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http://www.igglesblog.com/iggles_blog/2008/07/stacking-up-to-the-cowboys.html
July 08, 2008
Stacking Up To The Cowboys
One of the concerns I think most fans share about the Eagles is whether or not the team has enough of the truly elite performers who seem to populate the rosters of Super Bowl winning teams.
Top to bottom, we know the roster is pretty solid, but bottom line, are there enough playmakers, studs, Pro Bowlers, whatever, to give this team a chance to go all the way.
I don't know. No one does at this point, I think, because what makes this Eagles team different from the ones of a few years ago is just how young so much of the roster is. There are a lot of guys -- productive players so far -- who are rounding into that phase of their careers where they may or may not make the leap from "established starter" to "all star performer."
Now obviously, not everyone follows that path. Some guys come in and dominate right away, due to truly superior athleticism. Shawn Andrews is in that category. But there are only so many of those guys available in the draft every year, and when you're typically picking in the bottom third of each round, you're not going to have chances at too many of them.
Which is why I thought it might be instructive to look at the Dallas Cowboys. Unlike the Eagles, the Cowboys went through a number of lean years in the beginning of the decade. All that prime drafting position seems to have paid off, with a roster that seems -- on the face of it -- to be pretty stacked with talent.
So let's compare the two teams and see what we can learn. And I'll tell you right up front, I didn't do the analysis first and then this write-up. I'm doing this on the fly. So I have no idea what to expect.
Cowboys depth chart here. Eagles here (but who needs it). These are a little out of date so I'll also go by memory. I also sanity checked my reads of the Cowboys' roster by checking out this Cowboys blog here.
- - - - - -
Offense first:
Quarterback -- Tony Romo vs. Donovan McNabb
I am reluctantly willing to concede that Romo looks like the real deal. I think any quarterback could probably succeed behind that offensive line and with that array of playmakers, but the fact of the matter is that Romo does more than just succeed. And for those who criticize his record in the playoffs, fine, but quarterbacks always get too much credit/blame in those situations and it's not uncommon for young players (and teams) to take a couple years to learn how to succeed in those situations. McNabb is McNabb. If I had to pick one of these guys to start a game tomorrow for the Eagles, it would be Donovan, but we all know what the question mark would then be. Even.
Running back -- Marion Barber vs. Brian Westbrook
It's hard to compare these guys because their styles are so different. Barber catches more passes than you would think (44 last year). Will he be able to play the same way (like a Mack truck) if he's asked to carry even more of the load? The edge goes to Westbrook, who might have played as well as any back in the league last year, but for the role each plays within his own offense, the gap isn't as large as it would first seem. Eagles.
Running back #2 -- Felix Jones vs. Booker/Buckhalter/Hunt
Jones is going to be scary for a few years. With that offensive line, passing game and Barber softening up the defense in front of him, the guy is in the perfect situation. (Remember when Westbrook was Duce's understudy?) The Eagles' backups are all role players, not feature backs. Big edge here to the Cowboys. And I'm worried about it.
Wide Receiver #1 -- Terrell Owens vs. Kevin Curtis
Curtis is younger ... and that's about it. Assuming TO stays healthy/sane, big edge to the Cowboys.
Wide Receiver #2 -- Patrick Crayton vs. Reggie Brown
You might be surprised to see how similar their statistics were last year (Crayton, Brown). Neither guy is as good as Terry Glenn used to be. Even.
Other Wide Receivers -- Sam Hurd, Terry Glenn vs. Jason Avant, Hank Baskett and DeSean Jackson
The Eagles have more depth and experience at this position, since the Cowboys seemed pretty focused on bringing in one of the big-name malcontents to put across from TO. When that didn't work out, they didn't do much to buttress the position. Assuming good health across the board, this isn't a big deal, but Dallas gets thin quickly if TO goes down. Eagles.
Tight End -- Jason Witten vs. LJ Smith
Smith was drafted higher. Last time he's come close to outperforming Witten. Big edge to the Cowboys.
Left Tackle -- Flozell Adams vs. Tra Thomas
Two guys who have been around a long time but remain effective. Closer than Dallas fans would realize, but slight edge to the Cowboys.
