It's time to move on from Sam Hinkie and focus on winning championships

Right now, somewhere out there in Philadelphia there is probably a scorned boyfriend who got dumped by his girl and after two years he still has refused to let her go. He monitors her Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts dozens of times per day, texts her an "I miss you" once every few days, and hasn't started dating again because every woman he sees doesn't compare to the girl who broke his heart. And this guy's friends routinely tell him that everything is going to be ok and that "There are plenty of fish in the sea" or some other cliched advice. One friend might be upfront and bluntly tell him that he's pathetic, and after two years he needs to grow up, stop acting like a teenager, to move on with his life, and stop holding a candle to one woman in a city of hundreds of thousands.

Sixers fans find themselves in a similar predicament. Sam Hinkie, a man whom a large portion of the fan base worshipped was forced out of town by commissioner Adam Silver and Jerry Colangelo. Sam Hinkie's power within the organization was so withered down that he was essentially forced to resign from his post as general manager. Jerry Colangelo subsequently hired his son Bryan Colangelo, in a move that outraged many Sixers fans. It wasn't so much his track record or general managing abilities that angered fans, though his track record wasn't exactly the greatest. It had more to do with the slimy way everything went down. How the Sixers broke no rules under Sam Hinkie, still had the NBA commissioner meddle in their affairs, and bring in an aging executive whose face and persona oozes "curmudgeon." How Jerry went on to hire his son, which was perceived in Philly as the most nepotistic move the world has seen since Pope Alexander VI appointed his son Cesare commander of the Papal army. It was was like an obese man being proud of losing 100 pounds after tireless training, only to step on the scale one day and find himself at 300 lbs again. A total nightmare for Sixers fans. Back to the same ol'. The young, forward-thinking GM with fresh ideas gone, and in comes the retread hire to take ourselves back to that treadmill of purgatorial mediocrity forever and ever until the end of our days.

Except it didn't happen. Bryan Colangelo came into town and essentially continued 'The Process' on, in the way everyone wanted. People feared he would try to artificially speed up the rebuild by giving mega-contracts to guys like Harrison Barnes and Allen Crabbe. It didn't happen. Many thought he would trade away all of the Sixers' stockpiled draft capital for aging veterans. It didn't happen. It hasn't been perfect. The Bayless signing(which few took issue with at the time) hasn't turned out so well, albeit with a bad wrist that seemingly still hasn't fully healed and has clearly affected his play. Markelle Fultz, the consensus #1 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, and called by some "A James Harden clone" and projected perfect fit next to Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons shockingly altered his gorgeous shooting form in only a couple offseason months; and that combined with reported shoulder issues, has not been close to what the Sixers envisioned when trading up to snag him, to put it lightly.

If you want to be overly critical, you can even say he mishandled the Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor situations. The return value for both wasn't what fans had hoped for, but I personally have always felt the fans had their expectations set way too high. Every GM in the NBA knew that Bryan Colangelo was stuck between a rock and a hard place. They had to trade at least one of them, both had their share of issues(be it skill or health) which detracted from their value. Fans deluded themselves into thinking they could get quality first round picks for both, which didn't happen. No one knows for sure what every single offer for those players contained, but I highly doubt that if a quality trade package was ever given to him, he wouldn't have accepted it without blinking. I just don't believe the offers were there and I think fans and pundits severely miscalculated their value around the league. However, if you want to blame Bryan for inheriting a tricky situation of big men, I'll even grant you that. Overall, everything is still looking incredibly bright. Once Fultz recovers his jumper, you are going to be adding the perfect compliment to your young superstar duo. Cap room has been preserved to pursue a max level cornerstone free agent in 2018 or 2019. And the Sixers are an attractive destination again to free agents, as was shown by Atlanta Hawks roster casualties Marco Belinelli and Ersan Ilyasova committing to the Sixers when each were pursued by several contending teams.

Sure, a big reason the Sixers are currently a destination is because of the foundational pieces Sam Hinkie's work left behind. But Sam Hinkie isn't here anymore. A lot of contending teams have foundational pieces to attract free agents. They chose the Sixers, and Bryan Colangelo was the man who made that happen. He also was able to lock up Robert Covington on favorable terms, and land sharpshooting free agent JJ Redick on only a one year deal to provide much-needed floor spacing in the starting lineup, and retain cap flexibility in the process.

