CHIRPING BIRDS-Week 7

I was at the Eagles-Vikings game yesterday. Eagles defeated Minnesota, 21-10, and here are my thoughts..

* I'm beginning to think that having a bye week early in the season isn't a good thing. It seems more of a momentum-killer rather than a rest. The Eagles came out of their bye week against Detriot very flat, and ended up losing their game to the Lions. The Vikings had their bye week before the Eagles game, and obviously looked sluggish not only early but thru-out the contest. Dallas had a bye yesterday-will they also come out flat next Sunday night vs Philadelphia?

* The Eagle defense was against dominating, after having a bad game the week before in Washington. They blitzed a lot more, which rattled Sam Bradford.There has to be a happy medium down the road between blitzing and playing their base defense for the Birds.

* The Eagles wore black yesterday and won again. They have yet to lose when they wear all black. They won the previous two games they played at home in all black, beating the New York Giants both times.

* Getting the lead was big again, so I think the kickoff return by Josh Huff was big. Yes, the two defensive stands when the Vikings had the ball near the Eagles goal were key stops, but the return set the tone, as early on, the offense was doing nothing against a good Minnesota defense.

* There were quite a few purple jerseys scattered in the crowd-Viking fans. They were more vocal than I imagined, but, like the Steelers fans a few weeks before, they sat cross-armed and red-faced at the end , trading verbal barbs with Eagle fans no more.

*  Depending on the outcome of Jason Peters' injury, the Birds should still investigate the possibility of trading for OT Joe Thomas from Cleveland and/or Ashon Jeffries, WR from Chicago. They are basically useless to their floundering teams, so the Browns and Bears may listen to a trade proposal. Getting two quality, veteran guys in the lineup to solidify the team would carry the Birds during this season an=d seasons to come.

*Two big baseball stars were at the game: Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard, was introduced. Not introduced, but in attendance, was Angels CF a,d Jersey native Mike Trout. Mike is in a similar situation with Anaheim,  a team going nowhere. The Phils need to figure out a way to get Trout to Philadelphia.

* Home field advantage has not been so big for the Eagles during the past few seasons. This year the Eagles are unbeaten at home. The crowd is louder. Hopefully more visiting teams will be intimated to play at the Linc, similar to the home advantage the Birds had while playing at Veterans Stadium. The schedule is back loaded with home games in colder weather: November games vs. Atlanta and Green Bay; division games vs. Washington and New York; and a New Years' Day game against dreaded Dallas.

* The Eagles have the only kickoff TD return in the NFL so far this season.In fact, they have two kickoff touchdowns.

* The Eagles are now 13-13 all time with Minnesota. 9-6 at home . The Vikings won the previous two meetings.

* Next Sunday night on national tv the Eagles play the Cowboys in Dallas. The Eagles have had success in Texas, and the Cowboys have had trouble at home over the years. Again, getting out to an early lead, controlling the back, and staying away from turnovers and penalties will all be keys too winning. An Eagle win means a 5-2 record, and leaf-frogging the Cowboys for 1st place in NFC East.