What They’re Saying About the Eagles

Here’s a roundup of what the national media are saying about tonight’s Eagles-Saints matchup:

Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com likes the Birds, 37-33:

This is a battle of two disappointing teams, but the Eagles still have some playoff hopes. The Saints are all but done. This could be the end of the Mike Vick era in Philly. Then again, the way the Saints play defense, it might revitalize it. New Orleans can’t stop anybody. This is a track meet.

Elliot Harrison of NFL.com predicts a 31-30 Eagles win:

This should be a fun bout to watch. Can’t imagine how many times Jon Gruden will say, “In this league* … you can’t arm tackle LeSean McCoy!” Honestly, I hope he says it a lot. Please, Andy Reid, run the rock. Jamaal Charles put up two bills on the New Orleans Saints. Willis McGahee gashed this team, too. Ditto Doug Martin. Should be easy pickings for Michael Vick, but he’ll have more time to throw if you run the ball, Andy! Vick has already been sacked 20 times. For New Orleans, this game is probably the season. At 2-5 and already way behind in the wild-card melee, a home game in prime time is a prime opportunity to make a statement about resilience. #PHIvsNO

*Yes, this is clearly the man’s favorite clause.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk goes with the Saints, 27-24:

For a team that may not be making it to the playoffs, delivering a knockout punch to the Eagles on national TV in the Superdome could be the next best thing.  Maybe a certain T-shirt will be making another appearance; at least ESPN isn’t regulated by the FCC.

Michael David Smith of PFT likes the Eagles, 31-21:

The Saints have probably already run out of chances to turn their season around, and the Eagles are rapidly running out of chances, too. But the Saints’ defense is so weak that Michael Vick can’t help but have a better game on Monday night, and the Eagles will win in New Orleans.

Evan Silva of Rotoworld goes with the Eagles, 34-30:

In his first game back from the Week 7 bye, Michael Vick played tentatively in a dumbed-down offense ostensibly designed to limit turnovers. Vick was takeaway-free against the Falcons, but the conservative plan of “attack” was thoroughly ineffective, and an obvious recipe for failure when Philly’s defense collapsed, forcing Vick into comeback mode. By all accounts, Monday night’s game will serve as Vick’s audition for the season’s remainder. He’ll be benched for Nick Foles if he doesn’t deliver. If he does and leads Philly to victory against the league’s worst defense, the Eagles will be back to .500 and squarely reenter the NFC East hunt.

SI.com’s Peter King predicts a 33-31 Eagles win. He asked Andy Reid on Saturday whether he ever thinks about getting fired:

“Listen, you know me. I don’t care about that. I control what I can control, and after that, it’s out of my hands. I understand what the deal is in the NFL. But all I think about now is Monday night. I’m all in for Monday night. You ask me what I think about driving home — I think, ‘The sun sure looks nice. Those trees are beautiful.’ I’m not one to worry about the other stuff.”

Note: The items below have been included in previous Wake-Up Calls, but I added them here too in case you like all your links in one place.

Mike Tanier of SportsOnEarth.com predicts a 28-17 Saints victory:

Reid appears to be applying the wrong solutions to the wrong problems; you get the impression that Reid spent Hurricane Sandy laying rock salt on his driveway, and that he will spend winter blizzard season fretting over his sump pump. You also get the impression that he will have plenty of time to do so.

Peter Schrager of FoxSports.com goes with the Saints, 34-27:

These aren’t fun times to be an Eagles fan. It’ll only get worse. I’m taking the Saints.

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