The Eagles are trying to rebound after a last-second loss to the Saints in New Orleans.  The Bucs are trying to build off of last week’s stunning win over the Bengals.

The Eagles will come out throwing the ball against the Bucs.  The Bucs haven’t mounted much of a pass rush this season which could be deadly for them against the Eagles.  If McNabb has time to survey the field, he will torch the Bucs secondary.  McNabb loves to spread the ball around, using short passes to TE LJ Smith (24 rec, 335 yards) and RB Brian Westbrook (23 rec, 220 yards).  Soon as you sneak up, McNabb will throw deep to his WRs.  Reggie Brown is having a great season (21 rec, 412 yards) and could be big trouble for the Bucs secondary.  Look for the Eagles to run the ball a bit more than usual if they get the lead, due to the Bucs soft run defense that allows 141.2 yards rushing and 4.7 yards per carry.

For the Bucs on offense, it will be a day of running the ball and throwing it short.  Cadillac Williams (312 yards rushing) needs to follow up last week’s big game with another good effort against an Eagles defense that allows 103.5 yards rushing per game and 3.6 yards per carry.  Look for Bruce Gradkowski to throw alot of short passes to his TEs and WRs, because he probably won’t have alot of time.  The Eagles are an aggressive blitzing unit that has racked up 23 sacks so far this season.  The Bucs want to control the clock and keep the ball away from the Eagles offense and it can be done as long as they stay mistake free.  The Eagles do allow 20.7 points per game and 341.2 yards per game.

I see the Eagles just having too much fire-power for the Bucs to handle.

The Eagles defense has been a little bit of a disappointment so far this season.  But Jeremiah Trotter is not having an off year.  Trotter has 43 tackles and an interception.  Trotter has been a heat seeking missile against the run this season!  DE Trent Cole has stepped up his game this season, after the loss of Jevon Kearse for the season due to a knee injury.  Cole has 29 tackles, 6 sacks and a fumble recovery.

The Eagles played pretty good most of the game, but at the end they couldn’t stop Drew Brees and the Saints.  The Eagles did a good job defending the run, holding the Saints to 97 yards rushing on 30 carries (3.2 ypc).  The Saints completed 27 of 38 passes for 275 net yards passing.  LB Jeremiah Trotter got his usual 10 tackles.  CB Lito Sheppard picked off another pass and added 5 tackles.

Donovan McNabb completed 19 of 32 passes for 247 yards with 2 TDs and an interception.  RB Brian Westbrook carried the ball 16 times for 72 yards, but only caught 3 passes for 3 yards.  WR Reggie Brown had an outstanding game, catching 6 passes for 121 yards and a TD.  Brown also had a carry that resulted in a 15 yard TD.  TE LJ Smith caught 4 passes for 48 yards and a TD.

These kind of losses always sting for awhile.

The Philadelphia Eagles have been putting on an awesome offensive display so far this season averaging 417.8 yards per game and 31 points per game.  The Saints are a surprising 4-1, due to their overall good play in all facets of the game.

Last week the Tampa Bay Bucs exposed some cracks in the Saints defense.  The Saints are vulnerable to teams that run the ball as they’ve given up 123.8 yards rushing per game and 4.9 yards per carry.  The Eagles offense isn’t built to run the ball, but I’m sure Brian Westbrook and Correll Buckhalter will get some shots against the weak line-backing crew of the Saints.  Look for Westbrook out of the backfield to cause all kinds of trouble for the Saints linebackers.  Donovan McNabb is having a stellar season to date, as he has thrown for 1,611 yards with 11 TDs and 1 INT.  McNabb has been spreading the ball around as five receivers have caught at least 11 passes and six receivers have at least 172 yards receiving.  I look for TE LJ Smith to have a huge game against the Saints safeties.

The Saints will come out running the football.  Deuce McAllister (380 yards rushing) and Reggie Bush (170 yards receiving) will challenge the linebackers of the Eagles from the get go.  The Eagles do a decent job defending the run, allowing 104.8 yards per game and 3.7 yards per rush.  Look for Drew Brees to also attack the Eagles defense with short passes to Reggie Bush (34 rec, 250 yards).  The Eagles outside linebackers must contain Bush on the outside.  If the Saints offensive line can control the Eagles pass rush, then Brees will take some deep shots to rookie Marques Colston (23 rec, 374 yards) and Joe Horn.  The Saints have only allowed 6 sacks this season and the Eagles defense already has 23 sacks this season.

I have to side with the Eagles here.  The Eagles defensive line will be too much for the Saints to handle.

It seems like Donte’ Stallworth will miss Sunday’s game due to an injured hamstring.  If there were any game Stallworth would attempt to play hurt in it would be against the Saints who gave up on him.  Hank Baskett will get another chance to shine on Sunday.