Are the Eagles up to the Task?

We all wonder how much the day's events dictate how the Eagles play against Dallas on Sunday. What happens if the Eagles are mathematically eliminated from playoff contention? Or if they are still alive at kickoff? How does that uncertainty affect the team in the days ahead as it prepares for the regular-season finale against Rival No. 1? We don't know the answers. The players were peppered with those kinds of questions on Wednesday. In the midst of everything that is going on -- Christmas, the aftermath of the tough loss to Washington, a handful of players who have expiring contracts after this season -- the Eagles said the right things about their intentions for this game. They want to beat Dallas. They need to beat Dallas. They hate Dallas just as much as you hate Dallas and as much as I hate Dallas. Dallas sucks. There, got that out of the way.
With their playoff hopes hanging by a thread, the Eagles take on Dallas at 4:15 p.m. Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field knowing they need a lot of help to again control their playoff destiny. At 8-6-1, the Eagles are coming in to this game hoping to turn the tables on Dallas after the Cowboys 41-37 victory in Week 2 of this season. Certainly, the offense must be more productive than it was on Sunday in the 10-3 loss to the Redskins. The Eagles failed to mount much of a challenge until their final drive of the game, when a pass to wide receiver Reggie Brown ended six inches short of the end zone.
Surely, Dallas studied the ins and outs of the Eagles' performance against Washington and took note. The Redskins were physical with the Eagles, banging rookie DeSean Jackson around, sending him to the locker room for a spell with hurting ribs and eventually contributing to the kid's tough game. They saw that Reggie Brown had a decent game, nothing special, in his return to the wide receiver rotation. They saw L.J. Smith catch seven passes, but also drop a couple that could have led to big plays. They saw Brian Westbrook shake free only once, down the sideline, when a long catch and run gave the Eagles a first down in the red zone. They saw the Eagles struggle to keep drives alive, converting just 3 of 14 third downs. In general, Dallas saw the Eagles do very little of anything special. Dallas has a pressure-based defense led by DeMarcus Ware, who is just 2 sacks shy of an NFL record for most sacks in a single season. The Cowboys are fast and talented and they live off of big plays. Donovan McNabb has to drop back and get rid of the ball quickly and accurately. The Eagles must have better production and balance offensively and they must convert third downs after the poor 3-of-14 performance last Sunday.
Defensively, the Eagles have their hands full against an explosive Dallas offense. The Cowboys have outstanding players at all of their skill positions and they run the ball effectively with Marion Barber and Tashard Choice. Barber has been banged up and is a question mark for this game, however. Pressuring quarterback Tony Romo is the key. The Eagles need to force some turnovers and give their offense a short field with which to work. Trent Cole has racked up six of his nine sacks in the last seven games and has produced four sacks in six career games against the Cowboys. However, in the Week 2 meeting, Cole made just one tackle while he and his defensive mates failed to register a sack in a 41-37 shootout loss. After registering a career-high 12.5 sacks in 2007, and earning his first-career Pro Bowl appearance, Cole has been receiving a great deal of attention from opposing offenses, yet he still has been effective at pressuring the quarterback and stuffing the run. Cole is one of the game's premier pass-rushing ends whose presence on the edge helps out an already-formidable secondary that features a pair of Pro Bowl selections. Cole leads the team in hurries (19), ranks tied for first in sacks (9.0) and tackles for loss (9), and third with three forced fumbles. Cole has to lead the charge to pressure Tony Romo. And standing in his way will be veteran Flozell Adams, a premier tackle in his career and the key to Dallas' offensive line. The Eagles, which stand among the league leaders with 44 sacks, can't let Romo get comfortable.For now, I just want to beat Dallas. I ache to beat that team. I sure hope the players, every one of them, feels the same way. Sunday is a tremendously important game. The Eagles need to beat Dallas -- any time, anywhere, no matter the circumstances. It is a matter of professional pride. So, anyway, I want to see how much the Eagles have for Sunday. I hope they bring everything. Andy Reid is going to coach to win. There isn't going to be a time to "look at the kids," no matter what the playoff picture looks like. The Eagles are going to play to beat the Dallas Cowboys and to do so they are going to need every ounce of energy and focus. It is going to be a physical, nasty game against a team the Eagles and their fans, genuinely dislike. So no mater the playoff picture; go Eagles and beat them Cowboys.

Who to watch:

• LT Tra Thomas vs. LB DeMarcus Ware
• CB Asante Samuel vs. WR Terrell Owens
• RB Brian Westbrook vs. LB Bradie James

Playoffs in sight, Eagles Blink

Losing to Washington was agonizing. I know the pointed finger from the fans and the media is largely in the direction of head coach Andy Reid. It was out of whack on the stat sheet, no doubt about it. Donovan McNabb threw the ball 46 times, was sacked twice and scrambled two times, meaning the Eagles called 50 pass plays. They called 14 running plays, gaining 54 yards. The ratio was lopsided, and it didn't work, but the reason the Eagles scored only three points is because the entire offense didn't work. In the first half, for example, the Eagles ran the ball 9 times (for 35) yards and passed it 11 times, and had all of 66 total net yards and zero points to show for it. The ratio is only part of the equation here. Granted, two of those runs came as the Eagles basically wound down the final seconds off the clock, but I'll also point out that without those runs and the 11 yards they gained, the Eagles managed a meager 55 net yards offensively in the opening two quarters. The mark of the three-game winning streak was an offense that started quickly, established the line of scrimmage and then found balance in the run/pass game. The Eagles started in mud against Washington. Truth is, the Eagles failed everywhere offensively on Sunday. They were burdened with lousy field position (to repeat the post-game column, the Eagles had 10 of their 12 drives start at the 20-yard line or worse, and had four of those drives start at the 9-yard line or worse) and they didn't sustain enough drives (the Eagles, after converting 33 of 50 third downs in a three-game winning streak, were just 3 of 14 on Sunday) and they dropped passes and missed blocks and couldn't connect the dots enough to get the Redskins on their heels.
The Eagles had a couple of chances to make plays down the field, and both times Donovan McNabb threw catchable balls to DeSean Jackson that he just couldn't bring in. One was a twisting, over-the-shoulder try down the left sideline on a first-and-10 play with 6:09 to go from the Philadelphia 20-yard line. The other was a crusher -- a picture-perfect throw to Jackson on a "go" route from the Washington 40-yard line that Jackson failed to hold in the right corner of the end zone. Washington, known to play primarily man-to-man coverage, mixed their looks in this game. They showed a lot of two-deep zone over the top, apparently content with giving the Eagles a yard or three here and there. That didn't help the Eagles though since Jackson wasn't the only one to drop passes. Seven drops, by unofficial count. Five, six, seven, the number was way, way too high to be acceptable. The Eagles' pass catchers -- wide receivers, tight ends and backs -- suffered a bad day Too many dropped passes has been a theme before and is the reason that I have said all along they need some better receivers. McNabb is who will be blamed or Andy Reid but the fault lies solidly on the receiving corps.
It's hard to find fault with the defense here. Washington gained only 249 total net yards and the Redskins ran for 122 yards on 32 carries. Campbell hurt the Eagles with a couple of scrambles -- he ran for 28 yards on two runs -- and he had good, smart ball security. The Eagles needed a takeaway here, and, like that opportunity in the end zone, didn't make it happen. Early in the fourth quarter, for example, Asante Samuel had a chance to intercept Campbell on a sideline pass to Devin Thomas, but the ball glanced off of Samuel's fingertips. Instead of having the football near midfield, the Eagles watched as Redskins punter Ryan Plackemeier -- an MVP on this day -- dropped a punt at the 3-yard line. The defense, while brilliant for much of the game, had its chances, too. At 0-0 in the second quarter, the Redskins moved from their 14-yard line to the Eagles 14 and looked into the end zone for six points. Jason Campbell's pass for Santana Moss was deflected and nearly intercepted by Quintin Mikell, who tipped the pass into the air. Chris Gocong's diving attempt to intercept the pass, after Mikell's missed moment in the end zone, came up empty and Washington scored a field goal to lead, 3-0.Painful. Very painful. The Eagles controlled their playoff destiny when the game started, thanks to San Diego's win over Tampa Bay, but by the end of the day the Eagles again needed help with one game remaining. Tampa Bay has to lose to Oakland in Tampa next Sunday and the Eagles have to beat Dallas at Lincoln Financial Field. Chicago has to lose to either Green Bay on Monday night or at Houston next week. Minnesota has to lose to the Giants. There is one game to go and the Eagles are going to do their best to wipe away the harsh disappointment of the loss to the Redskins. They are going to look ahead. For the rest of us, the days in front will serve as a painful time to re-hash the shouldas, couldas and wouldas of a season that is. The thing was theirs. The Tampa Bay Bucs handed it to them just before the Eagles took the field against the Redskins. They had fought and clawed their way from oblivion over the last few weeks and the bright shining light of the playoffs was finally in view. They were in control. All they needed was two more wins, starting Sunday with the reeling Redskins.

The Eagles Say it’s Payback Time for the Redskins

The Eagles’ playoff hopes remain alive and they take their three-game winning streak to Washington to face the Redskins on Sunday. The road goes through the NFC East for the Eagles to make the playoffs. After three consecutive victories, the Eagles play at Washington on Sunday with a chance to get back at the Redskins after an early-season loss at Lincoln Financial Field. Washington’s fortunes are sagging after a 6-2 start; the Redskins are now 7-7 and very much a long shot to reach the playoffs. On Sunday, the Redskins will be missing Chris Samuels, the six-time Pro Bowl left tackle, who opened running lanes for Clinton Portis, the NFL's third-leading rusher. Samuels was placed on injured reserve this month with a torn right triceps. Eagles defensive end Trent Cole has called Samuels one of the two toughest tackles he has faced. Aside from the loss of Samuels, Portis has been playing with an assortment of injuries, one to his left knee and the most recent to his neck. In the last three games he gained only 131 yards on 47 carries.
These are heady days for the Eagles' defense, third in the league all of a sudden, after dominating the Giants and the Browns. The Eagles' run defense has been at its best of late, allowing a total of 170 yards over the last three games. That includes a mere 88 yards against the Giants' potent three-headed monster. The Eagles didn't do a very good job of stopping Pro Bowl running back Clinton Portis and the Redskins' running game in the first meeting. In fact, the unit was gashed for 203 rushing yards, including 145 yards by Portis, in a 23-17 loss. Portis ranks second in the league with 1,544 scrimmage yards (1,337 rush., 207 rec.). He has 282 rushing yards (141.0 per game) in the past two meetings with Eagles, including one touchdown. And how Portis produces often determines the team's fate. The Redskins are 6-1 when Portis rushes for at least 85 yards and 1-6 when he doesn't. Portis has eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark just once in the last six games. Washington utilized a stretch play to get Portis going in the earlier meeting, but a season-ending injury to Pro Bowl tackle Chris Samuel could make that difficult this time around. Still, Washington presents a physical challenge for Philadelphia's fifth-ranked run defense.

