Ashley Fox | Do-or-die stretch for Eagles

Golly, have the Eagles really dropped three in a row?

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/sports/15939089.htm

By Ashley Fox

Inquirer Columnist

When it comes to the NFC East, the only given is that no division games ever will be gimmes. Not when one team leads by 17 points in the fourth quarter. Nor when another team is expecting the most accurate kicker in NFL history to boot a game-winner.

For anyone who thought that maybe, just maybe, the Eagles' remaining schedule might not be so bad because the Washington Redskins were looking lifeless thanks to a three-game losing streak, think again. The Redskins won a crazy game yesterday over the Dallas Cowboys that personified the unpredictable nature of these divisional contests.

Mike Vanderjagt was poised to give Dallas the win, but his chip shot was blocked, and the Cowboys, who committed penalty after penalty yesterday, drew a face-mask flag that gave the Redskins one final down with no time on the clock. Young Nick Novak, who had missed a 49-yarder just a few plays earlier, sneaked a 47-yarder inside an upright to give Washington a 22-19 win and drop the Cowboys into a tie with the Eagles for second place in the division.

It was a fortuitous development for the idle Eagles. Sit at home and gain ground. Let the chase of the Giants, now 6-2 after holding on to beat the pesky Texans, begin.

After half a season, the division now is New York's to lose. The Giants hold a two-game lead that is substantial because they are 3-0 in the division, with home games remaining against the Cowboys and Eagles, and a season-ending road trip to Washington. After losing to the Redskins, Dallas is 4-4 overall but just 1-3 in division games, with games remaining against the Giants on the road and the Eagles at home. The Redskins moved to 3-5 and 1-2 in the division, with two games against the Eagles remaining and one against the Giants.

And then there are the Eagles. They are even after eight games and are the only NFC East team with four division games left. Those will make or break the season. Sure, the game against the Colts will be big, but it's fair to say that the Eagles' path to the playoffs will hinge on their division games.

They have time to make a move. Today we'll get to take their temperature when the team reconvenes from a week off that followed a third consecutive loss. Are they the team that was playing well against inferior opponents early in the season, or the one that looked apathetic and overmatched a week ago at home against Jacksonville?

Hold on, folks. The rest of the ride is going to be bumpy, for sure.

Several weeks ago, Cowboys coach Bill Parcells predicted that the division would not be decided until after Thanksgiving, and he certainly could be right. But if the Eagles are going to have any hope of making a run, it starts Sunday against Washington. There can be no more slow starts, no more three-and-outs, no more waiting for a big play to materialize - and no more losses within the division.

It's time to bear down, to give the ball to Brian Westbrook in any way Andy Reid sees fit - with a little screen pass, with a run, with whatever. But getting Westbrook into the open field, where he uses his speed to create mismatches against linebackers, will be key.

Collectively, the Eagles need to cut down on the penalties. They have killed the Birds all year, from Trent Cole's inexcusable kick against the Giants to having 12 men on the field against New Orleans and Jacksonville. There have been too many personal fouls, too many big penalties, too many stupid mistakes that have given the Eagles' opponents advantageous field position.

Look what penalties did to Dallas yesterday. The Cowboys committed 11 penalties for 153 yards, including one by the rejuvenated Terrell Owens for excessive celebration after catching a touchdown pass from his new best friend, Tony Romo sits to pee.

The killer was the face-mask flag that Kyle Kosier was hit with after the Redskins blocked Vanderjagt's kick. The 15-yard penalty moved Washington into field-goal range and extended the game for one more play. That was all the Redskins needed.

Think Parcells slept well last night? Those mistakes, especially in a divisional game that mattered greatly, will drive a coach to spend a sleepless night in his office. Just ask Reid.

Most important, the Eagles need to approach the remainder of the season as if each game is an elimination game. Last season when his team was teetering on the edge of extinction with four games to go, Bill Cowher sold his Steelers on that very concept. Approach the stretch run as if you are 0-0, Cowher told the players, and get to 4-0.

It worked for Pittsburgh.

"You've got to put your shoulder to the wheel, man, and push along," Reid said last week. "We've got to do that."

It starts today. Given the toughness of the division, no remaining game will be a gimme for anybody.

And so....it begins

Is this a guy named Ashley or a chick?

Is this a guy named Ashley or a chick?

...and with a last name of Fox, is he Hispanic like Vicente Fox, white like Michael J. Fox, or black like Vernon Fox? :whoknows:

...burning questions...

More importantly, I noticed this person has the more well known version of Ashley. Not Ashley, Ashleigh, Ashlee, etc. Good choice by the parents.

I wonder if she's hot. Where are the pics tr1? :laugh:

Maybe his/her parents were fans of the Evil Dead series of movies back in the day?