What a week I had. In between workouts with my teammates at the NovaCare Complex, I was able to take care of some business.

On Monday, I taped the Fashion Challenge for the 10! Show that will air this Monday. The taping was at Philadelphia University and consisted of PU design students showcasing their designs in men's casual wear. All four designers did a great job, unfortunately we had to cut one. Afterwards I was able to see some of the campus and that was amazing. I can't believe such a nice campus is tucked away in that area.

Tuesday it was off to Syracuse for a variety of events. That night I spoke to the Syracuse University Sports Managements Students who hosted a fundraising event to benefit the American Diabetes Association. Besides being given the opportunity to speak to the attendees, I had the honor of presenting Kyle Lograsso with the Perseverance in Sports Award. I had heard about Kyle from a segment on HBO's Real Sports and I was inspired. Kyle is a 6-year old golf prodigy who had his left eye removed due to cancer. What a great kid from a very loving family.

Wednesday Coach Greg Robinson asked me to speak to the SU Football team. I can't believe that it is 10 years since I sat as a player in that room. It was great to see the players and staff and get a workout in at the new weight room. The rest of the day it was down to business making several appearances to promote blood pressure awareness – check out www.BPsuccesszone.com - with my parents on behalf of Novartis.

With all four #1 seeds in the Finals for the first time ever there can be no upsets. They are all strong.

I'lll take North Carolina over Kansas and Memphis over UCLA.

My two upsets of this weekend will be (10) Davidson over (3) Wisconsin, and (3) Louisville over (2) Tennessee.

With the Sweet 16 so close, I couldn't help but to rewind the wonderful individual efforts of guys like Davidson's Stephon Curry, Stanford's Lopez brothers (Robin and Brook), West Virginia's Joe Alexander, and the point guards from Villanova (Scottie Reynolds) and Xavier (Drew Lavender).

I've have the opportunity to watch Stephon Curry on numerous occasions and I can say he might be one of the best, if not the best, pure shooter in the college game today. With the help of the nation's assist leader at point (Jason Richards), I see this backcourt pushing this Davidson team to the Elite 8 to face a strong Kansas team. But that's where the train stops.

Next, Louisville and Tennessee. Although Tennessee has shown great poise in tight games and in tough situation this is where they have met their match. Louisville, which is led by their big man David Padgett and coach Rick Pitino, will be entirely too strong inside and out for Bruce Pearl and the Volunteers. The problem I see Tennessee having is on the offensive and defensive boards. Tennessee's frontcourt is led by their three athletic sophomores Tyler Smith, J.P. Prince, Wayne Chism, but with fundamental play from Louisville's big-men, I expect the Cardinals to have a strong presence down low.

It's that time again March Madness fans, and I can't wait to get started. Every year we witness a bunch of upsets that we just can't figure out how they happened. This year it will be no different. As I look over my brackets I can't help but notice a few favorable matchups for lower seeds in the 5 vs. 12s, 6 vs. 11s and 7 vs. 10s.

That's why I start with the 12-seeded Villanova vs. Clemson. Villanova is led by the Scottie Reynolds, who has continued to torch defenders and put his team in great position to win games. The X-factor in this game will be Dante Cunningham who is an excellent defender and rebounder. Pick, Villanova.

I also picked a couple of 11 seeds to win (Baylor over Purdue and Kansas State over USC), two 10 seeds (Arizona over West Virginia and Davidson over Gonzaga) and a 9 seed (Texas A&M over BYU).

The NFL is losing a great one with Brett Favre retiring. He was one of the greatest quarterbacks the league has ever known. Over the years, I have had a number of chances to get to know him and I am better for those experiences. Brett was one of the QBs that, when we played his team, I stood on the sidelines to watch him play.

Due to the tremendous amount of respect that Andy Reid had for Brett, I watched a lot of film of him playing - especially early in my career. I've often been asked to make comparisons and I always said, "I'm not Brett," but I hope that I was able to incorporate some things from his game as I have with other great QBs.

The most amazing part of his career is that he was able to play so many consecutive games. I know first-hand how difficult that is. No matter how hard you train or what type of shape you're in, a freak thing can happen at any time to anyone. I admire how he was able to stay away from serious injury as well as play through the nagging ones. It's a testament to him that only he can sit Brett Favre down.

I'm so proud of my mom. She just won an MVP award! Recently Eddie George came up with the NFL Moms Weight Loss Challenge. They competed as teams to see who could lose the most weight. Well, my mom's team won and she was the MVP, having lost 40 pounds during the course of the 2007 NFL season. Congratulations Mom and all the other moms as well.

