First up, current Boston Daily editor Paul Flannery, who was an Eagles beat reporter with the Delaware County Times, and had this unfortunate run-in with former Eagles defensive end Hugh Douglas.

—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—--

Hugh Douglas just called me a motherfucking asshole. Not just an asshole. Or a motherfucker. A motherfucking asshole. Now, Hugh Douglas is a large man. That's a given, but it's hard to comprehend just how big NFL defensive ends actually are until you are being called a motherfucking asshole by one.

On most days, Hugh was a great quote. He's smart and very funny, and he also completely understood that you were going to ask him some dumb-ass questions, and he was going to give you something good. And when he did give you something less than his A+ material, he'd laugh to let you know that he knows that it's crap, but that's all you're getting, probably because Andy Reid had told him to stop being so damn funny and smart.

Not on this day, though. Hugh is pissed, and I'm the one who pissed him off. The Eagles had just lost on a last-second field goal. Maybe that's why he was mad. I don't really know, but I also don't have time to figure it out, because he picked me out of the pack and now I have a bigger problem. Again: How does one respond to a 270-pound man calling you a motherfucking asshole? I ran through the various scenarios until I settled on Hold your ground. Yeah. He'll respect that.

But I didn't. Instead I said, "What?"

There are a million different comebacks I could have come up with, but "What?" probably wasn't my best option, because now Hugh is really screaming at me and everyone left in the locker room is now staring at us. Meanwhile, I'm still frozen. They didn't offer this class in journalism school.

Finally, a friend yanked me out of the way, and a couple of the veteran beat guys got between us, but Hugh still yelled over to me, "You're telling your friends that I'm an asshole now, aren't you? You're the asshole." I was really in no position to argue that point. Finally, he left and I went back upstairs to bang out a few stories.

I still don't know why I pissed Hugh off, but I know that I did because this story has a coda. A couple of months later, I see Hugh and Hollis Thomas whispering and looking in my general direction, which I figure is probably bad news. I decide to lay low and continue with my busy schedule of standing around and waiting for Koy Detmer. Still, I know something's coming, and when it finally does, I'm not entirely surprised.

What happened was this: Hollis snuck up behind me and let loose with a blood-curdling scream mere inches from my right ear. Then Hollis laughed. Then Hugh laughed. Surveying the scene, a columnist from the Inquirer just looked at me and said, "Huh."

Or, in Mamula's case, Warren Sapp and Derrick Brooks, who were the picks the Buccaneers ended up getting after the Eagles traded up to get The Workout Warrior. (Jesus...)

But wait! Yasinskas makes a hard left turn in his dump-on-Mamula story by pointing out to grouchy Eagles fans that Mamula wasn't that much of a bust. But wait! Is Yasinskas just aping Eagles beat writer Reuben Frank's own Mamula story from last year to make this point? But wait...more Mamula! Fox Sports' rat packy Peter Schrager unveils his his own Mamula story which even delves further into Mamulalocity at the NFL combine.

As we get closer to the combine, is the mainstream sports media in jeopardy of falling into, dare I say... a Mamula Overload? We shall see.

And these guys didn't even have to head to a Lonestar Steakhouse in Voorhees to get their stories.

Combine star Mamula was burdened by high expectations [ESPN]

1. Andy Reid, courageously casting aside Those Family Issues — he's a hero! — just provided a blueprint on how to possibly beat the Patriots.
2. Tom Brady looked noticeably concerned at several points. Well, at least, not smirking.
3. Most important, they made that Foxboro crowd go silent. That place doesn't necessarily take a punch well.

Much more tomorrow, once our Wes Welker fever abates ... and we finish strangling our Neil Rackers doll.

Oddsmakers currently have New England listed as 24.5-point favorites — the second largest line in NFL history. And though I'll lay my cold hard cash with Bill and his boys, you have to think a team will never be more motivated to cover a point-spread. I mean 25 points? Jeesh. That's just a dick to the eye.

QB Donovan McNabb will miss the game because of a sprained ankle, injured thumb and the runs. (Blame the Chunky Soup.) A.J. Feeley, who threw a pair of touchdowns in a win over the Dolphins last week, gets the start. A.J., quick word: the Pats are just a bit better than the Dolphins. Just. Best of luck, though.

And finally, if 48-10 blowout isn't your Sunday cup of tea, may I suggest you try and find a station airing Canadian Football League's 95th Grey Cup. It's the Saskatchewan Roughriders versus the Winnipeg Blue Bombers tonight, in what should be a pretty good game. Seriously. Grey Cup games are almost always close. And ooh, look, Lenny Kravitz is the halftime performance! What? Please stop laughing.

Enjoy the games, guys.

The Patriots are favored by 23 1/2 points, which is pretty amazing even before you consider that the Eagles won their division last year and are currently at .500. Bettors out there ... can you explain this to us? Which side are you taking?

The Eagles' extreme underdog status is stopping our own AJ Daulerio from talking some trash on Boston Magazine's Web site.

Regardless, win or lose come Sunday, just know that Philadelphia will still think of you and your town as a bunch of heartless sons of bitches who will soon enough be cold-cocked off your arrogant throne. Honestly, if we think you're a pack of loud-mouthed jerk-offs, how awful must you truly be? And that day of your reckoning, if not Sunday, will be a glorious one not just for us, but for America. How do you like them apples, you chowdah-slurping imbeciles?

Yeah ... that's just not enough bile to make up 23 1/2 points.

Patriots-Eagles Spread Largest In NFL History [ESPN]
Greetings, New Englanders [Boston Magazine]

Honestly, we think we might be too Midwestern to handle this nasty NFC East business.

They choose the most popular player on the opposing divisional teams, which this week meant Eli Manning, Donovan McNabb and, eventually, Tony Romo. For the heck of it, they also crisped a Jason Taylor jersey at the home opener.

It had been announced that the fires would begin at 12:15, so around that time the crowd gathered, chanting "Burn It, Burn It," and the like. Even a guy in a McNabb jersey was yelling "Burn It." People can unite around the cleansing power of fire. Of course, the crowd was briefly distracted by some gents shotgunning light beer of some sort. I asked Ted if he had any tips for novice jersey burners. "Just don't light yourself on fire," he advised. "Keep a fire extinguisher nearby, that's about it."

We can't think of a better journalistic topic than the guys who burn jerseys — on crosses! — outside an NFL game. This is the Lord's work, people.

Redskins Up In Flames [DC Sports Bog]

Actually, a bit more than a few.

Donovan McNabb was booed by much of the home crowd as he came out of the tunnel yesterday. He was booed sporadically throughout the game. Kevin Kolb received an ovation when he entered the game.

