The Philadelphia Eagles are destined to join their baseball counterparts, the Philadelphia Phillies, and add another championship to the city of brother love. On Sunday, January 18, 2009, the Eagles will dominate the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC Championship game and head to the Super Bowl XLIII. 

The Eagles convincingly defeated their NFC rival, New York Giants, last week to advance the NFC Championship. 

Tomorrow, expect the Eagles defense to be in the face of the Cardinals QB, Kurt Warner and hold one of the most explosive passing games in the NFL to single digit points.  The Eagles QB, Donovan McNabb and running back Brian Westbrook will do enough to take them to the Super Bowl.

GAME INFO

Date: Sunday, January 18, 2009 3:00 PM EST
Location: U of Phoenix, Glendale, AZ    TV: FOX

THE SPREAD
The Eagles are the favorite by 4 points. Over/Under is 49 1/2 points.

GAME PREVIEW AND TRENDS
In the last meeting between the two teams, the Eagles dominated on Thanksgiving Day 48-20.That victory provided a spark for the Eagles, as they won four of their last five regular season games, outscoring opponents by an average of 23.0 points in those wins.

Philadelphia still needed help in Week 17 to make the playoffs, and it has taken full advantage of its opportunity.

The Eagles trounced Dallas 44-6 in their regular-season finale to clinch the No. 6 seed, then beat Minnesota 26-14 in a wild-card game before defeating the New York Giants 23-11 in last Sunday’s divisional game.

While that Thanksgiving win got Philadelphia’s season back on track, Arizona’s loss led to an awful late-season finish for what is historically one of the league’s worst franchises.

The Cardinals dropped four of their last six regular season games. Their only wins in that span came against St. Louis and Seattle - teams which combined for a 6-26 record - and they were outscored by an average of 24.3 points in those losses.

Although it won the weak NFC West and had won only two playoff games in their history prior to this season, the Cardinals have been at their best in this postseason and now become the first No. 4 seed to host a conference championship game.

They had been the only NFC team not to play in one since the 1970 merger before pulling off a win few saw coming. Arizona traveled to Carolina for last Sunday’s divisional game as a 10-point underdog, but raced to a 27-7 halftime lead en route to a 33-13 win over the Panthers, the league’s only unbeaten team at home in the regular season.

“Not many people had very nice things to say about us and didn’t give us a chance,” Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt said. “We believe in ourselves. I like being the underdog, and we’re going to continue to be the underdog.”

Arizona will be the underdog again, as oddsmakers made the Eagles as 4 point favorites.

The Cardinals are 7-2 at home this season, including a 30-24 win over Atlanta in the wild-card round, but Philadelphia is not going to be intimidated.

After winning just three road games during the regular season, the Eagles have had no trouble playing away from Philadelphia in the postseason. They’ve already won at the Metrodome, where the Vikings were 6-2 during the regular season, and at Giants Stadium, where New York was 7-1.

Philadelphia had success at Minnesota and against the Giants thanks to a swarming, suffocating defense.

The Eagles have forced five turnovers and allowed 322 passing yards in the postseason. Philadelphia had the league’s third-ranked defense during the regular season (274.3 yards per game), and has allowed just four TDs in the past six games.

“We’re going to be close in every game because we aren’t going to give up those type of big plays and hopefully that gives the offense confidence to make whatever call they want whenever they want to call it because they trust us not to give up a lot of points,” Pro Bowl safety Brian Dawkins said.

Shutting down Arizona’s Larry Fitzgerald may not be as easy.

The Cardinals thrive on big plays behind Kurt Warner and Fitzgerald. They hooked up for a 42-yard touchdown in Arizona’s wild-card win and a 29-yard TD last week.

The Eagles, though, did a solid job of slowing down Warner and Fitzgerald in their Thanksgiving meeting. Warner threw for three touchdowns but also had three interceptions, while Fitzgerald was held to five catches for 65 yards, though he did score twice.

Last week, Fitzgerald set a team playoff record with 166 yards receiving even though Warner was missing one of his deep threats in wide receiver Anquan Boldin.

Boldin, nursing a strained left hamstring, returned to practice this week and said he will play Sunday.

