jeremiah Trotter does in this game against NFL competition for the first time in years. He picked a good game for a return to help him build a little confidence. My pick: Eagles

Redskins (2-2) @ Panthers (0-3) I've never been more confident that the winless team in this game will beat the team with two wins. That's because the Redskins are awful and the only reason they have 2 wins is because of their easy schedule. The Panthers get in the win column this week when they finally face a team with a worse quarterback than Jake Delhomme. My pick: Panthers

Bengals (3-1) @ Ravens (3-1) The Bengals have a chance this week to prove they belong in the playoff picture in the AFC. Lose this game and I see the Bengals sliding their way back towards the pack of mediocrity. Win, and they have to be considered one of the better teams out there. Unfortunately for Cincy, however, there is no way they go to Baltimore and beat an angry Ravens team. The Ravens defense will be pretending every Bengal is Tom Brady and tear things up. My pick: Ravens

Falcons (2-1) @ Niners (3-1) Before the season started, I would never have thought I would be picking the Niners to beat the Falcons. 4 weeks into the season, the Niners are one incomplete pass away from being undefeated. This will be a good, close game but I have to give the edge to the home team. My pick: Niners

Jaguars (2-2) @ Seahawks (1-3) This was actually one of the tougher games to pick this week, but it all boils down to Seneca Wallace. If he plays, and I'm assuming at this point that he will, the Seahawks offense is disjointed and easy to shut down. Should Matt Hasselbeck play, Seattle easily wins this game at home against an inconsistent Jaguars team. As I said, though, Wallace will likely be the guy for another week. My pick: Jaguars

Texans (2-2) @ Cardinals (1-2) I'm not sure what to make of this game, although I know it will be high-scoring. It's amazing how quickly the Cardinals have fallen from their "elite" status to just another bad team in a bad division. It just goes to show that they really weren't that good last year, they just went on a run. The Texans apparently have several players battling swine flu right now so that doesn't bode well for their chances this week; I suppose they could cough on the Cardinals to scare them. My pick: Cardinals

Patriots (3-1) @ Broncos (4-0) This one should be the best game of the week since it's the Broncos putting their undefeated season on the line against the Patriots. Unfortunately, the Broncos are still the worst undefeated team I've ever seen and I will continue to say that even if they knock off the Patriots. Tom Brady and the Patriots offense can only be held down for so long, though, so I see them breaking out in a big way this week against a Broncos defense that has overachieved this season. My pick: Patriots

Sunday Night Game:

Colts (4-0) @ Titans (0-4) How many prime time games does this make for the Colts already? I swear they are on every week. It's too bad, too, because this won't be a good game at all. The Titans aren't a terrible team, but they will continue to slide right out of any possible playoff picture. Who would have thought that 5 weeks into the season the Titans would already be eliminated? Perhaps it's time for Vince Young to get another shot. Nah, there's no point. He still sucks. My pick: Colts

Monday Night Game:

Jets (3-1) @ Dolphins (1-3) Think the Jets defense will be fooled by the Wildcat? Ha, not likely. I wouldn't look for newly acquired Braylon Edwards to do much on the stat sheet although I do expect him to help the Jets stretch the field, opening things up even more for underneath passes and the run. My pick: Jets

Those are my picks for Week Five of the NFL Season. Check back every Thursday during the season for the latest predictions. Feel free to discuss, argue or make your own picks in the comment section!