PHILADELPHIA – The calendar says Howie Roseman will preside over his third NFL draft as general manager of the Philadelphia Eagles.

It’s the first one he can really put his stamp on.

Roseman replaced Tom Heckert in January 2010, just a few months before the draft — when most of the scouting and grading of players already was complete. Last year, the lockout changed much of the landscape, and free agency came after the draft.

“You want to put your own spin on it and you want to bring in some of your own people and the people that share your philosophy,” Roseman said. “And I think that takes time.”

With three of the top 51 picks in this draft, and nine picks overall, one thing is clear.

The time is now.

“There’s an evolution of trying to get guys, guys who have contracts, bring them into the building and if you’re changing things, certainly in the first year, you can’t do that right away because you’re coming in in January, the scouting’s going on and then you have a draft right there,” Roseman said. “And the second year, last year was a unique situation. No excuses, but it was a unique situation in terms of the timing of the draft and free agency.”

There’s more pressure on Roseman this time around because the Eagles are coming off a disappointing season that began with tons of hype and Super Bowl expectations. They finished 8-8, which earned them the No. 15 pick on Thursday night.

“You feel like this is the first year that really the playing field is level and it is what it was supposed to be,” Roseman said. “I’m really excited about that. I’m excited about our football team that we have now, excited to add to that, and excited about the future.”

The Eagles need to bolster a defence that struggled badly before a season-ending, four-game winning streak. A pass rusher and a playmaking safety are tops of Philadelphia‘s list of needs. Safety Mark Barron (Alabama), tackles Fletcher Cox (Mississippi State), Michael Brockers (LSU) and Jerel Worthy (Michigan State) or ends Quinton Coples (North Carolina) and Nick Perry (USC) could be the choice with the 15th pick.

Of course, Roseman insists the Eagles will follow the popular pre-draft cliché, and take the “best player available.”

“I think when we go back and look back at our drafts, sometimes we have probably drafted based on need, based on some circumstances,” he said, “and we’re trying to make sure that we’re taking the best player available now, going forward.”

He may have been referring to trading up and taking defensive end Jerome McDougle at No. 15 in 2003. Or choosing wide receiver Freddie Mitchell at No. 25 in 2001. Roseman wasn’t the GM for either of those drafts, but he was part of the organization. McDougle and Mitchell are the two biggest busts during Andy Reid’s tenure as coach.

“We always look at the draft as a long-term decision for our franchise,” Roseman said. “If that best player happens to be at a position where someone’s already starting but we think this guy has a chance to be a really great player for the Philadelphia Eagles, we’re still going to take him because we’re trying to take the best player; we’re not trying to take the best player at specific position.

“I think that’s important.”

Maybe that’s why there’s been some speculation the Eagles will move into the top 10 and take quarterback Ryan Tannehill, even though they have Michael Vick. Despite making just 19 starts under centre at Texas A&M, Tannehill is expected to be the third quarterback taken in the draft behind Stanford’s Andrew Luck and Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III of Baylor.

It would be a stunner if he came to Philadelphia.

“We have so much confidence in Michael Vick leading our team,” Roseman said. “The way that he works, and the determination he has, we’re all in with Michael. Michael is still a young quarterback. He looks great to me. He’s healthy and he’s determined. We feel very lucky to have him as our franchise quarterback.”

Roseman’s first two drafts are still being graded.

In 2010, the Eagles traded up to No. 13 to draft defensive end Brandon Graham. He’s been limited to just 16 games because of injuries and has three sacks in two seasons. Jason Pierre-Paul went to the New York Giants two picks after Graham. Pierre-Paul had 16 1/2 sacks last season and played a key role in helping the Giants win the Super Bowl.

Clearly, that didn’t pan out for Roseman and the Eagles.

Last year, the Eagles stayed put at No. 23 and selected guard Danny Watkins, a 26-year-old former firefighter who hadn’t played football until college. Watkins had a solid rookie season.

The Eagles found another starter for the offensive line in last year’s draft when they took centre Jason Kelce in the sixth round. Kelce was the only player chosen in the final two rounds that started 16 games. Linebacker Brian Rolle was second with 13 starts, and he also did it for the Eagles.

“We clearly want to come out of this with a player that we feel really good about and get someone who can make a difference,” Roseman said. “That’s what we’re looking for as we go into the draft.”

The Philadelphia Eagles had to watch the very last game of the NFL regular season with a wistful eye. As Eagles fans like myself know, the unofficial NFC East title game pitting the Dallas Cowboys vs the New York Giants on Jan. 1 didn’t have to be possible. With one or two more Philadelphia wins, Dallas and New York would have been eliminated well before the finale, perhaps as they deserved to be.

Instead, these two 8-7 clubs fought for the NFC East crown while the hottest team in the division began their vacation hours earlier. But if any of these two teams could remotely come close to deserving the NFC East in the Eagles’ place, it was pretty clear that it was the Giants in their 31-14 win.

