Week 5 Preview
Meet the Cowboys
After dropping a heartbreaker
in Week 1 against the Jaguars, the Dallas Cowboys and their high powered
offense and very solid defense bounced back in weeks 2 and 4 rattling off
consecutive wins against the Washington Redskins and the Tennessee Titans. The
Cowboys have been making headlines primarily because of their off-season
acquisition of disgraced former Eagles WR, Terrell Owens. Last year, the
Cowboys rolled all over the Eagles winning the first game in what was an ugly
loss for the Eagles. The second game was an affair in Philadelphia in which the
Eagles saw a 20-7 lead disappear as well as seeing McNabb get injured following
a critical interception in a game many Eagles fans would like to forget. The
Cowboys finished 2005 at 9-7, missing a wild card playoff berth as a result of
The Cowboys during the
mid-90s were known for their flamboyant players and their multiple super bowl
championships. Also during this time, the Cowboys absolutely dominated this
heated rivalry. However in recent years, thanks to the departure of these great
players from the Cowboys and the Eagles getting much better, the Eagles have
done very well in recent years. Since 2000, the Cowboys and their coach Bill Parcells are just 3-9 against the Eagles with 2 of those
wins coming last year.
Without a doubt, this has
been by far the most eagerly anticipated game that will be played in the NFL
this season because it marks the return of Terrell Owens to
The Cowboys saw the departure
of Pro-Bowl guard Larry Allen this past off-season which crippled an already
weak offensive line. These guys still have the ability to provide blocks if
they are on their game. The Cowboys also have an unbelievable tandem of
receivers in Terrell Owens and Terry Glenn. It should be noted that even though
Owens gets all the credit and notoriety for his antics off the field, Terry
Glenn is a fantastic receiver who is racking up the stats now that teams are
overly concerned with covering Owens. Throwing the ball to Owens and Glenn is
Drew Bledsoe. Bledsoe was brought over once Parcells
was made the coach as he coached Bledsoe in
On defense, the Cowboys run a 3-4 scheme with Nose Tackle Jason Ferguson bringing the
pressure a lot of the time. Their defense is often overlooked because it can be
streaky and inconsistent. LB Greg Ellis is a crafty veteran who can still make
plays and give running backs nightmares. The real strength for this Cowboys D
is their secondary. Although they are not necessarily hard-hitting they have
shown the ability to tip and intercept a lot of balls. CB DeMarcus
Ware and SS Roy Williams are all over the field and anchors on this defense.
What to watch for on Sunday
Where do we start? There is a
lot of stuff that will be watched on Sunday given the storyline behind this
game. The reception of Terrell Owens by the Philly faithful will certainly be
interesting and funny, hopefully not scary at the same time. Andy Reid and his
team are usually very good at focusing on the game ahead and not dwelling on
distractions, as is Bill Parcells. These two guys
both realize that there is more to this game than Terrell Owens coming to
When the Eagles have the ball
Right now the Eagles have the
#1 ranked offense in the NFL and there’s no doubt Donovan and Co. will try to
keep that trend going against the very good but sometimes inconsistent Dallas
D. Brian “Ultimate weapon” Westbrook’s status is a mystery and if he is out,
the Eagles will have some difficulty putting points on the board. It is
irrelevant that they scored 31 points last week without B-West; that was
against the lowly Packers. Westbrook’s status for Sunday is listed as
questionable as he is still having problems with his knee. If Westbrook does
not play, Buckhalter, Moats, and Mahe
will be asked to carry the Eagles running game. Turnovers have not been a huge
problem for the Eagles this year and they need to continue to protect the
football at all costs.
Another thing to watch for is
the Eagle receivers. Reggie Brown injured his MC Tendon in his shoulder against
the Packers, but is listed as probable for the Cowboys game. Donovan McNabb has
a great tendency to spread the ball around and definitely look for him to do
that in this game. You can expect everyone…Brown, Baskett,
Lewis, Avant, Smith, Shoebel,
Tapeh, and the running backs to get involved in the
passing game. Reggie Brown in particular will be a focal point for McNabb. The
Eagles’ terrific offense this year has been in large part to their ability to
create a big play with a bomb downfield. Reggie Brown will be going up against
a great cornerback in Anthony Henry and lets not forget those other good DBs in Roy Williams and DeMarcus
Ware. With Stallworth most likely out, Reggie is filling
the role as deep threat and playmaker and hopefully he will produce. The
offensive line will have to continue its good work in order to allow the WRs, TEs, and RBs
to have time to make plays.
When the Cowboys have the ball
The Eagles defense is going
to have their hands full controlling this loaded
Another point of interest
when the Cowboys have the ball is what kind of game plan DC Jim Johnson has
against Bledsoe, Jones, Glenn, and Owens. As all of us Birds fans know, Johnson
is a huge fan of the blitz, in particular the CB Blitz in which he usually
brings Michael Lewis, Brian Dawkins, or maybe a LB blitz with Jeremiah Trotter.
The thing is, Johnson will have to choose his plays
carefully because if he gets too aggressive, it would leave guys like Glenn and
Owens open to single coverage against guys like Joselio
Hanson. The good news for the Eagles is they will have a returning Lito Sheppard to compliment an excellent Brian Dawkins, a
surging Michael Lewis, as well as Sheldon Brown. The Eagles are fully capable
of handling Owens, but Terry Glenn has shown a flair for the dramatic. The
Eagles linebackers should be okay covering Julius Jones, but it all comes down
to pressure. It is absolutely critical the Eagles get in Bledsoe’s face and
cause him to make mistakes. His meltdown against the Jaguars in Week 1 was attributed
to great pressure from the Jags’ D-Line. Guys like Darren Howard, Darwin
Walker, Mike Patterson, and Trent Cole will all be asked to bring their A-game
and give Bledsoe a hard time to make it harder for Owens and Glenn to get the
ball. Lastly, the Eagles can’t take any personal foul calls in this game for
late hits. You don’t want to give this offense any free yards.
Special Teams
On special teams, both teams
appear to look pretty good. The Cowboys made a marquee signing when they inked
former Colts kicker/big game choke artist Matt “idiot kicker” Vanderjagt. Vanderjagt is the
most accurate kicker in NFL history and he has no problem with the long FGs. David Akers will also need to connect on all his FG
tries for the Eagles. Every point will matter in this game. Both Dexter Wynn of
the Eagles and Tyson Thompson of the Cowboys have done an adequate job
returning kicks for their teams.
Prediction: Eagles 17 Cowboys 14 with a 100% chance of booing Terrell
Owens