Guess Who the NUMBER ONE Team in the NFC EAST is! The E-A-G-L-E-S!

You’ll never guess who the number one team in the NFC East is! OK, I gave it away already. But I’m very proud to tell you again if you already knew or if you’re finding out for the first time, it’s none other than MY PHILADELHIA EAGLES!

Did I not call it? Did I not say that we’d get past Atlanta and New York and that Dallas would choke in December? No, I’m not psychic but I can read a play that’s being telegraphed by an opponent. And the telegraph from Dallas and New York today is …---…! That’s Morse code for Save Our Season!

Ahhh…I love it when I can talk a little trash!

Ok, back to the game and what happened. Trust me, it was a good one! New York didn’t just roll over and lay down. It was a good fight but the better team won. It was a high scoring game so defense wasn’t the highlight but our defenders showed up when it counted the most. There were some unnecessary penalties on defense and a bit of scrapping on the field that we could have done without though.

However, the stars of the show were on offense! From the start of the game we meant business. The Eagles won the toss and opted for first up. I always question this move but it proved to be a good strategy as we scored on the opening drive. Brent Celek’s thumb was still bothering him a bit but you couldn’t tell. He scored the first touchdown with a short pass from Donovan McNabb after a Mike Vick to Desean Jackson combination for 32 yards that put us in the red zone.

Then it was the Giants first turn with the ball. Oops, Trent Cole forced a fumble from Brandon Jacobs and Sheldon Brown recovered to score our second touchdown giving us 14 points from the first and second plays of the game. This was foreshadowing that it was going to be a very good night!

Michael Vick was productive on the field again this week much like in Atlanta. On a first half play with both him and Donovan in on the same drive they were unable to grab six. But David Akers stepped in to put three on the board. And just when you thought Santa had already filled our first half stockings, Desean returns a punt for a touchdown, and then Vick scores a rushing TD and we go into the locker room up by 13 after a blocked extra point by Akers.

The officiating left a lot to be desired on both sides of the ball. Both coaches lost a challenge in the second half, forfeiting one time out each but Andy Reid actually won a second challenge! (It’s about time!) The Giants did lead at one point in the second half. But we answered any numbers they put on the board which made it look more like a half time score for a basketball game. Desean scored another six in the third. Then Leonard Weaver ran one in to cap off a 91 yard drive and Jason Avant added icing on the cake with a 2 point conversion to complete the win.

Final score - 45-31, Eagles!

There was so much to be excited about for Eagles fans in this shoot out but the crowning moment of the game other than the win was Coach Andy Reid jumping into a chest bump with ity bity Desean Jackson. Duh, Andy, you could have seriously hurt him. I know you're excited about your 3 year extension and being one of only three coaches to win 100 games during their tenure in a single decade. But we just got Jackson back off injured reserve so chill with that Andy!

Since I work in New York, I do have a sympathetic soft spot for my friends who are Giants lovers. I knew they’d be totally avoiding me after the Eagles big win. You would have thought that Manhattan had been evacuated as there wasn’t a Giant fan to be found anywhere in my office! That’s ok…I’ll still be bragging for the rest of the week and they can’t avoid me forever! I also have a very little soft spot for Giants wide receiver Hakeem Nicks and fullback Madison Hedgecock because they are both alumni of my alma mater, North Carolina. But since they’re wearing Big Blue now and not Carolina Blue, sorry my Tarheel friends, that soft spot is so small that it’s pretty much non-existent!

The only thing better than the Eagles win was the Cowboy’s loss to San Diego. Hey Romo, Cry Me A Phillip Rivers! LOL! That put us solely in the number one spot in our division. With San Francisco on the way to Philadelphia to face us next week and Dallas going to New Orleans to take on the undefeated Saints, it’s safe to say that for the rest of December, we’ll remain perch on the top limb all by ourselves!

Ain’t life grand?
Yes it is; yes it is!
I’ll see you on the sidelines…with a great big smile!


Helen “Love My Eagles” Little