Payton's Place...Definitely!!!

Eagles @ Saints

Jeff Garcia leads the Eagles into the divisional round of the playoffs to face the New Orleans Saints. Anyone not rooting for the Saints and the city of New Orleans has less heart than Donald Trump...at least he is giving the alcoholic/drug addict a second chance...despite all the bad press from Rosie. This game has the two top ranked offenses facing each other...will this Guru make the same mistake as last week and go over a large number in anticipation of a shootout? We shall see.

The Eagles are flying high on a six game winning streak. They seemed to be eerily similar to my defending Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers of last year. They are the hottest team in the NFL...hands down. Jeff Garcia has only thrown 2 INT's since replacing the injured Donovan McNabb. Meanwhile, Bryan Westbrook has been on fire. He is getting more touches in both the receiving game and the running game. This certainly is a high powered offense. Don't forget that Donte Stallworth didn't play the last time these teams met.

The Eagles defense meanwhile continues to struggle against the run. Their pass defense has been pretty good all year with Brain Dawkins and Lito Sheppard, not to mention the blitzing scheme that Jim Johnson runs. However, Lito Sheppard is out for this game with a dislocated elbow. So their defense will have to create pressure on Brees and force him into a couple of mistakes.

On the other side of the ball, the problem for the Eagles D is that the Saints are 4th in the league in sacks allowed. Drew Brees has only been sacked 23 times this year. With Sheppard out, this give him the opportunity to hit for some big plays. Also, Sean Payton has done a great job of utilizing Reggie Bush all year. Reggie Bush is never going to be a 25 carries a game guy. However, Payton has him in all different types of formations looking for mismatches and getting the ball to him in space. Oh, did I mention Deuce McAllister had 1,000+ yards and 10 TD's this season?

The Saints defense isn't something necessarily worth something to write home about. They are ranked 11th overall, but only 23rd against the run. Mike McKenzie is probably the best known of the corp, but the great Scotts (Scott Shanle and Scott Fujita) are no slouches. Fred Thomas in his 11th year seems to be every opposing teams favorite target...and there is good reason for that. He has given up some big plays and some costly penalties. Looks for the Eagles to exploit him as many others have tried to do.

"The Man" has the Saints giving 5 and the total at 49. I am really torn on this game. It wouldn't surprise me if the Eagles won outright, therefore you better take the points. However, without Lito Sheppard, I could see the Eagles D having more holes in it than OJ's alibi. Ultimately, I would take the points, but nothing official. As for the total, I think it will be a shootout, but 28 - 20 doesn't get you over this total. However, I guarantee at least one if not both teams get to 30...therefore, take the over for 2 coins.