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

[Sydla]

It really is such an interesting story here. Admittedly, I think the Eagles could be very good. I think Kelly is a very good offensive coach and they have a strong front seven. He's done some weird things and his team has flaws as might his system, but I think they could be quite good.

That being said, in the span of two weeks or so, they've gone from a team that many of their fans and many national media types have said was a playoff contender that "might" win 10-11 games to now a SB contender who should win 12-13. Their Vegas odds have gone from in the 20s to 1 to 10 to 1 or even 8 to 1 in some books. I can't remember a team that has skyrocketed in expectations this quickly over what essentially was a two week stretch of preseason games.

I hope we take it personally. I hope this puts a chip on the shoulders of the players. I would love nothing better than to have the Eagles paste the Falcons (and they probably will, the Falcons stink) and then we punch them in the mouth in their home opener.

 

[ShiningStar]

another year another year the Eagles disappoint some cowboy fans by not winning anything except their hearts, tears and pre season glory.

 

[chicago JK]

I think the Eagles will be good. So will Dallas. I would say right now Dallas will be the better team but it is not set in stone. Sometimes it comes down to who gets more lucky bounces during the season. I think it is a mistake to think Dallas walks away with the NFC East. In most years, the division will come down to a few key plays. Dallas was great last year. They made key plays and got some good bounces. Philly sort of petered out but getting to 10 wins with a backup QB and a mix match offensive line is pretty good. I am not sure how good Bradford will be, but I would not expect a cakewalk for Dallas.

I think Kelly is a great coach. I am not on board with some of his moves in the draft and his free agent signings. Although I think he is legit as a coach and not a gimmick.

 

[Idgit]

Yeah. I'd always thought Kelly's offense was about speed and quickness, so the whole "Murray fits our scheme better than McCoy" thing doesn't ring with complete honesty in my ears. It kind of felt like a "grab the offensive MVP, make a splash, stick it to a division rival" kind of move to me.

Irvin's take that the defensive personnel on the field to stop the Eagles passing game was the same personnel you'd have in to defend McCoy's game was a pretty good argument, I think. Adding a couple of hard-running players to that offense makes sense to me.

But then, I also think Bradford's a better QB than most give him credit for being, and I think the offense is going to suit him well. We had a huge position advantage at QB the last two years when playing PHI and...well, we still do. But it's not quite as huge, anyway.

I don't like a lot of what Chip did this offseason, and I think we're a better all-around team by more than a little bit right now, but I also thing the guy knows what he's doing. Though, I agree, the way he added the RBs--just the hap hazzard way it went down--was really odd. It did seem forced.

 

[Dodger12]

1) If we're sniffing the jocks of NFL coaches with great starts to their careers, why aren't we crowing about the genius of Bruce Arians? He's 10-6 and 11-5 in his first two years. You wanna talk about winning despite a mess at QB? Say hello to Drew Stanton and Ryan Lindley.

I guess we're not talking about those other coaches because we're posting in a Dallas vs. Eagles Op piece.

Chip Kelly had to rebuild his roster only because he tore it down. The skill position players he replaced were almost all players under contract that he got rid of. Chipper actually inherited a very talented team, with Pro Bowlers at RB, OL (multiple), WR, QB, DE, LB and CB, not to mention very talented guys like Jason Kelce, who went to the Pro Bowl in 2015, Fletcher Cox (great young DT) and Mychal Kendricks (team's leading tackler), who are integral to the Philly defense, and Brandon Boykin, maybe Philly's best corner, who Kelly traded to Pitt for a conditional 6th-round pick in 2016.

With so much talent they went 8 and 8 and 4 and 12 the two years prior to Chip Kelly arriving. And you're going to have to point out some of the Pro Bowlers that Kelly inherited. Jason Peters and McCoy obviously. Michale Vick at QB? Their CB situation was a mess.

Yes, he tore down the roster and some of the players he traded were head scratchers. But he's on his 4th starting QB, the hardest position to find in the NFL. And he's won 20 games in that span (not including Bradford) after inheriting a 4 win team. His system may prove to be just another college fad that doesn't translate to the NFL game. But there's no question he's turned that team around.

 

[Dodger12]

That's how you light up a strawman.

Simple question......what was the strawman argument?

 

[burmafrd]

As I mentioned earlier, I'm not a believer in Bradford. But I won't dismiss what Chip Kelly has done in Philly; he's basically on his 3rd QB in 3 years (4 if you count Vick). Interesting though that folks here pimp DMac after a career in futility but dismiss Bradford in the same breath. Same with Chip Kelly who has rebuilt the roster and replaced his skill position players and still managed two 10 and 6 seasons while we marvel at Garrett's 3 consecutive 8 and 8 seasons during his mystical rebuild in which he maintained his franchise QB.

who inherited a better roster overall- Garrett or Kelly? Who has to perpetually keep his eyes on his owner/GM to keep him from straying?
Now I do not think Red Ball is all that but Kelly certainly has a much easier atmosphere to work in then Garrett does. And Kelly had morein other positions then Garrett did ( O line anyone?)

Just having a top QB is not everything. It is the best thing but that is all.

 

[burmafrd]

I guess we're not talking about those other coaches because we're posting in a Dallas vs. Eagles Op piece.



With so much talent they went 8 and 8 and 4 and 12 the two years prior to Chip Kelly arriving. And you're going to have to point out some of the Pro Bowlers that Kelly inherited. Jason Peters and McCoy obviously. Michale Vick at QB? Their CB situation was a mess.

