NFL Week 8 – New Sherriff in Town
1By Hamish Girvan
The NFC East has a surprise divisional leader the Philadelphia Eagles who have only lost once this season. Led by second year quarterback Carson Wentz they have been proficient of offence and desence. This week they have a divisional match up against the Washington Redskins. The New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys also feature this week
Fly Eagle Fly
Washington Redskins at Philadelphia Eagles Tuesday 1.30pm NZ time
The Eagles are the surprise package of the NFL this season and are already 10-1 favorites to win Superbowl already. Quarterback Carson Wentz is in his second season and certainly looks more composed then a lot of other veterans in the league. A stellar defence is doing the business for them and though they don’t have any real offensive stars they are managing to score at ease.
They come up against a Washington Redskins team who always have high expectations from both pundits and fans however they never quite get there. This season however they are looking slightly more solid and have quarterback Kirk Cousin looking like a man on mission. Head Coach Jay Gruden is one of the longest tenure coaches the Redskins have had for a while (in his 4th season) so you can see how unsettled they have been.
The Eagles have a 4.5 point start however this will not be easy. Take the Redskins to get closer than that
Seattle Seahawks at New York Giants – Monday 9.25am NZ time
The Giants have had a torrid season losing their first 5 games, their star wide receiver Odell Beckham Junior, for the season and basically playing bad football. Last week that changed with an impressive win away at the Denver Broncos. They have a new play caller so maybe the tide has turned – probably too late to make it anything meaningful for the rest of the season though
The Seahawks are having an average season with 3 wins and 2 losses. Not the juggernaut they have been previously maybe this is the start of a decline in their NFC West division. The Seahawks are 4.5 point favourites; however the Giants with their new found mojo could easily take this.
Dallas Cowboys at San Francisco 49ers – Monday 9.05am NZ time
The San Francisco 49ers have not tasted victory this year however losing their last 5 games by 3 points or less means that a win will not be far away. Basically their record does not reflect their competiveness. Here the Dallas Cowboys come to town with the ongoing Ezekiel Elliot distraction. Suspended from playing one day, appealed, and playing the next must take it’s toll.. The Cowboys are off a bye however whether that will be refreshing enough to beat the 49ers by 6.5 points is a possible long shot. The 49ers could easily take this. Another loss by 3 points or less could set some sort of NFL record too. Lay the points on the 49ers.
He should have been suspended for this get up
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G’day Hamish, here’s an interesting fact re. The Philadelphia Eagles, (although you may know of it already):
Because many American Football stars enlisted to serve in WW2, coinciding with shift-work becoming more and more prevalent among blue collar (particularly factory workers); crowd figures fell away quite dramatically from pre-war levels, with some teams from industrial-based cities facing a real struggle for survival.
This consequently led to a merger between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Philly Eagles, who then became “the Steagles’ (don’t know for how long- maybe someone knows?) Weird, but true! You’re welcome.