Archer: Debating Cowboys, Eagles as NFC East's best

Debating Cowboys, Eagles as NFC East's best

Todd Archer, ESPN Staff Writer

IRVING, Texas -- Nothing stirs up the masses like predictions. ESPN Insider KC Joyner offered up his prediction today: the Philadelphia Eagles will win the NFC East.

Joyner cited four reasons:

Sam Bradford is a vast improvement at quarterback

The makings of the best rushing attack in the NFL

Pass defense should be much improved

Dallas will not be able to lean on the rushing game as much this season

Just as cases can be made for the Eagles on those fronts, cases can be made against them as well. Will Bradford really be healthy? Can the Eagles' offensive line improve? Is Byron Maxwell a difference-maker?

It’s the last point I’d like to look at.

I agree with Joyner on this point. But I don’t think the Cowboys would have been able to rely on the running game as much this season had they retained DeMarco Murray. What he did in 2014 -- 1,845 yards on 392 carries -- was historic.

Would you have expected a repeat of that in 2015 or an improvement in 2015? I wouldn’t have expected that and I trumpeted the importance of the Cowboys keeping Murray. Joyner spent a lot of time discussing Darren McFadden as the leader to replace Murray, but I think it’s Joseph Randle.

Not that that should calm any fears. Until Randle shows he can handle the job, it’s all a projection. McFadden has more of a background, a better draft pedigree and bigger name. That doesn’t mean he is a better runner than Randle, who will have to hear the “left a lot of meat on the bone,” comment all season.

The running game made everything go in 2014. It protected Tony Romo. It protected the defense and everything came together for a 12-4 finish.

Coach Jason Garrett and offensive coordinator Scott Linehan said the Cowboys’ plan will remain the same in 2015 without Murray. That’s easy to say in May and June. It’s another thing to do it in September and October.

I believe the Cowboys will be fine running the ball. Will they gain 2,354 yards like they did in 2014? I don’t think so and I don’t think they would have done that with Murray, either.

Joyner also mentions how the Cowboys will face a difficult slate of receivers in addition to the two games a year they will see Odell Beckham Jr. and DeSean Jackson. Also on the list are Julio Jones, Mike Evans, Vincent Jackson, Jarvis Landry, DeVante Parker, Kelvin Benjamin, Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, Brandon Marshall and Sammy Watkins. He also threw in tight ends Jimmy Graham and Rob Gronkowski.

Last year the Cowboys saw Anquan Boldin, Marques Colston, Brandin Cooks, DeAndre Hopkins, Andre Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald, Michael Floyd, Marshall, Alshon Jeffery and TY Hilton.

The better argument, to me, would have been to say the Cowboys will see better quarterbacks in 2015: Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Cam Newton, Matt Ryan, Russell Wilson and Ryan Tannehill than they did a year ago.

But the Cowboys should also be better defensively than they were a year ago with the addition of Greg Hardy, the return of Sean Lee and the benefit of having Rolando McClain around for a full season. If we’re counting Parker as a big-time receiving threat as a rookie, then throw in Cowboys’ picks Byron Jones and Randy Gregory as bets to make the defense better.

So who’s better? Beats me. Just as I can make cases for the Cowboys, they can be shot down just the same.

But it’s June and makes for some good debates.

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Sorry, but I'm just not seeing the Eagles as even as good as they were last year, let alone better.

How on Earth is Bradford such an upgrade at QB? The guy's career high completion percentage of 60.7 is almost a point less than Romo's career worst. Am I missing something?

Who will the Eagles throw to? Nelson Agholor, Riley Cooper, and Jordan Matthews don't strike fear in anyone, not yet at least, and especially with Bradford behind center.

They are going to be all about running the ball. Spreading defenses wide and ramming Murray down their throats. It's a gimmick. While I like the mismatch of Murray running against nickel defenses, Murray was never built to play a ton of snaps in a short amount of time-- Kelley's bread and butter.

IMO, that approach poses a risk to Murray's health. Backs like that recover on their way back to the huddle, but in this case there is no huddle and no slow walk back to the line.

Defensively I see a solid team led by Fletcher Cox, but again nothing dominant or playoff-worthy.

