Philadelphia Inquirer: Villanova football star Szczur to donate bone marrow:

Szczur, a wideout in football and outfielder/catcher in baseball, is preparing to become a bone-marrow donor. The junior learned three days ago that he was match for a 1-year-old girl who has leukemia. He did not comment; when and where the procedure will take place were not disclosed.

The Zapruder Film of Temple football. Don't look, Ethel.

I haven't been in the mood to post on any of the message boards recently.
I'm in deep mourning.
Thirty years of losing, then being sold that this year would be different, then losing to a 1AA team, will do that to an individual.
I don't think Al Golden understood the importance of this game to Temple, its current students, alumni and fan base.
I don't think Al Golden understood the intense dislike Temple people have for Villanova people.
I don't think Al Golden understood if you lose this game, you lose an entire fan base (at least the much larger soft part of it, countless thousands of people who could have pushed our average past 30K) for a whole season. That's shy of beating Penn State, which, after that latest brain cramp, is just not going to happen.
In many ways, this was a program-killer. When the story of this program is written, it could include a chapter on redemption, about a win in front of 106,000 people at Penn State that started something big or it could begin and end with five turnovers.
The Zapruder Film of Temple football could be that bullet-to-the-head field goal that we allowed by playing a prevent defense in the final seconds.
Call it The Single Field Goal Theory.
I will always support the program, me and the 15,000 die-hards.
But I won't sugarcoat the truth.
I just won't.
The plain truth is me and the 15,000 die-hards are not enough to keep it running.
We are running out of "next years" because decisions on things like conference affiliations are being made now and will largely be determined by attendance.
You need big wins to fuel the attendance engine.
You need to protect your own house.
Central Michigan, Northern Illinois, Kent, Fake Miami, just ain't going to cut it.
Not in this market.
That's why the Villanova game was so important.
Play the game, Al, but win the game.
As Christopher "Mad Dog" Russo used to rant to Mike Francesa on WFAN when those two were the No. 1 tandem in all of talk radio, "Win The Game, Mikey ... WIN ... THE ... GAME!!!"
Win the game, Al.
WIN ... THE ... GAME!
OK, I understand about the minus-4 turnover ratio. I understand all of that.
But Al Golden could have done things proactively to turn that stat around.
That's why I'll never understand how our linebackers weren't unleashed on Villanova. Blitz left, blitz right, blitz up the middle.
Every one of our linebackers is faster, significantly faster, than Villanova quarterback Chris Whitney. There is no doubt in my mind if the blitz was a big part of our defensive package, we would have been able to put Whitney down 10 times and not just five. We might have jarred a couple of balls loose in Villanova territory. We might have scored a defensive touchdown or two.
We WOULD have won the game. There's no doubt in my mind.
Put him on his ass, hit him enough times, and watch that turnover ratio and field position swing in our favor.
This is not second-guessing. It's first-guessing.
Page down to a post or two below.
There it is in bold typeface with a gold background posted prior to the game: TEMPLE'S NO. 1 PRIORITY SHOULD BE GETTING TO THE QUARTERBACK. I guess I didn't make that big or bold enough.
I was buttonholed by an older gentleman, I'll call him Joe, on the way out.
He was walking with another older gentleman.
The other guy told him, "Don't worry, Joe. We've got 11 games left to play."
Joe was inconsolable.
"I don't care about those other games. This is the game I wanted to win. You can have all the Akrons and Northern Illinois you want. This is the game I wanted. I'm not coming back."
"I hear you, bro," I said.
"Then you understand," Joe said, nodding his head vigorously. "You understand."
Joe isn't alone.
The sad truth is that you can lose to Penn State, go 10-2 and win the MAC and a good chunk of Philadelphia will say, "Yeah, but they couldn't beat Villanova. The MAC sucks. Who cares?"
I care, but I doubt anyone other than the die-hards care and that's why this loss was a program-killer in many ways.
We've already lost our house.
All we have left is the car.
Anyone want to roll the dice for double-or-nothing with Penn State?
Plenty of good seats now available:

