The Cowboys are better than last year, The Eagles are worse

[blueblood70]

There defense will be weaker but we have to stop the run / Hurts scrambling

go check game 1 Hurts did not go off in the scramble game from my RAM.. we lost that game over rush making far too many mistakes. Like the playoffs the D actually stood up against the run.. it was the middle of year they fell off some but closed well.

 

[blueblood70]

You got the crux of the debate in the middle section of your comments. When the season started last year I kept saying to my Philly faithful, "Yeah, but you're still limited with Hurts." That aged terribly. And, I said that believing our QB was firmly a top 5-10 QB. I'm just hopeful of that now.

It will be interesting to see if Hurts regresses given the coaching changes. Always depends on the principals involved and sadly there's the potential for him to continue to improve. See how the Giants offensively are starting to look somewhat organized with Daboll and Josh Allen didn't seem as sharp without his previous O-coordinator. Some coaches certainly can make a difference.

it didn't, the difference from year 1 to 3 was them going all in with talent around Hurts and got hurts new coaches and toys. THats the only difference ie Dak had many of his toys taken away like Cooper ie our AJ Brown, also lost Ced, Cwill, Collins. jarwin and turner. This was not the same O form the years before like 2021 37 tds 10 INts you call that falling-off permanently over one year daks skill players caused many fo the issues, ad din OL etc .

 

[baltcowboy]

We upgraded our biggest weaknesses last year -- DT, WR2 and CB2.

The Eagles? They got Jalen Carter, who will not replace Hargraves production for at least a couple years. And Nolan Smith, who is a duplicate of Reddick. You're not playing two 235 DE at the same time.

Meanwhile, they lost both starting safeties, their best linebacker, their best starting guard. Both coordinators. Five key players for them are over 33 (Slay, Cox, Johnson, Kelce, and Graham). Hargraves was their best D player, the entire glue. They have 2.25 wide receivers, one who could break in a strong wind. Their QB got paid.

AND, the Georgia stuff just might be too cute. Get a bunch of young, immature players who are bros from college and bring them to big city. Tell them they are Super Bowl locks. Heap praise on the Eagles all off season. Recipe meet disaster. Not to mention the history of Super Bowl losers.

They still have a great roster. But so do we. Best one since the 90s. We're better today than last year. And the Eagles are worse, despite what Steven A. Smith and Colin Cowturd and Chandler Random say

The Eagles have the best raw talent in the league especially on defense but you don’t really want to depend on that because it’s so young. For the Eagles to be a top defense next year they will be depending on Davis, Carter and Dean to be major players in their front 7. I would not bet the farm on those guys working out based on last season’s performance of Davis/Dean and Carter being immature. The Eagles also lost two coordinators and I don’t think their goofy head coach is the next Shanahan. The most important issue with the Eagles is now they are the hunted. Teams are drafting and coaching to beat them. For example the Cowboys draft was set up to beat the Eagles/49ers. The Cowboys appear to have drafted a linebacker whose job will basically be to take Hurts head off. Our secondaries matches up player for player with the Eagles receivers. Hurts got the big contract so he will start getting the Dak treatment from the media. This season will be tough for them mentally.

 

[75boyz]

This is foolish for me to post this as all I'm doing is putting material out there for you guys to criticize and poke at, but I was asked for a review instead of just saying I did one. It's just my perspective which I'm respectfully not ramming down anyone's gullet.

In the back end Philly lost Gardner-Johnson and Epps. I believe CJ was considered the bigger loss and he’s being replaced by Edmunds. PFF has similar grades on both players with TE graded ahead of CJ with higher coverage and run grades. Edmunds will benefit from Philly’s corners being resigned, more very positive offseason moves that can’t be overlooked, and we shouldn’t be surprised to see TE’s INT’s on the uptick. You could pair with him the 3-round safety that garnered All-Big Ten Conference honors while leading the Big Ten with 6 picks which placed him third in FBS. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if you see Evans back there with Edmunds instead of the rook, Blankenship, or K’Von Wallace. With what they do up front and retained on the edges (added Greedy Williams also), I wouldn’t expect a drop-off in the back end. Remember, they also smartly got a toy in the forth round in the speedy Ringo.

