Dallas vs. Philadelphia: The Key to Victory? Fresh Horses

I listened to Wade Philips talk Wednesday about practice, and his comments only reaffirmed my supposition; both teams are evenly matched on paper. Add to that both are playing well in all three aspects of the game (O-fence, defense, special teams). These elements have been discussed in detail by the excellent michi blog, so instead of rehashing what was said there, let’s focus on what I think is the key element of victory.

Accentuate the Positive: each team both had some bad or unknown elements going into week 8 that needed to be addressed, and both seem to have been resolved:

For the Cowboys, the big concern was dumb and pointless penalties. Week in and week out there seemed to be an excess of yellow flags thrown against both lines. Last week Wade asked the team to “hunker down” and did they – in the past 4 games Dallas had averaged 9 penalties for 72.5 yards. Against the Seahawks they accepted Wade’s challenge and were only flagged 5 times for 43 yards; quite a turnaround.

For the Eagles, the big concern was what do they do if Westbrook goes down with an injury? To address that potential scenario, 2nd round 2009 pick LeSean McCoy was brought in just for that reason. And with Westbrook riding the pine, McCoy offered a more than adequate change of pace, rushing 11 times (between the tackles I might add) for 82 yards and a TD. Impressive.

Again, Wade Philips appears to extol great pearls of wisdom. Both teams are evenly matched; more so since they seem to have shored up the last of those lingering questions. Both teams are tied atop the NFC East as well. Thus what can we base our expectations on? Here dear readers are the answers: the team that can best utilize their new crop of wide receivers will win the game.

So, just who are these new thoroughbreds? I am so glad you asked; read on!

Philadelphia. For years, scribes and Brotherly Love fans have been pleading with owner Jeffrey Lurie to start drafting (or acquiring) some wide receivers that can shore up the offense and give QB Donovan McNabb some aerial threats. And for years this has been a major short coming. The organization appeared content to acquire plug-in wide outs, and McNabb threw to them as often as was prudent; perhaps more. And they never panned out. No more. The Eagles, via draft the last three years, have really bolstered their shortcomings, and created a potential “soft hands A-Team” with some future blue chip players. Just look at their current top three McNabb recipients this season:

Year	Round	Selection	Name	Position	College	Depth Chart
2009	1	19	Jeremy Maclin	WR	Missouri	#1
2008	2	49	DeSean Jackson	WR	California	#2
2007	5	162	Brent Celek	TE	Cincinnati	#1

What Lurie has listened to and finally answered is to create an offensive dynamic for Philadelphia that has only been hinted at in the past. McNabb has had to contend with under achieving and plug-in receivers while the organization itself relied upon his instinctual guile and pre-wildcat formations. McNabb’s field marshalling and second and third looks down field were often for naught, but now his reads have meaning. His eyes; from 1st to 2nd to 3rd reads, will keep attentive defenders honest. Donovan’s potential has finally been realized.

Dallas. The Cowboys, under the guidance of Romo, have exclusively used in the past the likes of Terry Glenn (former Patriot – 44 career TDs), Terrell Owens (we all know 81/TO – 14 years/140 TDs) and Jason Witten (more below). But Glenn and Owens are no more, having since parted ways with the Boys who wear the Star. So who has replaced them? Why did Jerry not opt Owens? Read On.

Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.

Jerry Jones went all crazy, breaking the bank and selling the immediate future to insure former UT wide out/#1 draft Detroit Lion Roy Williams came into the Cowboy fold last season; giving up more draft picks than I want to remember. And for whatever circumstances, unknown to us, he visualized eventually replacing TO (81 was not offered an extension) with Williams…we are still waiting on this vision.

So just how has Roy panned out? So far pretty much less than desirable. In 2009 Roy is averaging 2 catches/at just under 36 yards per game. His lack of production has become a hot topic with local air heads. To make matters worse, as most folks have now observed, he and Romo seem to be acting out some kind of weird “Romo is from Venus and Williams is from Mars” scenario, as both look bad when #9 throws to #11 and the body language of an incomplete pass seems to indicate they both are on different pages.

Just how do the Cowboys make up for this apparent failure for reasons yet defined? They rely upon unsung hero TE Witten; utilize Felix Jones / Tashard Choice (in the play action backfield or off guard/end around ala Brian Westbrook), and thrust the undrafted 4 year unknown vet/Midwestern religious school graduate Miles Austin into a position where he is only now being realized.

Austin seems to have come out of nowhere to set the NFL on fire these past three weeks. His exploits have been well documented, and even more importantly, it seems he has so rejuvenated Romo and his QB rating that fans won’t give a hoot going forward just who Tony dates or plays golf with in the upcoming months. Come to think of it, if Romo & team continue to excel, I’ll vouch that I miss seeing Jessica in the stadium in her pink #9 jersey. She was good eye candy, right guys?

With all this being said, who is going to win? I cannot even attempt to answer that as I have alluded to, and as Philips attested to; these two teams are The Beasts of the East, and they are pretty evenly matched. What Sunday night’s outcome will probably be decided by is the inherent nature of each NFL game; injuries, penalties, and to some extent special teams. All of these ought to factor into the final exciting outcome. But again, I do believe the play of either team’s receiving corps will have the final sway for this match-up. Both of these teams are hitting strides and ought to make the play-offs.

Tagged as: Dallas Cowboys, donovan mcnabb, philadelphia eagles, tony romo