Left Guard -- Kyle Kosier vs. Todd Herremans
Kosier is the one guy on the Cowboys' line who doesn't have much of a reputation. Herremans is a better player, with more upside, but this is a big year for him. Eagles.
Center -- Andre Gurode vs. Jamaal Jackson
By reputation at least, Gurode is the far better player. Jackson needs to find a playing weight somewhere below where he was last year. Cowboys.
Right Guard -- Leonard Davis vs. Shawn Andrews
Davis is an imposing physical presence at guard. We'll see how he handles the first real success of his career. It's never been a talent question with that guy. Andrews is inconsistent. Don't know if it's been injuries or what, but he seems to have stretches where his play is more "good" than "dominating." Andrews is clearly the pick, but just based on last year's play for both, it's closer than you'd think. Eagles.
Right Tackle -- Marc Colombo vs. Jon Runyan
Colombo was a guy who couldn't stay healthy ... until the Cowboys signed him. He's now played two full seasons without missing a start. Colombo is kind of the Todd Herremans of the Dallas line in that many fans don't particularly mind him being out there, but are sort of rooting for a potentially more talented youngster to take his place. Slightest of edges to the Eagles.
Fullback
Not a position that really matters to either team.
- - - - - -
Defense:
(Because the teams play different base defenses, they're not directly comparable in a few positions. I'll try to handle on a case-by-case basis.)
Free Safety -- Ken Hamlin vs. Brian Dawkins
Hamlin is a fine player who is nowhere near as good as Brian Dawkins used to be. The problem is that Brian Dawkins is also nowhere near as good as he used to be. Screw it, though, I'm not burying the old warrior yet. Eagles.
Strong Safety -- Roy "Please Don't Throw It To My Guy" Williams vs. Quintin Mikell
It's an ugly thing to see a professional athlete lose his confidence. Unless he plays for the Cowboys, in which case it's up there with puppies, SEC women in sundresses and moonlight over the ocean. With that said, I'm still not sold on Mikell as the answer for the Eagles. If the Cowboys can figure out some way to protect Williams enough that he gets his mojo back, we're still looking at a pretty significant edge to the Cowboys.
Cornerback #1 -- Terence Newman vs. Asante Samuel
The only question with Samuel is how he makes the adjustment to a new contract, city and scheme. Newman is a good cornerback (another one of those high Dallas picks) but he's not quite in the same league yet. A little edge to the Eagles.
Cornerback #2 & #3 -- Anthony Henry / Pacman Jones vs. Lito Sheppard / Sheldon Brown
To avoid offending any of these four gentlemen, I'll just group them together. This is one heck of a crapshoot. You know what you're going to get from Henry and Brown -- solid play, not too many mistakes, nothing that kills you too much. But the other two guys are all over the place. Lito may or may not be healthy this season, he may or may not feel like wearing green and he may or may not continue to kill the Cowboys like he does every time we play them. As for Pacman, who knows? I happen to think his readjustment to the league is going to take a little while -- has he done anything but bounce from strip club to strip club the last 18 months? -- but after that, he's still a talented player. Albeit one who is another parking ticket away from never playing in the NFL again. Due to confusion, I'm calling this one Even.
ROLB / RDE -- DeMarcus Ware vs. Trent Cole
I know, I know, but how do you compare the teams otherwise? The two players put up very similar numbers last year, but lt's be honest, as good as Trent Cole is, he's not DeMarcus Ware good. It's like the difference between Randy Moss and Reggie Wayne. Both are outstanding players, but one guy is historically great while the other is simply regular great. Cowboys.
LOLB / LDE -- Greg Ellis / Marcus Spears vs. Chris Gocong / Juqua Parker (?)
This is an even harder position to handicap, since we don't know who the Eagles' starter will be by midseason. Also, this pair of guys on each team sort of has the same responsibility. This could look different by November (Anthony Spencer could be starting by then too), but right now it's Cowboys and Cowboys.
ILB / MLB -- Bradie James vs. Stewart Bradley
Bradley is an unknown. James is not. Cowboys.
ILB / WLB -- Zach Thomas vs. Omar Gaither
Maybe Thomas won't be able to stay healthy, but the thing about these heady veteran linebackers is that they seem to be able to squeeze out effectiveness long after they've passed their physical peak. The question here is the same as in a few other places -- do we consider the potential for injury? If not, you basically have a heady young guy with somewhat limited athleticism vs. an even headier old guy with even more limited athleticisim. Again, assuming full seasons from both, you have to say Cowboys.
