The New Orleans Saints come to Philadelphia on Sunday for an interesting NFC matchup. Both teams won last week and want to advance to 2-0. Both teams play in competitive divisions and need every win they can get. The Eagles have only been 2-0 once in Andy Reid's tenure, the Super Bowl season of 2004. The Saints have missed the playoffs the last two seasons and desperately want to get back to the postseason.

The big story for the Eagles will be who starts at quarterback. Right now, if Donovan McNabb can't go, Kevin Kolb is slated to make his first career start. I'm excited to see what he can do. I'm also nervous. Backup players are a mystery until we see them play. Sometimes we get a pleasant surprise and find out the guy has what it takes to play in the league. Other times we find out that the guy is a backup for a reason. He isn't meant to be a starter. The only way to know for sure is to see the player in action.

I've followed Kolb since he was a freshman at the University of Houston. He always impressed me in college. I liked what I saw in his first couple of preseasons as an Eagle. This year he was hurt and only played in a couple of games. He was more up and down than I would have liked from a third-year player, but the injury situation certainly affected him.

Kolb can lead the Eagles to victory on Sunday. I absolutely believe that. I think he'll have good blocking and good weapons to work with. He's playing at home. That always helps a player's comfort level. He has a good defense on his side. Kolb doesn't have to be a star for us to win this week. The Saints do have a good offense, so Kolb will need to lead some scoring drives. The Saints defense has not been good the last couple of years. They hope that changes this season, but Kolb benefits from not facing a juggernaut group. There will be some big plays available if he is on time and on target with his throws.

I know this issue has been talked about a lot, but I can't stress the importance of the fact that Kolb has practiced with the starters all week and knows he will likely start. He will be prepared to take the field physically, mentally and emotionally. That can make a significant difference to a quarterback. As important as size, a strong arm, or fast legs are to success at quarterback, the biggest thing is what goes on between the ears. A player must be in the right frame of mind to succeed. Kolb will have a good situation.

This is an important game for Kolb. He hasn't had a strong regular season performance in his young career. He led a good drive late in the Rams game last season. He completed 2-of-3 passes against the Steelers while spelling an injured Donovan McNabb. Kolb needs to show that he can play in the league. Right now, we know that he has good mobility. He's pretty accurate. We need to see Kolb play with confidence and some emotion. We need to see him lead a touchdown drive. He's got to complete some intermediate passes and throw a good deep ball or two. Those passes don't have to be complete, but they need to be close enough that the defense fears them and doesn't keep eight guys in the box all game long. Some people question Kolb's arm strength. He isn't in McNabb's league, but Kolb threw the ball well in the preseason. His passes had zip on them.

There is still a possibility that McNabb could start. I have mixed feelings about that. I don't want him on the field if he's going to be severely limited by the rib. We need McNabb healthy for the season. I'll sacrifice a start if it helps him to get better for next week and the rest of the year. They say the rib injury can't get worse. My worry is that the rib injury could slow him down and lead to another injury. I'm sure Reid will make the right decision about whether McNabb should play or rest.

The overall offense struggled somewhat against the Panthers. They only had 267 yards. The offense was clutch, going 3-for-3 in the red zone. Score touchdowns when you have the chance and you'll win games even when you don't have a ton of yards. I was very happy to see that.

The running game was outstanding and we'll need to see more of that this week. Brian Westbrook and LeSean McCoy combined to rush for 110 yards. I'll take that same total this week. DeSean Jackson added another 33 yards to the mix with his running. Fullback Leonard Weaver even had an 11-yard run. We basically have a running game by committee. That's fine. Let's just hope Reid keeps calling running plays. Stick with it if the runners are getting good yardage.

I think the new offensive line had a lot to do with our success on the ground. You very quickly saw why the front office coveted Jason Peters. He is a capable pass blocker, but is a significant upgrade as a run blocker at left tackle. Peters had some outstanding blocks as he paved the way for Westbrook. Nick Cole filled in at left guard and may have had the best game of any player up front. He played really well.

The one group that we need to see get better is the wide receivers. They only caught six passes in the opener. They didn't get a lot of throws to work with, but there were some drops that hurt us. We need the guys to get open and catch the ball to help out Kolb. The longest pass play last week was only 18 yards.

