NFC Wildcard Eagles @ Cowboys Preview

How quick people forget. Just 6 days ago the Philadelphia Eagles were

coming off six striaght wins before being blown out 24-0 but the

Cowboys last week. Now it seems like the Eagles are the sisters of

the poor with no chance to even compete. Well Andy Reid and Donovan

McNabb may have other plans tonight.



The Eagles were outscored 44-16 by the Cowboys this year and were

never really in the game last week. The Eagles need to play 60 solid

minutes of football today to beat the Cowboys. The Eagles are often

hot and cold and can be very frustrating. One reason for this always

seems to be McNabb's accuracy, Reids play calling and clock

management. The Eagles make things much harder on themselves than

they need to at times. The Eagles only ran the ball 10 times last

week and that will be a receipe for disaster tonight if they get

unbalanced.



The Eagles can be explosive at times and one key to that is their +15

turnover ratio. The defense will need to help them out tonight. The

Eagles need to spread the ball around. Brent Celek leads the Eagles

in receptions and drives the offense much like Witten on the

Cowboys.Also note that the running backs have over 80 catches amoung

them. Look for McNabb to use Celek, Jackson, Maclin, Avant,

Westbrook, McCoy and even Weaver in the passing game.



On defense the Eagles must get pressure on Romo who has thrown for

over 300 yards in both games against the Eagles. Trent Cole and Juqua

Parker combined for 20.5 sacks in 2009 and must get to Romo. The

Eagles are short on depth and speed to match up with the Cowboys so

they must create turnovers and protect the ball to have any chance.



Memo to Andy Reid: Do NOT use Michael Vick. Vick threw 13 passes all

season and he is not as good at QB as McNabb and he is not as good at

running back as Westbrook or McCoy. He takes your team out of rhythem

let him ride the pine.



The Eagles are 2nd in points scored this year while the Cowboys are

5th. The Cowboys were 2nd in yardage but 14th in points scored so

they have made some mistakes. If the Eagles bring their "A" road game

with them they can stay in this one. The first quarter of this game

will be key the Eagles will need to stay within 7.



It is no secret I despise the Cowgirls and refuse to pick them to win

anything. Based on that:



Prediction Philadelphia Eagles 23 - Dallas Cowboys 20