The Eagles' standout rookie WR turns 22 today.

Jackson is currently #1 among NFL rookies in receiving yards and #2 in catches. He leads all rookies in catches over 20 yards and first down catches.

He's also ranked #2 in the NFL in punt return yardage.

Jackson has 2 TD catches, 1 rushing TD, and one punt return TD.

We began taking the pulse of the Eagles community two weeks ago after the home loss to the Giants. At the time Andy Reid's approval rating amongst fans sat at 17%.

After the tie with the Bengals it dipped to just 8%.

Since then, the Eagles have played 2 games in the span of 5 days. The first a dismal blowout defeat to the Ravens which saw starting QB Donovan McNabb benched. The second a blowout win over the Cardinals on Thanksgiving which saw more focus on the run game and a rejuvenated McNabb.

After such a tumultuous, up and down week in Eagle-land how much confidence in Reid do the fans have now?

 Chris Collinsworth made a point of mentioning several times Thanksgiving night that the Eagles told him they would be rotating WRs less that night than in other games. They felt that the rotating of WRs was making it hard to get a rythm on offense.

Collinsworth said the Eagles would stick primarily with Desean Jackson and Kevin Curtis on the field all game with other guys rotating in at 3 and 4. However, there was as little rotating at the 3 and 4 spots as there was at 1 and 2. Quite clearly, Jason Avant and Hank Baskett were the 3 and 4 WRs.

Reggie Brown was no where to be seen. Neither was Greg Lewis... but who cares?

The fact that Brown was relegated to the bench is interesting. It's not surprising that he isn't starting over Curtis or Jackson, I think we al can see that those guys are better players than Brown. However, to see him fall down the depth chart below guys who used to be his backups is a surprise. There's no doubt that based simply on how the WRs have performed this year, Baskett and Avant deserve to be ahead of Brown.

It's hard to figure where Brown's place on the team is right now. Curtis and Jackson are the starters and that shouldn't be changing for quite a while. At least in the case of Jackson, he should be the starter here for many years. The other WRs have clear roles and attributes they can hang their hat on.

Hank Baskett is the biggest WR on the team. We've seen him work in the end zone and get on the end of the fade pass a few times and we've seen him make several tough catches this year.

Jason Avant probably has the best hands on the team. He's not our fastest WR, in fact he's probably the slowest, but he goes over the middle and catches anything thrown his way. Every team needs that kind of tough, move the chains type of WR. He'll never be a star or gamebreaker but a guy that find a hole in coverage and make a tough first down catch over the middle will always be an important role player here.

So what can Reggie hang his hat on? He's not a big WR, but he's not small either. He's not an incredibly speedy WR, but he isn't slow. He has had suspect hands at times and has been drop prone. Andy Reid said Reggie's absence against Arizona was simply a case of things being "too diluted"

"I know people have said we don't have a lot of good receivers. I think a little bit different from that. Right now, we've got a lot of good receivers," Reid said. "The problem is we had to back off on some guys so that we could get our timing back in the pass game.

"This is a timing passing game, a precision passing game, and we were rotating so many guys in there that it didn't give the quarterback and wide receivers an opportunity to get on the same page and get enough reps in practice. So as good a player as Reggie is, we cut back his reps a little bit. That doesn't mean Reggie can't play or won't be a factor in these games. But it was just so we could tighten things up a little bit in the passing game. Things were getting too diluted there."

So does Andy think the pass game will get rolling again and he go back to playing whatever WRs he wants at any time? Or will he get wise to the fact that letting guys flourish in a certain role isn't a bad idea?

What is Reggie Brown's future with this team? Will the former second round pick simply be a Greg Lewis type spare part for years, will he be the player that caught 8 TDs in 2006 again, or will he be somewhere else?

The Eagles and their fans get to sit back and enjoy some stress free football on TV today. The Birds have 10 days to rest and heal up for their matchup with the Giants next weekend. In the meantime, here some games that should be of interest today.

Carolina @ Green Bay - This is a matchup of two teams locked in 3 teams fights for the top of their divisions... but the difference is that Carolina is 8-3 and the Packers are just 5-6 but still only a game out of their division lead. The Pack will be fighting for their playoff live at home today, while the Panthers will be looking to keep pace with the Bucs and Falcons. Both teams were blown out last weekend and will be looking to rebound.

