Here's our weekly visit from Dave Staley of sportsbook.com, followed by my Week 9 picks.

Q: What do you make of the Eagles-Cowboys line for Sunday night's game?

A: As of now, the line for Sunday night’s game is holding steady at the Eagles minus-3, which is exactly where we opened it. However, when we opened this line, the juice was the standard minus-110 on both sides. Now, if you want to play Dallas, the juice is minus-120, whereas you can wager on the Eagles at ‘even’ or no juice. Obviously the early bettors like this juice-free wager as 84 percent of the early cash is backing the Eagles.
 
Unlike last week, I think this line is pretty sharp and falls right where it should. Both teams are pretty equal at this point of the season, as Dallas is coming off of three straight wins while the Eagles have put together two consecutive victories. Additionally, both teams covered each of their last two games.
 
Considering the unwritten rule that home teams usually get right around a field goal, it makes perfect sense that the Birds are favored by that exact amount.
 
One trend that Eagles bettors should be happy to hear: the Cowboys are just 1-5 against the spread in their last six games as underdogs.

Q: And what about the over-under?
 
A: The total is currently at 49 points. This is well above the average total, but with the way these teams put points on the board, it is easy to see why. Combined, they average 57.1 points per game.
 
Defensively, they combine to give up just 38.4 PPG. Philly has not let an opponent score more than 17 points since Week 2. That stat alone makes me think there is a little extra value on the under.
 
The bettors don’t agree as 97 percent of the money is on the over.

My take

When the Eagles have the ball, the formula will be similar to what we've seen all year. The Eagles should be able to hit on some big plays down the field. The keys, as always, will be the offensive line and Donovan McNabb. Jason Peters has had some lapses in the last couple weeks, and things get no easier here with DeMarcus Ware lined up on the other side of the ball. There's no doubt in my mind that Ware is going to get to McNabb at least a couple times. It's imperative that McNabb feels the pressure and takes care of the football. With the way the Cowboys' offense is playing, the Eagles do not want to provide them with a short field.

When the Cowboys hve the ball, the key is pressure on Tony Romo. And from what I saw from watching Dallas' game last week, the Eagles need pressure up the middle. Romo did a good job against the Seahawks when the pressure came off the edges, stepping up and finding open receivers.

I think the Birds will be able to pressure him and force turnovers as they've done all season and hit on some big plays on offense.

The pick: Eagles (-3)

Week 9 picks

Last week: 5-8
Overall: 57-56-1

CHIEFS (+7) at Jaguars
RAVENS (-3) at Bengals
COLTS (-9) vs. Texans
FALCONS (-9) vs. Redskins
PACKERS (-10) at Bucs
CARDINALS (+3) at Bears
DOLPHINS (+10.5) at Patriots
SAINTS (-13) vs. Panthers (MC's Pick of the Week. Pay attention. He's now 6-2 on the season)
SEAHAWKS (-10) vs. Lions
49ERS (-4) vs. Titans
CHARGERS (+4.5) at Giants
STEELERS (-3) at Broncos

Linebacker Will Witherspoon was the Eagles' most frequent blitzer last weekend against the Giants. (AP)

The Cowboys have allowed 13 sacks this season. Only three NFC teams have given up fewer.

So a major question facing the Eagles Sunday night is: How should they go about getting pressure on Tony Romo?

I went back and took a look at the Eagles' defensive performance against the Giants to see how often they blitzed Eli Manning and company. A breakdown of that is below.

But first, a quick note on the offense, and specifically Stacy Andrews. You probably noticed Andrews on the field more last week, rotating with Nick Cole at right guard. That might have had something to do with the fact that the Eagles were up big, and Andy Reid wanted to get Andrews work.

Or maybe it means Andrews is progressing and could be ready to take over the starting spot soon.

Reid rotates the guards on a possession-by-possession basis. Cole and Andrews each played five possessions against the Giants. During six first-half possessions, it was Cole for four and Andrews for two. Andrews played the final three drives of the game, with the Eagles protecting a big lead.

Just something to keep an eye on this week against Dallas.

