Thanks to Mgarv002 for the title...
Let's put this very simply. The Cowboys completely outplayed the Eagles on both sides of the ball for two straight weeks. There's no other way of looking at it. Their QB was better, their offensive line was better, their defensive line was better, their secondary, and their receivers were better. It's that simple. They were a lot better.
Now that we've got that out of the way, we have to look at what needs to change going forward. There was really nothing positive in these past two games. I can't put more of the blame on the offense or the defense. They were both terrible and we'll get into both tonight and probably the whole offseason. However, the defense is clearly lacking in talent. Some of that is due to injury. Certainly the problems in the LB corps owe a lot to injury. However, the lack of a real pass rusher opposite Cole, the lack of even one good safety(yeah I'm including Mikell), and the lack of depth at corner isn't. I know a lot of people in the game threads were blaming rookie defensive coordinator Sean McDermott and maybe he could have done a better job... but the fact is that no amount of scheming makes Macho Harris into a legitimate starting safety right now. Better play calls don't cover up the fact that you're starting your 6th different guy at MIKE and a rookie 7th round pick at SAM. Better play calls don't heal the 20 different injuries that Sheldon Brown seems to have right now. Major investment in new talent is needed on the defensive side this offseason.
After the jump, we'll get into the offense...
Where do we begin? Well, let's avoid the QB for a moment. The offensive line is obviously terrible right now. The loss of Jamaal Jackson played a part in that, but the RG spot has been a big hole all year. Problem is, Jackson probably won't be ready for next year after tearing his knee up two weeks ago so the holes at RG and C aren't going anywhere. Maybe one of the Andrews steps up, maybe a guy like Mike McGlynn steps up at center, heck maybe even Nick Cole could play better with a whole training camp... But I think there clearly needs to be improvements specifically in the middle of that line.
Then there's the old refrain we always we hear... The Eagles called 10 run plays to about 39 pass plays. Certainly the pass plays were going to be inflated in the second half, but even when the game was close the Eagles never really tried to establish the run. Part of that is how poor the offensive line has been, but part of it is on the same thing it's been on for a decade. Andy Reid.
And now.. the moment you've all been waiting for! Donovan McNabb. Let's not sugarcoat this, he flat out stunk tonight. Whether you're one of the McNabb haters or the McNabb backers there's really no defending the job he did tonight. There were absolutely plays where the rush was all over him from the snap... I don't hold those against him, but there were all too many plays were he just held the ball and held the ball and held the ball... In stark contrast, Tony Romo was firing balls out lighting fast and hitting his receivers in stride on quick slants and comebacks. All while McNabb continues to stare downfield. You can never really tell whether guys are open watching on TV, but I find it very hard to believe that every Eagles receiver was blanketed on every play. It was a bad night for McNabb and it's only going to fuel the fire of those who say he folds in big games.
Like I said earlier, this was a bad loss all the way around. Nothing positive to take from it all. It's a bitter taste that's going to follow fans and players alike for the next year. We can only hope they use learn from it and use it as proper motivation. Dallas certainly appears to have done that...