New Orleans @ Tampa Bay - The New Orleans offense is firing on all cylinders after putting up 51 on the Packers last week. They head to Tamps to face their NFC South leading rivals Tampa Bay in will be a statement game for the Bucs. If they are for real, we should find out today.

New York Giants @ Washington - This is the big one for Eagles fans. The Redskins have not played well since their bye and are in danger of seriously falling out of the NFC East race. A win over the Giants today would put them just two games back in the division and leapfrog them over Dallas for the final wildcard spot. With the Eagles heading up to NY next week, it would be nice to see some cracks in the Giants armor today.

PIttsburgh @ New England - This should just be a good game. Two teams that have been powers in the AFC for years, both playing well... Should be fun.

Kansas City @ Oakland - Yes, they both suck... but it's still one of the classic rivalries in football.

Jay Glazer

Plaxico Burress' controversial year has just taken a turn for the worse.

The New York Giants wide receiver accidentally shot himself in the leg on Friday night, FOXSports.com has learned, not long after being ruled out of Sunday's game against the Redskins with a hamstring injury.

He spent the night in the hospital and the injuries are not believed to be life-threatening. The team is still trying to gather further information on the incident.

Wow. I suppose this means Burress, who always plays well against us, will miss next week's showdown with the Giants in North Jersey.

Shawn Andrews has spent the last several weeks in California on the advice of his doctors after having back surgery out there. He'd been waiting to get the green light from the specialist out there who did the surgery to make the cross country flight back to Philadelphia. He got that green light and his back in town.

"(Trainer) Rick Burkholder and I will meet with him today and see exactly where he is at," Reid said Monday. "I know that the flight was a bit painful for him coming back. That's a long flight from (California) and he did feel a little bit of that. I'm not sure exactly how far or how close he is to being in football shape so we'll talk to him, communicate with him, and just see how he's doing and then continue to rehab him there."

It's interesting that the Eagles have still not put Andrews on IR, meaning that he an come back at any time. Clearly Reid is hoping that in a few weeks Andrews will be able to return to the lineup in place of the "backup backup" Nick Cole.

Reid also talked about the progress of rookie OL Mike McGlynn, who will now become the primary backup for all inside OL positions.

"McGlynn has been consistently improving," Reid said. "The thing that he does is he gives you a guy who can play all three positions. We feel very comfortable with him at any of those spots. He will work in and he'll get an opportunity to be active."

Eagles right guard Max Jean Gilles is done for the season

The Eagles' already depleted guard rotation got even thinner last night when Max Jean-Gilles had to leave the game against the Arizona Cardinals late in the first half with a broken right ankle.

Jean-Gilles' injury is extra tough for the team considering Max was filling in for the injured Shawn Andrews. Now the team will turn to their 3rd choice guard Nick Cole to fill in for Max and Shawn for the remainder of the season.

This will probably lead to rookie guard Mick McGlynn being activated on game day.

This is why we watch these games every week.... because eventually we see a show like we saw tonight. Domination, redemption, elation....

McNabb pulled for Kolb again

For the second week in a row Kevin Kolb entered the game in relief of Donovan McNabb, but this time the circumstances couldn't have been more different. Donovan was sat after leading the Eagles to a spectacular Thanksgiving night blow out in what was his finest performance on the year. McNabb's final stats speak for themselves.

27/39, 260 yards, 4 TDs, 121.7 QB rating, and 24 yards rushing.

What a story of redemption for McNabb tonight. Only 4 days after being benched for the first time at any level of his career and coming off easily the worst 2 game stretch of his career McNabb puts on a virtuoso performance on a national stage against the playoff bound Arizona Cardinals.

There's really not much to say. I'm in awe of the guy. The guts and fortitude it must take to get over the couple of weeks he had and play like he did tonight are immeasurable. Tonight, I give thanks for you #5.

Who called the plays tonight?

