Yesterday, I asked veteran running back Brian Westbrook about how important it was that they start out fast on Saturday. He tried to minimize it by saying it was important that they start out fast in any game.
He was telling the truth but this situation is rather unique and starting out fast carries more importance in this game than others.
The Eagles will play Dallas less than a week after being beaten 24-0 in the same stadium. They’ve got to turn things around despite going into the game with the same players lining up on both sides.
Some how, they must disregard what happened on Sunday and that won’t be an easy thing to do. If the game begins in the same manner as their final regular season game, it may seem like deja vous.
If the Cowboys get the ball and march the length of the field to score a touchdown then the Eagles offense heads onto the field and is met with a three and out, the Birds will be in a near impossible situation.
If they were a veteran team with a Super Bowl championship or two under their belts, they might be able to battle back, but I think they’re too young of a team to be tough-minded enough to battle through those obstacles.
On the other hand if the Eagles offense comes out, shows some patience, puts together a touchdown scoring drive, by running the ball and taking what the Cowboys give them in the intermediate passing game; then the defense takes away the Dallas running game and puts pressure on Tony Romo to force and three and out, then we would have ourselves a ball game.
This is a delicate situation because a bad start for the Birds will make it hard for them to fight off memories of the pounding they just absorbed on Saturday.
Likewise a bad start for the Cowboys could get them thinking about all of Wade Phillips’ and Tony Romo’s playoff failures. Remember these two have never ever won a playoff game.
They run the risk of not coming into the game with the expectancy of a tough fight since they just handily beat this same Eagles team.
It would be interesting to see Romo be forced to operate under the pressure of a tough pass rush and the shadow of his disappointing playoff history.
How long would it take for the Cowboys fans to start helping the Eagles if Dallas gets off to a slow start? I hope we find out.
