What more can you ask out of team in its first game than what the Eagles did today? Absolutely fantastic performance in all facets of the game from the Birds today. The offense hitting on multiple big plays, the defense smothering, and the special teams turning in maybe the best performance I've seen from the Eagles in years.

Onto the headlines!

It always come down to Donovan

You don't need to look any further than the first pass Desean Jackson caught to see the difference in McNabb from this year to last year. Last year, he simply would not have thrown that pass. How many times did we all say that it looked like a guy had to be wide open for McNabb to throw it to him last year? Not today though... He was still as smart as ever with the ball, but he trusted his recievers to make plays and he trusted himself to make a throw to a guy that wasn't wide open. McNabb threw for more yards today than he has on any opening day in his career... and he only played a little over 3 quarters.

Now McNabb certainly had plenty of help today... The offensive line gave him all day to throw(he was not sacked), his WRs ran free play after play and made tough catches when they needed to. Plus, look at how helpful it was for McNabb to have a healthy LJ Smith, who hauled in 5 passes including a TD.

For anyone thinking the Eagles would struggle without their top 2 WRs... For the first time since 1960 the Eagles had 3 WRs with over 100 yards. It was just that kind of day

McNabb finished the day 21-33 for 361 yards and 3 TDs. He also now owns the lowest interception percentage in NFL history. That's the least amount of INTs per pass attempt in NFL history.

Defense nearly perfect

Actually, the Eagles first team defense pitched a shutout. The Rams scored their FG against the

The Eagles defense held the Rams to just 87 yards of total offense in the first half. Pressure was the name of the game and the Eagles front 7 simply imposed their will on the Rams. Against the run, against the pass... the Eagles defense played on the Rams side of the ball and disrupted everything they tried to do. Bulger had no time to let anything develop, Steven Jackson had someone in his face whenever he touched the ball...

It's hard to single out any one guy on the defense who stood out. This was just one of those games where everyone did their job well. The Rams didn't score until there were 9 minutes remaining in the 4th quarter

Desean's dazzling debut

The rookie from Cal was the unquestioned standout of the preseason and so far it looks like that was no fluke. Desean showed no signs of slowing down as he turned in quite possibly the best debut from an Eagles rookie WR ever. Forget rookie WR, that was one of the best debuts from any Eagle rookie period. He was a constant threat on both offense and special teams racking up 206 total yards.

Jackson led the team with 6 catches for 106 yards averaging over 17 yards a catch. Desean is the first rookie to go over 100 yards recieving on opening day since Anquan Boldin.

Special teams looking special

I can't say enough about how well the special teams played as a unit today. Much of that success started with Sav Rocca. Three of his four punts ended up with the Rams pinned inside their own 20(2 inside the 5). There was tremendous hang time, smart angled punts, and heads up coverage on two plays from Quintin Demps.

Desean Jackson took about a half to get his feet under him as an NFL punt returner. He made some questionable decisions in the first half... but really hit his stride in the second. On consecutive returns in the 3rd quarter he had an 18 yard return that was one man away from probably going for 6 and a 69 yard return that gave the Eagles first and goal.

Eagles fans do us proud

I lost count of how many times the Rams offensive line jumped offsides. Certainly part of that was due to the job the Eagles front seven did penetrating play after play... but the fan factor can not be discounted. The crowd was loud, proud and made it difficult for the Rams' lineman to hear anything. Big assist to the Philly faithful for this win.

Ironic play of the day

How about the guy the Eagles brought in to play fullback but moved to defensive line lead blocking for a guy the Eagles brought in to play RB but moved to fullback? Dan Klecko paved the way for Tony Hunt's goal line TD run in the 3rd quarter.

Location - Lincoln Financial Field - Philadelphia, PA

Time - 1pm

Radio - 94.1 WYSP

TV - Fox

For a Rams perspective check out Turf Show Times

Don your jerseys & fire up your grills because after 9 long months Eagles football has finally returned. It's that time when we embark on yet another season that hopefully gives us more highs than lows. The birds host the St Louis Rams today in what should a much more exciting contest than when they last met, which saw MIke McMahon lead the Eagles to a narrow victory over the Jamie Martin led Rams. Today's game features 2 former pro bowlers in McNabb & Bulger and will be the first time the Rams play in Lincoln Financial Field.

Interesting stat

Today will mark the kickoff of Donovan McNabb and Andy Reid's 10th season together. They are only the second first time head coach and rookie QB to join a team at the same time and last over 9 years as a tandem. The other tandem? Bill Walsh and Joe Montana.

Bottom line

This is a home game against an NFC opponent, specificially an NFC opponent that finished 3-13 last year. Many of the Rams' struggles last year were do to injury, but many weren't. There's not a pundit alive that are picking the Rams to win this game. Point is, as odd as it is to call a game this early a "must win" it really is. These are the exact type of games you build a solid foundation on. These are the type of games that playff teams win. There's only 16 games, which means any teams that wants to be in the postseason only gets to lose about 6 times. If you wanna win the division, you get may only get 3 or 4 losses. Losing to an inferior opponent at home would put the Eagles squarely behind the 8 ball in the hunt to reclaim the NFC East and return to the playoffs.

Prediction

Eagles 24 Rams 10

As always give your predictions, reactions, discussion in the comments! Here's to a great season of Eagles football!