By Mike Gibson
I was just working out some math equations in my head.
Hmm, what does 27,854 plus 1 equal?
Oh, I'd say about 30,632.
What does 27,854 minus one equal?
Probably around 8,000.
Fuzzy math?
No, just some figures based on observing the very fragile Temple football fan base over the last 30 or so years.
Expect the crowd for Temple's game against Buffalo when it comes back from an expected Penn State beat-down to be around 8,000. That's where the minus 1 comes in ... 27,854 fans minus one must-win, equals 8,000.
Had the Owls beaten Villanova and gave a decent effort in a loss at Penn State, they would have drawn 30,632 for the Buffalo game, which arguably is the most important on their schedule.
I know that.
You probably know that.
Tell that to the 20,000 or so Temple students who believed last night, but no longer do after a 27-24 loss to Villanova.
You could hear the refrain coming out of the stadium.
"Same old Temple," the kids were saying.
And they were OUR students, not Nova's.
Can you blame them?
Until Al Golden beats a team with a winning record (and the last time I checked he hasn't as a HEAD coach), he's all talk, no substance.
Back on Feb. 4, I wrote that I was worried about this game because Andy Talley, quite frankly, is a better game coach than Al Golden.
I thought it didn't matter because Golden had the talent edge to Talley's game-coaching edge.
I was right in both cases.
I was wrong about the edge part. Talley's football acumen far surpasses Golden's. Edge should not have been an operative word.
What good does it do if you have advantage in a chess match and you can't finish it off by making the proper moves?
Talley made the proper moves and Golden didn't.
I wrote here last week that "Temple's No. 1 priority should be getting to the quarterback."
A freaking blind man could see that.
Al Golden couldn't. If that's Mark D'Onofrio's fault, he's got to get in Mark's face and say, "bring the house." That's what the head coach is for.
If you can't get to the quarterback bringing four or five, bring six.
If you can't get to the quarterback bringing six, bring seven.
If you can't get to the quarterback bringing seven, bring eight.
You get the idea.
Temple brought four or five most of the night.
The last time I checked, this is not the North-South All-Star game.
They do allow you to blitz.
Chris Whitney made them pay.
The defensive side of the ball is not the only area where the guys with the headsets on came up small.
The Owls have a career linebacker, Matt Rhule, as an offensive coordinator and that's probably why their offense has no imagination.
At least George DeLeone, a lifelong offensive mind, pulled out the handoff to Tim Brown, pitch back to Adam DiMichele and bomb to Travis Shelton for six against Bowling Green.
Bruce Arians had Matty Baker also throw a pair of long-bomb flea-flickers to Mike Palys for a couple of scores in a 45-28 win over Boston College two decades ago. Arians, the offensive coordinator of the Super Bowl champs, knows his stuff. Might be a good idea for Rhule to take a page or two or 12 out of his Temple book.
When backup quarterback Chester Stewart lined up in the slot, I thought, "Great, we're going to TRY at least one throwback pass."
Nothing.
Meanwhile, Talley tries a reverse that goes for 28 yards and his offensive plays had a sophistication far above any package Matt Rhule threw out there.
What we've seen in two years is a 28-24 lead against Buffalo with 38 seconds to go, a 27-7 fourth-quarter lead against Navy and a 24-14 lead against Villanova and losses in all three games.
It can't be the kids' fault all the time.
Just once, I'd like to hear Al Golden say, "I screwed up. I take full responsibility."
Instead, he throws Kee-ayre Griffin under the bus after the Navy game and now throws the kids who fumbled and tossed INTs under the bus last night, saying the story of the game "begins and ends" with the five turnovers.
The buck has to stop somewhere else. I, like Golden, love playing this game. You have to win it, though.
Golden can't go out there and hold onto the ball and throw to the right person, sure.
But he can put those kids in a better position to win.
That's what Talley has done for nearly 20 years at Villanova and that's why Villanova has a win Temple needed more.

Poor Richard's Scorecard: Poor Richard's Scorecard: If Michael Vick Played Like Doug Pederson, Do You Think the Eagles Would Be Giving Him a Second Chance? Me, Neither

The700Level: The700Level (featured blog 1/8 - 1/22/06): On Michael Vick, Andy Reid, the Eagles, and Second Chances

Inside The Eagles: Inside the Iggles: Recapping the Michael Vick Signing

A Rubber Door: A Rubber Door: Eagles sign Vick. Fans revolt.

SteveSilver.net: SteveSilver.net: Vick to Eagles?!?!

Support Your Local Gunfighter: Support Your Local Gunfighter (featured 1/9/07-2/23/07): Philadelphia Eagles Sign Michael Vick

Balls, Sticks, and Stuff: Balls, Stick, and Stuff (featured 5/1-5/14/06): Its As if the Eagles Want to Make it as Hard as Possible to Root for Them.

Fables of Reconstruction: WHAT?

The Recliner GM Sports Blog: The Recliner GM Sports Blog: Michael Vick an Eagle – Seriously?

Philebrity: Philebrity (featured blog Jan 23-Jan 29): Breaking: Eagles Sign Michael Vick

Eagles Gab: Eagles Gab: Eagles Take on the PR Nightmare - Sign Michael Vick!

For related tweets, check out Happn.in.

