What must the East be thinking?

Idgit

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Commanders are going to have a good team. I'm having a hard time handicapping the Giants with the new coach and the bad OL underneath the talent they've got already and the huge offseason in free agency.

The Eagles are going to be bad.
 

CowboyRoy

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The eagles and Commanders have been trying to build through free agency for years now and it hasn't worked. The giants and Cowboys have pretty much stuck to adding draft picks. The Giants have just been drafting horribly, while the Cowboys have been making smart picks. We have finally been taking the right approach to building a team by not paying old players and making great draft picks. While it may not translate into a Superbowl this season or at all, its refreshing to see.

Did you forget the Commanders won the NFC East last year? How is that NOT working?
 

CowboyRoy

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Commanders are going to have a good team. I'm having a hard time handicapping the Giants with the new coach and the bad OL underneath the talent they've got already and the huge offseason in free agency.

The Eagles are going to be a bad team.

Your analysis of the NFC East seems right on par.
 

Idgit

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Your analysis of the NFC East seems right on par.

Yeah, I read my post right after I read yours. We pretty much see it the same way.

I left out Dallas earlier. We're a team that's going to beat up on some bad teams offensively and end up looking better than we actually are. I think we're probably better than the Skins, but we'll be going back and forth with them for most of the season. We should be the favorites to win the East if we keep Romo upright, but when we play teams that are good on both sides of the ball, the defense won't have the advantage of playing with two score leads and everything becomes a toss-up. We'll have to take offensive chances to keep pace, and that eventually catches up with you.

Unless some of the young question marks on the DL develop really quickly. We've got enough wild cards back there that I could see them gelling and playing pretty good (bottom of the top third of the league-ish) defense by year end. If we get better defensively, we'll have a competitive team this year. But we should have done more to give ourselves a better chance of that. As it is, we're relying on long shots to come through when we didn't really have to.
 
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Actually, no.

The Commander fans are in full panic right now. They didn't have a good camp, and they haven't looked good at all in preseason.

The Giants could barely manage a first down against the same Dolphin team Dallas toyed with.

And Eagle fans are bracing for a 4-win season. They've already put Green-Beckham in the starting lineup because Aghalor looks like a bust. The offense is putrid because the offensive line is horrendous.

Yeah, that's definitely not the case around here. Depth is improved in many areas of the team, and the team and fans are optimistic that they can continue to build off of last year.
RB is the only big concern, and in that regard they have not looked good this year, but along the same lines, they didn't last year either, so it's a push so far. This team made it's bones by throwing last year, and that doesn't seem likely to change with guys like Jackson, Reed, Crowder, Garcon, Davis, Ross and Doctson (eventually)

The defense should be massively improved with a 1-2 punch of Norman and Breeland, plus upgrades at safety, ILB and DL
Gallette being lost for the year sucked, but he hadn't done anything for us previously so you can't miss what you never had.
WR depth is great, and we don't even have to worry about rushing Doctson onto the field, because he'd be a #4 with this group at first anyway.
All the OL starters are back this year which is good, if injury were to strike the backups have shown they're capable at the very least.

Assuming everyone stays healthy for the long haul, there's no reason to expect less than last year, simply because the overall talent level has increased. I will say this, there is certainly alot less if's about the Commanders than op proposes about your Cowboys team.

IF Romo stays healthy
IF Elliot is what he was drafted to be and the DV allegations are untrue
IF Lawrence and Gregory can pull their heads out of their backsides and stay off the bong
IF Smith fully recovers and is productive
IF Prescott is the real deal and not a preseason mirage (Although I'll admit, he looked poised and threw well in his first 2 games)
IF all the unprovens along the DL actually pan out (statistically, those are long odds)

to be honest with you, Nobody around here is afraid of dallas, with or without Romo, with or without Bryant. As a whole, Bryant hasn't been a world beater against us, Romo has at times, but he's also been the one to lose games to us, by throwing picks late at the end of the game.
Don't get all upset about this, because it's not directed at you, but while your guys OL is great (I'll admit that) It's not a giant cause for concern, because you guys are so deficient in many other areas. Nobody here really thinks you guys are a threat to win anything because of your historic underachievement. even that 12-4 season is looked at around here as an anomaly as opposed to the norm. (when looking at the records of the last 5-10 years, statistically it was)

Now I'm not claiming the Commanders have been sooo great the last decade, because they have flat out sucked for the most part. But the team is light years away from the disorganized mess it was 2 years ago.
We were like you guys are, right now completely dependent on starters staying healthy and if one goes down, the whole house of cards collapses because the backups were mostly worthless.
We are digging our way out of that, and we're not there yet but are much improved from a few years ago in that regard.
 

bayeslife

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Homerish post but I love the excitement.

