Py INI TIN RAT October, 26 2011 Rs ERT RE CG ay LE EES RIE SES Interview With Philadelphia Eagles RG, Evan Mathis By Troy Ballard — Lions Eye Staff Writer - twb5261@psu.edu As a student at Penn State, I was offered the rare and excellent opportunity to interview Philadelphia Eagles starting right guard, Evan Mathis. This off-season, Mathis signed in Philadelphia as a free agent following a six-year stint with the Cincinnati Bengals. After only a few weeks with the team, Mathis was immediately named the starter, and has had a decent season thus far. Eagles right guard Evan Mathis (Photo courtesy of gcobb.com) Here’s the interview: Troy : Are you worried about the season thus far, and how many more wins/losses before the year is back on Troy : Do you think Michael Vick is taking too long to throw the ball? Evan : There’s a lot of moving pieces to an offense. | think Mike is doing an outstanding job and has shown progress each week. If his position coach is telling him he’s taking too long to throw it, then he will do what needs to be done to correct that. No matter how long he needs to throw, it’s the OL’s job to keep him clean. Troy : Do you believe that Andy Reid’s offensive play- calling has been below average this season? - : Evan : Our offense has been very productive minus the obvious mistakes and the turnovers. The coaches are call- ing the right plays, we just have to execute them. Troy : Do you believe that the Eagles should hand the ball off to LeSean McCoy more frequently? Evan : Had we not been playing from behind the entire Buffalo game, Shady probably would of had some more carries. There’s multiple factors that go into play calling. It’s not as easy as pressing a button on X-Box. Troy : Who is Philadelphia’s Best Offensive Weapon? Evan : Michael Vick Troy : Is the Eagles offensive line having trouble ‘gell- ing’ with all of the position moves and additions? Evan : Not at all. We are far from perfect, but we are playing as a unit and not five individuals. Evan : We weren’t hanging our heads. We know how good we can be if we eliminate our mistakes. Troy : How key was the week five game against the Washington Redskins? Evan : It was very important to have a chance to turn our season around against a division opponent. Troy : Who are the most difficult players to block in the NFL? Evan : James Harrison - Steelers, Haloti Ngata --Ravens, Justin Smith - 49ers. Troy : What is your opinion of the Philadelphia fan base since signing here? : Evan : The following here is amazing. I compare the passion here to the passion that I saw in college from the Crimson Tide faithful. Troy : What is your personal relationship with Penn State? Evan : As I mentioned, I attended Alabama, and Penn State was always a big rivalry game. I have the upmost respect for the school as an institution, and also the school’s football program led by Joe Paterno. Troy : How would you describe Penn State’s fan base? Evan : Passionate. It was almost impossible to hear any- thing in Happy Valley, and I think it rivals any stadium I track or over? Evan : Not worried. But definitely not content starting 1-4. Getting to 4-4 would be huge for this team. Troy : What was the attitude in the locker room fol- lowing four consecutive losses? played in during my time at Alabama. As fantasy football reaches week 7, there are a lot of key injuries and sur- prise performers. This week, Quaterback Matt Stafford went down and his injury looks like it could be serious. At runningback, Darren McFadden , Tim Hightower Mar- shawn Lynch, W illis McGahee, Joseph Addai, Mark Ingram and Beanie Wells all left week 7’s action due to injuries. Hightower has already been put on IR after tearing his ACL. Thats a big blow Hightower owner’s as he had a stellar start. He already missed time earlier this season and now it look like he won’t be playing till 2012. At Reciever, Percy Harvin, Santana Moss, Hines Ward and Mohamed Massaquoi were all injured this week. Moss broke his hand and Massaquoi sustained a concussion. According to standard scoring, these are the Top 10 Quarterbacks: Fantasy By Kevin Cress — Lion's Eye Sports Editor — kfc5016@psu.edu Rodgers, Brady, Brees,Newton, Stafford, Vick,Manning, Fitzpatrick,Schaub,Sanchez. Cam Newton is having quite a rookie season coming in at 4th. Fitzpatrick also coming out of his shell this season ranked 8th at the midway mark. According to standard scoring, these are the Top 10 Runningbacks: Jack- son, McCoy,McFadden, Forte, Peterso