It is impossible to not mention the Air Jordan basketball shoes when talking about Jordan. Since Nike designed the first series of basketball shoes for Jordan, there has already been 19 different series of Air Jordan basketball shoes. It is almost sudden that you would be attracting everyone’s attention when you walk down the street with a pair of Jordan basketball shoes. Many Jordan shoe collectors have all 19 series of the Air Jordan basketball shoes, they would have two pairs of each series of shoes as one pair would be for wearing and the other for collecting.
When Jordan came out of retirement for the second time, there has already been 13 series of Air Jordan basketball shoes. But Jordan still wore his AJI and dropped 45 points at the New York Jackson Garden Square, which proved Jordan’s greatness. In 2002 there has been a limited edition of Jordan Red/White copy right, this pair of shoes contained a limited edition shoe box, copy card, Airman key chain and a huge retain price.
Although AJIII weren’t exactly popular, but the importance of it is that the Icon of the Air Jordan Shoes was replaced with the symbol of Jordan himself.
The audience who have seen the cartoon series Basketball Man must be familiar with AJIV, the main character Hanamichi Sakuragi wears VI the entire time during the carton. But he only spent 1000 Yen for it.. jealous…
AJVII came out during the year of the 1992 Olympic, in order to commemorate the Olympic, some shoes had its bottom number 23 changed to 9, now it is impossible to buy even with ten thousand dollars.
In May, 20th 2004, the last series of Jordan basketball shoes was on sell at Beijing sport shops, the price was 1480 yuan. At the Guangdong Square Flag Cruiser, there were only 50 pairs of Jordan AJ19. It must have started a huge selling frenzy as the fans fights to buy the shoes.
In the NBA collecting cards, the most valuable card is the Jordan card, it is now priced for over 2000 dollars.
There are many other Jordan item collections, such as picture albums, documentary tapes, and original Jordan notebooks, cards, and even the receipts of the Jordan restaurant in Chicago.
Even if you don’t have a pair of Jordan shoes, or a jersey, and only has a collection of Jordan related News Articles, it is understood. Because, Jordan doesn’t need reasons.
Having just Jordan shoes is not enough, Jordan jerseys are also a must. On a outdoor basketball court in the summer, one can always see many young teenagers wearing t-shirts with the Icon of Jordan on the front. Of course, many of these t-shirts are counterfeits, with very collecting value. But a jersey that was exactly same with the new jersey Jordan wore in 1998 with the exact same order number, Name and logo was priced above 1000 dollars!

ABC 6: Action News: Remembering Gary Papa

Philadelphia Inquirer: Channel 6 sports anchor's death leaves hole in hearts of family, friends & fans

The700Level.com: Philly Loses the Great Gary Papa

A List Of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago: GARY PAPA (1954-2009)

Katey's Kafe: R.I.P. Gary Papa

Phillyist: Gary Papa Dies

Philebrity: R.I.P.: Gary Papa, 1954-2009

Bleeding Green: Bleeding Green: Longtime Philly sports anchor Gary Papa dies

(please feel free and post your links - I will update this post)

The National Football League (NFL) is the largest professional American football league. It is an unincorporated association controlled by its members.[1] It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association (the league changed the name to American Professional Football League in 1921 and then settled on its current name in 1922). The league currently consists of thirty-two teams from American cities and regions, divided evenly into two conferences — the American Football Conference (AFC) and National Football Conference (NFC) — of four four-team divisions.

The regular season is a seventeen-week schedule during which each team has one bye week and plays sixteen games. This schedule includes six games against a team's divisional rivals, as well as several inter-division and inter-conference games. The season currently starts on the Thursday night in the first full week of September (the Thursday after Labor Day) and runs weekly to late December or early January.

At the end of each regular season, six teams from each conference play in the NFL playoffs, a twelve-team single-elimination tournament that culminates with the NFL championship, the Super Bowl. This game is held at a pre-selected site which is usually a city that hosts an NFL team. The following week, selected all-star players from both the AFC and NFC meet in the Pro Bowl, currently held in Honolulu, Hawaii.

The NFL has the highest per-game attendance of any domestic professional sports league in the world, drawing over 67,000 spectators per game for each of its two most recently completed seasons in 2006[2] and 2007.[3] However, the NFL's overall attendance is only approximately 20% of that of Major League Baseball, due to MLB's much longer schedule, currently 162 games per team with 81 home games each, plus playoffs.

Cardinals 32 - Eagles 25

'Nuff said...

News Link: The End of the Road

Cartoon from Sid in the City

The New York Giants defied doubters and the odds last season, getting hot late in the year and riding that momentum to a stunning Super Bowl title despite entering the NFC playoffs as the fifth seed.

The Giants should see something very familiar in this year's Philadelphia Eagles.

New York opens the playoffs Sunday with a divisional-round game against the red-hot Eagles, who despite being the last seed in the conference, should pose a formidable challenge for their NFC East rivals at Giants Stadium.

New York (12-4) stumbled somewhat at the end of the season, dropping three of its last four, although it managed to clinch the top seed in the NFC with an overtime win over Carolina on Dec. 21. That earned a much-needed first-round bye for the Giants, who opened the season 11-1 and weathered a brutal schedule while playing 13 straight games after their bye week.

"The regular season is over, whatever the numbers might be," coach Tom Coughlin said. "We have been cast into a situation where we had the bye. You heard me say that I thought the bye was good for our team. I don't know that I would necessarily say that every year. In this case, I thought it was."

The situation for Coughlin's team is far different than it was last year, when upstart New York won three of four going into its season finale against unbeaten New England. Despite having the fifth seed already locked in, the Giants nearly knocked off the Patriots before losing 38-35, and the effort seemed to help propel them on their postseason run -- as well as give them the confidence needed to upset the Pats in the rematch in the Super Bowl.

This year, New York is among the favorites to reach the Super Bowl again -- something the Giants have been careful to disregard as any sort of advantage.

"Being the 2007 Super Bowl champions does not scare anybody, obviously," middle linebacker Antonio Pierce said. "For us, it is about going out there and getting our swagger back, getting that chip on our shoulder, listening to all these critics and opinion makers who have their say on what is going to happen or what did happen and go out there and play football."

New York seemed to thrive on that perceived lack of respect from the media and critics throughout the season, bristling at suggestions that the championship run was just a case of it getting hot at the right time. That's certainly what the Giants' Sunday opponent has done.

