For all the local sports, be sure to pick up a copy of the print edition of today's Daily Times. PHILADELPHIA -- Andy Reid wonders if the Eagles run defense is good enough to survive the next game, much less the playoff run. While Reid has never been a coach to guarantee a postseason appearance, his use of "if and when we get there" hardly is inspiring.
"I m not thinking about the playoffs right now," Reid said Monday when asked if the run defense could get the Birds to the second season. "I m thinking about the Giants and putting our guys in the right position for that game. We ll talk about that if and when we get there.
" And while Reid didn t say it, you know he knows that Betts is nowhere near as talented as Tiki Barber, whom the Eagles must make sur to stop this weekend to keep their playoff and potentially their division championship hopes alive. The irony of ironies is that Barber set the New York Giants single-game rushing record of 220 yards last Dec. 17 at the Meadowlands -- the same date and site for the game facing the Eagles this Sunday.
Eagles fans can rest assured their head coach is certain of one thing. The defense that s allowed 200 or more rushing yards in four of the last six games, the unit thathas found themselves ranked 29th among 32 teams in stuffing the run needs "to do a better job there. "We ve got to tighten it up a little bit and play better," Reid said.
"Down the stretch I think it s important. At the same time you don t want to take away from your pass defense either. You want to tighten up the run but also maintain a good pass defense.
" With a 7-6 record, the Eagles are tied for the Giants and the Atlanta Falcons for fifth in the NFC. For now the Giants technically are the fifth seed, the Eagles the sixth and final playoff team, based on tiebreakers. The NFC possibilities are numerous and onerous.
Twelve of the 16 NFC teams still are mathematically alive for the playoffs. What s clear is a victory over the Giants and at least one other triumph in the remaining two games would clinch a playoff berth for the Eagles, who still have a shot at the NFC East perch occupied by the Dallas Cowboys (8-5). Winning out would bring the Eagles the NFC East title although the odds of doing so are extreme.
Beating the Giants, who are 6-point betting favorites, is a tall order especially for the beleaguered defense that has made just about all the personnel moves it can to plug the leaks. "(Sunday) was a combination of things," Reid said. "We didn t sustain drives on the offensive side early.
"We weren t able to get off the field soon enough on the defensive side, so you finish a game and one team has (45 snaps) and one team has 70 snaps (Redskins). You could say that we got a little bit tired there." Eagles coaches weren t the only ones sick to their stomachs watching the defense wear down.
Offensive tackle Jon Runyan, praised by Reid for a stellar season, suggested fatigue is inevitable once the running game gets going. "They did a good job of pounding the ball, they did a good job of it," Runyan said of the Redskins. "We ve still got to get better at tackling guys but we re getting better at it.
" Quietly the Eagles are well aware they barely defeated the 4-9 Redskins, not the Saints (9-4), the Cowboys or heaven forbid a winning team like the Giants. Deep down inside the Eagles realize veteran safety Brian Dawkins sacked a confused rookie quarterback in Jason Campbell on third down from the eight-yard line. But nonetheless, a win is a win, and the Eagles prevailed at FedEx Field playing less their finest football in a short work week.
At least they, along with the rest of Philadelphia, hope it wasn t their finest football. "It was big for us to be able to come off a Monday night game and put something together like this," offensive tackle William Thomas said. "There were a couple of times we shot ourselves in the foot but overall we did enough to get a W.
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