The Eagles looked super against the hapless Rams yesterday.  The offense held onto the football for 35:10 and they rolled up 522 total yards on offense.  Donovan McNabb didn’t play the whole game and he still completed 21 of 33 passes for 361 yards with 3 TD passes.  Kevin Kolb finished up the game and he was effective too completing 5 of 6 passes for 53 yards.  RB Brian Westbrook was a dual threat as usual as he rushed for a TD and caught a TD pass.  He carried the ball 19 times for 91 yards (4.8 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 1 yard (0.5 avg).  McNabb spread the ball around well as the Eagles had three receivers go over 100 yards in this football game.  Rookie WR Desean Jackson was outstanding in his NFL debut as he caught 6 passes for 106 yards (17.7 avg).  Greg Lewis had perhaps his best NFL game of his career with 5 grabs for 104 yards (20.8 avg).  Hank Baskett only caught two passes but one of them was a 90 yard TD as he finished with 102 yards receiving yesterday.  TE L.J. Smith also got in on the action on Sunday with 5 catches for 39 yards (7.8 avg) with a TD grab.  The Eagles finished up with 108 yards rushing on 32 carries (3.4 ypc) and they also completed 26 of 39 passes for 414 yards.  The offense looked like a well oiled machine against the Rams yesterday.

The Defense was also outstanding for the Eagles yesterday as they held the Rams to 166 total yards on offense and they sacked QB Marc Bulger 4 times.  Linebacker Stewart Bradley and safety Quintin Mikell led the way for the Eagles’ Defense yesterday with 9 tackles and 1 interception apiece.  The Rams finished up with only 36 yards rushing on 15 carries (2.4 ypc) and they also completed 14 of 26 passes for 130 yards.  This was just a warmup game for the battle next Monday Night against the Cowboys.

The St. Louis Rams actually match up pretty well with the Eagles right now due to injuries.  The Eagles will likely be without Reggie Brown and Kevin Curtis so Donovan McNabb will have to dig his way down the depth chart.  The Eagles will likely keep the passing short to the TE and RBs without a proven receiver active for this football game.  The Eagles will likely try to get the ball in Brian Westbrook’s hands at least 25 times in this game and challenge the linebacking corps of the Rams.  Will Witherspoon will likely be able to plug the middle for the Rams behind DTs Adam Carriker and LaRoi Glover which means that the Eagles will try to bump the running game outside.  OLBs Pisa Tinoisamoa and Quintin Culberson will have their hands full trying to contain Westbrook.  If the Eagles offensive line can contain DEs Leonard Little and rookie Chris Long then McNabb might try to get the ball deep to rookie speedster DeSean Jackson which will put big pressure on CBs Tye Hill and Fakhir Brown.  The Eagles need either Hank Baskett, Greg Lewis or Jason Avant to step up in this game.  TE L.J. Smith will likely be the player who catches the most passes in this game for the Eagles as he will challenge safeties O.J. Atogwe and Corey Chavous.

The Rams will likely come out trying to run the ball with Steven Jackson early and often.  That means that middle linebacker Stewart Bradley must be kept clean by DTs Mike Patterson and Brodrick Bunkley.  Jackson will also put huge pressure on outside linebackers Chris Gocong and Omar Gaither in the passing game.  The Eagles probably have the best set of corners in the NFL with Asante Samuel, Sheldon Brown and Lito Sheppard but that doesn’t mean that the Rams won’t attack them with Torry Holt and Drew Bennett.  The key will be giving QB Marc Bulger enough time to throw the ball and that will mean keeping DE Trent Cole out of his face.  Randy McMichael could be a secret weapon in this game for the Rams as Brian Dawkins is getting up in years.

PREDICTION:  PHILADELPHIA EAGLES 31, ST. LOUIS RAMS 28.

I really like the Eagles this season and I think they will get back to the playoffs.  With that in mind I would take the over with the Eagles in 2008.  I just think they did a great job in bringing in new talent in the offseason and it will pay off in the win-loss record in 2008.

The Eagles have claimed 26-year old linebacker Torrance Daniels off waivers from the Giants.  Daniels played in all 4 preseason games for the Giants this season and he made 4 tackles and defensed 1 pass.  In his two year NFL career, Daniels has played in 10 games and he has six tackles.  To make room on the roster the Eagles cut linebacker Rocky Boiman.  Boiman played in all 4 preseason games for the Eagles and he made 4 tackles and defensed 1 pass.

The Eagles have released running back Ryan Moats.  The reason for Moats’ release is because they didn’t need him to return punts anymore due to the arrival of rookie DeSean Jackson.  Moats carried the ball 12 times for 36 yards (3.0 ypc) for the Eagles this preseason and he also caught 1 pass for 7 yards.  The Eagles will probably have Moats’ phone number on speed dial in case anything happens to DeSean Jackson this season.