NOTES FROM THE NOSEBLEEDS: Should have been a field day

Eagles lose to Cardinals | Flyers go 2-1 on last week's road trip | Philly honors "Smokin'" Joe Frazier | Temple Owls defeat Penn Quakers | Another womp-womp for Joe Paterno

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NOTES FROM THE NOSEBLEEDS: Should have been a field day

POSTED: Tuesday, November 15, 2011, 1:00 PM

Sports nut Massimo Pulcini rounds up a week of everything Philly sports. Hockey puck!

EAGLES LOSE TO CARDINALS

It’s easy to compare the 2011 Eagles to a horrible car accident: What started out as a little bump in the road soon escalated into a full-blown crash. That initial impact led to a massive pile-up, and just when everyone thought the Birds could make it out of the wreckage safe and sound, the entire thing blew up in thin air. That’s what Sunday’s loss to the Arizona Cardinals was — the bang that has effectively left the Eagles dead and embarrassed.

It started early Sunday morning when news broke that Coach Andy Reid would bench All-Pro receiver DeSean Jackson for the afternoon’s matchup against the Cards. The punishment came after Jackson missed a team meeting on Saturday after reportedly sleeping in after a long night on Friday. The benching would mean that the Eagles would be without their primary downfield weapon for the critical contest.

Despite not having Jackson available, nobody went into Sunday fearing Arizona, who came to the Linc without their starting quarterback and former Eagle, Kevin Kolb. Instead, it was John Skelton who led the all-around unimpressive Arizona squad onto the field. With a defense ranked close to the bottom of the league, it should have been a field day for the Eagle’s offense, Mike Vick (pictured), LeSean McCoy, Jeremy Maclin, Brent Celek and company.

The key phrase here is “should have,” because the Eagles clearly didn’t deliver on Sunday. After a scoreless first quarter, the Birds struck first, putting up the opening touchdown via an interception return by Pro-Bowl cornerback Asante Samuel, where he jumped a route and took a Skelton pass 20 yards the other way into the end zone. It was Samuel’s ninth career touchdown and his first since an opening round win in the NFC playoffs in 2008 against the Minnesota Vikings.

Skelton and the Cards fired back when the backup quarterback found star receiver Larry Fitzgerald in the end zone, evening the score at seven. The Eagles scored again before halftime with a 1-yard McCoy touchdown run. McCoy’s touchdown — his tenth of the year — put the Eagles on top 14-7.

After another scoreless quarter in the third, the Cardinals tied the game with another Fitzgerald catch, making it 14-14. The Eagles would bounce back and take the lead thanks to a Nnamdi Asomugha interception that set up Alex Henery’s 36-yard field goal making it 17-14, Eagles, with just over five minutes left to play.

With a pass rush and secondary loaded with All-Pro talent like the Eagles, it was hard to imagine the possibility of a John Skelton-led team to drive down the field and win the game with five minutes remaining in the game. I guess Philly needs a more active imagination then, because Skelton did just that.

The Arizona signal-caller completed a 30-yard pass to LaRod Stephens-Howling on fourth-and-two from the Cardinals 32 to keep the drive alive, and extended it once more on third-and-ten play from the Eagles 38, where Fitzgerald made an eye-popping catch to the 1. Arizona running back Beanie Wells was stopped for no gain and lost four yards on the next two plays, but Skelton hit receiver Early Doucet for a go-ahead touchdown to cap the 87-yard drive and give the Cardinals a 21-17 lead.

Mike Vick would then throw an interception, his second of the day, in the Eagles last ditch effort to come back and win, sealing the Birds’ defeat at 21-17. It was later revealed that Vick played the game with broken ribs and that the injury may have affected his accuracy throughout the game. His status for next week is unknown. So the Eagles, who have had a lead in the fourth quarter of every home game they've played this year, threw another one away — literally. According to a post-game tweet by Reuben Frank of CSN Philadelphia, the Eagles are the first team in NFL history to blow four fourth-quarter leads at home in a single season — and Sunday's loss was just the Eagles' fifth home game of the year. To put it simply, the Eagles can’t seem to finish this season. The team, despite it undeniable talent, speed and potential, hasn’t gelled into the dominant group that everyone expected coming into the season. "We've all got to do better," said Andy Reid after the game. But Reid is starting to sound like a broken record, saying the same thing over and over again after each loss. If he wants to keep his job after this season results need to be seen, and he can’t lose his team to frustration and anger. The Eagles play the New York Giants next week on NBC’s Sunday Night Football at 8:20 p.m.

