Here is our Second Take on the Eagles' win over Tampa Bay:

* You probably noticed that the Eagles blitzed a lot in Sunday’s win. How much? According to my unofficial calculations, 46 times on 75 snaps. Defensive coordinator Sean McDermott called blitzes on 23 of 43 snaps in the first half, but was just getting warmed up. In the second half, he called 22 blitzes on 32 plays, including nine plays in a row on one Tampa possession. All three of Josh Johnson’s interceptions came against blitzes. But so too, did both of his touchdown passes to Kellen Winslow.

* Andy Reid regularly rotated Brian Westbrook and LeSean McCoy. The Eagles ran just 48 offensive plays against the Bucs. McCoy was in for 23 of them and Westbrook for 20. They lined up in the same formation just once. That was early in the fourth quarter. Donovan McNabb completed a 5-yard pass to Jeremy Maclin on the play.

* The Bucs ran the spread-option on their first possession of the game, with Johnson pitching the ball to running back Cadillac Williams. But defensive end Juqua Parker, who lined up as a standup rusher, stayed in front of the play and prevented Williams from turning it upfield. Cornerback Asante Samuel got credit for the tackle on the 5-yard loss, but it was Parker who made the play.

* Defensive tackle Antonio Dixon got his most playing time of the season and played well, often lining up right over center Sean Mahan. Mahan was no match for Dixon’s strength. On a second-and-10 run by Williams on the Bucs’ second possession, Dixon had pushed Mahan 2 yards into the backfield before Williams got the handoff. He had to bounce it outside, where Omar Gaither tackled him for a 4-yard loss.

* Donovan McNabb played a practically perfect game. The only really poor pass he made was to Jason Avant on the Eagles’ second possession. Avant was open on a crossing route in front of strong safety Sabby Piscatelli for what would’ve been at least a 20-yard gain, but McNabb badly overshot him.

* The Bucs’ receivers had two costly drops early in the game. Johnson made a great throw to Antonio Bryant against a blitz on third-and-14 on their second possession that Bryant dropped. On their next possession, on a fourth-and-2 at the Philadelphia 26, Johnson hit Michael Clayton for what should’ve been a first down at the Philadelphia 19. But Clayton failed to hang on to the ball after getting hit by Sheldon Brown.

* The Eagles deserved most of the flags they drew Sunday. But the offensive pass interference call on DeSean Jackson late in the first quarter was lame. I think the official was fooled by Jackson’s stopping ability and figured he had to have pushed off cornerback Aqib Talib to create that much separation.

Just Wondering

* Why the Bucs’ nickel back, Elbert Mack, was covering Maclin on his 51-yard first quarter TD catch? The Eagles lined up in a three-wide receiver set, with Maclin wide left. To Mack’s credit, he managed to stay with Maclin until he turned to locate the ball, which enabled Maclin to get enough separation to make the catch.

* If we’ll see more of linebacker Chris Gocong as a blitzer? Gocong notched his first sack of the season Sunday. He was a pass-rushing defensive end at Cal-Poly that the Eagles converted to a strongside linebacker. Jim Johnson always talked about using him as a blitzer, but seldom did.

* Is it humanly possible for Asante Samuel to make a tackle without grabbing a facemask or hurting himself?

* What was Raheem Morris thinking passing on two field-goal opportunities in the first half. He went for it on fourth-and-1 at the Philadelphia 23 in the second quarter with the Bucs only trailing 7-0. A fumbled snap killed that drive. He also passed on a field goal with 6 seconds left in the first half when the Bucs had the ball at the Philadelphia 8. Johnson ended up throwing an interception on the final play of the half.

Eagles coach Andy Reid talked Monday at his day-after news conference about trying to spread the ball around among his sudden plethora of weapons, a tough task in a game such as Sunday's, when the Birds ran just 19 plays in the first half, 48 in the game, including garbage-time snaps.

Asked about DeSean Jackson, whose only catch was a 1-yarder from Michael Vick, Reid said: "He's a competitive little guy, man ... you're going to run into games like that every once in a while. You work through it. We'll get back at it on Wednesday, and keep trying to design ways to get him the football."

