Win And Move On

It is the mantra of every team in the NCAA Hoops Tourney. Win and Move On. The Birds' last second 23-20 win over the G-Men embodies the very spirit of that slogan.

It was ugly and incredibly frustrating at times. The overall effort was a bit uneven. Jeff Garcia was inconsistent for most of the game. The defense reverted to some of its bad habits from earlier in the year by failing to stop the run and get off the field for some key third downs. In the end, all these things did not matter as they still won due to B West, the o-line, the early play of the defense, and clutch kicking on the part of Green Akers. (I guess Big Red knew what he was doing bringing back Koy Detmer, huh?)

It is one of the few truths of the NFL: a win, is a win, is a win in the NFL playoffs. Plus, as the Cowboys have proved over the past decade, playoff wins sure aren't easy to come by. So, let's not get too critical over this one even if this performance looked as good as Britney Spears after an all night drinking binge in Vegas.

As I predicted, this was a close one, but it was a little too close for comfort. Plus, I doubt there was anyone in the Delaware Valley who didn't have that "deja vu"/"here we go again" feeling when the G Men came back to tie the game with five minutes left in the fourth . In fact, in order to change things up, I totally left my in laws after the G Men tied it and went to my buddy Mister Nascar's house to catch the end. More on that later....

What more can you say about B West? Not only was his second quarter 49 yard TD run a work of beauty, which easily becomes the second most famous run in Eagles' postseason history, but he absolutely willed the team down the field to set up the winning field goal. It seemed as if he and the o-line knew that they had to rise to the occasion if they were going to win this game. As we all witnessed, they very simply would not be stopped by the G-Men's patch work defense on their way to securing this win.

Plus, along with B Dawk, B West is now the heart and soul of this team. I think Tiki said it best tonight in his post game press conference when he said that Westbrook "reminds me of myself" and "is so underrated". He also added that "when they needed a play, he made it for them." (I think you'll all agree that we can only be so lucky, if B West replicates Tiki's great career.)

In any event, if the Birds have any plans on reaching Miami, we're going to need two more of these performances out of Westbrook. Although, does it anyone else think it curious that B West is not utilized as much in the short passing game with Garcia at the helm? I'd like to see that change next week.

Now that the G Men have been vanquished back to Soprano-land, we're off to N'Awlins to get some revenge against America's "New" Team. This is going to be a tough one as everyone wants this team to win and they're pretty damn good on offense, but the Birds definitely have a shot if they can control the ball on offense and limit the big play on defense. Without a doubt, they have to play much better this week. The effort they gave today, will not cut it down in the Big Easy.

The Birds just need to remember the mantra: Win and move on, baby. Win and move on!