Washington is a major factor in the NFC East with three straight wins, including a road victory in Dallas last Sunday. The Redskins play power football offensively with running back Clinton Portis carrying the load on the ground, and emerging quarterback Jason Campbell operating the offense smoothly. Campbell has made great strides in the last year and is much more calm and poised in the pocket.
The Eagles are 0-1 in the NFC East and are looking up in the standings at the other three teams after four games. It is important that they win on Sunday and get on a roll and generate some positive momentum.
Defensively, the Redskins shut down Dallas last Sunday by slowing down the Cowboys on the ground and keeping Terrell Owens and Co. under wraps. So the Eagles have to bounce back from the tough loss in Chicago and play a good game to keep pace in the division.
Brian Westbrook participated in practice at the NovaCare Complex for about an hour yesterday before leaving the field. Will Westbrook play Sunday against the Washington Redskins? "We'll see," coach Andy Reid said. That might be the most important question of the week. Last Sunday showed just how important Westbrook is to this offense. Westbrook suffered a sprained right ankle Sept. 21 against Pittsburgh and sat out last week's game at Chicago. His brother, Byron, a cornerback for the Redskins, has said he would be surprised if Westbrook played.
One good thing as far as injuries go is that L.J. Smith is back in the lineup. He has gone through practice this week, and his name should soon be scratched off the list of the Eagles' walking wounded. How much of a boost is it to have Smith back? Say what you will about him, about his numbers -- and understand, Smith has been around long enough to know what everybody is saying -- but the truth is that the offense is better with Smith on the field. He is the most athletic tight end the Eagles have, he is the best blocker and he gives Donovan McNabb the best target in the red zone, Something they could have used against the Bears.
The Defence looked good last week and should again this week in part because of starting linebacker, Stewart Bradley. In his first year as a starting linebacker, Stewart Bradley is making his presence felt. He has tremendous range and is a physical player who gets to the football. In this game, Bradley has the assignment of containing running back Clinton Portis, who fuels the Washington offense. Bradley must read the play and flow quickly downhill to the football and he has to tackle well against the speedy and shifty Portis. So far, Bradley has been up to every task this season. The Eagles have been outstanding against the run and have forced turnovers. They have applied pressure. There have been some defensive lapses, but more often than not the Eagles defense has been dominating, and Bradley is gaining some Pro Bowl talk early in his career, but It is another week and another team on the other side of the ball, and the Eagles will learn something new about Bradley this Sunday.
The Eagles are 0-1 in the NFC East and are looking up in the standings at the other three teams after four games. It is important that they win on Sunday and get on a roll and generate some positive momentum. I hope that they can bounce back from the disappointing loss last Sunday and emerge from this game the winner. If Westbrook plays I am confident that they will, but without him it could be another too close for comfort game. Either way this is a game that the Eagles have to find a way to win.
Matchups to watch this week are:
- Eagles CB Asante Samuel vs. Redskins WR Santana Moss
- Eagles C Jamaal Jackson vs. Redskins LB London Fletcher
- Eagles WR Reggie Brown vs. Redskins CBs
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