NT / DT -- Tank Johnson / Jay Ratliff vs. Brodrick Bunkley
Again, I know, but my reasoning is if Bunkley still hasn't learned how to use his hands to beat the blockers, then basically he's playing an NT position of clogging up the interior line. Ratliff doesn't do much for me, but this could be the year Tank Johnson is finally all the way back and ready to start again (see why I'm skeptical about Pacman?). If it's Ratliff still, edge to Bunkley. If it's Johnson -- and I think it will be -- then it's edge to the Cowboys.
DE / DT -- Chris Canty vs. Mike Patterson
Canty had a good season last year, but so did a lot of these guys. I'm not convinced they're all that good so much as it was a "rising tide lifts all boats" kind of year for the Cowboys. Either way, Patterson is a stud. Eagles.
- - - - - -
What did we find? By my count, I've got the position battles as 11 to 8 in favor of the Cowboys, with three toss-ups. The big difference comes on the defensive side, which I scored as 7 - 3 -1 in favor of Dallas. That's concerning.
The size of the gaps matter too, though. If we were scoring this as each position ranked between 1 and 10, I think we'd find that the Cowboys' lead gets even larger. The Eagles eke out some wins, whereas the Cowboys have some serious whoopings (TE, WR#1, RB#2, a couple LB spots).
So does this mean we should give up all hope of taking back the division this year? Of course not. First of all, the more talented team doesn't always win. Secondly, we didn't consider injuries in this analysis -- and the Cowboys seem perilously thin at a couple of key positions.
Most importantly, though, this is a backwards-looking analysis. We can make projection, but no one really has any idea how good Stewart Bradley or Chris Gocong are going to be this year, just as no one knew how good Tony Romo or Marc Colombo would be a couple years ago. With so many of these guys hitting their prime about the same time, we could be seeing some major strides taken this year that completely reshuffle all these rankings by October.
In the meantime, though, it's fair to say that Dallas remains the team to beat in the division (sorry New York!).
And that just makes everything more fun.
July 08, 2008
Stacking Up To The Cowboys
One of the concerns I think most fans share about the Eagles is whether or not the team has enough of the truly elite performers who seem to populate the rosters of Super Bowl winning teams.
Top to bottom, we know the roster is pretty solid, but bottom line, are there enough playmakers, studs, Pro Bowlers, whatever, to give this team a chance to go all the way.
I don't know. No one does at this point, I think, because what makes this Eagles team different from the ones of a few years ago is just how young so much of the roster is. There are a lot of guys -- productive players so far -- who are rounding into that phase of their careers where they may or may not make the leap from "established starter" to "all star performer."
Now obviously, not everyone follows that path. Some guys come in and dominate right away, due to truly superior athleticism. Shawn Andrews is in that category. But there are only so many of those guys available in the draft every year, and when you're typically picking in the bottom third of each round, you're not going to have chances at too many of them.
Which is why I thought it might be instructive to look at the Dallas Cowboys. Unlike the Eagles, the Cowboys went through a number of lean years in the beginning of the decade. All that prime drafting position seems to have paid off, with a roster that seems -- on the face of it -- to be pretty stacked with talent.
So let's compare the two teams and see what we can learn. And I'll tell you right up front, I didn't do the analysis first and then this write-up. I'm doing this on the fly. So I have no idea what to expect.
Cowboys depth chart here. Eagles here (but who needs it). These are a little out of date so I'll also go by memory. I also sanity checked my reads of the Cowboys' roster by checking out this Cowboys blog here.
- - - - - -
Offense first:
Quarterback -- Tony Romo vs. Donovan McNabb
I am reluctantly willing to concede that Romo looks like the real deal. I think any quarterback could probably succeed behind that offensive line and with that array of playmakers, but the fact of the matter is that Romo does more than just succeed. And for those who criticize his record in the playoffs, fine, but quarterbacks always get too much credit/blame in those situations and it's not uncommon for young players (and teams) to take a couple years to learn how to succeed in those situations. McNabb is McNabb. If I had to pick one of these guys to start a game tomorrow for the Eagles, it would be Donovan, but we all know what the question mark would then be. Even.