Here's a look at the press release…

Nashville, TN – Feb. 1, 2008: Eddie George, former all-pro running back and current media personality, recently wore a t-shirt on national television that read "I Love Hot Moms!" He surely does, and proved it by guiding 26 members of the NFL's Professional Football Mothers Association to over 200 pounds of weight loss and great lifestyle changes. The mother's will speak of their successes on his radio show on Monday.

In September of 2007, Eddie's company, EGX Lifestyle, challenged the moms to change the way they ate, cooked, and exercised. The moms were divided into teams representing the AFC and the NFC. Eddie then devised a 16-week program for them and personally worked them out and monitored them with the help of his staff of professionals. The Results? The NFC won the conference battle, judged by how much weight and/or percentage of body fat lost. However, both teams of ladies are now carrying the proud mantle of "Hot Moms," because they've been changed forever.

Constance Davis, mother of Anthony Adams (Chicago Bears), lost 51 pounds; Wilma McNabb, mother of Philadelphia Eagles Quarterback Donovan McNabb, won the MVP award for her hard work, dedication, and lost of 40 pounds; Mary Gurode, mother of Andre Gurode (Dallas Cowboys), got high-school skinny.

The most touching story came from Gladys Bettis, mother of retired NFL star Jerome Bettis. Through the EGX Lifestyle program, she lost over 30 pounds, and in the process, discovered a heart problem that was previously undetected. She ended up having quintuple bypass surgery, a life-saving procedure that may not have been found had she not undertaken Eddie's program with vigor.

With this weekend's championship games approaching us, I think you have to start by congratulating the New York Giants and the San Diego Chargers for defying the odds. No one figured they had a chance to beat the #1 seeded Cowboys and the #2 seeded Colts. With that said I am prepared to see some inspired football this weekend not just by these two teams but by all four.

Focusing on the NFC title game, the Giants and the Packers have a lot to play for. When you talk about the Green Bay Packers it always starts with Brett Favre. Unlike in years past, though, the talk doesn't end there. The big story I feel you need to focus on is the emergence of all of the young talent. With that said, Brett has looked like the player of the past, having fun, laughing and joking again. Boy what winning can do for the confidence of a team.

Secondly the Giants are on a roll right now winning nine straight road game. Eli is playing with confidence, the defense is creating turnovers, special teams are doing a great job with field position and not giving up big plays. Steve Spagnuolo has the defense in the right spots at the right time. You can't help but notice the pressure the front 4 is putting on opposing QBs and the play of the LBs. The front seven seems to have continued to improve each week.

I look forward to the game despite the weather conditions. Weather will only be a factor for the losing team. The elements will affect each team the same throughout the game. The winner will be numb to the cold, looking to celebrate on the field regardless of the conditions. The losing team will want to get back to the locker room as quickly as possible.

Now that the season is over and we are concentrating on 2008, I hope we are able to secure some playmakers in all three phases of the game. Maybe some of those playmakers are already on the roster but have struggled with injuries, myself included, that have held us back a little.

You can't argue with how the Patriots went outside their locker room and stocked up on playmakers last year. It certainly helped to have Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth, Wes Welker and Adalius Thomas making plays for them all year.

I'm surprised that anyone would have a problem with me, or anyone else in the organization, expressing a desire to bring in more quality players. We were 8-8. There is room for improvement. This is a competitive sport. It's about putting together the best players, the best team, and giving yourself the best chance to win.

We didn't disrespect anyone when we traded for Takeo Spikes or signed Kevin Curtis last year. I don't think the Patriots were being disrespectful to Troy Brown or Reche Caldwell when they brought in Moss, Stallworth and Welker. Over the past few years, when the 49ers added Nate Clements, the Seahawks added Julian Peterson, the Giants added Plaxico Burress, the Colts added Adam Vinatieri, it was in an effort to add playmakers. In each case the team identified a way to improve and they took action.

I don't think that's being disrespectful to any of my teammates. It's certainly not my intention. I bet that anyone who wants to see the Eagles win – from Mr. Lurie, to the entire locker room, to every Eagles fan who bleeds green would agree.

I allowed myself to scoreboard watch last night as the Bears played the Vikings. Had the Bears won, we still would have had an outside chance for the playoffs. However, that doesn't change a thing for our preparation this week. We need to finish strong. It's important for our team filled with young players to learn how to win and take that momentum into the offseason. We did that my rookie year and it paid dividends the following year.

