EMB Blog: 2023 Regular Season... and Post Season Blog

[Joe Ball]

19 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

As a fan, I want to see the teams that have the best records get rewarded for it.  

That’s really the debate from all the media coverage I’ve seen, there are two choices:

1. Pick the best 4 teams that are playing the best ball right now.

2. Pick the 4 team that have the best body of work over the course of the season.

Tough decisions, and they do have guidelines they’re supposed to follow. One for instance is they’re supposed to consider the availability of players.

It’s just a mess really and a couple of teams and their fans will come away upset, and rightfully so.

[e-a-g-l-e-s eagles!]

18 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

 

I'm pretty sure they are eliminating the divisions in the Big-'10' with this latest expansion. 

 

 

 

 

Funny part about all this Alabama/Georgia discussion is that no one is even discussing Ohio State (and rightly so), but they met as undefeated teams and one got knocked off, and is now out of consideration.  But, Ohio State's 1 loss is better than ANY of these other losses by any of these other teams.  They lost to '#1' in Michigan's stadium.   Alabama lost at home to Texas.   Georgia lost at a neutral field to Alabama.  Texas lost to Oklahoma on a neutral field.   And Ohio State took Michigan right down to the wire.   Yet... Ohio State isn't even in the discussion, yet not one but TWO SEC teams with very similar resumes are being discussed.

(people will say that Ohio State didn't have to play in a conference championship game, but the Ohio St. - Michigan game WAS the conference championship game!   And we saw this play out years ago... and the SEC got different rules then, and they continue to get different rules than the rest of the NCAA, because its the SEC. )

Ohio state easily has the best loss. On the road to Michigan by 6. their best win on the year is vs. Penn state or at Notre dame. Both are good wins. I don’t think it is as good as Texas’ win at bama or bama’s neutral site win against Georgia. Also texas is 3-1 vs. the top 25 in CFP. Bama is 4-1. Ohio state is 2-1. Ohio state’s biggest gripe should be with the big 10 having Iowa represent the big 10 in the championship game. Ohio state was 8-1 in conference and iowa 7-2. Iowa also played in the far weaker division and didn’t face any of Ohio state or Michigan til the championship game yesterday. And penn state who had the same 7-2 record in conference and finished 3 in their division beat them 31-0. If big 10 changes the divisions like it should’ve done at any point in time over the last 6 years it’s Ohio state vs. Michigan and they win they’d be in. 

[NYEagle]

So taking the emotion out of it....the Eagles win today and the #1 seed is almost a virtual lock.  The Eagles lose today and win against the Cowboys, the division is all but locked up and they still have a pretty good path to the #1 seed, #2 at worst.  Even if they lose the next two weeks and San Fran wins next week, all 3 teams will sit at 10-3.  The Eagles will have the Seahawks, Giants, Cardinals and Giants and could easily go 4-0 giving them a 14-3 record.  Dallas still has Buffalo and the Dolphins both on the road and the Lions (so one will knock the other down).  The 49'ers have the easiest schedule but still need to play the Seahawks again and the Ravens.

Guess what I'm saying, I want the Eagles to win so bad against the 49'ers and Cowboys, but at the end of the day......it's really going to come down to their last 4 games, win them and the worst they would probably end up is the #2 seed.  Which honestly puts the Cowboys vs. the 9'ers in the Divisional round (if chalk holds).   

So enjoy the day, let's hope for a win but in no way shape or form is it the end of the world if we lose.

[Joe Ball]

@mattwill

 Eagles 24

 Niners 21

CMC does not finish due to injury.

23 flags thrown with 16 penalties assessed, 4 declined, and 3 picked up after discussion.

[paco]

10 hours ago, bpac55 said:

I know Randall is standing the furthest back, but I always imagined him much taller than the others. Father time taking his height?

Also such a dad tweet by Jaws. Don't bother posting a picture of the four posing and smiling together. Nope, post the picture that makes it look like you're trying to sneak away and no one else is looking. 

 

Why does McNabb look a few years older than Cunningham it that pic

[NYEagle]

@mattwill

 

Eagles 38

49'ers 20

Bonus Carter gets 2+ sacks

[EagleJoe8]

33 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

Oh yeah?  Who's playing?

Lions @ Saints. Could be big for our 2nd round pick!

