Eagles prepare for Cardinals'' air show in playoff tilt

By Larry Fine

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Eagles cornerback Sheldon Brown said the Philadelphia secondary must shut off the ''YAC'' from the Arizona receivers for his team to hold down the Cardinals'' air attack on Sunday and advance to the Super Bowl.

''YAC'', an acronym for yards after catch that rhymes with attack, is a major factor in the damage done by Arizona''s top flight receivers Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin after they catch a Kurt Warner pass and advance the ball upfield.

"Those are two of the best guys in the business," Brown told reporters on Thursday in a conference call when asked about the dangerous targets of by Cardinals quarterback Warner.

The 11-6-1 Eagles visit the 11-7 Cardinals in the NFC title game with the winner booking a Super Bowl berth against the Pittsburgh Steelers or Baltimore Ravens of the AFC.

Boldin is expected back after the hamstring injury he picked up in their opening playoff win over the Atlanta Falcons to join Fitzgerald, who was a one-man wrecking crew in the 33-13 road demolition of the Carolina Panthers in the divisional playoffs.

"Larry''s deal is he has the best hands in the NFL. Any ball in his area he''s going to catch," said Brown, who along with fellow cornerback Asante Samuel and safeties Brian Dawkins and Quintin Mikell form one of the league''s top secondaries.

"But once he does, get him on (the) ground immediately and don''t let him get a lot of YAC yardage, yards after the catch.

"Anquan, he''s a running back playing receiver. He kills you with the YAC."

CORNER TANDEM

Brown said he was looking forward to the challenge.

"I think we are a very good corner tandem," he said of his combination with Samuel. "I don''t think you can say ''best'' pair of corners until that final Super Bowl is won."

Eagles coach Andy Reid said Philadelphia''s 48-20 November rout of the Cardinals was a deceptive result and Arizona''s offensive firepower was enough to produce a nightmare.

"Larry is a monster," Reid told ESPN on Thursday. "He''s an incredible football player. Anquan the same way.

"Then you add in Edgerrin (James). He jumped in the Fountain of Youth. He''s running hard and aggressive," he added referring to the 30-year-old former Colts running back.

Reid said the Eagles were ignoring their mid-season clash.  Continued...