Now on to the blitzes. Eli Manning dropped back 43 times. Here's a breakdown of how many players the Eagles rushed on those plays:

Four (23)
Five (11)
Six (7)
Seven (1)
Nine (1)

So overall they sent just four guys after Manning on 53 percent of the Giants' passing plays. But numbers don't tell the whole story, given the way the game played out. Some notes:

** The Eagles rushed four defenders on 11 of the Giants' final 13 plays, when the game was already in the bag. Perhaps a more accurate number to look at would be the first half. Manning dropped back 17 times before halftime. Here's how it broke down:

Four (7)
Five (5)
Six (5)

So in the first half, the Eagles sent four men after Manning on 41 percent of the plays.

** Linebacker Will Witherspoon was the Eagles' most frequent blitzer. He blitzed on 14 different plays. Interesting that a guy who was lauded for his skills in coverage when he arrived is being used so frequently as a blitzer. It's only been two games, but Sean McDermott has not been shy in using Witherspoon in a variety of ways.

** Sean Jones was the DB who blitzed the most. He went after Manning six times.

** The Eagles only rushed four on Asante Samuel's first-quarter interception.

** On a couple plays, the Eagles rushed five, but no linebackers or defensive backs. In the first half, they had a line of Jason Babin, Mike Patterson, Antonio Dixon, Trevor Laws and Trent Cole. In the second half on one play, the line looked like this: Juqua Parker, Dixon, Jason Babin, Darren Howard and Cole.

** Chris Clemons dropped back into coverage on a play in the first half as Witherspoon, Jones and Joselio Hanson blitzed Manning.

** The Eagles rushed five on the Quintin Demps interception.

** The nine-man rush was when the Giants had the ball inside the Eagles' 1-yard line in the second half.

** The seven-man rush was Jones, Akeem Jordan and Witherspoon.

I just watch the extended highlights of the Cowboys' win over the Seahawks last week. Here are some observations about Dallas and this weekend's matchup:

1. Tony Romo had plenty of time to drop back and get comfortable. When there was pressure, it was usually off the edges, and Romo was good at stepping up and finding his receivers. He has thrown eight touchdowns and no interceptions in his last three games.

2. Romo and Miles Austin appear to have a great amount of trust. There were a couple plays where Austin was covered, but Romo threw to him anyway and allowed him to make plays on the ball. The timing was there on a couple nice slants. Austin also had a carry on an end around for 11 yards.

3. A Julius Jones fumble set up the Cowboys' second touchdown drive, which required them to go just 30 yards. In other words, let's continue to work on that ball security, LeSean McCoy.

4. The Cowboys' running backs did a good job of picking up oncoming blitzers. Fullback Deon Anderson looked like a very capable blocker.

5. Felix Jones had some very nice moments. The second-year running back had eight carries for 39 yards and also had a 30-yard reception. He could see more touches, particularly if the Eagles bottle up Marion Barber.

6. Patrick Crayton returned a punt 82 yards for a touchdown against Seattle. The week before he took one 73 yards to the house. Also on the special teams front, the Cowboys have 17 touchbacks on kickoffs, the most of any team in the league. They've kicked touchbacks on 40.5 percent of their kickoffs, also tops in the NFL.

7. We all know about the problems the Eagles have had covering opposing tight ends this season. And we all know how good Jason Witten is. Obviously this will be a big factor Sunday night. But also keep an eye on the Cowboys' second tight end, Martellus Bennett. Not monster numbers, but he does have five catches in the last two games. Bennett picked up 13 yards on a screen pass against Seattle.

8. There's always talk around these parts about Donovan McNabb spreading the ball around. The Cowboys completed passes to 10 different receivers last week.

9. Don't forget that the Eagles have former Cowboys defensive coordinator Brian Stewart on their coaching staff. It'll be interesting to see how his knowledge of Dallas' schemes helps the Eagles in preparation.

10. If the Eagles can protect McNabb, he should be able to do some damage. The Cowboys' pass defense ranks 22nd in the league. They've only intercepted four passes all season. In the NFC, only Washington and Seattle have picked off fewer.

Cowboys wide receiver Roy Williams has not lived up to expectations since Dallas traded for him. (AP)

After cutting ties with Terrell Owens in the offseason, the question for the Cowboys became: Who would step up as the  No. 1 receiver?

After all, despite all the drama, T.O. had accounted for 38 touchdowns in three seasons in Dallas.

