Sports & Hip-Hop: The Collapse of the Eagles, Heartbreak for the Cowboys & More Posted by Lucas Garrison on 10/31/12 | Filed under Sports, Sports & Hip-Hop

A Note from Nathan S: Since the dawn of time, or at least since N.W.A. started rocking Raiders hats, sports and hip-hop have gone together like Rosa Acosta stretching videos. So while most sites might just recap the last week's biggest sports stories, we're upping the level of difficulty and attempting to recap the week's biggest sports stories...via music.

I'll let the homie Lucas Garrison take it from here:

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Eminem - “I’m Back”


Midway through the season, its clear that one of the most disappointing teams is the Philadelphia Eagles. Although the Eagles are tied for second in the NFC East, with a record of 3-4, they are in utter disarray. Michael Vick cannot seem to hold on to the ball, the defense can’t get to the quarterback and Andy Reid appears to have lost control and is on the verge of losing his job. The organization has already showed signs of desperation by firing the offensive line coach turned defensive coordinator, Juan Castillo and replacing him with secondary coach, Todd Bowles. However, the coaching change did not provide the Eagles with the spark they have been looking for and the Falcons dominated them at home.

Coming off a three game losing streak this was a very early, do or die game for the Eagles, and they continued to stumble when it matters most. The Eagles looked flat and as a result, they were dominated in all facets of the game. The coaching change on defense did not do much good; the Falcons reached paydirt on their first three possessions, scoring 21 points in the first 24 minutes. One touchdown even went to Falcons undrafted rookie wide receiver, Drew Davis.

Falcons QB Matt Ryan finished the day with 22 completions on 29 attempts for 269 yards and 3 touchdowns. Perhaps the most telling stat about the defensive performance was the fact that the Falcons scored on their first six possessions and did not punt until late in the 4th quarter. While the Eagles defense did not play well on Sunday, they did record their first sack of the season and remain less of a problem than their quarterback and coaching.

Andy Reid has been on the hot seat several times through out the years, but this seasons struggles may be the final straw in his tumultuous tenure. The biggest problem I have seen with Reid is his refusal to change his game plan and utilize the skill set of his players. Reid’s offensive philosophy is very passing oriented, which is contrary to the strengths of his team. Vick is not a pocket passer and struggles with reading defenses and going through his progressions. Reid forces him outside his comfort zone and makes Vick much more vulnerable by doing so. Michael Vick leads the league in fumbles with 6 and also has 8 interceptions. Even if he does not turn it over, Vick has very little confidence and it’s clear he is not the same player who used to give defenders nightmares. Just take a look at this clip of the eagles overtime drive (I use that term loosely) against the Lions two weeks ago.



The thing that makes Reid’s coaching so frustrating is he has one of the most talented running backs in the league in LeSean McCoy, yet refuses to use him on a consistent basis. McCoy is very versatile, he can catch almost as well as he can run, and his cutback ability is astounding, but don’t take my word for I, check out what some of the NFL’s best have to say about LeSean McCoy.



Rumors are swirling that Reid may bench Vick in favor of rookie Nick Foles and even Vick seems resigned to the change.

However, a change in quarterback will not help this team. What will help is getting McCoy the ball more. In all three of the Eagles wins this year, McCoy has over 25 touches. Getting McCoy the ball more would take pressure off of Vick and keep the Eagles defense fresh, by controlling the clock. If Reid wants to keep his job, he needs to give McCoy the ball more. That is why I chose Eminem’s “I’m Back” in honor of the Eagles running back, also nicknamed “Shady”, who is capable of leading this team if given he chance by Andy Reid.

Super Bowl Shuffle


I have wanted to write about the Bears for a couple weeks, but I have been hesitant, because I don’t quite know what to make of them. The bears are an impressive 6-1 and sit atop the NFC North, one of the stronger divisions in the conference. While, on paper, they seem legitimate, I see a few problems with them. First off, although they are 6-1, they have faced some easier opponents such as the abysmal Jaguars, the Rams and the inexperienced Colts. The only top tier team they have played is the Packers in week 2, who they lost to. The bears may have one of the best records in football, but have a couple faults that could stand in the way of Super Bowl glory.

My first issue with this team is the way they behave when things are not going great. While struggling is inevitable for any team, its how a team responds when their backs are against the wall that make them great. The Patriots are a perfect example of this, no mater how bad they are playing, Brady never loses his cool and always keeps his team in the game because he is confident and collected. The same cannot be said about Cutler. Cutler is a notorious hot head and in week two against the packers, he berated one of his offensive linemen and even gave him a not so friendly nudge.



Granted the Bears O-line is playing awful, allowing 25 sacks, third most in the NFL, it is never good to embarrass your teammate. Cutler’s actions were criticized by teammate DJ Moore, “When you act like that with your own teammates on the sidelines, it’s something different that you normally wouldn’t do. You might say it in the locker room or something. But to do it like he did, it’s just different. It’s just weird.” While the incident is somewhat old news, it goes to show, that this team is fragile and one loss, or several in a row could hurt the team chemistry when they need it the most.

