in NFL Articles

Jan. 13th, 8:00 p.m. ET
Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, LA
Philadelphia Eagles vs. New Orleans Saints

It will be a Mardi Gras atmosphere in New Orleans on Saturday night when the NFL, averaging 391.5 yards a game.

After suffering a mid-season letdown that appeared to clip their wings, the Philadelphia Eagles' season was resurrected when veteran quarterback Jeff Garcia took over for the oft-injured Donovan McNabb. Garcia has been playing with the same intensity, poise and accuracy that he displayed back in his Pro-Bowl seasons in San Francisco. Last week may not have been Garcia's best game, but he threw for 153 yards and one touchdown and, most importantly, led the Eagles down the field on a late scoring-drive that resulted in David Akers’ game-winning field goal. The real offensive star for Philly was running back Brian Westbrook, who rushed for 141 yards.

This is not the first meeting between these two teams this season, but it might as well be considered so as much has changed for both clubs since their clash back on October 15th. Donovan McNabb aired the ball out repeatedly then, resulting in a pair of touchdowns, but he was sacked three times in the process and the Saints defense held Brian Westbrook to 72 yards on 16 carries. The difference-maker was Joe Horn, who caught two deep strikes from Drew Brees for touchdowns, providing the Saints with a 27-24 win.

With Jeff Garcia at quarterback, offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg has mustered a balanced attack where running back Brian Westbrook sees plenty of the ball and Garcia can be effective with the play action and rolling out. This is the combination that has kept opposing defenses off balance and allowed the Eagles to move the ball consistently. The Saints gave up 128.9 yards a game on the ground this season, so the Eagles will scheme to get their star running back (Westbrook produced 1,916 yards from scrimmage, averaged 5.1 yards a carry and led the team with 77 receptions for 699 yards) the ball in a variety of ways. Jeff Garcia will look downfield for ex-Saint Donte Stallworth, Reggie Brown and tight end L.J. Smith.

The Saints defense needs to focus on keeping Garcia in the pocket where he's unable to extend plays with his feet. Defensive end Charles Grant has six sacks and will need a big game against Jon Runyan, while tackle Brian Young will need to get a pressure up the middle. Will Smith has ten and a half sacks from the right side. Middle linebacker Mark Simoneau, who came to the Saints via Philadelphia in the Donte Stallworth trade, will key on stopping Brian Westbrook. The Saints secondary features veteran corners Mike McKenzie, Fred Thomas and free safety Josh Bullocks.

A resurgent Drew Brees completed 64.3% of his passes for a league-high 4,418 yards and 26 touchdowns this season and leads the league's most dangerous vertical passing attack. Rookie Marques Colston is the rookie sensation with over 1,000 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. Veteran Joe Horn should be back and healthy for Saturday's game and talented receivers Devery Henderson and Terrance Copper allow the Saints to spread defenses thin.

The Eagles suffered a serious blow when Pro-Bowl cornerback Lito Sheppard dislocated his elbow and was lost for this game. Sheppard will be replaced by Roderick Hood and William James, who has missed the last four games after spraining a calf during warm-ups on Dec. 17, will be the nickel corner. Eagles' defensive coordinator Joe Johnson will need to adjust his game plan to compensate for the depleted secondary.

Johnson has an aggressive defensive philosophy that thrives on timely blitzes – he may dial back on them a notch – but the Saints offensive line will still need to contend with plenty. The Eagles have a bunch of ways to create pressure with defensive ends Darren Howard, Trent Cole, Juqua Thomas and tackle Darwin Walker. Safety Brian Dawkins is having another incredible run this season, flying all over the field making plays.

The Saints own a talented backfield with Deuce McAllister and explosive rookie Reggie Bush. McAllister is a powerful north-south back and rushed for over 1,000 yards and ten touchdowns, while Bush possesses the explosive speed that can get to the outside and break a big play any time he has the ball. In addition to his 155 carries, Bush also had 88 catches for 742 yards. Philadelphia middle linebacker Jeremiah Trotter will have his hands full all game trying to corral McAllister and Bush.

The New Orleans Saints enter the game as favorites (-5) and will be greeted by a raucous hometown crowd giving them plenty of support. It will be a hostile environment for the visiting Eagles, but they own the edge in playoff experience and have been in this spot before. The real challenge for Philadelphia will be trying to slow down the Saints dynamic offense - it won't be easy.

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