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Brian Dawkins, Buckhalter Return To Philly…In Orange!

The 8-6 Denver Broncos face the 10-4 Philadelphia Eagles in Philly this Sunday at 4:15 pm EST. 

This is a tale of two teams heading in different directions. The Eagles have now won 6 games in a row while the Broncos have only managed 2 wins in their last 8 games, after starting 6-0. 

While the coaches have tried to play it off as “just another game”, that can’t be said for several players and the Eagles fans. Former Eagles Correll Buckhalter and Brian Dawkins now play for the Broncos. Nothing against Buck, but it will be very strange seeing Dawkins in orange and blue. Dawkins had a Hall-of-Fame career during his time in Philly and was well respected by his teammates and the fans. #20 eventually replaced Randall Cunningham as my favorite player so I was a little shocked to see him leave. Felt a lot like when the Eagles ran #12 out of town. 

The Eagles still have a shot at the #2 seed and a first-round bye so there won’t be any resting of the starters. The Eagles didn’t do much celebrating after their playoff berth last week because they know they have bigger goals to accomplish. Going to the playoffs has become a regular event during the Andy Reid era. They’ve been there 8 out of 11 seasons so they’re walking and talking like they’ve been there before. 

I just hope the coaches can stay focused. They need to stop with the trick plays and unnecessary gambles or they could end up at home for another Super Bowl. This team is a contender and that’s how the coaches need to call the plays. Let their men line up and beat their opponent. Trick plays are for the desperate, less talented teams. 

Key to an Eagles victory: A balanced offensive attack that includes a good dose of play action. 

I believe the Broncos will have some success on offense so the Eagles need to score plenty of points. The best way of doing that is hitting them with some runs and then going big with the play action. 

As much as I like Dawkins and the Broncos’ DB’s, none of them can cover wide out DeSean Jackson one-on-one, so I fully expect them to shift coverage in Jackson’s direction. 

Getting them to bite on the play action a couple of times should be enough to connect on some big plays. The Broncos tend to struggle more against the run than they do the pass, so the Eagles will need to make each opportunity count. If they don’t, they could suffer an upset to a team that is desperate to hold on to their playoff hopes. 

Other Notes: The Eagles are 8-1 when DeSean Jackson has scored this season so it’ll be interesting to see how the Broncos choose to defend the Eagles. They can’t afford to let DeSean takeover, that will almost certainly result in a loss. 

Strong side linebacker Chris Gocong has lost his starting job to undrafted rookie Moise Fokou. This is no surprise to anyone that’s been paying close attention to the Eagles for the last couple of years. The Eagles tried converting the former DE into a LB and the results have been minimal at best. It’s just another example of the Eagles doing things the hard way.

If you need a linebacker, just draft a linebacker. 

In Chris’ defense, he should be playing outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme, so it’s not really his fault. The Eagles staff simple made the wrong choice. Chris needs to be rushing the QB and RB’s, not trying to drop back into coverage or reading and reacting.

As I’ve said before, they’d get better and faster results from their draft picks if they would limit the number of project players. Seems simple enough to me, but it continues to be a problem for the Birds. 

Currently, I’m waiting for the Eagles to make the right call and keep Victor “Macho” Harris as a corner back and not a safety. He could be the next Sheldon Brown at corner, but I only see average success for him at either safety position. 

Michael Vick is still listed as day-to-day with a thigh bruise that he received from former Eagles safety Michael Lewis last week. 

RB Brian Westbrook, WR Jeremy Maclin and WR Kevin Curtis seem to be on course to play against the Broncos. If that happens, it would be the first time all year that QB Donovan McNabb has had all of his weapons available at the same time. 

Outcome: Eagles 31 Broncos 28 

For injury news and other updates, check out Bird Chirps. If you can’t watch the game, you’re more than welcome to follow me on Twitter @ CurtisC20. I report the action as it happens.

If you’re looking for extra Broncos coverage, check out this week’s piece by Matt Sierra.

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