Defensive coordinator Sean McDermott's prize for a good first game? He now gets to face the explosive Saints offense. Drew Brees threw for six touchdowns in the opener. The Saints also ran for more than 150 yards. Forget about stopping New Orleans. How do you slow them down?

As usual, it all starts up front. The defensive line must get pressure on Brees. He is a deadly quarterback when given a clean pocket and time to throw. Trent Cole had a great game in the opener. We need a repeat performance. Last week Cole faced a very good left tackle in Jordan Gross. This week he faces a backup, Jermon Bushrod. That matchup definitely favors us. Bushrod also has a hurt ankle. That doesn't help his cause. Brodrick Bunkley and Mike Patterson need to get some push in the middle. I don't expect sacks from them. Just drive the line backward so that Brees can't step into his throws comfortably.

We last played New Orleans in 2007 and won the game. Who were the linebackers that day? Chris Gocong, Omar Gaither, and Akeem Jordan were the starting trio. These guys know how hard it is to play against the Saints offense. If you go back to the two losses we had to them in 2006 it was lack of speed at linebacker that really killed us. That was better in the 2007 game and is good now. Gaither didn't face a lot of running plays up the middle last week since Carolina likes to run to the edges so much. This week will be different. The Saints will attack the middle. Patterson and Bunkley need to control the blockers and clog the lanes. Gaither needs to get to the ball and tackle well. The most pleasant surprise last week was Jordan becoming more of a playmaker. He got his first career interception and sack. I'd love to see him build off of that. Make more plays.

Saints receivers ran free through the Detroit secondary all last week. That will not happen on Sunday. We have a much better group of defensive backs. We also have players that have been together for several years. Receivers will get open, but not as easy or as often as against the Lions. Brees put several passes up for grabs in the opener. One was picked off. Several were completed. Our guys played the ball exceptionally well against Carolina. We need to do that just as well this week. There will be chances to break up passes or pick them off. Brees doesn't make many mistakes and he's not a dumb quarterback. You have to make him pay when he does get careless or forces a pass.

Special teams could be important in this game. The Saints were awful last week. Look at this list of mistakes:

• Reggie Bush fumbled on a punt return.
• Bush later muffed a punt.
• The Saints gave up a 43-yard punt return.
• The Saints gave up an 87-yard kickoff return.
• The Saints had a field goal blocked.

We had two major plays in the first half of the opener that helped us to build the big lead. David Akers hit a long field goal and Jackson had the punt return touchdown. Those 10 points had a huge impact on the game. Special teams could be really important for a backup quarterback trying to keep up with an explosive offense.

Keys To The Game

• Sean McDermott vs Sean Payton. We must be aggressive on defense. Brees is too good to try and rely on him making mistakes to end drives. You must attack him. You also have to be careful because guys like Bush and Devery Henderson have the speed to make you pay if there is a blown coverage or missed tackle. You know Payton studied last week's game over and over to see what McDermott did to the Panthers. The new wrinkles all worked well, but now teams know what they are. Payton will put together a game plan to protect Brees and attack our vulnerable spots. You can't sit back or Brees will pick you apart. McDermott will hopefully have a new wrinkle for this game.

• Macho Harris will be important this week. The Saints like to stretch the field with their passing attack, especially on play-action. The cornerbacks will do their part in coverage, but Harris needs to stay ""deeper than the deepest."" He also needs to cover a lot of ground and play the ball well.

• We must handle the Saints blitz well. They attacked with their linebackers a fair amount in the opener. I'm sure they'll do the same to try and rattle Kolb. The line, plus backs and tight ends, must do a good job. We have to read the blitzes well and make sound blocks. Give Kolb time and he should be able to burn the Saints on a few pass plays.

• Our defense must be disciplined. The Saints attack the whole field and use all their players. Last week they ran a flea flicker. They had Bush line up at wide receiver. They threw a screen to the fullback. They started a backup running back and he got 28 carries. Two touchdown passes went to tight end Jeremy Shockey. Brees and Payton believe in spreading the ball and attacking everywhere. This puts constant pressure on all 11 defenders and the coaches. You can't hide a weak spot against the Saints.

• We need an effective running game. One of the best ways to control Brees is to keep him sitting on the sideline while we control the ball on offense. Reid and Marty Mornhinweg need to dial up the run plays. That also helps when a backup quarterback is on the field. The line should be able to get push against the Saints. Westbrook, McCoy and Weaver have what it takes to move the chains and make some plays.