FLYERS GO 2-1 ON LAST WEEK’S ROAD TRIP

The Flyers began a three-game road trip last Wednesday, starting with a matchup against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The game also marked the return of Flyers’ captain and best defensive player, Chris Pronger (pictured), who played in his first game since sustaining a right-eye against Toronto on Oct. 24. A scoreless first period was followed by a Scott Hartnell power-play goal in the second period. Tampa fought back and Marc-Andre Bergeron scored on a power play of his own to tie it up in the third. When two late power-play opportunities yielded no points for the Lightning, the game then shifted to overtime. But Tampa wouldn’t waste any more opportunities, and Brett Connolly scored 2:30 into overtime to give the Lightning a 2-1 victory. Staying in sunny Florida, but moving south to Sunrise, the Flyers next opponents were the Florida Panthers on Sunday night. Flyers forward Danny Briere got the Fly Boys on the board first in the first period, making it 1-0, Flyers. Both teams then traded goals in the second, making it 2-1, Flyers, entering the third. In the third period, Matt Read scored a short-handed goal for the Flyers, giving them a 3-1 lead. A Panthers’ goal late in the third made it 3-2, but the defense, now refortified with Pronger’s return, held strong and got the Flyers a victory.

The Flyers closed up their road trip on Monday night against the Carolina Hurricanes. Claude Giroux turned in one of best performances of the season, delivering a goal in the first and second quarter. Giroux would also assist Wayne Simmonds’ goal in the second, giving Giroux three points on the night. Maxime Talbot and Matt Read also scored for the Flyers, and Pronger’s defense didn’t relinquish any lead, giving the Broad Street Bullies a 5-3 win.

This week, the Flyers play three games — a home matchup against the Phoenix Coyotes that will be goalie Ilya Bryzgalov’s first game against his former team, an away game at Winnipeg on Saturday, and another game against Carolina on Monday.

IN OTHER (mostly) PHILLY SPORTS NEWS

Mayor Nutter and Flyers owner Ed Snider put together a public viewing for boxing great “Smokin'” Joe Frazier this weekend at the Wells Fargo Center. Frazier’s white, closed casket was laid in the center of the stadium with his trademark black cowboy hat and a white blanket reading "Heavyweight Champion of the World, Smokin' Joe Frazier — Your friend, Jake," placed on top of it. The viewing allowed fans to pay respects to a Philly legend that was best known for beating Muhammad Ali. Private funeral services for Frazier were held Monday at the Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church (2800 W. Cheltenham Ave.), where prominent boxing figures like Ali, boxer Larry Holmes and promoter Don King were in attendance. ➤ In their latest big move this off-season, the Phillies signed former Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon to a five-year deal worth just over $50 million. Papelbon will most likely replace free agent Ryan Madsen as the Phils’ primary pitching option in the ninth inning next season. ➤ Philadelphia Big 5 basketball kicked off Monday night when Temple played Penn at the historic Palestra in University City. Led by Jaun Fernandez’s 19 points, the Owls defeated the Quakers in overtime, 73-67. ➤ In the midst of the controversy surrounding college football legend Joe Paterno (pictured), the Big Ten football conference announced on Monday that the Big Ten Championship Trophy, which was to be called the Stagg-Paterno Trophy, will now be known as the Stagg Trophy. Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany said in a statement, “We believe that it would be inappropriate to keep Joe Paterno's name on the trophy at this time. The trophy and its namesake are intended to be celebratory and aspirational, not controversial. We believe that it's important to keep the focus on the players and the teams that will be competing in the inaugural championship game."

(massimo.pulcini@citypaper.net) (@massimopulcini)

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