The Eagles beef-up against Irvin

PHILADELPHIA - As Michael Irvin lines up in Veterans Stadium this Sunday he will probably have a bigger obstacle to contend with than what he saw in their last meeting. Eagles coach Ray Rhodes has decided to put in rookie cornerback Bobby Taylor to match up with Irvin because of his strength and size. Taylor is a strong 6'3", 216 pounds and has played well against big receivers in the Eagles victories over the Giants and the Rams. In the November 6 game against the Cowboys, Rhodes had his veteran cornerback Mark McMillian on Irvin, but McMillian is only 5'7" and Michael caught eight passes for 115 yards and one touchdown that day.

"I made a big mistake," said Rhodes. "This week, Taylor gets his shot. Bobby has to play big for us to win. He's going to have to get physical with Michael Irvin. Man, he's got to grow up."

"It's going to a bumping, grinding, pushing-off type deal. Taylor has to mix it up. He's got to risk flags, he's got to turn into Ali or Frazier, He's got to turn this thing into a fight."

And a fight is what he is sure to get. Michael is one of the best and most aggressive receivers in the league when coming off of the line. Quarterback Rodney Peete is very aware of Irvin's abilities and has warned Taylor of the problems he may face.

"It's an enormous job, an enormous task," said Peete. "Irvin is that good. He's such a student of the game. He understands defenses and coverages so well. He knows how to get open. He knows how to find the open space. He has great technique in his route-running. He'll push off and nothing will be called. He's the best in the league at that."

The Eagles know first hand of Irvin's physical and aggressive style. And that's how they look at it, as a style of playing and not really cheating.

"They haven't called it yet," said Rhodes. "Every team complains about him pushing off. He keeps doing it, but it's just good, aggressive football. That's what they're calling it." In preparation, the Eagles have had their fourth-string receiver Chris Jones to line up against Taylor all week in practice. Jones was instructed to copy Irvin's aggressive style and give Taylor a bit of the rough stuff.

"We've told Christy to throw him around," Rhodes said. "To grab him and push him off every chance he gets. He's got to be Michael Irvin all week.

"Big on big. He's got to get in Irvin's face. Bobby Taylor has got to get his knuckles dirty this week."

Of course, the Irvin - Taylor match up will be only one skirmish in Sunday's battle. Philadelphia is 8-5 and a win will keep them in the wild card spot, so there will be several mini-contests going on. There will be other Eagles looking to scratch and claw their way past the Cowboys. It could be tough outing for The Boys. As they say, 'it's gut-check time.'