Eagles

Week 1 in the NFC East

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A way too early evaluation of each of the other NFC East teams; and how the Eagles should fare against each one.

New York Giants

Even if I weren’t an Eagles fan, I still would have been invested in this game.  That’s because I go to school in upstate New York, SUNY Oneonta (oh-nee-On-ta, for those wondering) is what some refer to it as. Others say Oneonta, Oneonta State, SUCO, and the State University of New York at Oneonta.  Call it what you want, I won’t be offended.  With that, I am surrounded by Giants blue everywhere I look.  I had the unique privilege of watching the one o’clock matchup between the New York Giants and the Jacksonville Jaguars sitting between two Giants fans.  One wearing a vintage Penn State Saquon Barkley jersey and the other still wearing the clothes he wore out last night.

I don’t want to get ahead of myself, as it is just week 1, however, after watching the Giants, I have come to the conclusion that they shouldn’t be a threat to the Eagles in the NFC East.  Let’s start with the positives just to keep some Giants fans reading this hooked.  After a slow start, second overall pick Saquon Barkley shined with 18 carries for 106 yards in his NFL debut.  I’m going to pause quickly and mention that he gained 68 of those yards on one run in the fourth quarter which eventually made the game 20-15 which was the final score. So aside from his one huge run, he rushed for 38 yards on 17 carries.  Not great.  I’m not going to sugar coat it, number 26 in blue is going to be good. It will be interesting to see how he will perform against the ferocious Eagle defensive line.  Nevertheless, Saquon Barkley has rock star potential.

Ereck Flowers, the Giant’s starting right tackle is a walking-talking nightmare.  He had two penalties on the first three plays of the game and looked like he needed a map out there during Eli Manning’s pick six in the fourth.  Fletcher Cox and the boys will bully Flowers.  Speaking of Eli Manning, the two-time Super Bowl Champion Quarterback, he and the money man Odell Beckham Junior did not look they were on the same page. The stats are deceiving, as OBJ hauled in 11 catches for 111 yards, which was great for my fantasy team, but Odell and Chief Manning couldn’t connect on key plays. Eli over threw Beckham on an important third down play in the redzone in the third quarter, and again later in the game too. The highest paid receiver in the game burned his man both times.

Defensively, Eli Apple had a solid game which included a huge pass break up on third down with twelve minuets left in the game.  Fournette ran the ball hard early, then went down, and then came former Alabama running back TJ Yeldon while continuing to help move the ball down the field.  Blake Bortles found a gap in the Giants defense and took the ball 41 yards downfield.  Something that Carson Wentz is more than capable of if healthy.  The Giants were desperately missing linebacker Oliver Vernon today, but I’m sure he will be suited up when the Giants take on the Eagles October 11th.

Outlook: I expect the Giants to tighten some of the screws up before they play the defending Super Bowl Champions week six, but I also expect the gutsiest coach in the NFL, Doug Pederson, to attack the Giants with everything he’s got.  Eli and OBJ will redevelop the chemistry they once had, Saquon Barkley could be leading the league in rushing by the time the Eagles and Giants battle it out.  But if I’m the Eagles, which I’m not, I couldn’t wait to beat up on the team from up north.  There was a priest on the sidelines during the Giants Jaguars contest, I speculate that it was Father Time doing anything he can do prolong Eli Manning’s career.

Advantage- Eagles

Dallas Cowboys

I rounded off the afternoon watching the Dallas Cowboys play the Carolina Panthers.  I wanted to point that out before I opened with a catchy pun, but here goes nothing.  Jason Witten?  More like Jason Miss-him.

I said this before the start of last season, and I am proud that I still believe this, Dak Prescott is an average quarterback.  We all know the tale, Dak attack had an awesome rookie season, he collected Rookie of the Year honors, and led Dallas into the playoffs before being bounced by Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. I wanted to stay ahead of the game, so I started writing this during the ladder half of the fourth quarter.  Dak Prescott just converted a two point conversion single handily.  Coincidence?  Maybe.  He isn’t awful, he just isn’t a top ten quarterback in the league.  He’s not elite.  Aside from the two-point conversion I just watched, he didn’t do a thing.  He just hiked up the ball and kept the clock moving.  Dak threw the ball to Cole Beasley seven times for 73 yards.  Dak, friend, that’s going to be your go to guy?  Cole Beasley?  Dallas is desperately missing a down the field threat, I mean, if Prescott can even throw it that far. I think that when the Eagles play the Cowboys week 10, the Eagles defense will be able to tame Dak Prescott and Cole Beasley with ease.
*Because this is my article, I have the power to go back and edit this as I please.  Dak Prescott fumbled the football on their what they hoped would be the game winning drive.  Not elite.