Philadelphia (10-6-1) has gone from being dismissed in Week 12, when quarterback Donovan McNabb was benched in a 36-7 loss to Baltimore, to a team that seems capable of pulling off a Giants-style run to the Super Bowl. The Eagles won four of their last five and pounded Dallas 44-6 in their season finale, earning an improbable playoff berth after also getting help from Tampa Bay and Chicago, who both needed to lose for the Eagles to get in.

Philadelphia went on to knock off Minnesota 26-14 in the wild-card round last week, showing the team had plenty left after its late-season run.

"I think we're dangerous," said cornerback Asante Samuel, who returned an interception 44 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. "We've just got to see how it plays out."

The Eagles' resurgence has been due in large part to McNabb, who responded after being benched in the second half against the Ravens. He was back starting the next week and led his team on its season-ending surge, completing 64.3 percent of his passes for 1,146 yards with nine touchdowns and one interception over the final five games.

After the loss to Baltimore dropped the Eagles to 5-5-1 and into last place in the NFC East, speculation swirled that McNabb along with coach Andy Reid would be done in Philadelphia after this season. Six weeks later, such talk seems absurd.

"I've been kind of revived, I guess," McNabb said. "They've (critics) thrown me out, they ran over me, spit on me, but you know what, I just continue to prevail."

McNabb helped the Eagles do that against the Giants on Dec. 7, as Philadelphia won 20-14 to deal New York its only home loss of the season. McNabb went 19-of-30 for 191 yards, and Brian Westbrook rushed for 131 yards and caught six passes for 72 yards, including a 40-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter for the winning score.

That week saw the Giants embroiled in controversy following the season-ending suspension of Plaxico Burress. The receiver, who caught the winning touchdown pass in the Super Bowl, was banned by the team after accidentally shooting himself in the leg at a New York nightclub.

Pierce was also involved in the incident, getting cited for failing to alert authorities after helping Burress get treatment following the shooting.

Burress contributed little in a controversy filled season that saw him clash with the organization and Coughlin, and his big-play ability was noticeably missed by the Giants in several games, including the loss to the Eagles. More important to the Giants offense, however, is a healthy Brandon Jacobs -- which New York will have after the bruising back sat out the regular season finale to give him two weeks off to rest his sore left knee.

New York relies on the 6-foot-4, 264-pound Jacobs to wear down defenses with his power running -- something he couldn't do against Philadelphia in December when he was forced out at halftime after aggravating the knee injury.

Jacobs rushed for 1,089 yards and 15 touchdowns this season, and his punishing style created opportunities for the elusive Derrick Ward, who ran for 1,025 yards as the Giants became the fourth team in NFL history to have two 1,000-yard rushers in the same season. New York led the NFL in rushing with 157.4 yards per game.

Jacobs ran for 126 yards and two touchdowns at Philadelphia on Nov. 9, when New York rolled up 401 yards of offense and held on for a 36-31 victory.

Like all Giants opponents, the Eagles will be focused on containing Jacobs and Ward. Philadelphia succeeded at doing that in December, limiting New York to 88 yards on the ground, and it allowed 92.3 rushing yards per game on the season -- fourth-fewest in the league.

Coordinator Jim Johnson's defense ranked third in the NFL with 274.3 yards allowed per game and fourth with 18.1 points a contest.

The Eagles' success against them this season made the bye week all the more important for the Giants.

"Last week was good for us," said Eli Manning, who threw for 314 yards, three TDs and one interception versus Philadelphia this year. "We got some good work in during those two practices, but it's good that we now know who we are playing.

"We are excited to get to work this week. We need a good week of practice and preparation because it's about execution at this time of year, especially against a team we face twice a year in games that always seem to come down to the fourth quarter."

As important as stopping the run will be for the Eagles, it's just as critical for the Giants when it comes to Westbrook. The versatile back has averaged 70.1 rushing yards with seven touchdowns in 12 games against New York, and caught 46 passes for 462 yards with five scores -- four of his receptions going for 25 yards or more.

Westbrook caught a 71-yard TD in the fourth quarter last week to seal the win and had 121 total yards, complementing McNabb, who threw for 300 yards.

The task of stopping the duo falls to former Eagles assistant and current Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, who devised the blitz-heavy scheme that was instrumental in defeating the Patriots in the Super Bowl. New York ranked fifth in the league in points allowed per game (18.4) and yards per contest (292.0).

Both teams continue to employ fierce pass rushes, with the Eagles ranking third in the league with 48 sacks and the Giants finishing sixth with 42 despite the offseason losses of last season's starting ends Michael Strahan to retirement and Osi Umenyiora to injury.

"I think the Eagles are the hottest team in the NFL right now," said defensive end Justin Tuck, who led New York with 12 sacks. "They may be the sixth seed, but they sure aren't playing like it."

The Giants have won three of the last four meetings and six of nine. The teams have only met three times in the playoffs, with the Eagles taking the most recent matchup 23-20 at home Jan. 7, 2007 in a wild-card game.