The 8-5-1 Eagles still need help to make the playoffs, but they are in better shape than the 7-7 'Skins, who have faded fast after a 6-2 start. On Sunday the key, as is so often the case, will be forcing Campbell into third-and-long situations, and winning the physical battle on the line-of -scrimmage against the Redskins. It's one thing when a defense has been duped by an unexpected scheme or beaten for a touchdown by some sleight of hand - a trick play that has "gotcha" written all over it. It's quite another matter when a defense has been physically whipped by the grunts on the offensive line blowing open holes for running backs. That gets down to football's macho core, and defenders are loath to concede it when it happens. In their division losses to Washington and the Giants this season, the Eagles lost most of the man-to-man battles along the line of scrimmage. As a result, the Redskins rolled through them for 203 yards rushing, and the Giants battered them for 219 yards on the ground. Embarrassment over the way the Giants had beaten them helped fuel the Eagles in their rematch two weeks ago. Now the Eagles are preparing to settle a score with the Redskins on Sunday at Washington. It's a score they probably must settle to sneak into a wild-card spot.

Who to Watch:

• Eagles SLB Chris Gocong vs. Redskins TE Chris Cooley
• Eagles RDE Trent Cole vs. Redskins LT Stephon Heyer
• Eagles RB Brian Westbrook vs. Redskins LBs

The Eagles Win 30-10 on Great Night for B-Dawk

The Eagles opened strong and then breezed past Cleveland, 30-10, controlling the football, dominating defensively and squandering just enough touchdown opportunities to keep the score reasonable. This game had all the intensity of a summer scrimmage, except that it counted. There wasn't a whole lot to take from Monday night's dismantling of the Browns, other than the Eagles took care of business. That's the way it was all night. The Eagles got the football, gain one first down after another and dominate the time of possession category (the Eagles had nearly doubled the Browns' time of possession by halftime, had converted 7 of 9 third downs and kept the game close only because they threw two interceptions in the end zone, one from DeSean Jackson from the "Wildcat" formation and one on a McNabb fade pass to Hank Baskett at the end of the half). On defense, other than a couple of go-up-and-get-'em catches by wide receiver Braylon Edwards and a nifty run or two from receiver/return man/do-everything Josh Cribbs, the Eagles smothered Cleveland. You expected something different? The Eagles did what they had to do to stay alive in the playoff race. They are now 8-5-1, winners of three straight games, and they have greater challenges ahead. But if there was any question the team was going to overlook the woeful Browns, it was answered very, very early. While the offense played poorly in the red zone, McNabb and his mates did what they wanted to do anywhere else on the field. Cleveland had a spirited 63-yard drive on its first possession, but then the Eagles came back with a 12-play, 51-yard drive and, well, it was just so obvious that the Browns couldn't stop the Eagles. The offense stopped itself on two red-zone possessions with interceptions but rolled up 392 total net yards and 30 points before the mass substitutions began -- quarterback Donovan McNabb, running back Brian Westbrook, tackles Tra Thomas and Jon Runyan sat down -- and the Eagles coasted for the final 10-plus minutes of the game.
Now it is on to the final two games, two must-win outings against NFC East teams. The Eagles have a short week to prepare for Washington, on the road. Monday night's game didn't seem to be particularly physical and Westbrook had only 19 touches and McNabb was hit only a couple of times ... and the Eagles should be in pretty good shape for Washington. they need to play better than they did on Monday. McNabb didn't break much of a sweat while throwing for 290 yards and two touchdowns -- the man completed 74 percent of his passes -- and continued that nice, relaxed rhythm he had in the previous couple of games. Most notable, almost in the spirit of the scrimmage-like feel of the night, was that three different Eagles tossed interceptions. It was that kind of light-hearted feel in Game 14, very strange indeed. What do you take from this night? Nobody was injured. Everybody played. The Eagles rolled.
Atlanta beat Tampa Bay in overtime on a Jason Elam field goal, ending a back-and-forth slugfest, an ugly game, really, and what it means for the Eagles is that they have to win their three games and get some help. Atlanta plays at Minnesota next week and then finishes home with the Rams. Tampa Bay hosts San Diego and Oakland. The playoff picture is very clear: So the Eagles didn't gain control of their destiny yet. It would have been great if it had happened, but there is nothing to cry about here. The Eagles need to win out. They need some help. A loss by either Tampa Bay or Atlanta will do the trick. As we all knew, the season comes down to the division. The Eagles broke their goose egg with a win at the Giants. On Sunday, they need to play at FedEx Field, a venue that should have a decided Eagles feel to it with the Midnight Green and White descending upon Landover, Md.Brian Dawkins received a great ovation when the Eagles announced at the beginning of the game that he had set a franchise record for most games played. Well deserved, too. He heard as the fans at Lincoln Financial Field stood and roared their approval for a player who has left every drop of his energy on the field for 13 seasons, a player who has graced the organization each day he has been here, a player who has a talent and passion unmatched. "I mean I just thank them. I thank them so much," said Dawkins after the team's 30-10 win over Cleveland on Monday night. "I've been obviously blessed to play this game for a long period of time. Like I've always said connected, I feel like I connected with the fans pretty well. We come out to party together. I've enjoyed every game and partied with them." Oh, what a party it has been. The marvelous Weapon X has been a joy to behold, one of the greatest players ever to wear an Eagles uniform, a player who has been so great for so long that it kind of seems like Dawkins has been around here forever which, by NFL standards, he has. Dawkins was a second-round draft pick in 1996. He was here during Ray Rhodes' final, bleary seasons. He was here during the transition to Andy Reid and has been a steward as the Eagles enjoyed a half-decade of deep playoff runs and, even a Super Bowl appearance. It's been a remarkable success story, punctuated on Tuesday with the news that Dawkins was voted into the Pro Bowl for a seventh time. This is Hall of Fame material, no question about it. Dawkins continues to defy the logic of the league. Players in their 13th season don't make the Pro Bowl, especially at a position that demands speed, agility and the physical toughness to take on running backs that have ballooned by 15-25 pounds (in some cases (Brandon Jacobs, for example), more) since Dawkins came into the league. Dawkins has played in 181 games as an Eagle and yet here he is, coming out of the tunnel before a game against the 4-9 Browns, banging his helmet, literally acting like a man out of his mind. It is great theatre. It is an astounding display of voltage from a player who gives just as much now as he gave when he was 25, or 28. Dawkins has played this way his entire career, from his pre-teen days until now. There are few Eagles who transcend the years and the generations of teams. Dawkins is one of those players, one of those men. He is not done being a great player, not by a long shot. As the Eagles bumped along the road for much of the season, Dawkins insisted that the vibe in the locker room was positive and that the confidence level was high and that, yes, the Eagles would turn it all around. They have done that. The team is playing for a playoff spot. This is the most exciting time in an NFL season, and Dawkins is right in the middle of the action. He is bouncing around, thumping his chest, playing to the crowd and enjoying every second on and off the field. Isn't that what the game is all about? We play games as kids because we love the games. Dawkins is a kid in a man's body. He is still in high school flying around the field; tackling everything he can reach, running sideline-to-sideline throwing everything he has into the effort. Enjoy him. Admire him. Honor him. Dawkins deserves it all, and more. His kind doesn’t come around very often. We are all fortunate to have been part of the career of such a special player and a special man who clearly has touched Eagles fans as few players in this proud franchise's history have in 76 years of football.

Can the Eagles Make it Three Straight?

Philadelphia goes for three straight wins in this Monday night game against the struggling Browns (4-9), who had playoff aspirations prior to the season but who are now on their third quarterback (Ken Dorsey) of a dismal campaign. With wins over Arizona (48-20) and New York (20-14), the 7-5-1 Eagles have climbed back into the thick of the playoff picture, and the team has a surge of confidence after defeating the Giants last Sunday. Confidence is important but the thing that the Eagles need to keep in mind is DON'T GET OVERCONFIDENT. Overconfidence has cost better teams wins and the Eagles can't afford a loss, especially against a team that they should beat easily. The Eagles have balanced the offense and they have given Brian Westbrook the football early and often in the last two games. Westbrook is averaging 166 yards from the line of scrimmage, with six total touchdowns, in the last couple of weeks. The run defense is playing well and the intensity on defense has helped the Eagles keep their season alive. The Eagles don't want to overlook the Browns, who still have explosive receivers with Braylon Edwards and Donté Stallworth. Starting strong and getting the Lincoln Financial Field crowd revved up is what the Eagles need more than anything Monday.

The Eagles are riding a two-game winning streak as they return home for Monday Night Football against the Cleveland Browns. This should be a gimme game against a team that has struggled all year, as long as the Eagles don’t slack off and let the Browns stay in the game. An easy game this late in the year is something the Eagles really needed so let’s hope they take advantage of it and keep the playoff hopes alive. There really isn’t much else to say, the McNabb, Westbrook, Dawkins, and the rest of the team just need to play like they did in the last two games and this one should take care of itself. I can’t overemphasize how important it is not to get overconfident. The Browns could win this game in the fourth quarter if the Eagles don’t put it away. Start strong, get the crowd in the game and then finish, that should be the gameplan. Remember if curiosity killed the cat then overconfidence killed the playoff run. I’ve seen it too many times in the past; the Eagles loosing a game they should have won easily because they just didn’t play hard enough. Not just the Eagles either all of the NFC East teams are bad about it. They go into a game against a team with a loosing record and loose just because they don’t seem to want it as bad as the other team. I think I have made my point the Eagles should win this game easily as long as they play well, and don’t make stupid mistakes.

