Preview of Sunday's Game at Arizona, 1-18-09

For Sunday's game, the Eagles are road favorites in the desert. The Eagles, here, are the better team, and they should win. Obviously, the Cardinals won last week because of their ability to create turnovers (or their luck at getting them depending on your perspective). First of all, Donovan McNabb is not Jake Delhomme, who gifted the Cards at least three of those turnovers. For the Eagles to win, though, it goes without saying, that we need to win the turnover battle (or be even or possibly lose it by only one). Aside from the turnovers, this game is going to be about controlling the middle of the field. The Cards D is vulnerable in the middle, and Kurt Warner is susceptible to making bad decisions when faced with pressure up the middle. Control the middle of the field on both sides of the ball and the Eagles win the game. Below are more specific keys to the Game.

1. The first key to this game is offensive. This Cards offense is too potent to expect to hold them below 20 (and the weather won't assist the defense in 75 degree Tempe either). The offense will need to eat up clock and put up points. They will do this by running the football. This defense has a nice secondary and a couple good pass rushers, but they can be run on. The Eagles must committ to the run, whether it be with Westbrook or Buckhalter, at least until the Cards are forced to bring an eigth man down into the box, at which point, it's play fake city on these backers.

2. Pressure up the gut on Warner. Warner has been excellent against the blitz this season, but I still think we need to blitz him. That said, I think it needs to come from up the middle. Look for Bradley and Gocong and Clemons to have some A-Gap blitzes. If Abiamiri and Howard can have a strong game and get inside pressure in nickel situations, look for Warner to make mistakes. He cannot make plays on the move. Put pressure in his face and he'll start making bad decisions or at least be forced to his checkdowns (at which point, see key #4).

3. Use the middle of the field in the passing game. Some of this is design: Let's have route combinations that are forcing the Cards LB's to cover our slot receivers, TE's, and Westbrook running up the seam. I believe we can win on those plays consistently if McNabb has protection enough for these routes to develop. This team's pressure packages won't be too exotic, so we can leave in one back or one TE to block and then put together some route combos that force their linebackers to show up in coverage in the middle of the field. Ultimately, this comes down to McNabb being patient and making good decisions, like he did in the third and fourth quarters of the Giants game.

4. Wrap up and tackle. This team has been tackling great all season, and it needs to continue against the Cards who have some of the best run after the catch receivers in the league in Larry Fitz, Boldin, and Breaston, not to mention a rejuvenated Edgerrin James. Larry will have a couple downfield catches. He's just too good not to (that catch down the left sideline against the Panthers was a sick a ball adjustment in the air as I've ever seen), but the key with him, as with the others is to limit the rac yards by wrapping up and tackling in the open field. This is especially important b/c Kurt Warner, for all his faults, has always excelled at throwing a very catchable ball that is in a place where the receiver can quickly turn upfield after the catch.

5. Stop the running game with 7 men in the box. The rejuvenation of the Cards running game has been much overstated. This Eagle defense should be able to, and needs to be able to, slow down the redbirds' running without leaving the Cards WRs undercovered and risking big plays out of play action. In effect, we need to recognize that we can't be as agressive against the run against this team as we could against the Plaxless Giants (Incidentally, I'm not sure if I mentioned here yet, but I really do think his nightclub shenanigans may very well have cost the Giants a second Super Bowl--they were a totally different team, and probably the best in the league, when they had him). While we'll need to cheat help over to Fitzgerald, fortunately, this team's running offense is not like the Giants'. We should be able to beat these guys with a seven man front on first and second down.

6. Protect McNabb's blind side. DE Bert Berry has been impressive lately. No sack-fumbles please.