 

[Iggles25]

4 minutes ago, paco said:

Why does McNabb look a few years older than Cunningham it that pic

Heavy drinker is my guess

It's aged the hell out of me lol

[Aerolithe_Lion]

1 minute ago, Iggles25 said:

Heavy drinker is my guess

It's aged the hell out of me lol

I think he looks age appropriate for late 40’s. Cunningham just looks great 

[QuinnWR4]

Any word yet on Fletch or Goedert? 

[greendestiny27]

5 minutes ago, EagleJoe8 said:

Lions @ Saints. Could be big for our 2nd round pick!

 

Would be great if that pick is in the top ten of the second round. We could utilize our own 2nd to move up pretty high if we chose, plus still have that Saints pick early in round 2. Let's go Lions!! 

[LeanMeanGM]

9 minutes ago, paco said:

Why does McNabb look a few years older than Cunningham it that pic

Booze

[Casey @ Bat]

14 hours ago, mattwill said:

Saturday Evening Predictions Update

73 predictions recorded thus far.  52 for an Eagles win and 21 for a 49ers win.  The Average Predicted Score has continued to tighten, and currently shows an Eagles win by the score of 27-24.

As always, please tag your prediction post with @mattwill that way I will be sure to see/record it.  Score predictions can also have an optional "Bonus Pick" tiebreaker prediction.  So far over the course of the season 125 different EMB posters have made at least one prediction. 

Lets see if we can get to 100 predictions submitted this week!

A list of the predictions is presented below, sorted alphabetically by the name of the predictor.  If you don't see your name there, then I haven't yet recorded a prediction for you.

@mattwill

 

Niners 31

Eagles 19

 

*Dre Greenlaw cheap shots the crap out of someone again and doesn’t get fined. Kenny Gainwell attempts to break a tackle and gets fined 10k by the league.

[Original Sin]

GA will be left out , as they should be

[vsptroops]

@mattwill

Eagles 27

Whiners 23

Carter with a strip sack. 

[MidMoFo]

30 minutes ago, QuinnWR4 said:

Any word yet on Fletch or Goedert? 

Not heard anything new this morning. Goedert had limited practice Friday and Cox has no practice this week. I’m guessing both are game time decisions, but would think they sit goedert another week and dress Fletcher cox to let him test it out in pregame.

[bitbased]

This is a pretty critical win considering we have to go to Dallas after this game when they have 10 days rest. I think we're better than Dallas but I do not like going into that situation coming off a loss to the Niners.

[greendestiny27]

Just looked over an updated CBS mock draft. Funny how OL was discussed in here the other day and guys considered second tier now are all easily in round 1 including Jordan Morgan. I could see a move up for someone like Fuaga, Mims, and Latham.

That 2nd rounder hopefully could get us up into the mid teens. I think Latham is borderline top ten so he's probably out but he would be my favorite if there's any possibility. Mims might be there around 15, he would be my more semi realistic target. Fuaga would be next on the list then Morgan. I really like Morgan more as a OG but he's never played on the right side. 

Other specific players I wouldn't mind trading up for; DeJean, McKinstry, Verse, Robinson, Latu

[Cliftoma]

48 minutes ago, paco said:

Why does McNabb look a few years older than Cunningham it that pic

Lifetime supply of Campbell's Chunky soup

[Original Sin]

15 minutes ago, greendestiny27 said:

Just looked over an updated CBS mock draft. Funny how OL was discussed in here the other day and guys considered second tier now are all easily in round 1 including Jordan Morgan. I could see a move up for someone like Fuaga, Mims, and Latham.

That 2nd rounder hopefully could get us up into the mid teens. I think Latham is borderline top ten so he's probably out but he would be my favorite if there's any possibility. Mims might be there around 15, he would be my more semi realistic target. Fuaga would be next on the list then Morgan. I really like Morgan more as a OG but he's never played on the right side. 

Other specific players I wouldn't mind trading up for; DeJean, McKinstry, Verse, Robinson, Latu

I got 7 first rounders 

Fashanu 

Alt

Latham

Fuaga

Mims

Barton

Suamataia

[Sack that QB]

I don’t care about rewarding teams in the CFP, I want the teams that will offer the best matchups and most entertaining games. Did TCU deserve to make it last year? Yeah. But it ruined the national title game. FSU would get absolutely smoked by any of the other top teams if they got in and I don’t want one of the games ruined. I’m selfish I only care about entertainment value.