Yes, he tore down the roster and some of the players he traded were head scratchers. But he's on his 4th starting QB, the hardest position to find in the NFL. And he's won 20 games in that span (not including Bradford) after inheriting a 4 win team. His system may prove to be just another college fad that doesn't translate to the NFL game. But there's no question he's turned that team around.

now what was Reid's record the last ten years before that? The Birds were considered one of the most talented and stable franchises. Love how much you leave out

 

[CCBoy]

now what was Reid's record the last ten years before that? The Birds were considered one of the most talented and stable franchises. Love how much you leave out

And following the line traveled above...Jerry sucks, Garrett is unproven, Romo will never make a play off victory...and the defense of two years ago proclaimed inept and that Dallas would never achieve again.

• 

 

[Spectre]

Hate these threads where I have click something to read the full article. Who has that kind of time and energy?!!!!!!!!

ps- Quarterback and Pass rush do rule. Offensive Line trumps them both.
pps- Like 'em or not, If Jerry Jones and Terrell Owens aren't hall of fame worthy, pretty much nobody is.

 

[DoomsDayD]

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

I have been hearing and seeing here in PHILLY about them getting CHANCELLOR from Seattle. DO not want to see that.

 

[jobberone]

I have been hearing and seeing here in PHILLY about them getting CHANCELLOR from Seattle. DO not want to see that.

No don't want that either.

 

[T-RO]

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

Huh?
20-12 NFL record
26-7 college record

Won a Rose bowl and Fiesta bowl

That ain't smoke and mirrors.

 

[Dodger12]

now what was Reid's record the last ten years before that? The Birds were considered one of the most talented and stable franchises. Love how much you leave out

What does the last 10 years have anything to do with it? We were 13 and 3 with a ton of pro-bowl players just a couple of years before Garrett took over. And it does mean something when you have a franchise QB or you don't. There's nothing I left out, you just don't want to see the obvious.

 

[Dodger12]

who inherited a better roster overall- Garrett or Kelly? Who has to perpetually keep his eyes on his owner/GM to keep him from straying?
Now I do not think Red Ball is all that but Kelly certainly has a much easier atmosphere to work in then Garrett does. And Kelly had morein other positions then Garrett did ( O line anyone?)

Just having a top QB is not everything. It is the best thing but that is all.

So Kelly inherited a great roster coming off of 8 and 8 / 4 and 12 seasons? And of course Kelly has an easier atmosphere to work with. When you want to attract a quality coach with a resume, you have to relinquish control to some extent. Quite frankly, that's one of the reasons Jerry wanted Garrett and is delighted to have him.

 

[Dodger12]

ps- Quarterback and Pass rush do rule. Offensive Line trumps them both.

Can't agree with this........

 

[StarBoyz83]

Saw an article today that said bradford is the best qb in the nfce. Really???

 

[burmafrd]

Huh?
20-12 NFL record
26-7 college record

Won a Rose bowl and Fiesta bowl

That ain't smoke and mirrors.

lots of mediocre coaches have won bowl games sometimes even major ones. Means diddly squat. Like your comment.

 

[burmafrd]

So Kelly inherited a great roster coming off of 8 and 8 / 4 and 12 seasons? And of course Kelly has an easier atmosphere to work with. When you want to attract a quality coach with a resume, you have to relinquish control to some extent. Quite frankly, that's one of the reasons Jerry wanted Garrett and is delighted to have him.

Well Jason inherited a roster that won the division the year before - and went 5-3 with it. See how your argument can be turned on its head?

 

[VACowboy]

I guess we're not talking about those other coaches because we're posting in a Dallas vs. Eagles Op piece.

Well, you were responding to my post and my point was that preseason means zip as a regular season predictor. You and lots of others seem wildly impressed by Sam Bradford's performance in a preseason game, a QB whose career to date has been defined by injury and inconsistency, and I am not. You then changed the discussion from the relevance of preseason to the impressiveness of Chip Kelly's resume, especially considering he had no quarterback and no talent, and I posed the question in response. You seem to have missed the gist, though. Bruce Arians and Mike McCoy began their careers simultaneously to Chip Kelly and have achieved at least as much success. Nobody's gushing about them. Why is Chip Kelly so much better? So far he hasn't proven to me that he is, and some preseason games aren't gonna change my mind.

...you're going to have to point out some of the Pro Bowlers that Kelly inherited. Jason Peters and McCoy obviously. Michale Vick at QB? Their CB situation was a mess.

Peters, McCoy, Evan Mathis, Trent Cole, DeMeco Ryans, Nnamdi Asomugha, two future Pro Bowlers in Kelce and Maclin. Kelly had Michael Vick, a veteran and four-time Pro Bowl player, and Nick Foles, who set a bunch of single season records in 2013, when he took the job, which beats the hell out of what Arians had to work with at QB. With Peters, Mathis and Kelce, Philly had a great offensive line--far cry from the total mess Arians had to deal with.

But he's on his 4th starting QB, the hardest position to find in the NFL.

Again, whose fault is that? Vick got injured and Foles had a record-setting year. Then Kelly benched Foles for Sanchez and traded Foles for Bradford

And he's won 20 games in that span (not including Bradford) after inheriting a 4 win team.

Very true, and he does deserve credit for that, but his nice coaching record isn't the reason Philadelphia is being hyped. Before preseason began, even the folks in Philly were doubting their team's immediate future. A couple of pre-aseason games has turned Sam Bradford into Mister Accuracy, the Eagles into single-digit Super Bowl odds and made Chip Kelly the smartest coach in the league. And they may prove to be all those things, but based on preseason games--I don't buy it.

His system may prove to be just another college fad that doesn't translate to the NFL game. But there's no question he's turned that team around.

All true, and his future NFL success remains to be seen, but in my opinion it all still comes down to execution, no matter how fast you run plays. Defenses are catching up. Good teams are going to beat the system (4-7), and as long as Kelly chooses scheme instead of players and ignores possession of the ball, he won't continue to win in the NFL.