July 20, 2016
The countdown to the start of Eagles training camp has reached the single digits and the closer we get the more it becomes apparent that the organization is going to take a wait-and-be-patient approach to second-overall draft pick, quarterback Carson Wentz.
The Eagles are in that odd space between a full rebuild and a possible playoff spot at the top of a weak NFC East.
You would think that in the first year after firing coach Chip Kelly, with a second-overall draft pick being a quarterback, with the return of Howie Roseman to the general manager’s office, and with a rookie coach in Doug Pederson, it would be a natural time to build for the future.
Instead, the Eagles put a pile of cash into the wallet of starting quarterback Sam Bradford and another large check in the account of backup quarterback Chase Daniel.
The end result is that all of the anticipation that should have developed for Wentz has been put on hold. The logic is that with Bradford at the helm the Eagles have a chance to compete for the division and the development of Wentz can be slow and deliberate.
Mind you, this is taking place in a city where the professional basketball team took “rebuild” into historic territory, and where the professional hockey and baseball teams are also on build-for-the-future tracks.
There are a couple of ways to view this. The first is that we should be glad that the Eagles think they can actually contend this season. The other viewpoint is that the Eagles are putting the brakes on a talent that could be ready a whole lot quicker than they anticipate.
At this point, the Eagles public stance that Wentz will sit and wait is being met with a shrug of the shoulders, but once training camp starts and every play is viewed over and over again, expect the noise to be loud and clear that the fans want to see Wentz and see him quickly.
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Perhaps the worst part of the upcoming election is that the two candidates have so divided the country that you can’t even get into a good, safe sports argument.
At some point during your discussions about the Eagles and Giants, or maybe the Sixers development, somebody will bellow about that “dope” Donald Trump or the “criminal” Hillary Clinton. The narrative will end up something like “How can you call yourself an Eagles fan if you are going to vote for Clinton,” or “No Flyers fan would ever vote for Trump.”
Well, at least it keeps the whole Taylor Swift vs. Kanye West nonsense in the background.
Then again, why not send the nation into full crazy mode and put Taylor Swift in the White House, let Donald Trump take over Major League Baseball, and let Hillary Clinton run the NFL.
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The Flyers have put together a promising group of young players for the future, led by Shayne Gostisbehere and Ivan Provorov. There’s no doubt that the future is bright, but for those expecting great things this season – beware of thinking it’s going to be an EZ Pass into the playoffs.
The Flyers are set for a tremendous growth spurt behind their young talent but beware of what has happened around them. The Pittsburgh Penguins are coming off a Stanley Cup under head coach Mike Sullivan, while the New Jersey Devils made a sweet deal for forward Taylor Hall, and the New York Rangers quietly added young, dangerous and fast center Mika Zibanejad from Ottawa.
Then there is the situation in Montreal. You can make an argument one way or another on whether the PK Subban/Shea Webber trade improves or hurts the Habs, but there is no doubt that they will be a whole lot better just because Carey Price is healthy and back in goal.
The bottom line is that the Flyers are on the rise, but the tide is rising in the entire conference.
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Get ready for the Olympics to take center stage in a few weeks, and there will be a short period of time when we all try to wave the flag and cheer for medals.
However, the whole Olympic scene has lost much of its allure. There are just so many international competitions that many times the Olympics can come across as just another event.
Still, there is the very real drama of the individual sports such as swimming or gymnastics that within a matter of a few minutes, or several seconds, a young lifetime of work can literally come tumbling down in a few blinks of an eye.
Those are the stories that should be featured in the Olympics, the problem is that team sports such as basketball in the summer and hockey in the winter tend to get far too much attention.
The golf will be just a total waste of time, and does anybody really care about the tennis? The fact that professionals compete has taken away any of the electricity. The Olympics just cannot compete with the majors in those sports.
The vote here would be to discount those sports where the real championships are won at other venues, and put the spotlight where they belong – and absolutely ban the Russians from these games.
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The Phillies are headed toward the trade deadline, but there are no expectations of adding a piece to help them over the last portion of the season. Instead, they are looking to be sellers and maybe pick up another prospect.
The best case scenario is that they acquire some left-handed pitching prospects and spend the remainder of the season fitting in some future pieces already in their system.
And the next to last piece of that great championship run is likely to disappear as catcher Carlos Ruiz should get some interest, leaving only one major piece from those teams – the Big Piece, Ryan Howard.
