Playoff Previews

January 12, 2007 | By Laurence Kohn | Discuss

What a day we live in.... just when the sixers go 3-0 and a glimmer of hope breaks on the horizon, they lose 12 straight and it's back to...yes, philadelphia sports as we know it. Hmm... maybe our only hope are these eagles, who have won 6 straight games, including a highly contested hard battled playoff test.

What is the secret to the birds' success? First, they are an experienced team, especially in the post season. With four recent NFC championship games (unheard of when you think about it) under their belt, and a superbowl appearance two years ago, they are true contenders in the NFL. When the season started, they had the number one ranked offense in the league. Donovan McNabb is one of the best deep passers, and with Andy Reid addicted to his pass game (before he went through the 12-step pass withdrawal program), it was only a matter of time before he racked up some serious yardage stats through the air.

NFL Playoffs - Divisional

Eagles vs. Saints

What a matchup this is going to be. On the one hand we have Eagles replacement quarterback Jeff Garcia, 36 years old, who brings experience and toughness to the roster. On the other we have Drew Brees, who is a rising star in the NFL. In the game against the Colts, when Jeff Garcia stepped out on the field, the philly fans booed him. He was now officially a part of the eagles.

Since then, they have won 5 straight regular seasons games including a playoff game against a division rival. Now, smoking red hot, the birds fly across the nation to face the New Orleans Saints. The sainst are the cinderella story of the nation. After last years hurricane, and its aftermath, the franchise made some major changes bringing in head coach Sean Payton, drafting running back reggie bush, and replacing their qb. With Brees having the best passing stats in the leauge, his saints were ranked number one offensively this year, taking that honor away from another team.... the eagles. When these teams met earlier in the year, they were both 4-1. The game was fought down to the very end, and New Orleans won only by a field goal. So the two teams face each other again in a rematch. Who will win....
My prediction is that it will be a very close game, with both teams utilizing their own passnig and running attacks. The keys for both teams are their balanced offenses and trick plays. Saints backs, Deuce McCallister and Reggie Bush both will get multiple touches. For the Eagles, their game is all about number 36 who will see the ball the most. Wideouts reggie brown and donte stallworth will also prove to be playmakers for philly.

Final Score: Eagles 27 - Saints 24

Chargers vs Patriots

This is the game everyone is talking about. In previous years, Brees led the Chargers to their first playoff appearance in almost ten years. Everything was going great until last year injured his shoulder on a play, was traded to the saints, and replaced by another guy warming the bench for the past few years. (Oh yeah, this guy in case you don't know is philip rivers, who led his chargers to a 14-2 record. Another great story of the year.)This week they face their biggest test : Tom Brady and the Patriots. Don't get me wrong now, the chargers are arguably the best team in the NFL, and the Patriots are not exactly the same team they were in their 4 year superbowl reign (losing Branch and other key players). But come on now, this is Tom Brady in the playoffs, and until someone dethrones the guy, he is playoff king.Final Score: Patriots 31 - Chargers 27

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