Most of the talk will be about the performance of A.J. Feeley and the Eagles offense, but the defense which showed up on Sunday night wasn't the Eagles. This defense displayed the type of violence which had been missing all year long.
They were playing against offense which had rolled up number unseen in NFL history. The combination of Tom Brady and Randy Moss were rewriting the record books with amazing speed and consistency.
Juqua Thomas sent a message to the Pats and the New England crowd early in the contest by beating a blocker and popping Tom Brady as he was standing in the pocket. Juqua showed us all why he should be in the field ahead of Jevon Kearse.
Finally Takeo Spikes delivered some hits which were expected of him when the Birds traded for him. Spikes not only made plays but he made them with some serious aggression. He's got to continue in this manner because this team has lacked the killer hits which give a defense its personality.
Jim Johnson seems to have found the right place for 2nd year linebacker Chris Gocong. The Eagles had him moving around in their 3-4 scheme, and at times coming off the corner as a pass rusher. This kid plays best when he's going forward and attacking the play. The fact that he's a linebacker will allow the Eagles to mix things up and keep offenses off balance.
Both Lito Sheppard and Sheldon Brown did outstanding jobs of shutting down Randy Moss. They got up into the faces of the Pats receivers and jammed them as they came off the line, which disrupted some of the New England passing game. The safeties Brian Dawkins and J.R. Reed layed some hard hits on the Pats receivers when they came over the middle. Reed who was on the field because Quintin Mikell and Sean Considine were out with injuries, was outstanding filling in for them.