While I am not sold on Cutler and the struggling offensive line, I am 100 percent sold on their defense. This exceptional squad ranks 1st against the run, giving up on 77.9 yards per game and although they are ranked 15th against the pass, they compensate with turnovers, ranking first in interceptions with 16. Perhaps what is most impressive about this defensive unit is their ability to score off turnovers. The Bears have racked up an amazing 9 touchdowns through seven games, the same amount of touchdowns as the Jacksonville Jaguars offense has scored all season.

On Sunday, with the offense struggling (credit Cutler for staying level headed and keeping his team in the game), the defense, led by the ageless Brian Urlacher and shutdown corner Charles Tillman, stepped up big with another defensive score. With six minutes left, the Bears found themselves down 19-14 to the struggling 1-5 Panthers and in need of a big play to spark a comeback. On 1st and 10 from their own 20-yard line, Panthers quarterback; Cam Newton threw an errant pass to Steve Smith, who stumbled running his route. The ball sailed over Smith and into the hands of Tim Jennings, who proceeded to return it 25 yards for score, giving the Bears the lead.



This wasn’t the first time the Bears defense has stepped up either. In week 4 against the Cowboys, Lance Briggs returned a fumble to the house the first play after the Cowboys recovered a fumble of their own.



Having a ball hawking, shutdown defense is a valuable asset to any team, but especially one with a volatile quarterback who does not handle pressure very well. If the Defense can keep scoring it should ease the pressure on Cutler keep him pressure free. The Bears have all the tools necessary to contend, but the offensive line needs to protect Cutler, because when they don’t, things tend to get ugly.

I chose the “Super Bowl Shuffle” by the ’85 Bears for this topic because what bears fan would want to see a remix this year featuring Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall instead of Jim McMahon and William “Refrigerator” Perry?

Kanye West ft. Kid Cudi - "Welcome To Heartbreak"


There have been several very exciting games this season, but Sunday afternoon’s divisional showdown between the Giants and the Cowboys was definitely my favorite game of the season so far. In one of the most anticipated games of the week, it appeared as if the fans were going to be disappointed. The Giants jumped out to a huge 23-0 lead thanks to a slew of Cowboys turnovers as well as poor play from Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo. Romo, who has struggled all year, continued to look bad and was responsible for 4 of the 6 Cowboys turnovers. You can check out a blooper real of Romo’s mishaps on Sunday. It is good for a few chuckles and shows you just how bad Romo looked in the early stages of the game



Despite the poor play of the Offense, the Cowboys D stepped up and limited the Giants to mostly field goals. The offense responded well to the great play of the D, and started to click, putting up 10 points in the late stages of the second quarter. All of the sudden the Cowboys were only down 13 headed into the locker room. The Cowboys carried their momentum into the second half and scored two more touchdowns in the 3rd, giving them the lead 24-23.

The fourth quarter did not feature too much scoring, but it certainly had enough drama. The Giants found themselves down 1 entering the fourth quarter and all the momentum had swung in the Cowboys favor. That was until Felix Jones coughed up the ball midway through the 4th quarter. The Giants managed to get a field goal and regain the lead. They tacked on another three points, giving them a five-point lead with 3:09 left to play.

After the Tynes field goal, the Cowboys got the ball back, but were unable to score as Romo threw yet another costly interception with a minute left. However, the Giants were unable to close out the game as the Cowboys used all three timeouts, giving Romo one more chance at redemption from a sloppy performance. Romo seized the opportunity as he connected on several big passes, a couple to Jason Witten, who had 167 yards and set an NFL record for most receptions for a tight end in a game with 18. Romo managed to get his team down to the Giants 38 yard line with 16 seconds to go, setting up for a Hail Mary chance. On the next play, Tony threw a bomb to Dez Bryant who made a leaping catch. The referee signaled touchdown, but the call was overturned after it was reviewed. Form the play, its clear that Bryant’s fingers touched the back of the endzone before his body touched the ground.



The play was called incomplete and the Cowboys could not convert on one more attempt, resulting in a heartbreaking loss at home a divisional foe. After coming back from a huge deficit, it was such a deflating way to lose. Kanye’s “Welcome To Heartbreak” is the perfect song to represent how Cowboys fans felt on Sunday. They say football is a game of inches and Dez’s heartbreaking near touchdown is a perfect example of that. If the Cowboys manage to be in playoff contention, I can only imagine that play coming back to haunt them if they miss the playoffs by a game. Nothing in sports is worse than being on top of the world, only to have it taken away a second later, and if it effects the teams playoff hopes, it will be even more heart breaking for Cowboys fans.

See Also: Sports & Hip-Hop: RGIII Continues to Rise, Texans Continue to Dominate & More