A little bit on sports

Like many people in South Jersey, I follow Philadelphia sports with a perhaps unhealthy degree of loyalty. Like many people in the United States, I watched the Eagles/ Bears game on Sunday Night Football yesterday. I decided to take some space here to discuss it, because it's something I feel strongly about.

1. I'm not sure that Sav Rocca's going to pan out. An 11 yard punt just isn't going to cut it in this league, or any league, really. Rocca seems to alternate between kicking sixty yards and twenty, but I'd personally rather have one that just consistently hit 35.

2. DeSean Jackson's really found his role in the Eagle offense. Early in his rookie year, the Eagles were using him in a very slot-receiver, hooks-and-slants, Wes Welker-type role. They've learned to compensate for his size and take better advantage of his speed by turning him into a Randy Moss-style bombs-away receiver. His 48-yard touchdown reception last night was his shortest score of the year, which is really just remarkable.

2. The defense needs outside linebacker Akeem Jordan back. The defense has looked throughly mediocre against Dallas, San Diego, and now Chicago, and the depletion of the linebacking corps seems to be the only apparent cause.

3. Here's hoping that Sheldon Brown and Asante Samuel are both healthy. Having Quentin Mikell and Macho Harris playing corner might work against Chicago receivers Devin Hester and Johnie Knox, but it won't work as well against Washington receivers Santana Moss and Antwaan Randle-El, and it really won't work against San Francisco receivers Michael Crabtree and Josh Morgan.

4. It's nice to be able to run, huh? Good game by LeSean McCoy last night filling in for Brian Westbrook, who I'm not expecting to see in uniform again.

5. Speaking of which, it's good to see the league paying more attention to concussions. They're very serious injuries, and in the past players were willing to play through them. The inuries to Westbrook, et al. has finally brought some needed attention to the issue. As much as I'd love to see Brian Westbrook back, it's not remotely worth it if it means he'd be in a wheelchair the rest of his life.

6. The people on Football Night in Philly are a little annoying. I'm no fan of the Michael Vick signing, and I'm not going to pretend that he's been productive this year, but last night the talking heads on FNP were downplaying Vick's 35-yard run because "it's not the Wildcat. McNabb's not on the field." It seems to me to be a rather irrelevant distinction.

7. That's hardly a defense of Vick. The direct-snap offense has been much more potent with WR Jeremy Maclin, WR DeSean Jackson, and RB LeSean McCoy that it has been with Vick.

8. Not the Eagles game, but I never thought in a million years that I would have actually wanted to see a Cleveland Browns/ Detroit Lions game. What a wild finish.