The Eagles team we saw tonight was very much reminiscent of the hat ran the table in 2006 and made the playoffs after Marty Mornhinwheg was handed the playcalling duties. Several times the NFL network cameras showed Mornhinwheg on the sidelines studying the play chart and calling plays, not Reid. When Marty has had the chance to call this offense, it's clear that he has always put more emphasis on running the ball. Whether it be here in late 2006 or when he was OC in San Fran and they led the NFL rushing. Tonight was not simply a case of the team executing better. They certainly did that... but there was a new attitude and philosophy with the playcalling tonight. WE RAN THE BALL!

Ladies and gentleman, YOUR Philadelphia Eagles racked up 185 yards rushing tonight. When was the last time that happened?  39 passes, 37 runs(if you take out Kolb's kneeldowns). That is what a balanced offense gets you in the NFL.

It's all about commitment

How many times have I said this over the past couple weeks? When everyone said this offensive line couldn't open holes, that Westbrook was too hurt and that was the problem... All those things were factors, but I consistently said that no team that doesn't commit to running the ball will ever be successful doing so. Tonight was proof of that. The Eagles committed to running the ball from the first time they touched it and it paid dividends throughout the game. It's not that telling when Brian Westbrook has a great game like he did tonight. 22 carries, 110 yards, 4 TDs... We know he can be that good... but when guys like Kyle Eckel and Lorenzo Booker are getting 5 and 6 yards a carry every time they touch the ball that's telling. By the 3rd quarter of this game the Eagles O-line had imposed their will on Arizona and it didn't matter who was running through the holes.

Speaking of Kyle Eckel... The biggest cheer of the night came when Eckel converted the Eagles first 3rd and 1. We all know 3rd and 1 has been an achilles heel for us this year and when the crowd saw the Eagles bring in a big back to run for a first down on 3rd and 1 the place erupted. Were you listening Andy?

Great job by Westbrook tonight and good jobs by Eckel and Booker who made the most out of every touch they got.

Defense breathing fire

This Eagles defense came to hit people tonight. Especially that secondary. Faced with arguably the best and most physically imposing WR tandem in football, Jim Johnson had his boys jamming them at the line and punishing them whenever they did catch the ball. Sheldon Brown, Brian Dawkins, Quintin Mikell, and Joselio Hanson all delivered several big shots to Cardinal WRs after the catch. You certainly have to wonder whether the physical play of this secondary tonight had more than a little something to do with the Cards catching a case of the drops.

Despite getting pressure on Warner all night, the Eagles defense did not record a sack. However, they did it's job. The Eagles were able to generate pressure with their front four, namely from Cole and Clemons, which allowed them to sit more back in coverage and force Warner to quick throws rather than the down field stuff that has worked so well for Arizona this year.

Get this... Arizona only rushed for 25 yards tonight.

The Eagles defense forced 4 turnovers, including 3 picks off MVP candidate Kurt Warner and a recovery on one of 3 Arizona fumbles tonight. Brian Dawkins forced a fumble with a big hit on Anquan Boldin and tied the Eagles all time interception record with a late pick.

Lee-tow looking lost

Was anyone else surprised... or even shocked to see Joselio Hanson and not Lito Sheppard announced as the starter in place of the injured Asante Samuel?

If you were, you certainly understood why after watching the game. I thought Lito had one of the poorest games I've ever seen a corner on this team have tonight. All three Arizona TDs were thrown at him and he gave up a big gain to Larry Fitzgerald. I really don't know what has happened to Lito this year. Maybe being unseated as the starter has totally messed up his head or something... but right now I honestly don't think he should even be on the field. Look at his last few weeks. He had a shocking game tonight, gave up a 90 yard pass against the Seahawks and a big TD that arguably decided the Ravens game.

I remember before the year we all debated on whether it was Lito or Sheldon who should be unseated to make room for Samuel and which guy was the better corner... Certainly there can be no more argument any more. At this point is Lito better than Joselio Hanson? Not from what I saw tonight. Hanson was solid. So was Quintin Demps who was primarily a safety in college but saw a ton of time tonight playing as the 4th corner.

Give thanks to the Birds

It's not been a great season so far... but I wanna thank the Eagles for at least giving us a great end to our Thanksgiving holiday and for maybe giving us just that little sliver of hope that change could be on the way for this team.