The 700 Level is not a fan.

Those who decided to boo Five yesterday are a bunch of morons. People all over the country rip on us for being loud, drunk, ignorant morons. I spend a lot of time trying to defend us and prove that these haters are wrong. Those who decided to boo yesterday, you are a bunch of loud, drunk, ignorant morons. Stop giving the rest of us a bad name.

Wait, there's something wrong with being a loud, drunk, ignorant moron? Tell us that now.

Open Letter To Ignorant Philly Fans [The 700 Level]

The uniforms are to honor the 75th anniversary of the 1933 championship Eagles. None of those players are still alive, because they're football players; they died at 36, we think.

We wish the Lions would wear their throwback uniforms too, so the game would look like it really did in 1933. Except with the forward pass and, of course, black players.

Eagles Set To Wear Ugliest Uniforms Ever [The Fanhouse]
The Eagles Hate Your Retina [Blown Coverage]

Losing to the Redskins at home on national television is bad enough, particularly when it kicks off an 0-2 start and you're two games behind both those 'Skins and the Cowboys. But it's even worse when the offense looks like it has no idea what it's doing. Hell, Donovan McNabb looks like a white quarterback all of a sudden.

It's a morning of revelation for Eagles fans.

3) All of those other Eagle Fans are knee-jerk bedwetting lunatics — but if they lose to the Lions they'll be 0-3 and Everyone Involved Will Have To Die

2) This would have never happen if Jeremiah Trotter, Troy Vincent, Bobby Taylor and Andre Waters were still on the team

1) Anyone who isn't an Eagles Fan that talks badly about our team needs to have their ass kicked.

Oh yeah: The 2-0 Lions come into the Linc next week. This might not end well.

Top 10 Things Eagles Fans Know Deep Down [Five Tool Tool]
More Eagles Madness [DC Sports Bog]

it's the Washington Redskins at the Philadelphia Eagles tonight, and a loss for the Eagles would put them at 0-2 and in serious trouble. (Until, of course, they make some dramatic desperation move that turns their entire season around, which always seems to happen.) We are pleased there's not another doubleheader; we still haven't caught up on our sleep from last Monday night. And that's not even accounting for Mike and Mike.

But yeah, last game of the week. We'll see how many DC references Kornheiser makes. Not enough, we suspect.

Today, just a few days after he called the Eagles' PR office, Daulerio showed up at his office and was greeted by James Clark, a "security representative" of the NFL. (He was an unannounced guest.) And he had all kinds of questions.

Mr. Clark and I had about 10 minutes of conversation that he wrote down on his yellow notepad, most of which was me explaining how I found nothing in any of the conversations I'd had with other people that was worth reporting. However, Mr. Clark explained that the league had received a call from the Eagles, and that this is what the NFL does in certain criminal matters — regardless of how, in this case, unfounded or questionable the source of the allegations may be.

So, I never published the story— I had nothing, really — and, yet, the NFL felt it had just enough loosely based info to send someone over to check it out without even the courtesy of a phone call. So, either these rumors (with a big, blinking capital "R," remember) have a little more credibility than suspected, or the Eagles are completely paranoid right now and have resorted to public relations buffoonery by turning a non-story into one.

OK, this is kind of a fun game. Everybody, let's come up with "rumors" that we've "heard" about NFL players, and see if we can get James Clark to visit us.

We'll start: "Sources" hear "stories" of Jeff Reed's illegal and rampant cockfighting ring. What will the NFL do about this national disgrace?

The NFL And The Eagles Are Highly Sensitive To All Matters Dog-Related [Philadelphia Magazine]

So, we kick matters off with the NFC East. (The NFC runs today, and AFC tomorrow.) The team with Jeff Garcia won this division last year, and three teams made the playoffs. We don't think three will make it this year; actually, we don't think there will even be two.

Some picks!

• AJ Daulerio: Eagles, Cowboys, Redskins, Giants.
• Kissing Suzy Kolber: Redskins, Cowboys, Eagles, Giants.
• Robert Weintraub, Slate: Eagles, Redskins, Cowboys, Giants.
• Matt Pitzer, USA Today: Cowboys, Redskins, Eagles, Giants.
• Aaron Schatz, Football Outsiders: Eagles, Redskins, Cowboys, Giants.
• Sports Illustrated: Eagles, Cowboys, Giants, Redskins.
• DEADSPIN: Eagles, Redskins, Cowboys, Giants. We have a feeling the Giants are going to go 3-13, and that Tony Romo is going to stink.

As always, we know nothing.

As has been chronicled in their early radio broadcasts, respective television shows and by other sources, Britt Reid (the Green Hornet) is the grand nephew of John Reid, who was the Lone Ranger. And there have been, in fact, a bunch of different Reids who have donned the Green Hornet mask ... making this latest Britt Reid a real family screwup indeed. I've put together a handy timeline so that you can keep it all straight.

• Sept. 14, 1850: John Reid is born.

• July 7, 1860: John Reid saves Tonto's life from a band of outlaw raiders. The same raiders go on to kill Reid's parents and burn their ranch.

• August 3, 1872: Dan Reid Jr., son of John's brother, is born.

• New Year's Day, 1874: Captain Dan Reid and his Ranger troop, accompanied by John, pursue the Cavendish gang. Unfortunately, they are led into an ambush at the bottom of Bryant's Gap where they are all gunned down.

• January 2, 1874: Tonto finds the rangers and nurses John, the only survivor, back to health, and tells him "...others dead, you lone ranger now."

• April 10, 1899: Dan Reid, Jr. inherits a silver mine from John and moves to Detroit, where he founds the Daily Sentinel newspaper.

• April 27, 1906: Britt Reid, son of Dan Reid, Jr., and great nephew of the Lone Ranger, is born.

• March 19, 1958: Andy Reid is born in Los Angeles.

• 1966: Britt Reid's nephew, Britt Reid II, becomes the second Green Hornet and Ikano Kato's son Hayashi becomes the new Kato.

• 1984: Garrett Reid (Andy Reid's first son) is born.

• 1986: Alan Reid, nephew of Britt Reid II, becomes the third Green Hornet and Hayashi Kato returns to work as his partner. Alan is killed on his first mission and Kato blames himself.

• 1986: Britt Reid (Andy Reid's second son) is born.

• 1989: Britt Reid, the first Green Hornet, is killed. Paul Reid, brother of Alan, becomes the fourth Green Hornet. Mishi Kato, half-sister of Hayashi and daughter of Ikano, becomes the new Kato.