Who to Watch:

• Eagles CB Asante Samuel vs. Browns WR Braylon Edwards
• Eagles C Jamaal Jackson vs. Browns DT Shaun Rogers
• Eagles Special Teams vs. Browns Special Teams
• Eagles Pass Rush vs. Browns Offensive Line
• Eagles RB Brian Westbrook vs. Browns LB D'Qwell Jackson

Eagle Refuse to let Playoff Hopes Die 20-14

Sunday's impressive win over the Giants was the start of a Great Eagles Day, followed by an Atlanta loss to the Saints, a Dallas loss in Pittsburgh and the Washington meltdown in Baltimore. Suddenly, the Eagles are right there with three games to go, in the thick of the playoff hunt, a team that is percolating and one that now should have, or absolutely does have, the swagger we've been waiting to see. The offense has been more productive, more consistent and more efficient in the last two games because, using football speak, everyone has "executed" the X's and O's more effectively. After weeks and weeks of maddening inconsistency. The Eagles have put together back-to-back games in which the offense has been pretty darn good from start to finish. Not perfect but good enough convert 22 of 33 third downs, ring up 48 points on the Cardinals and then control the clock and score 20 points against the Giants to win two games the Eagles absolutely needed to win.

What is the difference? There is no single answer. A lot of factors come into play here, ranging from the increased emphasis on the running game to the great play from the offensive line to the slimmed-down rotation at wide receiver. All of those are valid, no question about it. But maybe more than anything else, and this is simplifying things enormously, the truth is that McNabb and running back Brian Westbrook are back where they should be: They are taking the ball and taking control of this offense.
Westbrook, for one, has been marvelous in these last two games. He is averaging 166 yards from the line of scrimmage and he has scored 6 touchdowns. You can see the burst and the moves and the durability are back with Westbrook. Clearly, he just wasn't healthy for much of this season and no doubt that contributed to a lower-than-usual yards-per-carry average. Down the stretch, though, Westbrook is the breadwinner. He won't carry 33 times every week ( hope that Correll Buckhalter comes back this week, and that the Eagles continue to use Kyle Eckel here and there as a fullback in some formations and as a third-and-1, short-yardage back at other times) but the Eagles know they need to get the ball to Westbrook. Having these three days off this week will provide a huge benefit as the three-game homestretch waits.
McNabb's season, on the other hand, has been marred not by injuries, but by an uneven offensive performance, some out-and-out poor games and, finally, the benching in Baltimore. It's easy to see that move as a turning point of sorts for McNabb and for the Eagles, and that may very well be the case. Who knows? All that matters is that in the two games since then, McNabb has looked as relaxed as he has been all season in the pocket. He is in a rhythm throwing the football. He sees the field well. He is running when the opportunity is there -- McNabb's 44 rushing yards in the last two games can't be minimized in their importance.
The Eagles answered every question thrown at them on Sunday and exited with a 20-14 win in a game that wasn't as close as the final score. The Eagles won going away, really. They took it to the Giants in the fourth quarter, which was something great to see. A team that had trouble inserting the dagger did just that on Sunday, winding down the clock with a bruising, efficient running game and making just enough plays in the passing game to keep the Giants honest.
It was a beautiful display of Eagles football, and it set up a chain of events that helped the team's playoff cause greatly. Moments after beating the Giants, the Eagles glanced at the television outside of their Giants Stadium locker room and saw New Orleans run out the clock in its win over the Falcons. Atlanta now has five losses, with games against Tampa Bay, at Minnesota and against St. Louis remaining. That is not an easy schedule.
After that it was the Dallas game in Pittsburgh, one that certainly looked to be going the Cowboys' way late in the fourth quarter. I watched from the press box at Giants Stadium as the Dallas defense overwhelmed Pittsburgh. The Cowboys had a seven-point lead and the ball and time was winding down and then the Cowboys imploded. And quarterback Tony Romo finished an awful performance with an interception that went the other way for a game-leading touchdown for the Steelers and then Romo failed on the last-minute offense and the Cowboys trudged off the field, wide receiver Terrell Owens screaming at a coach. It was a great sight, frankly. Dallas has five losses now, with tough home games against the Giants and Baltimore before coming to Lincoln Financial Field on December 28.
A Washington team that started the season so well largely because it made so few mistakes is now making all kinds of errors. They have gone from 6-2 to 7-6 in the blink of an eye, with a road game at the Bengals this week before they host the Eagles in two weeks and then finish at feisty San Francisco. The Redskins need to sweep their final three games to have a playoff chance, it seems.
Sunday was a perfect Eagles day, not only for what this team did but for how the teams around them played. And the feeling now, the quiet aftermath of a crazy day, is exhilarating. It is December football. It is a playoff race. It is an Eagles team that is playing the kind of football that everyone here knew it could play.
The Eagles have no choice but to win the final three games, a tough task for any team. This is a one-day-at-a-time approach right now. Cleveland is next. The Eagles have to play well on Monday night to win a game and get to 8-5-1. But it sure does seem to all of us amateur experts that the offense has a better tempo now. The players are in and out of the huddle more quickly. The Eagles are running the ball more, having the luxury of early points and solid leads that lend to the strategy of eating clock late in the game by running the football. There seems to be more confidence running the football with this offensive line surging at the snap of the ball. The receivers seem to be more sure handed and McNabb has had great ball security ( zero turnovers in the two games) and improved timing.
A team that needed leaders to step forward has done so collectively, with McNabb and Westbrook leading the way offensively. This is how it should be: The best players lead by example, by what they do on the field, by the plays they make at critical times. That has been the case with this offense, with McNabb and with Westbrook. For right here and right now, the feeling is a pure excitement. The Eagles are 7-5-1, having won the last two games in convincing fashion to resurrect a season that was on the brink, that was teetering on the way to nowhere. By sticking together, by keeping it positive in the locker room and with the coaches, the Eagles have warded off some of the toughest times they have encountered in the Andy Reid era. They have turned it around in the last two weeks. They are in the race with some momentum on their side.There are a lot of factors playing into the two-game revival, but no doubt. What is most encouraging is that McNabb looks so good, so relaxed, in the pocket. He is delivering the ball with more authority, trusting his receivers to make plays. And despite the ups and the downs of the season, McNabb's next touchdown pass will give him 20 for the season, a level he has reached only three previous times.

The Eagles Look to Keep their Playoff Hopes Alive against the Defending Super Bowl Champion Giants

