Game 2 recap

The best thing about Monday night's win isn't the fact that we beat Philly but it has to be the fact that the Skins are 2-0 for the first time since their last playoff appearance (2005). Here are a couple of other observations from Monday night.

1. I know this has nothing to do with the game but Charles Barkley actually made the booth enjoyable to watch. After hearing Mike Tirico stick up for the Eagles and saying they should have beat the Packers, Barkley responded with my favorite line, "If I didn't eat so much I wouldn't be fat."

2. Jason Campbell is still making young mistakes but he is getting better with each quarter he plays, as evidenced by the 2 TD drives he led in the 2nd half.

3. Joe Bugel is the best O-line coach in the NFL bar none. Depsite not having and losing Jon Jansen and losing Randy Thomas in the second half, the line still held up and gave Campbell the time he needed to make plays. It remains to be see how the backups will fare as starters the rest of the season but I really have no worries.

4. The NFC East is one of the toughest conferences in football, top to bottom. You can't tell me the 0-2 Eagles are that much worse than the 2-0 Cowboys or Skins and if the Giants could have avoided a couple of key injuries, they would not be 0-2 either.

5. Last year was an aberration defensively and if I hear another claim how awful the D was last year and act like that had been the trend in DC for years, I am going to start writing letters to ESPN, CBS and Fox telling them to open a stat book from the last five years and respond with where the Skins finished in total defense each of those years. When healthy our guys are just as good as New England, Baltimore and San Diego but because our offense hasn't been any good until now, the media has failed to recognize it. It's times like these that make me embarrassed to be a sports writer.

The reeling Giants are up next so let's see if these guys can get to 3-0 and be halfway to surpassing last year's win total.

Game 2: Redskins vs. Eagles

Washington (1-0) vs. Philadelphia (0-1)

Time: 8:30 p.m. ET at Lincoln Financial Field

ESPN game preview

There really is nothing better than seeing your favorite team on Monday Night Football, even if your team and coach don't do so well historically in this situation. That's the situation that faces the Skins. Add in the fact that the Eagles are probably still upset they lost to the Packers and this has the makings of an ugly game.

Despite Jason Campbell's mistakes last week, guys stepped up and showed exactly what they needed to. Antwaan Randle El couldn't have picked a better time to step up and prove to critics that he really is capable of being a No. 2 receiver on a team that will throw the ball and Clinton Portis and Ladell Betts showed they can coexist. They need to continue that play for Washington to have a chance and I think they will.

The biggest question mark coming out of Week 1 is how will the O-line hold up after losing Jon Jansen for the season. Stephon Heyer did well replacing him last week but Todd Wade gets the start. I don't care which one of these guys gets the spot just as long as one of them gets the job done.

The only that will make this win better is knowing that the Eagles fall to 0-2 in the process while we go to 2-0. Hail to the Redskins!

Also, check out the Helmet Project, purveyors of the great helmets you see at the top of this post.

2007 Previews: Philadelphia Eagles

Note: This is a team-by-team look previewing the 2007 season. These are my official thoughts on how I think things will play out.

Last year: 10-6 (NFC East champs)

Best addition: Takeo Spikes (LB, Bills)

Key personnel loss: Donte Stallworth (WR, Patriots)

2007 outlook: Last year's conference champs are hoping they can continue the great run they had with Jeff Garcia at QB without Garcia. After Donovan McNabb went down for the season with a torn ACL, Garcia gave Philly fans hope and led the Eagles back to the playoffs. Besides Garcia, the Eagles let Stallworth leave after one year with the club but the addition of Kevin Curtis should balance things out in the end. The offense is in decent shape otherwise, as long as McNabb and Brian Westbrook can stay healthy, which is not a given.

The addition of Spikes on defense gives Philly another playmaking LB to complement Jeremiah Trotter while the defensive line and secondary are in good shape as well. This Philly squad is fairly balanced all around with no glaring holes.

Key to success: Keeping players healthy can probably be determined as a key to success for any team but it especially holds true for Philly, with the special attention needing to be paid to McNabb and Westbrook. These two are the most consistent players on offense when they are playing but neither has played 16 games in consecutive seasons in a long time. Defensively, the health of DE Jevon Kearse will also have a huge impact on the team.

Against Washington: Philly will host the Skins in Week 2 before meeting up again in November in Washington. As with all of the teams in the NFC East, no matter how good or bad a team is playing during a given season records will have to be thrown out when these two teams meet and past performance is no indication of future success. Look for at least one of these games to be fairly close and competitive.

Fantasy sleeper: L.J. Smith. Smith is in a contract year and as usual with most consistent players, expect a huge season from Smith so he can go out and sign a large contract only to return to mediocrity next year. But the good news for fantasy owners is you only get to keep Smith for one season and this should be the season. Don't draft him with the upper echelon TE's like Antonio Gates and Tony Gonzalez, but do keep him in your top 6 and be ready to select him when the third and fourth TE's are drafted.