• Jan, 11, 1999: Andy Reid is named head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Oh, if only 2007 Britt Reid had taken the Lone Ranger Deputy Pledge when he was a youngster. Michael Vick too, for that matter.

Masked Men: A Chronology Of The Lone Ranger And The Green Hornet
The Wold Newton Universe
Andy Reid's Rugrats Are A Terror Behind The Wheel [Deadspin]
Andy Reid's Son Is Facing New Drug, DUI Charges [USA Today]

Your author is AJ Daulerio, who writes the Cultural Oddsmaker column for this fine establishment and is a staff writer at Philadelphia Magazine. His words are after the jump.

—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—

The two most pressing questions facing the Eagles this season are simple:
1) Will Donovan McNabb's balky legs hold up ?
2) Most important, how involved will Andy Reid be this year, considering his family troubles?

Injuries happen, obviously, and the Eagles have been prepared to handle most situations, including the loss of a franchise quarterback for significant stretches of time, three out of the last four seasons. Last year, McNabb's injury seemed to be the death knell for a promising year, especially since he was, at the time of his injury, on track to be the best quarterback in the league. But even before he was injured, the Eagles hit a standstill. Their defense suddenly looked old. Their offense looked inept. After 12 weeks of slumbering capped off by a performance against the Colts which saw them give up, oh, 9 jillion yards on the ground , it was obvious that problem needed to be solved. So Dawkins woke up, Trotter took a breather, Michael Lewis took a seat, and suddenly, holes were clogged, sacks were made and a defense that played on its heels for the first half of the season was suddenly rejuvenated.

They ran the ball more, and Brian Westbrook started showing just how invaluable he is. And, yes, Jeff Garcia did his part as well. That homo always has a seat at the Daulerio table.

But the majority of that salvation came through coaching. And Andy Reid had to devote an enormous amount of time into that type of tinkering to save a season that was quickly headed to Shitsville. That overtime came at a price: At home, his family was imploding and, most likely, he didn't know the severity of it until it was too late. With two sons facing some serious personal and legal issues this year, it's obvious Coach Reid has to make a priority shift and delegate some responsibility. Unfortunately, that added responsibility will most likely fall into the chunky lap of Eagles assistant head coach Marty Mornhinweg . If Mornhinweg doesn't try to think too much, I'm surprisingly comfortable with him stepping up and taking a little more control. Hopefully, Jeffrey Lurie will keep on top of him every single day by simply handing him a sheet of paper that states "No, Marty, we don't want the wind." In fact, as soon as there's an overtime situation, Mornhinweg should be dragged off the field by security, duct-taped and not released until the game is completed. Or, at least, until after the coin toss.

My mother and father went to training camp in Lehigh again this year. My father, emboldened with a sense of responsibility thanks to the favorable response he received from last year's preview, did his best to come up with even more of his thoughful on-the-scene reporting and cogent analysis.

"I tried to get hit in the head with a football," he said. " This girl got hit in the head when Akers was kicking field goals, and they gave her the ball. So I stood behind the goal posts for a while trying to get hit."

Thank you?

"No problem. I didn't get hit, though. So, I didn't get a ball. I was talking the cheerleaders though. Two of them were African-American. One of them was a real dazzler."

Good for you. So, any stand outs from camp so far?

"We saw that Jean-Claude guy again. He's feisty."

Max Jean-Gilles. Right.

"Yeah, and Sheldon Brown almost put a hit on Hank Baskett like he did to Reggie Bush last year. He let up though. He probably would've killed him."

That's good...

"I really was hoping for something out of Bunkley. But he seemed like he was getting man-handled every time he was out there."

Right. But Eagles PR hand-job Dave Spadaro thinks otherwise.

"Really? I should read that. Oh, and your mother took pictures."

Great!

Anyway, mom's not Annie Liebowitz. Most of the photos she took from their day at camp looked like this:

That's my father in the sweet hat. I'm hopeful this junk removal company sees his raw potential as a spokesperson.

Regardless of the photos, he made an effort. And efforts like this should be rewarded. I could only think of one reward suitable enough for him:

MAMULA...

Yes, that is a photo of yours truly and one Mike Mamula, who is inexplicably dressed in a tuxedo. I found Mamula at a Lonestar Steakhouse inf Voorhees, N.J. We had an early dinner together last night. Needless to say, I had trouble keeping my head from exploding the whole time, thanks to the dumbfounding surreal nature of this situation.

"Iced tea or coke?" that was the first thing Mike Mamula said to me. We sat down and with the country music playing, the Jersey August mugginess, the restaurant seemed even emptier than usual at 4:30 in the afternoon. Empty in spirit, that is. And then, there was Mamula: Smiling, affable, seemingly ready to hang out for an hour and answer questions that I, idiot Eagles fan, assumed he gets asked all the time. Like "Do people treat you badly in the city? It seems like everybody dogs you?" and watched him respond to dopey remarks like "You know, if you did take steroids, it probably would've given you that extra second to sack the quarterback...". Yep.

And, Mamula, sitting there, in a tux, about to go judge a local Dancing With the Stars contest didn't even flinch. If he does get these questions all the time, he doesn't care. He's got a gorgeous wife, twins, a house in the Main Line, and, apparently, all the self-respect in the world. Nothing I said was going to impact him at all. Half of our conversation didn't even involve any pertinent journalism-y questions. We just...talked.

I even told him about how my father used to call and bash him on 610.

He smiled. "He's passionate!" Mamula said. Then he offered to go out to his car, get a photograph and sign it for him.

Mike Mamula, MAMULA, is probably one of the most genuinely kind people in the world — and I'm not saying that just because he could break me in half with his thumb. Okay, maybe a little bit. But, honestly, he was very generous with his time and patiently sat there as I stammered through some annoying questions. He even talked about the infamous junk-showing incident that allegedly happened in Lehigh during the summer of 1997. Kind of. The more formal q-and-a style interview can be seen over at PhillyMag.com tomorrow.

Yes, I've started blogging on a somewhat regular basis at The Daily Examiner. Philadelphians, please stop by whenever you can. We'll walk through this crazy season together...

They had an open practice for the Eagles on Friday ... and more than 20,000 people showed up. That's a slightly below average attendance figure for a Buzzsaw game. And this for a 2007 edition of the Eagles that isn't inherently one of the more exciting ones.

Maybe they're all there to see Kevin Kolb gut a pig.

