August 20, 2026
In the latter stages of my career at WIP, one question cropped up more than any other. People wanted to know how I could form such strong opinions without ever stepping into a locker room. With my usual bravado, I would respond with a question of my own: You do know the games are televised, don’t you?
I practically lived in locker rooms the first 20 years of my career, covering the Boston Celtics before moving to Philly and serving as a reporter on the Eagles and Flyers. I can still recall vividly the resentment the beat writers felt for the big-shot radio and TV people who would show up once a week, if that, and still deliver scathing critiques.
How dare he express that opinion without hanging out with the grunts like us?
Is it fair to rip someone when you never talked to the player or his coach?
Aren’t you in a much better position to offer an opinion once you’ve heard from all sides?
It took me a long time to realize that the best answer to all of those questions is, You do know the games are televised, don’t you?
In other words, do you trust your own eyes, or do you need affirmation from the people looking to put the most positive spin on a potentially negative situation?
I learned to trust my own eyes. In fact, over time I felt more comfortable expressing my opinion than in parroting the bogus words of the sports fabulists. Today, more than ever, the polishing of turds has become a shameless art.
The latest example of this – maybe the best example I have ever seen – just unfolded in the aftermath of the putrid debut of the new Eagles offense during their 27-7 loss to Baltimore in the preseason opener. The new system devised by novice offensive coordinator Sean Mannion managed to amass 55 yards and zero points until the final drive of the game, when the Birds’ fourth-string QB Cole Payton drove the Philly scrubs down the field and scored against Baltimore scrubs. It’s doubtful a single player on that field at the end will make an NFL roster this season.
I didn’t have to wait long for someone – no doubt bamboozled by the PR machine surrounding the Eagles – to tell me what I was seeing wasn’t true.
Sure enough, it took only one day for the polishing process to begin.
The headline read: Better Than It Looked?
This time the offender was an Inquirer writer, Devin Jackson, who broke down the tape of that debacle with a deluge of babble about outside run schemes and pre-snap motion. If Devin wanted to prove he understands football, good. I’m convinced. There was only one problem. He saw the tree without ever noticing the forest.
For the most part, fans don’t care about all of the inside football jargon that media types love to spout now for no apparent reason other than to show off their extensive knowledge of the game.
Jackson actually sent out this message on X: From a presentation perspective, I think it just makes more sense to try and give the defense a completely different formational look. #Eagles go from 10 personnel to empty, run a basic stick concept.
Hey, maybe it was just a typo. Maybe he meant to type a basic stink concept. After all, the fans watching the game definitely got the impression that the new offense sucked. Sean Mannion’s first step into his new job was worse than anyone could have imagined last Saturday night. It was worse than at any time last season, when the offensive coordinator, Kevin Patullo, was unmasked as a complete fraud, promoted to a position he couldn’t handle by Nick Sirianni, his head coach and best buddy.
I’ll say it again: With their No. 2 and 3 quarterbacks, the Eagles gained 55 yards passing, on 16 attempts. That isn’t bad. It’s embarrassing, regardless of whether the Birds went with 10 personnel or empty.
They sucked, OK? There isn’t enough polish in the world to shine that turd. So stop trying, please.
Now, more than ever, it’s smart for fans to believe their own eyes.
The games are all on TV. Watch them. Form an opinion. Block out the noise.
Because more now than ever, all of that noise is designed to distract you from the truth.
At the grizzled age of 67, Vic Fangio is emerging as a breakout star on the press conference podium. Hey, we all knew he was a terrific defensive coordinator, but now, in his fitfh season with the Eagles, he has become the life of a very dull party.
Think about it. Now that A.J. Brown is gone, who’s going to spice up the work of the many talking heads in those big intervals of time between games?
Nick Sirianni? Not a chance. He hasn’t said anything interesting since he compared his first team to a flower.
Jalen Hurts? I like the guy, but a quote machine he is not. It’s nice to see an occasional smile these days, though. Just don’t hold your breath waiting for some verbal juice.
Jeff Lurie? The owner talks only when he can crow about what a genius he is. He is no genius. So, I’ll pass.
And now along comes Fangio, with a tongue as sharp as his blitzes. Where was this guy for the past for the past half-decade? And why did he decide now to deviate from the boilerplate script?
The first evidence that Vic was emerging from his cocoon came at the beginning of training camp when, out of nowhere, the DC didn’t want to answer a question about the dubious depth at safety, so he announced he was going to “pull a Fauci” and take the 5th.
Just a day earlier, Anthony Fauci, the former medical advisor to two presidents, refused all questions during a Congressional hearing. If Dr. Fauci could do it, why not defense doctor Vic Fangio?
Then on Wednesday Fauci struck again with more pithy humor. He was asked about underachieving DT Ty Robinson, who is embarking upon his second NFL season. Robinson made his first impact in public during the first preseason game in Baltimore.
“Yeah, he came to life,” Fangio said at the next news conference. “He’s been on life support since he came here, but he came to life. Let’s hope that continues.”
Wow. A person in authority on the Eagles actually shed some light on a situation without lapsing into absurd profundities and blatant subterfuge?
My guess is, media bully Bob Lange, the PR stalwart, was not pleased at all with his suddenly unmuffled assistant coach.
Will somebody on the Eagles shut up Vic Fangio?
I’d really love to see them try.
Some bonus points. . . .
- Media heroes are harder than ever to find during the corporatization of America, but one clearly emerged last week. His name is Matt Calkins, a sports columnist at the gutless Seattle Times who abruptly resigned after 11 years when the politics of the newspaper took precedence over free speech. Calkins had the backbone to address the Sophie Cunnhignham controversy in the WNBA by agreeing with the star player that people in sports should compete only against people of the same gender. The Times killed the column, forcing Calkins to take a stand. Bravo to him. If I owned a media outlet, I would hire him today.
- By the way, just so no one thinks I’m ducking the issue myself, I think it’s outrageous to allow transgender men to compete against women. The only thing that amazes me about this idiotic debate is that there are apparently WOKE people who think otherwise. If more people stand up the way Calkins did, maybe we can move on to a controversy more worthy of debate.
- The dog days of August indeed. Am I the only fan who has to make a real effort these days to care about the Phillies? MLB has created a scenario when the good teams are assured a playoff spot months before the end of the season. By now, we know pretty much who’s making the preseason and who’s not. (The Phillies are.) So where’s the drama? I think I’ll wait until October.
- An emailer pointed out to me the other day that LeBron James never held his introductory new conference with the Sixers after his momentous decision last month to play his final days in Philly. Isn’t this unusual for a high-profile new addition? No, it’s not – because this high-profile addition, LeBron James, makes his own rules. Get accustomed to this theme. It promises to recur often in the new season.
- The most amusing story of the week, at least to me, was the report that new Phillie Luis Arraez actually works on his swing with a tee right in his hotel room. My very next thought was, there would be a lot less damage to the room if the countless whiffers in baseball these days tried the same thing. (Are you listening, Kyle Schwarber (184 K’s)?