One interesting dynamic this year

[G2]

Two years from a world championship will do that for a team.

You're right, but even before that Philthy seemed to be favs. Maybe it was the batteries thrown at Santa.

 

[Stash]

Power rankings, major outlets like CBS Sports and ESPN and SI............. you'd be hard pressed to find roughly the same number of pundits saying the Cowboys are the elite class as much as Philly.

You certainly won't where you live.

Keep in mind exactly who is selecting these "national pundits" you're hearing. You think that's random? You think they're just thinking of what they're going to talk about as they're on the air?

Take a truly national show like Good Morning Football on NFL Network for instance. Doesn't get much more "national" than that show. And there it's a split, much like everywhere else I've read. It's a toss up on who they feel is winning the East, everywhere outside Philly. The Cowboys are not being underestimated.

 

[GMO415]

For some reason, we're getting treated like a POS..... everyone has jumped on the iggles junk. I agree OP, I like playing as the underdog.

 

[Stash]

You're right, but even before that Philthy seemed to be favs. Maybe it was the batteries thrown at Santa.

It's success in the playoffs and Super Bowl. They've had more of it than the Cowboys have. Reputation counts.

 

[OmerV]

Not sure why our expectations are so high when most aren’t picking us to win division?

Is there something we know that most of the expert analysts and handicappers don’t?

Obviously experts and handicappers aren't always right, but aside from that, we are the defending NFC East champions, and there is plenty of reason to believe we should be improved. The O-Line should be better with Frederick getting healthy and more stability with the back ups (we were scrambling last minute last year making trades and signing free agents for the O-Line), and we have bolstered the D-Line, which also needed stability with the Gregory and Irving situations, and we will have a strong WR group with Cooper being here all year and Gallup having a year of experience, and LVE will also have a year of experience.

 

[pancakeman]

Not sure why our expectations are so high when most aren’t picking us to win division?

Is there something we know that most of the expert analysts and handicappers don’t?

As far as handicappers go, it’s useful to remember that their goal is not to predict the outcome of games but rather to predict the ratios of bettors.

 

[MCMetal69]

It's success in the playoffs and Super Bowl. They've had more of it than the Cowboys have. Reputation counts.

That would be understandable and acceptable if it was done with Wentz under center when that happened ................The fact he's injury prone and has never even played in a playoff game should give everyone on the Iggles bandwagon some pause..............................

 

[conner01]

In 2015 and 2017, we were the team coming off the NFC East title the year before and much of the scrutiny and hype heading into those seasons was focused on the Cowboys.

But this year, as the division champs, other than local hype, most of the hype nationally is on Philly. Not that it's not exactly unwarranted, as if healthy, Philly should be pretty good.

But this team seems to play better when they are the afterthought, not the team being chased. There will still be some pressure on them, obviously, when you consider Garrett is on the last year of his deal, they may be paying Dak an elite contract, but the focus nationally seems to be on how great Philly is and just how we might be able to grab a WC spot if things go the right way.

I’ve always thought being the under dog was an advantage

 

[Stash]

That would be understandable and acceptable if it was done with Wentz under center when that happened ................The fact he's injury prone and has never even played in a playoff game should give everyone on the Iggles bandwagon some pause..............................

It very much should.

 

[Diehardblues]

As far as handicappers go, it’s useful to remember that their goal is not to predict the outcome of games but rather to predict the ratios of bettors.

It’s still a good gauge.

 

[Diehardblues]

I’ve always thought being the under dog was an advantage

I like being the underdog too but it also supports why our expectations are lofty.

 

[Ken]

Did i miss a bunch of moves that the Eagles have made or something? They are not even close to better than the cowboys...flawed team. Let me know when they get a secondary too.

 

[Diehardblues]

Everyone wants to take the next step . It’s the ultimate goal. Expecting it is quite another issue though.

We should be excited if we exceed expectations not disappointed if we don’t surpass expectations.

 

[Doomsday77]

My take on this year is simple: There should be no excuse for the Cowboys not having a deep run this year. We have enough talent. The question remains in the coaching arena as Garrett has shown to be a decent regular season HC but has been mostly out-coached in the playoffs.

The playoffs are where this team and its HC should be measured. A non-playoff year or even a “one and done” failure to advance past the divisional round should be Garrett’s last stand. After 9 full seasons as HC, he has had plenty of time to show he’s capable of taking this team to heights beyond a wild card win. If this owner continues to look the other way or make excuses for his HC not advancing, how can this organization be taken seriously?

"How can this team/coach be taken seriously?" I'll give you $5 billion reason why. Did you see this latest figure for franchises? I know you have put pen to paper plenty of times on here concerning our owner but if you made this investment like he did then obviously our owner knows what it takes to make money with this team. Just sayin', not that I agree with every decision he's made but man...$5 billion this franchise is estimated at.

 

[Diehardblues]

Did i miss a bunch of moves that the Eagles have made or something? They are not even close to better than the cowboys...flawed team. Let me know when they get a secondary too.

The Egirls injuries were a big reason they under achieved last year. They did finish strong and arguably playing better than we were heading into playoffs. Fortunately we faced them earlier in the season . I wouldn’t have wanted to face them again.

 

[TWOK11]

It's a win win year really.

If Dallas is terrible then fine. We may finally make some changes that the owner has refused to make for over a decade.

If Dallas is great then fine. Speaks for itself.

There are quite a few posters here who will be very upset if Dallas is really good and wins the division again this year.

For some, they’re so dug in that being “right” is the only thing that matters anymore.

 

[Diehardblues]

There are quite a few posters here who will be very upset if Dallas is really good and wins the division again this year.

For some, they’re so dug in that being “right” is the only thing that matters anymore.

Much like sports personalities who are more interested in results supporting their opinions and narratives.

 

[G2]

I don't see much of a similarity. That 2011 team had a flawed roster that they tried to fix in one offseason through FA. This current Eagles team already had their core in place. 2011 was a desperate attempt by Philly to salvage their aging roster as Reid was running out of time.

That's not this Philly team. They are/were in much better shape heading into the 2019 FA period than that 2011 Philly team was.

You're right about that. I think it was Vince Young that coined the phrase "Dream Team."
I got a laugh because went to town on players. A ton of talent but it ended up being Frankensteined.

 

[G2]

Much like sports personalities who are more interested in results supporting their opinions and narratives.

It's the World we live in. There are more stories with regard to negative than there are positive.

 

[Ken]

The Egirls injuries were a big reason they under achieved last year. They did finish strong and arguably playing better than we were heading into playoffs. Fortunately we faced them earlier in the season . I wouldn’t have wanted to face them again.

We beat them in week 10 and 14.

Nick Foles isn't there anymore.