Boysboy
New Member
- Messages
- 4,852
- Reaction score
- 0
Eagles supremely confident going into Dallas
By Bob Brookover
Inquirer Staff Writer
The Eagles have seen what they can do in Texas Stadium, and they believe they can do it again tonight.
"This is like the Monday night game of the 2008 season," guard Shawn Andrews said Saturday. "I can't wait until after we get that W to go home and watch it again. I'm going to act as if I was not at the game, and I'm going to watch it with my turkey burger and my chips and my water."
That's about as confident as you can be going into a road game against the Dallas Cowboys, a team that is the Las Vegas favorite to represent the NFC in this season's Super Bowl.
The Eagles have good reason to be confident, too. The last two times they've played the Cowboys on the road, they went in as underdogs and left with victories. They didn't win by accident either. In both games, they won on the scoreboard and in all the statistical categories.
Tank Daniels, a reserve linebacker who was part of the New York Giants' Super Bowl championship squad that stunned the Cowboys in a divisional playoff game at Texas Stadium last season, said the right attitude is as important as the right game plan.
"I would just say it's about the 'want to,' " Daniels said. "It's hard to go into another team's stadium and take a victory. It's even more so during the playoffs, but Dallas being who they are, you just have to believe in yourself when everybody else writes you off.
"The team that I was part of last year, we all believed we could do it and we didn't listen to the outside folks or look at the predictions. Everybody had us to get beat, and I actually feel it's the same way here. We don't care that everybody is saying that Dallas is the Super Bowl team. We believe in ourselves and that's all you have to do. You have to go down there and play like you're a champion."
That's easier said than done, but the Eagles feel as though they have as much talent as America's Team.
Running back Brian Westbrook was asked during the practice week if he thought the Eagles could win a shoot-out with a Dallas offense that averaged 28.4 points per game last season and put up 28 in a season-opening win at Cleveland.
"I think we can, yes," Westbrook said. "I think that our defense played good last week, so hopefully it doesn't get to that point. But I think that if it comes down to that, we'll have some opportunities to make some plays, and I think we have the guys on this team that can make those plays."
Westbrook made more than his share of plays in the two wins at Dallas the last two seasons. He accounted for 203 yards rushing on 44 carries and 69 yards with 11 receptions. Correll Buckhalter still believes it's difficult for the Cowboys to figure out a way to stop Westbrook.
"If we split him out, you can't just put any safety on him," Buckhalter said. "You have to put your top cover safety or a cornerback on him. That opens it up for another receiver if they have to put a corner on Westbrook . . . and that's an advantage for us."
With the addition of rookie DeSean Jackson as a deep threat, the maturation of third-year receivers Jason Avant and Hank Baskett, and the good health of Donovan McNabb and tight end L.J. Smith, the Eagles feel as if they are better equipped than ever to attack the Dallas defense.
In order for that to happen, however, McNabb must be given time to get the football to his playmakers.
That's a huge challenge for veteran offensive tackles Jon Runyan and Tra Thomas, who must contend with outside linebackers DeMarcus Ware and Greg Ellis, a couple of Pro Bowlers who combined for 261/2 sacks last season.
Ware has recorded 51/2 sacks in six career games against the Eagles, and Ellis has nine sacks in 11 games against them since 2002.
"Ware has the ability to make things happen and Ellis reacts to things and takes advantage of them," Runyan said. "Ware pushes the issue more. One of the biggest things with [Ware] . . . is getting off the ball at the snap. It sounds simple, but I've seen people mess it up. If you're late off the ball, you turn and he's up the field on you and there's not much you can do about it."
Runyan said it is also important to adjust early.
"One of the biggest things is always: What are they going to do different that they haven't done before?" Runyan said. "You have to adjust to their 3-4. You look at New England and Dallas and Pittsburgh, they all run the same front, but their packages are completely different. Being able to adjust and treat the rules of what you're supposed to do is important. Having guys around that are used to that type of stuff is huge."
The Eagles have those guys on the offensive line, and one of them is ultra-confident going into tonight's game.
"We definitely have a little bit extra swag going on, and I definitely think we're in great shape," Andrews said. "I think we have a few dogs that never quit and keep fighting. I think we have advantages in some places and we just have to let it show."
http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/20080915_Eagles_supremely_confident_going_into_Dallas.html
By Bob Brookover
Inquirer Staff Writer
The Eagles have seen what they can do in Texas Stadium, and they believe they can do it again tonight.
