Washington will be familiar with Cowboys going into opener

Funny this thread popped up because I just got dome writing a $100 to my buddy who I have a standing bet one team will sweep the season. I forgot I had not paid him and for some reason remembered today and then this popped up. If we win the first game against them then I cannot loose any money and it makes watching the second game much easier.

That 92 cowpoke team had what might've been the greatest o line ever (sorry to say). Of course they had the triplets, but that o line was so dominant. Haven't seen one as dominant since.

That's why they couldn't be stopped. Today's dallas team is really good, but doesn't have nearly the talent of that team on the o line. If the Skins know what's coming, they'll be able to stop it.

4 TD's first game. I LIKE IT!

I just saw this and my first thought was, "Have the recent years been so bad that a game in which we score 4 touchdowns is considered that great? "

I'll answer my rhetorical question. Yes. It's crazy to think of a 4 touchdown game on our end as wildly successful beyond our dreams, but after our offensive output last season that's pretty much what it would feel like.

I guess I'm just not that confident, especially considering we play horrible on national television.

We will take a collection for you on TWP and bail you out. LOL

As long as he pushes him then runs away with out being seen. Romo will need to be bailed out because noone is allowed to jump in the river walk. So I say bump him in.:bump: and enjoy!

sand, whats your take on what the skins have added? your usually pretty reasonable
Honestly and without biased....best additions:

Allen
Shannahan
Williams
Brown (?)

Much focus has been placed on all the 30-somethings that have been added, especially on offense.

McNabb? I really don't know. For starters there is no doubt the guy just plain knows how to win. But on the other hand, I just don't see why the Sheagles would trade him IN DIVISION, without being confident of something more.

Running backs. Shortest life spans in the NFL, those over 30 are widely considered over the hill and done for. And Washington has 3 of them. Albiet 3 proven players.

Not doubting the moves the front office has made. Point-in-fact, I just think thier hands were tied too much to do anything more. That being the previous leadership trading away future draft picks, did not leave Shanny and Allen a lot of ammo.

And the labor situation. All teams are very gun shy on signing proven veterans for fear of the unknown of what the new CBA will look like.

With that being said, with what they were provided, the front office did a good job.

My question is not about the offense, but the defense actually. A swtich to the 3-4 requires some resources to support it. To be specific, a bevy of big-fast linebackers and, DEPTH at the front 7.

Your typical 4-3 DE is accustomed to a 4 point stance and targeting the QB. Now you are asking this 4-3 DE to work from a stand-up position and recognize coverages. There will be a growing period.

And depth along the front 7 is key. Gotta have a solid rotation up front for that front 3 especially, rotating them to keep them fresh for the later quarters of the game.

It takes a few years to build up that stable of LB's to support the 3-4.

The moves this off season were good, and this team should be much improved from a year ago. But there are still plenty of question marks:

1. How will Williams perform in his rookie season? Will it be like Jake Long? Or Robert Gallery?

2. How will Brown look after coming off injury and losing his starting job in NO?

3. Whats gonna happen at NT?

4. Secondary?

Schedule is no push over either.

I think the 'Skins have will the potential to go 3-1 in September.
But there is also the potential of them going 1-3.

A lot of good points brought up. I was going to say that if I remembered correctly Shanahan has had a really good record playing against Dallas in the past, not that it really means anything since he now has different players to have to coach up. I think with the Eagles he seemed 50/50 against them. He might have struggled against the Giants.

I often worried about other teams coming to our open dates and observing what the team was doing. I know it might not be the game plan that would be played against their teams but they can get a look at what the tendancies a certain player has, ie; WR's, RB's, or QB cadance. This will be even more of an issue since they will not have a lot of time to practice different snap counts.