One thing I'm looking forward to is the offense this year. We know the defense is suspect but the offense has the tools to be a juggernaut. There really are no holes besides maybe WR depth.
 

Diehardblues

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If this era has taught us anything it should be not to gloat during preseason or before The season begins.

We have been determined paper champions before.

Remember reality doesn't begin until after Labor Day.
 

CowboyRoy

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Yeah, I read my post right after I read yours. We pretty much see it the same way.

I left out Dallas earlier. We're a team that's going to beat up on some bad teams offensively and end up looking better than we actually are. I think we're probably better than the Skins, but we'll be going back and forth with them for most of the season. We should be the favorites to win the East if we keep Romo upright, but when we play teams that are good on both sides of the ball, the defense won't have the advantage of playing with two score leads and everything becomes a toss-up. We'll have to take offensive chances to keep pace, and that eventually catches up with you.

Unless some of the young question marks on the DL develop really quickly. We've got enough wild cards back there that I could see them gelling and playing pretty good (bottom of the top third of the league-ish) defense by year end. If we get better defensively, we'll have a competitive team this year. But we should have done more to give ourselves a better chance of that. As it is, we're relying on long shots to come through when we didn't really have to.

If Romo is healthy we will steam roll on offense. No doubt.

But I think this defense struggles getting pressure until at least Lawrence gets back. And even then its a big concern. Crawford also has to be healthy and someone other than Lee has to step up at the LB position. I am hoping that Wilson can be that guy.

The most important thing is that we stop the run. If we have to put 4 DT's out there to do it, then that is what we need to do. Must make teams one dimensional. If we can do that, then this defense has a shot to compete. The great offenses will still gouge us, but we can compete with our own offense there.
 

CowboyRoy

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Yeah, that's definitely not the case around here. Depth is improved in many areas of the team, and the team and fans are optimistic that they can continue to build off of last year.
RB is the only big concern, and in that regard they have not looked good this year, but along the same lines, they didn't last year either, so it's a push so far. This team made it's bones by throwing last year, and that doesn't seem likely to change with guys like Jackson, Reed, Crowder, Garcon, Davis, Ross and Doctson (eventually)

The defense should be massively improved with a 1-2 punch of Norman and Breeland, plus upgrades at safety, ILB and DL
Gallette being lost for the year sucked, but he hadn't done anything for us previously so you can't miss what you never had.
WR depth is great, and we don't even have to worry about rushing Doctson onto the field, because he'd be a #4 with this group at first anyway.
All the OL starters are back this year which is good, if injury were to strike the backups have shown they're capable at the very least.

Assuming everyone stays healthy for the long haul, there's no reason to expect less than last year, simply because the overall talent level has increased. I will say this, there is certainly alot less if's about the Commanders than op proposes about your Cowboys team.

IF Romo stays healthy
IF Elliot is what he was drafted to be and the DV allegations are untrue
IF Lawrence and Gregory can pull their heads out of their backsides and stay off the bong
IF Smith fully recovers and is productive
IF Prescott is the real deal and not a preseason mirage (Although I'll admit, he looked poised and threw well in his first 2 games)
IF all the unprovens along the DL actually pan out (statistically, those are long odds)

to be honest with you, Nobody around here is afraid of dallas, with or without Romo, with or without Bryant. As a whole, Bryant hasn't been a world beater against us, Romo has at times, but he's also been the one to lose games to us, by throwing picks late at the end of the game.
Don't get all upset about this, because it's not directed at you, but while your guys OL is great (I'll admit that) It's not a giant cause for concern, because you guys are so deficient in many other areas. Nobody here really thinks you guys are a threat to win anything because of your historic underachievement. even that 12-4 season is looked at around here as an anomaly as opposed to the norm. (when looking at the records of the last 5-10 years, statistically it was)

Now I'm not claiming the Commanders have been sooo great the last decade, because they have flat out sucked for the most part. But the team is light years away from the disorganized mess it was 2 years ago.
We were like you guys are, right now completely dependent on starters staying healthy and if one goes down, the whole house of cards collapses because the backups were mostly worthless.
We are digging our way out of that, and we're not there yet but are much improved from a few years ago in that regard.

Ah and the voice of reality. Thank you.

Like I said, why would anyone be afraid of Dallas at this point? And I see the Commanders being better than last year.
 

Blackspider214

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I don't ever remember the Commanders winning the offseason. They just sign a bunch of disgruntled and old free agents. They are the champions of duct tape.

