Prognostications from an Eagles Fan

[ScipioCowboy]

At one time, I was a regular poster on the AOL football message boards where I encountered one particular Eagles fan who epitomized the term "blind homer."

Many Cowboys fans despised him for his crass inflation of Philly's talent, but I found him to be hilarious: The more his opinions were picked apart and criticized, the more extreme his views became until he literally became a caricature of himself.

I thought it might provide some amusement if I gave you a sampling of his opinions (especially those on Desean Jackson towards the bottom) on the upcoming game:

I won't go as far as to say [the game will be a blow out] but if they can't get a serious pass rush on McNabb, you may be able to start looking at Green Bay film by about halftime of the Eagles game.

I am not guaranteeing a win I'm just stating the obvious....they can't match up with us defensively without putting alot of pressure on McNabb, if Dallas gets pressure consistently and McNabb can't set his feet or is running around too much Dallas can win, if they don't they can't win.

It's not very difficult to understand.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see how this one will likely play out....

Dallas MUST, MUST, MUST get pressure on McNabb, if they do, they have a shot to come in there and steal this one.

If they do not, they have no shot because we have too many weapons that are a mismatch against their secondary (pretty much any secondary actually), it could get really ugly.

The Cowboys also MUST run the ball effectively and often to control the clock, keep the Eagles offense on the sideline and set up play action, if you can't run the ball against the Eagles you can't beat them, the defense will pin it's ears back and relentlessly attack the QB.

The Eagles defense leads the NFL in takeaways and is up among the leaders in sacks, both of those stats are a direct result of getting out to big leads and making other teams one dimensional, when playing with a lead of 10 or more points the Eagles are nearly impossible to beat.

Dallas has to run the ball, control the clock and avoid turnovers, on defense PRESSURE MCNABB early and often.

They need to win a close, lower scoring game...maybe 20-17 or something like that.

They can't and won't win a shootout against the Eagles, it's all about the pass rush and the running game.

I am not a perfect prognosticator by any means but looking at the game and the fact that it is in Philly and how the Eagles are playing right now plus the obvious matchup advantages the Eagles have over Dallas, I can't objectively see a way Dallas can win outside of the things I mentioned above and playing an overall near perfect game.

Those types of performances happen very rarely in situations like this where the deck is so stacked against you, Dallas is better than I thought they were at this point but so are the Eagles....

EAGLES 34
DALLAS 17

The only chance Dallas has is to get pressure on McNabb early and often, if they do that, they can win but if they can't do that, they have no chance because their secondary is going to be overmatched against our skill players, we could easily hang another 40 spot on them in that case.

Ware vs. Peters is basically the game, Peters doesn't have to dominate him he just has to contain him and avoid giving up the big sack at a crucial time, and I'm sure he will have some help at times from the TE.

They have no other pass rusher on the outside, it's basically Ware outside and Ratliff inside that we need to worry about.

Shut them down and it's a probable blowout, but if they make plays it's anyone's game.

LOL, they won't double either [Cowboys wide receiver], not even close.

They will play 8 in the box, blitz like hell and let Brown and Samuel single cover their WRs, I like the matchup of Samuel vs. Austin and Brown vs. Williams, I see that as advantage Eagles.

Miles Austin is going to have to EARN double coverage, this isn't KC or Tampa he's going against this week, Sunday Night we will see if he is REALLY ready for prime time or just a guy who has feasted on bad secondaries.

And you must be drinking if you think the Eagles are actually worried about ROY WILLIAMS to the point where they will actually think about double teaming him....LOL.

The only WR in this game who will be drawing double teams is the clear cut best WR in this game...Desean Jackson.

Actually Jackson has 6 TDs...all over 50 yards...an NFL record to this point in a season.

And Jackson has done it against defenses like Washington, the Giants and New Orleans (4 of his TDs) as well as the bad teams while Austin has done it against all bad defenses, he has yet to do this against a team with a defense that anyone would consider very good, in fact KC and Tampa and Seattle are downright bad.

Also, Desean Jackson has sat out a combined whole game with injuries so the yardage and reception totals would probably be in his favorplus we have had huge leads in all of our wins and didn't throw much in the 2nd half of any of those games while Dallas has thrown into the 4th quarter every single week, but that's neither here nor there.

Jackson has proven over TWO years that he is an elite receiver and he's done it consistently against top defenses as well as middle and lower level units.

Austin has a chance to take a step up to that level Sunday, this is the best defense he will have faced up to now...is he a contender or a pretender ?

We'll see Sunday.

