Friday, November 18, 2011

Prediction Time

I was going to make this post about my experience in Dallas, but I'll save that for the next post... I wanted to go over my thoughts and predictions of the NFC East for the rest of the season, so that's what the hell I'm doing... Sometimes I make predictions and I'm close, sometimes I'm way off, but either way, it's fun.

As of now... Week 10... The Giants lead the division at 6-3, Dallas is close behind at 5-4, while Washington and Philly both trail at 3-6.

Let's start with The Giants... Their next game is a Sunday Night game against the Eagles, which I think they win, propelling them to 7-3. After that is New Orleans, which will probably be a close game, but I'm giving the victory to The Saints, next game after that is Green Bay which they'll probably lose and then is the Dallas game at Cowboys stadium... they will hopefully lose that game and have a 7-6, record. If they heat up down the stretch they could win their final 3 against Washington, The Jets and they will probably split the Dallas game and win the last one... I could see NY finishing at 10-6.

Next... Washington... I don't think they will win this week against Dallas (at least I hope they don't.) They might have a win against Seattle the next week and go to 4-7, but after that I predict another 3 game losing streak against The Jets, New England and The Giants, making them 4-10. Their final two games are against Minnesota and Philly and I think they could win those and get to 6-10.

Philadelphia Eagles... The dream team that wasn't... I see them losing their next two against The Giants and New England, putting them at 3-8. They could probably win the next two, Seattle and Miami, going 5-8. I don't think they'll finish strong (although they often play better in the second part of year, so I may be way off.) Their last 3 games are The Giants, Dallas and Washington, and if they lose all 3 they will finish their season at 5-11.

And finally, The Dallas 'Football' Cowboys... Of course I hope they win all of the rest of their games, but that's a bit unrealistic. I can hope victories in the next two games, Washington and Thanksgiving against Miami... this will put Dallas at 7-4. I think it's winnable, but I would look far too bias if I said they win too many games, so let's say they lose in Arizona and go 7-5. It's possible they reel off the next 3 games into victories against The Giants, Tampa Bay and Philly and stand at 10-5. I hope I'm wrong, but I think they'll split the series and lose the last game against The Giants going 10-6 and if all my predictions stand, putting them in a first place tie with NY... I didn't go as far as figure the tie-breaking, but these are my guesses as of now.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Week 10 Recap: Buffalo (7) @ Dallas (44)

Where to begin?

This game was incredible, there are tons of aspects to go over and I'm not sure what to talk about first. Since I was actually at the game, I could talk a lot about the experience and atmosphere, but I'll put all of that into my next post. This recap will focus strictly on the game. I guess I could start by talking about the various records that were broken during the game:

- Jason Witten moved up to #3 on the list of most receptions by all NFL Tight Ends, ever.
- Tony Romo broke a Cowboys record for highest completion percentage in a game, successfully converting 23 of 26 passes for 88.5%.
- The margin of victory in the game was the biggest for a Cowboys game since 2000 (against Arizona.)

Not bad at all.


Next I should probably talk about DeMarco Murray.

Murray has been exactly what Dallas needed at Running Back. In the past four games he was the starter because of Felix Jones' injury and he has been dynamic each week. It'll be hard for him to top his 253 yard performance against St. Louis, but he hasn't disappointed yet. This week he rushed for 135 yards and stacked up 36 yards on receptions (That's 171 for those bad at math.) Having a running game that actually works is noticeably improving the passing game too, in fact, Murray's play is breathing life in all aspects of play.


Moving on... The Receivers.

I could single out Dez, (who had 6 catches for 74 yards and a touchdown,) or Laurent Robinson (3 catches, 73 yards, 2 touchdowns,) or even Witten (5 catches, 37 yards,) but it was really a great effort on every receiver's part. Without some spectacular catches, Romo wouldn't have broken that completion record. Even Jesse Holley, Kevin Ogletree and, surprise surprise, Martellus Bennett made clutch catches that kept drives alive.


Defense:

You get a good feeling in your gut when the first defensive play of the game is a sack, especially from DeMarcus Ware, who didn't record any sacks in last week's victory against Seattle. This made him the sack leader with 13, well for a day at least, (Jared Allen reclaimed the lead with 13.5 after he sacked Aaron Rodgers early in the Packers/Vikings game Monday Night.)

Turnovers aplenty. Terence Newman recorded two interceptions, with one being a pick-six. Frank Walker also grabbed an interception in the end zone late in garbage-time that ended the game and firmly held Buffalo to only 7 points. There was also a nice Gerald Sensabaugh forced fumble which wasn't called at first, but Jason Garrett quickly challenged and had the play reversed.


What's Left?... Oh yea, Special Teams.

There weren't many disappointments on Special Teams. Dan Bailey made another great case for getting rid of David Buehler next season by kicking off 8 out of 9 times into the end zone (6 touchbacks) and knocking in 3 out of 3 field goals. Also, although it wasn't really the doing of Dallas, the Bills missed on their only field goal try early in the game.


Overall, the game was amazing. If Dallas continues down this path, they will go far. I am honored to have seen this game in person, and like I said earlier, I will provide a detailed account of my personal experience in my next post. Go Cowboys! 5-4 and going strong! Next up, Washington and Miami.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Week 10 Preview: Buffalo @ Dallas

Thanks to my wonderful, magnificent and absolutely beautiful wife, Jen, we are going to Dallas this weekend to see this game. It is kind of a combination birthday and 2nd anniversary gift and I am so freaking excited.

Finally I will be able to watch a game and loudly cheer, proudly sport my colors and not worry about ridicule of any kind. Most people are fans of teams that are local to them, but I've never had that experience before, so I am almost excited more about that than being able to watch the game live and see the stadium.

But of course I will get to see the stadium and watch the game live... We have pretty good seats too... As you can see from the image to the right...

It's a pretty good view, especially when Dallas will be charging down the field towards us... I can't wait (I hope Dallas charges the field a lot.)

The Bills game will not be a gimmie-game, but I think that Dallas has a good shot, especially since Sean Lee and Felix Jones may be back (although I pray they only use Jones as a situational back.)

Anyway... I can't wait to see the stadium and be part of the magic and I really, really, really hope they win because I will be devastated if they lose... although I'm sure I will be happy I got to see them live. Romo, right there in front of me, Dez, Witten, Murray, Coach Garrett... I can't wait!! Go Cowboys!

Naturally, I won't be able to post my comments immediately following the game (although I rarely do that anyway,) but once I get back home and settled in I will try to work up a nice, full, recap full of live pictures.

Week 9 Recap: Seattle (13) @ Dallas (23)




Thursday, November 3, 2011

Week 8 Recap: Dallas (7) @ Philly (34)

There's no explanation that makes sense, Dallas just blew it big this week. From the first drive of the game, Dallas appeared weak, confused and perhaps intimidated. I can't tell what exactly the problem was, but nothing worked right and I put most of the blame on the defense. They couldn't stop the run, Vick or his passes and it kept piling up and piling up. Tony Romo was not very effective, but in all honesty, he didn't have the ball long enough to make a difference.

Very upsetting loss, and a game that could have potentially knocked Philly out of playoff contention early in the season... as it stands now for the NFC East, The Giants have a 2 game lead over everyone at 5-3 and Cowboys, Eagles and Redskins are all 3-4... it's still anyone's division, but it got a little harder with this loss...ugh...

Nothing more to say, next week Dallas is hosting Seattle and hopefully a game they can bounce back with.