NOTES FROM THE NOSEBLEEDS: So long, Hip-Hop

Vince Young rallies Eagles on final drive, beating Giants 17-10 | Flyers go 1-2 on the week | Sixers mascot Hip-Hop retires

0 comments

NOTES FROM THE NOSEBLEEDS: So long, Hip-Hop

POSTED: Wednesday, November 23, 2011, 12:00 PM

Sports nut Massimo Pulcini rounds up a week of everything Philly sports. Holy turkey balls!

VINCE YOUNG RALLIES EAGLES ON FINAL DRIVE, BEATS GIANTS 17-10

It was a game Philly was actually supposed to lose. No Mike Vick, no Jeremy Maclin, no hope to make the playoffs—in essence, no real reason to keep fighting. But on Sunday night, the Eagles did just that—they fought. And behind a patchwork offense of backups led by quarterback Vince Young (pictured), the Birds beat the rival New York Giants on national prime-time television in their own stadium, 17-10.

Undermanned, the Eagles entered the Sunday night matchup without two of their most dangerous offensive playmakers. Quarterback Mike Vick, who has been playing hurt all season, finally missed a game, this time due to two cracked ribs. Also sitting was the team’s leading receiver, Jeremy Maclin, out with a hamstring injury. In their places started quarterback Vince Young, a former starter and Pro-Bowler with Tennessee who was more well know for his “Dream Team” coronation in the summer than his arm, and receiver Reilly Cooper, who was well know for…well, nothing.

From the beginning of the game, one thing was clear—this would be a physical and a hard hitting affair. The two teams don’t like each other, and that was very evident throughout, as every play seemingly ended with a hard hit, small scuffle, or both. The Eagles defense, who, along with offensive turnovers, has been Philly’s biggest issue this season, turned in its best performance yet, holding the Giants to a measly 29 yards on the ground. The defense also bullied New York quarterback Eli Manning, intercepting him once and sacking him three times.

The first three quarters of the game were actually rather boring. The Eagles opened up scoring via an Alex Henry field goal in the second quarter, making it 3-0, Eagles. The field goal was set up by a 32-yard pass to DeSean Jackson, who had been benched last week for missing a mandatory team meeting.

But Jackson, one of the league’s fasted players, is also famous for having a fast mouth. After hauling in a 50-yard catch from Young, Jackson turned to the Giants bench and taunted them, drawling an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that neutralized the big gain.

Then speedster would strike back though, and in a redeeming play, returned a Steve Weatherford punt 51-yards at the end of the second quarter. Jackson almost broke it for a score but was pushed out of bounds at the Giants 14. The Eagles scored on the next play, a pass to from Young to former-Giant Steve Smith that made it 10-0. The Giant would then drive down field and settle for a Lawrence Tynes field goal to make it 10-3, Eagles, going into the locker room.

Both Philly and New York would struggle in the third quarter, producing no points for either team. But the Giants weren’t done yet, as Manning threw a 24-yard score to Victor Cruz to tie the game up with 11:36 left to play in the game. This was the sixth time that the Eagles had relinquished a lead in the fourth quarter this season, and they went on to lose all of those matches. The only chance the Birds had to win now fell onto the shoulder pads of Vince Young, a quarterback who had at one point in his career had made a name for himself in both college and the pros for his uncanny ability to pull out fourth quarter comebacks.

VY went on to lead the Eagles on an epic, 18-play, 80-yard drive over 8:51. On the drive, the Eagles converted six third-down plays, including a 10-yard catch to DeSean Jackson that made it first and goal on the Giants 10. Jackson would finish with six catches for 88 yards. It was then time for Cooper, a player who came into the game as a special teams player with zero catches on the year, to take center stage. Cooper ran to the back of the end zone and caught Young’s pass, completing an 8-yard reception that put the Birds on top, 17-10, with 2:45 left in the game. Vince Young was brilliant on the drive, going 8-10 for 69 yards and the score, including going 5-5 for 44 yards on third down situations.

That left the defense—the same defense that gave up all those forth quarter leads—to try and preserve the victory. It wasn’t pretty at first, as Manning drove the Giants down the field to the Eagles 21 after a 47-yard pass to Cruz. Although they had bent, the Eagles wouldn’t break this time. On the next play, Jason Babin, who has been a terror to opposing signal callers all season, sacked Manning and stripped the ball from him, and Eagles defensive tackle Derek Landri scooped up the ball, giving possession to the Birds. Shady McCoy (23 carries for 113 yards) would then bust off a 60-yard run to seal the victory for the Eagles.

Young finished 23-36 for 258 yards, with two scores and three picks. Despite the turnovers, he buckled down and was unstoppable when it mattered most—in the fourth quarter. It was Vince Young’s 13^th game winning drive in 48 career starts, an amazing stat that tells a lot about the quarterback’s instincts with the game on the line. Coach Andy Reid, who had to be sweating bullets at the end of the game, had this to say about Young after the comeback was completed:

"Vince, stepping in for the great Michael Vick, that's a tough thing to do and he did it and the guys rallied around him," said the coach. "The offensive line and defensive line played well, the offensive line had a huge challenge when it counted and they were able to put some things together."