[Note by JasonB, 09/07/08 12:56 PM EDT ] Reggie Brown is officially out for today. Desean Jackson starts in his place.

Reggie Brown missed practice for the second straight day on Friday. On Wednesday he re-aggravated his hamstring injury and hasb't practiced since.

"He went out and practiced and it just didn't feel too right to him," Andy Reid said. "He stretched out for a ball and felt a kind of a tug in there, so we backed off immediately on him.

"We'll see how he does here in the next day. Right now, obviously, it's what it says, it's doubtful."

This means it's likely that the Eagles start their season without either of their starting wideouts... Even if Brown is able to play, it will only be in a limited role.

You know how each year Greg Lewis usually shows up and has one big game? Yeah... we could use that now. Right now it looks like Hank Baskett and Desean Jackson will start.

Highly respected Dallas Morning News columnist Rick Gosselin recently released his ranking of all NFL cornerback units. The Eagles came in at number one.

After signing Pro Bowler Asante Samuel this off-season, the Philadelphia Eagles have three corners capable of lining up against anyone. Lito Sheppard has gone to two Pro Bowls, and Sheldon Brown led the team with three interceptions and 19 passes broken up in 2007.

Add Joselio Hanson, who has started eight games in his three-year career, and the Eagles have the best corps of cornerbacks heading into the season.

1. Philadelphia

Since 2003, Brown, Samuel and Sheppard have combined for 50 interceptions and nine touchdowns. Opponents completed 57.6 percent of their passes against the Eagles last season, third best defensively in the NFL. That percentage should decrease with Samuel.

This weekend the Eagles take on the Rams on opening day for the second time under Andy Reid. Under Reid, the Eagles have faced the Rams 3 times in Philadelphia winning two of those contests. To get up to speed on all things St Louis Rams, I exchanged 5 questions with VanRam from the Rams' blog Turf Show Times.

You check out my answers to his questions over there.

The big national story around the Rams this offseason was the holdout of Stephen Jackson. He did finally sign a new deal and rejoin the team. What kind of shape is he in? Do you think he's fully ready to go?

He's reportedly in top-notch physical condition, after an intensive offseason program in anticipation of signing a big contract. He even had a colonic! Head coach Scott Linehan is saying Jackson is ready to go and will have a full workload. In reality, I think Antonio Pittman, who had a nice preseason in Jackson's stead, will get some of the 30 or so carries usually reserved for Steven Jackson. He's practiced with pads but not with game-level contact, so there could definitely be an adjustment there.

Another Eagles blogger commented on what he saw as a lack of Rams coverage in the local St Louis media. What is your response to that?

Well, you have to remember St. Louis isn't a big media market to being with, and the Rams are now starting to build more of an online media presence. However, the Cardinals own the city though in terms of fan dedication and media attention. They just choked up their playoff chances in the last week, and the Rams could steal away some of that attention with a solid start to the season. It doesn't help that the Rams haven't exactly given people here much to get excited about in the last few years, whereas the Eagles have been considered contenders for a few years now.

Hey... with places like Turf Show Times to get Rams news, who needs the MSM?

Who is the guy or guys on the Rams right now that we may not have heard of but you think will make a major impact this year?

I think WR Keenan Burton, a fourth round pick, will make some noise. He's already shown a familiarity with the playbook, no easy task with Al Saunders as the offensive coordinator, and has a skill set similar to the Packers' James Jones. Drew Bennett, the guy in front of him on the depth chart, hasn't played well, looking out of sync with Bulger. If he falters, Burton's ready to take his place. I think CB Tye Hill is primed for a breakout in his third season too.

I think it's safe to say that the biggest acquisition the Rams made this offseason was drafting Chris Long #2 overall. I've some mixed reports about his progress so far, where are you on Long as he prepares for his first game?

Like any rookie at a position like that, Long's dealing with some adjustment time. Remember how many people snidely snickered at the Texans for the Mario Williams pick in 2006, before he made 14 sacks in his second season? The Rams play a 4-3 and Long came from a 3-4 in college. He is, however, dedicated and has rarely made the same mistake twice through the preseason. He'll play well from the start, but he has to grow into being a "presence" on the field.

Finally, if you could steal one Eagle and add him to your roster who would it be?

Sheldon Brown

A bit of surprise at the end there, but not a bad choice if you ask me...

Donovan McNabb may not be convinced Desean Jackson is a major weapon yet, but Rams coach Scott Linehan just might be.

In practice Wednesday, the Rams used one of their own to simulate the Eagles' rookie wideout on the scout team during practice, according to a St. Louis Post-Dispatch report.

Derek Stanley, a practice-squad receiver, wore DeSean Jackson's No. 10 red pinafore as the team prepared for its Sunday opener against the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field.

This is the type of stuff teams usually do with Brian Westbrook. Using one of their players as a clone of him to prepare their defense to defend him on game day. The fact that the Rams are doing it with Jackson really speaks to how impressive the rookie looked in preseason. It's a real sign of respect to hear the Rams specifically targeting Jackson in their game plan.

"We certainly know a lot about him," Rams coach Scott Linehan told Eagles reporters via conference call.

The Eagles web site has released their projected lineup for Sunday and Jackson is indeed listed as starting in place of Brown, whereas Brown is listed as starting in place of Curtis.