Running back -- Marion Barber vs. Brian Westbrook
It's hard to compare these guys because their styles are so different. Barber catches more passes than you would think (44 last year). Will he be able to play the same way (like a Mack truck) if he's asked to carry even more of the load? The edge goes to Westbrook, who might have played as well as any back in the league last year, but for the role each plays within his own offense, the gap isn't as large as it would first seem. Eagles.
Running back #2 -- Felix Jones vs. Booker/Buckhalter/Hunt
Jones is going to be scary for a few years. With that offensive line, passing game and Barber softening up the defense in front of him, the guy is in the perfect situation. (Remember when Westbrook was Duce's understudy?) The Eagles' backups are all role players, not feature backs. Big edge here to the Cowboys. And I'm worried about it.
Wide Receiver #1 -- Terrell Owens vs. Kevin Curtis
Curtis is younger ... and that's about it. Assuming TO stays healthy/sane, big edge to the Cowboys.
Wide Receiver #2 -- Patrick Crayton vs. Reggie Brown
You might be surprised to see how similar their statistics were last year (Crayton, Brown). Neither guy is as good as Terry Glenn used to be. Even.
Other Wide Receivers -- Sam Hurd, Terry Glenn vs. Jason Avant, Hank Baskett and DeSean Jackson
The Eagles have more depth and experience at this position, since the Cowboys seemed pretty focused on bringing in one of the big-name malcontents to put across from TO. When that didn't work out, they didn't do much to buttress the position. Assuming good health across the board, this isn't a big deal, but Dallas gets thin quickly if TO goes down. Eagles.
Tight End -- Jason Witten vs. LJ Smith
Smith was drafted higher. Last time he's come close to outperforming Witten. Big edge to the Cowboys.
Left Tackle -- Flozell Adams vs. Tra Thomas
Two guys who have been around a long time but remain effective. Closer than Dallas fans would realize, but slight edge to the Cowboys.
Left Guard -- Kyle Kosier vs. Todd Herremans
Kosier is the one guy on the Cowboys' line who doesn't have much of a reputation. Herremans is a better player, with more upside, but this is a big year for him. Eagles.
Center -- Andre Gurode vs. Jamaal Jackson
By reputation at least, Gurode is the far better player. Jackson needs to find a playing weight somewhere below where he was last year. Cowboys.
Right Guard -- Leonard Davis vs. Shawn Andrews
Davis is an imposing physical presence at guard. We'll see how he handles the first real success of his career. It's never been a talent question with that guy. Andrews is inconsistent. Don't know if it's been injuries or what, but he seems to have stretches where his play is more "good" than "dominating." Andrews is clearly the pick, but just based on last year's play for both, it's closer than you'd think. Eagles.
Right Tackle -- Marc Colombo vs. Jon Runyan
Colombo was a guy who couldn't stay healthy ... until the Cowboys signed him. He's now played two full seasons without missing a start. Colombo is kind of the Todd Herremans of the Dallas line in that many fans don't particularly mind him being out there, but are sort of rooting for a potentially more talented youngster to take his place. Slightest of edges to the Eagles.
Fullback
Not a position that really matters to either team.
- - - - - -
Defense:
(Because the teams play different base defenses, they're not directly comparable in a few positions. I'll try to handle on a case-by-case basis.)
Free Safety -- Ken Hamlin vs. Brian Dawkins
Hamlin is a fine player who is nowhere near as good as Brian Dawkins used to be. The problem is that Brian Dawkins is also nowhere near as good as he used to be. Screw it, though, I'm not burying the old warrior yet. Eagles.
Strong Safety -- Roy "Please Don't Throw It To My Guy" Williams vs. Quintin Mikell
It's an ugly thing to see a professional athlete lose his confidence. Unless he plays for the Cowboys, in which case it's up there with puppies, SEC women in sundresses and moonlight over the ocean. With that said, I'm still not sold on Mikell as the answer for the Eagles. If the Cowboys can figure out some way to protect Williams enough that he gets his mojo back, we're still looking at a pretty significant edge to the Cowboys.
