October 16, 2022
In our Eagles chat on Thursday, there were a lot of questions that we could not get to in time or other questions we did answer but could use more color. And so, let's do a mailbag post to answer some of the overflow, as well as some commonly asked questions on Twitter and via email. The is Mailbag No. 2, which is Eagles-Cowboys specific. Here's Mailbag No. 1, in case you missed that.
Question from Benny: I would be curious to see who you think has the advantage between the Eagles and Cowboys, position-by-position.
Sure, I can do that.
• Quarterback: Obviously, Jalen Hurts is better than Cooper Rush. Before the season began, I think everyone would have agreed that he was not better than Dak Prescott. Now? I think it's debatable, at least from the perspective of, "Which player would you want to have more, long-term?" But certainly, in the Sunday night matchup, advantage Eagles.
• Running back: I would take Miles Sanders over Ezekiel Elliott at this point in their respective careers. I might not take him over Tony Pollard. But certainly, the combo of Elliott and Pollard is better than any combination you want to put together for the Eagles. Advantage Cowboys.
• Wide receiver: This used to be slanted heavily in favor of Dallas, when they had a trio of Amari Cooper, CeeDee Lamb, and Michael Gallup. Not anymore. A.J. Brown is now clearly the best receiver in the division, and DeVonta Smith is an emerging star as well. Advantage Eagles.
• Tight end: The Cowboys have better tight end depth, but Dallas Goedert is significantly better than any of the Cowboys' individual tight ends that it doesn't matter. The Cowboys would trade all of their tight ends for Goedert in a heartbeat. Advantage Eagles.
• Offensive tackle: The Eagles have one of the best offensive tackle pairings in the NFL in Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson, with exceptional depth behind them. The Cowboys are rolling with an unpolished rookie in Tyler Smith at LT and Terence Steele at RT. Big advantage Eagles.
• Guard: There's an argument for the Cowboys here, since they have a perennial All-Pro in Zack Martin at RG. They also have a major hole at LG, where they're running a "LG by committee" of Connor McGovern and Jason Peters. If Peters could play every down, the clear edge would go to Dallas here. But he can't, and McGovern stinks. This is a tough call, because Martin is so good, but it's hard to ignore that huge hole at LG. I think I have to go Eagles. 🤷♂️
• Center: Jason Kelce vs. Tyler Biadasz. Hmm, think we'll go Eagles.
• Defensive end: This would essentially be Brandon Graham and Josh Sweat vs. guys like DeMarcus Lawrence and Dorance Armstrong for Dallas. Lawrence and Armstrong have played well this year. So have Graham and Sweat. We'll call this a push.
• Interior D-line: This isn't close. The Eagles have three productive players in Fletcher Cox, Javon Hargrave, and Jordan Davis, while they're still waiting for Milton Williams to pop. The Cowboys have a nice interior rusher in Osa Odighizuwa, but they are otherwise thin. Big advantage Eagles.
• Rush linebacker: Haason Reddick is off to an outstanding start in 2022 with 4.5 sacks and 3 forced fumbles. His numbers are arguably better than Micah Parsons', but there's no debate on who the better player is. Parsons is a legitimate Defensive Player of the Year candidate. Cowboys.
• Off-ball linebacker: Leighton Vander Esch is having a bounce-back season for Dallas, while Anthony Barr has struggled at times. T.J. Edwards has been a stud, with a hiccup game against the Cardinals Week 5, and Kyzir White has been a clear upgrade over guys like Alex Singleton, for example. We'll call this a push.
• Cornerback: There's no denying Trevon Diggs' playmaking ability. He had 11 INTs in 2021, and 2 so far in 2022. He also gives up big plays when he gambles and misses. Darius Slay is a playmaker in his own right, but he doesn't often get roasted. It's the other corners that decide this comparison. James Bradberry and Avonte Maddox are much better players than Anthony Brown and Jourdan Lewis. Eagles.
• Safety: The Cowboys can confidently play three guys in Donovan Wilson, Malik Hooker, and Jayron Kearse. The Eagles have to like what they have seen from Marcus Epps so far, but Chauncey Gardner-Johnson is a work in progress as he transitions from more of a slot corner role to free safety. Advantage Cowboys.
On paper, I don't really think it's all that close which team has the better roster. Emphatically, it's the Eagles. It's up to the players to prove it on the field.
Question from Office Linebacker: Who do you think might have a surprising impact on the game this week? Either side of the ball.
I don't know if one would categorize this as a surprise, but I think that Josh Sweat vs. Tyler Smith is a matchup that can be won by Sweat. He'll have a chance to make a huge impact play in this game.
On the other side of the ball, I'm not a big fan of slot corner Jourdan Lewis. Maybe this is a game where Quez Watkins and/or Zach Pascal has an impact.
Question from Norm Snead: What is your over-under for Eagles sacks Sunday night? Cowboys sacks?
The Eagles' pass rushers have no doubt heard all week about how great Micah Parsons and the Cowboys' defense has been this season, but I'll bet that they can't wait to take advantage of some of the matchups they'll have in this game. As noted above, I like Sweat vs. Smith. I also like Reddick vs. Steele, Hargrave vs. McGovern, and in the run game, Davis vs. Biadasz.
The best thing the Cowboys have going for them this season is their pass rush, but in my opinion, the Eagles' pass rush has been every bit as disruptive. And the Eagles have a much better offensive line than anyone Dallas has faced. I don't know about an over-under for each team, but I like the Eagles' chances of getting to Rush more than the Cowboys get to Hurts.
Question from DB: Nick Sirianni doesn't seem to be a big fan of the Jumbo TE. Do you think we'll see some with Dillard back?
Dillard was the sixth offensive lineman when they went jumbo last year, so maybe we'll see that look for the first time this year. I'm curious what the Eagles' inactives will look like tonight with Dillard back, by the way. They usually roll with 8 active offensive linemen. Before Dillard's return, it was simple. Jack Driscoll backed up Mailata and Johnson, Sua Opeta backed up Dickerson and Seumalo, and Cam Jurgens backed up Kelce.
With Dillard back, Dillard will back up Mailata, and Jurgens will back up Kelce. But then what? I see two options:
I think it will be the latter.
Question from Mike: Would it be possible to let us know information about the officiating crew scheduled for every Eagles game? It might let us know what kind of game we might expect on how a specific crew tends to call a game.
Sharp Football Analysis has you covered there. The referee is John Hussey. They think it's a favorable crew for the Eagles.
• Since 2016 home teams are 68-34 (67%) on the moneyline with John Hussey.
• Over that same span, home teams are 57-42-3 ATS (58%).
• In divisional games, home teams are 32-11 (73%) on the moneyline with Hussey since 2016.
• In those same divisional games home teams are 29-12-2 ATS (71%).
• Home teams are 4-1 with Hussey in 2022, 3-0 in divisional games.
As I was researching this question, I was thinking, "Why am I researching this question," but I think the above analysis is actually meaningful.
Question from Footba11 Joe: Do you track the Eagles record vs human teams? #Animalytics
They're 2-0 against human teams this year. Vikings and Commanders. A Commander is a human mascot, right?
Follow Jimmy & PhillyVoice on Twitter: @JimmyKempski | thePhillyVoice
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports
Add Jimmy's RSS feed to your feed reader
