The Great Debate: Part 1
by Maclin7 on Jul 12, 2009 9:39 AM EDT
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It’s that time again, the time of the year that the arguments heat up about the NFC East. Whether it’s Eagles’ fans brawling with Giants’ fans, or Redskins’ fans screaming at Cowboys’ fans, there is pure hatred between each and every team in the NFC East. Specifically, the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys. The 48 year battle has been one of the nastiest rivalries in all of football, and the fans of both the Eagles and Cowboys have supported them throughout the long history of this intense rivalry that we all love.In “The Great Debate: Part 1”, I will be going up against Bryce Treece, editor of the Dallas Cowboys website, Dallas Cowboys Nation. The topic of the debate will be “ Which team will do better in 2009?”, with Bryce stating why the Cowboys will do better in 2009, and I standing up for our favorite team, the Eagles.
The Eagles side of the argument:
“The 2009 season has the potential to be an Eagles season we will never forget. With their new found passing game, and the emergence of DeSean Jackson, the Eagles have grown into a lethal pass team. In 2009, the passing game will only get better. Rookie Jeremy Maclin will utilize his quickness and agility to outrun the secondary, while veteran wideout Kevin Curtis will look to improve upon his injury plagued 2008 season. The Eagles have dumped tight end L.J Smith, who never lived up to all the hype surrounding him, and now Brent Celek will take over after Smith’s departure. Looking at the Eagles matchups with the Cowboy’s secondary, the Eagles’ wideouts have the favorable advantage. Besides Terence Newman, the Cowboys are stuck with Orlando Scandrick, Mike Mickens, and Mike Jenkins. Right there, the Eagles already have the advantage.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Eagles are going to need someone to step up to replace the loss of longtime, fan favorite Brian Dawkins. I’m sure Tony Romo was dancing with Jessica after hearing that Dawkins would be headed to Denver. Our defensive line will continue to apply an enormous amount of pressure to the opposing quarterbacks, and if Trevor Laws can bring all of his talent into 2009, the defensive line may be tops in the NFL. The linebacker corps is led by rising talent, Stewart Bradley, who is assisted by Chris Gocong and Akeem Jordan. Our=2 0secondary is strong at corner, with Asante Samuel and Sheldon Brown leading the secondary, and new Eagle Ellis Hobbs will defiantly bring playmaking ability to the defense.
The Cowboys offense is still led by Tony Romo, who is only the best at one thing, choking. Maybe 2009 will not be another “Romo Choke”, but I sure hope it is. At receiver, the Cowboys will be without everyone’s favorite wideout, Terrell Owens. Easily the only good move the Cowboys made this off-season, they are still stuck with Roy Williams as their #1 receiver. How can your #1 wideout be Roy Williams, who in 2008 had 36 receptions, with only 2 touchdowns? The receiving core for Dallas is not at all lethal, but their only weapon in the passing game is Pro Bowl tight end Jason Witten. Their running game consists of Marion Barber, Felix Jones, and Tashard Choice. The Cowboys are not that bad at running the ball, but the Eagles frontline will be able to slow down their rush game, just as they did last season.
The Cowboys and Eagles are certainly going to be fighting for the NFC East crown in 2009, but with Romo leading the Cowboys, their chances of winning the division is already slim, unless Romo can finally overcome his second half struggles. The Eagles will be at the top of the NFC East after Week 17, and they will soar into the playoffs, as Tony Romo will be crying on Jessica’s shoulder, again.”
The Dallas side of the argument:
“Heading in to 2009 everyone remembers the beating the Cowboys took at the hands of the Eagles in December. Sort of like a Christmas from hell we all but laid down with the exception of one play – a quick pass from Witten to Owens downfield. But some are too quick to forget the homerun derby earlier in the season where it came down to which team could score last. I’ve never seen a more lopsided game in my life. Neither defense factored into that game, and neither did the Eagles special teams unit.
Comparing the two games is where we find our answer to the question of the day – are the Cowboys better than the Eagles?
With these two teams it has always come down to who was having a better day. 2008 was no exception as a good day, for both teams saw a slugfest and a bad day for Dallas, who saw a very disappointing end that we’ll not live down anytime soon.
Rookie Felix Jones took the field and never looked back; if he had he would have seen every Eagle on the field eating his dust as he burned it up time and time again. Being injured for the second game though, that was a whole dimension to our game out the window. Marion Barber has always been good for some hard running against the Bleeding Green defense, making them bleed onto that green field their fans so often trash. In the second game though, he was battling an injury that all but kept him on the sideline. That left rookie Tashard Choice, who had already shown he could get the job done against the leagues top defense weeks before, to carry the load while dealing with upset after upset. Dallas had a running game that was broken and that took a lot of the guesswork out of it for the Eagles defense.
It was clear that we were going to be passing for much of the game, and the Eagles had the advantage as they lined up on our receivers – they knew just what was up with Terrell Owens. Each time Romo dropped back and waited for Owens to get open deep, instead of simply moving the ball forward with a quick pass to another receiver, the Eagles teed off on him like a sitting duck. Normally Romo turns to his go-to guy Jason Witten, but Witten was nursing sore bones and couldn’t be there for him like he had been all year. Add to it that we were stuck with that lard ass Cory Proctor on the line not protecting Romo, and the Eagles defense had a field day just going after the quarterback.
Excuses you say? Well how else would you describe the differences between the first and second games our beloved teams played last year?
In 2009 we’ve got a healthy team, a much more capable safety than Roy Williams, and were light one pain in the ass receiver – something I know you guys can understand exactly. We’re focused, young, and energetic with enough experience to keep us plowing ahead for another 13-3 season.
