Brian Baldinger talks about the Eagles and Coach Kelly’s gamble on injured players. Photo by Andy Lewis / contrastphotography.com

The NFC East hasn’t been this interesting in a long, long time.
The surprising play of the Cowboys through the first half of the season has created national interest in this division.

The recent upset of the Cowboys by Washington snapping the Cowboys six-game win streak in front of a national TV audience on Monday night shocked all of the experts. Eagle fans rejoiced as both teams enter the second half of the season with two defeats.

The Thanksgiving showdown between the visiting Eagles and the Cowpokes has been a collision course that both teams are on. That afternoon in front of a football crazed nation should set records for a regular season Fox telecast. But if their is one thing the Washington upset alerted the NFL to is that there are NO guarantees.

So before we start counting the days down to my favorite national holiday, the Eagles better begin to address some shortcomings in the upcoming weeks. Each game before November 27th is an opportunity to becoming a more consistent football team.

The most important concern is ball security. Entering the game versus Houston the Birds were a minus-7 in turnover ration committing 17 turnovers, second most in the league. If they continue turning the ball over at this rate, the showdown on Thanksgiving could become almost meaningless since they will fall out of playoff contention.

And secondly, they must convert a much higher rate of redzone trips into touchdowns. The NFL has been and is a redzone league where by once you cross the oppositions 20 yard line you better be converting at least 60 percent of those chances into touchdowns. Currently the Eagles are converting a league low 35 percent.

The league’s highest scoring team, the Denver Broncos, are converting a league high 83 percent. A direct comparison between Denver and Philadelphia showing both teams with 23 redzone opportunities. The Birds have scored 8 touchdowns while the Broncos have scored 19.

Think about just that statistical comparison. The Broncos have scored 11 more touchdowns than the Birds giving the same number of chances. That has to change for the Birds.

A year ago the Birds were a meandering 3-5 at the halfway point and beginning with Nick Foles breakout game vs the Raiders where he threw for an NFL record 7 touchdown passes the Eagles caught fire and rode a 7-1 second half surge to the NFC East crown and a ticket to the post season. In 2012 the Skins were a meandering 3-6 and slowly began to fix their weaknesses and rode the electric play of rookie QB RG III to a 7 game win streak to claim the NFC East title and a trip to the pstseason soiree’.

I mention the second half runs by those two teams for good measure. Just because the Cowboys and the Eagles jumped out to fast starts doesn’t ensure strong finishes. Perhaps the Skins ride a potentially hot offense and a blitz happy defense to a strong second half. Perhaps the inconsistent Giants wake up and become a team that had a brief three-game win streak before being shutout by the Eagles.

Clearly all four teams in the NFC East have enough weaknesses that nothing can be guaranteed.

I like Chip’s ability to recognize his weaknesses and either addressing them head on or adjusting. He won’t stay the same course and that may include making the dreaded quarterback change IF Nick Foles doesn’t alter his turnover ways.

The league scheduling makers purposelessly began saving division games for the end of the season drama. And it was a smart decision and it will determine many division winners this season.

The Eagles are the best all around team in the NFC East but that doesn’t mean that they will win it. Much work has to be done before they claim the prize.

John Madden used to always say around this time of the year that the season doesn’t begin until their is a frost on the pumpkin.

I have been checking my pumpkins each morning and as of this writing their hasn’t been a frost. But its coming and so are the games that are going to determine the NFC East champion.

I can’t wait to sit down in front of my 90-inch big screen TV and my third helping of turkey and fixings to watch the Cowboys and Birds. I just hope it is for undisputed first place in the division.

Lots of football and dropping temperatures will take place between now and then.