Sandtrap, I think your assessment was fair. I too wondered why the Eagles would trade their star QB to another team in the division. Seems as thought they know something we don't.... is he washed up? do they know something about his past injuries we don't? or was Reid simply trying to help out a friend by sending him to a team he would be happy going to? Have the Skins done enough with the OL? As far as the LB's go, I feel Orakpo and Wilson being used as both LB's and DE's might actually help them. Fletcher I think will be solid in the middle, so the big question is how will Carter or whoever is playing the right side will do? I don't see a problem at the secondary, if anything I felt Dallas had more of an issue there. Then there was the NT position... if the Skins are smart and Kemo stays healthy I'd keep Kemo at NT and utilize AH at DE along with Daniels at the other DE position. That alone would be one heck of a DL. AH I don't think will be worth anything to spell Kemo since he's usually only good for about 2 to 3 downs. lol. Unless they plan to rotate Kemo and AH then when needing a heavy package using the one I suggested.

It seems teams always run in cycles. The Skins of the 80's, Dallas of the 90's, Giants of the 2000's. Who is going to take the next 10 yrs? Eagle fans will shout it's their turn but I don't think they will make it back. I don't know why I get that feeling but their window in the 2000's came and went, perhaps it's a Reid thing for me. I think that most teams know what the Giants bring to the table and will have counter measures, not to mention I think their defense will be lagging behind. I think the Skins will be an unknown.... but my gut tells me they will be better then last yr but will be like 9-7, give the Skins 2-3 yrs and they will be dominant again. That leaves Dalls, I always hate giving any type of positive news about them and would like to simply say.... Dallas sucks but I think they will lead the division. I think they will make the play offs due to having the best record but I see them on the decline also or it might simply be the Wade Phillips factor. He's an awsome coordinator but a horrid HC and play caller. I think he alone screws Dallas's chances but I wonder about Romo also. I might get blasted but I think he and Campbell both were not what they were expected to be for either team.... thankfully the Skins have moved on....when will Dallas?

I don't make any predictions anymore with Dallas. Too many games we were the better team on paper(especially pre Romo) and we end up losing, usually losing momentum because of a dumb turnover.

A lot of good points brought up. I was going to say that if I remembered correctly Shanahan has had a really good record playing against Dallas in the past, not that it really means anything since he now has different players to have to coach up. I think with the Eagles he seemed 50/50 against them. He might have struggled against the Giants.

I often worried about other teams coming to our open dates and observing what the team was doing. I know it might not be the game plan that would be played against their teams but they can get a look at what the tendancies a certain player has, ie; WR's, RB's, or QB cadance. This will be even more of an issue since they will not have a lot of time to practice different snap counts.

Sandtrap, I think your assessment was fair. I too wondered why the Eagles would trade their star QB to another team in the division. Seems as thought they know something we don't.... is he washed up? do they know something about his past injuries we don't? or was Reid simply trying to help out a friend by sending him to a team he would be happy going to? Have the Skins done enough with the OL? As far as the LB's go, I feel Orakpo and Wilson being used as both LB's and DE's might actually help them. Fletcher I think will be solid in the middle, so the big question is how will Carter or whoever is playing the right side will do? I don't see a problem at the secondary, if anything I felt Dallas had more of an issue there. Then there was the NT position... if the Skins are smart and Kemo stays healthy I'd keep Kemo at NT and utilize AH at DE along with Daniels at the other DE position. That alone would be one heck of a DL. AH I don't think will be worth anything to spell Kemo since he's usually only good for about 2 to 3 downs. lol. Unless they plan to rotate Kemo and AH then when needing a heavy package using the one I suggested.

It seems teams always run in cycles. The Skins of the 80's, Dallas of the 90's, Giants of the 2000's. Who is going to take the next 10 yrs? Eagle fans will shout it's their turn but I don't think they will make it back. I don't know why I get that feeling but their window in the 2000's came and went, perhaps it's a Reid thing for me. I think that most teams know what the Giants bring to the table and will have counter measures, not to mention I think their defense will be lagging behind. I think the Skins will be an unknown.... but my gut tells me they will be better then last yr but will be like 9-7, give the Skins 2-3 yrs and they will be dominant again. That leaves Dalls, I always hate giving any type of positive news about them and would like to simply say.... Dallas sucks but I think they will lead the division. I think they will make the play offs due to having the best record but I see them on the decline also or it might simply be the Wade Phillips factor. He's an awsome coordinator but a horrid HC and play caller. I think he alone screws Dallas's chances but I wonder about Romo also. I might get blasted but I think he and Campbell both were not what they were expected to be for either team.... thankfully the Skins have moved on....when will Dallas?

