After a 1 point loss in OT to the Orlando Magic the Sixers had an opportunity to get back on the winning road against a Bobcat’s team that they just defeated Monday night.  The Bobcats continued their winning ways at home with a 3 point win over the Sixers dropping the Sixers to 5-18 on the road and 17-25 over all. The Bobcats however would improve to 12-10 at home and 17-24 over all.

The Philadelphia 76ers have been playing quality basketball as of late, however it has been against the lower tier teams of the NBA.  It shows the 76ers have yet to put together any signs of becoming a consistent team! All be it maybe the 76ers are consistent, maybe they are just this bad!  We will all get to see how the Sixers fair against a much better team, then they have faced of late .As the Utah Jazz come into the Wells Fargo Center Saturday night. Utah brings in a 27-15 record as of Thursday night with the Celtics to be played before they stop in at Wells Fargo.

With the loss the Sixers drop 1/2 game behind Indiana for the 8th seed in the playoffs. Consistency will be the Sixers best 6th man for the remainder of the season, or as it has seem to be thus far the one player they have no defense for.

We will see if the Sixers can get some pep in their step after dancing with the Jazz Saturday night!

Williams scores 25 points in the Sixers 1 point victory of the Milwaukee Bucks.  Iguodala picks up 6 rebounds and 7 assists in his second back helping the Sixers get back in the win column after dropping their previous 2 games.

12,650 Philadelphia fans watched L.Williams pop a 3 pointer with just :43 seconds left to give the Sixers the lead back after a late charge by the Bucks took the lead away. E. Brand and A. Iguodala shared 15 points each with L. Williams 25 to help the Sixers make a push for the Eastern Conference 8th seed.

Monday night we will watch and see if the Sixers can put 2 wins together as they host the Bobcats and look to bring their home court record to 12-7, as well try and move to 17-23.  We will see what magic Coach Collins can conjure up to help lead the Sixers towards a playoff push.  This could show us just where the Sixers stand closing in on the halfway point of the season as the Bobcats will have a much more offensive starting 5 as of late. It was apparent the Bobcats can put points up as they lost on the road to a stellar Celtics squad 99-94.

As the Sixers host the Bobcats the Sixers better not take for granted the Bobcats 4-13 road record. The Bobcats starting 5 have been productive as of late. Yes the Bobcats are 28th in the NBA in scoring, averaging just 93.3 points per game, but putting 96 up against the Bulls earlier in the week and hanging with the Celtics Friday night, the Sixers could be catching the Bobcats at the wrong time.  The Sixers can ill afford to lose a big league like they did against the Bucks and bank on L. Williams to drain a 3 in the final minute to come back for the win. Coach Collins could get the Sixers rolling with 2 wins in a row and if the Sixers can hold on to leads and gain some confidence, there is no reason the Sixers can not push for the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

With both teams coming into tonight’s game, 8 games under .500 it appears this would just be another mediocre game between two 3rd place teams heading more for the basement then for the top of their divisions.

With Nocioni playing hurt Iguodala is back on the floor and in his first game back played 33 minutes.  I am thinking with the team sitting 8 games under and not showing much signs of life, why not let the injured Iguodala heal? Which brings me to my next question. Is Doug Collins the man for the job? Where have the Sixers improved? They are 20th in the league averaging 97.1 points per game while allowing 97.8 points per game placing them 14th in the league. The Sixers are also being out rebounded by 10 other teams in the league presently.

Philadelphia has not seen a winning Sixers team is the 2000-2001 campaign when they finished 56-26. With this all being said your Sixers are just 3 losses away from 26 losses, o by the way they are just 41 wins away from the 56 they earned in 2000-2001.  So its evident the Sixers as an organization are not committed to winning, you can see by the roster and their over all commitment to improving their staff.

I look forward to seeing how the season plays out.  Its been 10 years since Philadelphia has been able to host quality basketball.  Now we get to see talented teams play in Philadelphia but we havent seen the Sixers be a talented host.  If you look across the street you see how it worked for the Phillies.  The organization made a commitment from going from the basement to the penthouse and the stadium is packed, year in and year out they are playoff contenders and the fans love the roster!

