If there was one game circled on the calender for the Philadelphia Eagles this year, it would be Sunday December 1, 2002 against the NFC Champions St. Louis Rams. It was, as we all remember, last January, when Donovan McNabb and his teammates felt the sting of defeat only inches from a Super Bowl berth. Instead, Andy Reid forced many of the Eagle players back out on the field to see what it would be like to win in the NFC Championship Game. It was a hunger which lasted for a long time and still resides in the guts of many of the players. The following week, the players probally all watched the New England Patriots upset the Rams in the Super Bowl. Since that game, these two teams have taken 2 separate paths to get to where they stand today. The Eagles are taking that path of hunger towards the home-field advantage. The Eagles are on the high path towards supremacy in the NFC. The Rams are taking a different path towards an early vacation. St. Louis, started the preseason losing all 4 games, then continued into the regular season losing the first 5 games with Kurt Warner as the QB. In game #5, Warner broke his pinky. In came Mark Bulger and all the sudden, the Rams started winning. Then last week, at 5-6, the Rams brought back their former Super Bowl MVP and they lost again to the lowly Redskins at FedEx Field. Yes, the game was on the road where the Rams don't play good anyway, but we are talking about the Washington Redskins. The Rams lost and are now 5-7 coming to Philadelphia. The Eagles stand at 8-3 overall, but for a second straight week are without their heart & soul in Donovan McNabb. And now, AJ Feely is set to make his first ever start as a NFL QB as Koy Detmer went down last week with a dislocated elbow.

The Philadelphia Eagles did not break. they put the final nails into the Rams coffin with a completely smothering defense that ransacked the Rams passing game and held the NFL's reigning MVP in Marshall Faulk to a measely 29 rushing yards on 9 carries. The Eagles are now 9-3, 8-0 alone in the NFC and 2-0 without the great McNabb. They said the Eagles had no chance, but the Birds prevailed. They won first with defense and secondly without AJ Feely not making any major mistakes. AJ did not have a spectacular game, but played calm, cool and effiecient. He threw for 157 yards, completing 14-of-30 passes and NO INT's. Kurt Warner, his counterpart, threw for 174 yards on a 20-for-42 passing day, but also threw 0 TD's and 2 very costly INT's. He was sacked 8 times and fumbled twice, losing it once. The Eagles blitzed often, but even when they did not, the defensive line put extreme pressure on Warner. Seven of the teams sacks came from the defensive line with N.D Kalu leading the way with 4 of his own. Douglas had 2 and Brandon Whiting had the other. The defense forced Warner to throw the ball away or into the arms of Troy Vincent & Bobby Taylor. The one that Vincent caught ended the Rams' last chance of any kind of comeback. The one that Bobby Taylor caught, put the Eagles up 10-0 in the second quarter. The TD return resulted in the game's only touchdown. The Rams only points came on a FG late in the first half. The score at the half was 10-3, Eagles. The Rams really never got anything going. Instead, the Eagles brought the whole house with a defense that would bend a little, but never broke. The fans also added help as they made it impossible for Warner to be heard throughout the game. The weather was also a big factor as winds often broke the 25 mph barrier during the game.

Last year in the climate controlled Trans-World Dome, the Rams won 29-24. This year at the cold and windy Veteran's Stadium, the Eagles prevailed and they pounded Kurt Warner into the infamous turf on sack after sack. The Philadelphia Eagles still feel if that game last year was held at the Vet, they would have won and advanced to the Super Bowl. That is why the home-field advantage means so much this year for the team. The fans, cold, wind and turf of Veteran's Stadium are all advantages for any home team. The oppostion always seems concerned about the weather and turf and it plays a big psychological advantage for the Birds. The Rams know it. The rest of the NFC knows it. Now with only 4 games left and all winable, the Eagles must take control of their own destiny now, not later. They beat Seattle last year 27-3. They also beat the Redskins by 30 this year. They lastly beat the Cowboys by even more and they rushed for 299 yards against the Giants on a Monday night game on their way to a 17-3 victory. If the Eagles keep winning and the road to San Diego goes through Veteran's Stadium. Two weeks in a row, the Eagles have now beat the likes of the Forty-Niners and the Rams. They won both despite nobody giving them a chance to win both. Keep it rolling and the Philadelphia Eagles may have a date in San Diego on January 26, 2003.