Westbrook won't practice, will start

Philadelphia Eagles running back Brian Westbrook did not practice Wednesday -- and might be limited for the rest of the week.
Westbrook, who is nursing a badly sprained right ankle and swollen left knee, told ESPN's Sal Paolantonio on Wednesday that he probably won't practice much this week. He will instead prepare for the Eagles' divisional-round playoff game against the reigning Super Bowl champion New York Giants with an intensive regimen of weightlifting, stretching and running in a pool.

"The good thing is that I didn't tweak anything against the Vikings," Westbrook said. "I took a pounding on the turf but I didn't re-injure anything so I'm not starting from in a hole this week."

Westbrook said he will start against the Giants on Sunday, but only after taking a round of anti-inflammatory medication on Saturday night and Sunday morning to get the pain and swelling to a tolerable level.

In the Eagles' 26-14 victory against Minnesota last week, Westbrook finished with three receptions for 83 yards and a touchdown and 38 rushing yards on 20 carries.

Information from ESPN NFL reporter Sal Paolantonio was used in this report.

Jacobs practices; Tuck misses workout

New York Giants leading rusher Brandon Jacobs returned to practice on Wednesday and pronounced himself ready to go for the NFC semifinal against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Jacobs missed the regular-season finale against the Minnesota Vikings because of season-long problems with his left knee. He hurt it early in the season and aggravated it against the Eagles in a loss on Dec. 7.

"The difference today is that I can go out and run full speed and I can make harder cuts," said Jacobs, who rushed for 1,089 yards this season despite missing three games. "I'm ready to go. I feel real good. I feel real good about our situation and where we are right now. I am just going to wait for the game to begin."

Pro Bowl guard Chris Snee knew the big, bruising Jacobs was ready to go on Monday.

"You can hear him," Snee said. "He's very vocal and he's enthusiastic. He came in Monday in here and he was rip-roaring and yelling. I said to Brandon, 'We don't play until Sunday at one,' and he looked at me like I was crazy. He's fired up and I love it."

Jacobs has been the key to the Giants' running attack this season. He has pounded opposing front lines with his 265-pound frame and has worn down defenses in the second half when Derrick Ward and Ahmad Bradshaw have come in to provide a change of pace.

"He's excited, man," said Ward, who rushed for 1,025 yards. "He hasn't practiced in two, three weeks leaving me and Ahmad out there by ourselves, but it's good to have him back energized and ready to go. In the meetings he can't even sit still, he's ready to go, so we had a nice practice today and we'll continue to work on that for the rest of the week and be ready for the Eagles."

Defensive end Justin Tuck (lower leg injury) and linebacker-long snapper Zak DeOssie (back) both did not practice on Wednesday, although coach Tom Coughlin was optimistic they would work out on Thursday.

Brian Dawkins shakes, gyrates and looks like he's having an out-of-body experience when he runs on the field during pregame introductions.

All that energy he keeps bottled up during the week comes out on game days. Dawkins stays charged-up until the final whistle no matter if it's the first preseason game or the Super Bowl.

The seven-time Pro Bowl safety goes all-out all the time. He's the heart and soul of Philadelphia's defense, and a key reason the Eagles have reached the second round of the playoffs.

Dawkins had nine tackles and one sack in Philadelphia's 26-14 victory over the Minnesota Vikings in last weekend's wild-card game. He swatted the ball out of Tarvaris Jackson's hand on the sack, but the quarterback fell on the ball. A week earlier in a do-or-die game against Dallas, Dawkins forced a pair of fumbles that were returned for touchdowns.

Not bad for a guy who was supposed to be too old and too slow to make big plays anymore.

"I do feel like I'm in the zone," Dawkins said Wednesday. "The game has slowed down even more so than it usually is. I'm being able to recognize things a lot faster. For whatever reason, I don't know. I really feel good at this time of the year."

People have questioned Dawkins' skills for a few years, saying he's at the end of his career. Somehow, at age 35, he keeps performing at a high level. Dawkins doesn't make all the plays he used to and gets beat at times, but he finds a way to come through when it matters most in important games.

Dawkins had a tough time in a 41-37 loss at Dallas on Monday Night Football in Week 2. He allowed a couple big plays -- Cowboys tight end Jason Witten had seven catches for 110 yards -- and got beat for a short TD catch by Terrell Owens in 1-on-1 coverage.

Two days later during his weekly news conference, Dawkins repeatedly was asked about his age. He defiantly proclaimed he's far from finished.

"I'm 34 years old and proud of it," Dawkins said that day, less than a month before turning 35. "I'm going to continue to play this game at a high level as long as I can. I'm going to protect my body, make sure that I'm out there on the field for my guys, and I'm going to play ball. I'm going to play ball at 34. I'm going to play ball at 35, and whatever else comes after that, I'm going to play ball."

Motivated by the criticism, Dawkins responded with an outstanding effort in the Eagles' 15-6 win over Pittsburgh the next game. He made an acrobatic play to sack Ben Roethlisberger and strip him of the ball to seal the victory.

"He's so strong mentally. He's as tough as you can imagine," coach Andy Reid said. "I've got a lot of guys that love to play the game, but I would say there's nobody that loved to play as much as him. He loves every part of the game. You can tell by the way he comes out of that tunnel. When it's time to go, it's time to go. You have to love that from a coaching standpoint and I know his fellow players respect him for that."

