will we ever win?

McNabb To Lead Eagles Against Miami

The headline after McNabb's 2000 victorious matchup against his 1999 draft counterpart, Ricky Williams (Saints), read: "For one game, at least, Donovan McNabb proved he was the right pick for the Philadelphia Eagles." Indeed, McNabb passed for a then career high 222 yards, going 20/32 with two touchdowns, while Ricky Williams fumbled twice to mar his 103 yard rushing performance. And, up until that game, McNabb hadn't really had a breakout game (fellow draftmates Couch and Culpepper were off to better career starts). The resilient McNabb afterward exclaimed much like earlier this season, "I never had a problem with losing my confidence."

This Monday's Eagles' contest against the Miami Dolphins features that same matchup, wherein McNabb will be able to show once again that he was the right choice for the Eagles. This time, however, that saga is surpassed (much like the "hate the Boys" motivation was secondary last week) by the fact that the Eagles are playing to shore up their hold on the NFC East, get a first round bye, and obtain home field throughout the playoffs. You see, the Eagles have their fate in their own hands. And, winning out and taking an 11 game winning streak right into the playoffs would be fine by even most Philly fans' standards.

The Eagles, however, are winless in Miami in five attempts and 3-7 overall. The last time the Eagles played Miami (1999), Jimmy Johnson's Dolphins were without their starting quarterback, Dan Marino. And, even though their starter (Fiedler) is questionable for Monday, the Dolphins probably will not suffer from a lackluster offensive showing.

Keys to the game:

• Contain Ricky Williams. Although he has already run for 1,000+ yards, he is only averaging 3.3 yds/carry, which is not as good as some of the other runners the Eagles have faced so far this season. In fact, Green, McAllister, Davis, and Barber are all better in runs per carry and total yards on the season.
  
• Avoid turnover mistakes. This Miami team is positive in turnover ratio (+2) with individual AFC leaders in the interceptions, fumble recoveries, and sacks department. Their 15th ranked (out of 16 teams) AFC offense does not need any help.
  
• Establish a passing game early. Although the Dolphins feature a solid run defense, their passing defense is near the bottom of the AFC. Give McNabb the ball and hope some receivers can catch this week.

The Eagles will need a solid performance on both sides of the ball to take their Monday Night record under Reid to 6-1. However with a solid red zone offense (Philadelphia) going against the best red zone defense in the league (Miami), the Eagles get the edge on two counts: 1) they have an excellent red zone defense themselves; and, 2) they have David Akers, who might be the difference in the game in a Phi-Mia series where only two games have been decided by nine or more points.