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CSNPhilly: 10 observations about the Eagles and the NFC East

Califan007 The Constipated

By Califan007 The Constipated
in The Stadium

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Califan007 The Constipated

Califan007 The Constipated

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http://www.csnphilly.com/the700level/10-observations-about-eagles-and-nfc-east

This was written before the Ravens game and before the Eagles played the Lions...Good lord, I hope the Redskins just destroy the Eagles lol...

 

Who would've thought four weeks into the 2016 NFL season that the Eagles would be one of only three unbeaten teams remaining? Carson Wentz's sudden ascension and a defense that's playing like a top five unit have given us all a different perspective about how this season might turn out, and although it's risky getting too excited too soon, now seems like a good time to take stock of the rest of the division at least.

1. The NFC East isn't bad this season

For what it's worth, this doesn't look like a year where eight or nine wins will be enough to win the division. The Cowboys have three wins already. The Giants and Washington are 2-2, and of the four, the latter might be the closest thing to a bad team. After years of the NFC East being labeled a bad division, that doesn't appear to be the case this season, so get that idea out of your head right now.

......

 

3. Kirk Cousins is still Kirk Cousins

Remember when we were all wondering whether Sam Bradford's impressive seven-game run to close out last season was for real? Well the same question probably should've been raised about Kirk Cousins' finish. In his last 11 games, including playoffs, Cousins threw 24 touchdown passes to only three interceptions, guiding Washington to a 7-4 record and shedding his turnover-prone label in the process. Now four games into 2016, he's already thrown four interceptions to only six touchdowns, three of those coming in losses. Cousins could certainly get on a hot streak again with weapons like Jordan Reed, Jamison Crowder, Pierre Garcon, DeSean Jackson, Vernon Davis and Josh Doctson at his disposal. He still has the potential to throw that backbreaking pick though, like it's hardwired into his DNA or something.

4. And Washington is not a threat

Fun fact about Washington. En route to last season's 9-7 record and division championship, it didn't beat a single team that finished with a winning record. So far in 2016, it's defeated the Giants and Browns, and barely at that. Watching this team hang on for dear life against Cleveland, which bless their hearts, the NFL's only winless team is playing hard every week, but Washington needed two Browns fumbles just to keep from falling behind by two possessions in the second half. With the Eagles, Cowboys and Giants all improved this season, it's difficult to see a scenario where Washington competes for the NFC East title again, let alone is a contender if it somehow did makes the playoffs.

......

10. The Eagles and Cowboys are the two most complete teams

January 1, 2017. Circle that date on your calendar, because it's not just New Year's Day. When the Eagles and Cowboys meet at Lincoln Financial Field, it could very well be for the NFC East championship. Looking up and down at the four rosters, these two appear to have the fewest holes and best depth, and while both have rookie quarterbacks at the helm, they're already playing like grizzled vets. In other words, buckle your seatbelts, because this season could be about to get a lot more fun.

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Taylor703

Taylor703

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When the league catches up to Wentz, and they will, that ship is going to sink very fast. He's going to be a good QB but the eagles are not anywhere close to being a complete team. The cowboys are better and they needed quite possibly the dumbest Kirk Cousins interception ever to beat the Redskins. The redskins are still the class of the East. We'll win the division again. 

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moondog

moondog

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I can't necessarily disagree with #10. It's difficult to argue that the Cowboys don't have the most talented roster. They have all the reason to believe they can go all the way behind two rookies so the entire team is playing with confidence and chemistry and we saw last year how deadly that combo can be. Their group of underwhelming high round corners have finally seemed to figure out how to play football so despite a poor defensive line they're covering guys pretty well on defense and Sean Lee is yet to have his season ending injury. Right now I think they're the class of the division. 

It may be close to a toss up between the Eagles and Redskins. But I would say so far the Eagles have been the steadier hand in all three phases of the game in their 4 matchups. The Redskins have been very inconsistent, even within one game let alone from week to week. We've yet to have a complete performance where all three units play well. If we did, we'd be scary and I would give us better odds to defend our division title. We can absolutely beat the Eagles on Sunday but I don't disagree that to this point in the season, the standings in the East are an accurate depiction of how I would rate the teams in the division. 

The only part that I completely disagree with and would want to punch the writer in the face over is him just ****ting on us and saying we're the "closest thing to a bad team" and saying that the Giants are significantly better than us. I know this piece is dated and doesn't include the Ravens game but give me a break man. We've won the division twice since the last time the Giants even made the playoffs and we just beat them in their own house. Get over yourself with the Redskins getting lucky crap. We forced a ton of turnovers, made multiple comebacks in the second half, and giving up 9 points in the second half over the last three games isn't a fluke with that sample size. We've come out with adjustments and made the necessary plays to come up with wins. Some balls and calls came our way but plenty others haven't - like Dunbar getting thrown into a punted football, no call and the Giants recover. That's football and we've come out with three straight wins. I respect the Eagles work against a team like the Steelers. But I'm not cowering in fear of these guys coming into our house this week. I'm looking forward to it. 

