ESPN NFC East Blog

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

On Wednesday afternoon, Eagles future Pro Bowl tight end Brent Celek stopped by for a visit with "Galloway and Company" on 103.3 FM ESPN in Dallas. We talked about how Celek has studied Jason Witten's game and how he thinks the Eagles fans' hatred of the Cowboys has rubbed off on the players.

He also talks about bumping into the great Olympian sprinter Carl Lewis while watching the World Series last Sunday.

Thanks for your patience while I tracked it down.

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

To blame the Giants' three-game losing skid on safety C.C. Brown's work would be completely unfair, but he's certainly played a significant role in the defense's breakdowns. I thought coach Tom Coughlin should've pulled Brown from the Saints game three weeks ago when he was getting lit up by Drew Brees.

Brown

Rouse

But Coughlin indicated that Brown was in the right place, he just wasn't making the proper plays on the ball. Against the Eagles last Sunday, Brown missed an audible call and allowed DeSean Jackson to get loose for a 54-yard touchdown catch. Now, Coughlin has finally replaced him with former Packers third-round pick Aaron Rouse.

It's not like Rouse is that much better in coverage, but the Giants needed to make a change. Rouse has been involved in some big games as a starter for the Packers, so I think he'll be up to the task.

It would also be a huge help to the Giants if defensive tackle Chris Canty and linebacker Michael Boley can return to the lineup. Coughlin has billed this as the game of the season for the Giants. I think he wants to see more of a sense of urgency from his team. Perhaps Rouse will help deliver that against the Chargers on Sunday.

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

Come inside my home office for a couple of minutes as I break down some of the key matchups in Sunday's Cowboys-Eagles game. I'll work on a better backdrop in future videos, although the stark white wall is pretty stunning.

» NFC Final Word: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

Five nuggets of knowledge about Week 9:

The Cowboys believe they can attack the Eagles' defense in the middle of the field. I just returned from Valley Ranch, where two Cowboys offensive players said they thought the middle of the Eagles' defense would be vulnerable. In particular, the Cowboys believe Eagles safeties Sean Jones and Quintin Mikell could leave some holes in that area of the field. Offensive coordinator Jason Garrett is very respectful of cornerbacks Asante Samuel and Sheldon Brown, but he also knows that both players like to gamble at times. The Cowboys hope to use some of that aggressiveness against the Eagles. Players are saying that Eagles defensive coordinator Sean McDermott has been a little more aggressive with his defensive backs than his mentor Jim Johnson. The past couple of games, McDermott hasn't had to blitz a lot to generate pressure. I think you'll see a few more blitzes Sunday because the Eagles believe that quarterback Tony Romo doesn't respond as well to contact as some of the other quarterbacks around the league.

	AP Photo/Stephan Savoia
	Tom Coughlin is trying to motivate the Giants to a victory over the Chargers.

Tom Coughlin is reaching into his bag of motivational tricks against the Chargers. He's let his team know all week that this game's pretty much a must-win. That's not normally Coughlin's style, but he's not used to being on three-game losing streaks. If the Giants lose, Coughlin's all-or-nothing approach will look pretty lame. But I don't think that will happen. More than ever, Coughlin has talked about getting off to a fast start this week. In recent losses, the Giants' defense has been overwhelmed on opening drives. Quarterback Eli Manning hasn't responded well to the pressure -- and it looks like that injured foot is bothering him. To his credit, he's not using as an excuse. ESPN's Chris Mortensen told me Thursday that he thinks Manning's foot has to be bothering him. Let's see if Manning can respond at home Sunday.

The Redskins will be relieved to return to the field. With the constant drama surrounding owner Dan Snyder and his organization, it has to be somewhat refreshing to actually play a game. Unfortunately, the Redskins will face a Falcons team in desperate need of a win to stay in the playoff hunt. Even though he'll probably be rusty, the Redskins have to find a way to get offensive tackle Levi Jones on the field. He's better than some of the lightweights they've been putting out there. Hopefully Jim Zorn and Sherm Lewis holed up and figured out a way for quarterback Jason Campbell to get the ball away quickly. They need more three- and five-step drops in the game plan. Otherwise, the Falcons will be in Campbell's face the entire game. It's encouraging that second-year tight end Fred Davis is making some progress. I think he'll need to become Campbell's best option until tight end Chris Cooley returns. With this offensive line, you don't have enough time to hit Santana Moss on a post pattern. Perhaps Devin Thomas is ready to take on a larger role, too. This team isn't going to challenge for a playoff spot, but a win over the Falcons would certainly help the atmosphere at Redskins Park.

