Eagles' starting QB not a concern for Saints

Who will play quarterback for the Eagles this week? Will it be sore-ribbed veteran Donovan McNabb, unheralded backup Kevin Kolb or newly signed Jeff Garcia?

Saints coach Sean Payton and his players left that intriguing guessing game to others, knowing perhaps that if they have a repeat performance of their mistake-filled 45-27 win over the Detroit Lions, it won't matter which quarterback Andy Reid sticks under center Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field.

"Certainly the [Eagles], I think, are one of the better teams in the NFC," Payton said yesterday. "There are a ton of things that we did [against Detroit] that we won't be able to get away with in a game like this. Our players will know that and they have to understand that we have to play better.

"In our games here in '06 and '07 [which the teams split], those games were well-fought. This is a big challenge for us."

The Eagles' quarterback situation is in flux after McNabb suffered a broken rib on his left side Sunday at the end of a touchdown run during the third quarter of their 38-10 road win against the Carolina Panthers.

Saints veteran defensive end Bobby McCray called McNabb "a tough guy" but is keeping his options open.

"No matter who plays, it's not about them, it's about us," said McCray. "We have to prepare to win, instead of preparing to play against a system or play against an individual player within that system. We got to play whoever they put under center."

Saints linebacker Scott Fujita took it one step further.

"We can't worry about who the guy is going to be," Fujita said.

And if it's Kolb?

"I didn't even know his name till [Sunday] night when I heard McNabb got hurt. "So, I don't know anything about him, but I'll find out soon enough."

Regardless of who starts, Payton said his team has some work to do.

After a review of Sunday's win against the Lions at the Superdome, a game in which quarterback Drew Brees tied a franchise record with six touchdown passes, Payton said "there are a lot of things we got to get cleaned up."

The Saints lost two fumbles, one by Reggie Bush on a punt return and a second by running back Mike Bell that resulted in a 65-yard return for a touchdown. The Lions returned one kickoff for 87 yards and one punt for 43 yards and also crashed through the right side of the Saints' offensive line to block a 34-yard field goal attempt by kicker John Carney.