For the segment of the fan base that still believes the Eagles can make a run in the final nine games, Sunday was a good day, as the Giants, Cowboys and Redskins all went down to their respective opponents.

Join Tim and Sheil for a live chat during Monday night’s Eagles-Saints game. Kickoff is set for 8:30.

Sean Payton could be a free agent at the end of the season. The Eagles might very well be in the market for a head coach at the end of the year. Could Payton land in Philly?

There are some major hurdles to overcome.

Here are 10 things to know about how the Eagles’ offense matches up with the Saints’ defense. If you missed the first cheat sheet, click here.

Jason Babin‘s reaction to the “vile” chants he heard at the Linc last week has not gone unnoticed. With the Eagles mired in a three-game losing streak and falling short of expectations for a second-straight year, Babin’s comments have been met with sharp resistance by a weary fan base.

And it’s not just the fans. No one had a more adverse reaction to Babin’s words than Jeremiah Trotter.

The Eagles made it official Saturday afternoon, activating defensive tackle Mike Patterson to the 53-man roster and releasing linebacker Jason Williams.

Patterson had offseason brain surgery and has not played in a game this season. A first-round pick back in 2005, he suffered a seizure during training camp back in 2011 and was diagnosed with arteriovenous malformation, a tangle of blood vessels in the brain. Patterson was still able to play the entire 2011 season. He said today he never had any doubts about returning.

“I just think it has to do with my personality,” Patterson said. “I just love this game so much. It’s just real fun to me, I enjoy it. When it first happened, people would say ‘no [don’t go back],’ but when everything’s all said and done, the doctor said I was able to play still.”

Nate Allen did not practice again on Saturday because of a hamstring strain and is officially listed as questionable for Monday night’s matchup against the New Orleans Saints. Andy Reid said Allen will travel with the team and be a game-time decision.

If he can’t go, David Sims will get the start. The Eagles acquired Sims from the Browns before the season. He’s never played a defensive snap in the NFL and could be faced with trying to deal with Drew Brees and the Saints’ offense in his first action.

Jason Cole of Yahoo Sports recently reported that there has been tension between Michael Vick and Eagles assistant coaches.

Today, Vick denied the report.

“That’s absolutely false. Coach [Andy Reid] and I never had that conversation,” Vick said. “Everything we talked about in that room was personal, was man-to-man, but that never came up.”

Here are 10 things to know about how the Eagles’ defense matches up with the Saints’ offense.

What does the Andy Reid drama mean to a recent import, exactly?

Everyone in this town knows the tale backwards and forwards. Every win and every loss is a piece of a larger mosaic. We know where it fits and what it signifies. Do trade acquisitions and free-agent signings, plucked from one culture and plopped into another, appreciate what this all means? Do they understand the magnitude of this season?

Probably not.

Before the Eagles held their players-only meeting last week, Andy Reid and Michael Vick had a lengthy sit-down, two team sources told Jason Cole of Yahoo Sports.

The pair cleared the air on a variety of issues, but perhaps the most noteworthy item in the report was that Vick believed some assistant coaches wanted him benched.

Not that Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie is a wallflower. The green mohawk and hot pink and blue car don’t exactly scream introvert. But, aside from a random scream about-what-I’m-not-sure to no one in particular in the locker room, DRC has not been all that vocal since arriving from Arizona via trade last offseason.

As such, it caught some of his teammates off guard when he spoke up at Wednesday’s players-only meeting.

“Yeah, because I don’t really say much. I’m not into the talking game,” said Rodgers-Cromartie on Friday. “I just believe in going out and playing ball, regardless of what goes on. Not a lot to be said.”

So why choose to talk at the meeting?

Over the past couple days at the Novacare Complex, players and coaches have tried to articulate what exactly has gone wrong with an offense that is scoring just 17.1 points per game, 28th in the league.

During training camp, it seemed like the 2012 version wouldn’t be far off from last year’s group. Michael Vick and company produced 64 pass plays of 20+ yards in 2011, eighth-best in the league. The plan was to cut down on turnovers, get DeSean Jackson back on track and resume the high-flying, big-play attack.

But a few things happened to derail that plan. Demetress Bell failed to be even adequate filling in for Jason Peters at left tackle. Another hole was created when center Jason Kelce suffered a season-ending injury. And the offense failed to fix the turnover problem.

After the Cardinals game, Andy Reid and Marty Mornhinweg decided to switch things up. More balance, coupled with a methodical passing game, was Plan B. If the defense could come up big (like it did against the Giants), perhaps that kind of offense would be good enough for the Eagles to get into the playoffs.

Nope. That hasn’t worked either.

Safety Nate Allen was sidelined for Friday’s practice with a hamstring injury.

Wearing just a jersey and baseball cap, Allen looked on as the rest of the team worked under the bubble at the NovaCare Complex Friday afternoon.

This is a concerning development for the Eagles, who lack quality safety depth. Allen exited in the fourth quarter against Detroit with a hamstring injury a couple weeks back and it cost the defense. Colt Anderson, a quality special teams player but unproven at safety, replaced Allen and the unit suffered for it. If Allen can’t go, either Anderson or David Sims would replace him.

There was a moment against the Lions a couple weeks ago where it looked like Nick Foles might go in. Michael Vick was slow to the sidelines and the training staff had gathered around him to assess the damage. Foles circled nearby and as time ran short, he dipped into the circle to see if he was needed. He was not. Vick was going to be OK. Foles slowed his pace and resumed his normal sideline routine.

The routine itself  is interesting to watch. Foles is pretty active. He’ll walk over to give the offensive line a pat; will have a quick word for an assistant or one of the players coming off the field. He’ll peek over Vick’s shoulder as he and Marty Mornhinweg look at the stills. Back and forth. Waiting, watching, waiting.

It has to be an odd existence, being the backup — and all the more being a backup for Vick. Especially this season.