The Eagles have too many rookie wide outs to field McNabb’s crooked passes, and they can’t cover the pass much better without the proven leadership ability of departed veteran Brian Dawkins.
Are the Cowboys better than the Eagles? Absolutely, the only question is how much better are they.”
The debate does not end here for the fans, as it will be battled throughout the 2009 season and will continue forever in this heated rivalry. I thank Bryson Treece for his help in this debate, and yes, I just thanked a Cowboys fan (but I assure you it'll never happen again). So who do you think will be better in 2009? Why, the Eagles of course! But seriously, leave a comment as to who you truly believe will do better in the upcoming season, and share your point of view of this great rivalry.
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All the Eagles have done this offseason is improve. The cowboys added Gerald Sensabaugh, named Scandrick the starting nickle corner, called it a day and went on vacation.
Of course we’ll be better this season!
About 10 minutes ago, I was pondering my own existence. Then I decided that it didn't matter.
The Eagles have too many rookie wide outs to field McNabb’s crooked passes
Ummmm. We have 1.
Cowboys fan….
of course the eagles will do better all dallas does is CHOKE!!!!
by fly eagles fly on Jul 12, 2009 12:19 PM EDT reply actions
Rookie Felix Jones took the field and never looked back; if he had he would have seen every Eagle on the field eating his dust as he burned it up time and time again.
Im not sure where he was going with this sentence, if you look back to our first game against the Cowboys in week 2, Jones only rushed for 10 yards. Wow, what a burner! And if hes referencing the Kick off return, that was his only one of the season. Desean Jackson scored one against the Redskins but that was his only one of the year (besides preseason).
Also, after only playing 6 games, which is a little bit more than 1/3 of the season, Jones only had 266 yrds rushing. So if he kept up his pace, he would finish the season with around 798 yards. Thats not very impressive seeing as you have guys like Chris Johnson, Matt Forte and Steve Slaton breaking 1000 yards this past season. And Chris Johnson had to share his carries with White. So I guess what Im getting at is I dont think Jones is as much of a game changer as this guy thinks he is. If we can stop Brandon Jacobs, Michael Turner, and even Marion Barber, who are considered the best in league, then Im not really worried about a injury prone rookie.
"If they end up 2-14 and both of those wins came against Dallas, that's a pretty good year."
i agree with you, but in felix jones' defense...
he averaged over 8 yrds/carry in the games he did play, so even though he didnt touch the rock often… he did serious damage with it
sure does
great compliment to barber and i dont want to think of what would have been if he was healthy all last season
"You always hear about ballplayers buying numbers from other players for five figures. When this .300 lifetime hitter was in Philly, he traded his number to Mitch Williams for two cases of beer." - Stuff Magazine on John Kruk
they can’t cover the pass much better without the proven leadership ability of departed veteran Brian Dawkins.
Shit. Let that one fly prematurely.
But um, Pass coverage? You can question how Philly will handle the loss of Dawkins. That is a legitimate question except in regards to pass coverage.
Not really... Dawkins was the worst player out of the 4 starting Dbs last year
E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES!!!
this poll is messed up
eagles are 97% cowboys are 2%. 97 + 2 = 99. where did the last one percent go?
Eagles fan since December 10, 1995
the poll
The poll doesn’t round up for the numbers so all half perc are cut off. The cowboys perc. should actually be rounded up.
"Eagles fans are a passionate group who love their team," said McNabb, "if not the actual players. It's not like winning a Super Bowl before the first month of the season is the hardest thing they've ever asked of me. That'd be all those times they asked me to go kill myself."
by greenbean#twoOH on Jul 12, 2009 4:26 PM EDT up reply actions
Umm...
Are the Cowboys better than the Eagles? Absolutely, the only question is how much better are they."
Oh. My. God.
Eagles.
by #1EaglesFan on Jul 12, 2009 7:11 PM EDT reply actions
the Eagles
are way better then the Cowboys. No question about it.
www.gogreen4ever.blogspot.com
by xADx GoGreen4Ever on Jul 12, 2009 9:56 PM EDT reply actions
The Eagles are better in almost every aspect
Im glad he recognized the fact that there argument was based on excuses and injuries. Westbrook and other players were hurt yet they or their backups still performed. The first game between the two hinged on a bad fumble and other plays that could have gone either way so yes it was anyones ball game but the final game of the season was a trouncing it was not one team having a bad day they were awful in all aspects and they have done nothing to get better since that shelacking. They lose a WR that is a top 5 prospect every year and they are somehow better on offense. I understand the problems he caused but to wave off his on filed accomplishments and say losing him is the best move sorry i dont see how that could be. But words are meaningless at this stage and i cant wait for the season to begin. GO EAGLES!!!
I think the Cowboys have a chance to be better than the Eagles, but it would take a ton of Eagles injuries and probably some other flukey stuff as well like guys just forgetting how to play.
Cowboys dont have that bad of a team, but their O line is just not anywhere close to where it needs to be (starters + back ups) and that is basically going to undermine their skill at running back and Romo, Whitten, Williams ability to get a good passing game going.
There defense is not too bad, but I think they may have a little trouble stopping the run in the later quarters of games (primarily because of time of possession issues) and their secondary is probably going to get burned like one or two more times than the oppositions secondary.
The Eagles main question marks come from the linebackers and the running backs (ie health of Westbrook). These are important concerns, but not nearly as big a deal as O line and perhaps secondary of the Cowboys.
tony romo isnt a leader
and no matter how much ‘talent’ you have on the field the boys will never break that (green-stained)glass ceiling
"You always hear about ballplayers buying numbers from other players for five figures. When this .300 lifetime hitter was in Philly, he traded his number to Mitch Williams for two cases of beer." - Stuff Magazine on John Kruk
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