| 16 December 2011
It's nice for our readers to get a break from me once in a while and experience a fresh new writer on the scene... so it's a pleasure to introduce Shackleford, the boy wonder-blogger, in his Eagles Eye guest appearance:
Hi! I'm Shackleford. I guess you know me better by my Uncle Hamhox and Uncle Norpus and Uncle Cletus. My mom comes from a big family, so I have a lot of uncles.
That's my favorite book up there at the top. I learned all I could about football from it. One thing's for sure, E is for Eagles... It's a great book because every letter of the alphabet stands for something in football. You can learn a lot of football words from it... You can also learn a lot of football words when my uncles come over to Mom's house and watch the games on TV with us. Some of these words are bad words and spoken loudly, but I'm old enough to deal with them now although I am never allowed to say them.
It's usually a pretty good time at my house on game day. That's why I can't wait for the Jets game on Sunday afternoon. Mom makes us all our favorite sangwiches. Uncle Hamhox likes ham and cheese on rye, of course. Norpus likes toast with deviled ham on it. Cletus likes a bacon, lettuce and tomato sangwich. Mom's watching her weight so she usually just snacks on some pork rinds. Me, I get a real treat--- 3 Slim Jims cut up and put on a hot dog roll. You should try it, it's pretty good.
We also get cold drinks. I like the Dr. Pepper soda but Mom usually insists on a healthy fruit drink instead. So we all drink fruit punch and enjoy the game and the sangwiches. Uncle Hamhox also adds more fruit to his drink, it's a sweet red juice made by the Ripple Company. I asked for a taste of it once, but Uncle Hamhox said no, this juice is too sweet for me, and could give me cavities.
I heard something from Uncle Cletus about this Jets game coming up, that it will be a battle of two of the world's heaviest head coaches. Cletus said their combined weight could be as high as 750 pounds. He said it would be just his luck to get an airplane seat between these two guys on a commercial flight.
Mom lets me watch the Eagles games but tells me I should think twice before playing the game myself. She says it's real easy to get hurt in this sport. But I tell her I'm ready to try to play football. Besides, I've been watching one of my favorite players, DeSean Jackson, play this sport very closely, and I am learning ways to keep myself from ever getting hurt.
I also like Shady McCoy. Mom drove me up to Harrisburg, PA, to see my cousins last week, and all they talk about in Harrisburg is Shady McCoy. They call him their "native son". I didn't realize Pennsylvania had native Americans still living there in the wild, but there it is. They love their native son in Harrisburg.
Shady doesn't get hurt too much, either. Maybe that's because he knows how to run backwards a lot. I know it doesn't make sense. "C" is for "cut-back", though, and sometimes it pays off for Shady.
Well, that's all for now. Uncle Hamhox is pushing me off the computer so he can type letters to Mr. Spadaro at the Eagles website. My uncles are always trying to get on there. My mom won't let me go there anymore since she discovered the Cheerleaders pictures and videos section at the Eagles.com. Mom now says I cannot go there until I am much older. She says it's "R"-rated. "R" is for "Restricted"... Uncle Hamhox says it is for "Right On!"...
Thanks, Shackleford, and apologies and thanks to the great and genius mind of Brozer8 for allowing your material to appear here...
Date/Time: Sunday, Dec.18 4:15 p.m. (ET)
Venue: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
Broadcast: CBS
Jets @ Eagles lines by BetOnline.com
Point spread: Eagles -1
Over/Under: 44
The game is slated to get underway at 4:15 (ET) and it will be broadcast on CBS.
New York’s up-and-down season has ticked back up with a three-game winning streak that has it in prime position for a wildcard spot in the AFC. It is now 8-5 straight-up (6-7 against the spread) on the year, and the total has gone ‘over’ in nine of its 13 games this season.
One of the main reasons for the Jets’ change in fortune has been the elevated play of Mark Sanchez. He has thrown seven touchdowns against just one interception in the last three games after throwing for just 14 TD’s versus 10 interceptions in his previous 12 games.
Philadelphia got a huge boost last week with the return of Michael Vick to the lineup, and went out and beat Miami 26-10 as a three-point road underdog as a result. The win raised its record to 5-8 both SU and ATS, and kept its miniscule chances at a division title alive. The total stayed ‘under’ the 44-point line and is now 7-6 on the year.
The Eagles’ much maligned defense also showed up last week after taking the last few weeks off in losses to Seattle and New England, in which it gave-up a total of 69 points. If it can put forth a Miami-type kind of effort against the Jets, this team has an excellent chance to win this game.
For the Jets : Shonn Greene, who is 132 yards away from a 1,000 yard season, is on a tear as of lately. The Eagles and their 18th ranked rush defense await Shonn Greene and his 4.2 avg (5.1 avg past 3 games). Jets need to be patient like they have been and commit to the run and allow Greene to build on his confident running as of late. Little interesting note re. Eagles--- in games in which RBs have rushed for 100+ yards against the Eagles, the Eagles are 1-5, which means the Jets stand a very good chance at winning if they give Greene 20+ touches--- and Greene has shown his versatility as of late with excellent runs out of the wildcat, screens and backfield. Bottom line--- FEED GREENE early and often while mixing it up with LT to keep the rush defense off balance. Jets are looking REALLY good utilizing the screen game with BOTH backs as of late. That needs to continue vs. an overaggressive Eagles defense.
For the Eagles: On defense, the Jets haven’t faced a RB as effective as LeSean McCoy since they allowed Darren McFadden to do the dougie all over their run defense for 171 yards and 2 TDs back in Week 3. Jets LOST that game BUT had a chance to WIN it even after allowing McFadden to do the Macarena on them. Jets rush defense face the 2nd leader rusher in LeSean McCoy and they also face a RB that doesn’t go down on first contact--- and who has Barry Sanders-like tendencies while in the backfield. Those tendencies are probably the reason he is the league’s 2nd leading rusher behind only Maurice Jones-Drew, and it’s also the reason he leads the league in NEGATIVE runs with 39. That negative fact may be more telling on McCoy than his O-line because he likes to dance around in the backfield in attempts at making plays. But once he’s in the open field, he’s VERY difficult to catch and bring down.
Other things the Jets must do: Spy Vick with their linebackers David Harris and bart Scott... Cover Maclin with Revis and DeSean Jackson with Cromartie... Get the ball to their TE Keller in the red zone... Protect Sanchez and keep him clean from the Eagles pass rush...
(---Thanks to Sean Lester Durham for Jets insight of a preview nature... Follow him on Twitter for updates on everything Jets and sports in general; @SeanLDurham )
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
