Great Day for the 76ers: Thank you Boston!

Boston has just traded Gerald Green, Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Sebastian Telfair, Theo Ratliff and 2 first round picks for Kevin Garnett.

Ummmm, what?

Way to trade away your entire FRANCHISE Danny Ainge.

What a friggin' moron!

This is a great day for the 76ers.

Why?

Boston just traded away their ENTIRE future for another superstar that's on the decline, costs a huge chunk in salary, and one that only makes them above average in the East. Sure they will win more games then us, but you have to be concerned if you're a Boston fan. This move could jeapordize the Celtics for at least 10 years. Gerald Green, Al Jefferson, and two first round picks, GEEZ! Boston got screwed IMO. After 2009, we won't be hearing anything from the Celtics for a long long time, which is when we should be starting to compete.

Mark my words:
Derrick Rose, Eric Gordon, OJ Mayo, Nicolas Batum or Michael Beasley will be a Sixer next year. As the division improves moderately, and only in temporary fashion, we will finally get our superstar. Rose is the best point guard prospect to enter college in years. OJ Mayo is a pure scoring, ulra athletic point guard similar to Gilbert Arenas. Nicolas Batum is a do it all, 6'8 shooting guard, who may not have a role on this team, but has a ton of potential. Eric Gordon is a downtown shooting shooting guard that is similar to Ben Gordon but has more polish. Michael Beasley is OUR guy. He's the big, number one option PF we need. Why will the Sixers get one of these players? 5 reasons...

1. We have the youngest team in the NBA.
2. There are no cupcakes in the NBA anymore, East and West.
3. Teams will not be blatantly tanking like last year.
4. We still have significant rebounding and offensive problems.
5. We're easily the worst team in the division.

While we secretly rebuild our roster over the next 2 years in the lottery, teams like the Nets, Knicks and Celtics will all be on the decline, leaving only the Raptors there to challenge us for the division title.

Celtics have 2 years max to get to the Finals. Nets don't seem to know what direction they're headed. The Knicks are the Knicks, continuously overpay overrated players.
I would have a fit if the Sixers made this kind of move. If the Celtics don't make the Finals in these two years, the team will be in complete disarray due to lack of talent. I couldn't believe Boston threw in 2 first round drafts along with the players they added in the trade. I thought Al Jefferson, Theo and Gomes would have been enough. But they throw in 2 first rounders AND Gerald Green. Ridiculous. Al Jefferson and Gerald Green are going to be fantastic players. They've shown a ton of promise and they're both extremely young.

Meanwhile, I love Minnesota right now. Talk about a team on the rise, and a team that should contend with the Sixers for a top 5 lotto pick in next year's draft. Just check out how deep their talent is in a couple of years:

PG: Randy Foye/ Sebastian Telfair
SG: Corey Brewer
SF: Gerald Green/ Ryan Gomes
PF: Al Jefferson/ Craig Smith/ Chris Richard
C: no one as of right now

The Timberwolves just went from a team in one of the worse situations of any team in the NBA to one of the top rebuilding teams in the NBA IMO.

We know more than anyone else that you NEVER sacrifice your future for someone that's overpaid and doesn't significantly improve your team. Congratulations Boston with your big land, but will you win the NBA championship? No.

What else is good?

The Celtics are now the worst run franchise in the NBA period.

The Curse of Philadelphia: Is it real?

You tell me...

Intro:

1. Our Flyers have lost in the Stanley Cup twice, 1987 (7 games) and 1997 (4 game sweep)
2. Our Phillies lost in the World Series in 1993 (Joe Carter)
3. Our 76ers lost in the 2001 NBA Finals against of the dominant squads of all time, LA Lakers
4. Our Eagles lost the Super Bowl by 3 points to one of the NFL's greatest dynasties

It gets worse:

1. Our Flyers were up 3-1 against the New Jersey Devils in the ECF when they came back and won in game 7
2. Smarty Jones loses the Triple Crown by one length in the Belmont in 2004
3. The Villanova Wildcat's mens bball squad, in 2005 fail to get to the Final Four after botched call by the ref at the end of the game against the Tar Heels
4. The St. Joes Hawks lose on a last second shot to Oklahoma State, keeping them out of the Elite Eight
5. The Temple Owls have just missed reaching the Final Four 5 times

As bad as it gets:

1. Barbaro, our Philly horse who is favored to win the Triple Crown, dies
2. The Phillies are now the only team in professional sports to get to 10,000 losses
3. After Ryan Howard finally gets on track, Pat Burrell begins to regain focus and the Phillies are 2 games out of the wildcard and hot with a month and a half left of baseball to play, Chase Utley, a NL MVP candidate, goes down with a broken hand

Is it real? It's hard to ignore the facts.

I think it's time to knock down all the skyscrapers in Philadelphia.

Who's with me?