Reid and Donovan McNabb said after Sunday's 33-14 victory over Tampa that the Bucs rolled their coverage to Jackson, a big part of why rookie Jeremy Maclin always seemed open, to the tune of 6 catches for 142 yards and his first 2 NFL TDs.

"Those things happen," said Reid, who quoted slot receiver Jason Avant's assertion that "when one of the receivers makes a catch, they all make a catch -- it's all for one there."

Musketeer allusions aside, Jackson left the locker room Sunday before reporters were allowed in. Brian Westbrook made it clear in his postgame news conference that BWest expects more than 8 touches a game going forward, now that his ankle is healthy.

This is not a problem Reid has had to worry about very often in the past. In 2004, there were some games when Freddie Mitchell was grumbly over being ignored for Terrell Owens, but most observers just rolled their eyes at that. Freddie had no platform for complaint. Westbrook and Jackson kinda do. 

The Eagles might want to add a fulltime ego masseuse to their training staff.

Speaking of injuries, Reid said cornerback Sheldon Brown suffered an abdominal strain in Sunday's game and was day-to-day. Brown said afterward he expects to be fine for this week's game at Oakland. CB and special teams gunner Dimitri Patterson (quad) probably won't play, Reid said. 

For now, wideout Kevin Curtis remains sidelined with a kneee problem. Reid said LG Todd Herremans is "making progress" with his repaired foot. It will be interesting to see if Herremans practices this week.

Asante Samuel's calf problem apparently is no big deal, which is what Samuel said after the game.

Join Daily News columnist Paul Domowitch for a live chat at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Here are our grades for the Eagles' 33-14 win over Tampa Bay:

RUSHING OFFENSE
The Eagles only rushed for 76 yards and 30 of those came on two runs by quarterback Donovan McNabb. Brian Westbrook and LeSean McCoy combined for just 32 yards on 12 carries. Not good. Particularly against a defense that was ranked 30th against the run going in. Grade: D
 

PASSING OFFENSE
Back after missing two games with a fractured rib, Donovan McNabb turned in one of the better performances of his career. He completed 16 of 21 passes and threw for three TDs, including two to rookie Jeremy Maclin, who finished with 142 receiving yards. Grade: A-plus

RUN DEFENSE
The Bucs had 85 rushing yards, but 40 of them came on five scrambles by quarterback Josh Johnson. Their two running backs, Cadillac Williams and Derrick Ward, were held to 45 yards on 16 carries, though Ward broke free for a 28-yard gain on third-and-15 late in the second quarter. Grade: A-minus
 

PASS DEFENSE
Yes, they intercepted Josh Johnson three times. But they also gave up two TD passes to tight end Kellen Winslow and allowed a disturbing 13 passing first downs, which was just two less than they gave up to the Saints’ Drew Brees. Grade: C-minus

SPECIAL TEAMS
They had two dumb early penalties and gave up 34- and 38-yard kickoff returns to Clifton Smith. Their return game wasn’t productive. David Akers nailed his only field-goal attempt – a 44-yarder – and punter Sav Rocca had one of the best days of his career. He had a 48.8-yard gross average and a 43.4 net average. Grade: C-plus

OVERALL
The good news is they beat a team they should have beaten and gave yet another indication that their passing game is going to be special this season. The bad news is they didn’t run the ball well and allowed the league’s second-worst third-down offense to convert nine of 18 times. Grade: B

To read Andy Reid's postgame remarks, click here

To read Les Bowen's thoughts from the game as it happened, click here.

The Eagles went to 11-0 after the bye under Andy Reid and the coach won his 100th game with a 33-14 dismantling of the winless Tampa Bay Bucs at the Linc. The Eagles improved to 3-1.

“I’d rather have a hundred than nothing," Reid said of the milestone. "I appreciate you asking, but I’m not really into all that.”

As for things that Reid is into -- the Eagles' success this season -- the biggest issue facing the Birds coming out of today's game is another sloppy effort with 10 penalties.

"Too many penalties," Reid said to start his postgame news conference. "Every win is a good win in the National Football League, but we have to sharpen it up ...  All in all, a good day, but plenty of things to work on."

