SPANISH HARLEM – Today we get to those key topics driving all of you crazy; 
1) The New York Knicks recent win and starting point guard situation and 2) My thoughts about the new coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and whether they really have a quarterback controversy.
New York Knicks
Last night the Knickerbockers got their revenge on the Chicago Bulls, avenging their Monday night loss to Chicago. The best thing about back-to-backs are that you don’t to have wait to play that team again. This is good because nothing went right for the Knicks in the first game. They didn’t play well across the board but stayed in the game and made it a dog fight. That’s the difference between this team last year’s; even when they lose they are still competitive.
One reason the New Yorkers won last night was the play of starting point guard Elfrid Payton. He played well but is not the choice of Knicks fans. Myself included… I know Tom Thibodeau likes to play veterans over rookies, so this was to be expected. It’s only a matter of time, though, before Thibs starts Immanuel Quickley – but we have to be patient. Thibodeau is someone that loves execution. He wants the play run the right way and that comes with time and experience. Quickley will have his moment but for some [me] it can’t come soon enough.
Philadelphia Eagles
I know all of you were dying to hear about a team from Philly! Not to disappoint, let’s look at the Philadelphia Eagles, who recently hired Nic Sirianni as their new head coach. I won’t lie, I had never heard of this guy until he was interviewed. There were still some good names out there to be had but he made the best impression on the front office. His background is as an offensive guru as the Indianapolis Colts offensive coordinator. Sirianni was under Frank Reich, who was the offensive coordinator of the Eagles when they won the Super Bowl.
For me it showed the organization wanted someone that could come in and build an offense from the ground up. It doesn’t hurt that he worked under the same coach for whom Carson Wentz had his best season. Further, Sirianni is young – 39 – but it seems the league is trending to younger guys that are innovative.
Is he there to fix Wentz?
My assumption is yes. It goes without saying that at any moment Wentz can request a trade, which makes Jalen Hurts the starter. I know there are people that believe the Eagles have to keep one and get rid of the other but I say that’s HOGWASH! If the right trade comes along for either player, I can see them making a move, but right now you have two guys that are extremely talented. One has put up an 2017 MVP caliber season in Wentz and the other gushes potential in Hurts. You can hold onto Wentz and see if he can make adjustments to be the franchise quarterback you expected him to be…. Hurts had some impressive games, but you still don’t know what you have in him. He hasn’t played a full season yet and was brought in to be the back-up. Keep him for now. If Wentz turns out to be the guy then you have a trade chip in Hurts and/or vice versa. Someone out there will always think they can fix Wentz (Rick Peterson?) if he continues to regress and you don’t take nearly the cap hit you would have this upcoming season.
That’s it for now and come back tomorrow for Different Matt.
Until next time…
