Following in the tradition of Connor Barwin and Malcolm Jenkins, former All-Pro wide receiver and current Eagles broadcaster Mike Quick will write weekly for The Citizen this season, analyzing what the Birds will have to do each week on the field to emerge victorious. We’ve paired Quick with Professor Richardson Dilworth, Director of Drexel University’s Center for Public Policy, who will analyze how Philly stacks up off-the-field against the city we play each week. Dilworth, who knows nothing about football, is arguably Quick’s most unlikely teammate ever.
Mike Quick’s On-Field Scouting Report: Let’s put Sunday’s game against Washington in perspective. A month ago, we thought the Eagles season was basically over, and their remaining games would be unimportant. Well, this team battled back. With a win on Sunday, they’ll finish the regular season 9-7 and just might sneak into a wild card playoff spot, if the results in other games break the right way.
But, whether the Eagles make the playoffs or not, Coach Doug Pederson deserves an awful lot of credit for turning this team around. His Birds faced a lot of adversity—I can’t remember a team having so many injuries in basically one position, the defensive secondary. Yet they showed a lot of character and fight. With a win on Sunday, the Birds will have won 5 of their final 6 games.
Can they win on Sunday at Washington? By all means. The Eagles haven’t had a lot of success against mobile quarterbacks, like Washington’s Josh Johnson, so they’ll have to contain him, as well as running back Adrian Peterson. When Peterson carries the ball 20 times or more, Washington has won all but one of its games.
But the Eagles should have too much firepower offensively for Washington to hang with us. Look for Nick Foles to again use all the personnel at his disposal, weapons like Darren Sproles, Zach Ertz, and Alshon Jeffery. Plus, the Birds have the hope of a postseason spot to play for.
Whether they make the playoffs or not, it’s been a fascinating season, and I’ve enjoyed sharing it with you and Professor Dilworth. Let’s hope things break right and we meet again here next week!
Prof. Richardson Dilworth’s Off-Field Scouting Report: The scores say that D.C. wins, most notably in terms of the number of people with bachelors degrees, the number of volunteers, and the number of people who bike to work.
I say the scores are wrong. I have to give D.C. credit for its parks, but I think we can all agree that many of those excess volunteers are probably unpaid interns working for members of Congress. That is, free youth labor being exploited by our federal elected officials. I’m not sure how great that is.
Second, the greater proportion of people with bachelors degrees in D.C. is simply just a reflection of income, and it costs way more money to live in D.C. than in Philadelphia, as reflected, for instance, in the fact that the median value of an owner-occupied housing unit in D.C. from 2012 to 2016 was $506,100, while in Philadelphia, it was $147,300. And for that you get to live not in L.A., or San Francisco, or New York, but…. maybe you’ll get to see Sen. Mitch McConnell, or get stuck in traffic because of a presidential motorcade. So, you better take advantage of that free zoo and those free museums (that are only free because we’re all paying for them).
Also, that greater bike ridership in D.C.? It is admittedly a more temperate city with less snow, and it is pretty flat, so it has a longer biking season than Philadelphia. But I also suspect that more people bike because D.C.’s subway system is in crisis, especially after the fatal smoke disaster in 2016, and more recent declines in ridership (admittedly a problem in most cities including Philadelphia, thanks to Uber). D.C. has an admittedly more comprehensive subway system than we have, but at least our two subways work. And we have trolleys, which is obviously very cool.
And, while our City Council may have some problems, no member ever claimed that the Rothschild family controlled the weather (good job, Trayon White).
Oh, and hey, looking for a restaurant that might literally bankrupt you? Look no further than DC’s “Minibar by Jose Andres.” I’m sure the $695-per person tasting menu is totally worth it. Here’s to democracy! There is simply nothing in Philadelphia that stupid (a $100 cheesesteak does admittedly come pretty close).
And finally, their football team is called the Redskins. No elaboration needed.
PhiladelphiaEagles |
WashingtonRedskins |
|
# of B-Corps
25 |
# of B-Corps
16 |
|
% Population with a BA
27.4 |
% Population with a BA
56.7 |
|
% Volunteers
26.5 |
% Volunteers
33.1 |
|
Violent Crime per 1000 people
9.92 |
Violent Crime per 1000 people
12.1 |
|
Diversity Rating
69.74 |
Diversity Rating
69.8 |
|
% People Bike to Work
2.2 |
% People Bike to Work
4.6 |
|
% Acres of Park Space
13.1 |
% Acres of Park Space
21.9 |
|
Public Transportation Score
67 |
Public Transportation Score
68 |
|
% Voters in Last Mayoral Election
24 |
% Voters in Last Mayoral Election
19.8 |
Vikings 
Rams 
Texans 