The projected No. 1 was Roy Williams. The Cowboys traded a first-round, third-round, sixth-round and seventh-round pick to the Lions to acquire the wide receiver last season.

But the results can be described as nothing short of disastrous.

Williams has just 14 catches for 249 yards and a pair of touchdowns in six games. In the past two weeks, Williams has just three receptions for 35 yards, and it appears his frustration is mounting.

"It's just not even close," Williams said of his chemistry with Tony Romo, per Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. "It's not even funny. Not even close."

While Williams hasn't been productive, wide receiver has not been a weakness for the Cowboys with the emergence of Miles Austin, who is third in the NFC with 563 receiving yards. He piled up 421 yards in a two-week stretch against the Chiefs and Falcons and has five touchdowns in his last three games.

According to Williams, part of the reason Austin is having more success than him is the way Romo delivers the ball.

"He gets the ball thrown correctly his way," Williams said of Austin. "I'm stretching and falling and doing everything. Everybody [else] who's been here's balls are there. Our footballs [from Romo to Williams] are everywhere right now."

Williams faced the Eagles once last year and had two catches for 4 yards.

Much more to come later.

The Eagles had five penalties for 45 yards Sunday against the Giants.

Jason Peters was called for holding in the first quarter to negate a touchdown to Brent Celek. But Celek ended up catching another one minutes later.

Jason Babin was whistled for a 15-yard horse collar, chasing Eli Manning out of bounds.

Stacy Andrews had a false start, Sheldon Brown was offsides and Moise Fokou held on a special teams play. It was Brown's first penalty of the season.

The Birds also had a couple offsetting penalties, including one on Sean Jones for pass interference.

Overall, two on offense, two on defense and one on special teams.

Here's the breakdown on the season:

Number of penalties

Stacy Andrews - 5
Nick Cole - 3
DeSean Jackson - 3
Darren Howard - 3
Jason Peters - 3
Todd Herremans - 2
Sean Jones - 2
Asante Samuel – 2
Macho Harris – 2
Quintin Demps - 2
Jason Babin - 2
Donovan McNabb - 2
Moise Fokou - 2
Winston Justice - 1
Mike Patterson - 1
Juqua Parker - 1
Chris Clemons - 1
Joselio Hanson - 1
Leonard Weaver – 1
Jason Avant – 1
Tracy White – 1
Trent Cole - 1
Eldra Buckley – 1
Dimitri Patterson - 1
Chris Gocong – 1
Victor Abiamiri - 1
Sheldon Brown - 1

Note: The Eagles' defense was called for an offsides in Week 1 (officially 6 yards), but it was not attributed to any one player. The 'D' was also called for a 5-yard illegal contact penalty in Week 6 and an offsides in Week 7. Penalties that were declined were not included in the breakdown.

Penalty yards

D. Jackson – 30
Harris – 30
Samuel - 28
Andrews – 25
Gocong - 24
Demps – 22
Babin - 20
Peters - 20
Fokou - 20
Parker - 15
Avant - 15
Jones - 15
Howard - 15
N. Cole - 15
Abiamiri -12
Clemons - 11
McNabb - 10
Herremans - 7
Howard – 7
White - 6
Justice - 5
M. Patterson - 5
Hanson - 5
D. Patterson - 5
Buckley - 5
T. Cole - 5
S. Brown - 5
Weaver - 3

By unit

Offense – 19 for 112
Defense – 18 for 172
Special teams – 13 for 117

While catching up on some online reading, I stumbled upon an absolute gem from Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times.

Farmer caught up with Troy Aikman for some perspective on Brett Favre's return to Green Bay last weekend. You know -- the whole bitter return to face your old team angle.

But how would Aikman be able to shed any light on that topic? It's not like he returned from retirement to play with the Eagles or Redskins against the Cowboys.

Well, apparently, he almost did.

Aikman tells Farmer the story of how Andy Reid called him during the 2002 season and tried to lure him out of retirement to play for the Birds after Donovan McNabb went down with an ankle injury.

You remember the stretch. McNabb played with a broken ankle and threw four touchdowns against the Arizona Cardinals, but missed the final six games of the regular season.