The best matchups would be Michigan, Texas, Georgia, Alabama… rightly or wrongly.

[GoEagles614]

13 hours ago, DaEagles4Life said:

Wait you think Bama is better than Michigan or Washington? Just stop 

Neither Georgia and Bama are their elite selves

Yes. Washington has never matched up vs them well. Michigan has proved to flop in the playoff they also haven’t played anyone good all season. OSU’s QB is an atrocious player, and they’re (OSU) lacking top end talent yet they beat them by 6 at home. 

[Penn7980]

33 minutes ago, MidMoFo said:

Not heard anything new this morning. Goedert had limited practice Friday and Cox has no practice this week. I’m guessing both are game time decisions, but would think they sit goedert another week and dress Fletcher cox to let him test it out in pregame.

Give DG another weak to heal.  If Cox feels good pre-game, dress him and play him in rotation with less snaps than usual.  He would still be a factor.  Williams is back in action, right?  Tui is also available though lesser a force.  

[FranklinFldEBUpper]

2 hours ago, Iggles_Phan said:

Yeah... their RECORD is.  They belong.  Period.  Everything else you are talking about isn't about accomplishments, but about perceptions.   Sorry, that's not how it is supposed to work.  You get to the playoffs based on your SEASON as a whole, and on the whole, FSU is more deserving than the others because they are undefeated and won their conference.  All that other stuff is subjectivity and nonsense.

TCU EARNED the right to be there.  And because they earned the right to be there, they earned the right to benefit from the money involved.  Did the Chargers 'deserve' to be in the Super Bowl to get beat to a snot by the 49ers in 1994?   YES, because they earned it by winning their conference.   Did the Patriots 'deserve' to be in the Super Bowl to get curb stomped by the Bears in 1985?  Yup.  They won their conference.  Did the Broncos deserve to be there in 1987 when Washington curb stomped them?   Yes.   How about the Bills in 1994?   Yes.   

The way the game goes on the field in the final showdown does not determine who belongs and who does not.  ALL of the games leading up to it do.  And TCU earned the right to be in the National Championship game based on how their season went, and then added an exclamation point when they beat Michigan in the semi-finals.  FSU has also earned the right to get in, and the ACC and FSU should benefit monetarily for it.  Same goes for Texas, who beat Alabama, and therefore gets the tiebreaker in my book.   Both are conference champs, both have one loss, and one of them beat the other...  Eliminate the names and the conferences, and the answer to who belongs is a simple one.  The one who won the head to head matchup ON THE ROAD, deserves the nod over the one who lost to that team.

 

College Football playoffs need to be:  Michigan, Washington, FSU and Texas... any other schools involved means it was political (NCAA politics, not national government politics).  

 

No argument exists for Alabama to get in over an undefeated conference winner... and no argument exists for them to get in over Texas, a 1 loss conference winner (same as them, but having lost the head to head matchup).  And Georgia has no grounds to stand on, because they had the opportunity to earn their way in by winning their conference, and they failed to do that.  Too bad, so sad.    The games on the field should mean more than the meetings in a closed room.  It shouldn't be subjective... ever.  It should have objective criteria and whomever meets that objective criteria gets in.  They tried to do that with the BCS... but it was still poll driven.  It needs to be about records not resumes, accomplishments not perceptions.

Well said, but I think we all know that it's going to be Michigan, Washington, Alabama, and Georgia. The SEC is deserving of multiple spots because it's the bestest conference in college football. The ACC doesn't count unless Clemson is their winner (they're viewed as a pseudo SEC team), and the Big 12 winner always gets blown out in the playoffs so Texas doesn't deserve it.

[Joe Ball]

12 minutes ago, Sack that QB said:

I don’t care about rewarding teams in the CFP, I want the teams that will offer the best matchups and most entertaining games. Did TCU deserve to make it last year? Yeah. But it ruined the national title game. FSU would get absolutely smoked by any of the other top teams if they got in and I don’t want one of the games ruined. I’m selfish I only care about entertainment value.

The best matchups would be Michigan, Texas, Georgia, Alabama… rightly or wrongly.

Washington is easily in that tier along with Ohio St.