When we last did a Philly sports vibe check, in early February, things were, well ... much different.

The Eagles had recently hired a new play caller – with zero play calling experience – and suddenly lost one of the most iconic coaches in the history of the organization when Jeff Stoutland abruptly announced that he would break from coaching the Birds' O-line in 2026. 

Reports emerged of a divorce that was somewhat messy.

Fans were stunned, shocked, and as the stages of grief typically go, ultimately furious with head coach Nick Sirianni for hiring a novice offensive coordinator (again) who cost them a legendary talent developer.

The Flyers were coming off another lifeless, lackluster defeat – in overtime against Ottawa – rife with their typical unwillingness to shoot the puck right before the Olympic break while also navigating a PR crapstorm created when Rick Tocchet sounded off on Matvei Michkov's conditioning – or lack thereof – as the reason for the second-year star's struggles and reduced ice time.

The Flyers were careening out of the postseason race.

Some fans were mad; most were just apathetic, which is even worse.

The Sixers got an alley-oop of bad news, served up by a 25-game PED suspension for Paul George and slammed down by Daryl Morey's decision to trade Jared McCain to Oklahoma City for draft capital, only to be made worse by McCain's immediate positive impact on a championship Thunder team while the Sixers did nothing else except salary-dump Eric Gordon.

Fans were annoyed, fatigued and above all else, resigned to the Sixers just being the Sixers.

The Phillies, by virtue of not actually playing, were in the best shape of all four teams despite the lingering embarrassment of the Mets stealing away free agent Bo Bichette in free agency at the 11th hour. 

Fans were cautiously optimistic about the team's World Series viability and only really looking toward spring training because, hey, Clearwater in February was way better than the brutally cold winter the Delaware Valley had been slogging through.

As our Nick Tricome perfectly described back then, everything about Philly sports was "on fire." Not one to mince words, Tricome wrote that it was actually "a f***ing disaster."

Fast forward about nine weeks and, well, Philly sports is actually "on fire." 

The Flyers and Sixers are both, somewhat miraculously, getting ready for the postseason, the first time since 2019-2020 that both Philly winter sports teams have made the playoffs in the same season.

The Eagles have made some interesting additions via free agency and trade with the draft coming up next week. The Phillies are, well, doing OK at 8-8 after an offensive eruption Monday night against the Cubs – perhaps a sign they're coming out of their early season offensive doldrums.

More importantly, the barn was rocking harder than ever Tuesday night when the Flyers clinched a playoff berth with a win over the Hurricanes. Sixers fans have put the Morey pitchforks away, for the moment. The Eagles have killed it lately in the draft and the Phillies, despite their offensive turmoil, have some fun rookies playing well, giving some hope for the future.

It actually isn't "a f***cking disaster" – at least not at the moment.

Flyers – along came a star

At no point in February did the Flyers resemble anything close to a playoff contender. But then Owen Tippett started to emerge, then Michkov played a little better, then the Flyers surprisingly swept a back-to-back against the Capitals and Wild, then Tyson Foerster returned from a near season-long injury ... and then just when they needed one last boost, the kid finally arrived.

Porter Martone, the sixth overall pick from the 2025 NHL Draft, made his debut March 31 against the Capitals and scored his first goal on April 5, an overtime game-winner against the Bruins. He supplied the puck-shooting chops the Flyers had lacked all season and also something else – hope. Which turned into reality as the Flyers won five of six games in a 10-day span to surge into the postseason in historic fashion.

Nobody knows what's in store for their playoff fate, but that doesn't even matter. The future is here. The Flyers are headed in the right direction. 

Most importantly, the barn is ablaze:

Sixers – they've learned to fly

The future is also here for the Sixers, and about to be on display in a bigger showcase.

Once again, Joel Embiid is injured and out. There's no timetable for him to return from a recent appendectomy. But the backcourt combo of Tyrese Maxey and rookie VJ Edgecombe enabled the Sixers to do something they failed at miserably last year – winning without their superstar big.

You can also add George and Kelly Oubre Jr. to the list of players who missed significant time, which is partly why the Sixers are fighting for their postseason lives in the Play-In Tournament instead of earning a top-six seed, but they're still alive. 

Even without Embiid, the Sixers have the horsepower to get into the actual playoffs, and if Embiid can come back for the first round, the Sixers would actually be at peak health and potentially a real threat for a first-round upset.

But let's not go there yet. Let's just appreciate that Maxey turned in an All NBA-caliber season and Edgecombe is lightyears ahead of where experts thought he'd be in his first season.

Eagles – New era about to begin

One of the predictable cycles of every Eagles offseason after they fail to win a Super Bowl is fans going from irate at the players, coaches and management to calmer and more rational after a few free agent signings to insanely irrational about next season's chances of winning it all after they've convinced themselves that all the things they were ticked off at eight weeks earlier had magically vanished.

We've reached that point.

Sean Mannion is no longer a wet-behind-the-ears coach with scant qualifications for the job but rather a young, emerging mastermind who will surely follow in the footsteps of Jon Gruden and Andy Reid. The one-year deal for cornerback Riq Woolen was a total Howie Roseman steal. Dontayvion Wicks will become legendary in Philly after an inconsistent career with the Packers and Vic Fangio will just scheme around the loss of Jaelan Phillips.

And it really doesn't matter that the Eagles have no starting safety at the moment, because #HowieSZN. 

It also appears more people have accepted that A.J Brown will be traded and aren't harassing reporters online as much ... I think.

Next week, the Eagles will draft several news players that fans will immediately believe have All-Pro futures, for no other reason than they were drafted by the Eagles.

It's truly the most optimistic time of the year for Birds fans.

Phillies – rookies aren't playing like them

Through three weeks, the offseason-long concerns about the Phils have been validated – they're too left-handed, they're prone to cold streaks, and their bullpen is hot and cold.

But a great sign for the future is the hot starts by rookies Andrew Painter and Justin Crawford.

Painter has shined in two of his three outings, even battling through a migraine Sunday to flummox the Diamondbacks with a dizzying array of sharp-breaking curveballs and sliders. 

Painter has a 3.77 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 14.1 innings, a more-than-respectable showing for the first-time Major Leaguer and former top prospect.

Likewise, Crawford has come as advertised. He entered Tuesday's action batting a team-best .306 with an on base percentage .370 from the ninth hole.

Ace right-hander Zack Wheeler, coming back from Thoracic Outlet Syndrome surgery, looked sharp in his third rehab appearance with Double-A Reading and is expected to pitch again today, which means he should be joining the big league rotation sometime in the next week or two.

Could things be better? Sure. But it's early. 

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Follow Geoff on Twitter/X: @geoffpmosher