20,000+ Fans At Eagles Training Camp On Friday [The 700 Level]
Kevin Kolb Will Cut You [Deadspin]

For one thing, if you can hunt wild hogs with a couple of dogs and a 12-inch bowie knife, the way Kevin Kolb and his friends have, maybe getting booed or being lambasted on talk radio won't seem like such a big deal. "It's not just [about] killing an animal," says Kolb. "A lot of times you've got to work before you reap your reward. Our dogs go and find 'em first, and then we stab the pigs. It's a little bit dangerous, but as long as you know what you're doing, you'll be all right."

OK! We eagerly await commentary from Rush Limbaugh.

Kevin Kolb: Hog Killer [The 700 Level]

Some kind of accounting error took place, and Westbrook is reported to have agreed to give the Eagles back their money. But he hasn't yet, and it could end up hurting their salary cap situation, says ESPN's Len Pasquarelli.

But because the Eagles have yet to be reimbursed, which could negatively impact on the Eagles' salary cap status, the team has been forced to file a grievance with the league office seeking repayment. A team official stressed there was no acrimony between the Eagles and their star tailback, that repayment is anticipated, and that the grievance was a technicality aimed at avoiding any cap implications.

I think right about now would be the perfect time for Brian Westbrook to announce his retirement and quietly disappear from the game.

Overpaying Westbrook could hit Eagles in cap [ESPN]
$3 million error with Westbrook puts Eagles in bind [News & Observer]

The eldest son of Eagles coach Andy Reid admitted using heroin on the same day he was involved in a traffic accident. The affidavit enabled police to obtain search warrants that led to the discovery of two handguns, ammunition, white powder and other items in two vehicles and the Main Line home owned by the veteran Eagles coach.

These whole incidents started because of two separate incidents on the same day involving each of Reid's son. The oldest one, Garret, is the one with the heroin; the youngest one, Britt, had a "Remington police magnum," road rage and "a pharmacy bottle bearing Britt Reid's name and having a 'green leafy' substance inside. Details are still coming out on both. Reid has five children, so rather than dwell on the negative, let's accentuate the positive: Three of his kids have not been arrested in the last few days.

Police: Reid Son Admits To Using Heroin [Philly.com]

As if Eagles fans hadn't suffered enough after their loss to the Saints on Saturday — we think they're taking it hard, too; we still haven't talked to Daulerio — there's this video, which features a rather inspired Saints fan taking it to Eagles boosters outside the Superdome. Mocking them openly is one thing; doing it to the Rocky theme, well, that's just mean.

Gov. Blanco, of course, made her fair share of mistakes after Hurricane Katrina — chronicled by our friends at Wikipedia — and still deals with the aftermath of Katrina every day. Not to say that she doesn't have the right to enjoy the winnings of a football team, but the more the Saints win, the more we hear of their ability to heal a devastated city. We like the Saints, but they are a football team; New Orleans is not going to rise or fall on whether or not Sean Peyton can neutralize the Bears' front four. Not that we'll be able to tell that in the next seven days.

And by the way: We've seen just about enough of Saints owner Tom Benson parading around with his stupid umbrella. You know that the second this guy can move this team, he will, public statements (and potential Super Bowl) aside. We've never liked his little umbrella act in the first place, and now it seems even more fake and wrong.

But other than all that ... uh ... go Saints!

Who Dat? [The Fanhouse]

- And we're going to pause here at the beginning of the 4th quarter to honor the Punt, Pass, and Kick champions. The 12/13 year old female champion is like 6 feet tall. The guy in the same age group thinks he's a player. He's eyeballing the 14/15 year old girl like a piece of meat.

- I think if you put those kids together on a team, they'd beat the winner of Seattle/Chicago tomorrow.

- A rainbow pass from Garcia to Reggie Brown, and a nifty little run from Brian Westbrook get the Eagles into the redzone. Jeff Garcia, no matter how this thing ends, has played pretty well today.

- Great job defensively by the Saints on that third down. Well read by the linebackers, and it's a loss of two. The Eagles have to settle for three, which puts the onus on the Eagles defense here. Akers is good from 24, and it's 27-24, Saints.

- Whoever's calling plays for the Eagles has two guys standing on either sides of him with big white towels stretched out, trying to hide their signals. They look like injured players, the guys who drew this dream assignment.

- The Eagles force a quick three-and-out here, with 9:36 left to play. Eagles take possession at their own 37 yard line.

- But the Eagles can't get anything going, either. Three and out. A couple of defensive stops in a row here, when it seems like we haven't had one in forever. The good news is that they didn't waste a lot of time with their failure. Still 8:20 to play.

- 3rd and 9 here, 5:49 to play... Brees just missed Terrence Copper over the middle. Stop here would be big for the Eagles.

- But they don't get it. Drew Brees hits Marques Colston in the hands with a little slant... why the corner is playing off at that point, I have no idea. But that clock keeps running. 5:12 to go.

- Another first down with about 4:10 on the clock... they allow another first down, and they're done.

- AND OH MY DEAR LORD. A little pitchout from Drew Brees to Reggie Bush goes right through Bush's hands, and the Eagles are on top of it. Just a lack of focus there by Reggie Bush, probably looking ahead to the running lane before he had the ball wrapped up. Huuuuge break for the Eagles. 3:18 to go, and a first down for the Eagles.

- 3rd and 10 for Jeff Garcia and the Eagles. He scrambles, gets it off... and it's incomplete. Couldn't protect him. And at the 2:00 warning, it's a 4th and 10 for the Eagles. Deep breaths...

- Five wide, blitz is on, and Garcia goes over the middle... COMPLETE. Incredible throw... and... ah, Christ. False start. Never happened.

- So the Eagles punt now on 4th and 15, when they just went for it on 4th and 10. I can't stress enough what a great throw that was by Jeff Garcia. 1:48 left to play, Saint ball at their own 22.

- 3rd and 1 for the Saints. One yard... and the glory of Jeff Garcia may be gone forever.

- And it's Deuce McAllister, your MVP on the day... and he has it. I think there may be a little bit of alcohol consumed in New Orleans this evening. Go out there and earn yourselves some gold and black beads, ladies.

- Eagles tackle Shawn Andrews is done for the day... which is not good news...

- Or maybe it is. That little bolt of green and white running down the screen right now is Brian Westbrook, and they're not gonna catch him. Defensive breakdown there, and another Eagles quick strike gets them in the endzone. 21-13, Eagles.

- Reno Mahe's getting an erotic massage on the sidelines. A trainer's got a towel over his ass, while he's in there, kneading him like a loaf of pumpernickel. Mahe's got his face down on the table, so I can't see it, but... I bet it's smiling.

- Duece McAllister gets into the endzone on heart and balls. He looked to be dead at about the four, but he keeps his legs driving, the guys behind him kept pushing, and they just pushed harder than the Eagles. Back to within a point... 21-20, Eagles.