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moondog

moondog

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17 hours ago, PapaLazarou said:

Quite evident that we have the 4th most talented QB in the division, if not the 5th in Captain Checkdown. 

I could not disagree more. Even if you're getting away from performance and just speaking from an athlete point of view, Cousins is far more of an athlete than Manning will ever be. I will give you that Eli is adept at dipping his shoulders and sliding away from defenders - something Cousins has not shown to be nearly as good at, yet. But Cousins has some speed and scrambling ability even if he almost refuses to use it. The play the other day where he grabbed the ball and chucked it was something Eli has never been capable of. And I think their arms are pretty comparable. 

Now I KNOW Eli has two Superbowl rings and because of that everyone in the world will give him a long leash. I do too when I think about Eli. But just dive into Eli's performance over his career and rather than look at it through Eli glasses, look at it from a KIrk Cousins perspective because I think way too many on here want the second coming of Brady without realizing how truly blessed we are with Cousins after 25 years of ****ty QB play.

This year: Eli: 63.6% completion rate with 1385 yards, 7.4 avg, 5 TD's vs 4 INT's, 5 fumbles w/ 2 lost, 86.0 QB rating. 

Kirk: 67.2% completion rate with 1432 yards, 7.5 avg, 7 TD's vs 5 INT's, 3 fumbles w/ 0 lost, 90.5 QB rating. 

So there isn't a single passing category where Cousins isn't outperforming Eli to include wins. One of Kirk's fumbles was the aforementioned snap that was attributed to Kirk as a fumble and he made a great play to save that one. For all those out there complaining about Kirk missing throws and being less accurate than last year, he's still completing nearly 70% of his passes and is close to the tops in the league. We all agree he needs to cut back on the turnovers but as always he's still doing much better than Eli. One more INT, however, he's really only fumbled twice so and that's a big difference despite Eli only being sacked once more. 

Let's look at career stats: Eli: 59.5% completion rate, 7.1 avg, 299 TD's vs 203 INT's (1.47:1 ratio), 102 fumbles w/ 44 lost, 83.6 QB rating!!!!

Kirk: 65.5% completion rate, 7.6 avg, 54 TD's vs. 35 INT's (1.54:1 ratio), 18 fumbles w/ 7 lost, 91.1 QB rating.

Weird, once again, Kirk is better in every single category. Again, I get it. Eli has two Superbowl rings and has made some great plays in the playoffs and in the Superbowl to achieve those victories. No one can take that away from him. What I am trying to point out has nothing to do with that as much as it is to calm people down when assessing Kirk's performance. Rather than freaking out every time he doesn't complete a pass, realize other QB's, to include Superbowl winners, miss short throws for first downs or miss wide open deep balls. It's part of the game. For goodness sake, everyone still thinks Eli is a top level QB when his career completion percentage is below 60% and his rating is 83.6! The moral of the story is we need to take a step back and realize Kirk is playing pretty well even this year, just not to the MVP levels he played at the end of last year. The key is while the offense around him is pretty good, he's still missing any semblance of a running game and a formidable defense. He's playing pretty well and is being asked to carry this team and right now he and the team have performed well enough to be 3-2. 

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TheGreek1973

TheGreek1973

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17 hours ago, Taylor703 said:

When the league catches up to Wentz, and they will, that ship is going to sink very fast. He's going to be a good QB but the eagles are not anywhere close to being a complete team. The cowboys are better and they needed quite possibly the dumbest Kirk Cousins interception ever to beat the Redskins. The redskins are still the class of the East. We'll win the division again. 

The dumbest possible INT, and 3 terrible passes to Crowder (over thrown to a completely open receiver that would have been a walk in TD). Djax (a little harder but with a little more air Djax has that and runs it in) and the one completion, possibly the worse, wide open Doctson if hit in stride walks into the endzone.

yea Taylor that is me, the biggest cheerleader of Cousins and still mad about those throws way more than his INT.

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Skinsinparadise

Skinsinparadise

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As for the disrespect directed to the Skins, add Mike Lombardi to the mix.  There was a conversation on a sports talk show before last Sunday's games, and they talked about who would win the NFC East.  Lombardi goes "its between the Giants, Eagles and Cowboys...the Redskins shouldn't even be part of this conversation.

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Taylor703

Taylor703

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1 minute ago, Skinsinparadise said:

As for the disrespect directed to the Skins, add Mike Lombardi to the mix.  There was a conversation on a sports talk show before last Sunday's games, and they talked about who would win the NFC East.  Lombardi goes "its between the Giants, Eagles and Cowboys...the Redskins shouldn't even be part of this conversation.

We basically go through this every year. We could go 16-0 and win the super bowl and we'd still be chosen dead last in the East by every analyst. 