Somehow Chip Kelley made himself the story and not his actual team. Amazing what a one and done playoff appearance in your rookie season with the rest of the division in transition will do.

ravidubey said:

How on Earth is Bradford such an upgrade at QB? The guy's career high completion percentage of 60.7 is almost a point less than Romo's career worst. Am I missing something?

Who will the Eagles throw to? Nelson Agholor, Riley Cooper, and Jordan Matthews don't strike fear in anyone, not yet at least, and especially with Bradford behind center.

They are going to be all about running the ball. Spreading defenses wide and ramming Murray down their throats. It's a gimmick. While I like the mismatch of Murray running against nickel defenses, Murray was never built to play a ton of snaps in a short amount of time-- Kelley's bread and butter.

IMO, that approach poses a risk to Murray's health. Backs like that recover on their way back to the huddle, but in this case there is no huddle and no slow walk back to the line.

Defensively I see a solid team led by Fletcher Cox, but again nothing dominant or playoff-worthy.

Somehow Chip Kelley made himself the story and not his actual team. Amazing what a one and done playoff appearance in your rookie season with the rest of the division in transition will do.

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THANK YOU.

So many people cite Bradford as a key reason for improvement from the Eagles.

Bradford has never been anything above mediocre in the nfl. He's far enough into his career to think he probably just is what he is. And that doesn't even touch on the huge injury question mark.

ravidubey said:

How on Earth is Bradford such an upgrade at QB? The guy's career high completion percentage of 60.7 is almost a point less than Romo's career worst. Am I missing something?

Who will the Eagles throw to? Nelson Agholor, Riley Cooper, and Jordan Matthews don't strike fear in anyone, not yet at least, and especially with Bradford behind center.

They are going to be all about running the ball. Spreading defenses wide and ramming Murray down their throats. It's a gimmick. While I like the mismatch of Murray running against nickel defenses, Murray was never built to play a ton of snaps in a short amount of time-- Kelley's bread and butter.

IMO, that approach poses a risk to Murray's health. Backs like that recover on their way back to the huddle, but in this case there is no huddle and no slow walk back to the line.

Defensively I see a solid team led by Fletcher Cox, but again nothing dominant or playoff-worthy.

Somehow Chip Kelley made himself the story and not his actual team. Amazing what a one and done playoff appearance in your rookie season with the rest of the division in transition will do.

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Regarding your point about Murray....I think he'll be okay and I don't see fatigue being a huge factor. You have to remember that the Eagles have a pretty solid trio of RBs. R. Mathews, Murray, and Sproles is a solid trio.

I doubt the Eagles run Murray into the ground like the Cowboys did in '14. He'll rotate series and stay relatively fresh.

Now I do doubt that he'll be able to stay healthy all season. Mathews has history of missing chunks of games to injury as well so it wouldn't surprise me at all to see both of them missing 3-5 games this year.

Genghis Khan said:

THANK YOU.

So many people cite Bradford as a key reason for improvement from the Eagles.

Bradford has never been anything above mediocre in the nfl. He's far enough into his career to think he probably just is what he is. And that doesn't even touch on the huge injury question mark.

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Yeah, at least Nick Foles had one amazing ass season. He's equally fragile, but there's clearly a lot more upside.

Genghis Khan said:

THANK YOU.

So many people cite Bradford as a key reason for improvement from the Eagles.

Bradford has never been anything above mediocre in the nfl. He's far enough into his career to think he probably just is what he is. And that doesn't even touch on the huge injury question mark.

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Or him being asked to play in the system that Kelly runs. He is even more immobile than Foles, who after one good year, was exposed.

I personally don't think Bradford makes it through the season healthy regardless. Asking him to not only stay healthy but thrive in that system is asking for too much.

I guess they figure they almost made the playoffs with Sanchez, they simply have to with Bradford who they think is better.

That is faulty thinking IMO.

They are making a ton of assumptions about their defense being better, they might have got a little better at CB, but it is not like they dumped last year's crap and remade themselves with a Revis or something.

Agree with everyone that Bradford is not a huge improvement.

First of all, he's a massive injury risk. He's played in 7 games over the past two seasons.

Second, he's really not that good. His best QBR was just over 50 in 2012, and his career passer rating is 79.3. Sanchez had a QBR of 58 and a passer rating of 88.4 last year. It's not even a given that Bradford will win the job over Sanchez at this point.

