DMN: Best of Rick Gosselin: Two key factors favor Cowboys over Eagles

[jobberone]

Best of Rick Gosselin: Two key factors favor Cowboys over Eagles; potholes facing America's Team

http://www.***BANNED-URL***/incoming/20150727-ns_14romoeagles1ma_41287685.jpg.ece/BINARY/w940/NS_14ROMOEAGLES1MA_41287685.JPG
Michael Ainsworth/Staff Photographer Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo (9) scrambles as they played the Philadelphia Eagles during the first half of their NFL football game at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, PA on Dec,14, 2014. (Michael Ainsworth/The Dallas Morning News)

By RICK GOSSELIN
Staff Columnist

Published: 02 September 2015 07:28 PM
Updated: 02 September 2015 07:28 PM
(Editor's note: With the regular season quickly approaching, it's time to really get educated on the Cowboys. Here is some of DMN columnist Rick Gosselin's best analysis.)

As a long-time Cowboys fan, the last thing I want to see is RGIII out the door and the Washington franchise ceasing from being dysfunctional!

Gosselin: I think RG III still has some value, but not with this particular coaching staff. When you draft Griffin and anoint him as the chosen one, you must give him an offense he can succeed in. Both Mike Shanahan and now Jay Gruden are trying to make him a pocket passer. That's not his game. He needs some movement. The Seahawks build some movement in for Russell Wilson. The 49ers have some movement built in for Colin Kaepernick. The Panthers have some movement built in for Cam Newton. You have to give your quarterback an offense that makes him comfortable. I see no comfort for Griffin in this offense.

Goose, what gives you the greatest cause for optimism in the upcoming Cowboy season? Pessimism?

Gosselin: Optimism — the depth of the pass rush. Pessimism: the depth at running back. I'd be surprised if all three of these backs don't miss time this season because of injury. I'd be surprised if there isn't a 4th back on the opening day roster that currently isn't on the roster. The Cowboys are looking and I do believe they'll need an insurance policy.

Eagle fans where I live are setting some high expectations for their team based on the preseason. Head to head, these two healthy teams squaring off... who do you think is better?

http://www.***BANNED-URL***/sports/...ver-eagles-potholes-facing-america-s-team.ece

 

[BARRYRAY]

I have to say the Eagles have been impressive preseason.I thought they would be lousy we'll see if the injury bug gets them, they don't have any depth qb here.most teams don't..

 

[jobberone]

I have to say the Eagles have been impressive preseason.I thought they would be lousy we'll see if the injury bug gets them, they don't have any depth qb here.most teams don't..

They have an offense. Do they have a defense that compliments it?

 

[sureletsrace]

The Eagles will flash bang and fizzle out.

 

[black label]

 

[lane]

The Eagles will flash bang and fizzle out.

Exactly..Chip needs to realize he is dealing with late twenty to 30 year old men here.

It will work for the first half of a game...2nd half not so much..

It won't work against us at all because we are going to unleash hell on him.

 

[VACowboy]

They have an offense. Do they have a defense that compliments it?

They've shown explosion in the preseason, but until Sam Bradford shreds defenses in games that count, I'll remain unconvinced. He's never completed more than 60% of his passes for a season in his career. I'll wait and see before I believe in all the "downhill" hoopla about their running game too. Kelly's RB's during his three years at Oregon were LaMichael James and Kenjon Barner, both of who went about 5-9, 185 and depended on their speed. The guys Kelly recruited to replace them were the exact same type of back, if not a little smaller, so I'm not sure what to make of his claim that Murray fits his scheme better than McCoy. Philly got a lot of love for their great run blocking in 2014, but I didn't see that at all. It looked like to me that McCoy often made yards where there were none and averaged a whopping 4.2 yards a carry. They get Kelce and Johnson back healthy, but they lose both starting guards, one of who was an All Pro, and replaced them with a couple of journeymen. How can the Eagle OL be better? They let Maclin walk, drafted Agholor and brought in Miles Austin. So, they trade a quality #1 for a rookie and an aging vet who, bless his soul, has never been anything but inconsistent. Matthews had a stellar rookie campaign opposite Maclin, but can he be THE guy? If he can, I think WR could be the strongest position group on the team. Celek and Ertz are part of that, two big, speedy TE's who can catch.

They really upgraded their secondary with Maxwell and Thurmond, and drafted Rowe (who I think was a little overrated). Their inside linebackers will be better too, with the return of Ryans and the addition of Alonso. Benny Logan is an above average NT and, of course, Cox is a beast. Pretty good personnel. But their outside pass rush is a huge question mark with the exit of Trent Cole. Barwin had a great year in 2014, but he'll be getting the double teams now, so it will be up to Graham to step up, and thus far in his career he's been mediocre at best. They will spend more time on the field than any other bunch of defenders in the league, too, which should help their outlook.

My guess is that the offense slides some and the defense gets a little better, but as of right now, I don't buy the preseason hype.