While Arizona relies on its high-scoring offense, the Cardinals defense has surprisingly stepped up in the playoffs. Arizona was 19th in total defense during the regular season (331.5 ypg), but has limited its two playoff opponents to an average of 259.5 yards.

The Cardinals held Atlanta’s Michael Turner, the No. 2 rusher in the regular season, to 42 yards and Carolina’s DeAngelo Williams, the league’s No. 3 rusher, to 63 yards. Arizona also intercepted Jake Delhomme five times last week, and has forced nine turnovers in the playoffs.

“We feel like we’re a solid defense,” Cardinals defensive end Bertrand Berry said. “We have some guys out here who can make plays. It’s just a matter of putting it all together for 60 minutes on Sunday. If we can do that, the sky’s the limit.”

Arizona had no answer for Philadelphia’s Brian Westbrook on Thanksgiving, though, as the versatile running back rushed for 110 yards on 22 carries and scored a career-high four touchdowns - two rushing and two receiving.

Westbrook hasn’t been much of a factor on the ground in the playoffs, as he has rushed for just 74 yards on 38 carries. He did come up with a big play in the fourth quarter of the wild-card win, though, scoring a 71-yard touchdown off a screen pass.

GAME PREDICTION
Philadelphia Eagles 21  Arizona Cardinals 3

sources: nfl.com, espn.com, thespread.com, fox.com

The New York Jets are actively seeking a new head coach to replace Eric Mangini.  Many reports put the Jets ofensive coordinator Brian Shottenheimer as the early favorite.  But it won’t happen!  The best choice to take over the Jets hasn’t even had an interview yet, and his name is currently on the bottom of the list - Brian Billick.

Brian Bilick was the Baltimore Ravens Head Coach from 1999 to 2007 and lead the Ravens to a Super Bowl championship against the New York Giants in 2000 by a score of 34-7. 

On December 31, 2007, Billick was fired from his position as head coach of the Baltimore Ravens. This came after a season in which the team went 5–11, including 1–5 in the division, and lost to the otherwise winless Miami Dolphins. Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti described the decision to fire Billick as the toughest decision he has ever had to make. Billick, in a short statement, said Bisciotti did what he believed was best for the Ravens, and asserted that the two men are and will remain friends.

But why would Billick be the best choice as head coach for the New York Jets? Her are 12 reasons:

1. He is and experienced NFL head coach. He coached the Ravens from Jan 199 through December 2007 with a 85-67 record
2. He coached in the AFC, the same conference as the Jets
3. He is refreshed. He did not coach in the 2007 NFL season
4. His previous experience with previous Front Offices have been good. He should be be ok with General Manager Mike Tannenbaum making personal decisions
5. He  has won a Superbowl (against the Giants in Super Bowl XXXV)
6. The Jets Fans won’t stand for another “newbie” - any assistant coach without head coaching experience
7. The Jets Fans want to distance themselves with the leadership that lead to this year’s collapse
8. He is an offensive coach. He started out as a Tide End coach with the Vikings in 1992 then was promoted to offensive coordinator. He quickly created one the most explosive offensives in the league. Something you wouldn’t have expected with his defense in Baltimore
9. Owner Woody Johnson wants a winner
10.Woody Johnson wants an experienced head coach
11.The last three Jets head coaches were defensivehead coaches -Al Groh, Herm Edwards and Eric Mangini
12.He could work with Brett Favre (if Brett decides to return)

There are other candidates for the job, including:

• Brian Shottenheimer, the current New York Jets Offensive Coordinator. But links to the team leadership in the Jets collapse, combined with his inexperience as a head coach, don’t bode well with fans.
• Steve Spagnolo, the New York Giants Defensive Coordinator. He is being courted by three other teams - the Browns, Lions and Broncos. And according to reports of his interview with the Jets front office, he was ill prepared.
• Rex Ryan - Ravens Defensive Coordinator.  No head coaching experience.
• Russ Grimm, Cardinals Assistant Head Coach. He was turned down as head coach by the Chicago Bears in 2004, they opted to go with Lovie Smith.
• Ron Meeks, Colts Defensive Coordinator.  Defensive coach and no head coaching experience.
• Jeff Jagodzinski - Boston College Head Coach. Rumor has it his job security was in danger if he decides to interview with the Jets.  Besides, the Jets fans won’t buy into the idea
• Leslie Frazier -Viking Defensive Coordinator.  Just got a one year extension from the Vikings and he is a defensive coach with no head coaching experience

The question is - would Brian Billick be willing to come back into the limelight and play in New York?

