Hunger��not home field��is the Eagles' biggest edge - NFL - Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles and Rams, the top seeds in the NFC, must be considered the favorites to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, though neither team is head and shoulders above the other--or even over the rest of the playoff field. A few things are on my mind heading into their first games:

Marc Bulger. He's the Rams' X-factor. He has had a pretty good year, though he tied for the league lead with 22 interceptions. In the biggest test of his young career, a Week 17 game at Detroit in which playoff home-field advantage was at stake, he played poorly (as did others) and the Rams lost. In the playoffs, the stage gets bigger. I can't wait to see how he responds.

Donovan McNabb. It's not fair to judge McNabb on the Eagles' failure to reach the Super Bowl last year because he had just come back from injury. Now, he's healthy and is playing his best ball of the season. This will be a better measure of his ability to win in the playoffs.

Home field. It's an advantage, but it's not a be-all and end-all. Look at Tampa Bay, which supposedly couldn't win in cold weather, yet rolled into Philly last year and upset the Eagles. And the Eagles have a better record on the road (7-1) than at home (5-3) this year. Still, I'm sure they're happy to know that if they have to play the Rams--who were undefeated at home--it'll be in Philly.

Philly's run defense. I'm the last guy who'll say that you have to stop the run to win in the playoffs, but the Eagles have a real problem here. More than just the yards, they give up way too many big plays. And it's big plays, whether on the ground or in the air, that beat you.

Brian Westbrook. If he's out for the playoffs, the Eagles are minus one of the few explosive offensive players they have.

Hunger. Philly has lost the NFC championship game the last two years. The disappointment of losing that game is indescribable. If I had to predict an NFC champ now, it'd be the Eagles. They just might want it more than everybody else.

Scouts' views

Observations and opinions from two NFL pro scouts, one from each conference:

Without a doubt, LaDainian Tomlinson is the most complete running back in the NFL. He runs behind a very marginal offensive line--unlike Priest Holmes, who seems to get a lot more credit. There's not anything Tomlinson can't do for you. He's a guy who can be an inside/outside runner, he has excellent vision, he caught a hundred halls this year, and he's a smart player who can pick up blitzes. He's an every-down guy.... There was a definite drop-off in Warren Sapp's production and his ability to be an impact player this season. I think he still has some juice left, but not nearly enough to be the dominating player he's been in the past.... The Dolphins made a good decision in keeping Dave Wannstedt. He's won 41 games in four years there. There's a lot of coaches in this league who would like to average 10 wins a year. I think a decision Wannstedt needs to make is changing his offensive coordinator, Norv Turner. The main reason the Dolphins have not made the playoffs is not Dave Wannstedt; it's the inability of their offense to score points.... As a personnel guy, you'd like to have Terrell Owens on your team because you believe he can be a productive, impact player. But as a coach or the guy signing the checks, you have to make sure there's a clear understanding of who's running the asylum. You like him as a player, but he has just enough antics that will drive you nuts.... I think the Patriots have a big advantage in being able to sit out the first week of the playoffs and then play a team that will have only one week to prepare for them. There's no coach better in this league than Bill Belichick in being able to devise defensive schemes that disrupt the offensive flow of opponents. I think you saw that in the Super Bowl two years ago when he threw seven defensive backs at St. Louis, and St. Louis refused to run the ball.... I don't think Marshall Faulk is the blazer he was a couple years ago. He's now just slightly above everybody else instead of being heads and tails above everybody. It just seems like he's running with more power and less slash. The burst is not there, but the patience and the vision are still there.... Byron Leftwich developed nicely this year. He's a big quarterback with a strong arm who can fit balls into places other guys can't. He had some problems with turnovers, which happens with young quarterbacks. But he doesn't let those things bother him. He gets right back under center and makes plays. The one thing he's going to have to work on is his ability to read defenses.

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