THE BIRD BLOG

The Eagles should be a lock to win every game except the one against the Vikings, so they should be 3-1 or 4-0 heading into the bye.

So I said on August 27, just before the start of the Eagles 2004 season. Sure enough, on October 4, Eagles fans wake up to see their team 4-0, heading into a bye. The team looking to greet them on the other side is the increasingly weak 1-2 Carolina Panthers, who were absolutely dominated by Vick and the Falcons yesterday.

This morning there are just five undefeated teams left in the NFL, and few would seriously say that the Eagles aren't playing the best, or near the best, of all of them. Let's break sunday down:

The good: Critics said that the McNabb - T.O. partnership would never work because McNabb was too inaccurate to be the efficient passer that T.O. needs. After four games McNabb is hitting at 68% and has connected on 26 passes to T.O. for six touchdowns.

Does Brian Westbrook remind anyone else of Marshall Faulk in '99, when he rushed for 1,000 yards and caught passes for 1,000 yards? With 206 yards recieving and 347 yards rushing, Westbrook is on his way to having a banner year.

Remember when the Eagles couldn't stop anyone on the ground last year? They gave up just 32 yards to the NFC's top rusher yesterday. For the season, the Eagles are giving up just 89 yards a game. Big improvement over '03.

While officially he only got one tackle yesterday, Jevon Kearse was a real wrecking ball on the defensive front, enabling the Birds to pressure poor Mr. Quinn all day long and sack him four times. Have to wonder what he's going to do against the Panthers in two weeks.

The bad: Freddie Mitchell and Todd Pinkston continue to disappoint: a combined 4 catches for 46 yards. Boys, you need to step it up in a big way. With T.O. drawing the double-teams with the safety, you should be free to work some magic on the outside.

The ugly: durability is going to become an issue with Westbrook soon. I was happy to see Andy Reid give Levens some work yesterday, but with Westbrook catching passes left and right and running hard up the middle, is he going to be 100% for the playoffs? (Or even 70%?)

Now, a bye, that most magical of weekends when you get to relax and see what the rest of the NFL is up to. After that the Eagles gave games against teams that look fairly weak this year, the Browns and Panthers. Can't see why the Eagles won't be 6-0 going into the heart of their schedule.