I’m not convinced its too late for the Sixers to pull out this season, but it would take a monumental effort.  I just do not think they are deep enough for a considerable playoff push.  I hope Doug can pull the team together get them healthy and Philadelphia can start looking to the hardwood and see what they been missing for the passed 10 seasons now. The arena was a blast to go to the vibe in Philly was electric and we all looked forward to the next tip off.

With a little over half the season left we will see if they can bring the vibe back.  I will blogg about the Sixers remaining season and look forward to hearing your opinions.  Tip off is at 7pm est, with as an evenly matched foe as they could ask for.  Here is to the Sixers first step is to get passed the team in the mirror. Get passed the Bucks tonight and play the mediocre Bobcats Monday. Get the win tonight then string the 2nd together Monday night. A good 2 game span to start the turn around.

I guess this is why they play the game.  Let me preference this by letting you all know this is going to be a little difficult for me!  Let me remind you all, I’m a fan of football and really all sports! I’ve never been someone who would don a hat or jersey and say I am a “who ever fan” Now with that said, I was a supporter, fan and believer in the Saints walking threw the Seahwaks. I believed in a previous post (And their has just been 2 so it wont be hard to find!) I used an analogy of jumping in an ocean full of sharks and walking out 99% of the time fine. Something along the lines. Yes its a 1% chance of being ate by JAWS but it was just 1%. Well all I have to say is “STUPID SHARK” I guess the shark does not understand his place! And well I guess I should also not jump in the ocean when its full of sharks!

Boy this is a painful blogg. I have tried to break my keyboard, smash my laptop and crush my fingers, but just like the Saints I couldn’t finish the job!

Pete Carroll had his players ready! He and his staff put together a game plan that turned the defending Super Bowl Champions Saints into just another statistic. Another Super Bowl Champ who fell short the following year. As much as when I blogg this do I believe this, I cant help but think about what I watched just hours ago. I want to believe the Saints fell short, but in actuality I know the Seahawks stopped the defending champions, the Seahawks DEFEATED the defending champions.  Yes D. Brees passed for over 404yds and 2 TD’s good numbers! Heck great numbers just what me and many others thought was going to happen. D.Henderson had 7 receptions for 77yds and 1 TD. M.Colston had 4 receptions for 66yds. Brees spread the ball to 7 other saints for 266yds with H. Evans bringing in one for Drew’s second TD through the air. Now the ground attack of the Saints. They averaged 94.9 yds per game during the regular season. Good enough to finish (yuck) 28th over all in the NFL. Heck that’s 3 spots better then the Seahawks! (They finished dead last) The Saints ground attack well it only rushed for 77 total yards on 22 carries. Yes the Saints scored 2 TD’S on the ground but they finished actually with a lower .yds per game then the Seahawk’s had for their season. (89yds)

What went right for the Seahwaks. M. Hasselbeck passed for 272yds and 4TD’s with 1 int. His QB rating 113.0 Yes the yards are less then Brees, but Hasselbeck threw 2 more TD’s and his rating shows he made better choices. He controlled the game! His efficiency open up the Seahwaks offense. That dead last rushing offense that averaged a league worst 89yds per game, well as the video shows the second season is just what it is. A second season. M. Lynch ran for 131yds on 19 carries with 1 TD and a long of 67yds. That long run, will be remembered for a long time.  It was Walter Paytonesk. (If you dont know who Mr. Payton is, use the power of You Tube and research this man) Lynch’s run was so much a resemblance of the Seattle Seahawks. With a monstrous get off me stiff arm,  Tracy Porter and the Saints were done.

As I sat and watched the games closing moments I noticed something. The 12th man! They were loud and nuts the entire time. They weren’t cheering the 7-9 Seahawk’s, they cheered the 0-0 Seahawk’s! As I sat there watching the Saints up 17-7 early, I shook my head and thought these fans must have very little to cheer for! Then Lynch broke threw the Saints defensive line and on to the end zone, leaving behind a symbolic stiff arm, I got it! It was clear! They believed! The entire stadium knew something everyone outside of Seattle didnt know. The Seahawk’s didnt believe they were 7-9. They believed the would be 1-0. I laughed when Pete Carroll stated the Seahawk’s were just 3 more losses from winning the super bowl. Now the Seahawks just need 2 more losses. A nutty way to look at it, but heck 7-9 was an even nuttier way to make the playoffs, let alone host a game.

