The other day I had an opportunity to talk football with some friends. I thought it was fairly typical of our area as the conversation included 2 Giants fans, a Jets fan, and me, an Eagles fan. New Jersey is a battle ground state for pro football. South Jersey is solid Eagle Country, North Jersey is either Giant or Jet Land, the Jersey Shore is heavily New York, but we Eagle fans are a vocal minority. What kills me are the Cowboys fans in our area. Eagles, Giant, and Jet fans have some sort of geography - some kind of turf - linking us to our teams. Cowboys fans are people that jumped on the bandwagon during a period when the Cowboys were good. I can respect fans that grew up in an area and moved, but then stayed loyal to their team, but Cowboys fans are disgraceful. "America's Team" - says who??!! If anyone follows this "Hard Knocks" on HBO, it is little wonder the Cowboys can't win a playoff game. Compared to past seasons featuring the Jaguars and Ravens, Cowboys camp looks like a Country Club! There seems to be little discipline. I wonder if Wade Phillips will be the anchor that pulls the mighty Cowboy ship to the bottom! One can only hope....
Anyway, my conversation on Friday was a typical debate between fans. One thing did become clear to me, however. Without Plaxico Burris, does the Giant offense scare anybody? I do not believe in Brandon Jacobs. He runs straight up and down, and doesn't have big play speed. They have a nice tight end in Boss, but he isn't going to block a soul, and he isn't Shockey. They have a solid offensive line. The big question is Eli Manning, is he for real? Plaxico Burris is the guy that is the real threat.
Jet football is a much shorter conversation. They have Farve. Now I know everyone loves him, but let's not forget he was a BAD quarterback for two years prior to last year. I think he will throw a fair amount of TDs and a good amount of INTs. The Jet Defense is average at best, and Farve will be playing catch up all year. Playing catch up regularly in the NFL will lead to a lot of INTs.
After talking football and comparing teams, I would make the argument the Eagles have the best QB in the NFC. Who else is there - Manning? Hasselback? Romo? All have question marks. I think Donovan will be healthy, I think a return of LJ Smith, an improved Reggie Brown, Westbrook, Curtis, and DeSean Jackson will be enough for Donovan. He will be a 30 TD - 9 INT guy again.
One note: in my last post I mention Hunt had a good game. Apparently good enough for the Eagles to search for a way for Hunt to make team. He is now getting fullback reps. That is also a good indicator of how bad Jason Davis has been this camp. He should be the guy, but he won't take the position. I, personally, am rooting for Hunt. He could be an explosive fullback if he can take the pounding and learn the position.
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