Donovan isn't washed up by any means, but I think he already has reached his peak. We will get a great year from him this year and maybe next, then he might end up doing a "Brunell" on us. The trade would have been optimal if it was done say 3-5 years ago. What gets me about the Donovan lovefest in here is that a lot of guys called him McChoke, etc the past several seasons and now he is the shit since he is in burgundy! I always like McNabb since his Syracuse days. Loved how he trashed Michigan in the Big House in 2000 or 2001. I really hope he has a lot in the tank to make it fun for a few years anyway.

A lot of good points brought up. I was going to say that if I remembered correctly Shanahan has had a really good record playing against Dallas in the past, not that it really means anything since he now has different players to have to coach up. I think with the Eagles he seemed 50/50 against them. He might have struggled against the Giants.

I often worried about other teams coming to our open dates and observing what the team was doing. I know it might not be the game plan that would be played against their teams but they can get a look at what the tendancies a certain player has, ie; WR's, RB's, or QB cadance. This will be even more of an issue since they will not have a lot of time to practice different snap counts.

Sandtrap, I think your assessment was fair. I too wondered why the Eagles would trade their star QB to another team in the division. Seems as thought they know something we don't.... is he washed up? do they know something about his past injuries we don't? or was Reid simply trying to help out a friend by sending him to a team he would be happy going to? Have the Skins done enough with the OL? As far as the LB's go, I feel Orakpo and Wilson being used as both LB's and DE's might actually help them. Fletcher I think will be solid in the middle, so the big question is how will Carter or whoever is playing the right side will do? I don't see a problem at the secondary, if anything I felt Dallas had more of an issue there. Then there was the NT position... if the Skins are smart and Kemo stays healthy I'd keep Kemo at NT and utilize AH at DE along with Daniels at the other DE position. That alone would be one heck of a DL. AH I don't think will be worth anything to spell Kemo since he's usually only good for about 2 to 3 downs. lol. Unless they plan to rotate Kemo and AH then when needing a heavy package using the one I suggested.

It seems teams always run in cycles. The Skins of the 80's, Dallas of the 90's, Giants of the 2000's. Who is going to take the next 10 yrs? Eagle fans will shout it's their turn but I don't think they will make it back. I don't know why I get that feeling but their window in the 2000's came and went, perhaps it's a Reid thing for me. I think that most teams know what the Giants bring to the table and will have counter measures, not to mention I think their defense will be lagging behind. I think the Skins will be an unknown.... but my gut tells me they will be better then last yr but will be like 9-7, give the Skins 2-3 yrs and they will be dominant again. That leaves Dalls, I always hate giving any type of positive news about them and would like to simply say.... Dallas sucks but I think they will lead the division. I think they will make the play offs due to having the best record but I see them on the decline also or it might simply be the Wade Phillips factor. He's an awsome coordinator but a horrid HC and play caller. I think he alone screws Dallas's chances but I wonder about Romo also. I might get blasted but I think he and Campbell both were not what they were expected to be for either team.... thankfully the Skins have moved on....when will Dallas?

ACtually the Gmen and Skins were great during the same time period(80's- early 90's) as the winner of the NFC East usually one the SB. Dallas took the baton from both the Skins and Gmen for most of the 90's. The Eagles never won a SB, but were very competitive during the Randall Cunningham, Chris Carter, Keith Byars era in the early to mid 90's also. Only the hapless Cardinals were never really competitve during that time period, even with Jake Plummer.

Im in San An for business until Saturday. The Cowboys are practicing in town on Friday, so I could do some covert ops.

Actually I would prefer to be overt; I would push Romo into the Riverwalk if I saw him there.

~~~
We will gladly start a bail money fund for you.