Dallas’s mental toughness and ability to win late has even been brought into question by the likes of Emmitt Smith. Meanwhile, New York always seems to find an extra spark of life whenever Tom Coughlin is in danger of getting fired. Therefore, it made more sense that the Giants were the only team to show a pulse in the first half as they jumped to a 21-0 lead.

New York was the squad leaping over the opposition, getting big passing plays and even using a power running game like in the old days, while Dallas was utterly limp and was wilting in the spotlight. However, this wouldn’t be an NFC East title game if both games didn’t look overwhelmed and ready to collapse at some point.

The Giants looked ready to fall apart again when the lead shrunk to 21-14 and the Cowboys looked poised to get a chance to tie it up. But on a third-down play in the middle of the fourth, Eli Manning all but sowed up the division title with a 44-yard bomb to his new favorite target, Victor Cruz. It didn’t go for a touchdown, yet it kept Dallas from getting the ball back, gave New York momentum for good, and led to a field goal that put the Cowboys right back against the wall.

The Giants’ victory was reflective of their season as a whole, just like the Eagles’ last victory over the Washington Redskins was reflective of theirs. The Eagles started pretty slow and then poured it on over the Redskins at the end, just as they started slow and poured it on at the end of 2011. Meanwhile, the Giants started hot with a 6-2 record and a 21-0 lead over the Cowboys, then almost blew the season and the game in the middle before rallying back at the very end.

Unlike the Cowboys, Eagles and Redskins, the Giants mastered the art of starting and finishing the year on a hot streak. The rest of the NFC East either got hot early and couldn’t keep up, or started terribly and got better when it was too late.

There were no really deserving champions in this division, yet considering the mess that Dallas, Philadelphia and Washington made of their seasons, New York proved to be the only one capable of cleaning up its messes. In any other year, that probably wouldn’t be enough for the Giants to survive – but thankfully for them, this wasn’t any other year.

Robert Dougherty is a life-long Philadelphia resident who has followed the Eagles since he was eight years old.

Other stories by this contributor

Eagles’ finale victory reflects season as a whole

NFL playoff picture a mixed bag of suspense in Week 17

Jets need a 2008 Eagles-style miracle

Coughlin only NFC East coach still playing for his job

Eagles, Redskins finale rare meaningless Week 17 game

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

84,834 excited Dallas Cowboys fans showed up at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington Christmas Eve hoping for an early Christmas present and a Cowboys victory over the hated Philadelphia Eagles. Philly embarrassed the Cowboys earlier in the season in Philadelphia, and Dallas was hoping for revenge to maintain their 1-game lead over the New York Giants in the NFC East on the next to the last game of the regular season. Unfortunately, it became pretty evident early on things weren’t going to go Dallas’ way.

The Eagles won the coin toss and elected to receive to begin the game. Michael Vick led the visitors down the field, aided by a couple of spectacular catches by his receivers and a face mask call on Anthony Spencer. He hit Brent Celek in the end zone from 13 yards out with 11:30 left in the first quarter, capping an 8-play, 80-yard drive that took 3:30. Alex Henery added the PAT and Philly led 7-0.

Dwayne Harris returned the kick from the goal line out to the 34, setting Tony Romo and the offense up with good field position. The offense picked up 1 first down and moved the ball to midfield, but on a 4th-and-4, the offensive line fell apart, forcing Romo to rush his throw, and after an incompletion Matt McBriar punted the ball away to the Eagle 19.

Vick moved his team out to his 45, but the Dallas defense stiffened and Dallas went back to work on offense at their 20. The offense came back on the field with Stephen McGee at the helm after it was announced that Tono Romo had suffered an injury to his right hand and was in the locker room undergoing x-rays.

McGee moved the offense out to the 48, but the drive stalled and McBriar punted the ball down to the Philly 9 and the Eagles took back over on offense from there with 2:44 left in the opening period.

The Eagles picked up 1 first down and then stalled out, and Dallas got the ball back at their 21 after Chas Henry punt with 14:52 left in the first half of play. It was announced as the drive began that x-rays on Romo’s throwing hand were negative, but McGee came back on the field with the offense.

McGee moved the team down the field, but a holding call resulted in the possession running out of gas, and McBriar punted away down to the Philadelphia 10. A holding call against the visitors during the kick moved the ball back to the 5 and Vick and the offense took the field again.

Vick carved the Dallas defense up like slicing a turkey, aided by a bone-headed unnecessary roughness call on Anthony Spencer. Philly moved 95 yards and appeared to score their second touchdown of the game on a 9-yard pass from Vick to Jason Avant, but when the call was reviewed it was determined that Avant fumbled the ball into the end zone prior to the ball crossing the goal line, and Dallas was awarded possession on a touchback at their 20, averting what could have well been a deficit too large to overcome. The turnover gave the Dallas fans new life and hope that their hometown heroes would still find a way to win the game.