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SkinsGuy

SkinsGuy

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13 minutes ago, Taylor703 said:

We basically go through this every year. We could go 16-0 and win the super bowl and we'd still be chosen dead last in the East by every analyst. 

True.

I've said that for years. There are many here who say "just start winning, and the stories and attitude will change"

No they won't. :) 

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Butters20

Butters20

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A couple thoughts:

I'd say that writeup is fairly accurate for what has transpired *so far*.

I think the Cowboys and Eagles will be coming back down to earth a little bit soon.

The Giants sack total is pathetic so far, but I will say I've been extremely impressed watching Olivier Vernon play. Hate that he is in our division.

I think we can be a threat, but we consistently play to the level of our opponent.

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Wildbunny

Wildbunny

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Guy lost me when he said we were worse than the Giants that we just beat (so even the NFL thinks we're better than them).

He can bash Cousins, Cousins' a video geek, he'll get better as he'll have more and more videos of opposing defenses, and will start to play on auto mode.

Cowboys are one of the most talented team? To they take into account the suspended guys?

Finally, I'll remind the writer that Jim Zorn started 6-2 with Jason Campbell at the helm. So he shouldn't be too quick to crown Doug Pederson and Carson Wentz, I wouldn't be surprised that they both finish like the first two

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bedlamVR

bedlamVR

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I actually dont mind that the rest of the division or the league see us as no threat - Thats fun.

It is like when they talk of the power house teams of the 80s they will talk of the steelers (70s team)  and the (Bills - Loosers) and the Cowboys (90s team)  and the Bears (one trick pony) and the 49ers - but never - and i mean never have i heard anyone include the Redskins   - Its fun 

And we keep scapping and kicking and fighting and biting and when other teams go into their late season swoons (as they almost always do) we will get "lucky" - (again) .. 

And if that does happen - then next year will be more of the same - the same analysts will be saying the same **** - the NFCE will be a battle between the Giants, the Cowboys and the Eagles  

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Hail4Life

Hail4Life

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Ha ha!  The Redskins are not a threat?!  We haven't even been playing our best football and still managed to have a 3-2 record.  Barely losing to the Cowgirls I might add.  And this Eagles homer says the Skins won't go anywhere as long as we are hitched to Cousins???  He hasn't been perfect this year but he is an NFL QB through and through.  Despite not playing great he continues to find ways to lead this team to a victory.  When you need to drive down the field and score,Cousins has shown that he gets the job done.  Maybe I'm just used to terrible QB play for the majority of the past 20+ years, but I believe Cousins is the QB you want to have your wagon hitched to.  If he gets hot like he did last year around this time then it's on!  I'm starting to think he is a QB that gets better and better as the season goes by.  It's time for the Skins to show the Eagles and their homers why we are a threat...lets go Skins!

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TheCoach22

TheCoach22

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We aren't a finished product, but we are a solid team. We are 9-4 the last 13 games, and we are 3-2 this year having played no where near our ceiling. 

Our offense is the most complete unit in the division. Someone mentioned tape on Wentz, I would say that same thing about  Dak. A lot of safe throws and he hasn't really been pressured. Stay tuned. When Sean Lee inevitably gets hurt, Dallas' D will collapse again. Further, we played our worst game of the year against the Cowboys and still nearly pulled one out.

If Skins win Sunday, I think they win the division. Everybody in the East should win 7+ games but nobody wins 11+, IMHO 

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Suffolk_Skins

Suffolk_Skins

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20 hours ago, Hail4Life said:

Ha ha!  The Redskins are not a threat?!  We haven't even been playing our best football and still managed to have a 3-2 record.  Barely losing to the Cowgirls I might add.  And this Eagles homer says the Skins won't go anywhere as long as we are hitched to Cousins???  He hasn't been perfect this year but he is an NFL QB through and through.  Despite not playing great he continues to find ways to lead this team to a victory.  When you need to drive down the field and score,Cousins has shown that he gets the job done.  Maybe I'm just used to terrible QB play for the majority of the past 20+ years, but I believe Cousins is the QB you want to have your wagon hitched to.  If he gets hot like he did last year around this time then it's on!  I'm starting to think he is a QB that gets better and better as the season goes by.  It's time for the Skins to show the Eagles and their homers why we are a threat...lets go Skins!

The Eagles press constantly downplay the Redskins. We've also beat them 3 times in a row I might add, two of which stopped them getting to the playoffs.

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theTruthTeller

theTruthTeller

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On 10/11/2016 at 8:38 AM, Busch1724 said:

Dallas may have the most talented superstars, but they don't have the most talented roster. There is no depth there. They did get a decent backup QB this time around though. 

To be fair, they've been winning games without Romo, Dez, Smith, Collins on offense and Scandrick and Lawrence on defense.  They seem to be doing okay in the depth department - I can't think of another team that would be winning, and improving, without their starting QB, LT and #1 WR.  And, of course, they also have Almo to back up Elliot.  I'd love to have Almo back.

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