The Eagles face a huge test this week against the defending Super Bowl champion Giants as they look to keep their playoff hopes alive. With their playoff hopes still alive, the Eagles look for their first NFC East win of the season against the 11-1 Giants. Philadelphia will have to get a much more consistent performance from its defense to reverse the 36-31 loss it suffered to the Giants a month ago at Lincoln Financial Field. In that game, New York ran for 219 yards and controlled the time of possession to take the big win. The Eagles (6-5-1) are trying to get on a roll. They are coming off a most-impressive 48-20 win over Arizona, a game in which the offense rang up nearly 450 yards and quarterback Donovan McNabb threw four touchdown passes. Running back Brian Westbrook accounted for 130 yards from the line of scrimmage and scored four touchdowns and the Eagles had their most productive game of the season at the line of scrimmage. Defensively, the Eagles know they must limit a Giants running game that is averaging 4.9 yards per carry. They also know they have to get to quarterback Eli Manning and pressure him into making mistakes. The Eagles are expected to be aggressive and attack the line of scrimmage on Sunday. The reality, as we all understand, is that the Eagles have to play as perfect a game as possible to defeat the 11-1 Giants on Sunday. Every player, every coach, every situation, has to be right. The 48-20 pasting of the Cardinals was a glimpse into how good this team can be, but the mark of a truly outstanding team is the ability to play at that level on a week-in, week-out basis.
This is a big game for Tra Thomas and the edges of the line. The Eagles face the prospect of some nasty weather in Giants Stadium and they may have to shorten up their game plan. Thomas is going to see some pressure on blitzes and from the Giants' defensive scheme. He needs to give Donovan McNabb time to throw. The last time the Eagles were in Giants Stadium was not a pretty sight for the offense. The Eagles have to win the line of scrimmage. McNabb and the offense cobbled together 300 total net yards against the Giants in the 36-31 loss on November 9, striking for some big plays, taking advantage of turnovers and putting the ball in the end zone via the passing game. If the offensive line can play as well now as it did then and give McNabb time to set up and throw, the Eagles will try to gash the New York secondary with their receiver pieces. McNabb is the driver of the offensive engine. He has to show the same poise, pace and confidence he did against Arizona. That was McNabb in one of his best games of the season. In the earlier game against the Giants, McNabb was 17 of 37, but he also threw 3 touchdown passes and ran for 35 yards. Mixed in was a costly interception. He knows the deal. The Giants have a pressure-oriented defense. McNabb has to be quick with his reads, accurate and very decisive. This game, then, is a superb test for the receivers, for the passing game, for the philosophy of the offense. It is one thing to do it with such an authoritative and confident approach against Arizona. Hey, the Eagles deserved a good pat on the back for a job well done on Thursday night.
The tight end position is another concern. L.J. Smith has 22 catches and 3 touchdowns, not exactly the kind of production the Eagles need from the tight end position. In this game, Smith has to be a weapon. The short- and intermediate-range passing game has to be there for McNabb to offset the New York pressure defense and, potentially, the weather conditions. Smith had 32 yards worth of receptions against Arizona, his third-highest yardage total of the season. He had 3 catches and 32 yards in the previous game against the Giants after missing a game with a concussion. Without production from the tight ends, the Eagles will have a hard time getting the ball outside to the receivers. Smith must force the Giants to respect the area between the hash marks.
It remains to be seen if the Eagles have enough at wide receiver to win big. There have been multiple problems at many times with this offense, and not one area is to blame. The receivers, as a group, have had too many drops and not enough touchdowns. Still, the Eagles believe they can be successful with this wide receiver corps, but they also recognize the need to be more consistent. The Eagles need to make some big plays to turn back the Giants, and rookie wide receiver DeSean Jackson is a logical candidate to do so. He leads the team with 53 receptions for 775 yards, with two scores. Jackson has also been a home-run threat in the return game. New York's secondary has played better than many expected it would this year, due in part to a great front seven that applies pressure to the quarterback. The Eagles must unlock Jackson down the field and stretch the Giants defense. Otherwise, the Eagles will have very little room at the line of scrimmage. Jackson has been sensational this season. He has made plays in traffic and he has used his exceptional speed to get beyond defensive backs. Even though he weighs around 175 pounds, Jackson has been tough and durable. The Eagles look to him in critical situations and he has delivered. They need Jackson to punch some openings in the New York secondary as a receiver, a running back and the X factor in their "Wildcat" formation that they use from time to time. It is an interesting watch at a position that fascinates everyone, and that continues to be a daily debate among fans. Do the Eagles have enough at wide receiver to win a Super Bowl? By trimming the rotation from six players to four, Reid and the coaching staff are saying that, for now, less is more. In the game against Arizona, when the Eagles torched the Cardinals for 437 total net yards, the foursome of Curtis, DeSean Jackson, Jason Avant and Hank Baskett fit the pieces together perfectly. Jackson was an intermediate-area receiver who caught and ran his way to 76 yards and a touchdown on 6 receptions. Jackson found space and used his speed and quickness to tear up the Cardinals' hash-to-hash defense. Curtis was the water bug, finding creases in coverage as Donovan McNabb spread the ball around. McNabb tried to stretch the field with a long pass down the field to both Jackson and Curtis, just to keep the Cardinals from squatting on short routes. Baskett was the go-to receiver to keep the chains moving. Four of his 5 receptions gained first downs, and Baskett did a little bit of everything -- catching and running for 20 yards, laying out and making a spectacular diving grab, running a quick slant for a catch in coverage and catching a dump in the flat for 2 yards and a first down. Avant, usually the staple on third downs, did his damage in traffic with 4 catches for 25 yards and a touchdown. Together, the group of four receivers combined for 20 catches, 2 touchdowns and 202 yards. The two other receivers, Brown and Greg Lewis, played sparingly but did not catch a pass. The assumption, then, is that the Eagles will continue with the four-man rotation at wide receiver and that, while Brown and Lewis will dress and may see a few snaps here or there, they will not be much more involved in the picture. The challenge on Sunday against an excellent Giants defense is to, as Reid likes to say, put his receivers in position to make plays in the passing game. This is another Sunday and another 60 minutes of questions for the wide receivers. Are they good enough? Is this team good enough? The challenge waits in the form of the defending Super Bowl champions, a Giants team that is 11-1 and the best team in the league.
The Eagles will try to run the ball, yes, but they are looking at matchups here and, frankly, the Giants just don't give up much on the ground. You don't open gaping holes against New York's front seven. You don't deal aces from the first snap through the 60th minute when you are playing against players and a scheme who are this good. What you do is remain patient, stick to your approach, change on the go when the opportunities present themselves and play with a high level of efficiency and precision. The Eagles will need running back Brian Westbrook to be at peak form if they are to pull off the win they desperately need against the Giants on Sunday, and it appears that's what they're going to get. Bothered much of the season by a sprained ankle, later by fractured ribs, and frequently by a chronic knee problem that often prevents him from practicing, Westbrook said yesterday he feels like he did at the start of the season, largely because the Eagles had three days off following their Thanksgiving night win over Arizona. For the first time in weeks, Westbrook showed the speed and agility that's made him one of the game's most complete backs when he ran for 110 yards and scored four touchdowns, two running and two on catches, against the Cardinals. He was named the NFC offensive player of the week. In the Giants' 36-31 win over the Eagles on Nov. 9, Westbrook was held to 26 yards on 13 carries. Following that game, the Giants said defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo told them to keep 22 eyes on Westbrook at all times. New York defensive end Justin Tuck reiterated yesterday that stopping Westbrook is the key to stopping the Eagles' offense.
Defensively, the Eagles know they must limit a Giants running game that is averaging 4.9 yards per carry. They also know they have to get to quarterback Eli Manning and pressure him into making mistakes. The Eagles are expected to be aggressive and attack the line of scrimmage on Sunday. Trent Cole doesn't have the sack numbers of one season ago -- he has seven -- but Cole has played very well in every phase of the game. He'll need to get after Eli Manning and make Manning move off his spot. The first priority of the defense is to stop the run, but the Giants are just as capable at beating teams with their passing game. Manning is still prone to turning the ball over and losing ball security in the pocket when he is pressured. Cole is going to see double teams, chipping, and a lot of nasty stuff thrown his way. Doesn't matter. A premier end, which Cole is, makes a difference in games like this. In his second season as a starter, Bunkley seems to be ready to take that next step in his development. He is a good player on the way to becoming a very, very good player. This is the kind of game that can help Bunkley move forward. The Giants are excellent inside with their blocking scheme, they are very physical and they have a devastating blend at running back. Bunkley has to be big. He made 11 tackles in the first meeting against the Giants, despite an overall defensive performance that struggled. New York's rushing success from one month ago doesn't fall directly on Bradley's shoulders, but he is the middle linebacker and Bradley takes great pride in having success against the run. Bradley recorded 16 total tackles in that game, but the Giants still controlled the line of scrimmage and the second level of the defense on the way to 219 yards on the ground. Bradley must be around the ball all game. He has to get off blocks and get to Brandon Jacobs and Co. before they have a chance to run downhill. It is a tall task, and it is going to be a telling one for Bradley. Is he ready to be a top-flight middle linebacker? He is making strides. This is a big game for Bradley and the defense. Also the safeties have to do it all. They have to support against the run and help in coverage, particularly against tight end Kevin Boss. Mikell also has to be over-the-top help against the Giants down the field. Now, New York doesn't have Plaxico Burress. That is a headache the Eagles don't need to worry about in this game. But the Giants are still threats with Domenick Hixon, the ageless Amani Toomer, Steve Smith and Sinorice Moss. It is a good group. The Eagles can't get lulled into a false sense of security here. Mikell leads the Eagles with 133 total tackles, has 3 interceptions and 2 quarterback sacks. He has had a fine season. Dawkins will be himself and play up to the level we expect as well. We can expect ot hear both of their names called many times in this game.Which team will we see on Sunday, the team that tied Cincinnati and lost to Baltimore or the team that annihilated the Cardinals on Thanksgiving? Lets hope that they play like they did on Thanksgiving. This game is a test that will show if the Eagles have what it takes to advance to the playoffs in January. They can win this game but they have to play the best football this team has played all season, and they can't make mistakes or slow down if they get into the lead. In conclusion (off topic) I would like to say congratulations to Donovan McNabb and his wife on the birth of their twins. I hope that the team can help Donovan celebrate by bringing home the win on Sunday.

Who to watch in this game:

• Eagles LB Stewart Bradley vs. Giants RB Brandon Jacobs
• Eagles CB Sheldon Brown vs. Giants WR Amani Toomer
• Eagles RB Brian Westbrook vs. Giants LB Antonio Pierce
• Eagles RG Nick Cole v. Giants LDE Justin Tuck
• Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson vs. Giants QB Eli Manning

That's the way to Win Eagles 48 Cardinals 20

Now that is the Eagles team I saw in the fist game of the year; if you haven't heard, after a rough week, and a tough go of it the last three weeks, the Eagles played one of their best coast-to-coast games of the season on Thursday night, blowing out the Arizona Cardinals 48-20. Oh, what a feeling. What a relief. What a needed victory after the turmoil of the recent days. Jim Johnson deserves kudos for a fantastic scheme against Arizona's high-powered passing game. Donovan McNabb and his teammates are to be applauded for their execution of the X's and O's. Andy Reid deserves credit for preparing a superb offensive game plan. All of the concerns I have voiced in the last few weeks were addressed in Thursday's game, now if they can just keep that focus this team could still be the team we thought they were in week one. The Eagles blew the doors off the Cardinals with a balanced, powerful offensive performance that gained 437 yards, converted 10 of 15 third downs, piled up 32 first downs and controlled the clock for 39 minutes, 33 seconds. Everybody contributed. Everyone helped. Stung by criticism (they heard it, no question) the Eagles banded together and played a hell of a game to get to 6-5-1. The Eagles know they have no margin for error. They know they have to go on a perfect run and also get some help to make the playoffs. They also know that they are better than the way they have played at times this season, and on Thursday night, they showed it. The Eagles had too many penalties, 8 for 61 yards, but they turned the ball over only once (when DeSean Jackson mistakenly pounced on a bouncing punt because he thought it hit another Eagle, and then Jackson lost control of the ball to the Cardinals) and they forced four from Arizona.

McNabb was great, absolutely great. He looked so calm and cool and confident in the pocket with 27 completions in 39 attempts for 260 yards and 4 touchdowns. His passer rating: 121.7. McNabb also ran 4 times for 24 yards(somthing that has been missing in McNabb's performance for a while now), part of a ground that game added up to 185 yards on 40 rushing plays. Brian Westbrook deserves all kinds of love and respect for his performance: 22 carries, 110 yards and two touchdowns, along with 3 receptions for 20 yards and a pair of scores. Hank Baskett was terrific with 4 catches and 33 yards in the first half. He made one fantastic diving catch and did a nice job all around catching the football in traffic, using his body well and making sure his hands were soft, but strong. Baskett then had a timely catch to convert a third down early in the third quarter. Baskett's playing time has certainly increased of late and it appears he has taken Reggie Brown's reps and opportunities. The entire offensive line dominated, particularly Jamaal Jackson, Todd Herremans and Tra Thomas. Outstanding job in the run game. Terrible injury suffered by Max Jean-Gilles. He was hit from behind and suffered a fractured right ankle. He'll miss the remainder of the season. The Eagles are going with Nick Cole (who did a great job filling in) at right guard with Winston Justice and Mike McGlynn waiting. L.J. Smith started, but Brent Celek seemed to play a majority of the snaps. And Celek played well in an all-around performance. Smith chipped in with a very fine 25-yard catch and run in the third quarter. The fans gave Kyle Eckel a standing ovation when he gained 2 yards and converted a third-and-1 situation on the team's first drive. Eckel helped in the fourth quarter with a couple of bruising runs. Lorenzo Booker played sparingly through three quarters, with one carry for 8 yards. He had a few other snaps, but the Eagles didn't get him the ball at those times. Booker had a couple of good runs in the fourth quarter, showing great quicks and the ability to sliver through a hole. He ran for 21 yards on 4 carries. Jackson had another 6 catches for 76 yards and a touchdown, his second of the season. Jackson has 53 catches for 775 yards in his rookie campaign. Such an impressive young man and player. I wonder how much value dressing six receivers is providing this team. Neither Brown nor Greg Lewis has seen many reps of late. The Eagles are going with a lot of Kevin Curtis, Jackson, Baskett and Jason Avant.

