From: jmd@cbnewsm.cb.att.com (joseph.m.dakes)
Newsgroups: rec.sport.football.pro
Subject: Eagles/Cowboys (Re: EAGLES WILL GO 16-0 IF ANYONE DOES)
Summary: 4 Days and Counting!
Date: 1 Oct 92 13:56:14 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: AT&T

Ahhhh.  Eagles/Cowboys flame wars before the BIG game.  Gawd, I love
this newsgroup:-)!

In article <1992Sep30.211847.26562@ncsu.edu>, bsricker@eos.ncsu.edu (BRIAN SCOTT RICKER) writes:
> I hope you are not as ignorant or stupid as you appear to be ... Not only
> will the Eagles fail to beat the Cowboys 42 - 3 ... They won't beat them
> period...

Well, that remains to be seen as well.

> The Eagles 'all-world' defense is not as strong as the media
> has hyped them to be ... So far they have beaten a mediocre Saints team, a 
> pathetic Cards team, and an overated Bronco's team ...

I hope you are not as ignorant or as stupid as you appear.  The Eagles
GANG GREEN defense is every bit as strong.  In case you missed it, the
Eagles defense was #1 across the board last season.  #1 against the rush,
#1 against the pass, and #1 total yards.  They also produced five Pro
Bowlers in Reggie White, Clyde Simmons, Seth Joyner, Eric Allen, and
the recently departed Jerome Brown.  This year they are right on target
again despite losing one of the best defensive linemen in the league.
Believe me, there is nothing overrated about this defense.

> They have not faced
> the likes of an Emmit, Troy or Michael ... The minute they overload the line
> to stop Emmit ... Troy will simply air it out to Mr. Irvin ... And the
> result will be a extremely disappointed Eagles secondary ... 

They most certainly did last season.  The Eagles held Emmit under
100-yards rushing in both games combined and Aikman was introduced to
the turf eleven times in one game.

I  know last year means absolutely nothing, but the Eagles have faced
this alleged future Hall-of-Fame trio in the past and have kept them
in check.  The main reason being the Eagles defensive line.  Despite
what you may think, this defensive line is one of the best of all time.
There may have been others that could apply better pressure on the QB
and there may have been a few others that could shut down the run as
effectively, but none could bring the entire package as well as the
GANG GREEN.

So you see, they don't have to overload the line to stop the run.  They
can play straight up in the secondary.  Therefore, the receivers are
blanketed better which forces the QB to hold the ball a little longer
which allows White, Simmons, and Joyner to come with the rush.

This is exactly what happend in both games against Dallas last year.
Emmit was stopped cold in both games.  With Aikman at QB, he held
onto the ball in hopes of making something happen.  The result was
eleven sacks, less than 100-yards of total offense, and a couple
turnovers.  With Beurleine (sp?) at QB, he looked at Irvin, looked
at Novacek, and threw the ball away.  The results weren't much
better yardage wise, but there were no sacks nor turnovers.  And
with the Eagles offense in such disarray last year, the Cowboys
were able to stay close and wait for the big play to win it.

> Now, I'm not 
> saying the game will be a blow out, but the Cowboys WILL WIN, most likely 
> 21 - 10 or something similar ... 

Amazing!  First, you knock the Eagles defense, saying it's overrated.
Then you turnaround and make a prediction that makes the Cowboys
defense (which is one of the worst against the pass and is going up
against one of the best passing teams) appear to be the most dominant
in the game.

> I'll be sure to send you some mail Tuesday
> morning when its all said and done.

I'll be sure to do the same.  But it'll have to be Tuesday afternoon
because I'm going to the game and will be out partying afterwards
into the wee hours:-).

Call it:
			Philadelphia 23
			Dallas 14


E-A-G-L-E-S

Joe Dakes
AT&T Microelectronics
555 Union Boulevard
Allentown, PA  18103
alux2!jmd
Newsgroups: rec.sport.football.pro