Breaking Down the NFC East

[JD_KaPow]

Except that we actually make them look worse. They're only 3-2 (.600) against us and 18-6 (.750) against the rest of the league.

And, even if we were 5-0 right now, our opponents' combined records -- including the losses to us -- would STILL give them a .621 winning percentage.

But wait, there's more! There have been two games between our opponents: NYJ-NE and SF-DET. Take those games out of the equation and our opponents are 16-4 (.800) against the rest of the league.

 

[CaptainMorgan]

"You are what your record says you are."

So in 94 the 0-2 Cowboys were a legitimate 0-2 team? Its a long season.

 

[mldardy]

So, you are saying that the Jets come back off life support and that the Lions are still alive through black and blue December....

The Jets are on life support at 3-3? That's news to me.

The Lions have set themselves up by having a very good Sept/Oct that by December they won't need many wins to get in the playoffs.

 

[mldardy]

Don't underestimate the Giants. But I agree. I believe we're just now getting our sea legs under us. 11-5 is still doable.

I'll underestimate them. They aren't that good. They lost to the freaking Seahawks in their own stadium with Tavaris Jackson and Charlie Whitehurst as qb's and they have an absolute brutal schedule from November til the end of the season.

 

[DandyDon1722]

One of the 3 teams we play with a winning record from here on out (NYG) may well have a losing record by the time we play them. I'm actually predicting they'll be 6-6 when we get em the first time though.

Agree, they have an absolute brutal schedule coming up and it's not like they've been cruising. Same with the Eagles, they still have NE and the Jets while we get Seattle and Arizona. Just gotta take care of business.

 

[kmd24]

If you look at the non-divisional games, it's even more pronounced. The current cumulative records for the non-divisional foes look as follows:

Dallas: 11-21 (0.344) (6 games)
Skins: 21-25 (0.457) (8 games)
Eagles: 14-19 (0.424) (6 games)
Giants: 23-12 (0.657) (6 games)

This basically is a measure of the help that Dallas will get from outside of the division.

There are some other constraints, such as the three remaining NFCE matchups that don't feature the Cowboys, which further aid the Cowboys' cause.

 

[TNCowboy]

So in 94 the 0-2 Cowboys were a legitimate 0-2 team? Its a long season.

The Cowboys 2-3 record is not an indication of the type of team they are, but yet we are guaging this future revival on the current records of a bunch of other teams that have only played a handful of games?

 

[sonnyboy]

The Cowboys 2-3 record is not an indication of the type of team they are, but yet we are guaging this future revival on the current records of a bunch of other teams that have only played a handful of games?

There's a bunch more to it than that. We haven't played a weak team. 4 of the 5 teams we played will most likely be in the playoffs.

The 5th team, Wash is headed south. Of course that's good since they are one of our remaining road games.

4 of our next 11 games are against teams in the Luck deby. Perhaps 1 or 2 of our remaining 9 opponents in the last 11 games will make the playoffs.

 

[Risen Star]

Good thread and a reason for hope.

Here's the problem. It's really hard to run off 9 wins in 11 games no matter how good you are. And the Cowboys aren't exactly a model of consistency.

 

[Deep_Freeze]

Except that we actually make them look worse. They're only 3-2 (.600) against us and 18-6 (.750) against the rest of the league.

And, even if we were 5-0 right now, our opponents' combined records -- including the losses to us -- would STILL give them a .621 winning percentage.

Point taken.

Guess I'm just not in love with this power ranking, BCS type strength of schedule kind of thinking process in the NFL. Yes, its good to think about, we just have to be careful with it, cause it means something if this was college football, but means almost nothing in the NFL.

 

[CCBoy]

The Jets are on life support at 3-3? That's news to me.

The Lions have set themselves up by having a very good Sept/Oct that by December they won't need many wins to get in the playoffs.

Oh, then glad to provide the morning service to you.

Their offense has slowed to a trickle. They presently are having trouble running the ball, which is the core to their offense. And they are having difficulty stopping the run as well right now....and that is in opposition to how they started off the current season.

More than Dallas has now showed that a team can run with them. They are a very young team, I bet they accumulate more than a couple losses even before the month of December. Then they will have a true identity crises staring them in their face by black and blue month. I'm saying that the bed of roses they are sniffing right now, just won't be the picture they'll be snorting come the last month.

They can clog down quickly...but that remains to be seen. They really are a very youthfull team, and it is hard to retain momentum with that being depended upon to maintain direction.

 

[kmd24]

Good thread and a reason for hope.

Here's the problem. It's really hard to run off 9 wins in 11 games no matter how good you are. And the Cowboys aren't exactly a model of consistency.

Who says we have to win 11 games? We could probably win the division with 9 wins depending on how things go against the Eagles.

 

[Smith22]

Just counting these games as losses, the Giants would finish 9-7:

New England Patriots...5-1
New Orleans Saints...4-2
Green Bay Packers...6-0
Dallas Cowboys...2-3

and one of these games

Eagles, 49'ers or 2nd game vs Dallas

 

[Smith22]

Non homer perspective with us finishing 10-6. We could lose to the skins if they get healthy and have solid QB play, but we could easily beat the Bucs or sweep the Eagles with how bad their OL is playing. I think the Bills are overrated and will tumble down the stretch. Heck, the Giants could be on full meltdown by the time we play them (brutal schedule). We should be heavy favorites in the games marked in bold.


W St. Louis Rams...0-5
L Philadelphia Eagles...2-4
W Seattle Seahawks...2-3
W Buffalo Bills...4-2
W Washington Commanders...3-2
W Miami Dolphins...0-5
W Arizona Cardinals...1-4
L New York Giants...4-2
L Tampa Bay Buccaneers...4-2
W Philadelphia Eagles...2-4
W New York Giants...4-2

 

[Smith22]

If the Eagles lose 3 of the games below, they have 7 losses.


W Dallas Cowboys...2-3
W Chicago Bears..3-3
L New york Giants...4-2
L New England Patriots...5-1
W New York Jets...3-3
L Dallas Cowboys...2-3
W Washington Commanders...3-2