They Are Who We Thought They Were: NFC East - Week 11

Dallas Cowboys (6-3, 1st)
Last week: Lost to Green Bay 17-7 on the road
Next up: Washington at home
We thought: The Packers game was a little like playing with house money. Big win at Philly gave them some breathing room and week where they could avoid any bashing.
They are: Had a bad game. It happens. You could say that the great teams don't lose like that, but we'll give them a pass against an extremely desperate Packers squad. Cowboys will be fine.

Philadelphia Eagles (5-4, 2nd)
Last week: Lost to San Diego 31-23 on the road
Next up: Chicago on the road
We thought: In the middle of mid-season lull.
They are: We'll see now if Brian Westbrook is truly the MVP of this team. LeSean McCoy can do some nice things, but does Andy Reid trust him enough to give him a full workload? Things usually don't go well for the Eagles when they're throwing 50 times a game.

New York Giants (5-4, 3rd)
Last week: Bye
Next up: Atlanta at home
We thought: Forget getting back on the horse right after a tough loss. The G-Men needed a week to re-group.
They are: Suddenly after a couple losses from other teams, things don't look so bleak. Of course, it only looked bleak to people who overreact, which is about 90% of New York sports fans.

Washington Redskins (3-6, 4th)
Last week: Def. Denver 27-17 at home
Next up: Dallas on the road
We thought: A live dog against a reeling Broncos team.
They are: Could Ladell Betts be a better player than Clinton Portis, or is he just fresher at this point in the season (as Sirloin friend Ti-Bo insisted this week)? Regardless, it's nice to see the best team on paper win a game on the field.

They Are Who We Thought They Were: NFC East - Week 10

Dallas Cowboys (6-2, 1st)
Last week: Def. Philadelphia 20-16 on the road
We thought: You really have to love the national media sometimes. A steady stream of "Let's see if Romo can play well in a big game for once" stroylines. This set up 2 scenarios: 1) Romo plays poorly, leading to him getting hammered for playing poorly again in a big spot, and 2) Romo plays well, leading to the significance of the game getting downplayed, and Romo needing to win a playoff game to prove himself to the critics.
They are: We got option 2. Whatever. The 'Boys lead the division, the QB is playing well (because he's, you know, a good player), the defense is being overlooked a bit, and Miles Austin can't be covered right now.

Philadelphia Eagles (5-3, 2nd)
Last week: Lost to Dallas 20-16 at home
We thought: Least shocking stat of the weekend: Brian Westbrook has never played all 16 games in his 8-year career.
They are: Thankfully, Andy Reid gave everyone something to talk about after the game. Because if he hadn't made 2 or 3 questionable decisions, we'd just be grumbling about what a boring, crummy game it was.

New York Giants (5-4, 3rd)
Last week: Lost to San Diego 21-20 at home
We thought: Sure, the secondary has been bad. But the Giants haven't been doing the things that gave them their identity the past few years: a kick-ass line that could run the ball on anyone, and a ridiculous four-man pass rush that terrorized QBs. A fired-up Meadowlands crowd could definitely get those two facets of their game fired up.
They are: Early in the year, the Giants were getting interceptions on balls that deflected off a receiver's toe. Now, their holder is muffing snaps, untimely holding penalties are turning would-be clinching TDs into just-enough-to-lose FGs. So karma doesn't appear to be on their side. That and the whole shaky o-line, no pass rush thing.

Washington Redskins (2-6, 4th)
Last week: Lost to Atlanta 34-17 on the road
We thought: The Falcons were a safe bet for suicide pools this week.
They are: You know it's a bad year when the highlights of the season are your injured tight end's online reality show, a former player hanging out in the middle of the woods to do a YouTube rant on how much the organization sucks, and the most buzz is generated by a ban on bringing signs into the stadium.