I have a riddle for you: The Cowboys have, the Giants too, what the Eagles don’t have.  What they have, is a few.  What is it?  If you answered with a strong, shifty, explosive, star running back, you would be correct.  Listen, believe it or not, Zeke Elliot, not to be confused with Eagles kicker Jake Elliot, is good. He’s really good.  He quite possibly could be the best back in the game and it sounds like he has only gotten better from last season.  Elliot is the only legit playmaker on the Dallas Cowboys.  You can’t expect to win games, if your feeding him the ball just 15 times, which is all he got today in Carolina. He needs to get the rock 25-30 times a game in order to win.

Outlook: It’s never an easy game when the Eagles play the Cowboys, that’s just how the NFC East works.  Look it up if you don’t believe me.  There’s nine more weeks before the two divisional rivals go head to head for the first time, so a lot will change.  But the boys in green will be ready to play.  They hate the Cowboys and I hate the Cowboys.  I think the Eagles secondary is way too talented for whatever talent, if you can even call it that, they have down there in Dallas.  I think the Bird’s three headed monster of Jay Ajayi, Darren Sproles, and Corey Clement will beat up on the ‘Boys defense, as they allowed 147 yards rushing to Carolina.  Are you worried?  Cause I’m not.

Advantage- Eagles

Washington Redskins

I’m going to give it to you straight, I didn’t watch the Redskins game. I unfortunately do not have NFL Sunday Ticket and/or NFL Redzone.  Being in the New York market, well, that’s a long ways away from both Washington D.C and Arizona, for that matter.  So my take on the state of the Washington Redskins after their week 1 game may or may not be nullified.

From the looks of the box score, it looks like all three of the Redskins touchdowns came in the second quarter.  While I never played a down of football in my life, I can infer that their offense may or may not be inconsistent.  Maybe they are a team that scores in bunches?  That could potentially be scary for an opposing defense.  I don’t know.

Alex Smith seemed to have played like a poised veteran, racking up 255 yards in the air with two touchdowns.  I mean, after all, he is coming off another Pro Bowl Season making that three career trips to the All Star Game, as well as the former number one pick in the NFL draft.  He is more than competent enough to lead a team with enough talent to the playoffs.  Could the Washington Redskins be the lone threat to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC East?

Speaking of talent on the Redskins, you hear about this Adrian Peterson guy?  Pretty good right?  The Redskins gave the ball to one of the best players of our generation, Adrian Peterson, 26 times.  Cowboy’s coaches take notes.  He may be 33 years old and only god knows how much more those knees can take, but maybe there is some juice left in the tank for ol’ AP.  The Redskins and the Eagles face off week 13, I wonder what shape Adrian Peterson will be in then?

Outlook: Generally when you think about the NFC East, you think that it’s one of the strongest divisions in the NFL, but not because of the Redskins.  You think Eagles, Giants, and America’s team, the Cowboys.  Fun fact, the Redskins are in the NFC East too.  They last captured the division in 2015.  Not too long ago right?  Who knows?  Maybe the Redskins defense will be one of the best in the league, as they only allowed one touchdown all game against the Arizona Cardinals.  Josh Norman will be a tough test for my boy Alshon Jeffery.  However, and bear with me for a second, the leading receivers for the Redskins today were AP with 70 yards receiving, Chris Thompson, also a running back, with 63 yards, Jordan Reed, a tight end with 48 yards, and then finally, Jamison Crowder, a receiver with just 32 yards in the air.  The Redskins could be good, Alex Smith could be good, but who is he going to be throwing the ball to for the rest of the season?  Adrian Peterson is going to need a chug jug by the time the Eagles and Redskins square off.  Jordan Reed is definitely going to need a med kit, and Chris Thompson?  Well, he’ll take all the slurp juice he can loot.

Advantage- Eagles

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