The ‘Boys got a good drive going, but stalled out on the Eagle 39 and McBriar punted the ball down to the Philly 13 where the visitors got the ball back with 55 seconds left in the first half.

Vick took his team 87 yards in just 6 plays, using 50 seconds off the clock, and hit Jeremy Macklin from the 5 on a 3rd-and-goal play for the second Eagle TD of the day. Henery added the point after and Philly had a commanding 14-0 lead going into the locker room.

Dallas got the ball to begin the 3rd quarter, but had a quick 3-and-out and the visitors got the ball back. Thanks to an intentional grounding call against Vick, Dallas got the ball back on a punt. Dwayne Harris took the ball and took a helmet-to-helmet blow from an Eagles defender, giving the Cowboys an additional 15 yards out to their 47.

McGee hit Martellus Bennett for a gain of 14 on the first play of the drive, moving the ball to the Philly 39. Two incompletions and a run for no gain later, McBriar punted the ball away to the Eagle 12 with 10:50 left in the 3rd quarter.

Rob Ryan got the defense motivated and after a 3-and-out, the offense got the ball back again. The offense came back out at the Dallas 25 after a 56-yard punt. The inept offensive line was non-existent as far as protecting McGee, and the ‘Boys suffered another 3-and-out. After a 43-yard McBriar punt, the Eagles had excellent starting field position at their 41.

On the first play of the possession Vick hit Celek for a gain of 39 down to the Dallas 20, and Cowboys fans began to realize the game was almost certainly a lost cause. The defense stiffened, forcing a 43-yard Henery field goal, but the visitors had an almost insurmountable 17-0 lead with 4:30 left in the 3rd quarter. The scoring drive was 5 plays, 34 yards, and 2:27.

The offensive line was inept yet again in the next Dallas possession, and the Cowboys suffered yet another 3-and-out. Chad Hall returned McBriar’s punt 1 yard to the Philly 41 with 2:53 left in the quarter.

The Eagles went on a 9–play, 26-yard drive in 4:28 before settling for a 51-yard Henery field goal, putting the visitors ahead 20-0 with 13:25 left in the game.

Harris returned the ensuing kickoff 51-yards to his 49, giving his team their best starting field position of the contest. It didn’t do any good though, as the offense proved once again they didn’t belong on an NFL field this day, going 3-and-out yet again.

Philly picked up one first down before having to punt away on the next series. Harris returned the punt to his 23 and Dallas took over with 9:33 left in the game, trying to find the end zone for the first time.

The offense FINALLY managed to put a decent drive together, converting on a 4th down at the Eagle 34. They ‘Boys had another 4th-and-8 at the Philadelphia 16 with 2:22 left in the game. McGee’s pass for Bennett in the end zone was incomplete and the Eagles took over at their 16 with 2:13 left in the game.

The defense rose to the occasion, forced a punt, and Bruce Carter blocked the kick inside the Philly 20, giving the home team one last chance to get on the scoreboard and avoid a shutout. The inept offense finally got it together and McGee hit Miles Austin with under 30 seconds left for a touchdown. Dan Bailey hit the PAT, and the gap narrowed to 20-7. The Cowboys attempted an onside kick but the Eagles recovered, ran one play, and the game was over.

To make matters even worse, on top of the loss, the Giants defeated the New York Jets, earlier in the day, technically giving the Giants the lead back in the NFC East, with both teams at 8-7 on the year.

It all comes down to Sunday at the new Meadowlands when the Cowboys travel to East Rutherford, NJ. The winner of the game will win the NFC East, while the loser is done and doesn’t make the playoffs. Cowboys’ fans hope the ‘Boys take care of business, realistically they DON’T deserve to make the playoffs and they very well may be one-and-done if they do.

As fans seem to say about them annually, there is always next year!

So if you’re a fan of the Philadelphia Eagles or the Washington Redskins, you probably don’t care very much about Sunday night’s Cowboys-Giants game. I’m guessing the whole idea of it makes some of you sick to your stomach. Or maybe you’re like me and that’s happening just because you ate too much over the weekend.

