If it's Saturday, it must be time for the dreaded Eagles pick.

This one will be unusual for Iggles' fans, because it wil be the last one for this year. And not just 2007. The Eagles will be hanging up their shoulder pads after tomorrow's match with the Bills.

Yes, it is going to a long, cold January. The Eagles are not going to the playoffs.

And that should be the overriding theme of Sunday's game, that the season has been a huge disappointment.

But I kind of doubt that it will. Instead, what I fear coming is that the Eagles will play well, win fairly easily, thump their chest about their three-game win streak, a now-healthy Donovan McNabb and proclaim themselves ready, willing and able to return to the playoffs next year.

I'm not buying. Instead, I'll take a page out of Bill Parcells' playbook. The new boss of the Dolphins had a great response when asked for his assessment of his teams. "You are what your record says your are," he wold snap back.

The Eagles will win tomorrow, 26-13, over the Bills. That will make them 8-8. Sounds about right. Back in the summer, I was one of the few who wasn't buying all the hosannas being laid on this team. I just didn't think they were that good.

I still don't.