Cowboy fans and some media pundits seem to be overly excited with the Cowboys win over the Eagles in week 9 by a score of 20-16. Somehow that serves to offset their loss in the final game of last season ( Eagles 44-6 in case anyone forgot). All of a sudden "the boys are back" and "Romo is great"!

Now...follow that with their 2 - 2 record in December by way of  admirable (but not unfathomable) wins against the Saints and the Deadskins, and all of a sudden I'm supposed to be impressed?

Well, I'm not. And neither should you be. Just because the Eagles played a bad game, doesn't mean the Cowboys have our number and are the "beast of the East". If they just play the game the way we know they can, the Eagles should prevail. 

In addition to looking at some of the factors that led to the Eagles loss (I say that, as opposed to "Cowboys win", because that's what it was), let's consider what would make the result different this time around.

The Eagles just came off a big 40-17 win against the Giants.

That, combined with the rout over Dallas from last season, made this a "trap" game from the start. I honestly think the Eagles were looking ahead to the Chargers. If any team was more "up" for this game - it was the Cowboys.

The Eagles won't make the same mistake again. They know what this game and a first-round bye means.

The Eagles were missing a few key players.

Westbrook, Albiamiri, Gocong, Curtis and M J Giles were out. Peters and Samuels were injured at some part in the game and saw limited play.

Everybody is a available with the exception of J Jackson (damn)!  Vick is questionable, but I think he'll be available - and more effective.

Hopefully Demps is healthy enough to take returns (leave Macho home).

The Eagles made a ton of mistakes.

McNabb was off. He threw 2 interceptions on ill-advised passes. These turnovers led directly to 10 of the Cowboys' 20 points.

Although he has shown some bad decisions in the last couple of games, I think McNabb knows the Dallas defense better. With the kind of rush he's going to get this week - I expect them to have a game plan that includes a heavy dose of the run and quick releases to set up the time for the long ball.

The bomb to Crayton came when T White collided with Fokou and opened up a seam. I don't expect they'll make that mistake again. It was Fokou's first start. Fokou said  - "The first time, I didn't really know what to expect. It was my first time starting and I was very excited and nervous, but now I've gotten more comfortable and I know my opponent. I think I'm going to be more relaxed and more effective."

The double-move on Austin made on Sheldon Brown (that scored Austin late in the 4th) was due more to his sore hammy than anything else. I think he's a little better now and if not, he'll get the help he needs on those plays.

 

 Penalties, Penalties, Penalties! 

Take your pick of dumb penalties from the 8 for 82 yards that day.

Maclin- facemask for 15

Samuel - Unsportsmanlike for 15

Herremans - Illegal formation for 5

Fokou - low block for 12 (on Brown's interception)

Avant - Unsportsmanlike for 15 (touchdown celebration)

Peters - False start for 5

Justice - False start for 5

And my favorite....Fokou again - holding for 10. Only this time it nullified a 96 yard kick return by Hobbs for a touchdown. So, in reality, it was for 77 yards AND 7 points!

 

Can we be this dumb again? Maybe, but I hope not.

 Bad breaks or bad calls?

2nd & 1, 3rd & 1, 4th & 1  on the 45. Wow!  Who didn't think we got that first down? Oh yeah, the refs.

A bad bounce out of Maclin's hands leads to Dallas'  first interception.

Fokou's penalty bringing back a kick-return for touchdown. Damn that hurt. Rookie mistake #1

Fokou's penalty on Sheldon's interception return. Rookie mistake #2

 

Can this happen again? Sure, but 8 more games of experience goes a long way.

 

Stats that don't measure up.
 

Another sign that this was just a bad game is in the stats.The first game just doesn't come close to season averages.  Here's a few examples:

                                                                           Week #9 vs. Dallas           Season Avg. (15 games)

Passing percentage                                                 53%                                                61%

Yards/pass                                                                6.9                                                   8.2

Yards/run                                                                  3.7                                                   4.3 

Giveaways/Takeaways                                              - 1                                                  + 15

McNabb QB rating                                                     61.4                                                  94.5

 

I'll give the Cowboys a little credit for these numbers. But just a little.  

So...here's my question. Are you impressed? Are the Cowboys that good or, were the Eagles just that bad on that given day? Can we beat the Cowboys on Sunday and send them back to last December?