Quintin Demps played in the dime, replacing Sean Considine. Demps was outstanding. He made a nice tackle on Anquan Boldin early after a short gain, covered well, and continued his good work on special teams. Late in the game, Demps broke up a pass intended for Boldon on the sidelines. I suspect Demps will get more and more time in the final four games. I loved the way both Chris Gocong and Stewart Bradley attacked the line of scrimmage and shot gaps and shut down early Arizona running attempts. As the Eagles piled up yards and touchdowns offensively, the defense did a superb job making Arizona one-dimensional. Minus Asante Samuel, Joselio Hanson started at cornerback with Sheldon Brown and then moved inside to the slot in the nickel as Brown played the left side and Lito Sheppard played the right side. Hanson is an interesting guy. He has had a very good season and is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent after the year. Hanson is worth keeping, no question about it. Sheppard had a rough night. Another good job from Akeem Jordan both at the WILL position and on special teams. Jordan's fumble recovery of an Anquan Boldin fumble early in the fourth quarter was huge. Jordan is playing well.

My man Dawkins deserves his own paragraph here so I'm going to give it to him. Weapon X, B-Dawk, Woolverine (as my son calls him because of an inteview we saw once where the artist that draws the X-men drew him as Woolverine) or whatever you want to call him was everything we've come to expect from him. He was everywhere, everytime there was a play on defense he was right there in the middle of it, hitting hard and disrupting the offense. He caused an important fumble and several incomplete passes. Finally Late in the Fourth quarter he got his 34th career interseption which all but ended the Cardinal's hope for a last minute comeback. That is exactly why he is my favorite player. Great job Dawk and I hope that you can be here long enough to get a Superbowl ring. If anyone on this team deserves one more than you I don't know who it is.

David Akers continued his sweet groove, nailing a pair of field goals to extend his consecutive field goals streak to 14. Akers is 6 of 7 on field goal tries between 40 and 49 yards this season. Great game from Sav Rocca, who averaged 45.7 yards on his punts. Two of his kicks landed inside the 20-yard line. On the other side was Dirk Johnson, who averaged a paltry 36.3 yards per punt.

What else can I say? If the Eagles had played like this all season we might be looking at a record more like the Giants or even Tennessee. They have ten (well deserved) days now to get ready for the Giants. Lets all hope that whatever they did to revive themselves they keep it up. I think we can all agree that they are going to have to play just as well in the upcomming game as they did Thursday if they have any hope of beating the impressive Giants team. I have to admit that I really enjoyed this game after spending all day at my parents house listening to all the Cowboy's fans talking smack, and I hope that I can be the one talking smack when the Eagles meet the cowboys in December. Kudos to McNabb for showing the whole world that he still has it, and to the whole team for a much needed win.

Thanksgiving Game at the Linc

The Eagles play on Thanksgiving for the first time since 1989, as Arizona comes to Lincoln Financial Field for a prime-time game. Both teams have a short work week after tough losses on Sunday. Arizona (7-4) is in line to win the NFC West and hopes to rebound after losing to the Giants on Sunday, while the Eagles (5-5-1) need a win to keep their playoff hopes alive. Philadelphia’s defense will be severely tested in this one by the high-flying Arizona offense, ranked second in the NFL. Let’s be realistic though something has got to change from the last few games. What? I don’t know but the offense has got to score some points if they hope to win this game. The Eagles are searching for the right mix offensively. Donovan McNabb is the starter at quarterback after being removed in the second half of Sunday’s loss in Baltimore, hoping to get into some kind of rhythm early in the game. The offense has just one touchdown in the last eight quarters of action. Finding a running game is a key, and the Eagles are going to have to go without running back Correll Buckhalter (knee). Brian Westbrook is clearly not completely healthy, so the Eagles may have to give little-used Lorenzo Booker some action. Arizona is a fast defense that likes to blitz. The Eagles will try to make some big plays in the passing game to loosen up the line of scrimmage for the running game. Something has to give. Whatever the Eagles need to do, they must find a way to get McNabb and the offense going early and forge a lead. McNabb opened playing well in Baltimore, completing 6 of his first 7 passes. But then he struggled and was benched after a half. Benching McNabb was not the right coarse to take obviously, which brings us back to what I have been saying since before the draft; the wide receivers have to catch the ball and make something happen after the catch. This is a critical spot for McNabb and the Eagles, again. The franchise quarterback for much of the last decade, McNabb needs to rise to lead the team in an absolute must-win game in front of the home fans.

Through gimmicks and gadgets and some tough-guy moments from Brian Westbrook, the Eagles have averaged 94.5 rushing yards per game. They rank near the bottom of the NFL in that category, despite a 4.0-yard-per-carry average. Too often this season, the Eagles have failed on short-yardage runs and the cracks in the foundation of the running game have burst wide open to right now: The Eagles must manufacture a running game on Thursday night even with Westbrook hobbling because of knee and ankle injuries and minus Correll Buckhalter, the only halfback with any kind of size. That the Eagles need to run, at least to present the threat of the running game, is nothing new. We've been talking about it all season. And the Eagles have continually had trouble committing at all to the ground game, even when they have had a healthy Buckhalter and a reasonably-healthy Westbrook. It is fair to ask why, although the coaches have been asked that many times over by the Philadelphia media and have not really had answers. The offense is structured to attack in the passing game, but in the weeks of trouble of late the passing scheme has failed and the Eagles haven't had a running game on which to rely. Thursday's challenge is multiple. Quarterback Donovan McNabb is in the spotlight, of course, given the recent past, but he can't go it alone. Even in weeks past, the Eagles could turn and give the ball to Buckhalter had they chosen, and to a somewhat-explosive Westbrook, who as recently as the Atlanta game (four games ago) was dominating. They don't have those choices now.

So how do they play keep away from a Cardinals offense that doesn't much care for the run, either, but has such an explosive passing game that Kurt Warner and Co. have fashioned a 7-4 record by playing throwball? We'll see. How much can Westbrook really provide? If he gets 10-12 carries and contributes 70 yards of offense from the line of scrimmage, well, Westbrook should be applauded from coast to coast. He is one of the toughest players there is anywhere, and at full strength Westbrook remains one of the best players in the game. But after a game on artificial surface that beats up a healthy Westbrook for at least the next several days, how much can a banged-up Westbrook play four days later? The Eagles are going to have to be creative here. They have little-used (16 carries, 32 yards) Lorenzo Booker available, and he is excited for the opportunity to play. What we have seen from Booker hasn't been especially impressive, but maybe what he needs is a large dose of playing time to show what he can do. Chances are, he is going to get that heaping spoonful of repetitions on Thursday night, and the Eagles have to find ways to get him into space, to allow him to use his speed and to provide a certain kind of spark in the backfield. If Westbrook is really hobbled, the Eagles can also line up fullback Kyle Eckel as a pseudo-halfback and at least give him some carries to run it up between the tackles. Anything to keep the Cardinals from blitzing the house and coming hard after McNabb. When McNabb does manage to get the ball to one of the WR’s they absolutely have to catch it, that is what they are payed to do, after all.

In a game like this, the key is going to be which team sets the tempo. Arizona is the old-school UNLV of the NFL -- run and gun, fling the football all over the field with MVP candidate Warner taking charge, reborn with the Cardinals. Can the Eagles get into a shootout and hope to win? Can an offense that has scored just one touchdown in the last two games suddenly go bonkers and have everything come together just like that? Or do the Eagles try to slow things down, move the chains, dink and dunk and control the clock? Certainly, whatever happens, the Eagles have to run the football without some good players able to be at their best. The running game, inconsistent all season, must be given some kind of emphasis on Thursday night. One thing the Eagles don't want to do is get into a catch-up game against a Cardinals offense that doesn't stop pushing the envelope. Do the Eagles have it in them to run, to use smoke and mirrors if necessary, to give Booker a long look, to hand off to Eckel, to dedicate themselves to the ground, even if it isn't pretty? Again I say I don’t know. As far as I can see the playcalling and the receiving corps has to improve dramatically if the Eagles are going to win this game or any others. It’s easy to put it all on McNabb, and everyone has for years now, but let’s take another look at this; the best season that this team has had was the season when they had a talented non rookie WR (T.O.), who could be expected to catch the ball when it hit him in the chest. I’m not suggesting that the team get him back just get someone who can catch the ball, and stop blaming it all on Donovan. Secondly the playcallers have to call running plays and stick with the run even if it doesn’t work right away. Teams who stick with the run when it doesn’t work in the first half often end up winning the game by controlling the second. Running the football takes time: it is a process of wearing down the opponents defense and winning the time of possession. I hope the Eagles can salvage this season but I am afraid that they have left it too late.