- Jeff Garcia hits Brian Westbrook over the middle, and Westbrook drops it... Garcia gets up yelling, "FUCK." Which happens about 182 times a game, but when I see it, it makes he happy. It's the small things in life.

- Eagles forced into a punting situation, despite good field position... Saints ball, 1st and 10 at the 15, halfway through the third quarter.

- Reggie Bush coughs one up, but Terrence Copper saves the day by diving on the fumble. Hooo... that was fortunate. He was the only Saint within five yards of the ball.

- The Saints had the ball down to the 30, well within David Akers range for a field goal... but a penalty and a sack gets them back to about the 50. Unfortunately for the Eagles, D'hani Jones was busy committing illegal contact on a receiver, nullifying the sack, giving the Eagles five yards instead... a swing of 15 yards, and an automatic first down. And on the next play, Deuce McAllister gets the Saints down to the 10. Huge, huge penalty on D'hani Jones.

- Deuce McAllister on the screen... and a shoulder fake left Jeremiah Trotter with broken ankles. Moose Johnston yelled "YES!" when he crossed the goal line. I don't think he's supposed to do that. But it's 27-21 Saints, and it's started to look a little bit here like the Eagles defense just won't be able to stop the Saints offense. Or at least Deuce McAllister.

- A couple of consecutive first down passes for Jeff Garcia, as the Eagles look to get back on the scoreboard here. That's the end of the third. Tension.

- And Aaron Stecker drops it. Brees did some nice work with his feet, rolled out, bought some time, and put it on the money for Stecker... no dice. Here comes John Carney, for a challenging 23-yarder. It's good. 6-0 Saints.

- I was about to type that there was absolutely no chance that the Eagles could convert that 3rd and 9... and then Jeff Garcia goes deep and finds a wide open Donte Stallworth, double-moving the pants off of Saints CB Fred Thomas. Wide open, perfect throw, and suddenly, the Eagles lead. Fred Thomas is going to need some help out there.

- Right after the first touchdown of the day, FOX comes back with the first "This is Our Country" commercial of the day. I don't think that's a coincidence. And if the number of viewings of that commercial has to equal the number of touchdowns, then I'll go back to a touchdown-free afternoon. Gladly.

- 3rd and 7, the Saints with a nice little drive building... they go with a draw play to Reggie Bush, an odd call on the 3rd and 7, but it works. 1st down Saints, at the Eagles 30.

- The Saints are inside the 10, and here comes another touchdown. I can feel it. The give to Reggie Bush, he bounces it around the opposite end... and he's in. Impressive work from Reginald Bush, and we've got a virtual shootout on our hands now. 13-7, Saints. 5:19 left in the quarter. Solid drive by the Saints.

- 3rd and 11 here for the Eagles, crowd making a lot of noise... Saints blitz, Garcia holds tough in the pocket and gets the ball to Reggie Brown. Great job on the blitz pick-up by the Eagles line, and Fred Thomas, again... that didn't look good.

- Another 3rd down, another blitz, another great job by Garcia. This one to Hank Baskett. There are times when Jeff Garcia looks really, really good. Eagles at the Saints 20.

- Oh, Brian Westbrook... that's not good. Perfectly set-up screen by Jeff Garcia, but Westbook took his eyes off it. Sure touchdown, if he could have just held on. Ouch.

- LJ Smith gets it down inside one on the next play, though... I don't know if he was able to stretch it out across the goal line or not; FOX doesn't have a great angle on it. Moose Johnston keeps saying Smith is down, though, when I don't think Smith is down yet.

- There will be no upstairs review, though... eh, maybe Moose was right. Brian Westbrook's going to make it moot point though, by going over the top on the dive. Good height on that leap, Westbrook... 14-13 Eagles after the Akers extra point, :50 seconds left. Been a nice first half of football.

- :44 on the clock, and Sean Payton is not going to take knees. A sack on second down, though, is probably going to change his mind.

- Maybe not. Timeout, Saints.

- Sacked again, though... and the Eagles call timeout with :24.

- Steve Weatherford, Saints punter, is about to get his shit blocked, but he tucks and runs, and ends up with a first down. That almost worked brilliantly for Andy Reid. But, like all the pregame analysis said... Steve Weatherford is the key to this game.

- :08, Saints at the Eagles 45... incomplete, and they'll have one more shot at it. The Hail Mary is up... OHHHH! Oh. Damn. That was in Marques Colston's hands, but it was just popped out. Yikes.

- DirecTV and FOX salute a guy who lost his home in Katrina, but bravely kept working anyway, to get DirecTV customers "up and running." That's great and all, but hey, DirecTV, how about giving the guy a few fucking days off? Maybe a little extra vacation time? At least a free month of HBO...

- Geez. Tony Siragusa just did that little thing on the field like he was doing a wrestling interview. He's pointing at the camera, snarling, speaking emphatically... "Someone's gonna win tonight, and someone's gonna lose, but the memories are gonna live FOREVER... so call your cable company and buy the pay-per-view! Tonight! In the steel cage!"

- Oh, Reggie Bush just got killed. Biggest hit of the playoffs, by far. Just lifted him right up off the ground, ass-over-tea-kettle. Reggie Bush might not be okay.

- Reggie Bush is okay, as it turns out. He misses a play and gets back in there. 3rd and 10 for the Saints, and the pressure gets to Brees. They'll punt.

- The Eagles will do the same... it looked like Donte Stallworth had a pretty good chance to catch that 3rd and 10 throw from Jeff Garcia.

- Deuce McAllister is a horse. He pounds it up the middle, bowling over people between the tackles. If Shawn Consindine has a personal highlight reel, that's not going on it. The young man was trucked.

- The drive stalls on a couple of incompletions, and here comes John Carney for a field goal. I'm getting just a little bit tired of all the fucking field goals today. I've said "fuck" in this post twice already. That's how much it irritates me.

- And I've gotta go capture video of that t-shirt that was just shown... and here we go:

- I hope she's in some kind of a long-distance relationship with the "West Fuckin' Virginia" guy.

- Tony Siragusa has a team of guys set up to simulate an offensive line, and then some guy playing a defensive end, too. Are these fans? Siragusa's entourage? Camera crew guys? Who's manning the cameras?

- Puntpuntpuntpuntpunt

- Brees deep along the left sideline for Devery Henderson... complete. Best throw of the day so far, and Henderson just beat the corner with pure speed. Brees cooperates with a perfect throw.

- But the quarter's going to end before they have a chance to punch it in to the endzone. That's five touchdown-free quarters. Come on, Saints, let's end this.

