WEEK 5- LAST FAN STANDING FOOTBALL POOL-THE PICK

Everything is telling me not to pick the Eagles this week. They always have trouble with Larry Fitzgerald and Arizona. Fitzgerald and speedy wide-out John Brown can torch the Birds' weak secondary, if QB Carson Palmer is on his game and if the Eagles don't get a strong pass rush.

Philly is 3-1 and could pad its lead on NFC east, especially with Dallas having a tough challenge against Green Bay on Sunday. The Giants continue to struggle. Washington has a bye.

The Eagles will have home field advantage, returning to the Linc after playing three of its first four games on the road. The Birds are due for a resounding win; even their lone loss to Kansas City was a nail-biter.

It's a difficult week. Most of the games are predicted to be close. Philly is actually the second biggest favorite on the card, 6 1/2 points over

I can see the Chargers jumping ahead and taking the New  the Cards.  No easy pick.

I considered the giants,w ho are home against an 0-4 Chargers team that crosses the country and plays in the East Coast time zone. New York has to win sooner or later.

I just don't like the Giants' weak offensive line. LA has two good pass rushers, even though Eli Manning can slow them down by getting rid of the ball quickly, as he did against Philadelphia.

I can see the Chargers getting ahead, Phillip Rivers taking advantage of the shaky Giant secondary, and the Meadowlands crowd booing the hell out of Coach McAdoo and the G-men.

There's Dallas too. They can't possibly lose two home games in a row, can they? They need to stockpile wins now, before RB Elliot starts serving his six=game suspension.

But the Cowboys face the Packers. hard to bet against Aaron Rodgers, even on the road. The Cowboy defense isn't that great, and if Rodgers is hot, he could destroy Dallas.

So, I'm taking the birds this Sunday. I wanted to save them for another home game down the road- San Francisco or Chicago. But I need the Eagles to come up big this week to stay on a roll.

It's going to be a shoot-out on a warm Autumn afternoon. Make it Eagles 33 Cardinals 20