Other comments from Reid:

On Jeremiah Trotter's return: “He ended up with 20 plays. That's right about where we wanted to get him, 20 to 25 snaps … He’s been sitting on a couch. He’ll be the first to tell you when you’re sitting on the couch and come back, the game is faster … He got in there, mixed it up, had a couple of nice snaps. It was good for him.” 

On Kevin Curtis' role when he returns, given Jeremy Maclin's performance: "It was a great job by Jeremy. It's great to have two players that we know can play that well." 

On Donovan McNabb's return: "He felt pretty good [during practice this week]. He took a couple of hits, not many. He tweaked it a little bit. From a confidence standpoint, that was good for him."

On the Wildcat: "I haven't looked at the stats, but it doesn’t jump up at me like it’s phenomenal. It wasn’t blowing my blouse, I’ll tell you that."

On Michael Vick relieving Donovan McNabb: "I wanted to get him some game reps. Kevin has had the game reps. Michael needs it. He’s at that point now where he can utilize some game snaps."

On LeSean McCoy rotating with a returning Brian Westbrook: "This is all getting Brian back in where he’s comfortable."

On the injury front, Ellis Hobbs will have an MRI for a sprained wrist, Asante Samuel will have an MRI for a calf strain.

This has been a messy, off-kilter game, but maybe the Eagles have restored order with a two-play, 27-yard touchdown drive that gave them a 28-7 lead midway through the third. Brian Westbrook caught a 20-yard pass, after Asante Samuel's second interception of the day. Then, a real rarity -- a 7-yard Westbrook touchdown run off tackle, that was really well-blocked by the o-line. Not from the Wildcat, or with Leonard Weaver quarterbacking, or anything, just a plain old touchdown run.

Previously: Halftime has come, after a really strange Bucs drive that included a 15-yard ramble with a deflected pass by offensive tackle Donald Penn. The Birds were fortunate that the final play was an Asante Samuel pick of another deflection.

Had rookie Tampa Bay coach Raheem Morris not taken the field goal attempt out of his playbook this week, the score could be 21-16 instead of 21-7. The Eagles have taken 8 penalties for 75 yards, which is really absurd and undisciplined.

On the positive side, Donovan McNabb, who has hardly been on the field, has made the most of his 11 pass attempts, completing 8 for 180 yards and 3 TDs. That's 16.4 yards per attempt. Jeremy Maclin has three catches for 108 yards and 2 of the TDs. Brian Westbrook has just three carries for 8 yards, but the Birds have run just 19 plays, in eight minutes and 53 seconds of possession time.

Dimitri Patterson seemed to blow out a quad on a punt cover, and Ellis Hobbs is getting x-rays for a wrist injury.

Previously:Well, just when the blowout skids seemed greased, Josh Johnson drove the Bucs 80 yards in five plays against a sleepwalking Eagles secondary, culminating in a 9-yard TD pass to tight end Kellen Winslow, against Macho Harris/ Harris had a hand on the ball and Winslow was moving it around as he danced out of the back of the end zone, but the TD held up under review.

As we were typing this, though, Donovan McNabb hit Jeremy Maclin from 40 yards for Maclin's second TD and a 21-7 Birds lead.

Previously: Eagles penalties fueled a really frustrating Tampa drive, but it ended in disaster for the winless Bucs -- quel surprise -- when QB Josh Johnson fumbled a fourth-and-1 snap at the Birds' 24. Akeem Jordan dug the ball out and ran it in for an Eagles TD, that was overturned on review. Ruling was that Johnson had pinned the ball against his leg briefly while the Birds were digging it out. No worries; it took Donovan McNabb six plays to make it 14-0, on a 20-yard TD pass to fullback Leonard Weaver.

Previously: We're so sorry, Uncle Elbert: Eagles' second play, Donovan McNabb throws a perfect strike over Tampa CB Elbert Mack -- good job keeping the ball away from Ronde Barber there, DMac -- 51 yards for a TD to rookie Jeremy Maclin. It's Maclin's first NFL TD. Probably not his last. BTW, Jeremiah Trotter started at middle linebacker.