Koy Detmer got the start on a Monday night in San Francisco and played out of his mind before getting injured. A.J. Feeley filled in, and the Birds finished the season 12-4. They beat the Falcons in the divisional round and then faced Tampa Bay in the final game at the Vet, and well... let's just get back to Aikman.

The former Cowboys quarterback was already in his current role as an analyst with Fox. At 35, he hadn't played in the NFL since 2000.

"Andy was giving me all the reasons why this would be good, why this would work," Aikman told Farmer. "So I went to bed that night and said, 'I can wake up tomorrow and spend a nice couple of days in Santa Barbara. Or, I can be in frigid Philadelphia getting my brains kicked in,' "

Aikman explained that his decision had nothing to do with the Eagles-Cowboys rivalry and an inability to play in Philadephia. It had more to do with him knowing it was only a temporary situation until McNabb got healthy.

But, wow. What a story. Who knew?

And so that's how we kick off Dallas week. Obviously much more to come on the Eagles-Cowboys matchup on Wednesday.

Note: A reader tells me that this was discussed during the game, but I missed it since I was at the Linc.

Note 2: I see some of you already knew about this. I missed it at the time, perhaps since I wasn't living in Philly then. But my deepest apologies for wasting 45 seconds of your day.

The Eagles' defense did a great job against Eli Manning and the Giants. ( Michael S. Wirtz / Staff Photographer )

Yesterday, we did the offense.

Today, the defense.

A player-by-player look at the Eagles' defensive performance in their 40-17 win over the Giants on Sunday:

Juqua Parker - OK game from Parker. The Giants definitely preferred running to his side and had some success in spots. He made a couple good plays as a pass rusher, once getting good pressure on Eli Manning to force an incompletion in the third quarter.

Jason Babin - He saw increased playing time with Victor Abiamiri still out of the lineup. Made a couple bad plays - once on the fumbled kickoff return, and later on a horse collar on Manning. Babin did have a sack and made a couple nice plays against the run.

Chris Clemons – He probably should have had half-a-sack after missing Manning the first time but then chasing him down. If my memory serves me correctly, the announcer at the Linc actually did give him credit right after the play.

Mike Patterson - The Eagles' defensive tackles had an excellent showing. Patterson took up space and made some nice plays against the run. He also did a better than normal job as a pass rusher, getting a hit in on Manning in the first quarter.

Broderick Bunkley - He left the game with an injury in the first half, but later returned. Bunkley's been good all season, and Sunday was no exception. He did a great job against the run and got good pressure on Manning before he unleashed a 34-yard completion to Hakeem Nicks in the second quarter.

Antonio Dixon and Trevor Laws - Listing them together because both guys were part of Sean McDermott's defensive tackle rotation. Dixon has been a pleasant surprise. He looked good against the run and even notched a sack on the game's final play. Laws didn't do much to stand out, but was OK.

Trent Cole - For those of you who think the sack stat is overrated, Cole's performance Sunday should be your No. 1 example. He was quite possibly the best player on defense, getting good, consistent pressure on Manning and making some terrific plays against the run. It was Cole's first game of the season without a sack, but that doesn't really matter.

Akeem Jordan - Active and consistent, as usual. Jordan led the Eagles with nine tackles. He was run over by Brandon Jacobs on the Giants' first offensive play but was very good after that. He made some very nice plays against the run and did a good job to blow up a wide receiver screen to Domenik Hixon.

Will Witherspoon - I like doing Man Up every week because I'm able to catch things I miss the first time. One was the play of Witherspoon. After Sunday's game, I thought he had played OK. After re-watching, I think he was outstanding. Some really impressive plays against the run, and an above average job as a blitzer. He batted down a Manning pass on third down on one play and got good pressure on another to force an incompletion. It's only been two games, but it sure looks like the Eagles got themselves quite a player from the Rams.

Chris Gocong - Not much to report. He was in and out of the game with a couple injuries.

Moise Fokou - Replaced Gocong in the second quarter, but I didn't really notice him do much when he was on the field.

Jeremiah Trotter - He barely got on the field. The first time I noticed him was on a first down at the start of the second quarter. Trotter was also in there on a 3rd-and-1 in the third. He did not get on the stat sheet and doesn't appear to have much of a role going forward, barring injuries.

