Philadelphia Eagles:
Currently the only undefeated team in the NFL, and is widely considered, at worst, the second or third best team in the NFL - sharing a tier with the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs. The team's 6-0 start has gotten the city buzzing with QB Jalen Hurts firmly in the MVP conversation, helming an offense that has only turned the ball over twice (one of which wasn't his fault). The team's additions in the offseason are paying dividends (especially Bradberry, Reddick and Gardner-Johnson) and the players have bought in to head coach Nick Sirianni's philosophies, willingness to improve, and 'dawg mentality'. It's not just him, though, as defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon is in charge of an elite defense - soft coverages in the second half, be damned - that has allowed the team to be the only team in the entire league that has not trailed at any point in the second half thus far in the season. Offensive line coach and run game coordinator Jeff Stoutland, whom, for this blogger's money, is the best position coach IN THE LEAGUE, is doing another masterclass of getting lineman ready to go as the team sports the top OL in the league and one of the top running attacks, as well. It's a great time to be an Eagles fan, we're all happy to be along for the ride.
Philadelphia Phillies:
Red October lives on! The Phillies are in the World Series and will play game 1 on Friday against the heavily favored (and should be) Houston Astros. Just don't tell these Phillies that. While the Astros have yet to drop a game this postseason, the Phillies are a nothing-to-sneeze-at 9-2 this postseason while also being 5-0 at home. They've won game 1 in every series so far, proving that they can go on the road and earn a split. The team believes they can hang with and beat anyone right now, and let's not forget that this same team BEAT the Astros - IN HOUSTON - to clinch their playoff birth a few weeks ago. It starts with Rob Thompson, whom I've written about in a previous post, that has this team playing like a 96 win team since taking over the managerial job in early June. But, we have to credit the players that have come to life. NLCS MVP Bryce Harper has had a postseason for the ages and has given us one of the all-time great moments in Philly, and likely baseball, history with his NLCS game 5 homerun that won it for the Phillies. Big time stuff for a likely hall of famer. The bat of one Rhys Hoskins is not to be overlooked. One of the longest tenured Phillies, behind Aaron Nola, has had plenty of clutch hits himself this postseason and, if it weren't for Harper's big time plays and all-time moment, HE may have won NLCS MVP being that HE TOO gave us an all-timer with the homerun + bat slam. I could go on and on about the players and this post would take up the entire page but, I'll end it with this. This team fears nobody and they believe that they can beat anyone - anywhere.
Philadelphia Union:
#DOOP! That's the hashtag! If you haven't been following, the Union have been the top team in the Eastern Conference of MLS pretty much all season. And they have been for a few years running. They are set to play in the conference finals - one more win to get to the championship round - against the rival New York City FC. Union coach Jim Curtin has won coach of the year for the second time (2020) while leading the team to a new single-season club points record (67), club records in goals scored (72) and fewest goals conceded (26) in a single season (largely thanks to elite GK Andre Blake). I only wish more media outlets, local and national, would show them more love. It's one thing that the citizens of the city might not know about the tam, but the media? C'mon... They are in the conference final, and hosting it, FOR THE SECOND STRAIGHT SEASON. I admit, I may not know every single player, but I follow it enough to know what's going on with the team and I like soccer enough (I watch the World Cup, Champions League, Premier League) to support this team!
Philadelphia Flyers:
Things are looking up so far. Off to a nice 4-2-0 start, there is room for optimism for the Orange and Black. Now, one can only hope that head coach John Tortorella can keep the ear of his players after word got out about how he can seem to clash with players. The team will need their top scorers, Travis Konecny, Kevin Hayes, and James van Riemsdyk (get well soon - suffered a fractured finger), to keep the things going. We'd like to see winners in South Philly and the Flyers have had a rough go of it in recent years. One can only hope that the good start is a sign of things to come in the season.
Philadelphia 76ers:
Don't let the 0-3 start fool you. This team is good. Yes, while we are a little upset that two quality teams, Boston and Milwaukee, got wins in the first two games, and the a young San Antonio team came to town and got a win, the team is going to find it's footing. So, hold off on the #firedoc hashtags and what not and give it some time. Besides, if the Sixers have to be that sacrificial lamb while the Phillies, Eagles and Union go on their runs, I'm totally fine with it. But, this team should turn it around. There is too much talent for the team to be bad. I believe Joel Embiid, James Harden and budding star Tyrese Maxey are worth several wins. Let's revisit this around Christmas and then see what's going on before we pass any judgement on this team. They'll be fine. They really just need to work on transition defense and offensive rebounding.
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