Week 4: Eagles 38, Cowboys 24 (2-2)

The following must pass as my notes from Philadelphia’s big stand against your beloved Cowboys:

• The easiest way to sum up the events of Sunday will be this way: The Eagles QB was significantly better than the Cowboys QB. It is that simple. Easily the most important position on the field, and to have that big a discrepancy between the two teams when the other principle members of each team are generally playing each other to a push…Well, you know what happened.

• Bledsoe was horrid. He has to be better. No one will ever suggest that his job was easy on Sunday as you could no doubt put a long list together of Quarterbacks who have looked horrid in Philadelphia, but the game was there for the taking and to leave so many points on the field is not acceptable at this level.

• I would like to hereby stall any proclamations that the Cowboys offensive line is up to snuff. Frankly, they have done a great job for the year, but yesterday was a day where they were overpowered by an Eagles team that was obsessed with causing havoc. They did it with relative ease in the second half when the Cowboys were in passing downs. This is not to say they weren’t fighting hard and that they were not accomplishing anything because they really opened up some nice holes for the runners. But, this is another case of a road game in the NFC East where Drew Bledsoe was under assault for the entire afternoon. Just like last December in Washington and New York.

• Mat McBriar is an amazing punter. Would have liked to see him do more with that poor snap in the 1st Quarter than the panic move, but let’s agree that he is clearly pro-bowl caliber.

• Now, to the defense. You can make the case I should start with these guys, but for whatever reason, I started with Bledsoe. I imagine the newspaper guys and the callers will do the same thing. But if that defense is supposedly the leader of this thing, and if that defense has received each of the last 7 1st round picks on this team, and if that defense fancies itself somewhere between the 2000 Ravens and the 1985 Bears then I should hope that they could impact the game with a little more strength than what we saw there. Lots of big plays to wide receivers that nobody knows. Greg Lewis? Reggie Brown? Some guy named Baskett? Sorry. Unimpressed. Until I watched the game. Now I am wondering if they are better than the Colts. Not a good day for the secondary. If you are going to allow Donovan McNabb and his band of merry spares to hit big play (LJ Smith for 60 yards) after big play (Baskett for 87) after big play (flea flicker to Reggie Brown) well then I am going to say you are not a great defense. You knew the offense of the Cowboys was going to have to deal with Trotter, Dawkins, and the crew. But you had to believe the Boys defense could have done better than that.

• So Shaun Suisham’s only job is to kick off and he can’t get it in the endzone? Couldn’t Vanderjagt do that?

• What if Andy Reid and Bill Parcells were matched up in a physical fitness contest? Just wondering. Incidentally, 60% of all Eagles fans look like they are related to Reid. Cheesesteaks are not a health food.

• DeMarcus Ware and Greg Ellis teamed up for a huge defensive touchdown midway through the 2nd Quarter. That seemed like the last time McNabb got hit. Either Philadelphia really changed up their protection schemes or the Cowboys burned themselves out early. To dominate on defense you must pressure the QB on occasion.

• So, did Philadelphia shut down Terrell? In some respects, yes. Brian Dawkins was bringing the double team on T.O. almost every play. But, dang, there were openings and Bledsoe could not get him the ball. If the passes were there, I see no reason why Owens wouldn’t have had 100 yards and a touchdown. He was open at the 5 when Bledsoe had one of the worst under-throws in NFL history. But now we are left to wonder why we all spent so much time pondering a) which celebration would he utilize and b) which bones would the Eagles break. At the end of the day, he was just another player on the field who had a moderate impact on the game.

• Patrick Watkins looked like a rookie today. Of course, on a few plays so did Roy Williams. Not a very good day for safeties in the bad luck Blues.

• Darren Howard was dominating. Darwin Walker was great. Trent Cole was solid. Or, the Cowboys OL was really bad. Same difference.

• Brian Dawkins is on the brink of being Hall of Fame material in my book. Never cared for his teams, but does anyone consistently look better in big games than him?

• I honestly thought McNabb was amazing. I still say 2005 went south primarily because he was never right health-wise. But now, he seems to be on a mission and if forced to vote right now, I believe he has to be in the MVP mix as strongly as pretty much anyone. Especially given his supporting cast. His throws today were uncommonly good, and clearly he was up for one of the biggest games of his career, and surely the biggest in the regular season.

• Generally, you won’t win road games when scoring just 3 points in the entire second half.

• Generally, you won’t win road games when surrendering 21 points in the second half.

• I really find Eagles Fans to be drunk, belligerent, mean, and frightening. But, if I am the Eagles organization, I wouldn’t change a thing (outside of trying to stop the violence). You wouldn’t believe this city when there is a big game like this. Everywhere you go, everyone is completely decked out in their Eagles gear. Everyone. It seems like a cult. And I have a feeling that you are not allowed to like any other team if you are born here for fear of your well-being.

• Is this a disaster? Nah. If you thought the Cowboys would sweep Philadelphia in your season projections then have another beer. This went exactly as the percentages would indicate. These road games early are not going to be easy, but now home games against Houston and the Giants await. Win those, and you sit at 4-2 heading to your biggest road trip of the season. No worries, but obviously the play of today is proof that we should all simmer down on the Cowboys being ready to make a Super Bowl push. They have plenty of issues to sort through before we fit them for rings.