Who is playing? The Philadelphia Eagles (2-3) v. the Chicago Bears (2-4).

When will this game take place? Sunday, October 21st, 2007 at 4:15 (FOX).

Where will this game be played? Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, PA

Why are they playing this game? Because two of the countries greatest sports cities needed another excuse to get rip roaring drunk and curse (not to mention, just like last week, this is a make or break game for each team. Before the season started the Bears and the Eagles were pegged to be the teams to beat in the NFC, now each team is fighting for its playoff life.).

Any notable injuries I should know about before I bet my kids college tuition? Although Eagles free safety Brian Dawkins practiced yesterday (and I use that term loosely, it was more of a slow saunter around the field), he’s still a week(s) away from returning. Other Eagles that may be joining Dawkins on the sideline could be tight end LJ Smith (groin) and tackle William Thomas (knee); although it seems Thomas is likely to play whereas Smith will be a game time decision.

On the other side of the ball, Bears special teams specialist Devin Hester and All-Pro linebacker Brian Urlacher will be attending former Bear Mike Singletary’s son’s bar mitzvah and will be unavailable… alright so I made that up. A guy can dream can’t he?

The real injury story for the Bears is as follows – former Eagle Darwin Walker is listed as questionable (knee). I will keep you posted on that fake bar mitzvah.

What’s the spread? – 5.5 Eagles

Any history between the two teams? There will be in about seven months when McNabb gets traded to the Bears for Lance Briggs.

How do they match up on paper?

Team Defensive points per game:
Eagles 7th (16.4)
Bears 23rd (24.8)

Team Defensive yards per game:
Eagles 7th (292.6)
Bears 27th (361.3)

Team Offensive points per game:
Eagles 18th (20)
Bears 20th (19.7)

Team Offensive yards per game:
Eagles 9th (352.4)
Bears 28th (287.7)

Who will win? This is a complete and utter coin toss, with only a slight advantage going to the Eagles simply because it’s being played in Philly, but I’m gonna go with my gut and say Philly… Chicago… Philly… Chicago… Philly.

What I do know is this – both teams offenses have been inconsistent and find themselves struggling to put points on the board on a weekly basis. Both teams quarterbacks have yet to find a groove and reach their potential. But unlike the Bears who traded away their best offensive weapon in the off-season (running back Thomas Jones), the Eagles have Brian Westbrook, a guy that you need to keep an eye on every time he’s on the field.

Unlike both teams offenses however, there is a clear distinction between the teams on defense and special teams. Ironically, the Eagles resemble the usual Bears defense (i.e. tough to score on, hard hitting and aggressive), whereas the Bears find themselves struggeling to stop anyone from scoring, running or throwing on them.

But it’s not as though all is lost with the Bears, because like I stated before they do have an advantage over the Eagles with their special teams, and if the Bears can make some plays this could be the equalizer, or worse yet, the difference maker.

All in all I think this game will boil down to how well the Bears contain Westbrook, and how well the Eagles contain Devin Hester and the Bears running game (because let’s be honest: Griese + Bears receivers + Lito Sheppard & Sheldon Brown = ugly offensive day).

Will you be keeping a running diary? Would love to but no. The game isn’t being televised, so I have to hit the bars… and unless my goal is to spill cheap beer and stale vomit on my laptop, I’m gonna pass… but it’s coming soon… very very soon.

Did you know that the Flyers are are still playing hockey? No. I can honestly say that I had no idea hockey was being played in the United States, but apparently it is. And the team that was an embarrassment last year is now sitting in first place of the Atlantic and look to be a legitimate Cup contender (or so Barry Melrose tells me).

Anything else I should know? I will be spending my Friday at the movies checking out Into The Wild and Gone Baby Gone back to back… I will also be spending $30 on food items at the concession stands and hopefully gaining five pounds in preparation for Thanksgiving. Cause like my dad says, “It’s never too early to start training.”

Both the Eagles and ESPN are reporting that cornerback Lito Sheppard will play this Sunday against the Chicago Bears and Brian Griese.  Although it will be nice to see Sheppard (who has missed the last four games) back in action, the Bears passing game isn’t exactly a threat (the Bears rank 20th with 205.5 passing yards per game).  In a related story, William James is sad.

“Nothing is certain except death, taxes and Devin Hester scoring special teams touchdowns!.” – The Miami Hurricanes and Chicago Bears coaching staff

This is what the above adage will say if Chicago Bears special teams juggernaut (and apparently wide out), Devin Hester, keeps it up.