I've been asked in press conferences for awhile now "what's wrong with the offense?" So far this season we were not converting in the red zone, not converting enough on third down, not taking chances downfield, protecting the ball too much, not protecting the ball enough, holding on to the ball too long, making costly penalties, etc. etc. etc. That's a fair assessment as we have displayed all of those characteristics at times this season.

I wish I knew exactly why some of those things haven't been better at times because I would have fixed it already.

I have put the effort in and so have my teammates. We have fought through injuries, we have studied the game plans, we have worked hard at practice. We have continued to do all the things that we have done over the years that produced success.

Another thing we have done is stay positive. That has been one constant since I got here. We have lost games, we have had injuries, we have had distractions. But through it all, we have stayed positive and been able to persevere. We must continue to do that.

Each year for the past four years I have taken part in JC Penney and the NFL's Take a Player to School Day. In each NFL city, a player is chosen to accompany a winning child to school for a portion of the day. It's one of my favorite events. I get to meet a kid and their family at their house, ride to school with them, and share in some of the activities they go through in school.

This year I met Gabby Wester from Glendora Elementary School. She has wonderful parents, a great teacher, and many nice friends. Take a look at this video of some of the fun we had.

I need to get this off of my chest. I heard a remark today that my thoughts of the game last night was "bittersweet" -- a reference to the blog my mother wrote last year. Outside of the final score there was nothing I didn't like about last night.

I loved how A.J. played. He had a couple of throws that he'd like to have back but he shook off the first interception and was able to make plays all night long. He made the right reads, he was decisive and he executed a great game plan.

Why must people think just because we play the same position that I can't root for him to do well? He is my teammate so I want him to succeed and that's all that matters.

As for the rest of the players and coaches -- I thought they all put their best effort out there. The line protected Ace and gave him time to throw, and the receivers made plays. The mad scientist, Jim Johnson, pulled out all the stops and shut down the high powered Patriots offense.

Last night's game reminded me of the final game of my rookie year. It was against the Rams in the final regular season game before their Super Bowl run. We weren't given much of a chance to win that day either. But Jim, created a plan that shut down the Greatest Show on Turf and we did just enough on offense to win the game. The confidence gained from that performance helped push us to bigger and better things soon after that.

The only thing that I will be critical about last night is that as good as a performance as it was, it will mean nothing if we don't use it to push ourselves to success in the next five weeks.

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope all of the loyal readers of this blog have a wonderful day with their families. There should be plenty of food and plenty of good football on Thursday.

I know a few of you have asked whether I will be ready to go when we get to New England to play the Patriots. All I can say at this point is I will do my best to rehab both my hand and ankle so that I can try and give it a go. I love to play this game and want nothing more than to be able to compete against the very best in the league. Hopefully, with hard work and a few prayers, if things go right I'll be in the starting lineup on Sunday night.

I want to take this time to praise one of my current teammates. I've always said that Brian Westbrook is an extremely talented player and one of the most potent weapons in football. I'm thrilled that he is getting the recognition that he deserves. No doubt he has been our MVP.

Speaking of MVPs, congratulations to Jimmy Rollins who won the National League honors today.

Hey, I just wanted to check in and say hello. I appreciate that there are a lot of faithful readers of this blog. It's nice to hear your comments and get some feedback each and every week.

I wish I had something new to add this week. Just want to go out, continue to play better, and try to build on last week's win. If we can do that and string together a couple wins, then who knows what can happen.

I'll check in again next week. Until then ... PEACE.

I was surprised to hear that people were saying that I am not taking blame for us being 3-5. I did say in my press conference earlier today (http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/news/Story.asp?story_id=14381) that "I'm definitely not the whole reason why we lost these games" and "I'm not fully [to] blame for everything that goes on around here."

But I also said, "There are a lot of mistakes I've made. [Whether] it's throws I want back, [bad] decisions, whatever it may be, there are mistakes that I've made in every game- a lot of things that you're not used to doing, a lot of things that you know you can do better. Everybody makes mistakes. But, in this situation, there's no room for error, and that goes for each individual person. There's no room for error."

I wish it were easy to find out what is going wrong – then it would be easier to fix. Have I made mistakes? Yes. Do I expect more from myself? Absolutely yes. This is truly frustrating for me because I am giving all I have in practice, in film study, and in the games. I share a passion with Eagles fans to see this team win each week. It hasn't happened as often as we'd like thus far. I haven't given up on myself, our my teammates. And I certainly haven't given up on this season.