People. It feels so good to be back. After an eight-month hiatus, the Israeli Rebel is back… People. It feels so good to be back. After an eight-month hiatus, the Israeli Rebel is back and better than ever. I want to make my comeback with something rash and austere. I want to stir up some controversy and get people really riled up, or maybe make some people really love me. So here we go.

My first bold statement of 2004 is that the Philadelphia Eagles will lose to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. Wait, before all you Philly fans go get your guns and knives to kill me, hear me out. I don’t want to get any hate e-mail or phone calls or any response whatsoever until Sunday night. If the Eagles win, I’ll take all the hate e-mail that you can give me.

But when the Packers win, I only want responses praising my wonderful ability to predict professional football games. Face it, Philadelphia; this is the one team in the playoffs that can beat the Eagles. You know it. I know it. The country knows it.

So why, exactly, do I believe the Eagles will lose? I could go through the whole destiny thing, saying that Brett Favre is destined to win the Super Bowl after losing his father a few weeks back. I could even go as far to say that there is an angel on the Packers’ side after seeing Arizona successfully win on a Hail Mary to bump Green bay into the playoffs.

Then, the heck with angels, God was on the Packers’ side last week, letting Al Harris intercept a pass by Matt Hasselback and return it for a touchdown in overtime to force the Philly-Green Bay matchup this week. I’m even thanking Detroit for beating St. Louis in week 17, because by doing that, the Eagles got the No. 1 seed, forcing the matchup of the Eagles and Packers this weekend.

So, why will Philly lose? Well, Philadelphia is in Pennsylvania, and people in Pittsburgh, as well as those in Philadelphia, know that sports teams in this area love to get your hopes up, then lose before getting to the championship game.

But no, all you Philly fans believe Donovan McNabb is a saint. He can’t lose to Green Bay. He is going to win the Super Bowl this year. Wait, weren’t you booing this guy when he was drafted and after the Eagles started off 0-2? Oh yeah, I bet you forgot about that. You have been too busy booing Santa Claus lately.

So for my friend Matt Milo, I say this. McNabb is just like Kordell Stewart. He is a pretty good quarterback who will never get Philly to the Promised Land. When has McNabb won the big game? Never. He has yet to get Philadelphia to where they should be.

But I got sidetracked; the real reason the Eagles will lose is the Packers’ two-headed monster. Favre is due for a bad game, I know. But, the Eagles are going to be so focused on Ahman Green that Favre won’t have to play especially well to win. He is going to be facing single coverage most of the game, and Favre’s receivers are good enough to go get the ball in man coverage.

When Green Bay and Philly met earlier in the year, Green ran for almost 200 yards. This will force the Eagles to play with eight men in the box. If the secondary backs up, then Green will run wild. They move in, and Favre will throw for ridiculous numbers.

For the Eagles, McNabb is good, but he can’t account for the loss of Brian Westbrook. I know the Eagles have two other decent backs, but only one team in the history of the NFL (the New York Jets) has ever won a playoff game with their leading rusher on the sidelines.

The Eagles aren’t just hurt on offense; their defense took two big blows. Troy Vincent is listed as questionable for Sunday. If he plays, one can only imagine how good he can be with his hip injury. The other Eagle that is injured is linebacker Carlos Emmons. With Emmons out, Favre will have more time to throw, be able to throw down the middle, and get more running room for Green.

Then there is Harris, a former Eagle, who will not only be looking to have a big performance against his old team, but will be riding high off his winning interception from last week. The whole Packers defense will be riding high after last week.

The winner of this game will be the team that doesn’t give up the big play. Both these teams blitz and take risks in the secondary. It will be a great matchup, but I believe the Packers have way too many weapons and way too much on their side to lose this game.

Plus, have you noticed the trend of teams playing each other for the second time in the playoffs? The Colts beat the Broncos after loosing to them in the regular season, and the Panthers beat the Cowboys who had beaten them in the regular season. I’m just saying, look out Philadelphia, here come the Pack.

Brian Goldman is a staff writer for The Pitt News and wants Green Bay to win just so the Philadelphia people at Pitt will shut up.