"This is like the Monday night game of the 2008 season," guard Shawn Andrews said Saturday. "I can't wait until after we get that W to go home and watch it again. I'm going to act as if I was not at the game, and I'm going to watch it with my turkey burger and my chips and my water."
That's about as confident as you can be going into a road game against the Dallas Cowboys, a team that is the Las Vegas favorite to represent the NFC in this season's Super Bowl.
The Eagles have good reason to be confident, too. The last two times they've played the Cowboys on the road, they went in as underdogs and left with victories. They didn't win by accident either. In both games, they won on the scoreboard and in all the statistical categories.
Tank Daniels, a reserve linebacker who was part of the New York Giants' Super Bowl championship squad that stunned the Cowboys in a divisional playoff game at Texas Stadium last season, said the right attitude is as important as the right game plan.
"I would just say it's about the 'want to,' " Daniels said. "It's hard to go into another team's stadium and take a victory. It's even more so during the playoffs, but Dallas being who they are, you just have to believe in yourself when everybody else writes you off.
"The team that I was part of last year, we all believed we could do it and we didn't listen to the outside folks or look at the predictions. Everybody had us to get beat, and I actually feel it's the same way here. We don't care that everybody is saying that Dallas is the Super Bowl team. We believe in ourselves and that's all you have to do. You have to go down there and play like you're a champion."
That's easier said than done, but the Eagles feel as though they have as much talent as America's Team.
Running back Brian Westbrook was asked during the practice week if he thought the Eagles could win a shoot-out with a Dallas offense that averaged 28.4 points per game last season and put up 28 in a season-opening win at Cleveland.
"I think we can, yes," Westbrook said. "I think that our defense played good last week, so hopefully it doesn't get to that point. But I think that if it comes down to that, we'll have some opportunities to make some plays, and I think we have the guys on this team that can make those plays."
Westbrook made more than his share of plays in the two wins at Dallas the last two seasons. He accounted for 203 yards rushing on 44 carries and 69 yards with 11 receptions. Correll Buckhalter still believes it's difficult for the Cowboys to figure out a way to stop Westbrook.
"If we split him out, you can't just put any safety on him," Buckhalter said. "You have to put your top cover safety or a cornerback on him. That opens it up for another receiver if they have to put a corner on Westbrook . . . and that's an advantage for us."
With the addition of rookie DeSean Jackson as a deep threat, the maturation of third-year receivers Jason Avant and Hank Baskett, and the good health of Donovan McNabb and tight end L.J. Smith, the Eagles feel as if they are better equipped than ever to attack the Dallas defense.
In order for that to happen, however, McNabb must be given time to get the football to his playmakers.
That's a huge challenge for veteran offensive tackles Jon Runyan and Tra Thomas, who must contend with outside linebackers DeMarcus Ware and Greg Ellis, a couple of Pro Bowlers who combined for 261/2 sacks last season.
Ware has recorded 51/2 sacks in six career games against the Eagles, and Ellis has nine sacks in 11 games against them since 2002.
"Ware has the ability to make things happen and Ellis reacts to things and takes advantage of them," Runyan said. "Ware pushes the issue more. One of the biggest things with [Ware] . . . is getting off the ball at the snap. It sounds simple, but I've seen people mess it up. If you're late off the ball, you turn and he's up the field on you and there's not much you can do about it."
Runyan said it is also important to adjust early.
"One of the biggest things is always: What are they going to do different that they haven't done before?" Runyan said. "You have to adjust to their 3-4. You look at New England and Dallas and Pittsburgh, they all run the same front, but their packages are completely different. Being able to adjust and treat the rules of what you're supposed to do is important. Having guys around that are used to that type of stuff is huge."
The Eagles have those guys on the offensive line, and one of them is ultra-confident going into tonight's game.
"We definitely have a little bit extra swag going on, and I definitely think we're in great shape," Andrews said. "I think we have a few dogs that never quit and keep fighting. I think we have advantages in some places and we just have to let it show."
http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/20080915_Eagles_supremely_confident_going_into_Dallas.html