Cowboys coach Wade Phillips will match wits with his old pal Brian Stewart. When Cowboys owner Jerry Jones vowed to take his organization "to the woodshed" after last season's 44-6 loss to the Eagles, he soon fired his defensive coordinator, Stewart. Phillips and Stewart have been close friends for years, so it's made for an awkward situation. Now Stewart is the secondary coach for the Eagles. And he spent part of the week prepping the Eagles' offensive coaches for the Cowboys' defense. As Bradie James told me yesterday, "Stew knows our entire defense." But Phillips have changed up a couple of things and he thinks the new personnel will help disguise his approach in some ways. It will be interesting to see if Stewart's inside knowledge pays off for the Eagles.

How effective will Brian Westbrook be after missing time with a concussion? Westbrook has admitted to being worried about his long-term health -- and that's understandable. But he can't take that mentality onto the field Sunday. Westbrook isn't having a big season, in part, because of injuries. The honest truth, though, is the Eagles haven't really needed him much this season. Rookie LeSean McCoy's been pretty effective and DeSean Jackson, Brent Celek and Jeremy Maclin have all played starring roles at times. The Cowboys will try to defend Celek one-on-one with Gerald Sensabaugh, which could be a mistake. Sensabaugh has done a pretty nice job on tight ends this season, but Celek's having a Pro Bowl-caliber season. He's tied with Jason Witten in catches with 37, but he's averaging over 12 yards per catch. Witten is under 10 yards per catch right now and he hasn't been a vital part of the offense since Miles Austin began lighting up the league. Keep your eye on that Sensabaugh vs. Celek matchup. It could be huge.

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

Coming into the '09 season, every receiving corps in the NFC East had question marks. We're still wondering whether Roy Williams can be a No. 1 receiver in Dallas and if the Giants' Steve Smith is as good as his numbers suggest.

Austin

Jackson

But one thing we know for sure is that the Eagles' DeSean Jackson and Cowboys' Miles Austin have emerged as two of the most dangerous players in the league. With Jackson, it's not that much of a surprise. He had some brilliant moments as a rookie last season, and he's continued to get better. Austin has been an absolute gift from the heavens for the Cowboys. The former Monmouth (the "n" is silent) University star has become quarterback Tony Romo's favorite target.

Now our guy Adam Schefter has unearthed the interesting nugget that a Cowboys and Eagles wide receiver haven't gone to the Pro Bowl in the same season since Michael Irvin and the immortal Fred Barnett both made it in 1992. Before that, you have to go all the way back to Tony Hill and Mike Quick.

In his excellent new 10 Spot column, Schefter predicts that Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb will be the second-half offensive player of the year. OK, I'm headed out to produce my first video for the Beast. This could take all afternoon.

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

During the course of a year, I'll have somewhere in the neighborhood of 60 sports books show up in my mailbox. Unless the book was written by a close friend or my spouse, I don't normally bring it to your attention on the Beast. But while thumbing through Reuben Frank and Mark Eckel's excellent new book "Game Changers: The 50 Greatest Plays in Philadelphia Eagles Football History," I came across an explosive quote from former Eagles assistant and current Ravens head coach John Harbaugh.

Asked why the Eagles have had so much success from 1999-2008 and the Cowboys haven't won a playoff game during that period, Harbaugh had this to say:

"Why is that? Because what Andy Reid and his program stand for is the opposite of what the Cowboys stand for. The Cowboys are a star system. It's all about building around individuals first and collecting talent, collecting great players. Andy has always been about building a team. And over the long haul, it's a team sport, and one of the greatest examples of that is what's happened with the Eagles and the Cowboys over the last 10 years. The Cowboys stand for everything that's wrong with the NFL."

Harbaugh spent nine years with the Eagles as a special teams and secondary coach before becoming the head coach in Baltimore in 2008. Obviously, his dislike of the Cowboys hasn't faded over time. Harbaugh made that comment last March.

Of the 50 greatest plays selected by the authors, 11 of them occurred in games against the Cowboys. Harbaugh was involved in the Pickle Juice game at Texas Stadium on Sept. 3, 2000. It was his idea to open the season with an onside kick, which the Eagles recovered to set up a touchdown drive. The Eagles won that game, 41-14, and Harbaugh was given a lot of credit for his daring idea. It was called the Pickle Juice game because the Eagles drank the stuff to overcome the Texas heat. The temperature soared to 109 that afternoon.

I just thought you guys might enjoy that quote during Eagles-Cowboys week.