The New Orleans Saints have been a nice, inspirational story since that little precipitation problem they had a couple years back. Yes, God owes New Orleans a huuuge apology and a giant squeegee, but hopefully his way of contrition doesn't involve a Saints victory Saturday night. That would completely ruin my smoky evening at the Boathouse in Conshohocken (former home of Ruffhouse Records. Fu-Gee-La-La...) where I'll be watching the game.

Remember? There is a football game this weekend. However, if the Saints win, the NFL will in some way take some credit for saving the broken city. Just bear in mind that the Superdome is only a symbol of hope and renewal to some people; to others, it's still the "hot, crowded building where I stayed for 10 days eating diaper sandwiches and using my dead grandmother as a cot." Even though there is no time for such dreary sentiment, when there is football, Fox will make sure that, regardless of what transpires on the field, you — safe, dry football fan — will not forget that a little less than two years ago, Naw'lins was almost Atlantis.

So this week, I'm putting on my FEMA windbreaker, building a boat out of a pizza box and garment bags, and placing odds on some of the ways Fox and the NFL will go about referencing the Katrina tragedy throughout Saturday night's Eagles/Saints game.

Let's boil some craw daddies, after this jump.

Zydeco Musical Interludes: 1/5

Nary a gamebreak would be satisfactory unless it had generous amounts of horn, accordion and washboards to accompany Fox's football robot. Instead of running in place, or loosening up its neck, I'm suspecting they'll have it doing a Mamou Jitterbug instead. It'll be a subtle reminder that even though part of the area is still a massive grave, everybody's still festive when they hit the Big Easy — especially animated robots.

One-on-One Interviews About the Magical Season: 1/4

Prior to the game, Fox will have sit-downs with Sean Payton, Joe Horn and Reggie Bush about what it means to be a part of this team, this year, and how it has affected the city. They'll talk about how winning is more meaningful to them. How each victory is a gift to a once joyless town. How each touchdown becomes more important and is a statement on humanity. And most important, how Sean Payton's downfield offense matches up against Jim Johnson's blitz happy defense.

The 9th Ward Dance Team: 4/1

What better way to show support for the people of New Orleans and help with the revitalization program than to showcase some of the culture which blossomed in the face of tragedy? These brave women passed the time waiting for federal aid by working out dance routines on their dilapidated roofs. This Fox halftime show was brought to you by "Stomp the Yard," in theaters now!

Moose Johnston's Anecdotal Musings: 5/1

Johnston's job this weekend is to add color to the game in support of Dick Stockton's commentating, and what better way to do so in New Orleans than to give proper perspective and analysis about the field of play?

Stockton: "Pass complete to Colston at the 38 yard line where he's pushed out of bounds..."

Johnston: "Yes, Dick, and it should be pointed out that where Colston caught that ball, that area was where many victims reported seeing various sexual assaults and robberies at gunpoint when they were forced to stay here against their will during the rescue efforts. Goose, you were down there before the game? Can you tell us a little more about that?"

Remember: If the Saints win, there are no longer any issues with New Orleans' reconstruction after Katrina. Worth keeping in mind.

• Cool Standings: Eagles.
• Football Outsiders: Saints.
• Harmon Forecast: Saints.
• Paul Zimmerman: Saints.
• Peter King: Saints.
• Lil' Sean: Eagles.
• Dan Shanoff: Eagles.
• Kissing Suzy Kolber: Saints.
• Deadspin: Eagles. We sense a last-second field goal by David Akers, and we also sense that the world might be comin' to an end, Mal.

Let's see your picks down below, if you're up for such machinations.

As Garcia Mania continues to sweep the greater Philadelphia area — if just because "Westbrook Mania" doesn't have the same indelible linguistic flow — we point out to you the spoils of quarterbacking an NFL team that is the company in a company town: Incredibly awkward local television commercials! (Thanks to The 700 Level for the finding.)

As for the game yesterday, for a matchup of two teams in the supposedly inferior conference, it was incredibly well-played — both the NFC games were decidedly more entertaining than their AFC counterparts this weekend — and even allowed the losers to come away with their dignity intact. (We would have not expected Eli Manning's stock to come out of the weekend higher than Tony Romo's ... but we'll get into that in a bit.) Mostly, though, we'll remember Tiki Barber after the game, with a shit-eating "what, you think I'm gonna miss getting pummeled into the ground every Sunday and then having to talk to you people afterwards?" grin. Being a football player is considerably less fun than we think it is, and we admire a guy who admit it, and gets the hell out while he can still walk.

Jeff Garcia Mania! [The 700 Level]

- 3rd and 10, and it looked like the Giants got away with a little bit of interference. The Eagles are going to punt, and the Giants are going to have a chance to tie the game... in theory, anyway. Another 40-yard pass interference call would be ideal. Do your thing, Plax.

- The Eagles are actually driving a little bit. They're at the Eagles 35, and this seems like an appropriate time to pound the ball with Tiki Barber. Lito Sheppard's done for the afternoon, by the way, with a dislocated elbow, which has to hurt like hell.

- In comes Jared Lorenzen again, and the purpose of his appearance appears to be to call a timeout. Tom Coughlin seems displeased, but that's probably only because this might be the last game he coaches. After the timeout, it's Eli again, though, and they give it to Tiki Barber. He appears to have the first down, but he's ruled short. Coughlin challenges the spot.

- And the challenge is upheld, and it's a first down for the Giants. That was the right call, and a pretty easy one to make. 7:34 remaining in the game, 1st and 10 for the Giants, down 7 points, at the Eagles 23 yard line.

- That's before consecutive false start penalties, though. Man, that's embarrassing.

- And there's a third consecutive penalty, this one for a hold. Shame, too, because that was a nice gain on a screen play, about 18 yards. It's on Chris Snee, who just had the holding penalty.

- Great job by Plax to come up with a catch on a ball that just Eli Manning heaved blindly. Still 3rd and 12, though, and they just waste another timeout. Just brutal. Are we sure that this is a playoff team?

- And Plax earns the first down on a little screen play. Plax is about the only thing the Giants have had going for them here. Eli Manning should offer himself to Plax sexually. I don't know if Plax would be interested, but he's earned it.

- Manning to Plax in the endzone, nice route, nice throw (somehow), and it's a touchdown to tie this one up. 20-20, 5:04 to play in the game.

- We're getting a steady dose of Brian Westbrook. Westbrook appears to be in milk-the-clock mode, too, making it a point to stay in bounds. They're playing for the three, and to leave not much time on the clock. So for, it looks like it's working perfectly. 2:35 to play, and they're at the Giants 37.

