I Screamed "Screen" All Game...

...and thankfully they finally ran on it. I've already received calls to become the next Lions head coach.

The Eagles offense seemed bottled up with pressure from the Minnesota Vikings front seven all game, but they finally, finally, finally called the play that would fool the pressure. Westbrook took a screen pass to the right for 71 yards and a touchdown. Screaming at the television does work and I think you need to do it approximately 15 times for the coach to hear you. The screen play put the Eagles ahead 23-14 and the entire city of Philadelphia let out a big sigh of relief. Akers later added his fourth field goal of the day for the 26-14 final.

The defense played stellar through most of the game, but was just absolutely ridiculous in the second half. Their speed on defense was all over the field and they forced Tavaris Jackson to make plays and he couldn't. Defensive end Trent Cole had 13 tackles, including 7 solo tackles. That is just crazy for a defensive end. Trent Cole was able to get some pressure, but he did an even better job of sealing the edge and forcing Peterson to try and dance around to found yardage. Sure, Peterson ran for 83 yards on 20 carries, but 40 came on a blown tackle on a zone blitz for a touch down.

Asante Samuel returned another interception for a touchdown in the postseason, setting a NFL record with four in his career. Tavaris Jackson was not up to the task completing only 15 of 35 passes for 164 yards.

McNabb was 11-19 with an interception in the first half. He finished the game going 23 of 34 for 300 yards. His 12-15 second half helped the Eagles get out of some poor field position and kept 4th quarter drives alive. The offense struggled with the run, but that was expected against the best run defense in football. I would have liked to see Buckhalter get a few more carries with his burst through the hole, but the coaches felt differently.

DeSean Jackson only made one catch for 34 yards in the passing game, but he was great at punt returns, including a 62 yarder that set up the Eagles first field goal. He returned 4 other punts for an average of 11.8 yards.

Jason Avant and Brent Celek stepped up for the offense, and Kevin Curtis came on late in the game, but Avant and Celek caught a combined 11 passes for 105 yards. Avant is truly developing into a nice slot receiver with the ability to make the catch over the middle and come up with some big third down conversions.

The talk yesterday was all about Chargers punter Mike Scifres 6 punts inside the 20. Well today, Sav Rocca was 4-4 with punts inside the 20, including a 58 yarder that put field position back in the Eagles favor after the first drive. Eagles kicker David Akers appears to be back after hitting field goals of 51, 43, 31, and 45 yards. He has probably been the Eagles truest comeback player of the year. Including the postseason, Akers is now 37 for 44 on the season.

Stat of the day... Trent Cole's 13 tackles (7 solo)
Offensive play of the day... Brian Westbrook's 71 TD reception
Defensive play of the day... Asante Samuel's "pick 6"

Check back in later this week for discussion on the upcoming game with the Giants. Starting Wednesday, we will discuss each facet of the Eagles team all the way up through Sunday.

Gametime next week is set for 1pm.

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Wild Car Predictions.

Well I'm posting this too late but I had Atlanta beating Arizona and Indianapolis beating San Diego today. I already lost the Atlanta game and right now Indy is up 17-14 going into the 4th quarter. So hear are my picks for tomorrow's games. The first game will be at 1:00 and it's Baltimore in Miami. The second will be our beloved Eagles playing at 4:30 in Minnesota. Picks after the jump.

Baltimore (11-5) @ Miami (11-5) - This should almost be a low scoring game between 2 very strong defenses. Baltimore's D is just unstoppable, especially versus the run. Ray Lewis is still a nasty human being and can deliver a hit to knock the ball loose. He's the heart of that defense. Miami's D is led by Joey Porter, who racked up 20 sacks this year. He can put a ton of pressure on rookie quarter back Joe Flacco. Speaking of Flacco, he played very well in leading the Ravens to a playoff berth with 14 TD's and almost 3000 yards. He was supported heavily by rookie LeRon McClain who rushed for over 1000 yards. Miami found a leader in newly acquired Chad Pennington, who was dumped by the Jets when Brett Favre went there. They are supported by a solid run attack with Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams. Pennington found a target in Greg Camarillo who will line up against Samari Rolle of Baltimore. Baltimore's secondary can shut down Miami and their vicious run defense should be able to contain Brown and Williams. The Ravens are my pick.

Now to Philly and Minny, the big game for us fans.