I still remember when Snyder first got there, I heard so many hype up their 2000 off season. Where they signed these vets at the very end of their career like Deion and Bruce Smith. And they were junk that year. They have a habit of having that approach.

Cowboys should win the East if Romo stays upright. Eagles will most likely be last. Giants can be dangerous on offense. I think they will be better than the Skins.
 

Cowboysfan1975

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Did you forget the Commanders won the NFC East last year? How is that NOT working?
They won because the rest if the east was terrible. So yeah they were the best team in the worst division. Other than that what have they accomplished in the last 25 years. They have been the worst NFC east team forever, outside of a couple of years.
 

CowboyRoy

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They won because the rest if the east was terrible. So yeah they were the best team in the worst division. Other than that what have they accomplished in the last 25 years. They have been the worst NFC east team forever, outside of a couple of years.

The last 25 years has NOTHING to do with last years team or this years team. They also won last year because they found a QB that busted out. Unless that was a one year wonder there is no reason why they shouldn't be explosive again. I dont see him as a one year wonder.
 

ActualCowboysFan

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Huh?

The reality is the east loves playing Dallas. Could there ever be a more simple team to prepare for and get motivated to play? The team is constantly on tv, radio...Nationally and locally.

Other teams coaching staffs probably love the Dallas week. With all the attention Dallas gets the other east teams probably mark the calendar to get a piece of Dallas.

Just read the other teams newspapers and websites the week leading up to playing Dallas, teams all of a sudden become motivated and whatever was going on goes away and they all get bombarded with questions about Romo, Dez, Witten etc..

The east teams are equally as talented to me. The giants and Commanders offense should be able to score with dallas and probably have the better defenses. Philly has the better defense but we need to see the offense first before we know what they are.

Our fans have been doing this since 05. We have a talented team but its not the NBA, the whole team needs to be good and play well.


Tony Romo is 14-5 in his last 19 against the East. Dallas only won 4 games last year and still managed to beat each of the other teams in the division. If they're looking forward to playing Dallas it's because they've eaten the cheese.
 

ActualCowboysFan

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Yeah, that's definitely not the case around here. Depth is improved in many areas of the team, and the team and fans are optimistic that they can continue to build off of last year.
RB is the only big concern, and in that regard they have not looked good this year, but along the same lines, they didn't last year either, so it's a push so far. This team made it's bones by throwing last year, and that doesn't seem likely to change with guys like Jackson, Reed, Crowder, Garcon, Davis, Ross and Doctson (eventually)

The defense should be massively improved with a 1-2 punch of Norman and Breeland, plus upgrades at safety, ILB and DL
Gallette being lost for the year sucked, but he hadn't done anything for us previously so you can't miss what you never had.
WR depth is great, and we don't even have to worry about rushing Doctson onto the field, because he'd be a #4 with this group at first anyway.
All the OL starters are back this year which is good, if injury were to strike the backups have shown they're capable at the very least.

Assuming everyone stays healthy for the long haul, there's no reason to expect less than last year, simply because the overall talent level has increased. I will say this, there is certainly alot less if's about the Commanders than op proposes about your Cowboys team.

IF Romo stays healthy
IF Elliot is what he was drafted to be and the DV allegations are untrue
IF Lawrence and Gregory can pull their heads out of their backsides and stay off the bong
IF Smith fully recovers and is productive
IF Prescott is the real deal and not a preseason mirage (Although I'll admit, he looked poised and threw well in his first 2 games)
IF all the unprovens along the DL actually pan out (statistically, those are long odds)

to be honest with you, Nobody around here is afraid of dallas, with or without Romo, with or without Bryant. As a whole, Bryant hasn't been a world beater against us, Romo has at times, but he's also been the one to lose games to us, by throwing picks late at the end of the game.
Don't get all upset about this, because it's not directed at you, but while your guys OL is great (I'll admit that) It's not a giant cause for concern, because you guys are so deficient in many other areas. Nobody here really thinks you guys are a threat to win anything because of your historic underachievement. even that 12-4 season is looked at around here as an anomaly as opposed to the norm. (when looking at the records of the last 5-10 years, statistically it was)

Now I'm not claiming the Commanders have been sooo great the last decade, because they have flat out sucked for the most part. But the team is light years away from the disorganized mess it was 2 years ago.
We were like you guys are, right now completely dependent on starters staying healthy and if one goes down, the whole house of cards collapses because the backups were mostly worthless.
We are digging our way out of that, and we're not there yet but are much improved from a few years ago in that regard.


