The Philadelphia Eagles Need to Replace...

...Brian Westbrook.

What! What are you nuts, Veasey?

Well we already know the answer to that question. After all, you're the guy who picked George W. Bush as your website 'American of the Year' for 2008. You're the guy who has consistently supported Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb.

You think Sarah Palin and Ann Coulter are hot. You whole-heartedly believe in this Jesus fellow, and that he died on a cross specifically for your individual sins that would not even be committed for another two millenia.

But Brian Westbrook needs to be replaced? Well, now you are just simply over the top. If the old Byberry Hospital were still around, we might have you committed. Well gang, this is the response that I would expect, but let's talk about the facts that lead me to make this statement.

First let's dispense with the obvious. For right now Brian Westbrook is one of the most important players on the Eagles roster. Some would make a solid argument that he is the single most important player to the team. I concur with their assessment, for this particular playoff run. He does not need to be cut, does not need to be replaced right now.

But here is something to seriously consider, something the the Philadelphia Eagles management had better be seriously considering.

Eagles-Cowboys: Here We Go Again

No matter the circumstances, the playoff implications or the records of the two teams, football games between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys are the epitome of the word 'rivalry'.

In two different eras, the Roger Staubach and Tony Dorsett days of the 1970's, and the Troy Aikman-Emmitt Smith- Michael Irvin days of the mid-1990's, the Eagles and their fans had to sit through numerous defeats at the hands of the team from 'Big D'.

The Birds got some revenge during the bluster of the Buddy Ryan era, and even more during their emergence as a perennial contender this past decade. Along the way there have been numerous unforgettable games and moments.

This all started way back on September 30th, 1960, a full year before I was even born. The Cowboys were an expansion team that year, and the Eagles were on their way to winning their last NFL championship to this day.

But on that late September day it didn't matter that Dallas would end up winless, or that the Birds would win a title. The Cowboys fought the Eagles tooth and nail before the Birds finally overcame with a narrow 27-25 victory.

Veteran sports writer Stan Hochman has told the story that the real beginnings of the venom in the rivalry can be traced to the late 1960's and an Eagles running back named Tim Brown.