- First down, Brian Westbrook, and that was big. He got past the blitz, had a lot of room, and got the ball down to the 19 yard line. Brian Westbrook is a stud.

- The clock is running and running and running, and the Giants are powerless to stop it. Their only real hope is that David Akers misses this kick, and I tend to believe that David Akers isn't missing this kick. Hopefully, Koy Detmer didn't watch the Cowboys game last night.

- Garcia sneaks the ball to the middle of the field, and they stop the clock with :03 remaining. Here comes Akers. Tension.

- Up. Good. That last drive was money, especially for Andy Reid, who's been criticized for his clock management in the past. That was perfect, though. And we'll be saying goodbye to Tiki Barber, and probably Tom Coughlin, at least as coach of the Giants.

- It's been a pretty damn good weekend of football... 'twas nice to share it with you, and I'm sorry if your team lost, but they probably sucked anyway. Goodnight, ladies and gentlemen.

- The Eagles and Giants exchange punts to open the second half... the field position advantage goes to the Eagles, as they'll start their next drive from the Giants 43.

- That's three punts now... and whoa, what the hell is that guy thinking? The Eagles were about to down a Giant came over and tried to get it. They're showing the replay now, and... it doesn't look like he touched it. But he's still an idiot for even attempting it. Has that guy ever seen a football game before? They end up ruling that the Giants have the ball at their own 1.

- With 7:13 left, that's the fourth punt of the quarter... and Brian Westbrook takes it to the house, but it's not going to count. There's a flag down. Still, Brian Westbrook is pretty phenomenal. Eagles will start this possession at their own 25.

- Osi Umenyiora is down and in serious pain. I don't know what happened to him, but he's got some rib and/or abdomen discomfort, I think. Jeff Garcia also seemed disappointed when Umenyiora rolled off his back.

- 48-yard attempt from David Akers... it is up and it is good. Nice kick, but I'm not impressed with kickers until I see their dick on Deadspin. 20-10 Eagles, and that lead isn't insurmountable, but, well, Eli Manning is not very good at his job.

- The Giants have their best offensive play of the game since the opening minutes, and it comes because Sheldon Brown sees fit to run into Plaxico Burress on a deep ball. It's the right call, but I hate to see a 40-yard reward for a play on which there was no offensive skill shown. 1st down for the Giants in the red zone.

- And wow, Brian Westbrook... you are a man. That was a dazzling display en route to the endzone... just moves on top of moves. Gamebreaker. 7-7.

- And welcome back, Eli Manning. There's an interception deep over the middle to Sheldon Brown. I don't know if it would be fair to see that the Giants are unraveling, or that their first possession was just a miracle. But momentum has titled directly in the direction of the Eagles.

- I think Donovan McNabb is wearing a coordinated, matching Eagles jumpsuit with the jacket tucked into the pants. McNabb is cool enough that he can get away with that look, and people think he's just being hip and contrarian. But I'm going to try it tomorrow, and it's not going to work.

- The Eagles settle for a field goal after not giving the ball to Brian Westbrook once in the red zone. 10-7 Iggles.

- Jeremy Shockey got his helmet torn off, and Jeremy Shockey is the happiest man alive. You see guys keep playing without a helmet from time to time... but Shockey was in heavy traffic and he lowered his shoulder, looking for contact. He would not have minded if his head was split open, and I guarantee that he's thrilled about the attention he'll get for this.

- And the Barber answers with a Westbrook-like run down to the 5, snatching some momentum back for the Giants.

- The Philadelphia defense holds, though, when Eli Manning can't find anywhere to throw the ball where there aren't six Philadelphia Eagles. We're tied at 10.

- We've got multiple flags here for personal fouls. Joe Buck is talking about possibility of an ejection, which he does anything someone says "hell." Jon Runyanhit a guy late, and shoved Sam Madison to the ground. But then another big guy came and shoved Runyan down. All we have are offsetting penalties, which is kind of pussy. Tom Coughlin's upset, and he's got a pretty legit beef. Total dick move by Runyan, and he got away with it.

- 2:02 left on the clock, and the Eagles call a timeout. If Fox is truly evil, they'll go to commercial here, and do it again two minutes from now. Let's see... no, Fox is not evil. At least on this occasion.

- Jeff Garcia hooks up with Donte Stallworth for a touchdown to give the Eagles a 7-point lead here with 1:01 to play in the first half. Nice throw there by Garcia.

- And that's how the second quarter is going to end. 17-10 Eagles, and we'll be back for the 2nd half.

- Brian Dawkins comes through the tunnel and takes the field crawling.

- Jeremy Shockey's sucking down oxygen before the game even kicks off. Does he have asthma? Did Tom Coughlin put them through a particularly strenuous set of calisthenics?

- The Giants are driving pretty effectively here. Their line is blocking well, Jared Lorenzen came in and picked up a first down on a sneak... and here's Plaxico in the endzone for the touchdown. Wow. They made that look easy. Nothing's been easy for the Giants for two months.

- The Giants defense comes out and forces a three-and-out, too. They just collapsed the Eagles line, and the Eagles punter is backed up against his own end-line. I know it's only two drives, but... this is a whole new Giants team. I think they're all on PCP.

- That's more like it. Eli throws one at a guy's feet on second down, and then sails one over Plax's head on third down, and they're punting after behind handed good field position. That's more in line with what I expect from the Giants.

- David Tyree downs a punt at about the Eagles 2... making a better catch than he's ever made in his career. Impressively executed by the Giants.

- The pace has slowed here... the Giants are going to be punting again after getting field position. 2:14 left in the first quarter, the first score remains the only one on the board. 2:14 left in the first.

- The first quarter ends after Boggs Garcia scrambles and dives for a first down.

Since there's only a couple of hours remaining until kickoff, I'm assuming that this has already gone down, or is right now a part of a bad-ass tailgate party. I also feel pretty safe in assuming that A.J. Daulerio was somehow involved with this. I know he wouldn't give up playoff tickets for the privilege, but he probably could've seen the show for free, just by mentioning that he is, in fact, the balls.

I am somewhat underwhelmed, however, by the offer these young ladies have put on the table. These tickets are worth hundreds of dollars, and they can't even bring themselves to touch anyone for them? That's weak, sweetheart. That better be one hell of a show. And remember, these people booed Santa Claus... if they don't sense a proper amount of conviction in your muff-diving, they will boo your ass, too.

Calling the play from the sidelines [Philadelphia Daily News]

We're gonna get right to predictions on this one, so that we do not further frighten young AJ Daulerio, who has already painted his face green.