Who to watch in this game

• Eagles DE Trent Cole vs. Cardinals OT Mike Gandy
• Eagles DBs vs. Cardinals WRs
• Eagles TE L.J. Smith vs. Cardinals LB Karlos Dansby
• Eagles LT Tra Thomas vs. Cardinals DE/OLB Bertrand Berry
• Eagles RBs Brian Westbrook & Lorenzo Booker vs. Cardinals S Adrian Wilson

Must Win Game Against the Ravens

Looking to snap a two-game winless streak, the Eagles head to 6-4 Baltimore to face the rugged Ravens, coached by former Eagles assistant coach John Harbaugh. Baltimore ranks third in the NFL in total defense and third in the NFL in running the football, so the Eagles know they are going to have to win the battle at the line of scrimmage to win the game. Sunday comes quickly and, Baltimore is waiting with that big, bad defense and a good offense featuring a power running game and a young, emerging quarterback in Joe Flacco. At first glance, this game sets up a little like the Eagles' 27-14 victory over the Falcons back on Oct. 26. The opposition has exceeded preseason expectations with a first-year coach (John Harbaugh now, Mike Smith then), but has beaten mostly struggling teams, and the quarterback is a surprisingly effective rookie from the Philadelphia area (Joe Flacco now, Matt Ryan then) who benefits from a run-first attack. But there might be at least one big difference. Westbrook was the healthiest and most effective he has been all season in that Atlanta game, running for 167 yards on 22 carries, catching six passes for 42 more, scoring twice.
It would appear that leadership is the theme this week, and the Eagles need some leadership on the offensive side of the ball. Meanwhile on the defensive side Brian Dawkins made the move that team leaders make when the times are tough. He felt the moment was right, and he called his teammates together on Wednesday to deliver a message. The season is at a critical point, has been for the last couple of weeks, and Dawkins said what his fellow players needed him to say. "I just felt like I needed to say something to the guys and see if we can all get on the same page," said Dawkins, "and get this thing rolling. It's a feeling for me. I've always said this, I'm a prayerful man, and I always pray about things when I feel something in my spirit and I'll speak up and today was that feeling." It is the only way the Eagles can move forward. Within the team, the only thing that mattered and that matters between now and the immediate future is beating Baltimore on Sunday. Dawkins, no doubt, hammered that point home on Wednesday. He is a veteran of many years and many critical points, and so it was appropriate that Dawkins rallied the troops. Reid and McNabb are taking the heat right now. Dawkins wanted everyone to know that the heat is to be spread around equally. Dawkins, who I have mentioned many times is my favorite player on this team, has been the leader of this team for several years now and while it is great hat he has stepped-up yet again, how long can he be the one to rally this team? He won’t be around forever. He will be looking to retire sometime in the near future, three or four years at the most if he isn’t already considering it. I know he looks great and is playing as good as ever but the older you get the harder it is to drag yourself out of bed in the morning and go to work and, even more so for someone with such a physically demanding job as professional football player. Someone else has to start helping B-Dawk out when it comes to leading this team.
The Eagles need that kind of leadership more than ever right now, on and off the field. Reid, as is his way, was stoic and resolved as he met the media. He understands the game, he knows the landscape and in the end what matters are wins and losses. Outside pressure, headline criticisms and fan frustrations can't take him away from doing everything possible to put the Eagles back on course. Reid has never been a coach who motivated his players with tongue-lashings or paint-peeling speeches. He sets a standard of expectation, pushes his players to reach and remain at that tempo, and then gives the locker room a chance to breathe and to form its own leadership within those walls. The method has been productive in the 9-plus seasons here, with just two losing records to go along with six playoff appearances; four division titles … and you know the numbers, but for the last two seasons at least leadership, on the field at least if not in the lockeroom, has been in short supply.
There is no question (at least from my perspective) that the Eagles are playing hard on every down. That is not even a question here. Where the team has lacked in 10 games is really, across the board. As Reid has said, accurately, everyone shares in the blame. The team has struggled in short-yardage situations, in large handfuls of time opening games, on defense in big games against the run, in coaching X's and O's and uses of personnel, on special teams and in the mental-toughness department. To have the Eagles reach the highest level, Reid needs his quarterback to find his mojo once again.
There are no secrets here. As the Eagles prepare for Baltimore on Sunday, they know that to have a chance to win they have to, first and foremost, stop a Ravens running game that ranks first in the AFC. It is a superb test for the Eagles, who have been mostly up, a couple of times down, against the run this season, Philadelphia ranks 11th in the NFL in run defense. Sunday, the defense has an opportunity to test its mettle. So the defense will tee it up again and understand that Baltimore brings some belt. In fact, the Ravens' offense has exactly the same weapons that have given the Eagles some problems this year (tight end Todd Heap, although he has just 21 catches and two touchdowns this year, is a legitimate pass-catcher, and the running game is bruising). In Cincinnati on Sunday, the Eagles smothered the Bengals on the ground, limiting them to 56 yards on 30 carries. It was an encouraging performance, but the reality is that the Bengals aren't in the class offensively as teams like Washington (203 rushing yards at Lincoln Financial Field) and the Giants (219 yards two weeks ago). To prove they are really making strides, really advancing to the next level defensively, the Eagles have to slow down Baltimore's running game, bottle up Heap and force rookie quarterback Joe Flacco into a couple of mistakes. It won't be easy.
The Eagles aren't especially big on defense, at least among the front four, and they rely on things like speed and leverage and the proper technique to make it work against rugged ground games. There has been a high investment up front -- tackles Mike Patterson and Brodrick Bunkley were first-round draft picks, Trevor Laws was a No. 2 along with swingman Victor Abiamiri, end Darren Howard was a big-time free-agent signing and Trent Cole has a lavish long-term contract. Chris Clemons, who has come on a bit of late after a disappointing first half of the season, is new to the team after signing as a free agent last spring. At linebacker, the Eagles have size and youth and intelligence and they have played well. Bradley is garnering some pub from national observers for his play in the middle. Omar Gaither has a bunch of tackles, 2 1/2 quarterback sacks and 5 passes defensed, and Gocong has been a physical, integral presence against the run. After ranking first in the league in run defense for most of September, the Eagles had their troubles against the Redskins, and for three quarters in San Francisco couldn't solve the 49ers and Frank Gore until making the right adjustments. Atlanta, currently the second-ranked rushing team in the league, managed just 77 yards on 24 carries. Then along came the Giants and a bunch of question marks. A sense of redemption waits Sunday in Baltimore. Maybe the Ravens will come out and open up the formation and go after the Eagles in the air. They haven't necessarily played that way through their 6-4 start. Flacco is a rookie who has played very well this season, but the offense in Baltimore starts with the running game. They have built the attack around the ground game, so if the Eagles want to win a game, they have to hold on and do some serious work against the run. The good news is that Patterson and Bunkley have played really well in the run game, and that Bradley is on the verge of being something special at middle linebacker, and that ends Cole, Juqua Parker, and Howard have a lot of quickness and can make some things happen with their quickness. It is going to come down to man vs. man on Sunday as the Ravens look to lean their big bodies on the Eagles defense and play some smash-mouth football. There are no secrets, none at all. The Eagles have to punch back with some haymakers of their own to win the ground game battle in Baltimore.
On offense things aren’t looking good after Westbrook acknowledged yesterday that his right high-ankle sprain and his swollen left knee continue to bother him. He was asked if he is still able to cut effectively. "Yeah, I'm able to make some cuts," Westbrook said. Some cuts? Gee, that's reassuring. Kind of like hearing the pilot tell you he can fly the damaged plane through some of those threatening clouds. With the Baltimore Ravens' defense (third in the NFL against the rush) coming up Sunday, it would be nice if Westbrook could make all or even most cuts, but since he wasn't able to practice yesterday, don't hold your breath. (Another cheery thought: What are the chances of Westbrook being able to play effectively Sunday and 4 days later, at home on Thanksgiving against the Cardinals? Right up there with Donovan McNabb chairing the rules committee, one would think.) The Ravens are unlikely to get gashed for 167 yards by a hobbled Westbrook. Last Sunday, Reid elected to call 60 pass plays and 18 runs. The Eagles faced third down 18 times and threw on every one of them, converting three. As you might have heard by now, they faced three third-and-1s, threw incomplete on all three. Bengals defenders talked afterward about being able to anticipate what the Birds would do. Reid acknowledged that he got away from the run game against Cincinnati when it wasn't successful early (5 yards on five carries in the first half). Westbrook and the run game were much more effective in the second half, but Reid never readjusted his mix.
Among the many mysteries attending the Eagles' inability to run effectively this season is Reid's reluctance to put the ball in Correll Buckhalter's hands in any game that Westbrook is able to hobble onto the field. In the two games Buckhalter started this season, with Westbrook sidelined, Buckhalter gained 159 yards on 34 carries - 4.68 yards per carry. He managed 10 carries, for 43 yards, after Westbrook was injured against Pittsburgh. In the other seven games, Buckhalter has a total of 13 carries. And, of course, there also is Lorenzo Booker, inactive the past 2 weeks. If Westbrook is considerably less than 100 percent Sunday, the Birds have to activate three running backs, don't they? I don’t know but if something isn’t done abut the Eagles inability to run the ball then we can go ahead and count this season as over right now and start looking at what should be done in the off-season.
In conclusion like I have said before the last few games, the Eagles need to get a lead and try to keep it. On defense they need to control the run and force the opponents QB to make mistakes, cause turnovers and the offense has to take advantage of those opportunities, move the ball in short yardage situations, and try to mix up the pass and run games. This is a winnable game but the Eagles have to play up to their potential (something they haven’t done lately). McNabb needs to do what it takes to win (scramble, planned runs, roll-out passes, ect…). Play-calling this season has also been a problem so Andy or whoever is calling the plays needs to get a handle on it and get the right play in to the offense at the right time. I know it’s not that easy but I also know that they can do it.

Who to Watch:

• Eagles S Brian Dawkins vs. Ravens TE Todd Heap
• Eagles FB Dan Klecko vs. Ravens LB Ray Lewis
• Eagles Defensive Coordinator Jim Johnson vs. Ravens QB Joe Flacco
• Eagles WR DeSean Jackson vs. Ravens CB Samari Rolle
• Eagles QB Donovan McNabb vs. Ravens Pass Defense

A Tie? That's unusual

After playing to a 13-13 tie in Cincinnati, the Eagles will look to regroup in advance of this weekend's game in Baltimore. Donovan McNabb turned the ball over four times against the Bengals and, in his latest column; Dave Spadaro says McNabb and Co. must make a critical stand over the next six games. Defensively, the Eagles added to their sack total with eight on Sunday, but in the end, it was not enough to change the outcome of the game. On Monday, head coach Andy Reid accepted responsibility for the team's recent struggles and pledged to work harder and get things turned around. So if you want to take the anything-can-happen approach, the Eagles are just a half-game out of second place in the NFC East. The playoffs are very much within reach. That is your glass-is-half-full view. The other vantage point is that the Eagles have flaws and five quarters in Cincinnati did nothing to smooth the warts that are so visible a blind man could see them. Sunday comes quickly. Baltimore is waiting with that big, bad defense and a good offense featuring a power running game and a young, emerging quarterback in Joe Flacco. The coaches have watched the film of the tie in Cincinnati and are already on to the Ravens. They believe in this team, as every coaching staff believes in its team.

