OK Eagles fans. Explain to me how the Eagles can win?

[MikeG]

[Squatch]

1. Through superior skill and teamwork...

[King Coal]

2. Well, as Dan Dierdorf lisped one time:

The eagleth' offenth mutht thcore more pointth and their defethe mutht keep the other offenth off the field.

[XNASA]

3. Up Front.

The Eagles will have to be able to successfully run the ball in the first half.

And, the Eagles DL will have to be able to put some pressure on Brady, even if they don't get to him.

A tipped Brady pass, maybe the Pats will put the ball on the ground.

I don't think that the Eagles can win a shootout.

[MikeG]

5. My suggestion: Play action on second down.

Pick on Hank Poteat.

[XNASA]

7. I don't think that the Pats are fooled much by play action.

Besides, whenever McNabb has the ball in his hands, it's as good as play action anyway.

Perhaps a couple of QB draws, and stay away from Rodney Harrison. I love Rodney. We both played for the Markham Mustangs, a junior football league. Of course, I played for them about 20 years before Rodney did.

But I'll be wearing my McNabb jersey and cheering for the Eagles.

[MikeG]

8. When the Steelers did it on 10/31/04 - it worked.

They didn't do it in the playoffs.

That plus the 4 turnovers cost them the game.

Pats put 8 in the box on First and Second, drop 8 on Third.

[XNASA]

10. I suspect that the Pats won't be putting 8 in the box against the Eagles.

The Eagles will go up top in that case.

I'm sure the Eagles would love for the Pats to put that many in the box on first and second down. In that case, play action and up top would be the way to go.

The Pats will most likely spy McNabb, and play a lot of zone. That's why I think that the Eagles will need to run the ball early.

That said, if the Pats don't turn the ball over....they will most likely win.

In any case, it should be a great game.

[ProfessorGAC]

11. They're Not!

They are the most disciplined defense in football. They don't bite on fakes either at linebacker or in the secondary. They are so fast as a team, they don't need to overreact to still get full pursuit.

If Philly can't run the ball, it could be a LONG game.
The Professor

[MikeG]

20. They bit when they played Pgh. in Oct.

[ProfessorGAC]

27. I Don't Agree

They Steelers used a lot of misdirection and zone blocking. The O-Line is so good, and Bettis so strong, that it resulted in problems for the pursuit. The Steelers didn't run the ball well because of play action. They ran the ball well first and set everything else up. The passing game was predicated on the fact that Pats couldn't STOP the running game. That's not play action. That's just defensive desperation. The Steelers didn't play action that much in the passing game. The defense moved so many guys up that the passing game just got easier for Ben.

You will notice that when the Pats altered their gap scheme around the Steelers zone blocking in the playoffs, the running game ground to a halt. No amount of play action matters in that case.

So, neither time did play action affect the Pats defensively. The first time, they just got whipped at the line of scrimmage. The second time they didn't. They lost the first time, won the second.
The Professor

[regularguy]

4. It all starts with my lucky shirt...

Other than that a few turnovers and a few long Akers field goals and BLAMMO.....

[Patiod]

29. And my new lucky light-up hat

[shaolinmonkey]

6. Because Joe Walsh is an awesome guitarist and

Don Henly is a great songwrit...what? Oh, nevermind.

[ProfessorGAC]

12. Well, Now The Eagles Lose

When you say Joe Walsh is an awesome guitarist, you have jinxed the Eagles completely. Joe is an OK guitarist. Your faux pas just cost the Eagles the Superbowl. I hope you're proud of yourself!
The Professor

[shaolinmonkey]

17. You're right. Joe Walsh is more of a drunk guitarist.

I was cheering for the Eagles in the 80's. I used to love Ron Jaworski. Had a jersey and everything. I so want the Eagles to win so Donavan McNabb can dedicate the win to Rush Limbaugh.

[ProfessorGAC]

19. Donovan is Local Boy!

I like the idea that the Chicago suburban kid grew up to be superstar. So, i tend to root for him. Besides, i like his dad's new charity, and i like his mom in those commercials.

Nothing against the Pats. Just that i really like the McNabb family. So, i would like to see Donovan reach the pinacle.
The Professor

[Voltaire]

9. First, Eagles Offensive line must come to play

Pats can be very disruptive for timing. McNabb has more mobility than Manning or Roethlisberger but the Birds O line must show up.

Kearse, Burgess, Douglas et. al, must rough Brady up. Trotter has to play the run-stopping game of his life.

All in all if the Pats let the Eagles hang around they will lose. If its close late, the Eagles will find a way to win the damned thing. They almost always do.

[regularguy]

13. I think that the offensive and defensive lines are both

peaking at the right time. Of course the entire Patriots team has been "peaking" for years now, but I still think we've got a good shot at this thing! Look for a long Akers field goal to win it late.

[Voltaire]

14. If the Pats want to win

Then they had better crucify my Birds in the first half. We win the close ones. Bank it.

[sniffa]

15. sorry

nobuddy wins cLose games Like the pats.

watch for richard seymour - on a P.A. fake he sLips out to the end zone to catch a 2 yd td.

