With the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys scheduled to play for just the second time in 17 days, I'm changing things up a little bit. Instead of reaching out to Blogging The Boys, I'm asking an Eagles writer to answer my question with a Cowboys perspective. BGN's own Dave Mangels took the time to answer my questions. Enjoy.

1) What, if anything, has changed since the last time the Eagles and Cowboys played?



Well, they don't have the incredibly short week to prepare for the game like they did last time. Did you know that the Eagles had a whole seven more hours of rest because they played earlier than the Cowboys? It was an outrageous advantage. The Cowboys had to fly from the Mid-Atlantic to Dallas then only have three days to prepare, in comparison to the Eagles who had to fly from the Mid-Atlantic to Dallas and have only three days and four hours to prepare. That's a significant advantage. Now the Cowboys have 10 days to prepare, unlike last time where they had three days plus time during the bye week to prepare.



2) After the Cowboys-Bears game, Tony Romo noted the short week impacted his preparation. To what extent do you expect to see a different Romo now that the Cowboys will have had extra rest?



As most people know, Romo does not practice on Wednesdays to keep his body in the best shape it can be, which is important because he is 34 and has played through fractured ribs and chronic back pain. This also gives Shit Filled Fan Brandon Weeden quality practice time, which explains why he out played Romo in the loss to the Redskins. So now Romo is completely healthy and back to the elite QB that he is. His mobility is restored and he is feeling as fit as a man half his age.



3) The Cowboys won’t finish at .500 for the first time since 2010. Can you explain why this is such a major accomplishment for Dallas?



It's huge. The Cowboys will make the playoffs this year and do it winning at least 10 games, meaning they will have earned it rather than backed into it or won the division by default. It's a tremendous accomplishment by the players and the 300 person coaching staff of the Cowboys. The progress Jason Garrett and Jerry Jones have promised for years is finally being realized, the sky shining through the hole in Jerry World's roof is the limit for this team.





4) The Cowboys are better on the road (6-0) than they are at (3-4). Why is that?



It's pretty simple: the fans. If you look at Cowboys home games, Jerry World is crawling with the opposing team's fans. The home opener against the 49ers was probably the worst. But that's okay, Jerry Jones will gladly take other people's money. On the road, as is usual for America's Team™, Cowboys fans come out of the woodwork to support their team. Everyone knows true Cowboys fans are the ones who don't live in the Dallas area. It's been a big boost to negate other teams' home field advantages. In a way it would be better if the Eagles won the division.... Dallas would play nothing but home games in the playoffs!



5) What’s prevented the Cowboys from extending Jason Garrett?



That's a good question. He got the team off to their best start in years, because whichever one of the Cowboys four offensive coordinators that makes the game plan finally decided to run the ball more. This has lowered the demand for Tony Romo to throw the ball in crucial times, and kept the porous defense off the field. The 6-1 start against teams that are a combined 40-51 had a lot of people thinking an extension for him and DeMarco Murray were in the works. With the team progressing from three straight 8-8 seasons to actually making the playoffs, Jerry Jones is likely waiting until after the season to give Garrett the contract he deserves.