FanHouse Howard Eskin

To get you ready for Week 17, FanHouse is previewing all 16 NFL games. Here is your Buffalo Bills at Philadelphia Eagles preview.

2007 Records:
Eagles 7-8 (Last in the NFC East)
Bills 7-8 (Second in the AFC East)

Last Week:
Bills lost to Giants
Eagles won in New Orleans

Why We Care: To be honest, the level of caring surrounding this game is at a minimal. Neither team is playoff bound and the only real effect this game will have on either team is the determination of a few selections higher in the 2008 draft. Knowing that the final score of the game means very little, we've got a couple of things you can watch for after the jump as well as Brian Westbrook audio.

Charlie Manuel told Howard Eskin "We will win!" And hey, it took a couple of days and a ninety minute team meeting, but the Phillies are winning ... four in a row after Tuesday night's 6-3 win over Washington. The Phils are 5-2 since the Manuel/Eskin showdown, and 4-0 since a team meeting which lasted well over an hour on Saturday night before their game against the Reds.

Aaron Rowand, who had rumors swirling around him all spring (and most likely hovered under the Mendoza line at .171 as a result), now has a 12 game hitting streak and is now hitting .371 after his home run tied the game against Washington. The Phillies seemingly couldn't give this guy away, and now he's their best hitter.

Best trades are the ones you don't make? Perhaps?

For the Nationals, they're still looking for their turning point. It probably isn't going to be a post game fight between Manny Acta and a radio personality, nor will Acta need to call an eighty minute team meeting anytime soon. For now, he'll just have to settle for imparting some philosophy that he hopes his team will pay attention to:

"Baseball is like boxing. If you don't hit, the other guy is going to hit you back," Nationals manager Manny Acta said.

The Nationals are hoping not to remain the Chuck Wepner of the National League.

Previously on The Fanhouse:
Trade Winds Blow by Aaron Rowand
Charlie Manuel vs. Howard Eskin

Did Howard Eskin orchestrate his well-publicized blowup with Phillies manager Charlie Manuel? That's a question a lot of reporters were asking each other this week. From the Philadelphia Inquirer:

The rumor, which circulated throughout the press box, was that Eskin had told a media representative that he would create controversy at the postgame conference.

"That's a flat-out lie," Eskin said yesterday in a telephone interview. "I went in with a completely open mind, never once thinking I would ask the questions I would ask."

The media representative in question agreed with Eskin's story, saying nothing had been said in that regard.

Even if he didn't tell anyone before hand, it's not too difficult to believe that Eskin would go out of his way to make himself part of the story. Watch him as he walks toward Manuel's office in the video down below (after the jump) -- does that sheepish grin not suggest he's knows exactly what's about to follow?

And even if we give Eskin the benefit of the doubt and assume that he didn't go out of his way, he certainly didn't shy away from the media spotlight after the fact, making appearances on ESPN and generally piling his criticism of Manuel on as much as possible -- all the while Manuel refuses to address the issue, aside from admitting that perhaps he shouldn't have taken the bait.

Really, this shouldn't be a story. Eskin isn't a journalist, he's a talk-radio host, and the only thing any talk-radio host is interested in doing is getting people to talk. It's not a coincidence people disagree with these guys, whether it's Don Imus or Colin Cowherd or whatever unknown blowhard resides on your local AM.

The Phillies are fast becoming a Twilight Zone episode.

Imagine, if you will, a team entering a baseball season with lofty expectations, only to find that their best laid plans have ... so far ... gone to waste. The manager, feeling the pressure to keep his own job, blows up at a Philadelphia radio personality. The aftermath included Charlie Manuel doing his best Drew Rosenhaus impression:

"No, what happened last night happened, and I just want to move on. I mean, that's over. I want to move on. I've got to concentrate on our team and winning ballgames. Actually, that has nothing to do with our team. As I look at it, that has nothing to do with our team and it has nothing to do with us winning or losing games ...

Next question:

"I don't want to hash on it," "I don't want to go over anything," "Let's move on," "I just want to move on," "I want to just concentrate on our team," "I'll say this and then I don't want to say nothin' else about it," and "I don't want to talk no more about it." He followed that last one with this: "I know I'm talkin', but I don't want to say nothin' else about it,"

Weird things happen when expectations are high and results are low. Players get frustrated, coaches get frustrated, and managers challenge radio talk show personalities to fights ... happens all the time.

Wait, what?

Manager Charlie Manuel's frustration was evident after the game. The normally mild-mannered manager challenged a radio talk-show host to a fight. Manuel had to be restrained by hitting coach Milt Thompson at one point.

"We're going to win," Manuel could be heard yelling in his office.

Apparently, the radio talk-show host was WIP's Howard Eskin, which explains how a "normally mild-mannered manager" is suddenly going all Joey Crawford on someone ... as Eskin has accused the Phillies of being run like a department store, and he isn't known as one of the more docile Philadelphia sports radio personalities. An account of Manuel's run in with Eskin after an 8-1 loss to the Mets on Tuesday comes from The 700 level:

Eskin reportedly asked a number of legit questions but followed them up with more provoking, wise ass type questions. When he asked a question along the lines of, "Don't you think it would help your players if they saw you fired up a bit more?" and Manuel responded with something like, "I think they see me fired up a lot more than you think. You can stop by my office later and I'll show you." After the press conference, Eskin went to his office and Manuel reportedly challenged him to a fight and Milt Thompson had to restrain the coach.

If Crawford vs. Tim Duncan needed an undercard, I think we've got one now. All we need is Don King to promote this and we have an event. Let's get ready to rumble ... Philadelphia style!

Arm Bash: The 700 Level

Previously on The Fanhouse:
Joey Crawford suspended for challenging Tim Duncan to a fight