Enough talk. As always, there's only one way to settle our wildest dreams with cold, hard reality: on the gridiron.
The Eagles begin their "Going for it" campaign in St. Louis, against an up and coming organization in the Rams, who may just have this year's "it" team. They bring a disruptive defensive front that's going to get after Michael Vick's patchwork protection, although they may lack the weapons on offense to really get after the Birds' All Pro secondary.
We're anticipating a hard fought contest that St. Louis will have a serious shot at stealing, but ultimately the Eagles' offense will be too much for them. If Andy Reid just so happens to call a few extra runs off his play chart--fat chance--they might put the Rams on ice early. Either way, look for LeSean McCoy to play a big role today, possibly as the team's leading receiver.
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Vick will have to check down to his second option, or risk eating turf against this aggressive defense. That means a healthy dose of Shady, who we think will be the key player in a Birds victory.
The table is set. The Eagles are going off as -4.5 favorites. Let's football, everyone.
Remember When?
The Eagles kicked off their 2008 campaign against the Rams as well, but a woeful 2-14 team didn't have the horses to keep up with a group that eventually appeared in the NFC Championship. Donovan McNabb threw three touchdown passes, Brian Westbrook scored one on the ground and one through the air, and Kevin Kolb saw mop-up duty as the defense held a Marc Bulger-led offense to three points--even those came when the final was well in hand. Philly cruised, 38-3.