Apr 26, 2012; New York, NY, Mandatory Credit: James Lang-US PRESSWIRE

Last week we took an in-depth look at the off season moves so far by the NFC East rival New York Giants.  Now, we turn our attention to what many considered to be the best team in the NFC East at the end of last season despite ultimately missing the playoffs – the Philadelphia Eagles.  Even the most casual Cowboy fan remembers that the Eagles have historically been the source of a lot of pain and anguish for the Cowboys – including a complete sweep last year in both division games, neither of which was even competitive.  First was a 34-6 shellacking in Philadelphia at the end of October where LeSean McCoy gashed our defense for 185 rushing yards.  Then, a lackluster performance on Christmas Eve in Dallas leaving a 20-7 lump of coal in every Cowboy fans’ stocking.  This was the game where Romo injured his hand early in the game and McGee avoided the shut out with a touchdown pass in the last 7 seconds to Miles Austin.  The game wasn’t ever close and should have been 27-7 except for Jason Avant losing the ball just before he crossed the goal line with just under 5 minutes left in the first half turning a TD into a touchback.  Some teams just play better against certain other teams and the Eagles are that team for the Cowboys – no matter the records, it seems like we struggle to compete.  So, let’s take a look at what the Eagles have done to improve their team so far this offseason. (more…)

Steven Mullenax, Editor & Head Writer: On paper, the Eagles are a better team than the Cowboys. The Eagles are 3rd in the NFL in offense. And their defense ranks 10th. (Dallas ranks 6th and 13th respectively) But when these two teams match-up, throw these numbers out of the ole’ prediction pot because emotion is what seems to rule these games. I think this is a classic “trap” game for the Eagles. They are riding high off two straight wins (against the Dolphins and Jets) and they might just be starting to buy into the “dream team” hype. But Philly hasn’t won more than two games in a row all season and they have losses to the lowly Cardinals, Seahawks and Bills under their belts.  The Cowboys will be looking for revenge after being humiliated by Philly in Week 8 and the Boys are coming off a stellar win against the Buccaneers. In a game determined by emotion, the home team has the crowd…and the edge. Cowboys win, 34-24.

View more picks and predictions, after the break: (more…)

I did not want to see him go, but at least there is no threat of this happening again.

If the Dallas Cowboys are going to beat the Philadelphia Eagles this week, they will need another strong showing from the defense.  Rob Ryan’s defense can change significantly from week to week.  It seems that there is much more pre-snap movement and exotic packages against the better offenses (Patriots) than against teams like the Rams.  The reason may be that it is possible to neutralize some offenses (Rams) by simply playing good sound defense, while other offenses (Patriots) can only be slowed down through deception and confusion.  My hunch is that this week we will see more of the latter (massive substitutions, lots of pre-snap movement, unusual formations, strange looking alignments etc.)against the Eagles.

Click on the link to read the questions I will be trying to answer as I watch the game this week.

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