Tonight is a Philly sports doubleheader and I need you to manage your expectations on exactly one half of it.
Birds host the Bengals at the Linc. 8 o'clock. It's the preseason finale, which means Hurts will be wearing a hat, Saquon will be wearing a hat, and you will be watching 70 guys you've never heard of play the most important game of their lives.
Then the Phillies open up in Anaheim around 9:30 our time, because the West Coast exists specifically to ruin my sleep schedule.
Two screens. One couch. Let's talk about it.
The QB2 thing is actually getting interesting
Be honest. Did you think the Dalton vs. McKee battle would still be undecided on cut weekend?
Because it is. No separation all camp, and now we're 48 hours from the roster deadline and Howie is out here saying he'd be "comfortable" carrying four quarterbacks. Howie. Buddy. You have never once been comfortable. You are physically incapable of not making a trade in the last week of August.
McKee went 16-for-22 with two touchdowns against the Patriots. Dalton went 3-for-10. That should end the conversation, except national guys are out here projecting McKee OFF the roster because Dalton is "experienced." Experienced at what, exactly. Handing off?
Here's my actual take: somebody's getting traded by Sunday at 6, and whoever it is, half this city will call it genius and the other half will call for Howie's job. That's the deal. That's how we do this.
What tonight's game is actually for
Nobody you care about is playing. That's fine. That's not what preseason game three is.
Tonight is for the bubble guys. The sixth receiver. The fourth safety. The special teams maniac who's about to make this roster purely off kick coverage violence. By Sunday at 6 PM, this roster goes from 90 to 53, and for about 25 guys tonight, three hours at the Linc is the whole audition.
You want a reason to watch? That's the reason. Some dude is going to make this team tonight, and in Week 14 he's going to down a punt at the 1-yard line and you're going to scream his name like you've known it your whole life.
Washington at the Linc, September 13. Everything until then is paperwork.
Meanwhile, the Phillies just keep being good
Quick baseball check-in since the off day gave us all 24 hours to breathe:
Schwarber has 40 bombs and is tied with Ryan Howard for the most 40-homer seasons in franchise history. Harper's on-base streak is at 29 games. Luzardo just one-hit Seattle like it was a personal grudge.
Now it's the Angels, who are exactly the kind of team you're supposed to beat in late August. Which historically has meant absolutely nothing to the Phillies. Take the series, survive Arizona, get home, and this whole West Coast trip goes down as a win.
October is 34 days away. I'm calm. This is me being calm.
The takeaway
Tonight: fake football at 8, real baseball at 9:30, and a weekend of roster-cut discourse loading in the group chat.
Am I the only one who kind of loves cut day? It's the one weekend where we argue about the 53rd guy on the roster like it's a Supreme Court nomination. Never change, Philly.
Who you got as QB2 — Dalton or McKee? Wrong answers only. Actually no, right answers only, this matters.
