The Birds Grind One Out vs DC, Now On To Nashville
🦅 EAGLES VS. TITANS PREVIEW 🦅
The Eagles fly into Nashville on Sunday looking to start the season 2-0 after surviving Washington 24-22 in the opener. It wasn’t always pretty, and the Commanders made it way too close late, but a win is a win. Now the Birds face a Titans team that looked pretty damn rough in its 23-10 opening loss to the Jets. Tennessee managed only 195 yards of offense, and Calvin Ridley somehow went the entire game without a target. That feels almost impossible, but congratulations to them for finding a way.
Cam Ward has talent, a cannon for an arm and enough mobility to cause trouble, but this Eagles defense should make his afternoon miserable. Zack Baun is already flying around like a lunatic after earning NFC Defensive Player of the Week, and the Birds need to keep the pressure coming without letting Ward escape and extend plays.
The biggest concern is the Eagles’ offensive line without Landon Dickerson. Whoever starts at left guard gets the lovely assignment of dealing with Jeffery Simmons, so that should be relaxing. The offense also needs to stay on the field longer after managing only 10 first downs against Washington. Feed Saquon, get Dallas Goedert involved early and let Jalen Hurts make Tennessee pay through the air when they crowd the box.
This is one of those games a good football team should handle. Don’t get cute, don’t let an inferior team hang around and don’t turn Nashville into another four hour blood pressure test. Go Birds, Dickhead!
Prediction: Eagles 27, Titans 16.
📅 Sunday, September 20
⏰ 1:00 p.m.
📍 Nissan Stadium
📺 FOX
🦉 TEMPLE VS. TOLEDO PREVIEW 🦉
Temple heads to the Glass Bowl on Saturday for a real measuring-stick game against Toledo. Both teams are 1-1, but they arrive there in completely different moods. The Owls are coming off a 27-9 loss to Penn State, while Toledo just beat Central Connecticut State 63-10 like somebody forgot to turn the difficulty level up.
Don’t let that 63-piece scare you too much, though. This isn’t Penn State, and Temple showed it could hang around with a ranked opponent before the Nittany Lions pulled away in the second half. Now the Owls need to turn that effort into points because field goals and moral victories aren’t getting anybody excited around here.
The biggest job will be stopping Toledo’s explosive plays. Rockets quarterback John Alan Richter already has five touchdowns with only one interception, and Rico Bond just burned the defense for an 85-yard touchdown last week. Temple’s defense, led by Eric Stuart and Curly Ordonez, has to keep everything in front of it and make Toledo earn every yard instead of giving up a couple of cheap touchdowns.
Offensively, feed the running game, protect the football and figure out which quarterback can move the team consistently. Whether it’s Jaxon Smolik or Ajani Sheppard, Temple can’t spend the afternoon playing quarterback roulette while Toledo is launching rockets all over the damn field.
Toledo has won seven straight games at the Glass Bowl, so this won’t be easy. But if Temple controls the ball, avoids the big mistake and punches it into the end zone when the opportunity is there, the Owls can absolutely steal this one.
Go Owls!
📅 Saturday, September 19
⏰ 3:00 p.m.
📍 Glass Bowl — Toledo, Ohio
📺 CBS Sports Network
Villanova vs. LIU Preview
Villanova heads to Long Island on Saturday looking to get back on track after Louisville handed the Wildcats a 59-13 beatdown. We can call that one a “learning experience” and keep it moving.
The good news is LIU hasn’t exactly been terrifying anybody. The Sharks are 0-3, averaging just over 13 points per game and giving up points like they’re handing out free samples.
Villanova needs to establish the run, give Pat McQuaide time to throw and avoid the turnovers that can turn an easy afternoon into unnecessary Philly-area stress. Defensively, the Wildcats should be hungry to make a statement after giving up 59 last week.
This is a game Villanova should control. Just don’t show up thinking LIU will roll over because it’s their Homecoming game, and winless teams love treating games like this as their Super Bowl.
📅 Saturday, September 19
⏰ Noon
📍 Shark Stadium — Brookville, New York
⚾ Phillies vs. Mets Series Preview: Fuck the Mets
The Phillies roll into Citi Field for four games against the Mets, and let’s get the important part out of the way first: Fuck. The. Mets.
New York is already eliminated from playoff contention, while the Phillies are fighting for their postseason lives. That means the Mets have nothing left to play for besides trying to ruin our season, because being annoying is basically their organizational identity.
Thursday: Aaron Nola vs. Nolan McLean
Friday: Alan Rangel vs. Zach Thornton
Saturday: Andrew Painter vs. Christian Scott
Sunday: Cristopher Sánchez vs. Jonah Tong
Nola has pitched much better lately and needs to keep that going in the opener. Friday is the scary one with Rangel taking the injured Jesús Luzardo’s spot, so the Phillies’ bats can’t take the night off. Painter has looked sharper since returning from Triple-A, while Sánchez desperately needs to rediscover his first-half form after getting smacked around in his last two starts.
The Mets are 69-83, eliminated and coming off a sweep by Baltimore. The Phillies cannot stumble into the scummy confines of Queens and play down to them. Beat the team you’re supposed to beat, take care of business and don’t give their miserable fans one last happy memory before they crawl back into their holes for the winter.
Would I love a sweep? Absolutely. Am I predicting one and tempting the baseball gods? Hell no.
Jawn’s Prediction: Phillies take three out of four.
Now go bury these clowns and strengthen that Wild Card spot. Fuck The Mets!
-Jawn Kruk
Side Jawn Sports
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