 

[jobberone]

They've shown explosion in the preseason, but until Sam Bradford shreds defenses in games that count, I'll remain unconvinced. He's never completed more than 60% of his passes for a season in his career. I'll wait and see before I believe in all the "downhill" hoopla about their running game too. Kelly's RB's during his three years at Oregon were LaMichael James and Kenjon Barner, both of who went about 5-9, 185 and depended on their speed. The guys Kelly recruited to replace them were the exact same type of back, if not a little smaller, so I'm not sure what to make of his claim that Murray fits his scheme better than McCoy. Philly got a lot of love for their great run blocking in 2014, but I didn't see that at all. It looked like to me that McCoy often made yards where there were none and averaged a whopping 4.2 yards a carry. They get Kelce and Johnson back healthy, but they lose both starting guards, one of who was an All Pro, and replaced them with a couple of journeymen. How can the Eagle OL be better? They let Maclin walk, drafted Agholor and brought in Miles Austin. So, they trade a quality #1 for a rookie and an aging vet who, bless his soul, has never been anything but inconsistent. Matthews had a stellar rookie campaign opposite Maclin, but can he be THE guy? If he can, I think WR could be the strongest position group on the team. Celek and Ertz are part of that, two big, speedy TE's who can catch.

They really upgraded their secondary with Maxwell and Thurmond, and drafted Rowe (who I think was a little overrated). Their inside linebackers will be better too, with the return of Ryans and the addition of Alonso. Benny Logan is an above average NT and, of course, Cox is a beast. Pretty good personnel. But their outside pass rush is a huge question mark with the exit of Trent Cole. Barwin had a great year in 2014, but he'll be getting the double teams now, so it will be up to Graham to step up, and thus far in his career he's been mediocre at best. They will spend more time on the field than any other bunch of defenders in the league, too, which should help their outlook.

My guess is that the offense slides some and the defense gets a little better, but as of right now, I don't buy the preseason hype.

Great post. I was thinking NY would be better but perhaps that's wrong. We will see soon.

 

[JBS]

Eagles have a damn good pass rush

 

[Dodger12]

I don't know. I'm not a believer in Bradford but the Eagles have looked good, even if it is only pre-season. I know if we looked that way, we'd be overflowing with optimism around here (me included). In any event, the Eagles lost their #1 receiver, their #1 QB and their #1 RB and they still look good. If we were to lose Bryant, Romo and Murray all in one year we'd be on suicide watch. Someone didn't give Philly the memo that it takes 4 years to rebuild a team.

 

[VACowboy]

Great post. I was thinking NY would be better but perhaps that's wrong. We will see soon.

I was too, but with the injuries they've had, I don't think so. JPP is an immense loss and Cruz still isn't healthy. They drafted Flowers, but their OL is still a mess. The key to beating NYG during the Manning era has been, put some pressure on Eli. Looks to me like that might be easier in 2015.

 

[VACowboy]

I don't know. I'm not a believer in Bradford but the Eagles have looked good, even if it is only pre-season. I know if we looked that way, we'd be overflowing with optimism around here (me included). In any event, the Eagles lost their #1 receiver, their #1 QB and their #1 RB and they still look good. If we were to lose Bryant, Romo and Murray all in one year we'd be on suicide watch. Someone didn't give Philly the memo that it takes 4 years to rebuild a team.

Preseason performances mean exactly zip, good or bad, whether we're talking about Philly or Dallas.

 

[Longboysfan]

Eagles have a damn good pass rush

Cowboys have a better O line.

 

[Dodger12]

Preseason performances mean exactly zip, good or bad, whether we're talking about Philly or Dallas.

So the team doesn't use pre-season performances to decide who makes the roster? The final score means nothing but we certainly appreciate when Gregory or Collins plays well.

 

[waving monkey]

The Eagles will have a winning season.Chip has a chip on his shoulder and is a good coach.
Pretending otherwise doesn't give credit to our team when we beat them.

 

[Jenky]

IMO, They have a good defense and are question mark on offense.

 

[VACowboy]

So the team doesn't use pre-season performances to decide who makes the roster? The final score means nothing but we certainly appreciate when Gregory or Collins plays well.

Of course teams use preseason games to finalize their rosters, but I'd bet that Garrett (or any HC) can rattle off 45 or so of his 53 spots before a preseason game is played. And of course we appreciate it when players look good in preseason. Beats the hell out of looking bad. But I think history tells us that performance in preseason as an indicator of the regular season, collectively or individually, is pretty hit and miss. I think you can see flashes of ability in players (like Gregory) and be excited about their promise, but taking his sack a game performance in preseason and extrapolating it to the regular season is unsound policy. In the same way, I don't think you can look at Sam Bradford's play last week against Green Bay, ignore his career history and predict a monster year for the Philly O. It may happen, but I think it's at least as equally likely that it won't. Bradford's and his team's performance in the preseason is not an indicator either way.

Just my $0.04.

 

[VACowboy]

The Eagles will have a winning season.Chip has a chip on his shoulder and is a good coach.
Pretending otherwise doesn't give credit to our team when we beat them.

I'm not pretending anything. I'm just not ready to anoint Philadelphia NFC East champs and Sam Bradford League MVP based on a fricking preseason game. Lots of people are (not necessarily here).

 

[burmafrd]

The Eagles will have a winning season.Chip has a chip on his shoulder and is a good coach.
Pretending otherwise doesn't give credit to our team when we beat them.

secret philthy fans ignore the obvious: chippy has never won anything big. Lots more talk smoke and mirrors then results.

 

[burmafrd]

Eagles have a damn good pass rush

maybe for secret philthy fans it is.