Dawkins is admired by teammates and peers for his physical style on the field and his humble demeanor away from it. He's a spiritual guy who would rather psyche-out opponents with hard hits than trash-talking.

Drafted in the second round by the Eagles in 1996, Dawkins has helped change the perception of the safety position. In the past, players were moved to safety because they weren't fast enough to play cornerback or didn't have the hands to be receivers. Now, safeties are considered playmakers who can create game-changing turnovers at any time. Baltimore's Ed Reed, Pittsburgh's Troy Polamalu and Indianapolis' Bob Sanders fit that profile perfectly.

It's not fair to say Dawkins, Reed, Polamalu and Sanders have redefined the position because Hall of Famers Ronnie Lott and Kenny Houston came before them. However, Dawkins and the current crew are playing safety better than anyone has in a long time.

"We're talking about a guy that should be in the Hall of Fame when it's all said and done," Reid said. "Brian is very versatile. Brian is one of the guys that you don't see a lot of. You saw it with Ronnie Lott and Brian that if you needed him to play corner, he could go over and play corner for you. There aren't a lot of guys that are that versatile out there."

Dawkins is in the final year of a contract, so it's possible he could be playing his final game with the Eagles if they lose to the New York Giants on Sunday.

He's just focused on extending the season.

"Out is not in our vocabulary right now," Dawkins said. "We're playing for one another and giving everything we have for one another. We're worrying about what we need to worry about, and the only thing we need to worry about is us. We're making sure that we go into this game not making mental mistakes and giving ourselves the best opportunity to win the game."

They'll send cornerbacks from one side and safeties up the middle, drop linemen into pass coverage and hope someone gets to the quarterback.

Defensive coordinators Jim Johnson and Steve Spagnuolo are known for their attacking styles and exotic schemes. Their goal is to create constant pressure, get sacks and cause turnovers.

Neither coach lets up.

When the Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Giants meet in an NFC divisional playoff Sunday, Donovan McNabb and Eli Manning should see plenty of guys coming at them from different angles.

Johnson and Spagnuolo, his former understudy, love the blitz. They'll do it anytime, no matter the down or score.

"We expect him to bring the heat," McNabb said of Spagnuolo, who runs the Giants' D. "And we will be prepared and go out and try to make some big plays."

Spagnuolo learned under Johnson during his eight seasons as an assistant in Philadelphia. He took the same aggressive approach to New York last year, added a few of his own wrinkles and helped the Giants win a Super Bowl. In the process, Spags became a hot commodity for head coaching vacancies around the league.

Johnson joined the Eagles when coach Andy Reid arrived in 1999. His defenses have consistently ranked among the best in the NFL, a major reason why Philadelphia has reached the playoffs seven times in the last nine years.

The veteran Johnson is proud to see Spagnuolo and some of his other pupils having success. Defensive coordinators Ron Rivera of the San Diego Chargers and Leslie Frazier of the Minnesota Vikings each served under Johnson in Philadelphia.

"I'm just glad I'm in the playoffs," Johnson joked. "No, I'm happy for those guys. It's kind of fun. It's kind of neat to have all those guys in the playoffs. They're all doing well."

Johnson preaches patience on defense, a trait Spagnuolo certainly inherited from his mentor. He doesn't abandon his game plan if something isn't working early, and sticks with the philosophy that has brought him so much success. He also avoids being predictable. Opponents are always mindful of Philadelphia's blitz, but they have a tough time figuring out who's coming from where.

"You can watch as much tape as you want and study all of that, but they do a good job of a lot of one-time blitzes," Giants center Shaun O'Hara said. "You have to be ready for anything and I'm sure we'll see something that they haven't done in the past few games."

For all their blitzing and pressuring, neither defense got to the QB much in the previous two meetings. McNabb, who was sacked 12 times by the Giants in September 2007, didn't go down once against them this season. Manning only got sacked one time. The teams split the two games, each winning on the road.

"Really, I was surprised at how little they pressured the last time we played them," O'Hara said, referring to Philadelphia's 20-14 win on Dec. 7. "I think we were expecting a little bit more. It's going to be two similar defenses, so we see some of the same blitzes from our defense that they run. It's going to be a battle for both offenses kind of facing similar defenses and it's always going to come down to a couple of big plays. Can we pick up the blitz and hurt them on a big play? Or does their blitz become effective and cost us a big play?"

Despite their problems head-to-head, both defenses did quite well against other teams. The Eagles ranked third overall while the Giants were fifth. Philly finished third with 48 sacks and New York had 42. The Eagles forced 29 turnovers and the Giants 22.

Sixteen different players on Philadelphia recorded a sack, including six by safeties and two by cornerbacks. The Giants got sacks from 13 players, but only one each by a safety and cornerback.

"They have talented players all over," Manning said of the Eagles' defense. "At cornerback, they have guys who can make interceptions and can make plays. Their front four can get to the quarterback without blitzing, just in a regular pass rush. When they do blitz, they have a complex blitz package that they're using to get to the quarterback and making plays; not only getting sacks but causing fumbles."