Asante Samuel - We take him to task at times for his tackling, but when Samuel said the Eagles knew what he was about when they signed him, he's right. He's here to create turnovers, and he's done that well. Samuel had a nice interception and 37-yard return in the first quarter, giving him five picks on the season, third in the league. He also put a good hit on Nicks on a wide receiver screen in the fourth quarter.

Sheldon Brown - He got beat by Nicks for a 34-yard catch in the second quarter. Brown's coverage was good. Nicks just made a good play on the ball. He had an interception disallowed because of a holding penalty. Sinorice Moss also beat him for a potential touchdown, but Manning's throw was off. It looked like Brown got turned around on the play. Overall, an OK performance. But not one of Brown's best.

Joselio Hanson - He was on the field quite a bit and was beat by Steve Smith multiple times on third-down conversions.

Quintin Mikell - Not a great performance from Mikell. He dropped a couple interceptions in the second quarter, or Manning's numbers really would have looked bad. Mikell made a good tackle on Smith to stop him short of a first down on a third-down play. The Eagles' defensive backs have done a nice job overall on those plays. Mikell got beat on Kevin Boss' touchdown in the second.

Quintin Demps - The interception was thrown right to him, but hey, Demps still had to make the catch. The Eagles seemed to use three safeties more than usual, possibly as a solution to covering the tight end? Demps seemed pretty active when he was on the field and finished with four tackles.

Sean Jones - Andy Reid announced after the game that Jones was going to start, regardless of Macho Harris' injury. I thought he showed good athleticism on multiple plays against the run. In coverage, I still need to see more of Jones. He was called for a pass interference, trying to cover Nicks in the third. He also had a nice play coming at Manning as a blitzer.

Donovan McNabb played his best game of the season Sunday against the Giants. ( David Maialetti / Staff Photographer )

A couple weeks ago when we did Man Up following the Raiders loss, I had a tough time saying anything good about anyone on the Eagles' offense.

This week, it's the opposite.

Here's the player-by-player breakdown of the Eagles' offensive players in their 40-17 win over the Giants:

Donovan McNabb - I don't think I'm overstating it when I say this had to be one of the sharpest games of his career. McNabb went 17-for-23 for 240 yards and three touchdowns. Of his six incompletions, at least four (maybe five) were batted down at the line of scrimmage. McNabb made every pass - timing routes over the middle, the deep ball, you name it. He made a very nice throw, fitting the ball in to Brent Celek in the first for a touchdown. Later in the quarter, on a high degree of difficulty throw, he delivered a strike to DeSean Jackson for 9 yards. Also, was it just me, or was that as fast as McNabb has looked in awhile on the 14-yard run?

Michael Vick – He picked up 4 yards on a 3rd-and-1 in the first quarter, but didn't see much action beyond that. I have to look at the numbers, but my guess would be the Eagles are one of the better short yardage teams in the league this season.

LeSean McCoy – He didn't consistently pick up yards, but McCoy showed the all-around game that made the Eagles draft him in April. The highlight was obviously the 66-yard run he broke in the fourth quarter. Overall, McCoy carried 11 times for 82 yards. And maybe more importantly, he did an exceptional job as a blocker, picking up a blitzer on McNabb's third-down completion to Jason Avant in the first and again on a Celek catch in the second. I love the call on the screen play that picked up 17 yards to start the game. Don't be surprised to see McCoy more involved in the passing game as the season goes on.

Leonard Weaver - If you re-watch the 41-yard run, you'll see he simply outran Giants defensive back C.C. Brown for the touchdown. I did not know Weaver had that kind of speed. He added a 17-yard run in the second half and carried eight times for 75 yards overall. Weaver did a fine job in pass protection when called upon.

Winston Justice – You didn't hear his name called all day, and that's a good thing. Redemption for Justice after he was defined for so long by his performance in the 12-sack game against the Giants. He was helped at times, but did a good job when left alone too. Justice is better in protection than in the run game. He delivered another solid performance and has probably been the Eagles' most consistent offensive lineman this season. I only saw him get beat once in protection, and it was the play where McNabb escaped and ran for a first down.

Nick Cole and Stacy Andrews – I'm including them together because they platooned at right guard. It seemed like Andrews saw more action than usual as he entered the game on the third possession of the first quarter and on the second possession of the second half. Andrews looked a lot more comfortable than he had in previous weeks, making a good block on a 7-yard McCoy run in the third. He was also part of a great group effort on the 66-yarder. Cole played well also. The Eagles' interior really did a good job throughout.