Yet none of those positives seem to be enough for Sixers fans. Instead of praising the good moves he makes, people focus on the negatives. Instead of appreciating the good in the players he brings in like, say, Amir Johnson, people nitpick the flaws. Instead of having hope in Markelle Fultz returning to his collegiate form, fans declare him a bust at the age of 19 and blame Bryan for a failure of a trade. The Sixers, with their schedule are on pace to have a win total in the mid or high 40's, which would be ahead of schedule to most, yet there is still dissention among the fans. The way you'd hear the fans talk about the way they perceive all the moves he's made, you'd think their future prospects were forever tarnished, yet here we are with a chance to nab a 4th seed in the NBA Eastern Conference playoff standings. And on top of it, the biggest buzz in the city right now is that the Sixers may be the team to land the greatest player in the NBA, and a top 3 all-time talent in LeBron James. Sounds like the Sixers are in a very good situation to me. Thanks to both Sam Hinkie and Bryan Colangelo. Yes, both, Sixers fans. Would I prefer to still have Hinkie here? Of course. But he had his mistakes too, none of which people seem to acknowledge. Excuses are made for him, like "It wasn't his choice to draft Okafor" which can neither be proven or disproven, but the smallest mistake Bryan Colangelo makes everyone will take him to task for it. "Bryan should have known Markelle Fultz would be a headcase." Really? You mean the guy mentally strong enough to bounce back and become the #1 pick in the draft after being cut from his high school basketball team? Bryan should have somehow greenseer'd Fultz's future shooting woes that never had shown the slightest inkling of ever existing? That's called having an agenda, and that's what happens when one is worshipped at a god-like level, as Sam Hinkie is in Philadelphia.

Just like the scorned boyfriend who is so heartbroken, he can never regain the ability to find beauty in another women again, Sixers fans have essentially become the same way. Due to lingering distaste with the whole situation, lines have been drawn in the sand, and agendas have been set. When you're still lamenting a lost love, you'll never be able to find beauty in another. That next love may not be perfect, they may not be the one of your dreams, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't give them a chance. If you look hard enough and move on, you can come to understand that maybe things aren't so bad after all and come to appreciate that next one more and more. So I'm going to be that friend that needs to speak up and put it to you bluntly. MOVE ON. I liked Sam Hinkie too, but there are plenty of GM fish in the sea, and the one right here in front of you isn't doing too bad. I think in life everyone kind of wants the same thing. To find a woman you like, find a good paying job, a decent house, maybe some kids, and to live relatively happy. And in sports, we all want a championship. Instead of lamenting, judging, and ridiculing put the past behind you and focus on winning a championship. Instead of wasting time pettily and childishly retweeting 3 year old negative Hinkie takes like the boyfriend creeps his ex's Facebook daily, celebrate your team's victories. The GM battles no longer matter. Let's make the best of the situation we're in and let the past be the past. We're climbing that mountain pretty damn fast, and if you continue to keep your head in your bucket of Hinkie sorrows, you're going to miss the whole journey that was right there in front of you.

What the Eagles have to do to repeat as Super Bowl champions

No introduction here, let's get right to the things the Eagles need to do in the offseason if they want to repeat as Super Bowl champs.

1. Have just the right amount of turnover. You'd think when you win a championship, bringing the entire team back in full is the best case scenario, but that usually isn't the case. Championship teams always need some turnover so you can bring in younger, hungry guys who have never won before to come in, and be extra motivated to achieve with the other guys in that locker room achieved. Players are human beings and complacency is only natural. You don't want to replace too many guys though, as this team has a blueprint for success and they've developed that family chemistry more than any team I've ever seen.

2. Add offensive line depth. Jason Peters will be coming off a torn ACL and MCL, and the Eagles are one serious OL injury away from being paper thin there. They need depth at LG and OT. This should be a priority in the draft. The Eagles had the top scoring offense in the NFL for almost the entire season and if they want it to stay that way they need to be deep on the o line. The draft would be the best place to address this and to address it early.

3. Add linebacker depth. Jordan Hicks has been injury prone, and the Eagles don't have a lot of quality depth at either LB position. They could use some young, high-upside talent there they can develop going forward. Guys like Ellerbe, Goode, and Grugier-Hill did solid jobs stepping in, but I don't think you want to be relying on those guys again if you have the choice.