Spagnuolo had an extra week to prepare for the Eagles (10-6-1) because the Giants (12-4) had a bye. Philadelphia, which sneaked into the playoffs after getting a lot of help the final week, beat Minnesota 26-14 on the road to advance.

Given more time to get ready, Spagnuolo could have a few surprises for McNabb, Brian Westbrook and the rest of the Eagles' offense.

"Any time you have two weeks before you play somebody, they're going to bring something new," Westbrook said. "We expect that from them. Spags does a great job of getting those guys ready.

"Their blitz packages are tough, they have good rushers off the edge, they have solid inside guys as well. Their front seven is going to be tough no matter what," he said. "Spags knows us very well. It's tough dealing with everything they bring to the table, their blitzes, and they also have two very good cornerbacks, too."

Asante Samuel returned an interception 43 yards for a touchdown against the Vikings on Sunday, the Philadelphia cornerback's NFL-record fourth return for a score in the postseason.

Samuel had three interceptions for touchdowns with the Patriots, and didn't take long to make an impact in his first chance with the Eagles.

Samuel jumped an out rout by Vikings receiver Sidney Rice and got a nice block from defensive end Chris Clemons on Vikings quarterback Tarvaris Jackson at the goal line to get into the end zone.

The All-Pro cornerback was bothered by a hip injury in practice this week and listed as questionable. He appeared to aggravate the injury earlier in the second quarter and had to leave the game, but returned on the next possession to make the big play.

The score put him ahead of Oakland defensive back Willie Brown.

The interception was Samuel's sixth of his postseason career, moving him into a tie with Ty Law for second all-time behind safety Rodney Harrison's seven.

After spending his first five seasons in New England, Samuel signed a six-year, $57 million contract with $20 million guaranteed with the Eagles and has been worth every penny.

Samuel led the Eagles with four interceptions and 21 passes defensed in the regular season.

If there was one team that was going to get the New York Giants' attention in the NFC semifinals, it was the Philadelphia Eagles.

Philadelphia embarrassed the defending Super Bowl champions 20-14 at Giants Stadium in a game that really wasn't that close. Andy Reid's team will bring one other scary factor up the New Jersey Turnpike on Sunday when they face New York (12-4): the Eagles appear to be this year's version of the Giants.

They are playing well at the right time, just as the Giants did in their improbable run to a title last year.

"I think the Eagles are the hottest team in the NFL right now," Giants defensive end Justin Tuck said after Philadelphia beat the Minnesota Vikings 26-14 in the NFC wild-card game. "They may be the sixth seed, but they sure aren't playing like it."

The Eagles have resurrected themselves after a brutal 36-7 loss to Baltimore on Nov. 23, a game in which quarterback Donovan McNabb was benched. They won their next four and, after a loss to Washington in the penultimate game of the season, they clinched a playoff berth with an impressive 44-6 win over Dallas.

"We know them well, which is a good thing, but they know us well, too," Tuck said. "I'm glad this game is going to be at home because I know our fans will be into it. It's going to be the tough NFC East battle you'd expect, and we are really looking forward to it."

The Giants, the NFC's top-seeded team for the playoffs, outlasted the Eagles 36-31 in their first meeting in Philadelphia on Nov. 9 in a game in which Eli Manning and the offense gained 401 total yards. Brandon Jacobs rushed for 126 yards and two touchdowns and Manning passed for 182 yards and two scores, including one to the now-suspended Plaxico Burress.

The second meeting -- a little more than a week after Burress shot himself in the thigh in a New York City nightclub -- was dominated by the Eagles' defense and halfback Brian Westbrook, who accounted for 203 yards from scrimmage.

New York was limited to 211 yards total yards. Jacobs was forced out at halftime after aggravating a knee injury and the Eagles held the ball for almost 35 minutes with Westbrook scoring on a 30-yard run and a 40-yard pass from McNabb.

The only thing that kept New York in the game was a blocked field goal that Kevin Dockery returned for a touchdown. The Giants' other TD was a meaningless one scored in the closing seconds.

"The Eagles are a very good football team that has done a tremendous job of battling back during the latter part of the season," Manning said. "Obviously, we had two very tough regular-season games against them."

The good news for the Giants is that they have had an extra week off to get ready and recover.

Jacobs hasn't played since Dec. 21 and a lot of the starters, including Manning and Tuck, were lifted at halftime in the regular-season finale against Minnesota, a game New York lost on a last-second field goal.

"Last week was good for us," Manning said. "We got some good work in during those two practices, but it's good that we now know who we are playing. We are excited to get to work this week. We need a good week of practice and preparation because it's about execution at this time of year, especially against a team we face twice a year in games that always seem to come down to the fourth quarter."

The extra week off didn't help the Cowboys last season, when the Giants surprised them in the NFC semifinal.

This will be the fourth postseason game between the Giants and Eagles.

Philadelphia won the last one in an NFC wild-card game on Jan. 7, 2007, in Philadelphia. David Akers kicked 38-yard field goal on the final play to give the Eagles a 23-20 win.

New York beat the Eagles 20-10 in the NFC semifinal on Jan. 7, 2001, en route to the Super Bowl.

The teams first played each other in the postseason on Dec. 27, 1981, when the Giants upset the Eagles 27-21 in a wild-card game at Philadelphia.

