The Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys have one of the most storied rivalries in professional sports.
Recently, instead of two closely matched teams battling on the gridiron, it has been one heavily favored team over an underdog fighting an uphill battle, with the occasional upset sprinkled in.
Last year, the underdog was Philadelphia. In the first game, the Eagles got trounced 38-17 at home in Week 9. Yet during Week 15, still as the underdog, the Eagles stunned the NFC's numero uno 10-6 in Dallas.
In the '90s, Dallas was favored, yet that all changed when Donovan McNabb was in his groove. Only recently has Dallas regained the advantage.
This year could prove to be different than years past, because both teams appear stacked on paper and should be more than evenly matched; they should be competing for playoff seedings.
The Cowboys (13-3 in 2007) will return most of their star-studded roster, which includes such big names as Tony Romo (All-Pro QB, who threw for 4,211 yards, 36 TDs, and 19 interceptions), Terrell Owens (All-Pro WR, who had 1,355 yards and 15 TDs), Marion Barber (All-Pro RB, who ran for 975 yards and 10 TDs), Jason Witten (All-Pro TE, who had 1,145 yards and 7 TDs), and Demarcus Ware (All-Pro LB, who made 84 tackles and had 14 sacks).
They also brought in Zach Thomas and Pacman Jones and lost Julius Jones (now with Seattle) to free agency. This roster, despite not winning in the playoffs, was the NFC's number one seed in 2007 and is driven to repeat in 2008.
One of their bigger challenges will come from within their own division, not from the world champion New York Giants or last year's feel-good playoff wildcard Washington Redskins.
The Eagles also return such playmakers as Brian Westbrook (All-Pro RB, who had 2,104 yards from scrimmage and 13 total TDs), Donovan McNabb (the 5-time Pro Bowl QB, who had 3,324 passing yards, 19 TDs, 7 interceptions, and 236 rushing yards), and Trent Cole (All-Pro DE, who had 12.5 sacks).
Philadelphia (8-8 in 2007) has upgraded their roster and is ready to make one last push for a Super Bowl with Donovan McNabb as their quarterback. They have added the top free agent in Asante Samuel, as well as speed pass-rusher Chris Clemons (8 sacks in 2007).
They added more impact in the draft with DT Trevor Laws from Notre Dame and speedy WR/PR/KR DeSean Jackson. They also franchised a now healthy L.J. Smith and will have McNabb at 100 percent for the first time in 18 months, when he tore his ACL against the Titans.
The Eagles not only added impact players, but they also added them in the right positions to cripple their biggest divisional competition: Dallas. Asante Samuel has proven over the last two years that he is an excellent playmaker at cornerback, with 16 interceptions (tied for the most during that period), and Chris Clemons should be able to pressure Tony Romo.
These two additions should be able to do more than contain an explosive Dallas offense; they should be enough to SHUT IT DOWN. The Eagles proved last year that when they get turnovers they win, like the three interceptions they got against Dallas during their second meeting.
With a high powered secondary and improved pressure in Romo's face, the Eagles are ready to face the Cowboys and NFL fans can prepare for two great games next year.
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