2007 NFC East Preview

With TC approaching I thought I would do my 2007 NFC East preview. Here I will discuss each team's biggest question marks.

Washington Redskins: While they obtain the best rushing attack in the NFC east, I think their ability to protect the pass and defend the pass is what will bring down the Redskins this year. Their linebackers are getting old and they have minimal depth at defensive tackle, I see a ton of teams running down their throats all season long. Sure they have some highly talented safeties, but their cornerbacks are nothing special. Their o line is solid with the run, but their pass blocking and qb Campbell needs to know the playbook and not look so lost in order for their entire offense to be a threat this year. He has a high ceiling and has shown that he has a great arm and can really let it loose, but this is not the year he puts it all together. Their inability to generate a pass rush will be their demise. Adding Laron Landry was a great great pick to sure up a lacking defensive backfield, but they are still very weak in their front 7. They added London Fletcher who's a productive player but he won't be a major impact to what was the worst defensive d line in the league last year (last in the league in sacks). Player to look out for: Laron Landry, who's playing alongside one of the best in Sean Taylor. How they gel and play next to each other will be fun to watch. Prediction: 5-11



New York Giants: Simply the ability to establish a running game. With Tiki Barber gone, opposing defenses will force Eli Manning to beat them with his arm. It won't happen this year, but this could be the beginning of the end for Manning. IMO it's a career year, but he's got tons of opportunity with guys like Steven Smith and a more developed Moss. He needs to establish what he is in the NFL and must do so without leaning on a hall of fame running back this season. However, in the end, I don't see this team as having that bad of a season. I think they'll be competitive enough to challenge for a wildcard spot. They should be able to fill in production in their running game enough to be mediocre this season. Everywhere else, their decent. Their in the middle of the pack in the division terms of passing game, running game, stopping the run, and defending the pass. I see this team giving the Eagles headaches; scrappy team that is inconsistent and unpredictable. Player to look out for: Mathias Kiwanuka, who had an up and down rookie year. Prediction 7-9

Dallas Cowboys: Easily it's the stardom of Tony Romo. Is he the qb that got to the pro bowl or is he the qb that teams learned to beat? Stopping Romo became clear: keeping him in the pocket will keep him from creating plays out of the pocket, his strength. Other big quesiton marks are their running game and their ability to defend the pass. Not their running back, but their offensive line. To beef up their o line, they've added Leonard Davis, a big name and body but will have to shift to guard in order to remain effective. They added versatile Ken Hamlin to the defensive backfield, but even Hamlin has cover issues. Player to look out for: Anthony Spencer, who should become an excellent complement to Demarcus Ware in the 3-4. Spencer must be an impact player this year if the Cowboys want to make the playoffs. Prediction 9-7

Philadelphia Eagles: Of course one may say the Eagles biggest question marks revolve around the health of Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook, but IMO it's the run defense. All year the Eagles were burned by their inability to stop the run. All offseason they've beefed up the front seven by adding guys who are quicker and more physical such as Takeo Spikes, Ian Scott, Victor Abiamiri and Steward Bradley. Chris Gocong looks to add more strength and physicality to the front seven. Much of their failure to close out games early last season was due to the big play nature of their offense. This year the Eagles look to rely on a much more balanced attack with the running game of Brian Westbrook. Rookie Tony Hunt, who is an upgrade in blocking and receiving in the backfield, looks challenge Correll Buckhalter as the second running back in the depth chart. The health of Jevon Kearse will make a huge impact this year. The Eagles proved last year that they can be extremely successful by rotating players in and out of their d line. After Kearse was injured, the effectiveness of that rotation and depth was significantly reduced. The loss of Donte Stallworth was replaced by speedy, sure handed receiver Kevin Curtis. Player to look out for: Jason Avant, who could surprise and end up being the number 3 slot receiver on offense. He's a great pass and run blocker with sure hands and a big body. Prediction 10-6

Ten Bold Statements:

1. The Eagles will establish the running game this year and Brian Westbrook will rush for 1500 yards.
2. Tony Romo will have an excellent but inconsistent season and make the pro bowl.
3. Rocky McIntosh will emerge as a solid weak side linebacker for the Redskins this year.
4. Eli Manning will have more interceptions than Jason Campbell.
5. The lack of a pass rush will keep the Giants out of the playoffs.
6. If McNabb gets injured in 2007, it will be his last season as an Eagle.
7. Jeremy Bloom will emerge as an elite return man (3 return tds).
8. Anthony Spencer will emerge as a great complement to Ware and be one of the most productive rookies in the NFL (10 sacks).
9. Ladell Betts will have more rushing yards than Clinton Portis.
10. Takeo Spikes will be in the pro bowl.

