Most would say that the Philadelphia Eagles are a Super Bowl caliber team. Yesterday, the Ravens stayed with the Eagles to the very end and were a play or two from pulling off the upset victory at hostile Lincoln Financial Field. The big and bad Philadelphia Eagles -- the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles -- the 7 ½ point favorite Philadelphia Eagles with the hot pitch and catch tandem of McNabb and Owens.

Many gave the Ravens little chance to win this game. Admittedly, I was one of them, predicting a 16-10 loss in Crystal Ball. I just couldn’t see the Ravens taking down a team in Philly without 4 Pro Bowlers, three of which are part of an already challenged offense. Yet they nearly did it. Those filling in for the injured stars proved their worth and in the end, their individual and collective experiences will make for a better team.

If you ask the players, they will tell you that there’s no solace in moral victories. Maybe not immediately. The first emotion after a loss is disappointment followed by frustration. But somewhere around Tuesday, those emotions will settle to something less than a simmer and the focus will be directed towards the windshield and not the rearview mirror -- towards the Cleveland Browns and not the Philadelphia Eagles. Then, the team will appreciate how close they are to being one of those elite teams -- those Super Bowl caliber teams, particularly with reinforcements named Lewis, Heap, Ogden and Boulware.

But before we consider the windshield and the Browns, let’s look back at the Ravens v. Eagles in today’s Bird Gauge.

QUARTERBACK

Kyle Boller’s poise and confidence showed marked improvement yesterday -- a very interesting development considering that the Eagles have one of the game’s fiercest pass rushes and the Ravens were without their anchor at left tackle who we affectionately know as J.O. Boller read through his progressions well and often hit the second read, sometimes even his third read for positive yardage. When the Eagles blitzed, he had a plan and he consistently hit his receivers on slant patterns, one of the best weapons against the blitz, assuming the QB is accurate. Yesterday, Boller was exactly that.

One of the frequent criticisms of Boller is that he hasn’t been a playmaker -- he hasn’t made something out of nothing. Yesterday that changed. Facing a third and seven from their own 36 with 8:06 remaining and trailing 15-3, Kyle Boller was nearly sacked by Jevon Kearse off the right edge and escaped outside the pocket. He spotted Clarence Moore downfield who had slipped behind Lito Sheppard. Fifty-two yards later, the Ravens were in scoring position. Then again on third down during this same drive from the Eagles 7, Boller calmly delivered a nice touch pass to Daniel Wilcox for the score.

On the downside of his performance, Boller on a couple of occasions threw third down passes to well covered receivers who were well short of the first down marker. And then the worst mistake came at the most crucial time in the game. With 1:18 remaining and the Ravens in their no-huddle offense with no timeouts and the ball on the Eagles 48 yards line, Boller raced his mates to the line and then dirted the ball, burning a very valuable down. In all fairness, this one might not even be Kyle’s fault. He may have been carrying out orders. But with no timeouts left and you choose to throw the ball in the middle of the field, you better have two plays in mind when you break a huddle, particularly when it’s the first play of an offensive series. There’s no reason why they couldn’t have run another pass play here. If the route wasn’t there, just throw it away and your team is no worse off than when you dirt the ball. Perhaps you lose 3 or so seconds but that is a small price to pay for precious positive yards at that point in the game.

RUNNING BACK

Chester Taylor and Musa Smith were both effective, particularly Taylor. They combined for 103 yards on 23 (4.5 yard average.) Taylor again showed that he can be elusive to initial tacklers and seemed to be at his best when running straight at the Eagles defense. However, there were a few runs that looked like they could have been turned into game breakers if J.O. and Jamal were on the field. Unlike most folks, I am not about to beat up Chester Taylor for his fumble. I found Brian Billick’s animated sideline gyrations to be uncalled for. Chester Taylor does whatever is asked of him and constantly strives to improve and always gives 100+%. If Jamal Lewis had fumbled, would he have reacted the same way? What if Kyle Boller threw a pick on the next play? I have my doubts. Let’s just look at that fumble for what it was -- a very good play by a playmaker named Brian Dawkins.

Mixing in B.J. Sams is a great idea on offense and I like how the Ravens are using him. The shuffle pass and the end around were nice plays and both are something the Ravens can build upon. Just one recommendation to whomever is calling these plays -- give Sams some snaps when he does not get the ball. It may help him to be more productive when he does. Also on that end around -- slow it down a tad. Sams had the ball outside the tackle before his offensive linemen had a chance to slide out and challenge would be tacklers.

RECEIVERS

Nine catches and 162 yards combined by Travis Taylor and Clarence Moore might not seem like a lot if you are the Indianapolis Colts, but if you are the Baltimore Ravens, those numbers have to be considered a windfall. Give this pair credit for finding the seems in the Philly defensive secondary, particularly against the blitz. Travis Taylor (get ready to knock on wood) has shown very good hands since his return and nearly made a miraculous catch on the Ravens last offensive play. Moore continues to get behind defenders and Boller seems to go to him without hesitation. On third and nine from the one, Boller put Moore‘s height advantage to work by tossing a jump ball along the left sideline. Moore demonstrated nice hands and good footwork while converting a key first down. Don’t know where Randy Hymes & Seek was. KJ has pretty much vanished from the offense. And someone tell me again why we signed Patrick Johnson. I thought it was to stretch the defense but the last time I checked, it’s difficult to do that when you show up on the inactive list every week. Terry Jones and Wilcox both were dependable yesterday, demonstrating sure-handedness.

OFFENSIVE LINE  1/2

One of the biggest fears shared by most going into this game, was how the Ravens would handle the Eagles’ pass rush. On the game’s third play from scrimmage, Jevon Kearse blew by Orlando Brown, sacking Boller, forcing a fumble and nearly a turnover. After that play, the Eagles rarely got close to Boller despite a season high 38 passes. Outstanding clutch effort by this unit and special props to Ethan Brooks who was very solid. Many, like myself were critical of Brooks going into this game. Thanks Ethan -- I’ll taste shoe leather any day of the season for a comeback effort like yours.