Edwards was a loss but he was one of the lucky recipients of what the beef up front did. He’ll be replaced by Morrow and Nakobe Dean who will be essentially coming off a red-shirt type year. He didn’t need to see the field with TJ and White on the field and it’s a good thing as he struggled with the formation transition of the Birds defense. Word has it he’s really set to go now. Remember, Dallas fans were tickled when Morrow was rumored to be a potential acquisition, well now he’s taking his 2022, 116 tackles to Philly where tackles at the position will be much easier to come by. Not concerned about this position. Besides, they have another 1st round toy in Nolan Smith, that they’re going to have to find a place for – perhaps a la Parsons. That will be a dynamic they didn't have last year.

Hargrave is gone but the Birds are throwing quality bodies at the d-line. Jordan Davis will play a bigger role after a needed year in the weight room and look at that, his buddy with “generational talent” joins him on the line as well as a very nice late round get in Ojomo. Add to that another D-lineman, Kentavius Street, and don’t discount Cox coming back and the there are plenty of ****-disturbers still lingering on the Philly front.

Seumalo was a nice player that took a long time to develop and it felt as if the guy was one misstep away from an injury. How many games did he play in the ’20 and ’21 seasons combined? Underrated and underappreciated but was not the linchpin of the line by any stretch and has had the luxury of being sandwiched between Kelce and Johnson last year. They’ll fill in just fine with Cam Jurgens this year and oh look, they smartly drafted a player in the 2nd round to compete at the position in the future.

They got better in the backfield. Sanders was nice, but the combo of Penny and Swift? I’d be worried if I just had one due to injury history but having both is sweet. Still, if I were to pick a pass-catching group I’d take Philly over Dallas. It’s the receiving ability at the TE position that swings the pendulum. QB – Hurts. So, I don’t see their offense declining and the addition of Cooks and a blocking TE really doesn’t do it for me in terms of closing the gap.

So, overall they may have a little different look but they also will play with more team speed and they have solid depth. Don’t overlook a few of the vets getting together to seal the deal this year.

There's another thread where I generated a post on the Cowboys draft so to stop my rambling I'll just summarize one more time. The Cowboys draft was a "C" with a max. potential of being a "B". The players we selected haven't exhibited the explosive style of play (more than the rare occasion) to expect this class to be afforded and "A" grade, and the FO missed opportunities to push this roster where it needs to be. We didn't close the gap.

I'd say you passed on your draft acquisition summary here man, lol.
Pretty much a home run.
Great read and job.

 

[Sydla]

it didn't, the difference from year 1 to 3 was them going all in with talent around Hurts and got hurts new coaches and toys. THats the only difference ie Dak had many of his toys taken away like Cooper ie our AJ Brown, also lost Ced, Cwill, Collins. jarwin and turner. This was not the same O form the years before like 2021 37 tds 10 INts you call that falling-off permanently over one year daks skill players caused many fo the issues, ad din OL etc .

So to be clear, you are saying Hurts only improved because he got some better weapons and he ended up better than Dak last year because Dak didn't have weapons?

I mean, sure, getting better weapons would help any QB, even the elite QBs, but Hurts made some massive improvements as a QB and to deny that is just kind of silly. The dude is apparently a tireless worker and clearly has a skill set. So sure, getting AJ Brown was massive for him, the guy worked his tail off and made himself into a better QB. Now will that continue? Was last year just a mirage? I guess we will find out.

 

[Havic]

go check game 1 Hurts did not go off in the scramble game from my RAM.. we lost that game over rush making far too many mistakes. Like the playoffs the D actually stood up against the run.. it was the middle of year they fell off some but closed well.

our defense was completely different at the end of the year. That game and a few before the defense was elite, #1 type elite.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

Gannon was kind of a putz. Some of the "records" on his watch were pretty sad. He was stubborn with his zone defenses even when QBs kept picking them apart over and over and over. I think in 2021, Philly had some weird stat where like 7 QBs had completion percentages over 70% against them or something like that.

I understand but to pretend like he offered nothing to that defense is insane to me. I don’t believe they lucked into 70 sacks.

 

[blueblood70]

our defense was completely different at the end of the year. That game and a few before the defense was elite, #1 type elite.

agree on that BUT they found their stride in the playoffs, it finished strong as well..you watch those playoff games outside of a few missed plays or a big plays that one by kittles as they were on the field alot...they were that elite D..isnt that what you want, have them pay their best in the playoffs.

we lost a lot of players mid-season like Lewis and Brown and had some issues with Hankins, parsons, and others that created that shaky play but they got back on track late,

 

[Sydla]

I understand but to pretend like he offered nothing to that defense is insane to me. I don’t believe they lucked into 70 sacks.

