Post by MR. COWBOY on Feb 6, 2018 11:06:22 GMT -7
Dallas Cowboys: In the Cowboys-Eagles rivalry, the shoe is on the other foot, and it's far from comfortable
Matt Mosley
dallasnews.com
Over the years, Eagles players and some front-office types have enjoyed taking the proverbial sharp stick to the Dallas Cowboys. Eagles owner Jeff Lurie is quite fond of Jerry Jones while not sharing the same feelings toward Redskins owner Dan Snyder.
I've always thought the Eagles were more obsessed with the Cowboys than the other way around. That was apparent to me eight years ago when I walked into new Eagles GM Howie Roseman's office following the 2009 season and he had only one opponent's depth chart on a huge dry erase board: It was indeed the Cowboys roster that had just manhandled the Eagles in back-to-back games. Lurie had joked with me that the Eagles wouldn't make a single change after defeating the Cowboys, 44-6, at the end of the '08 regular season. But following three losses to the Cowboys in '09, the Eagles overhauled their roster and traded longtime quarterback Donovan McNabb for a second-round pick.
So many things have changed since that offseason after '09. Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips was fired halfway through the following season. And Roseman would eventually lose a power struggle with Eagles head coach Chip Kelly and basically be sent into exile. I've enjoyed a great relationship with Roseman for the past decade, so I texted Monday morning to see if he had a message for the Cowboys.
"No thanks, but thanks for the opportunity," he said.
What Lurie and Roseman did in 2016 was replace an alleged offensive genius in Kelly with an understated former backup quarterback in Pederson. Lurie famously said he wanted his next coach to have "emotional intelligence," which seemed like an obvious shot at Kelly. What he ended up getting was an aggressive playcaller who absolutely took it to Bill Belichick with backup quarterback Nick Foles in Sunday's 41-33 win. I think it's impossible for Cowboys fans to read some of these quotes about Pederson and his staff without thinking about Jason Garrett.
"They're able to put us in situations that aren't generic," said Eagles tight end Zach Ertz via The Ringer. "Obviously, I'm a tight end. But I'm split out wide by myself to the left, and we motioned the back away so we know it's man coverage. It's all those pre-snap indicators. They just do a phenomenal job just kind of making the game easy."
That does not sound like something anyone might say about Jason Garrett's offense. The Cowboys seem to enter every season needing best-case scenarios from an injury standpoint. The Eagles just won a Super Bowl against the greatest QB/head coach combo of all time with a backup quarterback and a backup left tackle who replaced All-Pro talents. It's the Cowboys who should now be obsessed with chasing the Eagles. It's not pleasant for Cowboys fans to covet what Eagles fans have ... but that's where things stand.
Roseman wouldn't pop off Monday, possibly because he no longer sees the Cowboys as a threat. The bad/good news for Cowboys fans is they get two cracks at the Eagles next season.
Maybe they can work on some of that pre-snap movement.
.................................................................
Matt , you said a mouthful !
Matt Mosley
dallasnews.com
Over the years, Eagles players and some front-office types have enjoyed taking the proverbial sharp stick to the Dallas Cowboys. Eagles owner Jeff Lurie is quite fond of Jerry Jones while not sharing the same feelings toward Redskins owner Dan Snyder.
I've always thought the Eagles were more obsessed with the Cowboys than the other way around. That was apparent to me eight years ago when I walked into new Eagles GM Howie Roseman's office following the 2009 season and he had only one opponent's depth chart on a huge dry erase board: It was indeed the Cowboys roster that had just manhandled the Eagles in back-to-back games. Lurie had joked with me that the Eagles wouldn't make a single change after defeating the Cowboys, 44-6, at the end of the '08 regular season. But following three losses to the Cowboys in '09, the Eagles overhauled their roster and traded longtime quarterback Donovan McNabb for a second-round pick.
So many things have changed since that offseason after '09. Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips was fired halfway through the following season. And Roseman would eventually lose a power struggle with Eagles head coach Chip Kelly and basically be sent into exile. I've enjoyed a great relationship with Roseman for the past decade, so I texted Monday morning to see if he had a message for the Cowboys.
"No thanks, but thanks for the opportunity," he said.
What Lurie and Roseman did in 2016 was replace an alleged offensive genius in Kelly with an understated former backup quarterback in Pederson. Lurie famously said he wanted his next coach to have "emotional intelligence," which seemed like an obvious shot at Kelly. What he ended up getting was an aggressive playcaller who absolutely took it to Bill Belichick with backup quarterback Nick Foles in Sunday's 41-33 win. I think it's impossible for Cowboys fans to read some of these quotes about Pederson and his staff without thinking about Jason Garrett.
"They're able to put us in situations that aren't generic," said Eagles tight end Zach Ertz via The Ringer. "Obviously, I'm a tight end. But I'm split out wide by myself to the left, and we motioned the back away so we know it's man coverage. It's all those pre-snap indicators. They just do a phenomenal job just kind of making the game easy."
That does not sound like something anyone might say about Jason Garrett's offense. The Cowboys seem to enter every season needing best-case scenarios from an injury standpoint. The Eagles just won a Super Bowl against the greatest QB/head coach combo of all time with a backup quarterback and a backup left tackle who replaced All-Pro talents. It's the Cowboys who should now be obsessed with chasing the Eagles. It's not pleasant for Cowboys fans to covet what Eagles fans have ... but that's where things stand.
Roseman wouldn't pop off Monday, possibly because he no longer sees the Cowboys as a threat. The bad/good news for Cowboys fans is they get two cracks at the Eagles next season.
Maybe they can work on some of that pre-snap movement.
.................................................................
Matt , you said a mouthful !