Jim Johnson passed away yesterday afternoon. It wasn't a complete shock for anyone in Philadelphia. Once Sean McDermott was officially named the defensive coordinator, The Daily News sports section began speculating that Johnson's condition was dire. A quote in Monday's paper described McDermott talking about Johnson as omnious. Regardless, it's still very sad news. Seven months ago he was coaching his defense in the NFC Championship. It was some of the best defense I've seen in the ten seasons I was able to watch his defensive mind at work. I loved his defense. He was so creative and smart. He adapted so well. For example, an older Dawkins couldn't do what younger Dawkins did, and so Johnson used him as the joker. He helped mold Chris Gocong into one hell of a linebacker. Joselio Hanson could've been a starter in this league because of Jim Johnson but Hanson was loyal enough to stay (and the eagles recognized the talent of Hanson by giving him starters money to be the nickel corner). All of my favorite Eagles defenders (former and present) are products of the Jim Johnson defense. He wasn't afraid to make a move. I remember him benching Omar Gaither and inserting Akeem Jordan, the Lito fiasco which spawned Joselio, moving Darren Howard to tackle which paid off huge, deciding to let Troy Vincent and Bobby Taylor go for Sheldon Brown and Lito Sheppard, the defensive line rotation, Quentin Mikell becoming the starting strong safety, etc, etc.
Year after year after year he kept it fresh. One of my favorite defensive performances was the Cowboys game from 2007 when the Eagles were heading for an 8-8 finish and the Cowboys were America's team again, and the defense just went into Dallas and smacked them across the mouth. A 10-6victory for the Birds. That's only one of many examples of Jim Johnson's defense. In 2001, the team didn't allow more than 21 points in any regular season game. His tenure has produced solid top 5 stats for the defense. He had an extraordinary mind. I didn't know much about his life except that he was a devoted family man and that he loved football. As a sports fan, he's given me great memories and showed me what great defense was.
As for the Phillies, they are 19-3 in July (the final game of the d'backs series has not yet completed as of this posting) and they acquired the reigning AL Cy Young winner from the Indians this afternoon. Yes, Cliff Lee is a Philadelphia Phillie. I'm pretty excited. I was worried about what they would've given up for Lee. When I saw the details of the deal, it wasn't too bad. I'm a big Lou Marson fan. He has a lot of potential to make a name for himself in this league. I would've liked to have seen him remain a Phil but the big picture is repeating in the world series so I'm okay with trading him. Carrasco was simply expendable. Jason Donald, the now former projected 3B of the future, was hurt most of this year at AAA. He needs consistency with the bat. And I didn't know anything about Jason Knapp other than he's supposed to become a very good pitcher. I hope he does. I'm very happy overall with the deal. I know this team can repeat. The big worry now is Lidge in the 9th. He's been struggling ever since the season started. Lidge is the only big concern. I think the fans have a clue of what the pen and rotation could could look like in a month and September with the call-ups: Hamels, Lee, Blanton, Happ, Moyer; Bullpen: Clay "The Con Man" Condrey, Durbin, Romero, Eyre, Chan Ho, Pedro, Myers, Drabek (hey it's a possibility), Tyler Walker, Mad-Dog Mammoth Madson, Lidge, Kendrick (just to speculate of course). Their lineup is out of this world. No need to elaborate on that. This team can very well repeat.
LOST!
Today, there is no LOST episode of the day. I recently found these terrific LOST cartoons that were made in 2006. It's pre-season 3 of course. I think they are brilliant. It pokes fun at the show and I get a kick out of it. Hopefully you watch and agree. My personal favorite will be posted at a later date. Thank you.
OASIS OFF!
Oasis Off has been effectively pointless but I will continue forth with it. There are two songs left and then I will determine if Wonderwall really is the best Oasis song to play acoustically with the hopes of getting laid. Today's song could very well steal the award from Wonderwall. Who knows?
"Champagne Supernova"
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