The NFL season gets kicked into high octane in the second week with the Eagles and the Cowboys facing off this week. NFL fans know this is must-see tv, these two squads have been rivals for decades, they both look to be good teams this year and they play in the best division in football to complete the trifecta.
From the Eagles fans cheering a hurt Michael Irvin as he lay on Veterans Stadium turf, to T.O. throwing shots at McNabb as his relationship deteriorated with the Eagles, there's no love lost between these teams. In Philly there are 11 commandments, somewhere in between 'Thou shall not kill' and 'Thou shall not commit adultery' you'll find: thou shall not show up at Eagles game or sports bar in a Cowboys jersey. The hate is a little more serious than the hate for the Giants or the 'Skins. It stems from the nature of Philly fans because of the city's inferiority complex and blue collar attitude. "America's Team" represents the total opposite in the eyes of Philadelphia fans, Romo, Jessica, Jerry Jones, T.O.= Hollywood... you get the point. The underline battle is the have's verse the have not's, at least this is how Philly fans view it. Of course the T.O. saga is still a thorn in the side of the die-hard Eagle fans, not to mention the Super Bowl count is 5 to none in favor of the 'Boys.
In the first week the Eagles stumped out a bunch of average dudes who obviously stole the St. Louis Rams uniforms this past week, while the Cowboys breezed by the Cleveland Browns. Well this week should be a test to see where both teams are at. It's a hard game to call because of the fact that the Rams refused to play anything that can be passed off as defense. I'm scratching my head trying to figure out why the Rams still haven't fired anyone yet? I'm not yet sold on the Eagles offense being this good with questions at the receiver position coming into the season, and putting up 38 points with backups.
Andy Reid already has a interesting issue to deal with going into this game and it will be ongoing throughout the season. I'm sure you've heard about the Lito Sheppard situation. Sheppard is a stand-out cornerback when he's healthy but has been told he's the 3rd best corner on the team. Now anyone familiar with the Eagles knows that there are not two cornerbacks on this team better than Lito Sheppard. We could even argue back and forth whether he's a better CB than Asante Samuel but everyone knows for sure Sheldon Brown can't cover like Lito. This scenario gets real interesting this game because last year Sheppard shut down T.O. in Texas Stadium. So does Andy put the so called "3rd best CB" on T.O. or does he go with his "best" corner in Asante? Look out for how this plays out in the game.
The Cowboys seem to feel entitled, everyone already has them a lock to make it to the Bowl, they have TV shows, ump-teen publicity Pro Bowlers and a suped-up Pacman. With the overall energy of this team, you'd think that they won it last year. When I size up the matchups, I think if the Cowboys consistently pounded the rock, Marion The Barbarian could wear down the Birds front four. Of course with Wade Philips that won't be the gameplan, because he often overcoaches and I just don't think he's that good a coach. When you look in the trenches, notice both teams have massive offensive lines that give their QB's forever to throw the ball, McNabb and Romo could probably have a coffee before they threw the ball.
Taking that into account, this game is going to come down to which team can get to the other teams QB. It's all about the pressure, but not just any kind of pressure. You have to get penetration up the middle to rattle Tone and D-Mac. Pressure off the edges rarely get to these guys. Romo moonwalks in the pocket, the man is simply a magician with his footwork and McNabb can two-step with the best of them. Now If the Eagles chip-block Demarcus Ware, can the Cowboys get pressure from someone else? Dallas will have to keep Romo clean because the Eagles look better on the line than last year and you know Jim Johnson will be throwing his darts. With two of the better secondaries in football the run game could also play a big part in deciding this. If the vaunted passing game isn't working, i'm not sure which coach would be more patient in sticking with the running game. This is really key for the Eagles, because they might be starting guys named Jackson, Avant and Baskett at wideout and i'm not sure they'll be able to get off the line consistently against Big D's press coverage.
Will Roy Williams get away with yet another horse collar? Will T.O. get his Mike Phelps on if he scores? So many scenarios, so much we still don't know. What we do know is that this will be the biggest game that we'll see thus far and it's great to have the NFL back!
Statement game for both teams
pretty good analysis, but my Boys gone roll.
They already talking trash. Westbrook better go hard or it might be a breeze for Dallas
Lets get something straight. If Emmit or Troy was wheeled of on the cart they would have gotten the standing ovation. But years of crotch grabbing taunting (oh it happened more then a couple times) to the Eagles fans not to meniton a little stint in with a couple of hookers and a crack pipe really caused some hate in Philly for the "man" called Michael Irving. Doubt this will get posted but at least the guy that reads it will know while the rest can keep thinking what you want. Michael Irving=less class then the lowest Eagle fan.