Their coaching search on hold and seemingly locked on Eric Mangini, the Cleveland Browns plan to interview Philadelphia Eagles general manager Tom Heckert for their GM opening.

The meeting between Browns owner Randy Lerner and Heckert, who has been with the Eagles since 2001, has not yet been scheduled. The Eagles are getting ready for Sunday's playoff game against the New York Giants, but it is not known if Lerner will sit down with Heckert before or after the game.

Heckert has been the Eagles' GM since 2006 after originally joining the team as the director of player personnel. In May, he received a contract extension through 2011. Last year, he interviewed for Atlanta's GM job, a position that went to Thomas Dimitroff.

With the Eagles, the 41-year-old Heckert works with coach Andy Reid in all player personnel matters while overseeing the scouting and personnel departments. Heckert spent 10 years with the Miami Dolphins before joining the Eagles.

In Heckert's first draft with Philadelphia, he selected Lito Sheppard, Michael Lewis, Brian Westbrook -- three future Pro Bowlers.

Lerner has also interviewed Scott Pioli, New England's director of player personnel and T.J. McCreight, the Browns' director of player personnel, to replace Phil Savage. Lerner also intends to speak with George Kokinis, Baltimore's pro personnel director, but he has to wait until after the Ravens' playoff game with Tennessee.

Meanwhile, the Browns have not yet offered a contract to Mangini, fired after this season by the New York Jets. The 37-year-old Mangini is Lerner's top candidate and could be paired with Kokinis, a longtime friend whom he has known since breaking into the NFL with him in Cleveland in the early 1990s.

The Browns also have interviewed New York Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and Cleveland defensive coordinator Mel Tucker for the coaching vacancy.

Spagnuolo and Heckert worked together previously in Philadelphia.

Asante Samuel started jogging off the field, stopped and fell to the turf, unable to reach the sideline on his own because of the pain from a hip strain.

The Philadelphia Eagles couldn't afford to be without the two-time Pro Bowl cornerback, especially after the Minnesota Vikings took a 7-6 lead on the first play Samuel missed.

Trainers stretched, yanked and pulled at Samuel's legs to get him ready for the next series. A long drive by the offense that resulted in a field goal gave Samuel extra time to loosen up.

He returned to the field for Minnesota's ensuing possession and did exactly what the Eagles pay him big bucks to do. Samuel jumped an out route, intercepted Tarvaris Jackson's pass and raced 44 yards to the end zone to extend Philadelphia's lead.

"You don't feel it for a little while when you do something like that," Samuel said of the injury. "Your adrenaline is running, rushing. It was awesome."

Samuel knows the feeling quite well. No player in NFL history has returned more interceptions for scores in the playoffs. Samuel now has four TDs and six picks in 15 postseason games.

The Eagles went on to beat the Vikings 26-14 in last weekend's wild-card game, setting up a matchup with a team Samuel is getting used to playing. When Philadelphia (10-6-1) visits the New York Giants (12-4) for Sunday's divisional playoff, it'll be the fifth time Samuel goes against Eli Manning and company in 54 weeks.

"I think I have faced them more than anybody," Samuel said. "We're 1-1. We got to see who's going to break the tie. Hopefully we can get the tiebreaker."

Samuel helped the New England Patriots complete a 16-0 season at Giants Stadium on Dec. 29, 2007. The teams ended up meeting in the Super Bowl five weeks later in a game Samuel would rather forget.

Samuel allowed New York's David Tyree to get loose for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter. Then he dropped an easy interception that would've sealed New England's perfect season during the Giants' game-winning drive.

It would be his last game for the Patriots. The Eagles lured Samuel away from New England with a $57.14 million, six-year contract on the first day of NFL free agency last March.

Samuel's playmaking skills -- he had 27 interceptions and six TDs in five seasons with the Patriots -- were a major reason Philadelphia gave him a megadeal. He needed some time adjusting to defensive coordinator Jim Johnson's complex system, but Samuel has shown he was worth the money.

He had four picks during the regular season, including one returned 50 yards for a TD in a win over Cleveland last month. He solidified a pass defense that ranked third in the NFL and earned his second trip to the Pro Bowl.

"What people may not realize is how hard Asante studies film," Eagles coach Andy Reid said earlier this season. "He studies the game, studies his opponents and will often be here until 9 p.m. working on that part of his game.

"He focuses on the receivers and the quarterbacks, looking for any keys and tendencies he can use in the upcoming game. And then he brings that same work ethic to the practice field each day. He brings energy and bravado to that side of the ball."

Samuel won two Super Bowls with the Patriots, including one against the Eagles four years ago. New England had an easier path both times by winning its division and earning a first-round bye.

The Eagles sneaked into the playoffs as the No. 6 seed. They've already won at Minnesota and have to win two more games on the road to reach the Super Bowl.

"We have a good team. I think we are dangerous," Samuel said. "So, we just have to see how it plays out."

Samuel doesn't have any career interceptions against the Giants. He can help knock off the defending Super Bowl champions and avenge his disappointing performance against them last February with a big play this week.

The Eagles and Giants split the season series, each winning on the road.

"You have the preseason, regular season, the postseason, and Super Bowl. You have to step your game up," Samuel said. "That's what I try to do."