From: Ford, Bob
To: Sheridan, Phil; Brookover, Bob; Fox, Ashley
Subject: Playing Hot and Cold
We celebrate the New Year and the Eagles' trip to frigid Minneapolis with a special, No Gonzo edition of Talkin'. Who says we never think of the readers? How do you think the Birds will do today inside the HumpDome, which will be a very chilly walk from the hotel for us truly. And what's the coldest you've ever been?
From: Sheridan, Phil
To: Ford, Bob; Brookover, Bob; Fox, Ashley
Subject: Playing Hot and Cold
Years ago, I took the CTA from O'Hare to downtown Chicago and overshot my hotel by two stops. I walked up Michigan Avenue from the Loop to the Westin, the Hawk on full blast from the lake. I remember that I couldn't move my eyeballs from side to side because the fluid in them froze up.
It's funny (funny-strange, not funny-ha ha, at least if you're Andy), but Reid's former assistants seem to do pretty well against him. Steve Spagnuolo's defense laid one of the more embarrassing beatdowns of Reid's tenure on the Eagles last season at the Meadowlands, and John Harbaugh's Ravens drove Donovan McNabb to the sideline in November.
The one exception, so far, is Brad Childress. The Eagles handled the Vikings pretty easily at the Metrodome last season. It would be very hard on Reid to lose to his good friend and former protege. But this is a game custom-built for Jim Johnson, the Reid assistant who most deserved a head-coaching shot but never got one. Eagles 20, Vikings 13.
From Brookover, Bob
To: Ford, Bob; Sheridan, Phil; Fox, Ashley
Subject: Playing Hot and Cold
This is my first invitation to Talkin'. How many months did it take? I'm so honored.
Oh, yes, the game. The Vikings appear to be the perfect first-round team for the Eagles. They can stop the run, but the Eagles don't like to run the football anyway. Adrian Peterson is a great running back, but the Eagles haven't been hurt by a good running game since midseason. The one thing going against the Eagles is they don't play well on the road, but given the pace of ticket sales, we could see a lot of green jerseys at the Metrodome today. Eagles 16, Vikings 13.
As for cold, I still haven't thawed out from that night in Milwaukee before the NFC championship last year. Do you remember that one, Bob? Didn't think so.
From: Fox, Ashley
To: Ford, Bob; Sheridan, Phil; Brookover, Bob
Subject: Playing Hot and Cold