Clearly, though, everybody realizes that this is crisis time, or at least on the verge of such a moment. The Eagles are 5-4-1 with a heavyweight schedule approaching and given the state of the NFC playoff picture, another loss (definitely two) knocks this team out of any playoff dreams it has. I have trouble looking at anything like the playoffs after such a poor performance against the Bengals. For the sake of focus here, the focus has to be on the offense. And it has to be on the man running the offense, quarterback Donovan McNabb. It was certainly not his fault alone that the Eagles managed just 13 points, that they were unsuccessful on three third-and-1 plays and that they continue to flounder in the running game. What was the only conversion in short yardage? It was a fourth-and-1 quarterback sneak. The pass/run ratio was completely out of whack, as McNabb attempted 58 passes and ran the ball just 18 times (one of them a McNabb sneak to convert a third down and one of them on DeSean Jackson's run out of the "Wildcat" formation when it looked like the young wide receiver wanted to throw the football). The defense played its heart out and that group deserves a lot of kudos for attacking the line of scrimmage, for being aggressive and for dominating an offense that it should have dominated. The offense is what needs immediate therapy.

The Bengals are a bad football team with a defense that had been gashed all season. The pre-game hope was that the Eagles could get a lead and extend it and then work on their running game in the second half and build a bit of confidence heading into this extremely difficult stretch of games. The offense was awful on Sunday in a game that the Eagles needed to win. How does it happen that a team that blew the doors off the Rams in Week 1, then played a fantastic, near-miss game in Dallas in Week 2 before redeeming itself a bit in Week 3 with a physical, emotional win over Pittsburgh is now on the edge? There are factors that some will use as excuses, but they don't play here. There are no excuses. Even with Shawn Andrews out, and with Brian Westbrook battling a variety of injuries and playing at less than 100 percent, the Eagles have been more than healthy by NFL standards. McNabb is holding on to the ball, waiting for the receivers to create separation and then gunning it to them. The receivers are not consistent enough catching the football, but I believe of lot of that has to do with their lack of certainty as to when the ball is coming out, and where it is coming to, and how fast McNabb is throwing it and all the little insecurities that lead to drops. Whatever that trust is that is missing between McNabb and his receivers is holding back the passing game. What else do you pinpoint? A lack of a running game? It's hurting the offense, no doubt. There is nothing to fall back on in that phase of the offense, and the play calling is such that running the football barely makes the game plan. Talent at wide receiver? Look, I'm as disappointed as anybody that Brown is such a non-factor here, but I still maintain that Curtis, DeSean Jackson, Jason Avant and Hank Baskett are more than enough to get it done. Tight end? Yeah, there isn't a consistent level of production there, but there are plenty of teams getting more done with less talent.
I'm not dumping on Donovan. Please don't misunderstand. I love the guy. I respect tremendously what he has done for the organization. I think he is a rare player and a future hall-of-famer. But the Eagles need him more than ever to be the great quarterback that he was a few years ago, A leader, someone whom the rest of the players can gather around and follow to victory. I guess in a lot of ways I'm wondering if McNabb is ready to make a stand. He has to be The Guy To Do It, right? Is there anyone else? Brian Westbrook is a great player, hobbled by injuries but still a great player, but the leadership has to come from a quarterback when the offense is throwing the ball 35-40 times a game. The quarterback has to be the one to throw the team on his shoulders and will a team to victory. Again I am not knocking Donovan but leadership has been a problem for a while now, the defense is in good shape as far as leadership is concerned (until Brian Dawkins decides to retire or the coaching staff cuts him prematurely). Some people can lead without even trying while others have to work at it, McNabb is one of those who has to work at it and frankly, he just hasn't been working hard enough. But, hey, McNabb is the guy here, and the quarterback gets a lot of the credit and a lot of the blame. Right now, McNabb has a bunch of heat on him, and that is understandable. My point is that the Offense needs a leader and as much as I like McNabb if he can't be that leader then the team might be better off with someone else. The impact the quarterback has on a team goes far beyond his statistics. You see it everywhere in the league. How much of a winning confidence has Brett Favre had on the Jets? Tony Romo comes back to the Cowboys and they go out and win a big game in Washington. Eli Manning doesn't resemble the quarterback he was in the past, and the Giants are the best team in football. Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco show they are capable young quarterbacks around whom the Falcons and Ravens, respectively, can rally and both of those teams are in playoff contention. The Eagles need to do the same with McNabb and McNabb has to do the same for the Eagles. It isn't all on him, but it is. He is the quarterback. He is the most important player on the field and in the locker room and in the organization. It's on Donovan. It's on the quarterback. Reid's responsibility is, yes, far beyond anybody here and he acknowledges that every week. But a quarterback can change things on every play on the field. Donovan needs to make A Stand. Right now. So much depends upon the next week, two weeks, however long.
What IS next? A major shake-up? Something to rattle the bones of the locker room? A way to get the Eagles to be the team the coaches think it can be? Or, maybe, this is what the Eagles are – a team that just didn't beat the 1-8 Bengals at a stadium with just as many Eagles fans as Cincinnati fans. It was just a very poor performance, so incredibly disappointing. What it means to the playoff chances isn't even worth considering right now.The Eagles need something good to happen. They need to make some good fortune for themselves. They have McNabb, who in his 10th season and has taken all kinds of heat for admitting after the game that he wasn't aware that regular-season games in the NFL end (even when the score remains tied) after one 15-minute overtime period. "I never knew that was in the rule book," said McNabb. Reporters rolled their eyes and shook their heads when McNabb said that, and when he also said "I would hate to see what would happen in the Super Bowl or in the playoffs if they settled for a tie." Amazing. McNabb wasn't the only player unaware that a regular-season game ends in a tie after 15 minutes of a scoreless overtime, but that is beside the point. Overtime games are rare and scoreless overtimes even more so, and quite frankly McNabb's knowledge of the rules in such a rare situation doesn't make any difference. The coaches who were calling the plays knew the rules, at least I hope they did, and that is what matters. I would like to point out one thing though; the Referee gives a quick summary of the overtime rules before the coin-toss at the beginning of the overtime period. So I guess Donovan should have listened to what he said but basically it is irrelevant, so get off the guy's back.

Cincinnati Bound

The Eagles look to bounce back Sunday with a trip to Cincinnati to face the Bengals. It is important for the Eagles to start quickly and play a strong 60 minutes against Cincinnati. While the loss on Sunday night to the Giants hurt, the Eagles are still 5-4 and in the thick of the playoff chase. But they have very little margin for loss, especially against a team that has struggled as the Bengals have all season. Cincinnati, a team many believed was ready to make a serious playoff push this season, is instead 1-8 and searching to find itself. The Bengals have had injury problems, particularly at quarterback where Carson Palmer has missed most of the season (he has thrown just 129 passes) with an injury. Ryan Fitzpatrick is the starter on Sunday. He has completed 103 out of 166 passes for 789 yards and four touchdowns. There is plenty of talent at wide receiver with T.J. Houshmandzadeh (61 catches, 3 TD) and Chad Johnson (37, 4), but the Bengals have struggled all year running the football and putting points on the board.

What can the Eagles do to improve their offensive efficiency in short-yardage situations? It is a leading question this week and it is something the team has worked on extensively to improve. Starting in the Dallas game, and then making for a huge problem in Chicago, the offense’s latest trouble in short-yardage situations came last week against New York. The Eagles failed to convert on a third-and-3 run and then a fourth-and-1 run and gave up the ball with less than two minutes remaining to thwart a comeback effort against the Giants. Clearly, the Eagles need to establish the line of scrimmage more effectively on short-yardage running plays. Brian Westbrook has not had the freedom to get past the first level of defense on a consistent basis this season, which has cost the team at critical points in games. The Eagles are in the midst of their stretch run with little room for error, and solving the short-yardage woes would go a long way toward putting this team back on the road to victory.

So, what to expect? The Eagles have wrongs to right, with little margin for error. They must gain a confidence and win on Sunday and then move on to the next game. We know this much: The Eagles are 5-4 and they have a mandate to win one week after the next from here on out. The margin of error is extremely small. They have had too much up and down this season. Too much inconsistency. Too many losses in the NFC. Not enough of this and that ... and on and on. I know only what I see, and what I see is an Eagles team that has a lot of ability, but I also see an Eagles team that hasn't won critical situations in enough games. I see an Eagles team that is, as they say, what it is. What I hope to see on Sunday is an Eagles team that plays its best game of the season and beats the Bengals and answers a whole different set of questions. I'm in the moment. It is the only way to be. The Eagles have to be that way as well. Honestly, going away and playing on the road the next two weeks may be the best thing for this team. The mandate doesn't change, of course. The Eagles need to find what they are all about. Time is running out. They need to win.

Who to Watch:

• Eagles CBs vs. Bengals WRs
• Eagles RB Brian Westbrook vs. former Eagle, Bengals LB Dhani Jones
• Eagles DE Trent Cole vs. Bengals LT Levi Jones

Eagles: Heartbreaker at Home

A slow start put the Eagles in a hole on Sunday night, but they showed heart and climbed out … only to fall short as the New York offense plowed its way down the field in the second half. I said that the Eagles could win this game but they would have to play their best; and they did just that right up til the fourth quarter when bad play calling, time management and two stupid challenges lost the game for them. Sound Familiar? The Giants ran for 219 yards, averaging 4.9 yards per carry. The Eagles ran for 106 yards, but Brian Westbrook accounted for just 26 yards on 13 carries, and failed twice to convert late in the game, first on a third-and-3 play when he ran to the right edge of the formation and then when he was stoned on a fourth-and-1 run to the right side. Short-yardage situations have been a problem for the Eagles all season, and they were again an issue late in a game that the Eagles were, one touchdown away from winning. The Eagles were dominated at the line of scrimmage as New York doubled the time of possession, but there the Eagles were, down five points, with the ball and a first down at their 36-yard line with 2 minutes, 35 seconds to play. I am not questioning Andy Reid as head coach I am just saying that whether it was him or Marty that called those two running plays at the end of the game they need to sit down and revaluate their playcalling as it applies to this team. Why can't the Eagles run the ball consistently? Poor play up front? No true fullback? Running backs who aren't big enough? Some of all of the above, and then some? The Eagles went up against the best on Sunday night, no doubt about it, and the Giants did the things we knew the Eagles might have trouble with to drop Philadelphia to 5-4 and make the margin for error around here almost nothing in the final seven weeks of this season.