Hester’s only six weeks into his second NFL season and has already racked up stats that would take an above average player years to accumulate.

In 2006, his rookie year, he had 6 special teams touchdown (1 field goal return/2 kick returns/3 punt returns)… he also was the first Bear since Brian Urlacher to make the Pro Bowl his rookie season… AND, he became the first player in history to return a Super Bowl opening kick off for a touchdown (just to list a few).

Unlike some players (attention Dante Hall!), he’s showing no signs of slowing down. Just this past week he returned an 89 yard punt for a touchdown against the Vikings. And if that wasn’t enough, he later lined up at wide out and hauled in an 81 yard pass for a touchdown from Brian Griese (did I also mention that he returned a kick off 97 yards for a touchdown in week 4 against Detroit?). So needless to say, this kid can do it all, and should be considered just as lethal as say – Brian Westbrook. But unlike Westbrook, Hester only gets minimal touches (3-5 per game, if any). Which leads me to the million dollar question – do you punt to Devin Hester?

Well, if you’re a Bears fan you say yes, and you call anyone who says otherwise an “ussy-pay”.

If you’re me, you say no, and brace yourself for all the negative comments from said Bears fan.

*note- Not only wouldn’t I punt to Hester, but I wouldn’t kick to him either. Think about it – wouldn’t you rather have the Bears start at their own 45 and roll the dice with their offense (not sure if you can call their offense an “offense” yet) than kick the ball to Hester and risk them starting god knows where (if at all). Now let me ask you this question… if you had the option of jumping in front of a bus filled with Christmas trees and thus putting an end to your life, or sitting on the couch licking a delicious ice cream cone, which would you choose? I rest my case.

If you’re the Eagles… well who knows, but Coach Reid did have this to say:

“You’ve got to respect him. But at the same time, you can’t sit there and watch him. You’ve got to go attack him the best way you can. We’ll see how that goes. I would rather him not touch the football.”

So take that for what it’s worth.

So what say you Eagles fans (or Bears fans for that matter)? Do you jump in front of that Christmas tree bus and hope for the best? Or do you remain seated on your couch licking away?

Whatever ends up happening with respect to kicking it to Hester, know this – if he does get the ball, there’s a 99% chase that this will happen: Devin Hester’s return against Duke via YouTube

On a day that the Eagles desperately needed a win, they got it, the hard ugly way.

The Philadelphia Eagles (2-3) defeated the lowly New York Jets (1-5) 16-9 on Sunday, making them a perfect 9-0 in games under Reid following bye weeks; add to the win the news of a Dallas and Washington loss, and this victory tastes even sweeter (the Giants play Monday night against the Atlanta Falcons).

*note – Considering I’m out on the left coast, and I usually go to a bar in Santa Monica to see the Birds play, I must come clean and say that I never actually got to see today’s game. I overslept and ended up “watching” the game on Yahoo’s stat tracker while watching the Titans – Bucs game on TV (this is a bar where if you don’t show up two hours before kick off, you don’t get in). But in my defense, from everything that I’ve read and everyone that I’ve talked to, besides the 75 yard McNabb to Curtis touchdown (the stat itself sounds a lot sexier than the truth – mistackling by the Jets secondary), this game was a total SNOOZEFEST!

To say this game was a defensive battle would be an understatement.

The game featured only one touchdown and six field goals even though it had… two players, Brian Westbrook (120 yards) and Thomas Jones (130 yards), go well over the 100 yard rushing mark. One player, Donovan McNabb (1 TD/1 INT), throw for over 275 yards. And two punters, Sav Rocca and Ben Graham, only having 5 punts between them.

The game also featured, and I use that word very loosely… the resurgence appearance of Philly wide out Reggie Brown (6 catches 89 yards receiving) and defensive end Jevon Kearse (5 tackles and 1 sack). It also showcased the best all around corner in the NFC – Sheldon Brown, who had another solid game, and now has 24 tackles on the season to go along with 2 interceptions. Fans (and McNabb) also got to see the return of William Thomas, and ironically a new and improved offensive line that only allowed 3 sacks. And last but certainly not least, we got to see Andy or Marty (whoever the hell is calling plays these days) call a very balanced game – 28 runs, 35 passes.

