Philadelphia Eagles @ Washington Redskins Game Preview

From FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland, the Washington Redskins (4-8) host the division rival Philadelphia Eagles (6-6). The game will be aired on FOX at 1:00 PM, with Kenny Albert, Brian Baldinger and Chris Myers making the call.

Three keys for the Eagles to continue the fight for playoff position:

1) AVOID A LETDOWN. The Eagles can’t afford to let a game against a team they should be slip away. Every win is crucial, and the Redskins cannot be taken lightly. This means the offense can’t come out flat, they can’t take dumb penalties, and they have to avoid all mistakes. Despite the Redskins’ poor record, they’re still a very good football team. Jason Campbell isn’t making many mistakes, and Ladell Betts has done a great job of filling in for Clinton Portis. Although the defense has been lacking in health and a pass rush, which was supposed to be much improved, Gregg Williams will always have something up his sleeve. The Redskins have nothing to lose, and they’re going to be playing all out, since many of them have jobs on the line this offseason.

2) TACKLE. This will probably be a point of emphasis up until Opening Week 2007. Ladell Betts fits the bill of someone the Eagles will have trouble stopping. He’s pretty big, hits the hole hard, and in the receiving game, he can create mismatches against our Linebackers. Guys have to wrap up. They can expect a heavy dose of the running game as they continue to ease in Jason Campbell, and why not? Betts showed he can run all over the Eagles before, why not try it again? If Betts has success again and gets his yards, the Redskins will be able to put up points, control the clock and keep the Eagles offense off the field, which is the last thing the team needs to make the playoffs.

3) TAKE ADVANTAGE OF WASHINGTON’S SECONDARY. Their best player, Shawn Springs, is banged up again. They have two young guys in their secondary in Carlos Rogers and Sean Taylor that are prone to making mistakes. Troy Vincent is very old and has clearly lost a step. The passing game has to work on all cylinders for the Eagles to put up a lot of points on Sunday. The Offensive Line needs to give Garcia time (shouldn’t be difficult,) so he can find receivers downfield for big plays. Reggie Brown and Donte Stallworth both had success going deep and using double moves, and making big plays against the secondary. Although the Eagles still need to make sure they control the football and stay on the field, Washington is a team they can use their athletic ability to take advantage of.

Three key matchups that will decide the outcome:

1) SANTANA MOSS VS. EAGLES’ SECONDARY. Moss has been rejuvenated with Jason Campbell in the lineup, and with Clinton Portis out, Moss is now their most explosive player. After doing a pretty good job on Steve Smith, the Eagles should put in a similar defensive game plan. Smith and Moss are nearly identical players, and they should be defended the same. The Eagles DBs need to keep him in front, and don’t let him make the big play. As always with Joe Gibbs, they can expect a number of quick screen passes to him, and they should be ready for that.

2) LADELL BETTS VS. OMAR GAITHER. This should really be Omar Gaither against the entire offense, but this is more convenient. He had a pretty good game last week, and it’s important that he continues to be better than Matt McCoy. Gaither is a young player and mistakes are to be expected, but as long as he shows improvement every game, then he can stay in the lineup. The Eagles obviously need a new direction at Linebacker, particularly on the outside, and any chance they get to evaluate young talent from within without jeopardizing the current season, it’s a plus. Gaither needs to use his decent size to shed blocks, get to Betts and wrap him up. No missed tackles.

3) AL SAUNDERS VS. JIM JOHNSON. Saunders is considered by many to be one of the best in the business and Jim used to be, but he’s on the downside of his coaching career. Saunders is known for his screen plays, and Johnson has to have his boys ready to stop them. After the Panthers scored on a broken screen on Monday Night, Saunders must have been licking his chops. The Eagles have to be prepared for them, and they have to be able to stop them. With shedding blocks being a huge problem for the Eagle LBs, they have to be able to identify and blow up the screen plays before they can develop. Otherwise, expect Betts to have a 250+ total yard day.

The three players for each team that need to play well.

PHI:

1) Jeremiah Trotter

2) Donte Stallworth

3) Lito Sheppard

WSH:

1) Sean Taylor

2) Jon Jansen

3) Carlos Rogers

Key Injuries:

PHI- QB Donovan McNabb

PHI- DE Jevon Kearse

PHI- LS Mike Bartrum

WSH- RB Clinton Portis

Number to remember:

3. It’s the number of times Santana Moss will catch some sort of screen pass.

Final Score:

24-14 Eagles.

Garcia- 250 yards passing, 2 TD, 1 INT.

Westbrook- 150 total yards, 1 TD.

Stallworth- 80 receiving yards, 1 TD.

Campbell- 200 yards passing, 1 TD, 1 INT.

Betts- 140 total yards, 1 TD.

Moss- 5 catches, 65 yards.

And my NFL picks (0-1):

Kansas City (-3) over Baltimore- The Chiefs will bounce back in their own tough home environment.

Tampa Bay (+3) over Atlanta- The Bucs seem to have Atlanta’s number, and they won’t get shut out twice in a row.

Minnesota (+1) over Detroit- The Lions never beat the Vikings… not to mention, they suck.

Houston over Tennessee- Vince Young will stumble in front of his loyal Texas fans.

New York Giants (+3) over Carolina- Chris Weinke? Not on my watch.

Philadelphia (-1.5) over Washington- Garcia is actually helping a team build momentum.

Oakland (+11) over Cincinnati- Not even Oakland will take one on the chin that hard at home.

New England (-3.5) over Miami- The Dolphins tend to play the Pats close, but Joey Harrington is Joey Harrington.

San Francisco (-4.5) over Green Bay- Only the Packers could be underdogs against the Niners.

Seattle (-3.5) over Arizona- The Seahawks are really peaking at the right time, and the Cardinals are ready for next July.

New York Jets (-4) over Buffalo- The Jets keep hanging around in the playoff race, waiting for someone to slip up.

Denver (+7.5) over San Diego- No rivalry game is this lopsided.

New Orleans (+7) over Dallas- The Saints are still hot, and could get Colston back.

Chicago (-6.5) over St. Louis- This is a big line to take the points, but the Rams stink.