As much as we live and die by every Eagles game, some things are more important than football. Darryl Tapp found that out this week as the defensive end did not travel with the team to New Orleans so that he could stay with his wife Tiffany for the birth of the couple's first child.

Taylor Nicole Tapp ("Kid dynamite" quipped Darryl after the T-N-T initials were pointed out) was born on November 6 and the proud father was there in support. At first, though, Tapp wasn't sure if he would stay back in Philadelphia. A conversation with head coach Andy Reid set him straight.

"This is my family too," Tapp said, referring to his teammates, "but I went and talked to coach Reid and he definitely sent me away. He said, 'You have to take care of this. It's your first one.' And I was happy to go, but I definitely missed being out there with the guys."

Tapp did admit to the frustration of watching his teammates battle without him in New Orleans as he was tending to his wife, who was having contractions. And the Eagles did miss Tapp on the field. But now that he has Taylor in tow, Tapp is already back to work, exhausted though he may be.

"We already looked at the mistakes that happened in the game, now we're moving forward to Dallas," Tapp said. "The only thing we can control as players, and as coaches, is our attitude and effort. We can continue to work at that, continue to try to make plays when they're there."

Up next is another chance to turn things around, this time against an NFC East rival in the Dallas Cowboys. Though the Eagles are only 3-5, they still have five division games remaining.

"Despite all the losses we've taken so far, we're still 1-0 in the division," said Tapp. "We've got to take this game and focus on really trying to attack, be where we need to be within our defensive schemes, and make plays. We're fine in the division, but we've got to start winning, and winning sooner than later.

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