With just minutes until kickoff, a fan must ask his, or herself; what must the birds do tonight to win? The Eagles are preparing to face their biggest challenge very early in the season. They must travel to Dallas and play a very talented and confident football team. The Cowboys showed last week why they are considered "America's team," as they routed the Cleveland Browns last Sunday, 28-10. Without a doubt, the Cowboys are an offensive juggernaut and a very aggressive defense, but this team has weaknesses just like any other team. In order for the Eagles to win they must take heed to the following things.
First of all, the Eagles must attack the Dallas defense. There is a lot of talk about the aggressiveness and speed on this Dallas defense, but I personally do not believe the hype. In particular, many people tend to talk about the talented secondary, but that is the exact area the Eagles must attack. Adam "Pac Man" Jones is still trying to work out his kinks and regain his feel for the game. On the other side of the field, Terence Newman is questionable after hampering a groin injury. The Eagles must take advantage of the two corner backs with the explosiveness of DeSean Jackson and the versatility of Brian Westbrook. It also isn't a secret that the Cowboys Safety, Roy Williams, can not cover. I like the match up between L.J. Smith and Williams, as it is strongly in the Eagles favor. The Eagles offense must take chances and make these so called "stars" in the secondary earn their paychecks.
Secondly, the Eagles must protect their quarterback. Dallas has a talented rush end in DeMarcus Ware, but the Eagles offensive line can not allow this Dallas defense to develop any momentum. In order to take advantage of the aggressive Dallas defense, the eagles should utilize some screens and draws with Running Backs Westbrook and Lorenzo Booker. By effectively executing these plays, the Cowboys will have to be somewhat conservative on defense and this should ultimately make protecting McNabb easier for the Eagles offensive line. The Eagles must take advantage of this aggressive defense and protect their signal caller or else they will be in for a long night.
Last, but not least, the Eagles defense must force the Cowboys offense to become one dimensional. To be specific, the Eagles must take away Marion Barber. It seems like America loves Romo, T.O. embodies the word superstar in every pase, and Jason Witten is a "chain mover," but the fuel of this offensive machine is none other than Marion Barber. Without Barber running effectively, Witten no longer seems like the leagues best tight end, T.O. suddenly seems to be unable to hold on to the ball, and America all of a sudden seems to question whether Romo's personal life is an interference with his play on the field. The bottom line is this; Romo still has an abundance to prove. He has yet to advance in the playoffs and this Dallas team has yet to meet the very high expectations that many fans and spectators have for them. Pressure bust pipes, and Romo has yet to shine when the pressure is all on him. Romo is good, not great, and without Barber, Romo suddenly seems only decent. To the Eagles favor, Marion Barber is going to be playing with bruised ribs. Expect Felix Jones to take some of the load off of Barber, but this should work in the Birds favor. Jones was impressive last week, but he is a rookie and lets face it, Barber is clearly a beast. As long as Barber doesn't have the ball, the Eagles can breathe a little softer.
If the Eagles can do these three things, they will without a doubt, win the football game. If the Eagles successfully excecute these three elements, they will soar over the Cowboys.
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Nicely written posts, but they are pretty long. Remember, blogs should have multiple short posts. Also remember, you should be posting three times a week.
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