It's hard to believe but just a few weeks ago I, like a lot of others, was sure that the Eagles season was all but over, But here we are it is January of 2009 now and the Eagles will be playing in their fifth NFC championship game in eight seasons, against their former Divisional rival the Arizona Cardinals. They lost the first one as an underdog at St. Louis, lost the next two as home favorites against Tampa Bay and Carolina, then won the last one as a home favorite against Atlanta. There was hope after St. Louis, despair after Tampa Bay, anger after Carolina and elation after Atlanta. The games came in all shapes and all sizes. The Eagles are saying the right things this week about the Arizona Cardinals. If you look deeply into their eyes, there isn't even a glint of a hint of dishonesty when they say they are taking the Cardinals very, very seriously. And then they nod. Very, very seriously. It is true that any team with bruised toes from a season of unexpected stumbles shouldn't be taking anyone else lightly. The Eagles are riding the wave of confidence they have built from the still water around their ankles after the Nov. 23 loss to Baltimore. The first rising tide came just days later - a 28-point win over the - that's right - Arizona Cardinals. Now the streak has reached six wins in the last seven games, including solid playoff victories over Minnesota and the defending champion New York Giants. The Eagles are being carried by their defense, but quarterback Donovan McNabb is healthy and the offense is dangerous as well. Against Arizona in November, McNabb threw four touchdown passes and had his second-highest passer rating of the season, behind only the season-opening rout of St. Louis. Still, what you get this week is what you expect to get, and what you should get. You just wonder if they really believe it.
A seven-time Pro Bowl player in his 13th NFL season, free safety Brian Dawkins is the heart and soul of the defense. He pours his emotions onto the field and is beloved for his intensity and his performance. Dawkins also happens to have a huge assignment on Sunday. He will be required to give help over the top against the Arizona passing game down the field and he’ll also be asked to fill in and aid against Arizona’s running efforts. You may even see Dawkins blitzing Kurt Warner as the Eagles try to get the star quarterback out of his comfort zone. Dawkins has to make plays in this game, and he has to make sure that the Eagles play at a fevered emotional level. The intensity the Eagles have shown during this streak – six wins in seven weeks – has made a difference, and Dawkins deserves a lot of the credit. This is his fifth NFC Championship Game, so he understands how dreams crumble abruptly here. The task is a tall one (fly across the country and play a team that the Eagles defeated convincingly in November at their home in front of their rowdy fans) but Dawkins is prepared for the journey.
He is only one of six players who have been here for all five; Donovan McNabb, Correll Buckhalter, David Akers, Tra Thomas, Jon Runyan and Brian Dawkins. (Buckhalter, admittedly, is a bit of a stretch, injured in 2002 and 2004 but around the team nonetheless.) They are the ones who have seen it all, and felt the different emotions, and dealt with the varying expectations. They have known mostly disappointments on these days, disappointments that necessarily hardened their outer shells and sharpened their inner appetites for success. They are all excited, even if they feel honor-bound to hide some of the it. They are favored to get back to the Super Bowl and they know it. But they have lost this game three times before and they all know that, too. There are scars in the NFL and then there are championship-game scars. There is no camouflaging that level of disappointment. And the lesson, Akers said, "is to make each one count."
A seven-time Pro Bowl player in his 13th NFL season, free safety Brian Dawkins is the heart and soul of the defense. He pours his emotions onto the field and is beloved for his intensity and his performance. Dawkins also happens to have a huge assignment on Sunday. He will be required to give help over the top against the Arizona passing game down the field and he’ll also be asked to fill in and aid against Arizona’s running efforts. You may even see Dawkins blitzing Kurt Warner as the Eagles try to get the star quarterback out of his comfort zone. Dawkins has to make plays in this game, and he has to make sure that the Eagles play at a fevered emotional level. The intensity the Eagles have shown during this streak – six wins in seven weeks – has made a difference, and Dawkins deserves a lot of the credit. This is his fifth NFC Championship Game, so he understands how dreams crumble abruptly here. The task is a tall one (fly across the country and play a team that the Eagles defeated convincingly in November at their home in front of their rowdy fans) but Dawkins is prepared for the journey.
He is only one of six players who have been here for all five; Donovan McNabb, Correll Buckhalter, David Akers, Tra Thomas, Jon Runyan and Brian Dawkins. (Buckhalter, admittedly, is a bit of a stretch, injured in 2002 and 2004 but around the team nonetheless.) They are the ones who have seen it all, and felt the different emotions, and dealt with the varying expectations. They have known mostly disappointments on these days, disappointments that necessarily hardened their outer shells and sharpened their inner appetites for success. They are all excited, even if they feel honor-bound to hide some of the it. They are favored to get back to the Super Bowl and they know it. But they have lost this game three times before and they all know that, too. There are scars in the NFL and then there are championship-game scars. There is no camouflaging that level of disappointment. And the lesson, Akers said, "is to make each one count."
Over the long history of the NFL, it has usually taken only a C-minus or D-plus game to beat the Cardinals. Even this season, as the Cards reeled to the finish line, it wasn't that difficult. In the final five weeks of the season, Arizona lost games by 21, 28 and 40 points. Forty points! Beyond that, the collective unconscious of the franchise represents a sticky spider web of failure across the players' faces. The most recent division championship before this season came 33 years and a time zone ago. It was 1975 in St. Louis under coach Don Coryell. Current coach Ken Whisenhunt is the 11th head coach for the team since that last division title, and the 9-7 record this season is just the second winning record since 1984. If the Cardinals should win on Sunday, it will be the franchise's first serious championship since Harry Truman was filling out Franklin Roosevelt's final term. They beat the Eagles in Chicago's Comiskey Park in 1947. I think Arizona was already a state back then, but I'll have to check. The Eagles are having none of it, of course. Not only aren't the Cardinals the team that lost games for all those years. They aren't the team that lost games this season. Again, you just wonder if they really believe it. For now the Eagles' incredible postseason run continues with a trip to Arizona and the NFC Championship Game. We can only hope that after Sunday they will be headed to Tampa.
Who to Watch:
- Eagles CBs vs. Cardinals WRs
- Eagles DE Trent Cole vs. Cardinals LT Mike Gandy
- Eagles RB Brian Westbrook vs. Cardinals D
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