👋 Good morning! Happy Festivus, Georgie.

Do not care that he lost, I was blown away by that Philip Rivers performance last night. Also, this was an And1 Mixtape-level ankle breaker from Owen Tippett. The Red Rifle channeled his inner Hot Sauce.

Today’s newsletter is brought to you by Spector Sports Art! Doing some last-minute Christmas shopping? Head on over and see what Jordan has to offer for the Philly sports fan in your life.

As always, you can reach me at [email protected]

The Power of Exercise: If you will recall, Jordan Davis was generating some buzz with his play at the beginning of the 2023 season. But for the then second-year defensive tackle, the issue that year was stamina. By the time Davis chased down Josh Allen in late November, he was spent. Both Davis and the entire Eagles defense had absolutely nothing in December and January.

Well, it’s now December 23rd in Davis’ fourth NFL season and both he and the Eagles defense have plenty left in the tank. Not only is Davis playing 60+ percent of the snaps every single week, he is also making good use of them. He recorded six tackles on Saturday against Washington. Shoutout to Ally Love and the power of exerciseexerciseexerciseexerciseexerciseexercise.

And as Bo mentioned on the show yesterday here, it is kind of hard to believe how good the numbers have been for Davis.

You know who has not been surprised, though? Fran, who has been singing Davis’ praises the entire season.

Think about it: Davis stepped up right away in the opener after LoogieGate and has not looked back. In addition to the consistently excellent run defense, he provided the play of the season against the Rams and batted down all of those Jared Goff passes against the Lions. Davis has been a consistently winning player. He also has 4.5 sacks, which ranks pretty highly among the true run-stuffers.

The guys had an interesting convo about paying Davis and Jalen Carter. They all came down on the side of paying both of them, but that also might mean saying goodbye to Moro Ojomo or some other contributors on this loaded young core of defenders that the Eagles currently employ. In addition to his play, Davis has leadership qualities and an excellent relationship with a key player in Carter.

Regardless, thankfully the Eagles exercisedexercisedexercisedexercisedexercised Davis’ fifth-year option for next year. That move now gives them the chance to negotiate. Go back and read the newsletter from May, that was not a slam-dunk decision at the time. Everything coming up Howie again.

We can save the contract talk for the offseason, though. For now, let’s just enjoy what seems like a good dude and fun personality realizing his potential.

Josh Allen: And speaking of Josh Allen, he might be easier for Davis to catch again this week. Seems like he will play on Sunday, but he banged up his foot a little bit against Cleveland.

An eventful day in Flyers Land: As always, it starts with Matvei Michkov.

Michkov got animated with Rick Tocchet on the bench at MSG the other day, with Tocchet eventually trying to cool Michkov down.

Tocchet got asked about the incident at morning skate on Monday, and he downplayed it for the most part. He said that the discussion was about positioning on the power play, and when Michkov should switch places with Denver Barkey. Seeing how Barkey was making his NHL debut on Saturday, that seems like pretty normal stuff.

But then Tocchet got a few more questions about Michkov. And well, he did not like it.

On one hand, I can sympathize with Tocchet in that he is tasked with developing an entire team and that Michkov came into camp out of shape. But when he took the job, Tocchet knew that Michkov was the guy that everyone in this market really cares about. The idea that the media is asking a lot of questions about him? Duh.

Charlie’s thoughts on the situation are here. He will have more in a story later today.

Now, it was not all bad for Tocchet on Monday. Despite having to deal with the big bad Philly media, it sure seems like he made the right call in bolting British Columbia for the Delaware Valley. The Flyers beat up on Tocchet’s former team, the Vancouver Canucks, getting an easy 5-2 win. Post-game pod is here.

Within a nice start to the season, one of the issues for the Flyers has been the complete lack of fourth-line production. Garnet Hathaway (33 games) and Nic Deslauriers (16 games) both have ZERO points. You are not gonna look for too much offense from your fourth liners, but zero points is just not gonna cut it. Can’t you just score a few times by accident?

Well, both guys were up in the press box on Monday.

And they might stay there, because the “new” fourth line — Carl Grundström, Rodrigo Abols, Nikita Grebenkin — scored the Flyers’ first two goals on Monday. Grebenkin and Abols had two points apiece, which is a lot more than “zero in 33 games.” Grundström does not look like he is headed back to Lehigh Valley anytime soon.

As Charlie has noted multiple times, Tippett has 6 to 10 games per year where he carries the team. 10 shots on goal last night! Unfortunately, you cannot expect that type of production from The Red Rifle on a consistent basis. But with the rising cap, a second-liner with the talent to take over a game at a $6.2 AAV is not a bad guy to have around at all.

The state of play behind the plate: Let’s take a trip to Fantasy Land for a minute, because that is exactly what the Phillies podcast did yesterday. You know Fantasy Land, right? That is where things like operating budgets, the Competitive Balance Tax and draft pick reductions do not exist.

On the pod from Reading Terminal Market, our friend and PHLY contributor Jim Salisbury gave two names on his trip to Phillies Fantasy Land:

See, Fantasy Land is pretty cool.

The Bichette possibility would be particularly fun, because you could then move Bryson Stott back to shortstop, move Trea Turner to center field and stick Bichette at second base. Remember, just like money, Turner’s wishes do matter in Fantasy Land. He is just a pawn on a chessboard. Then, in Bichette, the Phils would have a right-handed hitter that they could stick behind Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber and feel confident that the big boppers would be protected.

OK, enough Fantasy Land. Back to reality.

Considering how plugged-in Jim is with the Phillies organization, he knows “reality” better than almost anyone. And back here on Earth, the Phillies seem to have budgeted for J.T. Realmuto’s return and little else for the rest of the offseason. If Realmuto goes elsewhere, then maybe we can start talking about Bichette and other creative moves to clear salary for him.

So, are the Phillies going to re-sign Realmuto? Let’s ask Jim.

Nothing like a good game of Chicken in the pool. I could have used my expert photoshop skills to put Dave Dombrowski and Realmuto on a couple of shoulders, but let’s save it. If this standoff drags on to the second week of the new year, then my hand will be forced.

Strahmer: On Friday, I joked about how Matt Strahm’s pitcher fielding practice comments (and Dombrowski’s icy reaction) were the last straw for Strahm in Philly. But in reading the reporting from multiple sources, it does seem like Strahm was a strong, opinionated personality in the clubhouse. That was not the only reason the Phillies parted with him — financial flexibility, contract and on-field concerns all felt like factors as well — but the clubhouse stuff certainly seemed like part of the decision.

Here is Strahm’s goodbye to Philly.

Zach Pop: Your newest Phillie. Better name for a hitter than a pitcher.

Elsewhere in baseball:

Picture this: a fan cave that actually feels like your dream setup, with some incredible Philly sports art to boot!

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Think about that: $2,500 for furniture, and then $1,000 for art to decorate your walls. Imagine the setup that you could have for watching football next year!

Enter now at ashleyfancave.com and you might be watching the next big game in a fan cave built by you, courtesy of Ashley. The winner for The Ultimate Fan Cave will be selected the week of the Super Bowl.

Busy night: Sixers against Brooklyn (7:00 p.m, NBC Sports Philly) and Flyers in Chicago (9:00 p.m., TNT and truTV).

Your tentative Tuesday schedule at PHLY:

Let's make it a good one.

Rich Hofmann
Daily Newsletter Editor
PHLY SPORTS