Have the Birds Found Their Groove?

By: KO Kelly

It was one thing for the Saints to obliterate us a couple weeks ago but to lose to Dallas, in prime time is inexcusable. What made it even more painful and all too familiar was Drew Brees’ impression of an Eagles’ quarterback forcing a bad throw resulting in a game-ending interception instead of a game-winning touchdown drive.

This makes our already difficult road to repeat as division champs that much more difficult. If Dallas had lost, we may have been able to survive a loss to the Rams or Texans but now we will more than likely need to win out to have a real chance at the division. However, I am not entirely opposed to the Cowboys brazenly waltzing into the playoffs only to get outclassed by the electric Rams offense or the vengeful Saints. The higher they climb now, the harder they fall later and all the sweeter the schadenfreude will be!

On the positive side, it sounds like the Eagles are finally finding their groove during practices again. Golden Tate mentioned this week’s practice was the best he has seen since joining the team. We have heard throughout the season that the practices have not lived up to the players’ or coaches’ expectations. How this is an issue on a team with many hungry veterans and vocal leaders is a bit baffling to me but at this point in the season, any step forward is a good one. Let’s hope this will be enough for them to remain competitive and on the right track for the rest of the season.

Luckily, our Birds have a banged up divisional foe coming to the Linc on Monday night, so we have another week to fine tune the motor for a final push. With Alex Smith out for the rest of the season and journeyman QB Colt McCoy (safe to assume no relation to LeSean) at the helm – Washington is not nearly as daunting of a game as it could have been just a few weeks ago. They are also down a handful of offensive linemen as well as RB Adrian Peterson. They will be eager to stop their two-game losing streak and salvage their once promising season, but Philadelphia is finally showing some fight in them and it doesn’t stop Monday night.

I expect a heavy dose of Josh Adams, which will open up the passing game for Wentz. Golden Tate will get his long-awaited coming out party and Ertz will have at least 7 receptions, breaking Westbrooks ’07 single season high of 90 receptions. From the defensive side - McCoy will be under severe pressure all night from Cox, Jernigan, & Co. Lastly, either special teams or one of our-off-the-streets CBs is going to make a big time play early in the game that keeps the house jumping all night!