Around the NFC East: Cowboys, Redskins, Eagles storylines

With Week 13 of the NFL season this weekend, there are headlines across the NFC East. Let’s take a look at what’s going on with all of the New York Giants division rivals in this week’s Around the NFC East.

Washington Redskins

Redskins’ Commitment To Youngsters Is Paying Dividends | Hogs Haven

For the last month, fans and media alike have been expecting Washington to pursue a veteran running back following the loss of Rob Kelley. They chose to increase rookie running back Samaje Perine’s workload. Before the trade deadline, when it was evident the Terrelle Pryor Sr. experiment was failing (yes, he claims he was playing through an injury), they also did not trade for a wideout. The Redskins instead increased Brian Quick’s workload, and after both Quick and Pryor’s injuries, Maurice Harris was promoted and immediately made an impact.

The Redskins have shown again and again, that they are committed to developing their talent, and expecting them to improve weekly and become consistent when stepping on the field. Perine has achieved career highs in back-to-back weeks and seems he has developed a sense of patience as a back, which in turn allows him to be more physical as well. Josh Doctson has become more of a factor in recent weeks, although his statistics are not very impressive on the year. Kirk Cousins has looked to him more often than earlier in the season. Doctson has been counted on to make tough, athletic catches, and more often than not, he has delivered. Maurice Harris is one of Jay Gruden’s favorites and has had no issue getting targets from Cousins following Quick’s injury.

Chris Cooley: ‘As of now,’ Redskins planning to wear all-burgundy uniforms Thursday night | Washington Post

ESPN 980 host and Redskins Radio Network analyst Chris Cooley said Wednesday morning that the Redskins are planning on wearing all-burgundy uniforms for their game in Dallas Thursday night. Cooley’s report meshed with the understanding offered by at least some locker room leaders Tuesday afternoon, although the team has offered no official comment on any Thursday Night Football uniform questions, despite repeated requests.

“No mustard yellow,” Cooley said Wednesday morning. “Huge news. Burgundy on burgundy. They can change. I think they can still change. But as of now, it is certainly burgundy on burgundy.”

Two years ago, you’ll recall, Redskins players petitioned the front office to wear white-on-white uniforms for a late-season road game at Carolina, since they had missed out on the beginning of the Thursday night “color rush” phenomenon and wanted to enjoy a facsimile. Players told former Washington Post beat writer Mike Jones that they thought the white-on-white look was “fresh,” and that they needed to present their request to Daniel Snyder and Bruce Allen, the organization’s two top figures. The former had no problem with an all-white look, but Allen demurred.

Philadelphia Eagles

Which Seattle Seahawks player would the Philadelphia Eagles take? | Bleeding Green Nation

A common post the SB Nation NFL team sites have been done in the past and will continue to do throughout this season is "Which [opposing team's] player would [your favorite team's] fans take?" With the Philadelphia Eagles set to play the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, it's time to address the question and familiarize yourself with the opponent's roster.

OFFENSE

There aren’t many quarterbacks in the NFL I’d take over Carson Wentz right now. Russell Wilson is certainly in the conversation, though.

He’s just such a pesky player to defend. He can make plays with his arm. He can avoid pressure. He can take off running. Wilson is Seattle’s leading rusher this season with 401 yards. The Eagles’ defense will have to remain disciplined this week.

Wilson is the type of quarterback who can still succeed despite lacking ideal circumstances around him. The Seahawks haven’t had any consistency at running back this season. The offensive line is perpetually in shambles. The defense has faced some significant injuries. And yet the Seahawks still have a chance to win every week because the quarterback is really good. Seattle hasn’t suddenly crumbled into one of the worst teams in the NFL (unlike the Cowboys).

For the sake of this activity, I’m not taking Wilson over Wentz because there are bigger upgrades to be had. Wentz’s future success might be enough to eventually forgive the Eagles for passing on Wilson three times in 2012.

Wilson isn’t the only good player on Seattle’s offense.

Eagles' Corey Clement's counselor follows through on promise to give him her BMW | NJ.com

When the Eagles running back Corey Clement was at Glassboro High School, a guidance counselor told him that if he ever made it to the NFL, she'd give him her BMW he seemed to want to badly.

Clement, 23, got into the black 1995 M5 sedan over the holiday weekend, all smiles.

Mary Beth Ragozzino, who was Clement's guidance counselor in 4th, 5th and 6th grades, met up with the Eagles rookie to hand him the keys and take pictures with her family. She was not his guidance counselor in high school, but moved up to be a counselor there and would see him often around school.

The car was her husband's, and Clement would see it parked outside.

"He'd say, 'I want that car,' and I'd say, 'alright, work hard," Ragozzino told NJ Advance Media.

Clement went on to set the South Jersey record for rushing yards (6,245) and signed with the University of Wisconsin, where he had a standout senior year.

While in college, he would come back to Glassboro to visit and he would often stop at the high school. That offer from his high school days remained on the table, and seemed more and more likely that he'd cash in on it as he got better as a college player.

Dallas Cowboys

Is Ezekiel Elliott’s absence really the problem with the Dallas offense? | Blogging the Boys

The Dallas Cowboys’ no good, very bad, horrible three-game losing streak has seen virtually every unit perform far below expectations. The one unit that has been at least competent is the running game. Dallas has averaged nearly 100 yards rushing per game and 4.4 yards per attempt during the skid. Those aren’t terrific numbers but they aren’t bad. One thing did catch my eye, however. The 100 yards per game would rank 24th in the NFL while the 4.4 YPA would rank 10th. This would seem to indicate Dallas should be running more. A deeper look might show whether this is true or not, and whether the Cowboys’ running game really has been effective.

A couple observations:

The passing game has been truly abysmal. Six yards per attempt is considered a bad NFL result and Dallas hasn’t been able to manage that number on any down. The 4.0 overall YPA reveals how truly anemic the passing game has become.

On the flip side, the Dallas running game has been effective, especially on first down. In fact, at 4.9 YPA on first down runs, it’s reasonable to ask why the team doesn’t run more often on that down.

Jerry Jones is saying Jason Garrett is on the hot seat ... just not in those exact words | Dallas News

The Cowboys enter Thursday’s game with Washington having not only lost three straight games by 20 points or more, but having failed to reach 10 points in a three-game stretch for the first time in their 58-year history.

If that alone did not place head coach Jason Garrett on the hot seat, then the only man who can put him there -- the rest of us are merely guessing -- did exactly that on his morning radio appearance Tuesday on 105.3 The Fan.

“No one understands any better where we need to improve than Jason does," owner Jerry Jones said. “I think what you’re seeing this week is what good coaching will bring us. This is where you call on good coaching."