The answer is: He’d be crazy not to!

Here is a quick glance at the NFL Playoff picture as of Sunday 12/21 after the 1:00 pm EST games have been played:

AFC
1  Tennessee  South 13-2-0
2  Pittsburgh (yz) North 11-4-0
3  Miami East 10-5-0
4  Denver West 8-6-0
5  Indianapolis (x) South 11-4-0
6  Baltimore North 10-5-0

Still alive
7  New England East 10-5-0
8  N.Y. Jets East 9-5-0
11  San Diego West 7-8-0

Eliminated
9  Houston South 7-7-0
10  Buffalo East 6-8-0
12  Jacksonville South 5-10-0
13  Cleveland North 4-11-0
14  Cincinnati North 3-11-1
15  Oakland West 3-11-0
16  Kansas City West 2-13-0

NFC
Seed Team Division Record
1  N.Y. Giants (y) East 11-3-0
2  Carolina (x) South 11-3-0
3  Minnesota North 9-5-0
4  Arizona (y) West 8-7-0
5  Atlanta South 9-5-0
6  Philadelphia East 8-5-1

Still alive
7  Dallas East 9-6-0
8  Tampa Bay South 9-6-0
9  Chicago North 8-6-0
11  Washington East 7-7-0

Eliminated
10  New Orleans South 8-7-0
12  San Francisco West 6-9-0
13  Green Bay North 5-9-0
14  Seattle West 3-11-0
15  St. Louis West 2-13-0
16  Detroit North 0-15-0

legend
x-clinched playoff berth
y-denotes division winner
z-denotes first-round bye
*-clinched home-field advantage

More on the playoff possibilities …

AFC EAST
Miami sits on top and the Patriots and Jets are alive for the Wildcard

AFC SOUTH
Tennessee clinched the division and a first-round bye. It can clinch home-field advantage in the AFC playoffs with a win.

Indianapolis clinched a playoff spot with its win over Jacksonville on Thursday.

AFC NORTH DIVISION
Even with a loss today against Tennessee, the Pittsburgh Steelers have clinched the division and a first-round bye. Baltimore is alive for a wild-card spot.

AFC WEST DIVISION
Denver can clinch the division with 1) a win or tie; 2) a San Diego loss or tie.
NFC EAST DIVISION
The New York Giants clinched the division. They can clinch a first-round bye with: 1) a win or tie; 2) a Minnesota loss or tie. They can clinch home-field advantage in the NFC playoffs with: 1) a win vs. Carolina.

Dallas can clinch a playoff spot next week with: 1) a win or tie against Philadelphia and an Atlanta loss; 2) a win and a loss or tie by Chicago and a Tampa Bay loss; 3) a win and an Atlanta loss, a Chicago loss or tie and a Tampa Bay loss.

NFC SOUTH DIVISION
Carolina has clinched a playoff spot after Dallas’ loss Saturday to Baltimore. It can clinch the division with: 1) a win or tie; 2) losses or ties by both Tampa Bay and Atlanta. It can clinch a first-round bye with: 1) a win or tie; 2) a Tampa Bay loss or tie and an Atlanta- Minnesota tie. It can clinch home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs with: 1) a win against the N.Y. Giants.

Tampa Bay can clinch a playoff spot with: 1) a win, an Atlanta loss and a Philadelphia loss or tie; 2) a win, an Atlanta loss and a Dallas loss or tie.

Atlanta can clinch a playoff spot with: 1) a win and losses by Tampa Bay and Philadelphia; 2) a win and losses by Tampa Bay and Dallas.

NFC NORTH DIVISION
Minnesota can clinch the division with: 1) a win; 2) a tie and a Chicago tie; 3) a Chicago loss.

NFC WEST DIVISION
Arizona has clinched the division.

source: ESPN, FOX, nfl.com, cbssports.com