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Expert: 2-Week Layoff Shouldn't Hurt 'Powerfully Calm' Eagles' Mentality

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Two weeks ago, the Philadelphia Eagles pummeled the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship to earn a Super Bowl berth.

But will all that time off between action impact the bird's performance in the big game?

"I believe they love the two weeks," says sports psychologist Joe Dowling, who works with athletes all throughout Philadelphia. "They get to prepare, they get to be with each other, they get to have this experience of going to the Super Bowl."

Even though he calls those two weeks off a "long time," when it comes to the Eagles and their Super Bowl preparation...

"They're so focused on each practice, each moment that I think this one day at a time mentality allows them to just come together and go through this," Dowling tells KYW Newsradio.

He says the Eagles have seemed very confident and calm lately.

"More so than you would expect," says Dowling. "I call it being 'powerfully calm.'"

Dowling attributes much of the confidence to the way the Eagles won their last game, by 31 points.

As for any adrenaline the players may have lost since that emotional night...

"When they wake up (Super Bowl) morning, it can't not be extraordinarily exciting, and the mind will regulate the body at just the right pace," Dowling says. "They'll get up, they'll step into the routine and they'll be all business."

He says game day butterflies are normal, it's being able to channel that into excitement that will help the Eagles get their game faces on as they go through the day.

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