I know my answer. What's yours?

Much as already been said about the Bears win over the Favre's  Vikes last night being a late Christmas gift for Eagles fans. So, with all apologies to our Jewish friends at BGN (in case I get this wrong), I propose a re-run of Channakah this season.

If I'm not mistaken - Channakah is celebrated, with not one, but eight gifts in succession. So, here is my idea of the perfect scenario in 8 belated gifts for ALL eagles fans.

Your Eight Gifts

1.) Sunday - Eagles win over Cowboys

We get first-round bye and a well-deserved rest.

We get to shut-up Cowgirl fans and embarass Jerry at his house.

A repeat of last years drubbing would be a bonus!

2.) Sunday - Giants embarass Vikings and the Cardinals beat the Packers.

First of all, it gives the Gints fans and front office an excuse to have hope and hang on to the sorry lot of coachs and players they have.

Arizona wins because I need them to for this to work.

This sets up some great match-ups in the playoffs - Dallas at Arizona  and Green Bay at Minnesota in the wild card round

3.) Wild-Card weekend - Arizona over Dallas and Minnesota over Green Bay

Why, you say?

Because they can and I want to hear the announcers slobber all over Warner and Favre (as usual).

Dallas still doesn't get a playoff win!

Plus...I have a master plan. Wait for it.....

4.) Round Two - Arizona over New Orleans.

Card offense shows-up the Saints defense as the frauds they are.

We finally hear the end of the Saints glory and, most of all, the "sainthood" of Drew Brees.

 

5.) Round Two - Eagles over Vikings!

At our house - in the cold- Favre shows his age!

He's sorry he ever let the Bears game get away.

He's REAL sorry he throws 3 pick's (to Samuals, Brown and Mikell).

He spends the off-season pondering his next retirement while trying to get Trent Coles image out of his mind.

 

6.) NFC Championship - Eagles trounce Cards!

Do you really need a reason why?

How sweet would it be to repeat last year's matchup - this time in our house. This time with a win and a trip to the big game!

Let Farve, Warner, Brees and Romo fight for time at the Pro Bowl, then give them good seats to watch McNabb and company in the the game that counts!

 7.) Super Bowl - Eagles win!

Over who? It doesn't matter.

Over Colts?

How nice it would be to beat the Manning wunderkinds three times this year. (So much for the early season predictions of a "Manning Bowl".

Over Chargers?

Because we owe them one!

Over  Patriots?

We owe them one too!

Anybody else?

Still sweet!

 

 8.) Super Bowl parade!

How about a 70 degree, sunny day in Philadelphia for the parade.

Not only would this be great for the fans to come out in droves, but imagine the dismay of Eagle haters everywhere. No snowballs to be thrown, prompting un-initiated sportswriters to actually come up with something else to say about Philadelphia Eagles and their fans.

 So, there you have it. We've already revisted Christmas, can Channakah come back and give us eight more holiday presents?

For all those fellow posters who were impressed with Jason Babin, it looks like we get our wish.

The Burlington County Times reports that the Eagles have re-worked his contract. I can't get the link to work, but they say:

"The Eagles today reworked the contract of defensive end Jason Babin, who came to the Eagles during training camp and made an immediate impact during the preseason."

and...

"Babin has earned not only a roster spot but a likely position in the Eagles’ defensive end rotation".


Besides the three non-factor players they cut today, it seems like it's all going good.

I could be talking about any number of subjects with that headline, but I want to address one in particular right now. I, as I'm sure many of you true Philly fans did, I watched the Harry Kalas tribute on CSN yesterday. As moving as it was, I couldn't avoid noticing something that bothered me. I'm wondering if anyone else felt the same?

For a team that claims to be THE team in Philadelphia, you mean to tell me that not one representative of the Eagles (FO, staff or players) could make an appearance? Except for Merrill Reese, there wasn't even a hint that we had a football team here.  I know the draft is coming up, but puleeeze..... they couldn't spare anyone?

Yes, I know, I didn't see a rep from the Flyers either, but they have their own problems. Why should the Eagles care about the Phillies broadcaster? Because the fans do. So much for the "City of Brotherly Love".

If you agree let me know. If you think I'm over the top...I'm sure you'll let me know!