Opening Day 2012 for Eagles at Browns--- Livefyre Broadcast

All the blood, sweat, tears and brainstorms of the 2012 preseason lead to here...

Your 2012 Philadelphia Eagles Experience is ready to debut in Cleveland--- don't mind the "mistake by the lake"...





It is a pleasure to turn over the live pre-game and game commentary to the most knowledgeable phans in the NFL universe... our audience is comprised of former players and current students of the sport. Their goal is to educate and entertain.

If you are new to this experience and want to chime in, please go to www.livefyre.com and create your unique identity...it only takes a minute or two...

Here's a brief set-up for today's game, Sunday, September 9, 2012, 1:00 P.M. EST...

KICKOFF  1 p.m., Sunday, Browns Stadium, capacity 73,300. Their largest crowd last season was 68,266 Jan. 1 vs. Steelers...

TV  FOX ----Dick Stockton, John Lynch, Jennifer Hale.

LINE  Eagles by 9. The Browns are by far this week’s biggest home underdog. Next biggest is Tennessee, a 5-point underdog to New England.

OPENING-DAY OUCH  The Browns are 1-12 in expansion-era opening days, having won only in 2004, against Baltimore. Last Sept. 11, the Browns blew a late lead to Cincinnati and lost 27-17.

ANDY’S ACHILLES  Eagles head coach Andy Reid has won so much that he has hung around longer than any other active NFL head coach. However, he is just 6-7 in openers.

LAST YEAR  The Eagles were 4-8 in 2011 before outscoring the Dolphins, Jets, Cowboys and Redskins by a combined 127-46 to finish at 8-8. The Browns finished 4-12 with a 1-9 skid after a 3-3 start.

REMATCH  In preseason Game 3, a 27-10 Eagles win at Cleveland, Brandon Weeden drove the Browns 71 yards on their opening series before fumbling while being sacked by tackle Derek Landri. Weeden also fumbled in the second quarter. Eagles QB Michael Vick did not play because he hurt his ribs a week earlier against New England.

ROOKIE WATCH  Cleveland’s top draft picks, RB Trent Richardson, QB Brandon Weeden and OT Mitchell Schwartz, and DT John Hughes, will start against the Eagles. First-round pick Fletcher Cox is a backup in the Eagles’ defensive tackle rotation. Round 2 pick Mychal Kendricks, who was Schwartz’s teammate at Cal last year, starts for the Eagles at strong-side linebacker.

VICK’S HOT FINISH  In Michael Vick’s most recent game, he led Philadelphia to a 34-10 win over Washington on Jan. 1. He went 24-of-34 for 335 yards and three touchdowns. He ran just once, gaining 3 yards. In his most recent road game, Christmas Eve in Dallas, Vick went 18-of-32 for 293 yards and two touchdowns in a 20-7 win. He ran three times for 10 yards.

WELCOME, MR. WEEDEN  In Brandon Weeden’s most recent game, a 41-38 Fiesta Bowl win over Andrew Luck’s Stanford team, Weeden went 29-of-42 for 399 yards and three touchdowns.

SKILL SET  Wideouts DeSean Jackson (961 yards) and Jeremy Maclin (859), tight end Brent Celek (811) and wideout Jason Avant (679) led a balanced Eagles receiving group in 2011. Wideouts Greg Little (709) and Joshua Cribbs (518), tight end Ben Watson (410) and wideout Mo Massaquoi (384) led the Browns in a contrast that speaks for itself.

RUNNING MEN  Peyton Hillis led the 2011 Browns with 587 rushing yards, anemic numbers that have Browns fans thirsting for the Trent Richardson era. LeSean McCoy led the Eagles with 1,309 rushing yards last year. No other Eagles running back reached 150. Quarterback Michael Vick ran for most of his 589 yards early in the season.

SACK TIME  Jason Babin, 32, hopes for a nice encore to his 18-sack total in 2011. Jabaal Sheard gave the 2011 Browns 8.5 sacks as a rookie Round 2 draft pick.

HIT THE ROAD  The Browns will play at Cincinnati next Sunday, while the Eagles will face Baltimore in their home opener...

Final note---Rookie DT Fletcher Cox of the Eagles has been cleared to play after tweaking a knee in practice earlier this week...

Okay...I'll be back after the game to clean up the discarded beverage cups and corn-dog wrappers... Now here are the smart phans to guide you through the newest installment of Philadelphia Eagles football on the Livefyre Radio Network...