Why Birds are going to the Super Bowl
The Philadelphia Daily News - Eagletarian
Why Birds are going to the Super Bowl
Daily New staff
5 REASONS EAGLES WILL WIN
1. Donovan McNabb, of course. In the win over the Giants, McNabb was by far the better quarterback. He was resourceful, tough and made plenty of correct decisions … playfully answering the Giants’ phone not being one of them. He’s getting great protection, something that shouldn’t be taken for granted.
2. Have you noticed how much smarter Andy Reid sounds these days at his (once-annoying) news conferences? Yep, you’ve got a winner in town. And Reid’s newly found genius might be too much for Cardinals second-year coach Ken Whisenhunt.
3. How good is this Eagles’ defense? Best ever? Better than the Reggie White-Jerome Brown top-ranked defense? Statistically, this year’s defense is not as good. Lately, this year’s group is coming up with one enormous play after another — as your replay of the Giants’ game shows.
4. David Akers was strong at Giants Stadium and he will be headed indoors in Arizona. That will shorten the field for the offense, and make them a threat to score frequently. Field goals are gold in a tight, defensive game.
5. With each week and each victory, fate is a factor. It’s not easy to believe in such things, but evidence continues to mount and, that’s right, the Super Bowl is in Tampa. Without the Bucs’ collapse, the Eagles don’t even make the playoffs. We make that point without once bringing up the Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays.
5 REASONS CARDINALS WILL WIN
1. Arizona’s Larry Fitzgerald might be the best receiver on the planet. He is big, strong and tough. He has made some of the season’s great catches in the playoffs alone. He goes up in the air with a defender, or two, and comes down with the ball.
2. Edgerrin James’ return to the offense has coincided with Arizona’s dominance. James is one of the NFL’s great backs and if he has a big game — and Brian Westbrook does not — the Cards have a great chance to win.
3. The Cardinals’ defense is underrated because no one knows their players. In the regular season, the Cardinals’ defense was ranked 19th. In the playoffs, they are ranked second and against Carolina it seemed they were getting turnovers every other possession.
4. Kurt Warner is a Super Bowl-winning quarterback (good for Cards). He is 37 years old (maybe bad for Cards). In the playoffs, he has completed 62.5 percent of his passes. He did even better in the regular season (67.1). If he stays upright and cool while the Eagles blitz their brains out, they might be partying in the desert.
5. If the Eagles players are as overconfident as their fans, and play that way, the Cardinals will win. It’s easy to look past the Cardinals, who were crushed at the Linc on Thanksgiving night. Just as the Eagles aren’t as bad now as they were in Cincinnati, the Cardinals aren’t as bad now as they were that night.
-- Chuck Bausman
To read the transcript of Sam Donnellon's chat from Arizona, click here.
Thank Heaven the Eagles have Asante Samuel back there. Without him covering Larry Fitz, we could be looking at a repeat of what Phoenix did to Carolina. I'm hoping I see more zone blitz's, where our D linemen drop off into coverage. Kurt may have a little more time, but less space to throw into. Very exciting times!— ItalianSausage- Overconfident, no way man. The Birds lost 3 of 4 NFC title games and I agree with Sarah89, I remember those games like they were yesterday. Especially the Tampa and Carolina games at home. I think with the experience factor and knowing what they did wrong in losing three title games in a row, they won't make the mistakes they did in the past. They have been here many times before and Arizona, it's only the first NFC Championship game in franchise history. I think the Phillies magic rubbed up on the guys across street, hopefully it will rub off on the Flyers as well. I think the Sixers are still a lost cause but are playing better. E-A-G-L-E-S Eagles. Go Birds. Don't Eagles fly higher than Cardinals??????— fedphilafan
- This thing reeks like 2004 with Carolina. I'm starting to get that sick feeling in my stomach.— bjlindy
- overconfident? im a nervous wreck, goodness we dang well BETTER win, but this team has me more scared than giants, I just KNEW we were beating the giants no question, but cardnials? im scared to death, everything is falling in our favor, but we not play Detroit this is a sneaky good team, Eagles better bring it 1000%— rayne215
- I bought a dog yesterday.— iggles48
- eagles won 48-20 in nov. anyone remember this? I do. Their defense is better than it was , but ours is amazing. eagles-34, cards-23— Will.i.Am
- our defense will not be a problem.. As long as the offense DOES NOT turn the ball over we will be fine..GO BIRDS!!— wolfie1159
- Eagles 28 Cards 17 Mcnabb will bring his "A" game [i hope] Warner sacked 4-5 times!— wolfie1159
- sarah89, remember that the 2002 Bucs defense had Warren Sapp, Simeon Rice, Derrick Brooks, John Lynch and Ronde Barber. They were a much better defense than the 2008-2009 Cards.— p-diddy
- I'm a Philly Phan. I have 3 dogs. They don't help much.— kat1005
Comment removed.- Any given Sunday.........— quizzmo
- Comment removed.
- Play at quarterback play at the "O" line play at the "D" line play on special teams play in the secondary.. thats why it's a team game no one man is going to lose or win this game As for Reid he has made some bad calls but he has also called us into the playoffs How many times?— wolfie1159
- I'm thinking this game being on the road is a blessing in disguise. The Eagles, and McNabb in particular, will play a little looser without having to worry about the crowd turning on them at the first sign of any sort of adversity. We all know they SHOULD win this game, but upsets happen all the time; how many people really had the Giants over the Pats last Feb?— JoePAVA