The Eagles throw the ball EARLY almost every play so I'd guess that about 75% of those passes are in the first half, Jackkson has sat out the 2nd half of 3 games this season as well and even the games he played in the 2nd half we ran the ball about 70% of the time...also he was without his starting QB for 3 games, that ABSOLUTELY makes a difference.

Those numbers don't tell the story...these #s tell it a little better....in the Eagles 5 wins, they have outscored opponents -172-72 and of the 72 opponents' points, almost HALF of those points have come in the 2nd half of blowouts so the halftime scores were even more lopsided....31-7 against Tampa, 30-7 against KC, 31-7 against Carolina, 30-7 against the Giants, 27-7 against the Commanders.

My point is that we called off the dogs in EVERY one of those games and stopped throwing the ball...Desean Jackson basically played basically ONE HALF of each in those games, in fact he literally sat out the 2nd half in 3 of them.

There hasn't been a SINGLE game all season where Dallas has been able to stop throwing until at least early in the 4th quarter and Austin even scored one of his TDs in an overtime period....so they have been slinging it for 7 games plus one extra quarter.

The Eagles have only had 2 games like that (both losses).

To assume that Desean Jackson wouldn't be leading the NFL in TDs, receiving yards, yards from scrimmage and virtually every other stat if he wasn't playing only half of these games is beyond wishful thinking, it's just silly.

Take his numbers and add at least 50% (probably should be more but I'm being generous)....then you'll get a sense of what he would have, his penalty is being on too good a team that blows everybody out too fast.

 

[MONT17]

They love them some Desean jackson... he is a great player, lets hope Newman and the boys will get to man him up... Wade loves his zones but not this week!

 

[jrumann59]

Personally I would have whoever is covering Jackson mug him for 5 yards, steal his wallet, and take his lunch money. D-Jack is still immature and may actually take himself out of the game with a 15 yarder for unsportmanslike.

 

[bbgun]

homos

 

[GimmeTheBall!]

That is very interesting.

 

[Cover 2]

We're doomed. DeSean Jackson was able to put up numbers against the vaunted Saints defense.

 

[BAT]

He is an Eagles homer, so what? His points are a bit exaggerated but mostly accurate. Ball control and pass pressure are 2 big keys to Dallas having success. Although the homer in me does not believe that Dallas would be outgunned in a shootout, as long as we don't shoot ourselves in the foot (penalties).


But I will take a closely fought low scoring game if it results in a W too.


I think whoever wins the turnover battle and ST wins this game.

 

[Cover 2]

He is an Eagles homer, so what? His points are a bit exaggerated but mostly accurate. Ball control and pass pressure are 2 big keys to Dallas having success. Although the homer in me does not believe that Dallas would be outgunned in a shootout, as long as we don't shoot ourselves in the foot (penalties).


But I will take a closely fought low scoring game if it results in a W too.


I think whoever wins the turnover battle and ST wins this game.

At this point the W is all that matters. I remember when the Pats won their first Super Bowl during their string of them. They won ugly all year, then were able to pull it out. If that's how it happens for us I am more than fine with that.

 

[BAT]

At this point the W is all that matters. I remember when the Pats won their first Super Bowl during their string of them. They won ugly all year, then were able to pull it out. If that's how it happens for us I am more than fine with that.

I agree, but the Pats won all of their SBs in ugly fashion.

 

[Cover 2]

I agree, but the Pats won all of their SBs in ugly fashion.

:laugh2: I'll take 'em any way we can get 'em.

 

[eightysiX]

definately, turnovers are going to be the key. also alot of those dumps to bennett and jones for their blitz packages.

 

[kramskoi]

an interesting bag of if's, could've and should've from this fan...but Football Outsiders tell a different story...he must also realize that Austin did'nt start until the fourth game of the season...his DVOA is #1 right now at 49.1%...Maclin is 32nd [5.1%] and Jackson 37th [1.7%]...

...overall, Jackson is'nt even in the top 35 for wideouts after week 8...he is good but you can't give someone something they have'nt earned...his primary threat is the home run and Dallas must make sure to bracket and at least control him...you won't stop him but you can limit the damage...

...the thing this fan misses about Austin is his elusiveness and low center of gravity...the RAC dimension which makes him a threat even when he is'nt beating coverage deep...at 215 lbs. he's outweighing cornerbacks and causing more than a few missed tackles...

 

[silverbear]

At one time, I was a regular poster on the AOL football message boards where I encountered one particular Eagles fan who epitomized the term "blind homer."

"Blind homer" seems to be a fair accusation of this alleged analyst... he ignores the problems that the Boys will pose the Iggles, and exaggerates the problems they'll cause the Boys...