5 Things We Should Focus On In Training Camp

With Eagle's training camp looming near, a lot of people are quick to point out the main questions of the Eagles such as will they maintain the balance in the run and passing game, will Broderick Bunkley perform like a first round pick should perform, and will Donovan McNabb be healthy enough all season?

I'm going in a different direction. Of course all of those questions above are extremely pertinent to the success of the 07-08 season, I see things in a different manner. Here are my 5 things I'll be looking for in training camp.

1. The health of Jevon Kearse: We all know Kearse came back from his injury into mini camp thin as rails. In JJ's system, the d line must get pressure on the quarterback for the system to be successful, making the health of Kearse that much more important IMO. Last year, before Jevon's injury, his presence on the field led a dominating Eagle's d line. After his injury, you could see and feel the loss of Jevon. If he has not built himself up during this break between TC and mini camp, I think we're in for a long season.

2. The performance of Chris Gocong: Having yet to play his first snap as a linebacker, he has all the tools to make it happen; size, speed, instincts, motor. Having had no playmakers on the linebacker side of the Eagles the past 3 years, there is a lot of hope and hype for Chris Gocong. How does it play out? I don't think anyone knows. If Jevon is back to form, and Gocong plays to his so called 'ability,' we could be witnesses to a dominating front 7.

3. Sean Considine: Considine came in to split time with Lewis last season and came out as the starter for the 07/08 season. Considine is a good but not great football player that has some range and can go sideline to sideline. The one thing he lacks is his ability to tackle as he missed several should be tackles in the second half of last season. He needed to get much stronger and apparently he did this offseason gaining over 20 pounds of muscle. This year he won't have the opportunity to take a break on defense with Lewis gone. Quintin Mikell will get some time at SS in long passing downs, but it looks like Considine is our guy for this season. He can be a solid player in the backfield, but can he stay healthy? He's a good player when healthy, but when he's not he doesn't deserve to be on the field.

4. The return of our return game: Jeremy Bloom is a lock to make the roster as the lead punt and kick off return man. Early reports from mini camps (Gcobb) have reported that Bloom has regained his quickness and speed that makes him such a huge weapon. Last season, in fact since the release of JR Reed, the return was completely extinct. The Eagles know they need to establish the return game in order to make the Super Bowl this season. Football is a game of field position, making the health and progress of Jeremy Bloom SO important this season.

5. The Great Australian Reefer Sav Rocca: I can't wait to see this guy boom 60-65 yard punts. I don't see anyway the Eagles are comfortable allowing Dirk Johnson to be their starting punter this year. With punters coming into the NFL who are able to punt longer than ever these days, a reliable, big time punter is what the Eagles need. Now if we stay away from 3 and outs on 3 passing plays on 3 downs this shouldn't be much of a concern, but if not we need a boomer. Rocca may not have solid form but his ability and potential are top notch. I think the Eagles will go in a new direction with this guy. Dirk Johnson is completely replaceable and I think Rocca is our man this year.

Lots of question marks, but lots of potential.

GO EAGLES!

A Realistic Look at our Current 76ers

The absence of Joe Smith will hurt the Sixers more than anyone thinks. Sure he didn't put up Allstar caliber numbers, but his presence will be sorely missed. For one, especially in the second half of last year, Smith was THE leader/vet in the lockeroom that reached most of the young guys. Not only that, Joe Smith literally won us about 5 or 6 games last year in the remaining seconds of each contest. Take out Joe Smith last year and we would have had a top 6 lottery pick guranteed.

Second, 0ur young players will not have a guy like Joe Smith to depend on this year, which will lead to much more inconsistencies and struggles compared to last year.

With Smith out of the way, guys like Jason Smith, Shavlick Randolph and maybe Amundsen are gonna have to step up considerably. Bottomline, I see the same weaknesses on this years team that harmed the season prior - rebounding. Our perimeter defense may be a bit improved, but that won't stop opposing teams from getting consistent offensive rebounds, which killed our season last year. Offensively it'll be the same story. Sure the chemistry may be a bit improved, but the Sixers were a poor offensive team last year. There are lots of question marks surrounding Rodney Carney, like his dribbling, passing and rebounding, who must step up if the Sixers want to make the playoffs. Unfortunitely our most natural born scorer, Lou Will, is only 20 years old and will get extremely limited minutes this year (10 per).

I see this team as worse as last year. Inabilities to rebound and stop teams from rebounding on the offensive end will haunt this squad the entire season. Gone are proven vets that provide leadership and limit rookie mistakes. Our rookies will show flashes, but expect the 07 Sixers to lead the league in turnovers.

Due to this team being so young, (no pun intended), there is hope. This is the year the Sixers, as we all hoped last year, will have their rebuilding season. Because of their limitations, the Sixers will have the ability to get a quality player in the high lottery next season. I fully expect a top 5 draft pick for the team next year. I anticipate no more than 25-28 wins for them as I see a ton of growing pains in the upcoming season.