The two most important things that I took away from this game were the following:

The Eagles defense is starting to look like that certain something this team can hang its hat on (and they’re doing it all without All-Pro safety and corner Brian Dawkins and Lito Sheppard). In the past I use to close my eyes on third down and count the seconds until the offense would be back on the field to undo the defense’s mistake. Now it’s the exact opposite. Jim Johnson is calling a smart game and his players are executing accordingly. Now if we could only get rid of Gocong, or somehow allow him to sell hot dogs during the game instead of actually playing.

S.O.S. David Akers (has made 10 of 13 field goals). He missed twice on Sunday, and one more the last time the Birds visited Giants Stadium. You used to be able to set your clock by him. Now he’s hit or miss, with an emphasis on the miss. Perhaps I’m overreacting a little, but can anyone honestly say they’re 100% confident when Akers lines up for a field goal? What the hell happened to the guy? I know I’ll regret writing this later, but perhaps it’s time to shave the ‘stache!  Maybe it’s throwing off his balance, or impairing his vision.

The Eagles now have a six days to prepare for the Chicago Devin Hester’s (2-4).

Who is playing? The Philadelphia Eagles (1-3) v. the New York Jets (1-4).

When will this game take place? Sunday, October 14^th, 2007 at 1:00 (FOX).

Where will this game be played? Giants Stadium, New Jersey (how embarrassing is it to be an NFL team in a major market and share a stadium?).

Why are they playing this game? Because both teams seasons hang in balance. And both teams think the other team is so bad right now, that both think this is the game that will start them on the road towards success.

Any notable injuries I should know about before I bet my kids college tuition? Hell yes! I made a HUGE mistake by not taking the William Thomas injury more serious two weeks ago against the Giants and look how that turned out. Thomas could be out yet again, he’s listed as questionable (knee), and if he doesn’t play look for “The King of the Air Block” to get the nod again (deep breath). Other notable Eagles who are long shots to play are offensive tackle Todd Herremans (knee) and safety Brian Dawkins (neck).

On the other side of the ball, the Jets are healthy and won’t be without any key starters (although quarterback Chad Pennington and receiver Justin McCareins both have sore ankles).

What’s the spread? – 3.5 Eagles

Any history between the two teams? Both were humiliated by the Giants in their last games.

How do they match up on paper?

Team Defensive points per game:
Eagles 11th (18)
Jets 32nd (34)

Team Defensive yards per game:
Eagles 9th (299)
Jets 29th (383)

Team Offensive points per game:
Eagles 16th (21)
Jets 10th (24)

Team Offensive yards per game:
Eagles 14th (337)
Jets 29th (266)

Who will win? The Eagles. If for no other reason than they have to or the season, and the city, is done (and I guess because Westbrook and Sheppard are expected to play, and they’re both “pretty… pretty… good” as Larry David says).

Will you be keeping a running diary? No. Got food to eat and things to throw.

Anyone else having a hard time with the Phillies losing? You have no idea.

Anything else I should know? Brian Westbrook spent this past Saturday drinking soda pop and saying no to pictures with overweight girls at Brownie’s 23E. How do I know this you might ask? Well I was one of those overweight girls who wanted a picture (it was our Villa-no-fun five year reunion and I just happened to be at the same bar).

Reports have been surfacing today in regards to the likelihood that Philadelphia Eagles head coach Andy Reid could step down as head coach before seasons end due to certain domestic issues. Current Tampa Bay head coach and former Eagles assistant coach John Gruden could very well be his replacement.

Of course these are just rumors, and the odds of Reid leaving mid season are very small; but like my mother always told me, “behind every rumor is some truth, no matter how microscopic.” If for some reason these rumors are true, and Reid does step down mid-season, look for offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg to take over as head coach (unless Banner decides that the season is lost, and brings in Vermeil for publicity purposes)… and look for Donovan McNabb to start packing his bags.

After a humiliating defeat at the hands of the ’76 Steelers… ‘00 Ravens… ‘85 Bears… the ’07 Giants on Sunday, the Birds now enter their bye week. And how might they be spending that week off you ask? Well considering they’re 1-3 and winless in their division, one might guess they’d spend it in the weight room, or on the practice field, or going over film. Well Andy Reid has a different plan, a plan that will ensure success two weeks from now when the Eagles take on the Jets – let them do whatever the hell they wanna do. And with that said, here’s a tentative schedule for some of the Eagles during their bye week.

Wide outs Reggie Brown, Kevin Curtis, Jason Avant and Hank Baskett will be attending the Susquehanna Valley Sports Receivers Camp Thursday through Saturday to try and improve on their combined 3 touchdown catch season (FYI – Curtis owns the rights to all 3 touchdowns, and caught them against Detroit). While at the camp, they hope to learn the following skills:

-How to properly release
-How to catch
-How to create separation
-How to improve their athleticism
-How to become an even better mediocre receiver
-How to run a pattern

Winston Justice is said to be spending his week off locked in his parents basement playing Madden ’08 working on his pass blocking.

Linebacker coach Sean McDermott will spend his week couped up in a motel by the airport getting drunk off of High Life and cursing the Gods for his linebacking personnel.

LJ Smith will be meeting with someone from the creative writing department at NBC in the hopes of coming up with new ideas to keep him sidelined.

Donovan McNabb will be spending his time back home in Chicago catching up with family, old friends and soon to be new coach.

Defensive ends Juqua Thomas and rookie Victor Abiamiri will spend the week working diligently on a “Please start us over Jevon” letter writing campaign to defensive coordinator Jim Johnson.

Jevon Kearse will spend the week in Tennessee looking for his game.

Special teams coach Rory Sergest will be combing the local high schools and searching Craigslist for a punt/kick returner.

Chris Gocong will be flying home to California and spending the week practicing with his old high school team (Carpinteria High School) in the hopes that spending time in the last place he was any good might make him a better football player.

Brent Celek will spend the week at the NovaCare Complex watching film on Matt Schobel and trying figure out how he’s starting over him.

Takeo Spikes will be in his garage working on his time machine in the hopes of going back to March 27th, 2007.

Sean Considine will be spending the week at former Eagle Mike Zordich’s house where they will start work on their new children’s book, “Even white kids can play strong safety in the NFL”.

Tony Hunt will be in Happy Valley on Friday to meet with Joe Paterno about the possibility of coming back for a 5th season.

Kevin Kolb will spend the week at home with his monkey Steve just staring at the clock counting down the days till McNabb gets his annual season ending injury.

Offensive line coach Juan Castillo will be updating his resume for the fine folks at Monster.com.

Returners Reno Mahe and JR Reed will spend the week shadowing Chicago’s Devin Hester.

Sac Rocca will fly back to Australia and strangle his agent for letting him leave Rugby for the Eagles.

Marty Mornhinweg and Andy Reid will be visiting the Oracle at Delphi looking for answers.

You see what happened? You see? This game is exactly why I don’t give predictions (but the same reason as to why I should be on ESPN).

No one, no one outside the armpit known as “the New Jersey/New York area” that is, could have predicted the dry heave that was the Eagles tonight. I mean what a difference a week makes. The Eagles went from a potential offensive powerhouse (530+ yards against the Lions), to an anemic, bottom of the barrel offense (260-) in the span of seven days. Sure it might have had something to do with with the fact that they were missing three offensive starters, but it had more to do with the fact that McNabb is an inconsistent non-leader, and his receivers are a joke (What’s that you say? The Pats got Randy Moss for a 4th round draft pick this off-season? No way. Liar!).

I’m still trying to wrap my head around tonight’s humiliating loss. Giants 16 – Eagles 3. Needless to say it stings the nostrils.

Where does one even start when trying to describe tonight’s game? I personally am still baffled as to what I just watched. Because it wasn’t a football game. It was a massacre. It was a good old fashion Greaser versus Soc butt whoopin’. I mean talk about mailing it in.

I guess the first thing to do is give credit where credit is due – and on that note, a tip of the cap to the Giants defense. They were absolutely relentless tonight. They were no doubt that small rebel force Jack Byrnes described in Meet the Parents. Led by Osi Umenyiora (6 sacks) and Mathias Kiwanuka (3 sacks), the Giants defense never took a play off (managing to sack McNabb 12 times, and causing 4 fumbles). The defensive line managed to fluster McNabb with a hostile pass rush (15 of 31 for 138 yards), and the secondary managed to lock down all receivers, never letting anyone get behind them. Even though Correll Buckhalter, who was filling in for the injured Westbrook, had a phenomenal game (103 yards rushing, 6.1 average, 35 receiving yards), the Giants D kept him from anchoring any game changing plays.

So now that I’m done congratulating the New York Giants, who by the way are now 2-2 and 2-1 in the NFC East (the Eagles are 1-3, and 0-2 in the NFC East), I will attempt to try and pin point what went wrong for the Eagles.

Where to start… oh where to start? Well I could start with team “leader” Donovan McNabb. I could talk about how he looked absolutely panicked and confused in the pocket, and that he only attempted one pass over 15 yards (an inaccurate pass to a well covered Reggie Brown). Or I could start with the Eagles offensive line, most notably first time starter Winston Justice. I know it was Winston’s first start and all, and I know that the game was being played on a pretty big stage, but he went to USC, the end all and be all of college football programs, you’d expect him to know the basic fundamentals of pass blocking (or at least I did).

What about Coach Andy Reid? Shouldn’t he be held liable for a horrible game plan (i.e. no vertical passing plays, barley any play action, not giving Buckhalter a bigger load when he was the only bright spot in an otherwise dark and gloomy offense)? Or how about Reggie Brown and newly acquired Kevin Curtis and their inability to make plays (Curtis by the way dropped a perfectly thrown 3rd down pass from McNabb tonight, similar to the 4th down pass against the Redskins which he also dropped)? Did I mention McNabb? Well then did I mention Justice?

All in all it was a game to be forgotten by the Eagles, and a game to be remembered by the Giants; and even though it’s difficult to come away with any positives from tonight’s game, the good news is the Eagles now have 14 days to prepare for the equally pathetic Jets (1-3)… the bad news however, is that there’s still three more months left in the season (Let’s Go Phillies!).

And now for my top ten happenings of the game…

10. You knew it was only a matter of time before Giants fans started the ever so angering “Eagles Suck” chant.

9. Omar Gaither finally showed some of that so called “athleticism” and “field awareness” when he picked off Eli Manning’s pass intended for Jeremy Shockey and took it 49 yards up field.

8. Holy crap! Is that Jevon Kearse? And did he just record a sack? Did anyone else know Kearse was still in the league? I actually thought he was teaching Business Ethics at a middle school in Florida.

7. Akers misses a 42 yard field goal… what happened to this guy? Is it time to shave the mustache? He used to be automatic.

6. Strahan hugs a bunch of dudes on the field after surpassing Lawrence Taylor for the Giants all time coke dealer… I mean sack leader – 133.5.

5. Reno Mahe, a player brought in to add some stability and sure handedness to the Eagles special teams department fumbled the first Giants punt attempt (not to mention J R Reed dropped the opening kick off of the second half). Paging Mark Jones… Mark Jones anyone?

4. Buckhalter looked sharp, rushing for 37 yards on his first 4 carries. Buckhalter may not be as smooth as Westbrook with the ladies, but he hits the hole harder than Karl Hungus in Jackie Treehorn’s 1998 adult classic Log Jammin’.

3. McNabb’s first half line looked like Jimmy Clausen’s first half line in ever game he’s played- 5 out of 12 for 44 yards.

2. Great series following Gaither’s interception – Winston Justice false start. Sack. False start on Celek. Incomplete pass. Fumble. Giants ball.

1. Willie James made quite a statement against his former team. His first notable play was getting jumped over trying to tackle Derrick Ward, his second was a defensive holding call on 3rd and long, and his third was a pass interference call, moving the Giants all the way down to the Eagles 10 (a 32 yard penalty). Great game Willie!

As reported by John Madden and Al Michaels on NBC’s Football Night in America just moments ago, Brian Westbrook will not play tonight against the Giants. Look for McNabb to throw somewhere between 70 and 100 passes, and look for Correll Buckhalter to get the start.

And now for some good news (and by “good news” I mean “more bad news”)… Brian Dawkins is also inactive tonight… not to mention starting tackle William Thomas… oh, and don’t forget about LJ Smith… and… um… Lito Sheppard. I think that’s it for now, but stay tuned, cause there might be more.

So if you’re scoring at home, that’s FIVE invaluable starting players OUT for tonight’s DIVISIONAL game against the hated GIANTS. God help us!

The Eagles are reporting that starting LT William Thomas (knee) is doubtful for Sunday’s game against the Giants… which would give Winston Justice the start.  Corner William James suffered a lacerated finger in practice yesterday, and he is listed as questionable (although I don’t know what the big deal is.  When I worked for Trio Cold Cuts back in the 80′s I cut my hand plenty of times.  Did that stop me from making the best Trio Special ever?  Nope!  Quit crying Willie!).

This news shouldn’t make a bit of difference in regards to the outcome of the game (they’re both fat lineman who can block, and James isn’t really anything to write home about).  The only thing that changes now is Winston Justice’s family will have a few more people to call than normal to let everyone know their baby is starting!