IS BUYING CROSS-COUNTRY SKIS
What we're talking about after the Giants' win over Seattle:
1. The Giants are coming. The Giants are coming. After notching their third straight double-digit victory over a much-less-talented opponent, the 5-3 Eagles will find out a lot about themselves Sunday night when they face the 7-1 Giants.
2. Up-and-down Donovan. McNabb opened the game by completing just 3 of his first 13 passes. Also threw a he-should-know-better interception in the red zone. But he completed 25 of his last 30 passes and notched just his third multiple-TD game of the season.
3. How ‘bout that tight end? With L.J. Smith out with a concussion, Brent Celek stepped in and set a franchise record with 131 receiving yards on 6 catches. Those 131 yards were just 58 fewer than Eagles tight ends collectively racked up in the previous 7 games.
4. Is David Akers out of the woods? Akers had 4 field goals against the Seahawks, including a 42-yarder. He’s now made his last 9 attempts and is 19-for-23 overall. The 42-yarder was only his 4th in his last 16 attempts from 40-plus yards.
5. Jim Johnson’s faith in defensive end Darren Howard continues to pay off. Howard had 2 more sacks yesterday, giving him a team-high 6 ½. He also had 4 hurries and 2 tackles for losses. Eagles now have 27 sacks in 8 games.
Some other notes ...
* After giving up a 90-yard touchdown reception on the first defensive play of the game, the Eagles limited the Seahawks to just 143 yards of total offense on 54 plays (2.6 yards per play) throughout the remainder of the game. The Eagles forced the Seahawks to punt on their next 11 possessions, including seven three-and-outs. It was the second time this season the Eagles forced their opponent to punt on 10-or-more straight possessions (10 on 9/7 vs. St Louis).
* After starting the game 3-13, QB Donovan McNabb completed 13 straight passes (10 to finish the second quarter, three to start the third quarter), tying for the fifth-longest streak in team history. McNabb finished the game completing 25 of his last 30 passes, connecting with 10 different receivers, which tied his career high (12/30/07 vs. Buffalo). His 349 yards was the second-highest mark of the season for McNabb
* Tight end Brent Celek caught a career-high 6 passes and 131 yards, including a career-long 44-yarder. His 131 yards were the most ever by an Eagles tight end in the regular season. Keith Jackson had 7 receptions for 142 yards on 12/31/88 at Chicago in the Fog Bowl. The previous regular season high for a tight end was 126 yards by Jackson on 9/17/89 at Redskins
Les Bowen has covered the Eagles for the Daily News since 2002. Before that, he spent nearly 13 years covering the Flyers. It took Les only a few seasons after the switch to figure out that there was no penalty box at the Linc, and that the time really wasn't his, despite what Andy Reid kept saying. Les came to Philadelphia and the Daily News from Charlotte in 1983. In the intervening years, he has pretty much lost track of NASCAR, and his accent. He, his wife Barbara, and their two sons live in Haddon Township, New Jersey.
Paul Domowitch has been with the Daily News since 1982. He has spent most of his 27 years at the paper covering the Eagles and pro football. For the last 10 years, he’s been a selector for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. A native of Wilkes-Barre and a graduate of Wilkes University, Domo came to the Daily News from the Fort Worth (Tx.) Star-Telegram, where he covered some god-awful Texas Ranger baseball teams. His first beat at the Daily News actually wa s boxing, which he covered just long enough to lose two sports coats to blood spatter before moving on to football. Domo and his wife Shelley, a University of Oklahoma grad and very dangerous to be around following a Sooner loss, have been married 29 years and have raised 2 terrific daughters – Allison, 26, a lawyer and graduate of Boston University School of Law; and Amy, 23, who graduated from Clemson and works in marketing and sales for a professional baseball team.
