Colts vs. Eagles: Chopping Down an Offensive Wizard In Peyton Manning

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning is arguably the best quarterback the NFL has seen in a long time. He can make every throw, intimidates defenses with his ability to read them like Tiger Woods on a golf green and more than that he rarely gets rattled under center.

Peyton has career numbers under his belt to make him a sure fire future Hall of Famer in the National Football League, racking up 52,312 total yards, notching 381 TDs along the way and he's on his way to having a fine 2010 season even with the slew of injuries the Colts are currently faced with.

That is one of a few things that the Eagles have working on their side in today's game. Manning is without a couple of guys that I'm sure he'd like to have on the field this afternoon.

Players like WR Austin Collie (hand) and RB Joseph Addai (neck) will both be watching from the sideline as they nurse their injuries. Addai is listed as "doubtful" so there is a slim chance he could play in today's matchup, but they are some real slim chances.

Lastly Manning will be without his starting tight end Brody Eldridge, so Peyton definitely has his work cut out for him, however, this is why he makes the big bucks correct—his ability to make do!

He still has two more than adequate wideouts in Reggie Wayne and Pierre Garcon, who could torch the Eagles secondary much like the Tennessee Titans did two weeks ago to come back and steal the game right out from under the Eagles Brass.

Eagles defensive coordinator Sean McDermott failed to make a change then, he recognizes it, and has since pulled CB Ellis Hobbs and has decided to give fifth-year veteran Dimitri Patterson the nod to record his first NFL start.

Patterson surprised many with his level of preseason play, and even continued to impress in the regular season as he's notched an INT in the victory over the San Francisco 49ers.

Expect Peyton to target the fresh right cornerback early and often to see if he can gain an edge over the Eagles defense. If Patterson passes the test, this could turn into a very long day for the Colts.

More gifts the Eagles will be receiving today is the return of two key players to their offense.

QB Michael Vick and WR DeSean Jackson, both of whom are electrifying players, will be taking the field today after both missed multiple weeks as they healed from their respective wounds.

Vick was nursing a rib injury that occurred more towards the sternum and prevented him from breathing correctly (even more so than just a cracked rib), and Jackson as we all know took a mean hit from Falcons CB Dunta Robinson that left him concussed.

Both men are eager to get back to work and having them back could spell disaster for a Colts defense that isn't anywhere near as good as their offense.

Philadelphia Eagles RB LeSean McCoy is also set to have a big day, not only because of the return of Vick and Jackson, but also because Indianapolis's run defense is far from good, they are a unit who gives up more than 130 rushing yards on average.

With the defense needing to keep an eye, or multiple sets of eyes on Vick, McCoy's stage is set!

Indianapolis also has to deal with the pure fact that Eagles head coach Andy Reid is absolutely perfect (11-0) coming off of a bye week, yet he's never defeated Peyton Manning.

With everything said and done, in the end I do feel the Eagles will come out victorious today. Reid is good when he has two weeks to game plan, the Birds have key player returns while the Colts are plagued by injuries, and it's a home game so hopefully the fans will get the better of this potent QB Peyton Manning.

Yes, I do see the Birds advancing to 5-3 this week. I don't see a blowout today, rather a tight game the whole way through, but in the end David Akers is going to pull through to give the Eagles a 23-20 win.

The day has started off on the right foot and it's a perfect football day. Pull out the hoodies, kick back with friends, food and various beverages or your liking and let's rally behind Philadelphia's troops to put this game in the books.

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