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

Redskins safety Chris Horton injured his knee Thursday and had to leave practice, but coach Jim Zorn said he probably wouldn't have an MRI test. The other injury news is that punter Hunter Smith aggravated his groin injury and will be inactive for Sunday's game against the Falcons. The Skins are expected to sign Sam Paulescu to fill in for Smith, so they'll have to make another roster move.

"I don't want to put down Hunter because he's healing," Zorn told reporters Thursday. "I don't want to put him down right now."

Of Horton's injury, Zorn said: "I don't know the extent of it, but he couldn't finish practice. I hope he'll be fine. I hope he'll practice tomorrow."

The Redskins will face a Falcons team that has lost two straight games for the first time in the Mike Smith era.

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

Former Redskins great John Riggins has never been one to hold back his opinions, but he took it to another level Wednesday while appearing on Showtime's "Inside the NFL." Dan Steinberg of The Washington Post has the full transcript right here. Riggins, who has been highly critical of Skins owner Dan Snyder over the past decade, got pretty personal with some of his comments.

"I am saying that I don't think that this franchise can be successful where you have people saying, 'Oh, this person Dan Snyder wants to win. He wants to win.' It's all about priorities. 'What's my priorities? The priority is it's all about me. I have to have my needs met, then I want to make money, and those are one and two, and then I want to win. You can see by the decisions that are made....I don't know if you have agreed with anything I am saying so far, but at this point, I would think you would say, 'Yeah, I'll go along with that.' This person knows nothing about football, absolutely nothing. I don't think they have a clue how a football team comes together, how it works. And yet they are the ones that are basically calling all the shots through a puppet, which is Vinny Cerrato. That is my take on it....I speak for the fans because these are the people that paid my salary for all these years. They are the ones that need to know that this is a bad guy."

Riggins called Snyder a "bad guy" a couple of times and then said the Skins owner had a "dark heart." You should check out the entire transcript because it's pretty wild. Redskins defensive coordinator Greg Blache has not been talking to the media this season, but Riggins' comments caused him to issue a statement defending Snyder. Here's a portion of what Blache had to say:

To hear such a vicious criticism of somebody I consider not just my employer, but a good friend, bothered me. And as much as I hadn't been talking to you, I felt like this is something I needed to do. Somebody needed to stand up and set this record straight. This person, the comment that was made, a 'dark heart,' that's totally, totally untrue. The problem is the fans don't get to know Mr. Snyder like we do, so they get an impression of things that are written and things people say. I'll tell you something from a person who's been here for six years who's gone to him for things that I've needed in my family, there's times that he's come to me when he's heard about issues in my family, and offered his assistance. It's unsurpassed. He's one of the most generous, kind individuals you'll ever meet. My wife and I are involved in hospice, and there's been countless times he's come and helped us with issues with hospice. So to see that and get the feeling that that's what everybody on the outside gets to hear about this person, I just felt like it was time for somebody to stand up and set the record straight. I decided that I was going to do it, I was going to do it today because it's enough. I mean, it really is. We've had criticism from other people outside the building, saying what Dan Snyder is and what he isn't. You don't know Dan Snyder, and that's the problem.

I've always been told that Snyder and Blache are close, so it's not that surprising that Blache rushed to the owner's defense. Did someone from the Redskins ask Blache to make a statement? My guess is that Blache heard what Riggins said and asked management if he could release a statement. Obviously the Redskins signed off on the statement or we wouldn't be reading it.

I mentioned this controversy earlier today, but I thought it probably deserved more attention.

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

Let's take a look at what's going on with our third and fourth-place teams:

Giants

• Mike Garafolo says the Giants don't think they need a players-only meeting right now.

• Joe LaPointe says that three injured Giants are making progress.

• Tom Coughlin has told his team it's a "one-game season" at this point.

• Ralph Vacchiano of the Daily News is handing out midseason report cards.

• Vacchiano also talks about the progress that Canty and Boley are making with their injuries.

Redskins

• Ryan O'Halloran of the Washington Times has the latest on the punt return situation in Washington.

• David Elfin reports that Levi Jones could get the start at left tackle against the Falcons.

• Clinton Portis says this season has helped him appreciate his other ones in the league.

• Wow, the great John Riggins blasted Dan Snyder on Showtime's "Inside the NFL" on Wednesday. Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post has the transcript. Pretty explosive stuff.

	Howard Smith/US PRESSWIRE
	Jason Witten and the Cowboys will return to Lincoln Financial Field for the first since last year's devastating 44-6 loss there on the season's final week.