I don't think he offered nothing. I mean they did lead the league in sacks, could generate turnovers and were good enough to not be an anchor for a team that went to the SB last season.

But he definitely took some shelling over some of his defenses performances where his stubbornness with zone schemes really cost them.

And who knows, Desai could be worse.

 

[Reverend Conehead]

its 2 early. I luv my team but in reality, all we can do is sit and wait. We can gage better this in camp

That's exactly it. It's way to early to know how strong each NFC East team will be, and really how strong any team in any division will be. Both the Eagles and the Cowboys have made offseason moves that at least appear to make them better teams, but we won't know until teams actually take the field and play games whether the new players are going to work out for their respective teams.

 

[Pola_pe_a]

Philly TE better as a starter, but Dallas TE's better as a group. I don't think they have anyone at TE if Goedert goes down. We seen that last season somewhat.
QB based on a good year by Jalen, a bad year by Dak. That could flip in 2023. But yeah for now Philly.
CB, not so sure it is a push. Adding Gilmore, I give Dallas the edge there but a slight edge.

Pretty much agree on everything else.

The Dallas TE room has a total of 315 career receiving yards.
The Eagles back-ups have 245 so not sure how you can say the Dallas room is better.

 

[BoyzBlaster]

ehh they’re largely the same player with hurts a better runner and Dak a better passer. This season thst got Hurts 50 mil apy is hyper comparable to Daks rookie year. The one that got him labeled a bus driver.

Dak started the season as a better passer, but Hurts passed him by unfortunately.

 

[jazzcat22]

The Dallas TE room has a total of 315 career receiving yards.
The Eagles back-ups have 245 so not sure how you can say the Dallas room is better.

Potential is there. 3 TE's that can be productive if Schoonmaker works out. The other 2 will be more productive with Schiltz gone. We seen what they can do. As there was not a huge drop off between them and Schultz. Even McKeon is very limited playing time looked decent.

As I said Philly drop off was very noticeable without Goedert.
Only Philly homers would think otherwise, or a Dallas fan being a contrarian as not to look like a homer. And for a Dallas fan to say this, is not being a homer IMO.

 

[jterrell]

The NFL Zone is right there >>>>>>

 

[phildadon86]

The biggest thing with the Eagles IMO is 1) Injuries. They got VERY lucky last season. Penny and Swift are both IR spots waiting to happen. When they started losing players, they stopped looking like a juggernaut. 2) They have a first place schedule. I think people really underestimate how playing nobodies all year made them look a lot better than they were.

That being said. The eagles FO has been running circles around ours the last 2 years and anyone who claims otherwise is just being delusional. The difference between a FO that wants to win and a GM that has no job security compared to a FO that doesnt have to worry about being fired, or winning is night and day.

Lucky for us. Offseason moves are only part of the issue. Winning on the field is what matters. Philly had a great off-season. Lets see it translate now. Dallas had a pretty good offseason before the draft. I loved the Mazi pick, but not fortifying LG and RB is going to come back to bite us. I have a bad feeling about this (May the fourth comment)

 

[leeblair]

We upgraded our biggest weaknesses last year -- DT, WR2 and CB2.

The Eagles? They got Jalen Carter, who will not replace Hargraves production for at least a couple years. And Nolan Smith, who is a duplicate of Reddick. You're not playing two 235 DE at the same time.

Meanwhile, they lost both starting safeties, their best linebacker, their best starting guard. Both coordinators. Five key players for them are over 33 (Slay, Cox, Johnson, Kelce, and Graham). Hargraves was their best D player, the entire glue. They have 2.25 wide receivers, one who could break in a strong wind. Their QB got paid.

AND, the Georgia stuff just might be too cute. Get a bunch of young, immature players who are bros from college and bring them to big city. Tell them they are Super Bowl locks. Heap praise on the Eagles all off season. Recipe meet disaster. Not to mention the history of Super Bowl losers.

They still have a great roster. But so do we. Best one since the 90s. We're better today than last year. And the Eagles are worse, despite what Steven A. Smith and Colin Cowturd and Chandler Random say

The Cowboys were the better team last year, but their achilles heel rremains.
Dak is still there to choke in big games.

 

[Robster8989]

Go for it... They picked up worse players at lb and safety and guard. like I said.

You do need to do a more thorough and objective analysis of their off season.
On paper, they are a more complete team right now.
The off season is not over, so we can still catch up, and it will come down to how the teams perform on the field.