n,Rice, Turner,Bradshaw,Mathews and Best. yori Fred Jackson is definetely the biggest surprise on the list, especially since he’s leading the way. Jahvid best was also having a pretty solid season until suffering a concusion and even now might miss some more time. Ryan Mathews is also having a pretty stellar season. If he can stay away from injuries he could eas- ily move into the top 5 by seasons end. According to standard scoring, these are the Top 10 Wide Receivers: Wes Welker,Calvin Johnson,Mike Wal- lace, Steve Smith, Greg Jennings, A.J Green, Pierre Garcon, Hakeem Nicks, Dwayne Bowe, Jordy Nelson. The top ten recievers at the mid- way mark has a lot of surprises. Rookie A.J Green, who has flourished with rookie quarterback Andy Daulon, has had four scores in his first 6 games. Steve Smith is having a huge resurgence year with Cam Newton finding him uncovered in plenty of deep routes. Pierre Garcon also has surprised everyone with his immediate chemistry with Curtis Painter, having two Football: Week 7 monster weeks putting him into the top 10. : According to standard scoring, these are the Top 10 Tight Ends: Jimmy Graham,Rob Gronkowski, Tony Gon- zalez, Jason Witten, Jermichael Fin- ley, Greg Olsen, Owen Daniels,Aaron Hernandez, Dustin Keller and Vernon Davis. Jimmy Graham has had an amaz- ing rookie season. Leading all Tight End’s in production up to week 7. According to standard scoring, these are the Top 10 Defenses: Ravens, Jets, 49ers, Bengals, Lions, Packers, Bears, Texans,Redskins and Giants. Who would of thought two teams from the NFC East would be on this list, and not being Philly or Dallas. The Bengals defense is having a very solid year producing turnovers and getting there offense back on the field. The Ravens and the Jet’s defense rank the best justifiably. Doop-ing into the Playoffs By Kieran Mason — Lion's Eye Staff Writer — kdm5066@psu.edu With the regular season coming to an end, the Philadelphia Union find themselves in a good position heading into the playoffs. After a 1-1 draw to Toronto FC on October 15th, the members of the Union celebrated as the draw clinched them playoff berth, the first in the fran- chise’s brief history. Last Thursday, in the MLS Game of the Week showcased on ESPN2, the Union lost their final regular season game in a tough loss to the New York Red Bulls by a score of 1-0. The loss dropped the Unions record to 11-8-15. As the Union embark on their first playoff appearance in team his- tory, the team, along with Union fanatics “Sons of Ben,” will soon have the city of Philadelphia in a soccer frenzy. The Union hope fans will continue their great sup- port, which has lasted all season. Frenchman, Sebastien Le Toux, the leading scorer for the club, has emerged as an MLS MVP candidate, be- ing the most versatile and the most vital part for the squad. He is a leader, a scorer, and a tremendous team player. Le Toux, as well as Danny Mwanga, must continue their recent success in helping the Union continue to strive for excellence and bring a title home for the city. Along with Le Toux and Mwan- ga, goalie Faryd Mondragon, a MLS All-Star this year, has had a strong season for the Union. On the year, he has stopped 43 shots on 71 attempts. Even with fan favorite Carlos Ruiz leaving the team in late-July, the Union surprisingly have lost just twice, won three games and drew eight times since his departure. As the regular season has come to an end, the Union’s biggest threats in the playoffs are Sporting Kansas City as well as FC Dallas and the Columbus Crew, who sit just under the Union in the playoff hunt in the Eastern Conference. In the Western Conference, the top spot belongs to the LA Galaxy, with superstars Landon Donavon and David Beckham racking up the most points in the MLS. ~ Third year club, the Seattle Sounders are also a force to be reckoned with come playoff time. : One year ago as an expansion team, no one could have imagined this Union squad would be at the top of the standings, but the Union have set their standards high coming into their second season. Through the right personnel changes and great team chemistry, the team is destined for great things, both this year and especially in years to come. Philadelphia finish as the third seed in the Eastern Conference and will host the Houston Dynamo in the first leg of the Eastern Conference semifinals Sunday, October 30th, at 4 p.m.
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