Todd Herremans – I thought Herremans looked rusty in his first action of the season against the Redskins. Not so against the Giants. He did a good job blocking Antonio Pierce on Weaver's TD run and really played well in the run game throughout.

Jamaal Jackson – Maybe his best game of the season. Jackson did a good job on Barry Cofield during Weaver’s 41-yard run. He also made nice blocks on Weaver's 17-yard run and McCoy's 66-yard run. As the center, Jackson deserves credit for keeping the changing parts on the line on the same page.

Jason Peters – An up and down game for Peters. He had a tough time with Osi Umenyiora in a couple spots. One was his holding penalty, which negated a Celek touchdown pass. And another was in the second quarter, when he got beat badly as Umenyiora sacked McNabb and forced a fumble. Peters also let defensive back Bruce Johnson go right by him in the second half. Looked like probable miscommunication on the play.

DeSean Jackson – I guess we can just mark him down for a 50-yard touchdown every game the rest of the way. He hauled in a 54-yard score and had three catches for 78 yards overall. I liked his effort as a blocker on the 17-yard screen to McCoy. Also, did you notice that two DBs were fooled on the McCoy TD run when McNabb faked the handoff to Jackson? That's what opened things up downfield.

Jason Avant - Two catches for 32 yards after being held without a reception in the previous two games. I thought it was interesting that McNabb went out of his way after the game to praise Avant and say defenses are definitely aware of him, which opens things up for everyone else. Avant picked up 28 yards on a 3rd-and-6, in part due to poor tackling by the Giants.

Jeremy Maclin - I liked seeing some feistiness out of Maclin in this one. He drove Brown to the ground as a blocker on the 7-yard McCoy run and then mixed it up with Giants defenders after the whistle. He also gave good efforts as a blocker on McCoy's big run (although he tripped) and Vick's first-down carry. As a receiver, four catches for 47 yards and a touchdown. Showing improvement in all aspects every week.

Brent Celek - One touchdown catch was erased in the first quarter because of the penalty on Peters, but McNabb came right back to Celek for the score. He did a good job as a blocker overall. On the Vick run, he opened space by getting in Justin Tuck's way. We see a 'toughness' play from Celek every week. This time it came on a 3rd-and-12 in the fourth when he picked up 8 yards after contact for a first down.

Alex Smith – Smith made his first catch of the season, picking up 11 yards for a first down early on.

Eagles fullback Leonard Weaver scampers to the end zone for a 41-yard touchdown run against the Giants. (Clem Murray / Staff Photographer)

The assumption going into Sunday was that Brian Westbrook would not play against the Giants, as the Eagles running back continued to recover from a concussion.

The assumption (from me, at least) was also that Westbrook's absence would mean an offense that relied on Donovan McNabb and the passing game to try and squeak out an ugly win over the Giants.

It didn't quite turn out that way.

24 runs. 23 passes.

180 yards on the ground. 7.5 yards per carry.

Numbers that make the average Eagles fan blush.

At the start, the rushing attack was ignited by an unlikely source: fullback Leonard Weaver. The offseason acquisition showed speed that few knew he possessed, breaking through the line of scrimmage for a 41-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. He had only four carries going into this game, but Andy Reid acted like it was no big deal that Weaver carried eight times for 75 yards.

"He's a guy who has been a primary ballcarrier when he was with Seattle, so we know he can carry the football," Reid said. "We've given it to him a few times, but obviously not much as today. Maybe we'll give it to him a couple more times."

Meanwhile, LeSean McCoy joined the party late with a 66-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. Overall, he didn't consistently pick up yards. Take away the big run, and he carried 10 times for 16 yards. But when the Birds needed to run clock and put the game away, McCoy got it done.

I have to re-watch the game, but my initial impression is that he did OK as a blocker also. I don't remember him missing an assignment that cost the Eagles.

As for Westbrook, Reid sounded optimistic that he'd be back next week against the Cowboys.

"He actually feels pretty good right now," Reid said. "I kind of took a cautious route, but I think that it was important that we didn't force the issue."