The Eagles are on to the Cowboys, and hopefully on track

Each week Dave and Patrick discuss the week that was and will be. Let's do more of the latter this week. It's Two Guys Internetting Football.

Patrick: Dave, please never attend another Eagles game.

As a few of our fine readers may have heard, you attended the game with BGNer Dan Klausner. The results of the game certainly weren't ideal, but it's Friday and we're on to Dallas. So instead of asking you about x's and o's, I want to know what the stadium was like. Did you see anything fun and exciting?

Dave: I blame Mike Kaye, he was originally supposed to come but wasn't able to. The trio of Dan, Mike and myself is undefeated.

Everything was great until the game started. Eagles fans flocked in early, Danta and I went to the Eagles bar in the city on Sunday night, Rocky Mountain Pizza (that's a transplant city in a nutshell: a Philly sports bar with a Denver name, and it's basically on Georgia Tech's campus), we got there an hour before the Cowboys-Giants game and it was already packed, and from what I could tell it was mostly out of towners. On Monday, the parking lot we were in, which was the largest non-garage one, was easily at least 30% Eagles fans.

One area where Eagles fans really stand out was the tailgating. (Shout out to StoneColdKiller58, who we met and hung out with, good time.) I've been to games in Tampa and Atlanta, and Eagles fans are superior tailgaters (as are some other fan bases such as the Bills and Chiefs). Tailgating is an event for us, I love seeing things like old school buses painted up and industrial sized grills. There wasn't anything close to that at the Dome. Just people with a grill in front of their car, maybe some cornhole. That's fine if you traveled, but when it's your home base, that's lame. In terms of equipment and style, there was nothing to separate the visiting fans from the home town fans. You've got to do better than that Falcons fans. In fairness most of the Falcons fans probably do some serious tailgating at UGA games. The Falcons are very much the #2 team in the state.

Inside, the crowd was probably 50/50. Home opener, national TV... again, you've got to do a better job Falcons fans. This is the second game in as many years I've been to (Steelers game last year) where the cheers for the visitors were just as loud. The Eagles stunk, but the fans were great.

Patrick: The Eagles weren't great, but if anything will get fans out of their funk it's Dallas Week! ...which feels way too early this year. Dallas Week is supposed to be an October tradition, not unlike Halloween - people get dressed up, drink too much, make irresponsible decisions in public and make fun of people in cowboy hats. This is not a game for mid-September.

That said, there's a lot to like this week for the Eagles. Dez Bryant's injury is the headliner, but they'll also be missing Randy Gregory and could be without starting guard Ronald Leary as well.

Normally I don't put too much stock in one player being injured (unless that player is a top-tier quarterback), but I'm willing to make that exception for Dez. After watching Byron Maxwell and the Eagles defensive backs lose Julio Jones all night, worrying about number one receiver Terrance Williams is a lot more palatable. If the Eagles can contain Jason Witten - always a big "if", I might add - the Eagles defense should be able to keep the game in reach for the offense. What say you, Dave?

Dave: lol that's a great description. Yeah, it's too early for the Cowboys. They shouldn't play each other until October, unless it's the season opener such as the Pickle Juice Game. You want these games to be important. And this one is, but September isn't when games with so much on the line should be played. It just doesn't feel right.

You don't root for injury, but I'm not complaining about it either. There are no excuses if they lose. Terrance Williams shouldn't have a good game. Decent #2 opposite Dez, as the top WR option he's a poor one. The Cowboys didn't run the ball well against the Giants, surprise surprise, they should really struggle against the Eagles who actually have talent in their front seven. And the Cowboys defense still stinks. One sack against that line? Outrushed by that group of RBs? No picks against Eli? That's weak. And yet, this is a must win game. 0-2 pretty much means you're out of the playoffs, though it's not automatic. In a division this crappy I can see a scenario where the Cowboys win this week but ultimately lose the division. But the more likely scenario is lose and the season is already over. Ugh. Cheer me up Patrick.

Patrick: Buddy, it would be a lot easier to cheer you up if the Eagles had won Monday, but it's hard to look at any team right now and say, "Yeah, they got this."

This one's going to be interesting, because you know both starting running backs want to have monster games. Joseph Randle admitted earlier in the week that he's had this game circled on his calendar, and while DeMarco has been diplomatic in his responses about this game, he's gotta want to go for 150 and two touchdowns. It's going to be interesting to see if the Eagles' offensive line can help make that wish come true.

The guard position was pretty weak against Atlanta, so I'm curious to see what the game plan will be here. If Chip can't run the ball, the offense isn't going to run correctly. And if the Eagles are throwing the ball 50 times a game, they're probably not going to win a lot of those. Something's gotta give here, but I wouldn't put it past the coaching staff to figure out how to scheme it up right. Problem is, I'm not sure how you scheme better inside runs when your guards aren't getting it done. This is probably overreaction (Week 1 has that effect on people), and who knows - maybe Andrew Gardner and Allen Barbre will be lights-out Sunday.

Yeah, that totally wasn't cheerful at all. Sorry.

Dave: t h a n k s

Looks like I'll have to cheer myself up. The Eagles are the more talented team than the Cowboys, and the more talented team wins more often than not. Where the Eagles were poor on Monday, stopping a top tier WR and running the ball, the Cowboys are too. I'd rather they play the Redskins this week, but a wounded Cowboys team at home will have to do.

Give me some predictions so that we look like fools.

Two Drink Minimum

Patrick: Let's have some fun! What crazy thing do you think will happen in Sunday's game? I'll start: Joseph Randle will outrush DeMarco Murray, but the Eagles will still win by double digits.

Dave: Miles Austin beats Byron Jones for a touchdown, DeMarco Murray scores from the goal line. Twice.