It's ironic that a reference to the iconic movie *Rocky *was made leading up to this Sunday's Eagles-Jaguars game, but it wasn't made by someone from Philadelphia's side.
It was made by Jaguars head coach Jack Del Rio as he explained one thing that his team won't do to prepare for the elusive Michael Vick.
"We're not going to bring a chicken in to prepare for Michael, but the more you can put a good pad on him the better," Del Rio told Jaguars.com.
Vick is one of the league's top rushers with 140 yards on the ground in his six quarters of action, but it was his performance in the pocket that earned him the starting job. He has passed for 459 yards and three touchdowns for a QB rating of 105.5.
"I think he's a good football player," Del Rio told Philadelphia reporters on a conference call this week. "He's done a nice job with (Andy Reid's) system up there embracing it, understanding it and looking more comfortable operating out of the pocket than maybe he did when he was younger, but still a dynamic playmaker."
The one thing that Vick has also been able to do is take care of the football. He has not thrown an interception nor as he fumbled the ball away. The same can't be said for Jaguars quarterback David Garrard, who threw four interceptions in last week's 38-13 loss to the Chargers. Garrard was benched, but backup Luke McCown tore his ACL ending any chance of a quarterback controversy.
"I really feel like that was an aberration. We've been very good protecting the football in my eight years here," Del Rio said. "We've been one of the teams that turn it over the least. We want to get back to playing good football and protecting the ball is important."
That might be a little more difficult as thunderstorms are expected in Jacksonville, which has already been a tough place for the Eagles to win. The Eagles have lost all three matchups to the Jaguars. In fact, the Jaguars are the only team that the Eagles have never defeated. The last trip to Jacksonville was Super Bowl XXXIX.
"I know that the record's been pretty good," said Del Rio, who is 12-2 at home against NFC teams. "I think we just want to play some good football and find a way to get another win this weekend."
-- Posted by Chris McPherson, 9:30 a.m., September 25