You mention Guard. Yes, they lost Semalu (Dickerson is their best guard BTW), but they have Cam Juergens, last years 2nd rounder, whom they are very high on, to step in. The Eagles have become adept at this. Bringing in a guy and having him understudy for a year, then moving him into the starting lineup. Will he be as good as Semalu? Only time will tell, but he's a really good prospect who will be playing between 2 of the finest ever to play their positions (Kelce and Johnson).

The same could be said at LB. They lost Edwards (and White), but they drafted Nakobe Dean in the 3rd last year. Many felt he was a first round talent, and slipped due to injury concern. He will be their starting Mike this season and should replace Edwards quite well.

They did lose both Safeties, but return Edmunds and Blakenship, who played a lot for them, and added a highly touted draft pick in Sydney Brown. They return all 3 of their fine CB's.

They replaced RB Sanders with Swift, which may actually be an upgrade, and added Nolan Smith to the mix. And of course the Carter for Hargrave swap. As important (at DT), they have a DEEP rotation, and return Davis, Cox, Milton Williams and Tuipolotu, along with Carter. They take that position much more seriously than the Cowboys have. Glad to see us finally ackowledge that with Mazi, but we still do not have anywhere near the Eagles Depth at DT.

My concern right now for the Cowboys is this:
We moved on from Moore, and will now have MM call the plays. He is more a west coast, ball control kind of guy.
I get that and agree with it. Ask less of Dak. More quick drops and simple reads will help him.
More ball control on O will help keep our D fresh. We have worn down at times, and Mazi will help that big time.
I like what we have done on D a lot. I feel we can now be as physical as the Eagles and Niners on D.

What I question is that if we want to run more, be more ball control, we need our OL to dominate the LOS (like the Eagles do), and I don't see that right now. I was shocked Torrence was there in the 2nd, and even more shcoked that we past on him. I would have liked to see us invest in a physically dominant IOL. Someone who, long term, we could pair with Tyler Smith on the left side and run behind for years to come.
We didn't do that. I like Schoon, I'm a U of M guy, but I feel we reached there bevause we needed a TE and they were coming off the board so fast. So we are either relying on Tyron to remain healthly (which is highly doubtful), or that Edoga or Farniok to suddenly blossom? Edoga played 50 snaps last year, and has never been that good. Farniok I like as a multi position role player off the bench, but I'm not sure he is NFL starter material, So I see a hole in the Cowboys right now. Maybe Tyron plays an entie season, and it never becomes an issue. It's possible.

I'm not an Eagles fan, but they have a great front office, and have done an amazing job, on paper at least, of retooling on the run.
On paper at least, they are a more complete team right now, but as I said, the offseason is not over, we still have money to spend in FA, and utlimately it will come down to performing on the field. Last year doesn't matter anymore, both the Eagles and Cowboys are new teams this year.

 

[LysleE]

I think it’s premature to say Dallas is better, just as it is premature to say Philly is worse. But given the most recent performance, one would have to say, at least by that marker, Philly was better than Dallas.
So I will wait until both teams play a few games to render a decision.

 

[jazzcat22]

I think it’s premature to say Dallas is better, just as it is premature to say Philly is worse. But given the most recent performance, one would have to say, at least by that marker, Philly was better than Dallas.
So I will wait until both teams play a few games to render a decision.

I usually go with whatever team won the division as the favorite to repeat.
Unless there are significant changes. And right now there is not any between the 2 teams.
Though I feel Dallas gained ground on them, and can still win the division. But yes, lets see them the field first.

For now Philly but not by much.
I think Detroit improved enough and made better changes and can win the NFCN over the Vikings, and GB without AR may be a non factor.
SF in NFCW of course
NFCS up for grabs.

AFCN, Bengals still over Baltimore, and who knows with the other 2 teams right now.
AFCE will be tough, but will stay with Buffalo, but Miami or NYJ could as well also.
AFCW, KC
AFCS, Jacksonville for now.

Also I think Dallas has a tougher schedule than Philly for a 2nd place team in Dallas. Which is really strange.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

I think it’s premature to say Dallas is better, just as it is premature to say Philly is worse. But given the most recent performance, one would have to say, at least by that marker, Philly was better than Dallas.
So I will wait until both teams play a few games to render a decision.

Its not premature to say Dallas's roster is better this year than last year. Now if you want to say they re worse because of Kellen's departure that's a fair criticism...but personnel wise there is no doubt in my mind they got better. Personnel wise Eagles lost depth and lost starters and are replacing them with rookies and 2nd year guys. Could work out. Might not. Hard to say now.