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The Eagles will win.

Also found this little tid bit.

Why the Eagles will win Super Bowl XXXIX

Daryl Johnston / FOX Sports
Posted: 1 hour ago



This year's Super Bowl matchup could (or should) have happened twice already, in 2001 and 2003.

And I really think this year's playoffs have followed historical trends. Other than seeing the first 8-8 teams to win a playoff game (a dubious point impugning the quality of teams that were beaten: Seattle and Green Bay), everything after that has fallen into place. Marty Schottenheimer goes one-and-out again. Peyton Manning can't beat the Patriots. A dome team gets outside in the elements and struggles. The running game is again more important than passing in the championship round.
This year's playoffs began with history being rewritten, and now it will finish with something that's also never happened before. The Eagles will win the Super Bowl, and here's why:

Andy Reid has dumped the conservative approach::


I talked to Eagles coach Andy Reid and offensive coordinator Brad Childress before the regular season, and they said they were going to make a conscious effort throughout this entire season to be more aggressive. And they have been. Examples have been throwing to Greg Lewis into the wind against Atlanta in the NFC championship game and sticking with the downfield passing in the playoff game against Minnesota, even with a lead. Those are some things they did not do in the past.

I think Reid took a lot of criticism about being too conservative after losing the NFC championship game to Carolina last year. A lot of people said, "Well, they couldn't be aggressive since they couldn't get off press coverage." But I think there are other ways to do it.

Last year when the team wasn't healthy, Reid tried to tighten the fences, and to me he should have gone the other way and opened it up instead of trying to close it down. The problem with playing it close to the vest, it only takes one or two mistakes to totally derail everything that you've done.



Pats haven't faced elusive QB like McNabb::


When the Patriots have faced Indy's Peyton Manning, they've been able to focus on covering the wide receivers, because the defense doesn't have to worry at all about Manning running for a potentially game-changing play to keep a drive alive.

With Terrell Owens likely out, or at least limited with his injury, I think you're going to see more scrambling from McNabb. It doesn't have to be the Michael Vick-type of 45-yard run. It could be a 10-yard scramble on third-and-9 that creates more opportunities. The Patriots are going to have to play better than they did against Indianapolis because of McNabb's presence as a scrambler.

Do the Pats elect to spy him and have one guy assigned to make sure McNabb does break a long one? Well, here's the thing, T.O. or no T.O., Philly has a lot of guys that can get out on routes and become pass-catchers. And will the Patriots be willing to commit a guy to McNabb and take a chance on being a man short in the secondary?


Eagles not satisfied with "just being there"::


Don't think McNabb is satisfied with just getting to the Super Bowl. Right after the win over Atlanta, he was immediately focusing on the next game. The Eagles came so close for three straight years, you kind of expected the Eagles to express that, "Wow, we finally made it. We're finally going to get to go to the Super Bowl" feeling.

Instead they all talked of having one more game left. The Eagles seem to be in the right frame of mind. And take it from someone who has been on the winning side of three Super Bowls, that mindset is a big thing, especially for a team like Philly that has been close and hasn't been able to get over that last hump.


Brian Westbrook is one of a kind::


I don't think there is another running back like him in the NFL and I also don't think he gets enough credit when he runs the ball, either. People tend to focus more on him as a receiver and what he can do from a formation standpoint, but he's a pretty tough runner. He doesn't go down very easily.



The Patriots can't afford to cover him with safety Rodney Harrison or linebacker Tedy Bruschi. At times the Patriots will have to bracket him ... but then what do they do? Can New England bracket Westbrook, then spy McNabb at the same time? Or if they lose one guy, will they single-up Westbrook and spy McNabb, and bracket Westbrook at times and lose the spy?

Those two guys pose a big problem for a defense, even without Owens in the mix at wide receiver. Bill Belichick can take a wide receiver out of a game , but Westbrook is a much bigger challenge.


Philly's pressure defense can get to Tom Brady::


I expect Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson to be very selective and know when the best opportunities are to blitz Brady. The big thing is, does he get a big, free hit on Brady? When playing against the Eagles, if you give up that free shot in the first couple series, where a guy comes unblocked and just nails your QB — even if he gets the ball off in time and takes the big hit, or it's a sack or sack/fumble — suddenly the offense is scrambling on the sideline questioning everything that they do. "OK, what did they do? How did that guy come through? How do we change our protection?"

It soaks up a team's confidence, unless somebody walks over to the sideline and say, "Hey, that was my guy and I blew it." But a lot of times, everybody's looking around asking, "Well, what did they do?" As we saw in the Patriots' loss to the Dolphins this season, even Tom Brady can be forced into a bad play.


Eagles wideouts can get off Pats' press coverage::


How well Eugene Wilson and Asante Samuel do against Philly's wideouts will be key. Because if they play Todd Pinkston and Greg Lewis off the ball, Philly's guys are good. They're much better at that point than when you're up in their faces and pressing them.

I really think the Eagles receivers can get the job done. They're much better than what they were last year just by being around Terrell Owens. It's one of those things that if you get a guy who is really good at something, the guys around him get better just because they've been asking him questions all off-season and all year long trying to get tips. Coaching is great, but when you get a guy who has been there and done that, he knows things that the other people don't know. So I believe this group has improved from last year, even if Owens isn't playing.


Dawkins or Trotter makes early "statement play"::


I think we could see something big and bone-crunching from either safety Brian Dawkins or linebacker Jeremiah Trotter. It doesn't have to be a fumble-causing hit either. It can be one of those plays where the offensive player stays down for a few seconds, gets on one knee, then shakes the cobwebs loose and goes back to the huddle.


Dawkins' hit on Atlanta tight end Alge Crumpler in the NFC title game was impressive, especially because Crumpler is a big dude. I like Dawkins for a number of reasons. He is one of the better safeties that has been in the league, and he's a real nice guy off the field, too, when you work with him on a professional level.

And Trotter is just perfect for what Jim Johnson does with Philly's defense. Trotter didn't do anything in Washington because he was with Marvin Lewis, who runs a very disciplined scheme. I'm not saying that Trotter is an undisciplined player, but he's more of a disruptive player. He wants to be that guy that gets the green light to go out and make plays. That's what Johnson allows him to do.


Philly's offensive line gives McNabb time to find a receiver::


The Eagles' offensive line gave McNabb excellent protection against Atlanta. I was really surprised at how well they did. Because the Eagles are such a pass-oriented offense, they are going to see some things that are different from New England.

Physically, they'll be fine with the matchups. But it comes down to how well Philly's guys up front react to the scheme and pressure package that the Patriots put in for this game. That's all tied into what the Patriots think about McNabb and what their M.O. will be to try to slow him down. They've seen McNabb make some huge plays over and over on film when the protection breaks down. But because Philly's West Coast offensive has such a critical timing element to it, the Pats want him dropping back and having to scramble all the time. McNabb is a great ad-lib guy, but he's going to need that extra bit of time to make sure he's making the correct read and decisions with the ball.


Special teams is the secret to field position::


Here is New England's dirty little secret. Let's check out some of New England's special-teams rankings in 2004, specifically on coverage: 29th in net punting average, 28th in opponents' punt-return average and 28th in opponents' kick-return average.

On the other side, Philly ranked fourth in the NFL in average starting field position after kickoffs. Since New England struggles on coverage (especially on the punt team), this can give a team like Philly a nice edge with David Akers — a great kicker with big-league range.

Plus, you have to take it in conjunction with how aggressive Reid can be. Reid can be much bolder on offense if he's not backed up and has good field position to work with. If you're starting at your own 15 the whole game, it is going to affect your play-calling.