DO YOU BELIEVE IN MIRACLES?!?!?

No. But damn, that was close. But how about deja vu? Tell me if this sounds familiar: The Philadelphia Eagles lost to the New England Patriots by three points. Philadelphia's quarterback threw 3 touchown passes and three interceptions, and Greg Lewis scored. Tom Brady was pressured but never rattled and the New England defense took the ball away when it really mattered. Familiar? I thought so, too. Years later, in a different city with a different quarterback the outcome is still the same: The NFL's "gold standard" franchise is defeated by the platnium-filled dynasty that is the New England Patriots. But this one was a little different, was it not? A.J. Feeley, once again filling in for the injured Donovan McNabb, put up almost identical statistics to Donovan McNabb's on that fateful day in February of 2005. But unlike Donovan, A.J. is not being accused of choking (figuratively or literally) against the heavily favored Pats, but praised for his overall play and forgiven for his several errant passes which ultimately cost the Eagles their chance at derailing New England's pursuit of perfection. But why? Maybe it's because Feeley has not started in over two seasons and actually over-achieved Sunday night, unlike McNabb, who clearly did not perform to the height of his abilities in Super Bowl XXXIX, nor has he for much of the 2007 season. But there may be more than just an understanding of the disparity between the two players' talent. Maybe we just do not like Donovan McNabb. We don't like his "whining" and his "don't blame me" attitude. And maybe we blame Donny, if only partially, for exiling Terrell Owens, easily the best receiver McNabb has ever thown to, to the hated Dallas Cowboys. And he still harps on getting booed on draft day. Personally, I would be willing to over look all of that if McNabb were to win a championship for this city, a feat that seems impossible with a 13-16 record as a strater dating back to Super Bowl 39 (not including the win against Miami last week, as prior to McNabb's injury, the Eagles were trailing). But I digress. The story right now is that the 22+ point underdog Philadelphia Eagles went toe-to-toe with one of the greatest NFL teams ever assembled and nearly pulled off the semingly impossible. But unfortunately, you don't get point for trying, and the Eagles now sit in the cellar of the NFC East, tied with the Washington Redskins at 5-6.
But this loss to New England, unlike the last one, did not crush the dreams of a city. Infact, it may have re-ignited them. With the combination of playing with heart, Andy Reid's aggressive game plan, the defense holding an offensive juggernaut to 24 points, and the "mediocre receivers" finding a way to get open (Greg Lewis- 4 Rec. 88 yds. 2 TD, Reggie Brown- 5 Rec. 45 yds. 1 TD, Kevin Curtis 5 Rec. 71 yds.) against the NFL's sixth rated pass defense, this team has a chance to get on a run similar to last season's turnaround orchestrated by Garcia & Co. But the key will be consistency, the intangible that has been missing all season. The Birds can't afford to forget to cover T.O. again, or give up another 12 sacks to the G-Men or get off to a slow start in New Orleans or overlook the Buffalo Bills. Nor can they afford to get away from running the ball. Passing 42 times was a necessity to keep up with the Pats' offense and because New England's D clearly had one goal- containing Brian Westbrook, who was held to 92 total yards on 24 touches and a rushing TD (3.83 YPT). But consistency in play calling, as well as level of play will be a necessity for this team to get on a roll and secure a wild card spot. Granted, Reid cannot call onside kicks and flea flickers and WR option-passes every week for the next five games, but he needs to stay aggressive. The Giants are heading into their annual second-half nose dive, and the rest of the conference (except for Dallas and Green Bay) is not very good, and four of the final five games are against teams ahead of the Eagles in the conference standings. This is very do-able. But only if the Birds play with the fire and heart that nearly knocked off the league's best this past Sunday night. The Eagles have now proven that, on any given week, they can play on a level with the week's best. Here's hoping they put it all together in the next five weeks.

Two closing notes. On the lighter side of the NFL, how bad is John Madden? I don't care if he is a legendary coach and the name sake of the best video game in the history of digital entertainment, he is a terrible color commentator. He's worse than Joe Buck in the booth. Absolutely dreadful.

I'd like to offer condolences to the family of Washington Redskins' safety Sean Taylor. Taylor, 24, was shot in his home Monday night and died early this morning.