Carolina Panthers @ Philadelphia Eagles Game Preview

From Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, it’s Monday Night Football between the Carolina Panthers (6-5) and Philadelphia Eagles (5-6.) The game will be aired on both ESPN nationally, and 6-ABC locally at 8:30 PM EST.

Here are three keys for the Eagles to pull off the upset victory:

1) PLAY FUNDAMENTALLY SOUND DEFENSE. If you’ll remember the NFC Championship game, you’ll remember a short touchdown run by DeShaun Foster in which he kept his legs moving and ran through a number of defenders. Our defense looks different now, but we have the same problems as that play in that embarrassing loss. They’ve gotta tackle, All eleven of them. They’ve got to get more than one guy to the ball every play and gang tackles, team defense. The Defensive Line has to stay focused, get off the ball, stay low and get penetration. The Linebackers need to make their reads, find the ball and make the play. The Defensive Backs need to make sure nothing gets behind them, specifically a player named Steve Smith. The fundamentals are missing, and a number of players need to find them if they want to have a job come July 2007.

2) PROTECT JEFF GARCIA. Although Carolina’s expected potent pass rush isn’t as good as it was supposed to be, they still have some dangerous weapons. Julius Peppers is possibly having the best season of his career and is being mentioned in Defensive Player of the Year discussion. It’s critical for Garcia to be able to throw without having someone in his face all night, and his uniform needs to be clean at 11:30 if the Eagles are going to have any shot. If Garcia is being pressured, he’s going to end up having to make plays with his legs, forcing throws downfield and generally doing too much, which is the last thing the Eagles need. He needs to be able to sit in the pocket, make safe decisions and don’t screw the game up.

3) AVOID MISTAKES. I’m not just talking about turnovers and allowing big plays, it has to be the little things, in addition to protecting the ball. Controlling the clock, not missing pass protection assignments, aligning properly on defense, TACKLING, getting penetration, making reads and checks, good snaps, good holds, sound kick coverage, etc. It’s tough to lose a Long Snapper as good as Mike Bartrum, but we can’t let our special teams go down the crapper because we have a professional magician doing the job now. Focus is huge. The yellow flag needs to stay in the refs’ pockets Monday night. We can’t beat ourselves. It’s tough enough going up against the Panthers as it is.

Three key matchups to watch:

1) JON RUNYAN VS. JULIUS PEPPERS. Oh boy. An elite pass rusher going against a big, physical tackle. Runyan’s been having a pretty rough year thus far, but he needs to play his best game of the season. Peppers can beat tackles in so many ways, it’s almost unfair. He’s big and strong like you would expect from a tackle, but he has great quickness and is a savvy pass rusher. Runyan can’t be TOO AGGRESSIVE though. Don’t give up your inside gap, keep a good base and shuffle your feet.

2) PANTHERS’ O-LINE VS. EAGLES’ FRONT SEVEN. Carolina’s running game still isn’t where they would like it to be, and this game could be a huge confidence booster for them. These guys have to have a good game on the ground to support Delhomme and take pressure off of him because he’s been struggling a bit this season. The Eagles front seven, to put it kindly, is in bad shape. They’ve been humiliated four games in a row, and this team won’t go anywhere against any team if they don’t step it up. They’re undersized, and Trotter was correct in his assessment, and when you’re undersized, you need to make up for it by working hard. Play physical, don’t let them beat you up and make plays.

3) NEW SNAPPER VS. PANTHERS’ KICK BLOCKING. It sounds dumb and simple, but this is important. The magician, whose name I swear I’ll learn soon, needs to deliver clean snaps. Holding has been enough of a problem already this year, and we don’t need bad snaps adding to the woes. For some reason, just like Virginia Tech, John Fox knows how to get his best athletes in position to make special teams plays. Whether it’s Julius Peppers or just some big guy in the middle getting his hand up, Carolina has something drawn up that creates lanes and block opportunities. The Eagles need every point they can get, and they can’t lose some because of a blocked field goal or extra point.

Here are three key players for each team. These guys need to play well for their team to win.

PHI:

1) Jeff Garcia

2) Jeremiah Trotter

3) Trent Cole

CAR:

1) DeShaun Foster

2) Thomas Davis

3) Jake Delhomme

Key injuries:

PHI- QB Donovan McNabb

PHI- DE Jevon Kearse

PHI- LS Mike Bartrum

CAR- MLB Dan Morgan

Number to remember:

4. It’s how many times Tony Kornheiser will mention his fantasy team during the broadcast.

Final Score:

24-10 Panthers.

Garcia- 180 yards passing, 1 TD, 2 INT.

Westbrook- 110 total yards.

Brown- 6 catches, 70 yards.

Delhomme- 200 yards passing, 2 TD, 1 INT.

Foster- 120 rushing yards, 1 TD.

Smith- 80 receiving yards, 2 TD.