Break-Out the Kool-Aid! - NFC Pic Clears UP...

And the Eagles are right in the thick of it...IF they pull their heads out of their asses and beat Carolina tomorrow night on MNF...

The Rams, Vikings and 49ers all basically put themselves behind the proverbial 8-ball today by losing their games to the Cards, Bears and Saints respectively....I say that because I think 9-7 makes a final wildcard spot, and now they are all 5-7....I don't think any of those teams will make it. The Eagles, on the other hand, are granted another reprieve from oblivion, but ONLY if they can prove they can actually play defense...a win on MNF puts them at 6-6, and would give them the 6th sixth seed in the playoffs....

6-6 would tie them with the Falcons, Panthers (who would drop to 6-6 and lose the tiebreaker with the Birds) and Giants (who are now in official free-fall mode)..... Plus they'd have games against the Giants and Falcons forthcoming...

This is it fellas, time to motivate...time to bring your lunchpail...if you cannot get up for a huge game, on MNF, with post-season hopes riding on the line...well, then our faith in the 2006 Eagles will have been misplaced...

Just dream for a moment...Eagles manage to get hot....Dallas drops a game or two, and we get a chance to snatch the division away on Christmas Day....oh...could Santa McNabb and Co. leave MEO a nice fat lump of coal in his stocking....well its a sweet dream anyway...

Glad I'm Not a Cards Fan

Its a little last to do a post-game reaction on the MNF Bears theivery the other night, but you know what...it just makes me glad I am not a Cardinals fan...I watched it Tuesday morning in amazement, and the Cards sliced and diced the Bears D...I felt the same misgiving that I've felt numerous times when I think the Eagles are not capitalizing as much as they should on opponents mistakes...and of course, it was validated when the Bears defense and special teams woke up and won the game...

So, after nearly two decades of futility (their last playoff birth was in 1985..they were still the St. Louis Cardinals back then) the team has a new retractable dome, a new QB, a new high-priced high-pedigree running back, and at least two very, very good wide receivers...LOTS of reason for optimism....here are some reasons for pessimism...the O-Line, which everyone was calling crap, performed to expectations...YES the Cards had a 20-0 advantage, but there are two key failings in the game: Edge rushes 36 times for 57 yards...pathetic...second was the WORST play of the game: Second to last play of the 3rd quarter, Leinart takes the snap inside his own 10. His right tackle, exits his stance, looks inside, and spends the rest of play in a preparatory stance, LOOKING for some to block...ummm, dude...your "man" (Chicago's left DE) made a bee-line for the QB, sack, fumble, Mike Brown 3-yd return for a TD....23-10 and the Bears have life...thanks O-line...thanks...

Moving on, are any other Phillies' fans at all surprised that Jim Leyland, the man our pathetic organization passed on when hiring a coach a couple years back, is leading his new team, the Detroit Tigers, to the World Series??? This is why I am happy I am NOT a Phillies fan. (I would like to be a Phillies fan, but I've swore off the Phillies until they get new ownership)