With Mike Vick till listed as day-to-day with his rib injury, it is uncertain if Vince Young will once again lead the Birds onto the field next weekend when Philly takes on the vaunted New England Patriots. That game is next Sunday at 4:15 at Lincoln Financial Field, and is a rematch of Super Bowl 39, when Tom Brady, Deion Branch, and company beat the Donovan McNabb and T.O. led Eagles in Jacksonville all those years ago.

FLYERS GO 1-2 ON THE WEEK

Last Thursday night, the Flyers matched up against the Phoenix Coyotes, the former team of new Flyers’ goal tender Ilya Bryzgalov (pictured).

After a scoreless first, James van Riemsdyk got one in net, his seventh goal of the year, and put the Flyers up, 1-0. Van Riemsdyk was promoted to first line after Jaromir Jagr left with an injury, and filled in nicely.

Mikkel Boedker scored a goal 3:38 into the third period to tie it up for Phoenix, making it 1-1. With 18.6 seconds left, Matt Read knocked in a rebound to make a winner out of Bryzgalov and lift the Philadelphia Flyers to a 2-1 victory. Bryzgalov finished with 30 saves and a save percentage of .968.

On Saturday, the Flyers played the Winnipeg Jets in Canada. Winnipeg ganged up on the Fly Boys early, gaining a 3-0 lead in the first. Scott Hartnell scored at the end of the opening period to make it 3-1 going into the second.

The second period saw another offensive flurry by the Jets—they scored two more goals to make it 5-1. Hartnell then added his second goal with just under four minutes to make it 5-2.

In the third, the Flyers tried to mount a comeback, thanks to two back-to-back Matt Reed (also pictured) goals that brought the Bullies within one. But Nik Antropov scored unassisted for Winnipeg with under two left to play, making it 6-4. The scored would hold and the Flyers would lose for the first time in regulation time in nine games, and broke their three game winning streak.

On Monday night, the Flyers played the Carolina Hurricanes, a team that had only won once in their past 11 meetings against Philadelphia, and sported a 1-17-3 record in the past 21 match ups with the Flyers. The trend didn’t hold true this time.

Carolina jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first, thanks to goals by Alexei Ponikarovsky and Jeff Skinner.

Van Riemsdyk then scored his eighth of the year, to cut the lead to one, but Chad LaRose got his sixth a few minutes later to restore Carolina's two-goal lead. The Flyers once again got within a goal when Read, a rookie, scored his ninth of the season at 12:24 of the second, making the score 3-2. Read has scored a goal in five straight games, and has been impressive in his first season. But Ponikarovsky would then score his second for Carolina, making it 4-2 at the final whistle.

Next week, the Flyers visit the Big Apple twice, for match ups against both the Islanders and Rangers on Wednesday and Saturday respectively. They play a home game against Montreal in between the two New York matches on Friday.

IN OTHER PHILLY SPORTS NEWS

It’s hard to pump out any relevant news for the Sixers — The NBA is in the thick of an ugly lockout that has seemingly canceled this season. One change that is certain for the Sixers in the locked out year is that Hip-Hop (pictured), the never beloved, long eared mascot for the organization, won’t be back to see pro basketball return to the court. Fans had been writing to the Sixers to bury the bunny and change the team mascot to represent a change in era for the organization. Now that Hip-Hop has been put out to pasture, the job of creating a new mascot fall onto Jim Henson's Creature Shop or Raymond Entertainment Group, whose founder is Dave Raymond, the original Phillie Phanatic.

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

Posted by Massimo Pulcini @ 12:00 PM Permalink | Post a comment

0 comments

Comments (0)

Q&A with SHARI SOLANIS: "The goal isn't pornography"
What we're trying to do this weekend
Coming soon to Philly: Two cockamamie movie promotion schemes
SEXY TIME Q&A: I've never had an orgasm during sex with a man — and I'm 30!
ICE CUBE: In Memoriam: Joe Tartaglia
Q&A with Tony Goldwyn: "Life is gray, and relationships are, too"
CONCERT REVIEW: Primus (3D & quadraphonic sound) @ The Tower 10/17
PHILLY LOVE NOTES: An ode to Spruce Street
ICEPACK ILLUSTRATED: The Archbishop meets the Geator, the Mayor goes suit shopping, Le Bec Fin fin.
CONCERT REVIEW & PHOTOS: James Blake @ TLA 5/11

About this blog

Featuring everything from event roundups to concert reviews and sex talk, City Paper's Critical Mass is a space for off-the-wall coverage of Philly's A&E scene.

Follow Critical Mass editors Patrick Rapa and Emily Guendelsberger on Twitter:

@mission2denmark | @emilygee

Search this blog:

Topics:

Blog archives:

May
April
March

February
January

Past Archives: