hey everyone. i'm a big eagles' fan, from philly, and i stumbled across this website just looking for some saints' fans takes on the game this weeked.

I have to say that you guys have made some good insights - nice to see intelligent posts, rather than the "rah-rah-rah our team is great your team stinks routine."

Anyway, a couple of comments:

The notion that the Saints need to stop McNabb from running is not valid. McNabb rarely runs anymore. He uses his feet to buy time for himself and his receivers, yes. But in 5 games this year, he has rushed 17 times for 87 yards. That's 17.4 yds/game. And 47 of those yards came against GB (28 of which came on one drive). McNabb led the Eagles in rushing in 2000 with 629 yds. Since then, his rushing totals have dropped every year. This has coincided with the improvement of his passing game. My point is that someone made the comparison with how the Saints stopped Vick, and I cringed. Vick is the most overrated QB in the NFL, and you stop him by taking away his running lanes - most good teams can do that, as the Saints showed. McNabb is one of the top passing QBs in the league, an MVP candidate, and he will burn a team from the pocket just as easily as when he bounces out.

The notion that the Eagles haven't beaten anyone isn't valid either (in my eyes, anyway). First of all, you play the teams on your schedule. The Eagles have routed bad teams (HOU, SF & GB), and beaten DAL. Before the season, the Cowboys were picked by some to win the NFC East and even go to the SB. The Eagles outplayed the Cowboys, and it was only a handful of plays that kept the 'boys in it until the end. Dallas also has one of the best defenses in the NFL - anyone who says differently doesn't really know football - and McNabb and the offense torched them for 31 pts. As far as the Giants game, the Eagles destroyed them for 3 qtrs, were winning 24-7 going into the 4th, and just sat back and mailed it in. The Giants made them pay for that, and granted it was a horrible 4th qtr, but the Eagles are far and away a better team than the Giants. They should easily be 5-0. They have had double digit leads in all 5 of their games.

How can you give the Saints credit for a 7 point win against GB (albeit on the road), and then not give the Eagles' credit for thumping them 31-9, in a game where their #1 RB didn't play and their #1 WR left with an injury?

Now, the last thing in my "Pro-Eagles" rant is this - Reid and McNabb almost always win games they are "supposed" to win. They beat teams when they are favored. McNabb has the highest winning percentage of any active QB with at least 90 starts. Before last year's injury-TO debacle, the Eagles put together 5 straight playoff seasons - 11-5, 11-5, 12-4, 12-4 & 13-3. Most of those key players are still here. They know how to win (in the regular season at least).

Ok, now for the things working in the Saints favor:

The Eagles are coming off such an emotional high last week, and now they're going on the road to play a tough team: that's a lethal combination. Intangible-wise, the Saints have a big advantage there. Of course, the Saints are coming off of their own emotional, tight win over a division foe. But the Eagles have a lot to overcome this weekend, emotionally speaking. I am praying that they don't come out so flat that the Saints jump all over them early.

the Eagles appear to be susceptible to the run, but they actually are pretty good at stopping it when they have to. Case in point, Tiki Barber did nothing against them, because they were geared up to stop him. Their worry against DAL was stopping the pass, and they rarely brought an 8th man up. The result was that Jones had over 100 yds (3.7 yards per), but the D didn't let up a big play. The Saints combo of Bush and Deuce is more potent right now than Jones or Barber, esp. with Bush out of the backfield. I think the Eagles' D is good enough to slow them down, but my worry is that it will be at the expense of the pass D. They'll bring Dawkins up to stop the run, and leave the corners and (gulp) Michael Lewis in pass coverage. Anyone who saw Dallas get the pass interference call on the 4th and 16 play will understand why I am worried about Lewis - he's a liability in coverage. I can see the Saints running play action, and Brees (who is great) picking the Eagles' apart through the air.

Also, Payton knows the Eagles, and has had success against them when he coached for DAL and esp. the NYG.

One quick bettor's stat - Home dogs, when the visiting favorite is changing playing surfaces, cover over 80% of the time. The Saints are getting 3, hosting the Eagles on their NextTurf field, and the Eagles played on grass last week.

Ok, my prediction is that the Eagles squeak out a high-scoring game, 31-28. High passing stats for both teams. Tight till the end. Brees play great, as does McNabb.

one last thing - to the guys who is a Saints fan living (and whining) in the Philly area - I hope that you hail from the New Orleans area. It is a person of low character who abandons his hometown team to root for someone else. Also, if you do not like living in the area, in this "anal void" as you call it, then get out.

Lets not forget that Sean Payton is the Head Coach of the Saints and has given JJ hell with his max protection scheme. The O Cordinator for dallas last year and he also was the O Cordinator for giants some time ago.