Anyway, for those of you in the division whose teams are eliminated from playoff contention, I present the current 2012 NFL Draft order, as it would stand if the season ended right this very minute, according to ESPN Stats & Information:

1. Indianapolis Colts (2-13)

2. St. Louis Rams (2-13)

3. Minnesota Vikings (3-12)

4. Cleveland Browns (4-11)

5. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-11)

6. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-11)

7. Washington Redskins (5-10)

8. Miami Dolphins (5-10)

9. Carolina Panthers (6-9)

10. Buffalo Bills (6-9)

11. Kansas City Chiefs (6-9)

12. Arizona Cardinals (7-8)

13. Philadelphia Eagles (7-8)

14. Seattle Seahawks (7-8)

15. San Diego Chargers (7-8)

16. Chicago Bears (7-8)

The tiebreaker is strength of schedule — i.e., if you have a weaker one, you pick higher. The Redskins’ opponents’ combined record is a pretty poor .476, which looks as though it would allow them to jump any or all of the three teams in front of them if they lost to the Eagles on Sunday and those teams won. So they could get up as high as No. 4, potentially, which would greatly improve their chances of drafting Baylor quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III if that’s what they want to do.

The Eagles’ opponents’ combined record is .500 and will drop when they play the Redskins on Sunday. Should they lose, it looks as though they might possibly be able to sneak into the top 10 if a couple of the teams ahead of them were to win. A victory against the Redskins likely would push the Eagles into the second half of the first round.

Meanwhile, anyone see me on SportsCenter this morning? I’ll be back on around 12:15 pm ET, live from the Giants’ training facility here in East Rutherford, N.J., in case any of my Giants-fan friends want to get a look at my smiling face.

PHILADELPHIA – For all those super expectations, all the preseason hype, all the big-name additions, the Philadelphia Eagles are left to ponder all that went wrong.

Despite their late-season surge — a three-game winning streak — the Eagles (7-8) aren’t going to the playoffs. That’s the reality for this Dream Team.

So before they begin looking ahead to next season, they’re thinking about the ‘what ifs?’ One play could be the difference in several of the losses, especially because the Eagles blew five fourth-quarter leads.

“If we would have gotten into the playoffs, I feel we would have definitely done some damage,” quarterback Michael Vick said after Saturday’s 20-7 win at Dallas. “It’s unfortunate that we didn’t and that’s the game of football. If you make some mistakes early and you get behind in the count in the win/loss column, you sell yourself short in the end and you’re in the position that we are in. We’re just happy that we are finishing strong. We have one more game to play and we’re going to give it everything we’ve got.”

Vick and his teammates wasted an opportunity to repeat as division champions in a mediocre NFC East that will crown a champion — either the Cowboys or New York Giants — with no more than nine wins.

The Eagles entered Saturday at 6-8 and still had a chance to win the division, but were eliminated when the Giants beat the New York Jets, rendering their game at Dallas meaningless.

“I’ve watched this team grow as the weeks have went on,” Vick said. “The last three or four weeks, we’ve come together as a team. It’s a family environment, a family atmosphere and that translates to winning. That’s why you see a different team. I think we are well put together and well fit. We’re playing together and that’s what it’s all about. But it takes time to build that chemistry, build that unity, that togetherness. Doing it now, it’s exciting for me and there’s not a place that I’d rather be each and every day.”

When the Eagles went on a spending spree and brought in Nnamdi Asomugha, Jason Babin, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Cullen Jenkins, Steve Smith, Ronnie Brown and Vince Young to join a roster that already had a talented core of star players, expectations were elevated to perhaps unrealistic levels.

Even management declared this an all-or-nothing season in which nothing less than a Super Bowl victory would be considered a success. Now the Eagles are looking back and wondering how much they really needed those off-season minicamps and a full training camp.

“We are finishing strong, and are showing the fans and everybody else what the true Eagles could have been, what we could have been doing at the beginning of the season,” Rodgers-Cromartie said. “It just took a while to get there. We take that into the off-season and don’t look back.”

It seemed the Eagles could be headed for major changes when they were 4-8. Fans wanted coach Andy Reid fired and it appeared offensive-line-coach-turned-defensive-co-ordinator Juan Castillo would lose his job.

But a strong finish could keep this coaching staff together for at least another season. Reid is missing the playoffs for just the fourth time in 13 years, so this is new territory for many of his players.

“This is an unfamiliar feeling, an unfamiliar sight,” wide receiver DeSean Jackson said. “I’ve never really witnessed this. It’s a reality check. Look in the mirror. Everybody has to check themselves. Hopefully, we can finish strong and come back in the off-season or next year, whenever we are all together, and really eliminate all the mistakes we had early on.”

So before they begin looking ahead to next season, they’re thinking about the ‘what ifs?’ One play could be the difference in several of the losses, especially because the Eagles blew five fourth-quarter leads.

“If we would have gotten into the playoffs, I feel we would have definitely done some damage,” quarterback Michael Vick said after Saturday’s 20-7 win at Dallas. “It’s unfortunate that we didn’t and that’s the game of football. If you make some mistakes early and you get behind in the count in the win/loss column, you sell yourself short in the end and you’re in the position that we are in. We’re just happy that we are finishing strong. We have one more game to play and we’re going to give it everything we’ve got.”