22cowboysfan22 said:

Agree with everyone that Bradford is not a huge improvement.

First of all, he's a massive injury risk. He's played in 7 games over the past two seasons.

Second, he's really not that good. His best QBR was just over 50 in 2012, and his career passer rating is 79.3. Sanchez had a QBR of 58 and a passer rating of 88.4 last year. It's not even a given that Bradford will win the job over Sanchez at this point.

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If healthy Sam Bradford should have no problem beating out Sanchez for the job.

Bradford is a better QB and has a better arm. Sanchez has never impressed me, even in college I thought he was vastly overrated.

Anyone think that Murray is going to be a big factor for the Eagles? I think he won't come close to looking like he did last year. They are going to go crazy when realizing that LeSean McCoy was the better back.

vince said:

Anyone think that Murray is going to be a big factor for the Eagles? I think he won't come close to looking like he did last year. They are going to go crazy when realizing that LeSean McCoy was the better back.

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From what some NFL insiders were saying it was a matter of running styles as to why they wanted to move on from McCoy.

The Eagles were looking for more of a one-cut, downhill runner to better fit their zone-blocking scheme. Apparently Murray is supposed to be a better fit for their blocking scheme than McCoy who tends to dance around rather than being decisive. I think Murray is better than McCoy at getting the dirty yards and moving the chains.

I believe we'll see Murray fighting nagging injuries just because of the fast-paced nature of their offense.

Just can't see Kelly trying to become a "control the clock" kind of guy at this point, even if he does have 3 decent RBs.

Bold prediction:

Randle ends up with more yards than Murray does.

I think Bradford could have been a good NFL QB if he'd ever been healthy, but it's all speculation because he's never been healthy. Why everyone assumes he will be this year after another ACL, when he won't have even taken a regular season snap in well over a year, is beyond me.

I think you have to assume their QB is Sanchez until proven otherwise. Which is terrible news for them.

Chocolate Lab said:

I think Bradford could have been a good NFL QB if he'd ever been healthy, but it's all speculation because he's never been healthy. Why everyone assumes he will be this year after another ACL, when he won't have even taken a regular season snap in well over a year, is beyond me.

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Why? What has he done to make you believe he is a good NFL QB with injury problems?

"Could have been"

Sam Bradford’s taking reps with starters in Eagles OTAs

Posted by Darin Gantt on June 2, 2015, 1:23 PM EDT

While most of the talk about the Eagles quarterback situation has centered around the third or fourth guy, we have news today about the one who should be the starter.

According to Albert Breer of the NFL Network, Sam Bradford was taking snaps during team drills in Eagles OTAs Tuesday, splitting first-team reps with Mark Sanchez.

That’s a significant step for Bradford in his recovery from his latest ACL tear, though it’s obviously early in the process.

How quickly he responds from his rehab is going to have a huge impact on both the Eagles’ future and his own, as he’s entering the final year of his rookie deal.

We have the best QB in the division (unless Eli goes on a luck streak as he does once about every 3 or 4 years), the best skill player in the division, the best OL in the division and you could argue that our defense is at least as good as the rest of the division. The Eagles defense will likely be better, although it's not a guarantee, and I'd take what we have over the Giants and Redskins for sure.

Barring injury or general calamity, this is the best team in the division.

1bigfan13 said:

From what some NFL insiders were saying it was a matter of running styles as to why they wanted to move on from McCoy.

The Eagles were looking for more of a one-cut, downhill runner to better fit their zone-blocking scheme. Apparently Murray is supposed to be a better fit for their blocking scheme than McCoy who tends to dance around rather than being decisive. I think Murray is better than McCoy at getting the dirty yards and moving the chains.

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Yep. Murray is a power runner with better than average speed. You can't compare him to McCoy because of that. With Philly's OL i think Murray will be more effective than McCoy.

Carp said:

Bold prediction:

Randle ends up with more yards than Murray does.

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Another bold prediction. I think not.

L.T. Fan said:

Another bold prediction. I think not.

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I think it's a crap shoot, but there's a good chance Randle outproduces him.

Randle is younger, has less tread on the tires, has nothing but injury prone backs around him and has the best OL in the league to block for him.

Murray has more talent, but is injury prone himself and has a group of other backs around him specifically to take the load from him. Oh, and his OL is shit.