Owner Lurie hoping the best is yet to come

PHILADELPHIA -- Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie had been anticipating a matchup with the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX because of his relationship with Robert Kraft and his family.

"We have known each other for a long time and I have great respect for the way the Patriots have built their organization. We are kind of comrades in arms. Whoever we play it's going to be two franchises who do it right," Lurie said after his team beat Atlanta but before New England had clinched its berth.

Lurie, a Boston native, compared the Eagles' success to the Red Sox' World Series win.

"I know I expect us, now that we've gotten over this hump, to play relaxed, have a lot of fun, and play our best game of the year in Jacksonville," Lurie said.

During the on-field celebration, the crowd continued chants of "NFC, NFC," and Lurie noted, "We've got one more win in Jacksonville."

"We all know our goal is to win the Super Bowl. That's been our attitude since Day 1."

Defense didn't rest
The Eagles surrendered 16.2 points per game in the regular season, tied for second in the NFL with the Patriots. They gave up only 14.4 points in going 13-1, but were outscored, 58-17, in their final two regular-season games.

"For some reason, we don't get respect because we are Philadelphia," safety Brian Dawkins said. "They say we are a bend-don't-break defense but that hasn't been the case since Pittsburgh [a 27-3 loss Nov. 7]. We get looked down upon, looked at from whatever [occurred] earlier in the season. That's not us now. We hit people, we cover.

"When it was 14-10, not taking anything away from Atlanta, we gave them everything. We let them keep drives alive, gave them opportunities to make plays, penalties, roughing the passer."

Said linebacker Jeremiah Trotter: "Our goal was to stop the run and make their team one-dimensional, apply pressure on [Michael Vick], make him beat us with his arm. And when he did run, guys tattooed him. When you get hit over and over, when you take those type of shots, you think twice before taking off."

Said Vick: "The Eagles were able to stop our run and drop back and wait for us to throw. There are going to be a lot of good things to look forward to in the future. This team is just going to get better and better, and in the future if we are put in this position we will only react better."

Taking it in stride
After the Eagles lost to Carolina in last year's NFC Championship game, coach Andy Reid vacationed in Hawaii. His celebration plans are less exotic.

"I am going to enjoy it tonight but we've got to move on," Reid said during his postgame news conference. "It is important to have the game plan before going to Jacksonville. We are going to jump right into it. I will enjoy it tomorrow and the next day, and maybe a couple days after that. I am going to hang out with my family and then it's back to work.

"OK, I am going to have a cheeseburger, how's that? That's what you wanted to hear."

Field gold
The only white on the playing surface at Lincoln Financial Field were numbers and hash marks. Philadelphia's field was clear of snow and looked to be in great condition for the NFC Championship game, a day after the first big winter storm paralyzed the city. More than 750 workers, including Eagles staff, helped shovel the snow off the field late Saturday night. Of course, backhoe loaders, dump trucks, and plow trucks expedited the process. Dump trucks took the snow to various sites, including the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. Some snow was pushed up in the corners and behind the end zone. More than 65 tons of ice-melt were used. The field was covered by a tarp and heating coils beneath the field helped keep the turf from freezing. The field was heated to 70 degrees, a necessity with the kickoff temperature at 17 degrees . . . Eagles linebacker Mark Simoneau missed his second straight game with an ankle injury. Falcons cornerback Kevin Mathis also missed the game with a high right ankle sprain. Simoneau hasn't played since he strained his ankle in the regular-season finale against Cincinnati. Keith Adams started in Simoneau's spot at weakside linebacker.

Material from the Associated Press contributed to this report.