By: KO Kelly
After the mind-boggling fourth quarter collapse against Carolina a couple weeks ago, I needed to take two bye weeks myself. When I left the stadium after that game, I was not even angry. I was completely dumbstruck. Luckily, they were able to pull out the win against the Jaguars in merry old London but it was not nearly as convincing at times as we would have liked.
Nevertheless, I am hopeful last week’s bye gave the players a chance to rest, unwind, and prepare for a new half. Same for the coaches. The chemistry of last year’s brain trust of Pederson/Reich/DeFillipo has been absent all season. I severely underestimated the effect of losing both in the off-season. Granted there have been health issues across the offense but even so, the play-calling has not lived up to the potential of Wentz & Co. With any luck, Pederson used the bye to travel back in time a la Austin Powers to retrieve his mojo.
On the defensive side, we may see Jernigan return within the next couple weeks, which is a more significant game-changer than the Tate acquisition. We won the Super Bowl last year in no small part because of the strength and depth of our defensive line. Schwartz’s defense is predicated on getting pressure from the front four. With injuries and a weaker supporting cast this year (bring back Beau!), the defensive line has not been as disruptive, which has a trickle-down effect on our linebackers and secondary. Mills getting burnt is not as bad when the QB is already on his back.
Luckily, the NFC East is still very much up for the taking and with our hated rivals - the Cowboys - coming to town this Sunday night, we can start laying our claim to that title.
After their magical run in 2016, the Cowboys have reverted back to their old ways of losing. Always highly touted by the national media, they will continue to be perennial losers as long as they are still micro-managed by Jerry Jones. (I will admit it would have been difficult to choose sides in the Jones v Goodell battle had it escalated any further).
They haven’t accomplished anything impressive in the past two decades and their entire city was shown up by a kicker at last Spring’s draft. C’mo’n man - now that’s just pathetic. If it were not for their bandwagon fans, I would potentially feel sorry for them - like the Browns or Bengals or Lions. But those August front-runners, who conveniently disappear (just like their team) in the winter keep my hate for the Cowboys dialed up to a 10.
So what’s my bold prediction for Sunday Night football at the Linc in all black . . . 42-3 Eagles - something kind of like this.
Record 5-4
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