It's now gut-check time

Over the weekend, I was talking to a friend about the chances of the Eagles making the playoffs. He had a hunch the Birds would knock off New York, go on a tear, and sneak into the postseason. He just wasn't sure why.

When I asked him to give me a reason, any reason, he struggled to come up with something. And when I told him that, prior to the Giants game, the Eagles had just a 35-1 shot of making the playoffs according to BetUS.com, he dismissed me.

The numbers didn't matter to him. They matter even less today.

Riding high after the Eagles beat the Giants, and with the not-so-stellar Browns looming, fans are starting to believe in the Birds again. It doesn't matter that the updated odds (now 20-1) say it will still be difficult for the Eagles to reach the playoffs. It doesn't matter that three other NFC teams are still ahead of them in the wild card race. Who needs bookmakers or the standings when you have your gut?

The whole thing reminds me of The Empire Strikes Back. Remember when Han Solo and company are trying to evade capture, and they pilot the Millennium Falcon into an asteroid field? C-3PO promptly tells everyone that the chances of successfully navigating something so treacherous are slim.

"Never tell me the odds," Solo snaps.

The good guys make it out unscathed, of course, and then save the universe and deliver the inevitable happy conclusion. Will the same be true of the Eagles? Will they beat the odds and use the Giants win to catapult them to an improbable postseason run? Or will they collide headlong with a large mass of disappointment at some point over the next three games and crush what's left of Philly's hopes?

"We're in a situation now where we've got to win them all in order to make the playoffs," Brian Westbrook said.

First they must best Cleveland, then Washington, neither of which is playing great football right now. It's entirely possible, even probable, that the Birds win both games, and that their season comes down to the final tilt against Dallas.

But what are the odds they beat the Cowboys, too? Like my friend, I also have a hunch. It just doesn't involve a Hollywood ending.

For years, I didn't think it was possible for the Fox studio analysts to spew any more gibberish. Then they added Michael Strahan.

On Sunday, the former Giants defensive end felt obligated to opine about the Plaxico Burress mess. No problem there. Who hasn't?