The Offense: The Eagles are coming into the playoffs 4-1 and riding the emotions of a 44-6 pounding of Dallas last Sunday. If Donovan McNabb can find his recievers like in that game and Westbrook can run on the defensive line of Minny, it should be an easy game for Philly. The Vikings have a very underated secondary that's led by Antoine Winfield and Darren Sharper. The Eagles injured oline will have to keep the unrelated Kevin and Pat Williams in check. They will be giving Jamal Jackson, Todd Herramins, and Nick Cole a battle all day. Jared Allen will line up against Tra Thomas mainly and he will try to put McNabb on his back.

The Defense: This is gonna be very interesting. We all know Tavaris Jackson sucks but he can also move. They had a slightly tough time with Jason Cambell two weeks ago and Jackson is a better athlete. He can't throw but he can buy time with his legs. If Jimmy Johnson turns up the heat, mistakes will be made by the young and inexperienced QB. The real story though will be if the run defense can shut down Adrian Peterson. He is the best running back in the league and he can be dangerous on the ground and in the air. Shut him down and force Minny to throw and this will be an easy win. The secondary match up will be Asante Samuel versus Bernard Berrian, who is a deep threat. Brian Dawkins will help him a lot in covering Berrian.

In all honesty, this should be easy for Philly if they play like they did versus Dallas. My score: Eagles 31-9.

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From the News Room

Barry Bloom from MLB.com feels that Ryan Howard will indeed see another giant raise.

Flyers to pursue a Happy Valley Winter Classic next year. [Daily News]

Shawn Andrews may be available if the Eagles advance deep in the postseason. [CSN Philly]

How pathetic? The Vikings are still falling short of a sell out. Same goes for the Cardinals. Blackouts may apply. If either home team wins and no one is there to see it, does it count? [New York Times]

The Perfect Season DVD will appear on CSN tomorrow @ 7pm. [Phillies Zone]

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"It All Came So Close to Never Happening"

A game of inches. Football is nothing more than a game of inches. A few goalline stands, a missed field goal, stops in short-yardage situations; this is football. These are the things that can make or break an NFL season.

Then, there was a tie. A tie against the lowly Bengals. A tie that could have cost us a playoff position, but it was the tie that kept us alive. Late in overtime, Shane Graham missed a field that would have given the Bengals the win. Our season would have been over. The emotion of yesterday would have never happened. All that we have to talk about with excitement this week, would have never happened.

Every game this year happened and we cannot change it. The plays that were called, the execution or inexecution, it all happened. The regular season is over. The second season is here. Cherish it. You never know when it'll end. Andy Reid, McNabb, and the defense won their first playoff game of the season when they routed the Dallas Cowboys. It was the biggest must-win game of the season. It decided their playoff fate and it all came so close to never happening.

It took victories by the AFC "nots" in Oakland and Houston over Tampa Bay and Chicago respectively. The Eagles were given a present and they took full advantage of it.

It was the red zone offense AND defense that stepped up huge. It was a team effort that built the biggest margin of victory ever against the Dallas Cowboys. McNabb threw for touchdowns and ran for one. The defense took two in for touchdowns. It was a dominance. It was brilliant.

Are the Gods shifting our way now? Did the Phillies' World Championship lift the demons? Is everything starting to fall our way after so many years of the ball bouncing the opposite way?

Remember, it was a missed field goal. It was great run by Michael Bush against Tampa Bay. It was a strong second quarter by Andre Johnson against Chicago. We needed help and the aid came in bunches. We needed a miracle and it was delivered.

Everything that has happened in the overall scheme has happened. Andy Reid's team made the playoffs for the 7th time in 9 seasons. I don't care about how it happened, but it happened. Donovan McNabb set a franchise record for most passing yards in the season. Donovan McNabb threw for 23 touchdowns, third highest total in his career. Thankfully, it was not all for not.

Myself and the rest of the Philadelphia fans, may say whatever they want, but we have to admit that McNabb, Reid, and company delivered. They've delivered more often than any coach or quarterback in the history of the Eagles.

It was an inch lost or gained. It was an inch left or right. Are we starting to realize how lucky we've really been as a franchise. Next Sunday's game came all so close to never happening. Back in the playoffs. Back where we belong.

Now it just comes down to one thing. 'You gotta believe.'

Continuing reading...