Feel Better. A Little.

The FO guys have a long look at the Cowboys game that should make Eagles fans mourning a lost season feel better.  Slightly.

"For the year, the Eagles are 0-4 in games decided by three points or less. Not only have they lost close games, but they have lost them against the second most difficult schedule in football. The Eagles’ talent is obvious. In four games against the NFL's elite — New England, Dallas, and Green Bay — they have played three nail-biters and only been outclassed once."

And there's this:

"A rehabbing quarterback, inconsistent secondary, and poor red zone offense have spelled the difference between a 9-5 team heading to the playoffs and a 6-8 team questioning the direction of the franchise. If they stay the course, odds are they would be right back in the thick of a playoff chase next season. If they panic and dump one of the best quarterbacks in football because the team around him has regressed and the local talk radio shows are calling for his head, the Eagles will get the sustained mediocrity they deserve."

Of course, these are the same guys who predicted the Eagles would go 11-5 this year while the Cowboys would be 6-10.  So there's that.

Comments

[BenZ]

This was a great column by FO and it validates a lot of what I'm thinking with this team. I think you have to give Reid one more year to do what it is he does; changes will be made here and there but it is absolutely wrong to think that this is a team in decay. Yardage wise, we're top 10 on offense and defense. If we traded for a playmaker on offense, and maybe used our first pick on a safety or CB, this is a scary team next year.

[Andrew]

Footballoutsiders.com also called for Green Bay and Tampa Bay to win their divisions, for the Saints and Bears to regress and for Jacksonville to win 11 games.

[Dan]

If you guys want to read about the specifics of what Jim Johnson did to confuse Romo and that offense, go check out the Dallas Morning News, check out their Cowboys section, THEN go to the Dallas Cowboy blog contained therein.

There is a section called "Tale of the Tape."

Read that.

It makes for fascinating reading about how Jim Johnson adjusted to what the Cowboys did to them last time.

And how they thwarted Romo throwing to an area vacated by blitzers inbound on him.

Very interesting.

And for those who would like to see what the ANTHONY SPENCER draft pick meant for the Cowboys, go read some of those blog entries.

[BenZ]

Thanks for the reference, Dan. That was a good read. Indeed, JJ deserves a crap load of praise for the way he's coached this year. Clearly, Dawk's been beat up and is getting old. Lito's having a sub-par year, been beat up too. That's your two best players on D. Add that to the relative inexperience of Gaither and Gocong, the under achieving of Howard and Kearse, the absence of Trotter-- what he's done with this D is nothing short of a miracle.

Oh, and I didn't even mention William James. Now there's something to overcome.