What they're saying: Eagles headed to Tampa
After watching the Eagles upset the Giants for the second time this season, philly.com intern Andrew Holland is back to scour the Web for all the latest buzz surrounding this week's NFC championship game.
CBSSports.com's Charlie Casserly says the Eagles and Steelers will meet in the Super Bowl:
This should be an exciting matchup. I believe the Eagles will win in a close game because of their defense. They should be able to stop the run and, with their blitz schemes, put enough pressure on Warner to disrupt him. The secondary will have to do a good job tackling the Cardinals receivers, who are very good at making plays after the catch.
FoxSports.com's Peter Schrager says the Eagles' victory over the Giants wasn't a shocker:
Sunday's outcome can hardly be considered a "shocker." Nothing can really be considered a "shocker" in a postseason that's seen road teams win more games than home ones, both No. 1 seeds go down without wins, and the three players who received NFL MVP votes all eliminated in the wild-card round. The 9-6-1 Eagles beating the 12-4 defending Super Bowl champions in New York? Well, that's nothing.
ESPN.com's Gene Wojciechowski says that you can book the Eagles for Tampa Bay:
Anything is possible. You've got your Miracle On Ice, your Lyle Lovett marrying Julia Roberts, and your Three 6 Mafia winning an Oscar. But the Arizona Cardinals over the Philadelphia Eagles in next Sunday's NFC Championship Game? Put it this way: Tim Tebow and the Philippians have a better chance of strip clubbing with Pacman Jones.
CBSSports.com's Pete Priso gives the Eagles a B+ for their efforts against the Giants.
For the second consecutive week, the defense was sensational. They shut down the Giants offense and set up the Eagles' first touchdown with an interception. The offense didn't do much, but it didn't have to. David Akers made all his field goals, which was huge.
ESPN.com's Matt Mosley says that the Cardinals won't slow down the Eagles this weekend:
The Cardinals aren't going to slow down the Eagles at this point. The Eagles will have to make a cross-country flight, but I think that angle is overrated. The Eagles can beat any team, anywhere right now. They've already beaten the Steelers and Cardinals. And they'd love a rematch with the Ravens.
ESPN.com's
Ned Macy says
» READ MORE: anything can happen
in this weekend's playoff matchups:
The Eagles have to be considered prohibitive favorites against Arizona. Their defense should harass Kurt Warner and stop the Edgerrin James revitalization tour. Still, the Cardinals' passing offense is too good not to make some big plays, so McNabb and the offense will need to play more consistently. Given the upheaval of this postseason -- underdogs are 5-3 -- anything can happen and probably will.
ESPN.com's Mosley also says he is taking the Eagles to advance to the Super Bowl:
At this point, it's hard to bet against the Eagles taking care of the Cardinals and advancing to the Super Bowl, where they'd either face a team they've beaten this season (Steelers) or one with which they have a major score to settle (Ravens).
According to a FoxSports.com poll, 55 percent of the nearly 50,000 voters believe the Eagles will win the Super Bowl.
CBSSports.com's Harmon Forecast picks the Eagles to beat the Cardinals 23-21.
Eagles QB Donovan McNabb faces a Cardinals defense that intercepted Panthers QB Jake Delhomme five times and held him to 205 passing yards. Cardinals QB Kurt Warner will test an Eagles defense that held Giants QB Eli Manning to just 169 passing yards and recorded two interceptions.
Yahoo Sports experts are favoring the Eagles over the Cardinals this weekend:
The Cards offense won't bully a Philadelphia D that is playing better than any Andy Reid has ever had. Brian Westbrook will chop up Arizona's front seven.