Where to begin here? The second half is a good place to start, because after the Eagles took the opening kickoff of the third quarter and moved brilliantly into scoring position and then scored on a McNabb fade pass to Hank Baskett to lead 24-20, the Giants took over. Just as it was in the first half after the Eagles took a 7-0 lead, New York pushed the Eagles all around at the line of scrimmage and drove 69 yards on 13 plays to grab back the lead on a punishing drive aided by a questionable reversal of an apparent illegal forward pass ( Eli Manning was initially ruled to have stepped over the line of scrimmage on a completion to tight end Kevin Boss, and somehow the play was overturned) and while we can bellow and scream about the officials on that one, the fact is the Giants dominated the line of scrimmage.

The offense? Other than a conversion after an early turnover and some success late in the first half and early in the second half, not much. McNabb started slowly again and never really heated up on a chilly night. The running game was a bust. The Eagles converted just 3 of 11 third downs. That the Eagles were even in the game in the fourth quarter was a mild surprise after the way it went in the first quarter. The suggestion here isn't to totally abandon the running game. The Eagles must improve in that phase of their offense, specifically the short-yardage attack. But the offense is lacking a bread-and-butter personality, and now is the time to make the passing game, already a focus through nine games, even more of a go-to call. It is time, maybe, to open up and offense that is already pretty darn open by NFL standards. The Eagles throw the ball well. They pass protect well. They create good matchups with their X's and O's and they have enough weapons to put the ball in the end zone. The offense is scoring points this season. What it isn't doing is converting short-yardage plays at crucial times and while the negative emphasis has been on the short yardage, the strength of the offense has been putting points on the scoreboard via the passing game. So throw it. Don't hold back. Balance is not in the equation. The Eagles need to get some leads and then go out and work on the running game as they work the clock.

The Eagles knew they had to be physical in every phase of the game, and they really gave it everything they had. But the defensive front was not much of a match for a Giants offense that controlled the football for 39:10. At some point, the Eagles are going to have to step up against the run. They have tried just about every tweak to the scheme and did so on Sunday night when the defense was overpowered by the Giants. The Eagles simply need players to step up and play better. They need better technique. They must control the gaps better and tackle better and play more physical football. The Eagles have invested a whole lot in their front seven. They have first-round draft picks in Mike Patterson and Brodrick Bunkley at tackle, a couple of second-round picks up there with Trevor Laws and Victor Abiamiri and some high-salaried talents like Darren Howard and Trent Cole and even Juqua Parker. The linebackers are young and talented and physical. It has a chance to come around for this defense, and in games against Cincinnati and Baltimore and then Arizona ( teams that have not run the ball nearly as effectively as Washington and New York) the Eagles have to work things out. They have to get some answers up front. New York's three-headed monster of a running game accounted for 217 yards, helping the Giants convert 7 of 15 third downs and effectively keeping McNabb off the field. Manning was only OK, but he did go to Eagles-killer Plaxico Burress for an early touchdown and then to Boss a half-dozen times to continue Philadelphia's defensive problems against tight ends.

In the end, the loss was just too much Giants and not enough, well, not enough of a lot of things. Mostly, though, it was not enough success at the line of scrimmage, a loss that dropped the Eagles to 5-4 and puts them three games behind New York in the NFC East with seven games to play. Oh, they'll come back. I have faith in that. I think the Eagles are going to be in the thick of things in December, but they have to find some way to win close games, something they really haven't done for a couple of seasons. It was a tough loss and it is a bitter feeling. The Eagles lost at the line of scrimmage, and they have other questions to answer, with not much time or margin for error to consider.

David vs. Goliath? Eagles vs. Giants

This figures to be a classic divisional game. The Giants are a physical team with a balanced offense – they rank second in the NFL in rushing and are 17th passing – and a disruptive defense that ranks second in the league with 30 quarterback sacks. Led by Donovan McNabb, the Eagles’ passing game ranks third in the NFL and features a spread-the-wealth approach with Kevin Curtis, Reggie Brown and rookie DeSean Jackson. The defending Super Bowl-champion Giants are off to a 7-1 start and hold a two-game lead in the NFC East at the season’s midway point. Philadelphia has won three straight games after a disappointing 2-3 opening five games and will have to play its best game of the season to beat New York. For the Eagles to be successful in this critical game, running back Brian Westbrook must have some room to run and be a factor in the passing game. He averages 4.4 yards per carry with six touchdowns on the ground, and Westbrook also has 26 catches and two scores as a receiver. A loss here would make it very difficult for the Eagles to get back to the top of the division with only seven games to play. Expect an emotional game for the Eagles on Sunday night as they try to get back at a team that beat them twice in the 2007 season.

Some of the key measurables for this Eagles offense suggest things are going very well. Their 220 points rank fourth in the NFL. Quarterback Donovan McNabb has been largely consistent from game to game, if not necessarily from quarter to quarter within each game. Brian Westbrook is just rounding into shape after missing a couple of games with injury, and wide receiver Kevin Curtis is clearly improving after missing six games with the sports hernia injury. Yet, as all parties agree, there are parts of the offense the Eagles must improve if they hope to beat the best of the best teams in the NFL.

When the very best of the best teams in the NFL comes to town on Sunday night, the Eagles offense is going to very much be on the spot. And if you believe the overall premise that Andy Reid has preached for years as the head coach here, the real areas on which to focus are the offensive line and the quarterback, McNabb. First, the offensive line. There are definitely questions about this group, especially considering the sporadic running attack the Eagles have had throughout the year. But in the big picture, they have kept the quarterback remarkably upright in eight games. McNabb has thrown 288 passes and has been sacked 13 times, a very good ratio for an offensive philosophy that emphasizes the throw game. On Sunday night, of course, the Eagles face a Giants defense molded in the vision created by Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson. Steve Spagnuolo coached with the Eagles for eight seasons before taking the opportunity to become New York's defensive coordinator last year, and his masterful X's and O's strategy keyed the Giants' Super Bowl victory in February. Spagnuolo, like Johnson, believes in pressure. Take away the big plays. Win the battle at the line of scrimmage by playing "downhill" defense and make quarterbacks move off their spot and throw into coverage or hold the ball too long. Despite losing star ends Michael Strahan (retirement) and Osi Umenyiora (injury), the Giants lead the NFL with 30 quarterback sacks en route to a 7-1 record and a lead in the NFC East.

McNabb knows full well how lethal the Giants are when they rush the passer. He has faced this team for nine seasons and has had some of his most memorable – and most unpleasant – moments against the Giants. At the top of mind is the two losses from a year ago – the 12-sack embarrassment at Giants Stadium in a nationally-televised loss in September and then a dagger-to-the-playoff-hopes loss at Lincoln Financial Field in December. In both games, the Giants effectively bottled up what the Eagles wanted to do offensively. The first game isn't a fair gauge, because the Eagles played without left tackle Tra Thomas, running back Brian Westbrook and tight end L.J. Smith. McNabb never had a chance. In the second game, though, the Eagles opened with a marvelous touchdown drive and then the Giants snuffed out McNabb and Company. by dominating the line of scrimmage, taking away McNabb's downfield options and swarming the Eagles' backfield until late in the game when McNabb led a desperation drive that ended on David Akers' 57-yard field goal attempt that clanged off the right upright in a 16-13 loss. Since that loss, the teams have had different perspectives. New York went on to win the Super Bowl. The Eagles played out the string with three straight wins late in December and used those three games as reason to believe the team was better in 2007 than the record indicated.

Halfway through this season, both teams are contenders. The Giants have rolled with seven wins – five at home – are playing with extreme confidence. The Eagles have reeled off three victories in a row and are starting to understand how good they can be when everything comes together.the onus is on the offensive line and McNabb to make it all work for the offense. Look, we know the Giants are really, really good up front. Justin Tuck is one of the rare players who is a great pass rusher both at tackle and at end. The Giants have depth and are physical and come at teams in waves. Spagnuolo orders a variety of blitzes and his defense plays with an uncommon togetherness and confidence.

The Giants are not a perfect defense. we've seen the Browns have success. San Francisco moved the ball up and down the field before quarterback J.T. O'Sullivan threw the ball all over the yard and the Giants secured a victory. The Giants have holes. Every scheme has holes. In the days between now and Sunday, the coaches will prepare a game plan and the players will practice what they intend to execute on Sunday night. The chess match is on. The Eagles offense, which has done so many good things, still has a lot of areas in which it can improve. That is the truly exciting part of the offense. There are flaws and we can all see them, but the Eagles are moving the football well and they're scoring points and they have Westbrook and Kevin Curtis and Reggie Brown back in the lineup and they are improving every week.

Considering how they started the first five weeks of the season, the Eagles are in tremendous position, two games above .500 with four winnable games outside of the division remaining, and two of their four NFC East games at home. They are relatively healthy, and are starting to come together and become the team so many folks expected them to be in the preseason. Getting the early lead and keeping the lead early will be a key to finishing this season strong. The Eagles built a 14-0 lead against Washington earlier this season, only to watch as the Redskins erased it and never looked back. That game could cost the Eagles big time. So, too, could that loss at Chicago. Nevertheless, I do feel like they're moving in the right direction. After allowing Seattle to score on their opening drive Sunday, an embarrassed and enraged defense forced the Seahawks to punt 11 consecutive times. And after sputtering for the first couple of series - a troubling trend these days - the offense got it together and moved the football. Yes, we all would've preferred touchdowns to those four field goals they got, but against the Seahawks it didn't matter. Against the Giants, it could be another story. This is a winable game by all means but the Eagles are going to have to play better than they have so far this year. This could be the game that defines the Eagles for this year.

Who should we watch this week?

• Eagles RT Jon Runyan vs. Giants DE Justin Tuck
• Eagles CB Asante Samuel vs. Giants WR Plaxico Burress
• Eagles run defense vs. Giants running game