Another reason Giants should be rooting for the Eagles to beat the Cowboys:
As difficult as the Giants schedule is for the last 9 games of the season, the Cowboys schedule is ridiculously easy. Giants had all their softer opponents in the first half and the Cowboys have most of their weaker opponents in the second half. Specifically, Cowboys schedule after the Eagles game is: Seattle and Buffalo at home, followed by the Redskins on the road, Miami at home and back on the road in Arizona. They could win all 5 of those games and almost surely will win 4. The Cowboys have already played the hardest teams on their schedule: Patriots, Jets, 49ers and Lions. Their last 4 games of the season has the Giants twice sandwiched around games against the Buccaneers and Eagles.
My point with all of this is that, excluding the 4 division games the Cowboys have left against the Eagles and Giants, they should win a minimum of 5 out of 6 of the other games. That would put them in prime position to win the division.
By contrast, the Eagles have at least some difficult games remaining on their schedule: Bears, Jets and Patriots. So even though they also have the same weak opponents left from the NFC West: Seattle and Arizona, unless I am grossly underrating them, I don't expect them to win more than 5 of their other 9 games. That would give them around 8 or 9 wins and would not be enough to win the division.
Cowboys are better, have an easier schedule, have not played the Giants yet while the Eagles have already lost their home game against the Giants. Therefore the Cowboys constitute a much bigger threat to the Giants chances of winning the division. We want the Eagles to win this Sunday.
Showing posts with label nfc east. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nfc east. Show all posts
Friday, October 28, 2011
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
A look at the Eagles
After we got a look at the Eagles when the Giants played them in week 3, I asserted on this blog that the Eagles were waaaaaaay overrated. Despite having an array of really talented skill positions players on both sides of the ball, they are a seriously flawed team and will have a disappointing season. I am not saying that they will crash and burn and be below .500. But for a team designated as the dream team, with Super Bowl aspirations, a team that virtually every NFL prognosticator and preseason forecaster conceded the division to, they will fall well short.
Well guess what - all of a sudden all the football analysts are hopping on my bandwagon and agreeing with me that the Eagles have serious foundational problems.
Their flaws seem obvious - the interior of their OL is weak and while the two OTs are solid, they are far from great. The QB has a cannon for an arm and is a great runner, but is not a great pure QB. Sean McCoy is one of the best runners in the league, which gives their offense as many weapons as anyone, but there seems to be no balance or philosophy to the offense and with their weak OL, they seem to be not good in short yardage situations. But mostly, their problems are on defense. Their DL does not have great depth, has generally light players and not stout against the run. The LBs are a disaster and the S position is weak. When the middle of the field is open, and the DL can be run on, you have troubles on defense. The defensive philosophy was to load up the defense with speed, with speed pass rushes and Asomugha at CB, because teams would have to throw against the high scoring Eagles offense. Not a bad plan, except you can throw to the middle of that defense. Add to that the fact that Asomugha has been playing terribly, for some inexplicable reason and the defense has been really poor.
On top of these structural flaws, we have news this week that the Eagles have suffered three injuries further weakening these units. Antonio Dixon, the DT who was a huge body and decent space eater against the run is out for the season. Trent Cole, the Eagles best DE, is out for at least 3 weeks with a calf problem. Jason Peters, their left OT is out for at least 3 weeks with a hamstring strain.
I still think the Eagles have enough skill position players and playmakers to have a good record, but with these basic personnel flaws, it's hard to see them as a real Super Bowl threat.
Well guess what - all of a sudden all the football analysts are hopping on my bandwagon and agreeing with me that the Eagles have serious foundational problems.
Their flaws seem obvious - the interior of their OL is weak and while the two OTs are solid, they are far from great. The QB has a cannon for an arm and is a great runner, but is not a great pure QB. Sean McCoy is one of the best runners in the league, which gives their offense as many weapons as anyone, but there seems to be no balance or philosophy to the offense and with their weak OL, they seem to be not good in short yardage situations. But mostly, their problems are on defense. Their DL does not have great depth, has generally light players and not stout against the run. The LBs are a disaster and the S position is weak. When the middle of the field is open, and the DL can be run on, you have troubles on defense. The defensive philosophy was to load up the defense with speed, with speed pass rushes and Asomugha at CB, because teams would have to throw against the high scoring Eagles offense. Not a bad plan, except you can throw to the middle of that defense. Add to that the fact that Asomugha has been playing terribly, for some inexplicable reason and the defense has been really poor.
On top of these structural flaws, we have news this week that the Eagles have suffered three injuries further weakening these units. Antonio Dixon, the DT who was a huge body and decent space eater against the run is out for the season. Trent Cole, the Eagles best DE, is out for at least 3 weeks with a calf problem. Jason Peters, their left OT is out for at least 3 weeks with a hamstring strain.
I still think the Eagles have enough skill position players and playmakers to have a good record, but with these basic personnel flaws, it's hard to see them as a real Super Bowl threat.
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