4. Find a young stud running back. The Eagles had a dominant rushing attack this season piecing it together with a committee, and I would not be opposed to going that route again if the Eagles have to, but ideally you want a stud workhorse back of the future if they can find one in the draft. Blount is up there in age, Ajayi has questions about his knees moving forward, and Clement was a real surprise this season, but we simply don't know yet if he can handle the burden of a majority workload yet.

5. Find a young speedy WR. Torrey Smith had issues catching the ball this season, and went lengthy stretches of the season where he was totally invisible. To his credit, he played his best ball in the playoffs, and I'll always love him for that. We don't know yet if Howie is going to keep him on the roster for next season, but either way, this team should have their eyes open for a young deep threat to groom. Mack Hollins could very well excel in that role with more playing time, and we'll see what Gibson does in his 2nd year, but you can never have enough speed for your offense.

6. Get healthy. The Eagles just need to flat out get healthy. Get Wentz, Hicks, Peters back and playing at a high level first and foremost. It's amazing the Eagles were able to win a championship without them, but I'd rather not have to try and do it again. Those are key guys who will be motivated to come back and play in the Super Bowl this time around, and we have to get them back to 100% and feeling comfortable.

7. Howie, work that cap magic. The Eagles are currently projected to be over the cap, and will have very little salary cap space once the dust settles on March 14th. I don't expect the Eagles to be very active in free agency, and frankly this free agent class isn't very good. That said, you always need some cap room to fill in needs here and there, so it's up to Howie to restructure deals, re-sign players, and make all the cap stuff work out. Howie's management of the cap is a huge reason the Eagles won the Super Bowl to begin with. Fitting in key guys on team-friendly deals at a good price.

With the help of the Eagles, Philadelphia has taken embracing the underdog status to a whole other level

Philadelphia has always been known as the city that has embraced the underdog status. Dating all the way back to Rocky, sometimes being anything but the underdog has made the fans feel a little bit uneasy. Almost like if Philly has a sports team that is too good, something will go wrong and break all of our hearts in the most devastating way. However, with being the underdog, there was almost still a little bit of insecurity lingering. "Why doesn't anyone think we're going to win???" "Why don't the analysts give us any respect???" were always questions uttered from the mouths of Philadelphia sports fans. We embraced the underdog status, but the amount of perceived disrespect for our sports teams bothered us.

Then in January of 2018 all of that started to change. An Eagles team lost their MVP quarterback in Carson Wentz, all pro middle linebacker in Jordan Hicks, hall of fame special teams player and dual-threat running back in Darren Sproles, hall of fame left tackle in Jason Peters, and best special teams coverage man in Chris Maragos. They heard the doubters, they felt the negativity. But something this time was different. Instead of letting the noise get to them, they let it fuel them. Rather than trying too hard to prove doubters wrong and end up making mistakes, they just continued to play with cool unwavering confidence. Instead of letting it tear them apart, it drew them closer together. The Philadelphia Eagles laughed and spit in the face of all the loud-mouthed pundits and rode that underdog status with almost 60 years of pressure and disappointment on their shoulders all the way to a Super Bowl championship. It was the perfect synergy. Usually, Philadelphia wants a team to play the way the city identifies with itself. The blue collar, hard-working underdog. For maybe the first time ever, it was the team that set the example the city could identify with. There was no lingering insecurity with this Eagles team. They were confident. They knew they were the best, and they weren't going to let anyone or anything stand in their way.

And suddenly you can feel that new standard resonating throughout the city. No longer do you hear fans whining about the lack of respect and how much people hate Philadelphia. Now, it's singing "No one likes us, no one likes us, no one likes us, we don't care. We're from Philly, fucking Philly, no one likes us, we don't care!" joyously in the streets. It's wearing underdog masks with the pride a college graduate would show off their diploma. The script has been flipped. Philadelphia, the ultimate underdog city has fed off the swagger of its football team, instead of the team just feeding off of its fans. It's why this championship team is more special than any other our town has ever seen. It's a match made in heaven, and you can feel it already spreading to the other teams in town. Philadelphia now has a new swagger and its teams now feel like they're supposed to win regardless of the odds instead of just hoping they can somehow pull it off. The fans set the expectations, the Eagles set the standard, and everyone else is just following their example. Personalities of equal temperament and measure uniting with one common attitude. "Philly vs Everybody" and fuck the haters. Spoken like a true Philadelphian, with a team that couldn't be more 'Philadelphia' and has redefined what makes Philly Philly. Pun intended.