Vick and his teammates wasted an opportunity to repeat as division champions in a mediocre NFC East that will crown a champion — either the Cowboys or New York Giants — with no more than nine wins.

The Eagles entered Saturday at 6-8 and still had a chance to win the division, but were eliminated when the Giants beat the New York Jets, rendering their game at Dallas meaningless.

“I’ve watched this team grow as the weeks have went on,” Vick said. “The last three or four weeks, we’ve come together as a team. It’s a family environment, a family atmosphere and that translates to winning. That’s why you see a different team. I think we are well put together and well fit. We’re playing together and that’s what it’s all about. But it takes time to build that chemistry, build that unity, that togetherness. Doing it now, it’s exciting for me and there’s not a place that I’d rather be each and every day.”

When the Eagles went on a spending spree and brought in Nnamdi Asomugha, Jason Babin, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Cullen Jenkins, Steve Smith, Ronnie Brown and Vince Young to join a roster that already had a talented core of star players, expectations were elevated to perhaps unrealistic levels.

Even management declared this an all-or-nothing season in which nothing less than a Super Bowl victory would be considered a success. Now the Eagles are looking back and wondering how much they really needed those offseason minicamps and a full training camp.

“We are finishing strong, and are showing the fans and everybody else what the true Eagles could have been, what we could have been doing at the beginning of the season,” Rodgers-Cromartie said. “It just took a while to get there. We take that into the offseason and don’t look back.”

It seemed the Eagles could be headed for major changes when they were 4-8. Fans wanted coach Andy Reid fired and it appeared offensive-line-coach-turned-defensive-coordinator Juan Castillo would lose his job.

But a strong finish could keep this coaching staff together for at least another season. Reid is missing the playoffs for just the fourth time in 13 years, so this is new territory for many of his players.

“This is an unfamiliar feeling, an unfamiliar sight,” wide receiver DeSean Jackson said. “I’ve never really witnessed this. It’s a reality check. Look in the mirror. Everybody has to check themselves. Hopefully, we can finish strong and come back in the offseason or next year, whenever we are all together, and really eliminate all the mistakes we had early on.”

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

For all those super expectations, all the preseason hype, all
the big-name additions, the Philadelphia Eagles are left to ponder
all that went wrong.

Despite their late-season surge _ a three-game winning streak _
the Eagles (7-8) aren’t going to the playoffs. That’s the reality
for this Dream Team.

So before they begin looking ahead to next season, they’re
thinking about the `what ifs?’ One play could be the difference in
several of the losses, especially because the Eagles blew five
fourth-quarter leads.

“If we would have gotten into the playoffs, I feel we would have
definitely done some damage,” quarterback Michael Vick said after
Saturday’s 20-7 win at Dallas. “It’s unfortunate that we didn’t and
that’s the game of football. If you make some mistakes early and
you get behind in the count in the win/loss column, you sell
yourself short in the end and you’re in the position that we are
in. We’re just happy that we are finishing strong. We have one more
game to play and we’re going to give it everything we’ve got.”

Vick and his teammates wasted an opportunity to repeat as
division champions in a mediocre NFC East that will crown a
champion _ either the Cowboys or New York Giants _ with no more
than nine wins.

The Eagles entered Saturday at 6-8 and still had a chance to win
the division, but were eliminated when the Giants beat the New York
Jets, rendering their game at Dallas meaningless.

“I’ve watched this team grow as the weeks have went on,” Vick
said. “The last three or four weeks, we’ve come together as a team.
It’s a family environment, a family atmosphere and that translates
to winning. That’s why you see a different team. I think we are
well put together and well fit. We’re playing together and that’s
what it’s all about. But it takes time to build that chemistry,
build that unity, that togetherness. Doing it now, it’s exciting
for me and there’s not a place that I’d rather be each and every
day.”

When the Eagles went on a spending spree and brought in Nnamdi
Asomugha, Jason Babin, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Cullen Jenkins,
Steve Smith, Ronnie Brown and Vince Young to join a roster that
already had a talented core of star players, expectations were
elevated to perhaps unrealistic levels.

Even management declared this an all-or-nothing season in which
nothing less than a Super Bowl victory would be considered a
success. Now the Eagles are looking back and wondering how much
they really needed those offseason minicamps and a full training
camp.

“We are finishing strong, and are showing the fans and everybody
else what the true Eagles could have been, what we could have been
doing at the beginning of the season,” Rodgers-Cromartie said. “It
just took a while to get there. We take that into the offseason and
don’t look back.”

It seemed the Eagles could be headed for major changes when they
were 4-8. Fans wanted coach Andy Reid fired and it appeared
offensive-line-coach-turned-defensive-coordinator Juan Castillo
would lose his job.

But a strong finish could keep this coaching staff together for
at least another season. Reid is missing the playoffs for just the
fourth time in 13 years, so this is new territory for many of his
players.