[WilliamPitt]

16. Several ways

The Pats are not used to facing quarterbacks like McNabb, who is essentially a second running back with big wheels and a lot of range. If he gets out of pocket, he could do damage. A healthy TO with the rest of that receiving corps will be difficult to contain. If they can keep the Pats D from generating turnovers and control the clock with a solid running game, they stand an excellent chance of winning.

Finally, they are loose and fired up and happy as hell to be there. Andy Reid is a damned good coach. I am not in any way counting my chickens here.

[Scurrilous]

18. Wear orange uniforms....

...worked for the Dolphins!

[Rockholm]

21. Wear Patriots uniforms.

[sniffa]

22. *snort*

:D

[MikeG]

23. Build up that bad karma. Go ahead.

[sniffa]

24. ha

you're one to taLk.

"yankee fans, don't you feeL Like pigs?"

"pats fans - we're gonna kick your ass Like we did in the reguLar season"

"officiaL gLoat thread"

this thread

bad karma - i've read the iggLes are partying Like rock stars this week, whiLe the pats are staying in their hoteLs and going to bed earLy.

[MikeG]

25. In 1981, the Eagles went to bed early, the Raiders partied. Who won?

[MikeG]

26. And Yankees fans ARE pigs.

[WilliamPitt]

28. Careful, sniffa. Don't make Mike waggle his fingers again...

:P

[MikeG]

30. Too Late *wiggles fingers*

[nickgutierrez]

31. By scoring early.

The Pats are deadly when playing with a lead. The Eagles need to score in one of their first two possessions, and prevent the Pats from doing the same. Actually, if they can get out of the first quarter with the lead, I would bet on them to take the game.

[MalachiConstant]

32. who are all these people that don't think the pats can win late???

or can't win big games???? have you been locked in a cave the past 3 years? both of their superbowl victories and the 2001 afc championship game were decided on their final drives. oh, and if it's close, i hate to tell you, but nobody, nobody, is money in the bank like vinatieri.

[nickgutierrez]

33. I didn't say they can't win late.

All I'm saying is that the Eagles' best chance to win is to take an early lead -- if they fall too far behind early on, they (the Eagles) have zero chance to win this game.

[MalachiConstant]

36. sorry, that wasn't directed at you.

i should have been more specific

[HuckleB]

34. I'm not an Eagles fan.

But don't you win by outscoring the other team?

:shrug:

[MikeG]

35. No. You win by bribing the refs.

[MalachiConstant]

37. what're you implying?

[HuckleB]

40. That would be an action point...

Along the way to scoring more points than your opponent.

[RoyGBiv]

38. This is just a theory ...

But, I'm pretty sure if the Eagles can score more points, they'll win.

Don't quote me on that, though.

You may now throw rocks and/or pieces of furniture in my general direction. :-)

[PDittie]

39. Remember the words of Grantland Rice:

"It isn't whether you win or lose, it's the point spread that really matters."

I look for a close game, and since New England has a habit of winning games on last-second field goals from Adam Vinatieri, I see nothing to buck that trend....but I would take the Iggles and the points (if I were a gambling man).

To your question:

1. The Patriots have not faced a team with a strong and mobile quarterback (2nd RB, as Pitt has noted) like McNabb. Last year the immortal Jake Delhomme moved the ball all over the field against them, and their defense isn't what it was last year. They did shut down what I thought was the best offense in the league this year: Indianapolis -- though they had to slob out their field to do so.

2. The Eagle defense is seriously underrated. I do not expect the Pats to maintain their ball control offense with Corey Dillon carrying the load.

All in all, I'm just looking forward to an interesting matchup.

[MalachiConstant]

41. last year...

they beat the eagles 34-10. that mobile qb was in that game. many people also thought that they would have trouble with roethlisberger for that reason.

one thing i thought was amusing: espn's clayton and paquarelli gave their key to win for each team. the pats seemed to imply a) just don't screw up and b) look for some new wrinkles. while on the other side the said the eagles need to have the game of their lives.

[PDittie]

42. Last year the Pats were a better team

How good was Carolina this year?

Last year is last year.

The Eagles will cover (unless they get the yips, which is certainly possible, since it took them three -- or is it four? -- tries just to get this far).

[MalachiConstant]

43. i disagree.

i'd say the patriot offense is a lot more potent this year than it was last. vinatieri's been more reliable this year, apparently he was having back problems last year. and yes, they may be missing a pair of cornerback's, but second year free safety eugene wilson is much improved as is cornerback asante samuel. their linebackers are having a tremendous season, bruschi finally made it to the pro bowl. as for the d-line: seymour just keeps getting better (lets hope he's healthy), 2nd year ty warren has certainly improved, and they replaced ted washington with keith traylor who really hasn't missed a beat, rookie nose tackle vince wilfork has also suprised a lot of people.

as for the panthers... no, they didn't make it to the playoff, so they certainly didn't have as great a season as they did last year. but, they also won 6 of their last 8 games, and spent most of the season decimated by injuries. 5 of their 8 losses ocurred in the month of october, when they were missing key players like stephen davis, steve smith, they even lost backup runningback deshaun foster for a game, and most of the season had to patch together a defensive line that was constantly injured.

i would be very surprised if the panthers have another power showing next year. i'd look for them to bounce back.

as for the spread, 7 points, i suppose time will tell.