• Cool Standings: Eagles.
• Football Outsiders: Eagles.
• Harmon Forecast: Eagles.
• Paul Zimmerman: Eagles.
• Peter King: Eagles.
• Kissing Suzy Kolber: Eagles.
• Deadspin: Giants. Sorry, Daulerio: The Giants have that baseball Cardinals feel, we think. Plus, sprinting like crazy into the postseason and then losing at home to the Giants ... doesn't that sound like something the Eagles would do?

We can't be the only one who likes Seattle, can we? Let us know in the comments ...

Wee. This is all cute and everything, but what can you expect from a city that that right now has a horrible, disorganized NFC team whose one shot at a redeeming season relies upon whether or not they can beat 37-year-old Jeff Garcia on Sunday. If they do win, is it really that much of an accomplishment, that the defending NFC East champions can be proud of? I mean, regardless of what happens on Sunday, the 2006 Giants have to be one of the most wretched football teams ever to receive a paycheck from the NFL. If they hadn't made the playoffs, well, it's pretty obvious that this is a team that needs to be completely dismanteld both offensively and defensively and then put to sleep like a blind dog with hip dysplasia.

I hope you guys win. Seriously. If winning this game means that you'll believe that this immature pack of cocksuckers you've assembled is the team you need for the next few seasons, I'm all for it. Enjoy last place for the next two seasons.

And, exhale.

Philly and New York Love to Hate Each Other [PhiladelphiaEaglesFanhouse]

So, for all those uninitiated: I am A.J. Me make typey again today. First things first: Eagles are NFC East Champions; Eagles have the Giants next week at home. I haaaaaaaaaaaaaate this match up. The way things have gone in the NFC this year, it's crazy not to think the Giants don't have a shot at completely disembowling the Birds next week. Look, I'm a fan, but I'm also a realist and the Eagles aren't that much of a good team, but more of a fuzzy story, regardless of how remarkeable they've played the past few weeks. And a pissed off Giants team with something to prove is not the ideal situation at all and one I'm not very confident about. Now, who can get me tickets?

Full posting schedule today and tomorrow with the usual steadfast production from editor Rick Chandler.

Tap the bottle, twist the cap.

Eagles Clinch NFC Title [PhiladelphiaEagles.com]

It's kind of bitter sweet for me as my son, the quarterback sits out on injured reserved watching the game during his rehab. I polled my family too and they feel the same. We want our team to win and even go to the Superbowl and win it in Miami especially if they continue to play as they have. But oh oh, if they win the Superbowl without my son, what would be the real outcome with the fans? Will they crucify him? Maybe, then the trade talks would begin. Off season madness, worse than last year's fiasco. But guess what, I guess I'll have to take the beating if it comes. I would have to hope that scenario of the madness would not happen or be that bad. Well let's wait and see. Bitter sweet.

To answer her questions: Yes, yes, and yes. She's been here long enough to know what the deal is. If Garcia wins the...gasp...Super Bowl or even makes a little bit of a playoff run, there's gonna be some uproar — perhaps foolishly — about McNabb's viability as a starter next season. Bottom line is, McNabb's a fantastic player, won't lose his job, but with the lower half of his body mangled with injuries, Garcia's success should be taken into consideration at least for future years. I know the guy's invigoration has to be considered flukey but, at the same time, why is this offense suddenly clicking? Are pocket jump-passers the keys to the West Coast offense?

But, for the love of god, the Eagles should've learned their lessons from those Ty Detmer/Rodney Peete experiments when they shelved Cunningham on the bench because they assumed he was over. McNabb needs all the coddling possible for him to make some kind of contribution to this team in the upcoming years— before he goes off to the Vikings and wins an MVP.

Wow, a serious post? I'm a fucking genius.

Jeff Garcia Mania [The700level]
Bittersweet [Donovan McNabb]

From our experience, when Jeff Garcia is making this motion, and he's about to chuck it long and downfield, something bad is about to happen. We mean, it's Jeff Garcia! The last few years, his main purpose has been to be the target of Terrell Owens' sublimated man-on-man urges.

And now, all of a sudden, on national television, he's leading a key playoff victory and looking positively Romo-esque. With the Eagles' incredibly entertaining 27-24 victory over the Carolina Panthers, Philadelphia is tied for the wild card lead and getting Philly fans, well, to feel slightly less felonious, we'll say that.

We're starting to think that Garcia might never be destroyed; it seems inevitable that he'll end up leading a Super Bowl drive at some point. The Eagles still have a rather rough schedule the rest of the way — Washington, Dallas, NY Giants and Atlanta — but hey, like any of those teams are looking like the Chargers right now.

Besides, Rocky Balboa was there, after all. Sylvester Stallone reveled in the Philadelphia love last night, even though the guy probably has been there, oh, only when he's got a Rocky movie coming out. (If you haven't seen the trailer yet, we really can't recommend it enough. it features the first training montage to include the phrase "you've got calcium deposits in your joints!" That movie's gonna rule.)

Anyway, yeah: Your NFC. We still think the Buzzsaw have a chance!

Led By Garcia, Eagles Haul In Crucial Victory [Philly.com]
Rocky Makes Appearance At Eagles' Game [The Fanhouse]
Rocky Balboa Trailer [Apple.com]

As insane as it might be to contemplate, the Philadelphia Eagles, a team that seemingly hasn't won in months, a team that is legitimately trying to figure out if they're going to start Jeff Garcia or A.J. Feeley, a team that its fans can't even muster up enough enthusiasm to hate properly ... this team, with a win tonight on "Monday Night Football" against the Carolina Panthers, can move into a tie for the final NFC wildcard slot. For all the talk about the difficulty of finding a good team in that conference, that's the best indictment we've seen yet. (Just a couple more wins, and the Buzzsaw will be back in the hunt!)

Anyway, as Eagles fans try to keep their sanity, we looked ahead to a game tonight that will indeed have a major effect on the NFC playoff picture, though clearly not in any way that's remotely close to what anybody imagined at the beginning of the year. The Panthers are as bipolar a team as you can imagine, but we kind of think that if they lose tonight, we shouldn't have to pay attention to them anymore.

The Kornheiser/Theismann/Tirico broadcast team death watch continues — things have gotten so rough that they're even letting Simmons take open shots at them now — and we are assuming whoever the celebrity guest in the booth is will be booed, and warmly.

If you're home tonight and looking for a good time, either call the number on the back of the urinal or just hang out with us throughout the game, leaving your comments, discussing recipes, taking advice for holiday gifts. The thread is now "open," so enjoy yourselves, and enjoy the game.