There's an old saying "Sometimes you eat the bear and sometimes the bear eats you." Well, if this is true the Cowboys were devoured by the Eagles on last Sunday night and the bear should be resting today completely full. In every way possible the Eagles soundly and completely crushed the Cowboys 34-7. And it might be safe to say it wasn't that close.
On defense the Cowboys came into the game leading the NFL in rushing defense and the Eagles led the league in rushing offense. Score one for the Eagles. LeSean McCoy is definitely one of the best running backs in the league and he proved it by rushing for 185 yards. The Cowboys are no longer leading the league. Because of the big play threats of the Eagles at their skill positions the Cowboys chose to play cautious in the secondary and take away the big passing plays by Jackson or Macklin. That worked pretty well. Only problem was that they were not even close in defending the run with seven men up front. The Eagles out schemed and out played the Cowboys' front seven and gashed them repeatedly over the course of four quarters. They contained Jackson and Macklin but didn't have a clue about stopping Celek, McCoy and Vick. The Eagles are now 13-0 after bye weeks in Andy Reid's tenure. He needs to write a book on how he's doing that because it's uncanny how he prepared this team to completely dismantle the Cowboys.
On offense the Cowboys were basically inept because they didn't have many opportunities and when they did they were not capable of keeping pressure off Romo, and Austin and Bryant couldn't escape the talented corners of the Eagles. Murray looked good again early in the game but when the Eagles dominated so much he was taken out of the picture as the Cowboys played catch-up or rather attempted to play catch-up. The line struggled and is a work in progress. It will continue to be as the season continues.
The kicking game took a big hit as Mat McBriar, the Cowboys outstanding punter, was hurt and couldn't continue so that made Dan Bailey the emergency punter. The word emergency is correct and the Cowboys will probably have to activate Chris Jones from the practice squad to punt until McBriar gets well. They used Ogletree as the kick returner and I don't see why Bryant isn't being used on punt returns. He's not getting the ball on offense, due in large part to route running, so why not use his abilities in the kicking game.
Bright spots? DeMarcus Ware again played like one of the best in the game with four sacks as he continues his assault on the single season sack record. The record is 22 and he now has 13.5 and we're not halfway through the season.
It was brought to my attention that in the early 90's the Eagles beat us 38-0 and we then went on to win a Super Bowl. The point is that you must let it go and move on to the next game. The NFC East is far from being settled and things can change in a heartbeat. The Cowboys finished the first quarter of the season 2-2. Beat Seattle this week and they finish the second quarter 2-2. The problem with that is that they are on pace to be 8-8. When you are 8-8 you are the best of the worst and the worst of the best and you go nowhere. Take your whipping, regroup and get ready for a whole new set of circumstances this week. This team is not as bad as it looked against the Eagles. Let's hope not!
Joe Avezzano can be heard Tuesday nights at 7pm on 95.3FM and on all Cowboy postgame shows on 105.3 The Fan. He can be seen on Channel 21 on Wednesday nights at 7:30pm. Join him for great food, sports, music and his TV show on Wednesday nights.