“This is an unfamiliar feeling, an unfamiliar sight,” wide
receiver DeSean Jackson said. “I’ve never really witnessed this.
It’s a reality check. Look in the mirror. Everybody has to check
themselves. Hopefully, we can finish strong and come back in the
offseason or next year, whenever we are all together, and really
eliminate all the mistakes we had early on.”

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — For all those super expectations, all the preseason hype, all the big-name additions, the Philadelphia Eagles are left to ponder all that went wrong.

Despite their late-season surge — a three-game winning streak — the Eagles (7-8) aren’t going to the playoffs. That’s the reality for this Dream Team.

So before they begin looking ahead to next season, they’re thinking about the ‘what ifs?’ One play could be the difference in several of the losses, especially because the Eagles blew five fourth-quarter leads.

“If we would have gotten into the playoffs, I feel we would have definitely done some damage,” quarterback Michael Vick said after Saturday’s 20-7 win at Dallas. “It’s unfortunate that we didn’t and that’s the game of football. If you make some mistakes early and you get behind in the count in the win/loss column, you sell yourself short in the end and you’re in the position that we are in. We’re just happy that we are finishing strong. We have one more game to play and we’re going to give it everything we’ve got.”

Vick and his teammates wasted an opportunity to repeat as division champions in a mediocre NFC East that will crown a champion — either the Cowboys or New York Giants — with no more than nine wins.

The Eagles entered Saturday at 6-8 and still had a chance to win the division, but were eliminated when the Giants beat the New York Jets, rendering their game at Dallas meaningless.

“I’ve watched this team grow as the weeks have went on,” Vick said. “The last three or four weeks, we’ve come together as a team. It’s a family environment, a family atmosphere and that translates to winning. That’s why you see a different team. I think we are well put together and well fit. We’re playing together and that’s what it’s all about. But it takes time to build that chemistry, build that unity, that togetherness. Doing it now, it’s exciting for me and there’s not a place that I’d rather be each and every day.”

When the Eagles went on a spending spree and brought in Nnamdi Asomugha, Jason Babin, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Cullen Jenkins, Steve Smith, Ronnie Brown and Vince Young to join a roster that already had a talented core of star players, expectations were elevated to perhaps unrealistic levels.

Even management declared this an all-or-nothing season in which nothing less than a Super Bowl victory would be considered a success. Now the Eagles are looking back and wondering how much they really needed those offseason minicamps and a full training camp.

“We are finishing strong, and are showing the fans and everybody else what the true Eagles could have been, what we could have been doing at the beginning of the season,” Rodgers-Cromartie said. “It just took a while to get there. We take that into the offseason and don’t look back.”

It seemed the Eagles could be headed for major changes when they were 4-8. Fans wanted coach Andy Reid fired and it appeared offensive-line-coach-turned-defensive-coordinator Juan Castillo would lose his job.

But a strong finish could keep this coaching staff together for at least another season. Reid is missing the playoffs for just the fourth time in 13 years, so this is new territory for many of his players.

“This is an unfamiliar feeling, an unfamiliar sight,” wide receiver DeSean Jackson said. “I’ve never really witnessed this. It’s a reality check. Look in the mirror. Everybody has to check themselves. Hopefully, we can finish strong and come back in the offseason or next year, whenever we are all together, and really eliminate all the mistakes we had early on.”

The
Dallas Cowboys
have complete control of their path to another NFC East title, and they might be even closer by kickoff.

The
Philadelphia Eagles
‘ playoff fate could be determined then, too.

The Cowboys may have a chance to clinch the division crown when they host the surging Eagles on Saturday.

Dallas (8-6) leads the second-place
New York Giants
by one game and is two in front of the third-place Eagles (6-8) heading into the final two weeks of the regular season.

Only one of those teams will reach the playoffs, and the Cowboys could clinch that spot Saturday with a win combined with
a Giants’ loss to the
New York Jets
earlier in the day.

That matchup also has serious implications for Philadelphia, which also needs a Jets victory to remain alive in the division.

For the Eagles to repeat as East champions, they must beat the Cowboys and Washington at home on Jan. 1. They need the Giants
to lose to the Jets and then beat Dallas in their last game.

That would leave all three teams at 8-8, and Philadelphia would own the tiebreaker based on a superior divisional record.

“I’m a big Jets fan this week,” Eagles coach Andy Reid said. “You control what you control. You have to play the game whether
that team wins or loses.”

The Eagles’ playoff hopes remained alive after a 45-19 romp over the Jets on Sunday, their second straight victory.

“It feels good that we are still alive,” said tight end
Brent Celek
, who had a career-high 156 yards and one touchdown. “That is all you can ask for at this point. We just have to play together
as a team and go up there, fight and beat Dallas.”

