Back in July, that having Nick Cole, Max Jean-Gilles and Winston Justice starting on the offensive line at crunch time was going to be a problem? Wait, we all knew that back in July. We were just tricked into forgetting it, by a six-game win streak against struggling teams.
The Eagles went 0-4 this season against teams that made the playoffs. It's not that obscure, I guess, but it deserves its own special spot on this page. The Birds have a lot to prove Saturday.
Hiring Brian Stewart after the Cowboys fired him as their defensive coordinator has been considerably less than a master stroke for the Eagles.
The vibe from Dallas last offseason was that Stewart was a scapegoat, that a reluctant Wade Phillips was forced to fire the protege Phillips brought with him from San Diego.
Two things have happened that, to me, really call into question Stewart's value.
One, the Cowboys' defense improved drastically this season, without a big personnel change.
Two, Stewart, who ought to know Phillips' thinking better than anyone in the Birds' coaches' room, does not seem to have provided valuable insights. Did the Eagles' o-line look as if it had a good fix on Dallas' defense Sunday?
Pass rushers were appearing unblocked from all over Cowboys Stadium. I'm pretty sure I saw one of those odd, jumpsuited dance guys who play the drums shimmy down from his cage and sack Donovan McNabb through the "A'' gap.
Stewart coaches the Eagles' defensive backs now.
The fact that they gamble and pick off passes a lot only partially obscures the fact that they also give up an unseemly amount of touchdowns.
Accurate quarterbacks and quality receivers leave them grabbing at air. *