Previously: Inactives are in and there are a few mild surprises --- the Eagles arefully activating three quarterbacks, meaning a special teams player is inactive who otherwise would play. In this case, that would be either Quintin Demps or Joe Mays, neither of whom will suit up against Tampa.

The other surprise is that defensive tackle Trevor Laws is inactive, in favor of preseason pickup Antonio Dixon. As expected, Kevin Curtis is inactive, replaced in the starting lineup by Jeremy Maclin.

Brandon Gibson, Mike McGlynn, Todd Herremans and Jason Babin also will not play. Stay tuned.

***

Earlier:  The Eagles are back in action after te bye, facing the winless Tampa Bay Bucs at the Linc ...

Stay with Eagletarian all day for posts before and after the game from the stadium, but we kick off Week 5 with our staff predictions and key matchups:

STAFF PREDICTIONS

Les Bowen: Eagles, 27-10 (More on Les' selection here)

Ed Barkowitz: Eagles, 31-10

Paul Domowitch: Eagles, 38-10

Marcus Hayes: Eagles, 28-17

John Smallwood: Eagles, 30-10

Vegas Vic: Eagles, 31-10 (Here is Vic's take on Week 5)

DOMO'S KEY MATCHUPS

1. Eagles SS Quintin Mikell vs. Bucs TE Kellen Winslow: Mikell was one of the keys to the Eagles' second-half improvement vs. opposing TEs last season. Advantage: Eagles

2. Eagles MLBs Omar Gaither/Jeremiah Trotter vs. Bucs RBs Cadillac Williams/Derrick Ward: Williams is averaging 5.0 yards per carry. He rushed for 97 yards on 13 carries in Week 1 vs. Dallas. Advantage: Even

3. Eagles WR DeSean Jackson vs. Bucs CB Aqib Talib: Talib, who had three interceptions last week vs. Redskins, is one of the league's better young cover corners. Jackson is averaging 21.6 yards per catch and has two TDs. Advantage: Eagles

Turns out, that big ice pack Kevin Curtis was wearing on his left knee Thursday was a harbinger. Curtis did not practice Friday and is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against Tampa Bay because of the knee problem, which caused him to miss the last game, against Kansas City.

Eagles coach Andy Reid said Jeremy Maclin will again start in Curtis's spot. It's obvious that this could become a permanent arrangement, with Curtis limping toward a second successive injury-marred season. Maclin, the Eagles' top draft pick this past spring, caught four passes for 33 yards against KC.

"He's worked very hard. He's a smart kid," Reid said of Maclin.

"I hope it is" the start of a long run in the lineup, Maclin said. "I have no control over that."

Maclin strarted to come on in Week 2, after barely seeing the field in the opener, which means he has yet to catch a regular-season pass from Donovan McNabb. The Birds' QB is returning this week from a two-game rib injury absence.

" 'Five' came back and didn't miss a beat; he's still one of the best quarterbacks," Maclin said. "He's going to put the ball on the money ... I think I've gotten (his trust)."

***

Reid was asked Friday about team president Joe Banner's reiteration in a Comcast interview that he expects to sign Reid to another coaching deal. Reid, who can gain his 100th Eagles win Sunday in his 11th season, is signed through 2010. There have been indications the Eagles are in the process of hammering out a new agreement with their winningest coach.

"I love the Philadelphia Eagles, but right now, I'm focused on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers," Reid said Friday, when asked about contract talks.

***

Each week, Daily News football writer Paul Domowitch will tell you the things he will be keeping his eyes on during that week’s game:

1. Tampa Bay’s elusive QB: The Bucs have benched Byron Leftwich and gone to second-year man Josh Johnson, who is short on experience but long on escapability. He runs a sub-4.5 40-yard dash and can do some damage with his legs if the Eagles don’t maintain their rush lanes and keep him in the pocket.

2. Trotter’s return: The Eagles have brought the former Pro Bowl middle linebacker back, and Sunday we’ll get a chance to see how they’re going to use him and how much gas he has left in his tank. With an inexperienced quarterback, the Bucs are going to want to give the ball to Cadillac Williams as much as possible.