The Commanders lost to Matt Cassell. At home. Their QB has never beaten a team with a winning record. And you want to talk anomaly? The Commanders haven't won the division without a fourth place schedule since George Bush was in office. The first Bush. You should be on your knees praying for an anomaly.
 

theebs

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Tony Romo is 14-5 in his last 19 against the East. Dallas only won 4 games last year and still managed to beat each of the other teams in the division. If they're looking forward to playing Dallas it's because they've eaten the cheese.

Hey I hope it continues. I just don't think we are that much more talented than the giants or Commanders. I think NY and Washington are going to score a lot of points. The giants have potential to combust with some of the stuff they have going on but I don't expect that to happen week 1, our games vs NY always look the same.

All of the east teams seem really different than in years past. I am not completely buying the Commanders but until I see their offense struggle I believe they are good on that side of the ball. They lost some size on defense but a healthy Ryan Kerrigan and the addition of Norman make me think they will be at least average on defense.

The other thing Romo has is that he has not lost to a spagnuolo defense since the 07 playoff game. I think Garrett/Romo this staff or whoever you want to credit know what is coming. Having said that the giants have built a defense that will allow them to play man to man and blitz from all over. That could be a real problem if the giants are leading late in the game. A good blitzing team can cause a lot of problems.
 

ActualCowboysFan

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Hey I hope it continues. I just don't think we are that much more talented than the giants or Commanders. I think NY and Washington are going to score a lot of points. The giants have potential to combust with some of the stuff they have going on but I don't expect that to happen week 1, our games vs NY always look the same.

All of the east teams seem really different than in years past. I am not completely buying the Commanders but until I see their offense struggle I believe they are good on that side of the ball. They lost some size on defense but a healthy Ryan Kerrigan and the addition of Norman make me think they will be at least average on defense.

The other thing Romo has is that he has not lost to a spagnuolo defense since the 07 playoff game. I think Garrett/Romo this staff or whoever you want to credit know what is coming. Having said that the giants have built a defense that will allow them to play man to man and blitz from all over. That could be a real problem if the giants are leading late in the game. A good blitzing team can cause a lot of problems.

Our games against NY when Tony starts all do look the same. They have Dallas with more points in each of them since 2012 when they lost by a literal fingertip.
 

Sydla

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Assuming everyone stays healthy for the long haul, there's no reason to expect less than last year, simply because the overall talent level has increased. I will say this, there is certainly alot less if's about the Commanders than op proposes about your Cowboys team.

IF Romo stays healthy
IF Elliot is what he was drafted to be and the DV allegations are untrue
IF Lawrence and Gregory can pull their heads out of their backsides and stay off the bong
IF Smith fully recovers and is productive
IF Prescott is the real deal and not a preseason mirage (Although I'll admit, he looked poised and threw well in his first 2 games)
IF all the unprovens along the DL actually pan out (statistically, those are long odds)

What does Jaylon Smith have to do with this coming year? It was well established that he likely wouldn't play this year.

Lawrence wasn't flagged for pot. Try again.

And the Skins have the biggest question of any of the NFCE teams. Is Cousins the real deal. If he's not, the Skins are dead in the water.
 

UTmodisette

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It's going to be fun watching all of the dissapointed Cowboys haters this year. They got worried after the 12-4 year, but a Romo/Dez injury destroys the 2015 season making everyone believe 2014 was just an anamoly. Dallas had the 4th most efficient offense in 2014, and it fell to 31st in 2015. The defense wasn't why Dallas went 4-12. I actually see the offense being better than 2014, we return everyone from that offense with 2 more years experience while still managing to stay very young. Sub Collins for Leary, Zeke/Morris for Murray, and Butler for Street. Overall the talent, depth, and experience on offense is better than it was in 2014. And I don't see an offense that is top 5 missing the playoffs.
 

UTmodisette

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What does Jaylon Smith have to do with this coming year? It was well established that he likely wouldn't play this year.

Lawrence wasn't flagged for pot. Try again.

And the Skins have the biggest question of any of the NFCE teams. Is Cousins the real deal. If he's not, the Skins are dead in the water.
You would think people would learn their lesson on jumping the gun on QBs in the NFC East. It was just 2 years ago that everyone was talking about how good Nick Foles was, and then defenses spent the offseason figuring out how to stop him. I think Cousins is better than Foles, but people who think his career trajectory will take off because he had a great 6 game run to end the season are getting way ahead of themselves.
 

DallasDW00ds0n

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Every team feels the same way we do, right now they are sure they have improved. The skins are pretty sure theyre still Championship level
 
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