Tip your hat to dominating defensive game plan

Oh yeah - the Eagles' defense only allowed three points.

"We felt almost like a machine," weakside linebacker Omar Gaither said, after the Eagles' 38-3 win over the St. Louis Rams. "I'm trying to think of another way to put it but I think that's the most proper way to put it. Everything was in sync."

We all have been tugged in two directions by this defense, and especially by the linebackers (Gaither, Chris Gocong and Stewart Bradley). Because they have size and speed and smarts, yes, but they also are inexperienced. How would all of that come together?

"I think you can attribute it to all of the work we did in the offseason," Gaither said. "Really, it's hats off to that work. We were able to come out in the first week and play like we've been playing together for 2 or 3 years."

Yesterday, Bradley had nine tackles and a sack and looked great. Sheldon Brown knocked the hat off Rams running back Steven Jackson, literally. Safety Quintin Mikell also had nine tackles and a sack. Overall, the pass rush was solid with four sacks of Rams quarterback Marc Bulger. The Rams did not convert a third down, 0-for-11, the Eagles' best showing since 2002 when they held Dallas 0-for-12.

"Jimmy [Johnson, the Eagles' defensive coordinator] had a great plan for the game," said Bradley, who fought through some problems with his radio helmet in the second half and still got the defenses called. "Getting pressure on the quarterback and just keeping our game plan intact and their offense off the field."

If you are in the mood, there is one nit that you might pick: The Eagles did not force a turnover in the game, continuing their 2007 trend. They had the fewest takeaways in the NFL last season, and getting takeaways has been their offseason mantra.

"It's all about getting off the field," Gaither said. "Unfortunately we didn't have as many turnovers as we'd like - we didn't have any - but if you're not going to get the turnovers, you want to get off the field and keep the points low. We did that. When you do, you still can win games. I said a few weeks ago, if we don't have any turnovers and we win the Super Bowl, that's all right with me." *