Cornerback #1 -- Terence Newman vs. Asante Samuel
The only question with Samuel is how he makes the adjustment to a new contract, city and scheme. Newman is a good cornerback (another one of those high Dallas picks) but he's not quite in the same league yet. A little edge to the Eagles.
Cornerback #2 & #3 -- Anthony Henry / Pacman Jones vs. Lito Sheppard / Sheldon Brown
To avoid offending any of these four gentlemen, I'll just group them together. This is one heck of a crapshoot. You know what you're going to get from Henry and Brown -- solid play, not too many mistakes, nothing that kills you too much. But the other two guys are all over the place. Lito may or may not be healthy this season, he may or may not feel like wearing green and he may or may not continue to kill the Cowboys like he does every time we play them. As for Pacman, who knows? I happen to think his readjustment to the league is going to take a little while -- has he done anything but bounce from strip club to strip club the last 18 months? -- but after that, he's still a talented player. Albeit one who is another parking ticket away from never playing in the NFL again. Due to confusion, I'm calling this one Even.
ROLB / RDE -- DeMarcus Ware vs. Trent Cole
I know, I know, but how do you compare the teams otherwise? The two players put up very similar numbers last year, but lt's be honest, as good as Trent Cole is, he's not DeMarcus Ware good. It's like the difference between Randy Moss and Reggie Wayne. Both are outstanding players, but one guy is historically great while the other is simply regular great. Cowboys.
LOLB / LDE -- Greg Ellis / Marcus Spears vs. Chris Gocong / Juqua Parker (?)
This is an even harder position to handicap, since we don't know who the Eagles' starter will be by midseason. Also, this pair of guys on each team sort of has the same responsibility. This could look different by November (Anthony Spencer could be starting by then too), but right now it's Cowboys and Cowboys.
ILB / MLB -- Bradie James vs. Stewart Bradley
Bradley is an unknown. James is not. Cowboys.
ILB / WLB -- Zach Thomas vs. Omar Gaither
Maybe Thomas won't be able to stay healthy, but the thing about these heady veteran linebackers is that they seem to be able to squeeze out effectiveness long after they've passed their physical peak. The question here is the same as in a few other places -- do we consider the potential for injury? If not, you basically have a heady young guy with somewhat limited athleticism vs. an even headier old guy with even more limited athleticisim. Again, assuming full seasons from both, you have to say Cowboys.
NT / DT -- Tank Johnson / Jay Ratliff vs. Brodrick Bunkley
Again, I know, but my reasoning is if Bunkley still hasn't learned how to use his hands to beat the blockers, then basically he's playing an NT position of clogging up the interior line. Ratliff doesn't do much for me, but this could be the year Tank Johnson is finally all the way back and ready to start again (see why I'm skeptical about Pacman?). If it's Ratliff still, edge to Bunkley. If it's Johnson -- and I think it will be -- then it's edge to the Cowboys.
DE / DT -- Chris Canty vs. Mike Patterson
Canty had a good season last year, but so did a lot of these guys. I'm not convinced they're all that good so much as it was a "rising tide lifts all boats" kind of year for the Cowboys. Either way, Patterson is a stud. Eagles.
- - - - - -
What did we find? By my count, I've got the position battles as 11 to 8 in favor of the Cowboys, with three toss-ups. The big difference comes on the defensive side, which I scored as 7 - 3 -1 in favor of Dallas. That's concerning.
The size of the gaps matter too, though. If we were scoring this as each position ranked between 1 and 10, I think we'd find that the Cowboys' lead gets even larger. The Eagles eke out some wins, whereas the Cowboys have some serious whoopings (TE, WR#1, RB#2, a couple LB spots).
So does this mean we should give up all hope of taking back the division this year? Of course not. First of all, the more talented team doesn't always win. Secondly, we didn't consider injuries in this analysis -- and the Cowboys seem perilously thin at a couple of key positions.
Most importantly, though, this is a backwards-looking analysis. We can make projection, but no one really has any idea how good Stewart Bradley or Chris Gocong are going to be this year, just as no one knew how good Tony Romo or Marc Colombo would be a couple years ago. With so many of these guys hitting their prime about the same time, we could be seeing some major strides taken this year that completely reshuffle all these rankings by October.
In the meantime, though, it's fair to say that Dallas remains the team to beat in the division (sorry New York!).
And that just makes everything more fun.