The Cowboys should be eager for revenge after losing 34-7 at Philadelphia in Week 8. That was just their second loss in the
last six meetings in the series since the Eagles kept them out of the playoffs with a 44-6 win in Week 17 of 2008.

“We’ve got to get the wins. We’ve got to get in,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. “Best way to do it is win this thing.”

Dallas regained some momentum by beating Tampa Bay 31-15 last Saturday after blowing fourth-quarter leads in consecutive games.

“We just can’t let up,” receiver
Dez Bryant
said. “We know where we want to go and it don’t matter who comes in here, we’re going to keep the same intensity and just
play hard and hopefully we can win out. … We just got to keep focusing and keep playing hard.”

Tony Romo
is doing his part to get Dallas into the postseason, completing 69.9 percent of his passes for 869 yards with eight touchdowns,
no interceptions and a 121.4 passer rating over the last three games.

Romo has thrown 18 touchdown passes and just two picks in the past seven contests since struggling with a season-low 66.7
rating against the Eagles. He finished with 203 yards on 18-of-35 passing with one touchdown and one INT in that defeat.

Romo has 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while going 5-4 as a starter against Philadelphia.

The onus may again be on Romo and the passing game since Dallas is dealing with a rash of injuries to its backfield, with

Felix Jones
‘ hamstring tightness the latest issue.

Jones is listed as questionable after running for more than 100 yards each of the past two weeks. He may be joining rookie
running backs
DeMarco Murray
and
Phillip Tanner
on the sidelines, leaving the Cowboys with 12-year veteran
Sammy Morris
and practice squad member
Chauncey Washington
.

Morris made his season debut with 12 carries for 53 yards against the Buccaneers, and is expected to start if Jones can’t
play.

“Sammy is the most logical choice … and we have another young back on our practice roster (Washington), so he’ll get a chance
to do some of that too,” coach Jason Garrett said.

Dallas’ defense is looking to build on its best performance of the season, holding Tampa Bay to 190 total yards.

The unit is likely to be tested much more thoroughly by
LeSean McCoy
, who ran for 102 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries last week.

He’s scored eight TDs in the past four games, giving him 20 total scores – an Eagles single-season record. Two of those came
when McCoy ran for a career-high 185 yards in the October rout of the Cowboys.

“It tells you I’m a pretty good back and I have an outstanding offensive line,” said McCoy, who had 149 yards on 16 carries
in a 30-27 win at Dallas on Dec. 12, 2010. “It’s definitely a team thing.”

Michael Vick
also starred against the Cowboys earlier this season, completing 21 of 28 passes for 279 yards and two touchdowns while running
seven times for 50 yards.

“It feels good to still have a chance to even be considered in the playoff race,” said Vick, who threw for 274 yards with
one touchdown while adding another score on the ground last week.

“We’ve been through a lot, but we’re resilient.”

The Philadelphia Eagles have inspired doubt about Andy Reid’s future for weeks. However, Eagles fans like myself who have called for Reid’s departure are now prepared for disappointment, since winning the last two games should be enough to keep him around.

Yet while “improving” to 6-8 and being an extreme long shot for the NFC East crown should save Reid, another NFC East coach with a 7-7 mark and more realistic playoff hopes is on thinner ice. In fact, should the New York Giants lose to the New York Jets and/or the Dallas Cowboys in the next two weeks, Tom Coughlin may be gone much sooner than Reid.

Coughlin has been around for years just like Reid, albeit not for 13 seasons. The bigger difference between them is that Coughlin has actually won a Super Bowl and didn’t need to lose four NFC title games first. Yet Coughlin has been even closer to wearing out his welcome than Reid, especially as the Giants have fallen from 6-2 to 7-7 in 2011.

Coughlin is more expendable for the Giants than Reid is for the Eagles, since he doesn’t have as much power and has been much more volatile. But it is still funny that he might be closer to being fired, even though he actually started 6-2 and the Giants have actually been able to win in the fourth quarter, and that he wasn’t consumed by “Dream Team” hype or free agent disappointments.

Yet in the NFL, how one finishes is more important than how one starts. While both the Eagles and Giants seem destined to end the year in a rotten fashion, they are getting there in different ways. Philadelphia is at least making one more effort at a division title with two straight wins, while New York is falling down with a 1-5 mark in the second half. But the Giants are used to coming apart in the second half – with the exception of that closing run in 2007 – unlike Reid and the Eagles.

Philadelphia has already pushed one head coach over the edge this season, as Miami’s Tony Sparano was fired after losing to the Birds on Dec. 11. Now the Eagles can help push Coughlin out by losing, as a loss to the Cowboys on Dec. 24 and a Giants loss to the Jets would give Dallas the NFC East and eliminate New York and Philadelphia. Such a fate might put Reid back on the hot seat, but he would still have a better chance to stick around than Coughlin.