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

IRVING, Texas -- In a span of about five minutes on Dec. 28, 2008, the Eagles' and Cowboys' seasons took completely different paths. There was a good chance heading into the final game of the regular season that the Eagles would not have anything to play for in terms of making the playoffs.

But shortly before the 4:15 p.m. ET kickoff, everyone at the Linc found out that the Oakland Raiders had done the Eagles a remarkable favor with a comeback win over Tampa Bay. Suddenly, the Eagles and Cowboys were in a winner-take-all situation -- and we all know what happened next.

In one of the most regrettable performances in franchise history, the Cowboys suffered an embarrassing 44-6 loss. Eagles cornerback Sheldon Brown intercepted Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo late in the first half, setting up a Brent Celek touchdown catch that gave the Eagles a 24-3 lead. The rest of the afternoon is still a blur for some Cowboys players and coaches -- and they'd prefer to keep it that way.

In the postgame locker room, Romo delivered his now infamous "life goes on" speech. Romo made some critical remarks about offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, but that wasn't the worst part. He tried to offer some perspective at a time when Cowboys fans weren't ready for it by saying that if he never reached the Super Bowl, he'd still end up having a pretty good life.

It's something you might be able to get away with saying a few months later, but it was an awful miscalculation at the time. It fed the perception that other things were more important to Romo than winning football games -- and it's something that will linger until he wins his first playoff game.

Moments after the game, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones delivered the message of continuity, saying he would stick with head coach Wade Phillips. He also promised that he would take some of his employees "to the woodshed" in an effort to find out what went wrong. Based on their 13-3 '07 season, the '08 Cowboys had been a popular Super Bowl pick. An extremely disappointed and angry Jones set out to change the culture in his locker room, although he never phrased it quite like that.

Jones shut down his reform school that had housed Adam "Pacman" Jones and Tank Johnson. And then he made one of the toughest decisions of his career in releasing Pro Bowl wide receiver Terrell Owens. It shouldn't have been a difficult decision after watching T.O. splinter the locker room, but it was because it required Jones to admit that he'd made a mistake in giving Owens a lucrative contract extension.

Jones fired defensive coordinator Brian Stewart and gave that title to Phillips. He also replaced special teams coach Bruce Read with Joe DeCamillis, perhaps one of the most underrated moves of the offseason based on the Cowboys' immediate improvement in that area.

	Tim Heitman/US Presswire
	Miles Austin's emergence has been a boon for the Cowboys' receiving corps.

Now seven games into the '09 season, there doesn't seem to be as much sense of entitlement in the Cowboys' locker room. The one minor controversy -- Roy Williams' lack of chemistry with Romo -- doesn't seem to faze the other players. I'm sure it's embarrassing for Jones to see Williams go for about 19 yards per game, but that is offset by the remarkable rise of former undrafted wide receiver Miles Austin.

I almost laughed in Jones' face when he told us at the owners meeting that Austin had the potential to make people forget about T.O. -- but that's exactly what's happened. The only time you hear T.O.'s name in Dallas is when someone's joking about his lack of production in Buffalo.

The Cowboys return to the Linc on Sunday a confident team. They're well aware of their reputation for falling apart in December -- and that's why they need to stack wins in November. It helps that their new emotional leader on defense, inside linebacker Keith Brooking, doesn't give a rip about last season's 44-6 loss. He was a member of a Falcons playoff team at the time, and his refusal to buy into the Cowboys' past has been an important part of the culture change at Valley Ranch. Players such as linebacker Bradie James certainly haven't forgotten how their '08 season ended, but they don't seem obsessed with it.

"We know what happened last year," James told reporters Wednesday. "This is a different team, a different season, but we haven't forgotten. The only way we can right that wrong is to go out there and win, whether it's ugly, sexy, it doesn't really matter. We've got to go out there and find a way to win. We'll definitely know where we are as a team after we play this game."

Williams said Wednesday that Phillips hasn't even brought up the Cowboys' last trip to the Linc. And the receiver said he didn't intend on reliving his two-catch, 4-yard performance in the game.

I think it's a good sign for the Cowboys. This team appears to have a different approach. It should be enough motivation that the winner of this game will be in the driver's seat in the division race. And you know what they say about crippling 44-6 losses.

Life goes on.

Ed Werder talks about Dallas receiver Roy Williams' comments about Tony Romo.

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

Let's take a look at what folks around the country are saying about the Eagles and Cowboys this morning.

Cowboys

• David Moore of the Dallas Morning News says the Cowboys haven't forgotten the 44-6 loss to the Eagles.