We are going to find out everything we need to know about the Eagles' offense on January 13th

When Carson Wentz went down with an ACL tear, every person on the planet knew the Eagles' offense would take a hit. The question was how much of a hit would they take? In the 3 games without him, the offense looked decent enough once, and dreadful twice. You can write off the final game vs Dallas if you want considering the game meant absolutely nothing for either team, the Eagles players knew they wouldn't be playing the entire game, and you had to evaluate situationally based on backups playing significant snaps. So, even at best, you have a split sample size. One, a product quality enough to potentially get you some wins in the playoffs, and another that would make the Eagles one-and-done. It remains to be seen which Eagles team we're going to get on January 13th on Saturday afternoon.

We're going to find out a lot about the Eagles and just how good they are in that game. In sports, sometimes teams have players who are so great, they make the final product look much better than it actually is. And sometimes teams have players who are great, but also have great players and coaching around them which amounts to an elite-tier overall product. All season long most people believed the Eagles were the latter, and in the playoffs we're going to find out which of those is actually true.

The QB position is the most important position in all of sports. When you lose your starting QB to injury, especially one that is league MVP, you are going to take a significant hit. However, there is a difference between taking a hit and turning into a club that goes from being able to score 40 points in 3 quarters to only being able to cross midfield once in an entire football game and spending the entire day punting the football away. One player, even a QB, should not be responsible for that much of a drop-off, unless the QB is truly that amazing. If the Eagles come out on the 13th vs whichever opponent they face, and their offense picks up where it left off the last two games, it will tell Howie Roseman, Doug Pederson, Joe Douglas, and all Eagles fans everywhere two things:

1) As great as everyone thinks Carson Wentz is, he's miles better than even we thought, and has surpassed Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers as the best QB in the NFL.

2) The rest of the talent on offense, and the coaching isn't as good as we realized.

In 2002, Donovan McNabb went down with a broken ankle, and between Koy Detmer and AJ Feeley the Eagles were still able to put together a quality enough offense to lead the Eagles into the playoffs as the #1 seed the rest of the way. The offense even looked so impressive at times, that many Eagles fans stupidly believed that Feeley should be the future starter. As dumb as that notion was, it only existed because the offense was able to succeed at such a level without McNabb. At that point, McNabb to the Eagles then is essentially what Wentz is to the Eagles now. The team MVP, the most important player on offense, and the shining light that produced optimism, excitement around the city to that level for the first time in years. This showed us that not only was the coaching spectacular, and amenable enough to adjust their game plans and system to fit different players, but the team was talented enough to keep winning without their best and most important player.

We will find out if this Eagles team has that caliber of coaching and that level of talent on the offensive side of the ball. An offense that disastrously sputters into oblivion without their starting QB indicates that the final results of the product are significantly skewed in favor of the QB, who was making players around him look a lot better than they are and maybe the the talent level on the Eagles isn't as good as originally thought. Long-term that bodes great for the Eagles. It would be they truly have a transcendent QB capable of keeping the franchise contending for years. Short-term it would mean the Eagles are basically screwed without him and need to bolster the players around Wentz to put less of a burden on him, and make success more sustainable if he were to get injured again, which would be the 3rd time in 3 seasons he suffered some type of an injury. It would also open the door, just a crack, to question a coaching staff that had one of the all-time great Philadelphia sports seasons ever, and maybe cast just a smidgen of doubt on the man who should absolutely win Coach of the Year in Doug Pederson. Not that he is a bad coach by any means, but it would lead to questions the ratio of how much of the team's success was owed to Wentz instead of Pederson.

However, if the Eagles are able to pick up the pieces in the playoffs and continue to put a quality offense out there capable of winning playoffs games, then it would confirm everyone's initial impressions were correct. That the Eagles are truly as good and talented as we thought, and are resilient and well-coached enough to overcome any injury and still compete at a high level amongst the best the league has to offer. The 13th can't get here fast enough. Major questions looming, and we will have our answers... for better or for worse.

