Eagles don't want a replay of last game with Dallas

THE EAGLES HAD a formula to get to 11-5 and into the wild-card playoff game tonight at Dallas.

They locked down receivers with cover corners Asante Samuel and Sheldon Brown, which allowed them to attack the quarterback and plug the run, and they relied on their young big-play threats to equalize things for their sporadic running game.

Except, in losing to the Cowboys twice this season, league observers this week noted several realities:

* They can't cover the Cowboys receivers, especially wideout Miles Austin and tight end Jason Witten - Pro Bowl players both, granted, but players who beat them badly in Dallas. Samuel jumped routes three times Sunday, and twice his gambles led to Cowboys touchdowns.

* They can't stop a committed running attack from the Cowboys.

* They can't get to quarterback Tony Romo with a base defense, as they proved Sunday, and if they blitz, he beats them, as proved on Nov. 8.

* They can only occasionally get speedy young wideouts DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin free, and then it's usually the result of a schematic quirk or a Cowboys mistake, because the 'Pokes can run with these blazing Birds.

It was evident from the start Sunday, in the Cowboys' 24-0 win in the season finale, a win that gave Dallas the NFC East title but would have meant that title and a first-round bye for the Birds.

So, both teams had plenty to play for.

One played like it.

"It really was a mismatch," said one NFL scout who is familiar with both teams.

The first play from scrimmage: A 5-yard pass to Witten, whom linebacker Moise Fokou looked ridiculous trying to tackle.

The second play from scrimmage: Tight end John Phillips lined up in the backfield. Center Andre Gurode and right guard Leonard Davis, both Pro Bowlers, double-teamed defensive tackle Mike Patterson and moved him 2 yards downfield. Phillips fired out past Davis and crushed supporting linebacker Will Witherspoon. Akeem Jordan, who had to move from the weakside to the middle of the linebacker corps since his return from a knee injury, committed to a gap on the wrong side; safety Quintin Mikell committed too soon to the interior of the line.

As a result, Marion Barber burst through for 32 yards.

The next play - almost identical - got Barber 8 yards.

After a batted ball, facing third-and-7: Brown, a Pro Bowl candidate, fell trying to stay with Austin as the receiver came out of a simple slant cut. Brown grabbed Austin's jersey and was flagged for pass interference.

After an incompletion, Romo audibled into a run - where else? - to the right. Davis pulled, and destroyed Fokou. Left guard Kyle Kosier pulled, too, and smothered Mikell. Jordan so badly committed up the middle that Witherspoon actually burst past him in pursuit. All to no avail. Barber gained 18.

"That defensive line is built to get to the quarterback," the scout said. That didn't happen, either.

Three plays later, on third-and-3 at the Eagles' 10, Witten fired off the line, untouched. Untouched. The contact-wary Samuel tried to jump in front of Witten as Romo hit him at the 4. Witherspoon recovered and immediately hit Witten . . . who dragged him 2 yards, into the end zone, the first in a series of big plays for Witten.

"The Eagles have no answer for Witten," said the scout.

Really, no one has. Witten caught 94 passes for 1,030 yards this season, amazing production from a player for whom teams game-plan.

On the other hand, the Cowboys had no answer for Eagles tight end Brent Celek, a Pro Bowl alternate. Celek reaped what the Cowboys sowed - being the outlet receiver as pressure collapses the pocket.

He caught seven passes for 96 yards Sunday . . . in a shutout. Suffice it to say, the Cowboys will allow Celek's production to limit the other weapons.

Most unnervingly, the Cowboys' bugaboo - Romo getting hit, then throwing bad passes – has not arisen against the Birds this season. He now recognizes blitzes (less exotic now under first-year coordinator Sean McDermott, whose mentor, fearless blitzer Jim Johnson, died in July) and has a 97.6 passer rating against the Birds this year.

Meanwhile, in the face of nose tackle Jay Ratliff and outside linebackers Anthony Spencer and DeMarcus Ware, supported by a linebacker corps that blitzes with élan, Donovan McNabb has never gotten comfortable.

When McNabb was sacked by linebacker Bradie James on third-and-4 to end the Eagles' first series, linebacker Keith Brooking blitzed up the middle, one of the rare blitzes Dallas showed. That shifted responsibilities, and, ultimately, led to right tackle Winston Justice and fullback Leonard Weaver allowing James to fly past, untouched.

The Eagles' commitment to the run was questioned. Well, the Cowboys are fourth in the league against the run, and when the Eagles tried, there simply was nowhere to run. Period.

"I don't think the Eagles can block the Cowboys," the scout said. "Heck, I don't think they can block them in nickel."

Maybe all of that changes.

Maybe, a week later, the reconstructed Eagles' offensive line suddenly moves the Cowboys' superior defensive line. Maybe, a week later, the Eagles' overmatched defensive line - supported, perhaps, by a more exotic arsenal of blitzes . . .

Yes, McNabb missed Jackson deep. Yes, Maclin should have caught a McNabb missile that was high and behind him. Yes, both receivers dropped passes.

But if the Eagles have to depend on being perfect, that does not bode well.

Because nobody's perfect.

The killing fact: The Cowboys dominated, and they weren't perfect. They overcame a penalty on their first drive, threw a red-zone interception on their second, committed two penalties on their third drive and missed their own open bomb on the fourth that resulted in a field goal and a 17-0 halftime lead.

The rest was inevitable . . . as does, it seems, what happens tonight. *