3. Eagles’ third-down defense: The Eagles are second in the league in third-down defense after pitching an 0-for-11 shutout against the Chiefs 2 weeks ago. Now they go against a Bucs offense that has managed to convert just two of its last 22 third-down opportunities. Look for a lot of three-and-outs.

4. Mixmaster Andy: With Donovan McNabb back after missing the last two games with a fractured rib, we’re going to get our first look at how Andy Reid mixes Michael Vick and the spread with McNabb and the West Coast, and whether Vick’s in-and-out presence effects the flow of the McNabb-led offense. Vick was on the field for 11 of 63 snaps in Week 3.

5. The tight ends:  The Eagles’ Brent Celek already has 22 catches in three games and is going up against a defense that has not done a very good job of shutting down opposing tight ends. Meanwhile, the Bucs’ Kellen Winslow is his team’s leading receiver (17 catches). His speed makes him a tough matchup for opposing linebackers and safeties.
 

Eagles defensive coordinator Sean McDermott said linebacker Omar Gaither remains a big part of the defense regardless of the signing of Jeremiah Trotter.

"His impact on this team will not change," McDermott said of Gaither.

That seems to indicate that McDermott might take it slow with Trot this week. "It's one step at a time with Jeremiah," he said. Trotter said that all indications are he will play a strong role on first and second down, especially with the Bucs being so run-oriented.

Linebacker Tracy White also will see some time in the nickel, the Eagles trying to do better against tight ends. White called Kellen Winslow Jr. "a big, fast tight end" who will require special attention.

On offense, coordinator Marty Mornhinweg said a big offensive focus will be to "know where Ronde Barber is." Barber ran two Donovan McNabb picks back for touchdowns in the last meeting, 3 years ago, and of course, ran one all the way back in the NFC Championship Game that closed Veterans Stadium in 2003.

Mornhinweg reiterated what Andy Reid has said about accomodating both Brian Westbrook and LeSean McCoy into the gameplan.

More to come ...

Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb said he will wear protection for his cracked rib during Sunday's game against Tampa Bay.

McNabb broke the rib in the season opener against Carolina and has missed the last two games.

He said he still feels twinges "laughing, coughing, sleeping on your side," but expects to be fully healed 6-8 weeks after injury.

McNabb was asked about Rush Limbaugh's interest in purchasing the St. Louis Rams. Limbaugh famously criticized McNabb during Limbaugh's ill-fated stint on ESPN in 2003. McNabb said he did not care. "I'm not going to St. Louis anytime soon," he said.

McNabb also said he thought the play he was injured on should have been a penalty against Carolina nose tackle nose tackle Damione Lewis, who dived onto McNabb after the quarterback hit the end zone turf. McNabb, hit by corner Richard Marshall at the goalline, spun off that collision and scored, only to get drilled rolling on the ground.

"He did (come in late), but there's nothing you can do about it at this point," McNabb said. "Maybe I should have jumped up like Tom Brady did (last Sunday vs. the Ravens) and asked for the flag. It's over with. That was weeks ago ... I won't be the last it happens to."

McNabb praised the play of backup Kevin Kolb in his absence, and said he will not begrudge Michael Vick's snaps. He said the Wildcat.has progressed far beyond where it was in the third preseason game, when McNabb famously gestured to offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg that it was time to cut short the experiment.

In other news:

* Left guard Todd Herremans is out of the boot protecting his surgically repaired food and running in a pool. He remains on target to return Oct. 26 against Washington. Herremans said he is "very encouraged."

* Coach Andy Reid said the main factor in the re-signing of Jeremiah Trotter was the status of his knee. Trotter, who has had knee issues since college, was unable to straighten his leg two years ago, Reid said, which weakened his quad and glute muscles and dramatically affected his mobility. Reid said Trotter's knee, cleaned out early in 2008, did not swell at all through last week's extensive workouts.  

* Linebacker Omar Gaither was asked for his feelings on the Trotter signing, since his job is presumably most in peril.

"There's not a guy in the league I respect more, so that makes it easier," Gaither said. He said he sees it as "another one of those things .... I just keep rolling on."

He said considering Trotter taught him the defense, it is weird that Trot is now seeking advice from him on the new wrinkles.