Eagles, Foles look poised, crisp, confident heading into the playoffs

After a week of hyperbole, misplaced negativity, and haters being haters, fans were looking forward to a confidence boost heading in the playoffs, and the Eagles didn't fail to deliver. The offense looked crisp, the defense looked hungry, and they looked ready for the NFL Playoffs. After two intense and exciting old school style defensive battles, I'm foaming at the mouth for the playoffs. Can the divisional round get here already?

Foles came out cookin' in ice cold temperatures. His first pass was pure perfection to Alshon Jeffery for 8 yards to start the game. He completed his next pass to Agholor for 7 yards perfectly in stride. Then had another perfect throw to Zach Ertz for 15 yards, in a drive that was sure to lead to a touchdown halted by a Torrey Smith drop on another perfectly thrown ball.

Later in the game, Foles threw an INT that was the result of QB/WR miscommunication. The WR targeted was supposed to come back to the football on that play. In a game where the starters knew they wouldn't be playing the whole game, the results were incredibly impressive offensively. They had some completions, they moved the ball. He looked every bit the part of a Superbowl QB. What more would you realistically want?

On the other side of the ball, the defense looked hungry. Even with the backups in, they manhandled a Cowboys offense that was playing almost all of their starters. It looked like a unit chomping at the bit to bring it and punish offenses in a couple weeks.

Sudfeld look ok. He isn't as mobile, doesn't have as strong of an arm, and isn't nearly as accurate or poisoned as Foles, but for his first game as an Eagle, he did a decent job; as well as one could expect with backup players around him.

Sidney Jones looked excellent. He was sound in coverage, made great breaks on the football, and certainly looked like he belonged. He has All Pro written all over him.

Philadelphia has always been a city with a "Whoa is me attitude." I've always found that funny considering over the last 15 years, no city has won as many championships as Philadelphia, when you consider Villanova, the 2004 Superbowl belongs to us via cheating and the 2009 World Series does as well, and negating other cities and their Cheatpionships. That negativity has caused Philadelphians to micro-analyze any flaw, and try to become contrarians. Misery loves company, as they say. But when you're totally objective and view things with no bias or slant, the Eagles look great heading into the playoffs. There has never been an Eagles team in their history more poised or better positioned to win the city a Superbowl.

Once this city's innate cynicism wears off and excitement takes over, I expect objectivity to return. Philly sports fans are not dumb after all, even though they've sounded so over the last couple of weeks. I may even declare a Superbowl an never-fail guaranteed lock. I only bring that out for special occasions. I have never missed on one in my entire life and I have made thousands, so this is definitely something to monitor going forward. Meanwhile, just book your trips to Minneapolis with confidence. Or just trust the prophet.

Superbowl here we come.

The Eagles can still win the Superbowl without Wentz, but it will come down to the defense more than Nick Foles

With today's absolutely crushing and gut-wrenching news about Carson Wentz suffering from a torn ACL, it has left Eagles fans everywhere trying to salvage every last scrap of hope they have left somewhere deep within themselves to continue on to hopefully get that Superbowl parade that has forever eluded the city. Nick Foles, a QB who has been relegated to a backup the last few years certainly doesn't instill a ton of confidence... at least not in the same universe Carson Wentz does. However, all hope is not lost. The Eagles are still a viable contender. Anyone who says otherwise, well, I'd question their football knowledge. Are they the favorites anymore? I don't think so, but the favorites don't always win. Especially in a sport like the NFL.

All of the talk today has been about Nick Foles, and rightfully so. He will be the man under center leading the team the rest of the way. Foles is a big key, but the most important aspect of this Eagles team in getting that Lombardi Trophy will come down to the defense. "Defenses win championships" is a cliche that doesn't always ring true. I think complete teams win championships. But it's impossible to ignore the overwhelming success elite defenses have in the NFL Playoffs. We see it every single year. Put an elite offense up against an elite defense and the defense usually wins. Superbowl XLVIII: the NFL's best Seahawks defense going up against the league's best Broncos offense. Seahawks blow the doors off the Broncos 43-8. John Elway vowed after that game to never see a defense that poor again, so two years later the suddenly defensive-oriented Broncos owning the best defense in the league face the NFL's top offense of the Panthers. The Broncos defense dominated the game and totally shut Carolina down all game. The Broncos, now built around their defense win the Superbowl 24-10. To say Peyton Manning was a shell of his former self is putting it lightly. He was one of the worst QBs in the NFL that season and was basically used as an apparatus to hand the ball off and occasionally throw a wobbly pass to an open receiver. Defenses rule the NFL's postseason and the Eagles have the makings of an elite defense.