He makes Maclin and Jackson sound like unstoppable juggernauts, yet the Iggles rank just 13th in the NFL in passing offense... he suggests the Boys will have to play 8 in the box on defense, yet his favorite team is just 15th in rushing offense...

And he ignores altogether that the Boys rank 2nd in the NFL in total offense, 1st in yards per play...

He talks about how many turnovers the Iggles force, then doesn't mention the Boys have turned the ball over just twice since the bye, both on fumbles... he doesn't mention that Romo has just 1 int in his last 178 attempts, none in his last 121 attempts... and in 5 of 7 games this year hasn't thrown one...

He talks about all the Iggles' sacks, conveniently ignoring that they have faced some of the worst pass protecting teams in the NFL-- Kansas City is 2nd worst, Oakland is 3rd worst, Washington is 5th worst, Carolina ranks 15th and Tampa Bay ranks 18th... the two good pass-blocking lines they faced, they sacked Brees twice in 36 attempts, and an immobile Eli, playing on a damaged foot, twice in 41 attempts...

And they'll be going up against a Cowboys team that has only allowed Tony to be sacked 13 times in 230 attempts...

Meanwhile, the Boys started slow in the sacks department, registering none in their first two games, but in the last five games, they've put up 17-- including 4 against Matt Ryan, who hadn't been sacked once in 4 and a half games prior to that... DeMarcus Ware will be going up against Jason Peters, who has pretty much been a turnstile this season (the Iggles have allowed 17 sacks in 236 attempts)...

Basically, this homer is trying to make the Iggles sound unbeatable... the same Iggles that got positively destroyed at home by the Saints, 48-22, giving up 421 yards in the process... the same Iggles that got beat by the pitiful Faiders, and outgained 325 yards to 283... the same Iggles that struggled to beat the comically inept Skins, again getting outgained by that powerful offense, 308 yards to 262... they actually made Jason Campbell look good, as he put up 284 yards passing on them...

The most revealing game was the Saints game... that's the only time they've faced an offense clicking on all cylinders, and they got TORCHED, to the tune of 48 points and 421 yards...

Yeah, when the Iggles get on a roll, they can put up a lot of points, rack up a lot of yards... but this year, they haven't gotten on a roll all that often... and when they face a potent offense, they have trouble stopping it...

But of course, this "analyst" is a homer, so he's not gonna mention inconvenient facts like the ones I've just outlined... LOL...

 

[jswalker1981]

Did I miss something??? When did Washington become good?

 

[dbair1967]

:trophy:

 

[TwoDeep3]

At one time, I was a regular poster on the AOL football message boards where I encountered one particular Eagles fan who epitomized the term "blind homer."

Many Cowboys fans despised him for his crass inflation of Philly's talent, but I found him to be hilarious: The more his opinions were picked apart and criticized, the more extreme his views became until he literally became a caricature of himself.

I thought it might provide some amusement if I gave you a sampling of his opinions (especially those on Desean Jackson towards the bottom) on the upcoming game:

If Dallas doesn't rattle McNabb early and often, the guy is right. Double Deshaun and watch Maclin light up single coverage.

Dallas can win this game. But they will need to keep McSoupySales from getting in rhythm.

If he is a blind homer and yet he is stating the truth, what does it make the guy trying to ridicule him who ignores that McNabb standing unmolested in the pocket will eat our lunch.

First place is there for the taking. But we will have to play a dang near perfect game to get there.

 

[jobberone]

If Dallas doesn't rattle McNabb early and often, the guy is right. Double Deshaun and watch Maclin light up single coverage.

Dallas can win this game. But they will need to keep McSoupySales from getting in rhythm.

If he is a blind homer and yet he is stating the truth, what does it make the guy trying to ridicule him who ignores that McNabb standing unmolested in the pocket will eat our lunch.

First place is there for the taking. But we will have to play a dang near perfect game to get there.

I don't think we have to play a near perfect game. If we play like we have then we should win this game. We're a better team IMO. We will have to pressure McNabb and contain him. Our O will take care of itself.

 

[NinePointOh]

Speaking of receivers who "feasted on bad defenses," literally 50% of Jackson's catches and 49% of his receiving yards this season have come against Oakland and Kansas City. The rest of the time, he's been a 2-3 catch per week receiver who can usually get one 50-yard touchdown in a game. He's a dangerous and talented deep threat, but he's not a go-to receiver and he doesn't typically take over a game.

 

[Smith22]

I wonder what he thought the Raiders chances were before they played Philly.

 

[Doomsday101]

I like our chances in this game. Right now Dallas is playing solid football on offense, defense and special teams. I don't look for that to stop now.