• Randy Galloway of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram thinks Patrick Crayton should start ahead of Roy Williams. I told Randy on Wednesday that I don't think it's an argument worth making because Jerry Jones would never let it happen.

• Andy Reid doesn't see a lot of flaws in the Cowboys' secondary right now, according to Bill Nichols of the Dallas Morning News.

• Charean Williams and Jeff Caplan teamed up to write a similar story on the Cowboys' improving secondary.

• Clarence E. Hill of the Star-Telegram leads off his Cowboys story with a quote from President Obama.

Eagles

• Donovan McNabb has raised his leadership profile this season, according to Andy Reid.

• Brian Westbrook is ready to go for Sunday's game against the Cowboys. Bob Brookover of the Inquirer explains what that means for the Eagles.

• Reuben Frank talks about Tony Romo's struggles against the Eagles.

• Bill Wolff thinks Philadelphians should show Donovan McNabb some love.

• Ashley Fox, Bob Brookover and Jeff McLane debate the leadership skills of McNabb.

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

Don't look now, but Eagles tight end Brent Celek is quietly emerging as one of the better tight ends in the NFC. The Giants tried to cover him one-on-one with safety Michael Johnson and he made them pay with a 17-yard touchdown catch.

Celek

Celek, now in his third season out of the University of Cincinnati, has 37 catches for 447 yards and three touchdowns. He made the smart decision to study film of Cowboys Pro Bowl tight end Jason Witten as soon as soon as he entered the league. He said he's learned a lot from watching Witten -- especially in terms of how to set up routes.

Witten has the same amount of catches as Celek this season, but he only has 348 yards and one touchdown. I believe the Cowboys will try to use safety Gerald Sensabaugh in one-on-one coverage with Celek. And I think that will be a mistake.

I had the chance to visit with Celek on Wednesday via 103.3 ESPN Radio in Dallas. I'll try to get the audio for you guys later today.

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

Giants defensive tackle Chris Canty (calf) and linebacker Michael Boley (knee) both practiced Wednesday and it looks like there's a decent chance they'll both play Sunday against the Chargers. Having Boley back would be a huge boost for the defense -- especially with how the Chargers use their running backs in the passing game.

In talking to Pro Bowl defensive end Justin Tuck the last couple of weeks, he's talked about how important Canty's return could be for the defense. But Tuck and Umenyiora kept reminding Canty to make sure he was completely healthy before trying to return. It helps that Tuck and Umenyiora have both dealt with serious injuries in the past. Canty has taken an optimistic approach to the time he's missed.

"Right now, one of the things I have going for myself is that I’m fresh,” Canty said. “I haven’t been through the grind like everybody else has, so I have to use that to my advantage."

The Giants have to put some pressure on Philip Rivers on Sunday to have a chance. Having a 6-7 defensive tackle would certainly help their cause. It's been a great day in the life of the Beast. I'll see you back here soon.

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

In case you missed it, Redskins defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth is apparently having a remarkable season. He told reporters at Redskins Park today that everything he predicted upon his signing last March ($41 mil guaranteed) had come true. But he admitted one glaring omission:

"I remember you asked me that question when I first signed, and I said me being here will help other guys' numbers," said Haynesworth. "Don't reflect just off my numbers. But what I should have said is we'll get some more wins. That's the thing I failed to mention, but everything else I said has happened."

So do Redskins fans take any solace in the fact that Haynesworth has played relatively well during an awful season? Jason Reid of the Washington Post pointed out that the Skins already have 18 sacks this season after finishing with 24 in '08. He credits the presence of Haynesworth for causing the increase. After watching several Skins games, I'm not sure I necessarily buy that.

Haynesworth was supposed to help transform the defense into a dominant unit. I haven't seen anything close to dominance. The Redskins were handed one of the easiest opening stretches in the history of the league (seriously) and they found a way to lose five of those games. In the early games that I witnessed, Haynesworth was often too winded to stay on the field when the Redskins needed him most.

I realize the Skins' offense put their defense in bad situations, but it's still strange to me that so many folks are going out of their way to justify the Haynesworth signing? He was a brilliant player for the Titans the past two seasons, but he's not going to single-handedly take you to the playoffs.

The Redskins have made crippling decisions in free agency and the draft during the Snyder era, so we shouldn't be shocked that they've ended up in this predicament. Snyder and executive vice president of football operations Vinny Cerrato have an inflated opinion of their own personnel, explaining why they're always "one player away."

Haynesworth is one of the best defensive players in the league. And that's why there's no need to keep defending him when he's not meeting expectations.