With a dominant defensive line and an improved secondary, for the Eagles to get to Minneapolis in February, the defense is going to have to keep games low scoring, punish QBs, and force turnovers to give a suddenly less dangerous Eagles offense more chances to score points. Nick Foles does not have to be Carson Wentz, and thankfully so, because he can't be Carson Wentz. He doesn't have the talent or the physical tools to do so. He just needs to be accurate and take care of the football, and hope the defense keeps the pressure off of him to worry about having to play beyond his means. The Eagles defense dominates at home, so home field advantage throughout will be huge. Great defenses always start up front, and there is no front 4 in the NFL I trust more than the Eagles.

Unfortunately, we've seen some cracks in the foundation the last couple of weeks. Missed tackles, poor angles to ball carriers, etc. Those are teachable and can be cleaned up. We haven't seen much of that all season, I have confidence those will get fixed. But this team has stepped up all season long. The "next man up" mantra is not just a cliche, it's a lifestyle for them. They live it in their preparation and they live in in their play. We saw that in spades last night when Trey Burton steps in for Zach Ertz and had a monster game. This time is different. An entire unit needs to step up and dominate to keep those parade hopes alive. They certainly have the talent. They've shown they have the character. Now they just need to go out and do it. With a couple more wins the Eagles will lock up home field advantage throughout. Then, to quote the late, great Jerome Brown: "They brought the house and we brought the pain."

The promising young Sixers are starting to show their fatal flaws

Heading into December 4th's game against the Phoenix Suns, the 13-9 Sixers appeared destined to be a top 5 seeded playoff team with a win mark in the high 40's. Unfortunately, sometimes appearances can be deceiving. They have some promising things under their belt. They've beaten some of the NBA's best teams--some of those wins coming on the road. Simmons looks like the clear Rookie of the Year and Embiid has progressively improving every week, picking up where he left off last season. Even TJ McConnell has even developed into a really valuable piece, commanding the offense, taking care of the ball, playing pesky defense, and improving his 3 point shot. However, as we've seen over the past couple weeks, this team has flaws. Fatal ones.

They are the NBA's worst team in turnovers, they are a poor free throw shooting team, they blow leads seemingly almost every game, they regularly go through long stretches where they can't score, and they have one of the NBA's worst benches. Additionally, for a team that relies so much on the 3 ball with their 'pace and space' style of play, they are a below average 3 point shooting team sans two players in Robert Covington and JJ Redick. They put tons of pressure every night on two players to majorly produce from beyond the arc, as regulars like TLC, Saric, and Anderson(when he plays) are not consistently reliable from downtown and they generally don't have a lot of shooters on the roster to begin with.

Covington started off the season among the tops in the NBA in 3 point shooting percentage, and as we've seen lately, it was not sustainable. Covington is a good 3 point shooter, not a great one. I suspect he'll finish the season somewhere around 38%. When he and/or Redick struggle shooting the ball, the Sixers really struggle to score consistently since they rely so much from distance. That leaves the young Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid up to put the team on their backs and carry them night after night; a tall task for the young duo, as immensely talented as they are.

As teams continue to play the Sixers, coaches will learn how to match up against them, and the longer the grind of the season continues, their flaws will become more and more evident, and the lack of a bench is going to hurt them. Teams without quality depth rely so much on their starters and it wears them down over the course of a long season. Flaws always bubble up to the surface over the long haul for any team, it's the nature of sports. And don't even get me started on injuries. This team can ill-afford to lose TJ McConnell for a long stretch right now, let alone Embiid or Simmons. One injury to one of their best players and they're in serious trouble very quickly.

I got caught up in the Sixers excitement just like anyone else. They certainly are not a bad team by any means, and I think it goes without saying this is just the first step in many years of great basketball to come. But for this season? I'm sorry, a top 5 seed and more than 45 wins is unrealistic. They simply aren't good enough. I hope I'm wrong, but I think this is a borderline playoff team, a 7th seed at best, and that's not a bad thing. It's just a little disappointing when one is guilty is getting caught up in the hype.