In closing a fan asked me to prepare an apology. I thought at first, what a HOMER! Nothing worst then a fan rooting for their team only but for it being their team.  Forget the stats forget the reality of being out played 9 of 16 games and having the worst run game and one of the over all worst offenses in the NFL.

With all this said, I don’t apologize cause “ART” asked me too, I apologize cause he and Seattle was right! The 12th man is fitting in Seattle, you could really see it in the way they played and how it carried them. Hope is a powerful thing. My apologize Art and Seattle! Great job Seahawks and even bigger props for standing strong with your team.

Seahawks are 1-0

Thursday Seattle coach Pete Carroll announced Matt Hasselbeck will start this Saturday against the Saints.

“Carroll announced Thursday that Hasselbeck would return as the starter for the playoffs after being satisfied with how the veteran looked in practice.”

“He’s an accurate passer and the ball comes out very quickly,” Saints coach Sean Payton said. “… He plays with very good tempo.”

Now what does this mean for the Saints Seahawk’s match up? It will give the Seahawk’s a slightly higher chance at winning this game. But in reality the Saints just have too much offense for the Seahawk’s defense, and the Seahawk’s not enough offense for the Saints defense.  I know what the Seahawk’s fans are thinking…. “any given Sunday, and this is why we still play the game”. YOUR RIGHT! But you can jump in the ocean filled with sharks 100 times and come out 99. Regardless of living on the 1% chance its still 1%. Maybe Hasselbeck makes it 2%. Some times it’s just a sure bet. This is as close as a sure bet the Saints wont lose, as if the Saints had a bye week.  The Saints only real concern is to come out healthy and get ready for their first test of the 2011 playoff season.

As we start off week 1 of the NFL playoffs the (7-9) Seahawk’s travel to New Orleans to play the (11-5) Saints in the wild card round of the playoffs.  Wait a minute I mean the (11-5) New Orleans Saints travel to (7-9) Seattle for the first round of the NFC Wild Card Playoffs.  That’s right the (11-5) DEFENDING Super Bowl Champions will begin their defense of their title on the road in Seattle. 7-9 SEATTLE!

Now with that said lets move on………. Still having issues on moving on from a 7 win 9 loss team HOSTING an 11 win team in a playoff game. Let’s blame it on EL NINA, sandwich it in with every one’s record is 0-0 in the second season and we will just agree its OK!

Now WHO DAT fans, lets look at some facts.

Week 11 your New Orleans Saints defeated the NFC WEST Division champions at home 34-19. Drew Brees threw for 382 yards 4 TD’s with 2 Int’s.  Colston had 8 receptions for 113yds and 2 TD’s. And Ivory had 99yds on the ground in 23 carries 1 of which ended with  him in the end zone.

The Seahawk’s finished 27th in the league against the pass and 21st against the rush! Now for the stellar Seahawk’s offense. Averaging 208.8 yds through the air and a clock controlling ground game of 89.0 yd’s per game, by the way WHO DAT fans that’s good enough to finish 19th in the league through the air and a concerning 31st in the league rushing the ball.

With the stats and facts out in the open there are some concerns.  The weather! It’s looking to be wet and chilly. Mid 40s for the kickoff with a 40% chance of rain! That coupled with the Seahawk’s playing the best game a 7-9 team can play is cause for a concern! (Enter Sarcasm here) Let’s face it, if Drew Brees can establish the air game and then get a standard running game from Bush the Saints offense will produce, and with the Saints defense bringing pressure all game, the Seahwak’s will have to put together and all time effort to topple the defending champs!

Forget the talk about who is questionable and who is probable, it’s the second season remember. They aren’t out until they say they are out. And the only ones out as of now are running backs Ivory and Thomas.  So luckily for the Seahawk’s they just need to stop Brees.

Remember WHO DAT fans the Seahawk’s are 27th in the league vs the pass.