Brooky: A title for Philadelphia teams? It's likely to be a while
Another year is about to expire without one of Philadelphia's four major professional franchises winning a championship. It has not reached the point where profits can be made from selling T-shirts detailing droughts. Kids graduating from high school and college in 2017 still have fond memories of that parade down Broad Street following the world bleeping championship the Phillies won in 2008.
Another year is about to expire without one of Philadelphia's four major professional franchises winning a championship. It has not reached the point where profits can be made from selling T-shirts detailing droughts. Kids graduating from high school and college in 2017 still have fond memories of that parade down Broad Street following the world bleeping championship the Phillies won in 2008.
On the other hand, we are fast approaching a decade without a title in a city that had to wait a quarter century between its previous two titles. It's also safe to say that 2017 is not going to be the year that ends this mini-dry spell even if you are excited about the Flyers' recent 10-game winning streak. More about that later.
In fact, it's far easier to see a future that takes us into the 2020s before one of the four teams in the city is even ready to compete for a title again.
Let's start with the Eagles. They will finish their third straight season out of the playoffs, which is only the second time that has happened in the last 29 seasons. This season also represents the first time in this century that the Eagles have had consecutive losing seasons.
All their eggs are in Carson Wentz's basket because that's where de facto general manager Howie Roseman decided to place them before this season. Based on the quarterback's rookie season, it does not look like a bad place for the eggs to be, but there's certainly no guarantee that Wentz is going to hatch into a Super Bowl-winning quarterback.
He played better than his stats - 14 touchdowns, 14 interceptions and a 78.2 passer rating - but it was also clear he has a lot to learn. Roseman did his rookie quarterback no favors by forcing him into a starting role on a team devoid of quality receivers. Rookie coach Doug Pederson also leaned too heavily on his prized rookie by making him throw an average of 37.6 passes per game.
The Eagles had a defensive team that too often started slowly and had trouble getting off the field on third down.
Quality cornerbacks and receivers are obviously at the top of the to-do list and running back should also be on there, too. It's hard to imagine Roseman getting enough of what the Eagles need in one offseason to compete for a division title next year, let alone a Super Bowl.
The Phillies, for the third straight season, figure to be bad by design in 2017. They have finally cleared the roster of all the remnants from that world bleeping championship team and they've bolstered the bullpen with some quality veteran arms.
Still, it's difficult to figure out where the runs are going to come from on a team that was last in the National League in that department last season, a feat that should be impossible when your home field is Citizens Bank Park. The addition of Howie Kendrick was not nearly enough.
In essence, the Phillies are still holding tryouts. You'll know when they're over because they'll start spending a lot of money in the free-agent market. Inquirer beat writer Matt Gelb predicts it will happen in 2019, which would make the Phillies' 2017 motto "wait until the year after next year." Good luck with that one, marketing department.
On to the Flyers, the only team to make the playoffs in 2016 and the one that appears closest to being a championship contender again.
Of course, one month ago they were 9-10-3 and appeared as lost as the other teams in the city. Then they went on their 10-game winning streak that boosted them into the playoff picture. You have to love the young talent of defenseman Ivan Provorov and the quartet of Claude Giroux, Wayne Simmonds, Brayden Schenn, and Jake Voracek is playing terrific hockey.
But that 10-game winning streak was a little deceiving for a number of reasons. The Flyers were outshot in six of those 10 games and relied heavily on the goaltending of Steve Mason and Anthony Stolarz. Six of the wins were by one goal or fewer and all 10 were decided by two goals or fewer. It was not as if they dominated.
Six of the 10 games were at home and only two were against teams that currently have a winning record. In five-on-five situations, the Flyers are 17th in the league in goal differential, having been outscored, 79-76. Look at the best teams in the league and they all excel in five-on-five hockey.
So, yes, the Flyers are headed in the right direction, but they still have a long way to go.
We saved the 76ers for last because that's where they have been in the NBA and the city standings for so, so long. Believe it or not, however, they are the last team in the city to actually win a playoff series. Who can forget the 2012 first-round victory over the Chicago Bulls?
The Process started shortly after that and we're still in the midst of it even though Sam Hinkie is off somewhere speed listening to books we could not possibly understand.
At the moment the Sixers are like one of those pictures you used to stare at until you could make out something really cool. Some people could see the really cool thing. I admit that I never could. I'm willing to give it another try, however.
Once general manager Bryan Colangelo sorts through all the trees and decides which ones to keep and which to cut down, and once Ben Simmons actually plays in a game, I'm hoping to see something revolutionary.
Right now, however, I still see the boring teens continuing in the near future on the Philadelphia professional sports scene with the hope that they lead to the Soaring Twenties.
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