Through all his year of annoying the Eagles fan base and falling just short of glory, Reid keeps finding a way to stick around a while longer. Coughlin has been doing that for years as well, yet unlike Reid, his luck may have a shorter shelf life – which didn’t seem likely about six weeks ago.

Robert Dougherty is a life-long Philadelphia resident who has followed the Eagles since he was eight years old.

Other stories by this contributor

Eagles to have their way with Cowboys in December again?

Eagles improbably building up playoff hype again

Eagles playoff picture depends on unreliable Jets, Giants

Eagles, Redskins look more impressive than Cowboys, Giants

Steelers have no faith without Roethlisberger, divisional title

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

The Dallas Cowboys have complete control of their path to another NFC East
title, and they might be even closer by kickoff.

The Philadelphia Eagles’ playoff fate could be determined then, too.

The Cowboys may have a chance to clinch the division crown when they host
the surging Eagles on Saturday.

Dallas (8-6) leads the second-place New York Giants by one game and is two
in front of the third-place Eagles (6-8) heading into the final two weeks of the
regular season.

Only one of those teams will reach the playoffs, and the Cowboys could
clinch that spot Saturday with a win combined with a Giants’ loss to the New
York Jets earlier in the day.

That matchup also has serious implications for Philadelphia, which also
needs a Jets victory to remain alive in the division.

For the Eagles to repeat as East champions, they must beat the Cowboys and
Washington at home on Jan. 1. They need the Giants to lose to the Jets and then
beat Dallas in their last game.

That would leave all three teams at 8-8, and Philadelphia would own the
tiebreaker based on a superior divisional record.

“I’m a big Jets fan this week,” Eagles coach Andy Reid said. “You control
what you control. You have to play the game whether that team wins or loses.”

The Eagles’ playoff hopes remained alive after a 45-19 romp over the Jets on
Sunday, their second straight victory.

“It feels good that we are still alive,” said tight end Brent Celek, who had
a career-high 156 yards and one touchdown. “That is all you can ask for at this
point. We just have to play together as a team and go up there, fight and beat
Dallas.”

The Cowboys should be eager for revenge after losing 34-7 at Philadelphia in
Week 8. That was just their second loss in the last six meetings in the series
since the Eagles kept them out of the playoffs with a 44-6 win in Week 17 of
2008.

“We’ve got to get the wins. We’ve got to get in,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones
said. “Best way to do it is win this thing.”

Dallas regained some momentum by beating Tampa Bay 31-15 last Saturday after
blowing fourth-quarter leads in consecutive games.

“We just can’t let up,” receiver Dez Bryant said. “We know where we want to
go and it don’t matter who comes in here, we’re going to keep the same intensity
and just play hard and hopefully we can win out. … We just got to keep
focusing and keep playing hard.”

Tony Romo is doing his part to get Dallas into the postseason, completing
69.9 percent of his passes for 869 yards with eight touchdowns, no interceptions
and a 121.4 passer rating over the last three games.

Romo has thrown 18 touchdown passes and just two picks in the past seven
contests since struggling with a season-low 66.7 rating against the Eagles. He
finished with 203 yards on 18-of-35 passing with one touchdown and one INT in
that defeat.

Romo has 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while going 5-4 as a starter
against Philadelphia.

The onus may again be on Romo and the passing game since Dallas is dealing
with a rash of injuries to its backfield, with Felix Jones’ hamstring tightness
the latest issue.

Jones’ status is unclear after he ran for over 100 yards each of the past
two weeks. He may be joining rookie running backs DeMarco Murray and Phillip
Tanner on the sidelines, leaving the Cowboys with 12-year veteran Sammy Morris
and practice squad member Chauncey Washington.

Morris made his season debut with 12 carries for 53 yards against the
Buccaneers.

“Sammy is the most logical choice … and we have another young back on our
practice roster (Washington), so he’ll get a chance to do some of that too,”
coach Jason Garrett said.

Dallas’ defense is looking to build on its best performance of the season,
holding Tampa Bay to 190 total yards.

The unit is likely to be tested much more thoroughly by LeSean McCoy, who
ran for 102 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries last week.

He’s scored eight TDs in the past four games, giving him 20 total scores -
an Eagles single-season record. Two of those came when McCoy ran for a
career-high 185 yards in the October rout of the Cowboys.

“It tells you I’m a pretty good back and I have an outstanding offensive
line,” said McCoy, who had 149 yards on 16 carries in a 30-27 win at Dallas on
Dec. 12, 2010. “It’s definitely a team thing.”

Michael Vick also starred against the Cowboys earlier this season,
completing 21 of 28 passes for 279 yards and two touchdowns while running seven
times for 50 yards.

“It feels good to still have a chance to even be considered in the playoff
race,” said Vick, who threw for 274 yards with one touchdown while adding
another score on the ground last week.

“We’ve been through a lot, but we’re resilient.”