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January 13, 2007

Bringing The Heat

The Eagles head to NOLA to face the Saints in the divisional playoffs -- just like the 1992 season

It didn't take much for me to dig up my copy of Bringing The Heat, Blackhawk Down and Killing Pablo author Mark Bowden's account of the 1992 Eagles season. (Note that I still can't believe that this book exists; acclaimed non-fiction journo writes an insider account of the early 90s Birds? I remain stunned.) The book opens with the '92 team's wild-card playoff game against the Saints at the Superdome. That game was the last time that the Saints and Eagles met in the playoffs (which, considered the Saints franchise has played in six total playoff games -- and won one of those -- shouldn't be terribly surprising). The Eagles won 36-20.

And now the Eagles return to the city that God hath smoten. It's really tough to argue with this Saints team; not only did they go from three wins to a first-round playoff bye, but they did it while, errr, giving hope to a lost city? Did they really do that? That sounds like a lot for a football team, but I might believe it. As feel-good as these Eagles have been (back from disaster, scrappy veteran QB, resurgent defense), they're definitely 7.5-point feel-goodness dogs to the Saints.

So it's going to be tough to hate the Saints tonight, even if I do think that Sean Payton guy is a smarmy jerk and Reggie Bush is a media-darling sissy. I think Brees is legit, and Deuce is as class as they come. So. I'm in something of a bind in re: shouting sordid imprecations at my television this evening. I'll try my best.

(Speaking of my television, have any of you noticed how CBS has stolen the design of their football graphics package from www.thatkidinthecorner.com? The blue parentheses things? They're everywhere on the CBS coverage. I demand royalties! Legal department, where are you? Get on that!)

Before we go into tonight's game, some leftovers from last week:

The coaching equivalent of betting the Giants with the points as an Eagles fan: so let me get this straight, the Eagles won and Tom Coughlin still kept his job? I thought the Birds would need to lose for that to happen. What a treat. At the very least, that means another year of chaos and nonsense from the New York media, which will further stunt Eli's development. Excellent.

We didn't want him anyway: Jeremy Shockey was forced to respond to a quote from Eagles CB Sheldon Brown, who claimed that Shockey told him that he wanted to be an Eagles during last week's wild card game. Heh heh heh. Also, Andy Reid releases a sex video of himself and Tammy before he signs Jeremy Shockey.

Najeh Davenport knows all about it: lost in the shuffle of last week's win was the Brian-Westbrook-got-sick storyline. Only it wasn't a Dunnavin-puking-in-the-huddle sort of thing. It was tactfully described as "cramps," but, well, I might not be the smartest man in the world, but it sure looks like, well, you know. There were even some cracks about bringing a port-a-potty onto the field for him. Brian, Brian, Brian. Did you drink from the Thermos with "Special Energy Drink 4 Tiki -- PLEASE DRINK BEFORE GAME IT MAKE YOU STRONG" scribbled on it in permanent marker?

All 5, all the time: I'm almost disappointed that none of the local Philly blathermonkeys ran with the "Donovan was hogging the overhead photos and Garcia yelled at him" thing. Kind of tough to do much with it, since there wasn't any video of it, and Garcia said all the right things afterwards. That said, we did get to enjoy another week of hating on WIP. Sigh.

And now for what I see in tonight's big game in NOLA:

Please don't bring the heat: Drew Brees appears to be relatively unblitzable. Jim Johnson, please resist temptation! No crazy blitzes! Let's line up and beat on these guys a little before we do anything too too crazy. The only reason that the Giants converted that first-and-30 last week was because you couldn't help yourself with the blitz (though it's Eli, so you get a pass). Let's play it cool, especially without Lito in the secondary. Easy does it.

Rookie v. rookie: the Giants definitely went at Omar Gaither on the weakside a fair amount last week, with some success. I'd be shocked if the Saints don't try to do the same thing. especially with some kind of a isolation play with a Reggie Bush. I can already see the swing passes and screens to the left. Good luck out there, Omar.

And still no killshot: we're through four and a half NFL playoff games, and no one has killed a quarterback yet. I'm just saying. It's probably coming; just a matter of when. Would it be extra evil to do that to Brees? The answer is yes. Yes it would.

Revenge factor compare and contrast: so who wants to humiliate their former team more, twice-franchised Darren Howard or steroid-fueled fatboy Hollis Thomas? Maligned wideout Donte Stallworth or backup kicker Mark Simoneau? Stallworth didn't play in the first game, and Hollis Thomas should be fresh (and has made big plays in the playoffs for the Birds in the past -- remember when he whacked Michael Vick on the goal line two years ago?). Let's hope it's Stallworth.

Jeff Garcia and his happy feet: it definitely took Jeff Garcia a good long while to settle down last week, and his happy feet were Manning-esque. I can't imagine that will improve in the chaos of the Superdome this week. When in doubt, give the ball to Westbrook. Repeat. Look for the 36 and give him the ball. Go easy with the running, Jeff. You're not a large man. Be careful.

Extra beignets for the red-haired gentleman: at this point, the season is gravy for Andy Reid. He's proven that he's an elite coach just for getting this far. So you wonder if he doesn't pull out some tricks this week. What does he have to lose? Why not? You play to win the games, right? House money, Big Red. House Money. Let's see what we can do. Stallworth is dying to score a 75-yard touchdown.

How I See It Going Down: the Saints are the best team in the NFC half of the draw. They're also playing at home, and all of America is rooting for them. So. That's a lot. If they score twice early (in the first quarter), this thing could get dicey. The Birds need to come out solid but aggressive. Gulp. All that said, the Saints are inexperienced in the playoffs, and they may not know what they're in for. The Birds need to get big plays from their wideouts (run after catch), at least two big plays from 36. The defensive line needs to generate pressure without help from the blitz. If all these things go right, then the Eagles have a shot. Call it 31-27 Eagles.

BONUS SONICS COVERAGE: I had the pleasure of being in the building for what will likely be one of the most memorable games at Key Arena this season, as Ray Allen went for a career-high 54 points in a good win for the Supes against a very good Utah team. I was very impressed with Utah. They're pretty smart all over the floor. The Deron Williams kid can play, and Carlos Boozer is a legit NBA star. All that said, Ray Allen played out of his mind, hitting shot after shot to keep the Sonics in the game, including a game-tying three from way out with eight seconds left. He kind of had to; the rest of the Sonics really aren't very good right now, and with Wilcox in foul trouble, well, the Supes didn't have much of a plan on offense. But we'll take it. Next up for me is BronBron on Tuesday. Looking forward to that.

Posted by thatkid at January 13, 2007 4:29 PM under Philly , Sonics , Sports

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