Post Season Hangover and some news

It's still extremely early to be talking about the '08 Season, but here's a few tidbits that have been popping up about random things for The Dallas Cowboys:

-Long Snapper, L.P. Ladoucear, was given a contract extension of 5 years.

-Linebacker Zach Thomas of the Dolphins was recently released and is supposedly interested with joining The Cowboys.

-Julius Jones' remaining a Cowboy seems more and more doubtful as he heads into unrestricted free agency. That coupled with Marion Barber being a sure shot candidate for starting next season, Jones' departure wouldn't be the end of the world.

Nothing else seems to be happening with The Boys, or the NFL for that matter. Football fever has faded in people's hearts, being replaced with basketball and volleyball competitions.

I'm still in the denial stage of the season's end, choosing instead to watch NFL Replay over and over as if I've never seen the games before. I'm still wearing all my jerseys, going nowhere without a Dallas Cowboys hat, and refusing to stop cuddling with a football to sleep, (also, my boss is starting to get annoyed with the cleats.)

But alas, this fever will fade in my heart as well. Someday, maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but someday soon my attention will be elsewhere, and I will barely even remember the name Tony Romo or Bobby Carpenter. I won't be chatting football with the co-workers who I barely know. I'll end up changing my computer desktop from the Dallas Star to a dog wearing sunglasses. That is, until the draft.

Ah, the draft. The defibrillator of the NFL, which pumps life back into the fans who were thought dead by lack of 'Football Fever!' Fans near and far take a look at their team and realize that they need more. They dive deeper than the paparazzi into draft prospects' stats, then refresh their knowledge of their own team's weaknesses and wish and pray that the right players get picked.

Again, it's too early for such talk, so I must bid you farewell for now. If big news comes down the tube, I'll be back, if not, I'll be amongst the hordes that survey all draft information, so in about 5 months, I'll definitely be back to see what college has to offer.

AJay Signing Off...

Super Bowl XLII Review & Early Off-Season Thoughts

SUPER BOWL XLII REVIEW (NY GIANTS 17, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS 14)


Ok, it's over. Congratulations to The New York football Giants on their upset of the undefeated New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII (42.) In the end, Eli Manning led his team over 80 yards for the winning Touchdown with under 2 minutes left in the game. They entered the playoffs as a wild card team, they started the season 0-2, and they came into this match-up as 12 point underdogs.

The Giants proved that underdogs have big bites. The defense was incredible and the Eli Manning led offense made the plays when it mattered most, converting crucial 3rd downs and capitalizing when in the Red Zone. The Patriots' undefeated season ends, and The Giants win their 3rd Super Bowl Championship Title.

LOOKING AHEAD

So what does this mean for my Dallas Cowboys for the 2008 season?

Well, not much. Dallas will of course play The Giants twice, and both games will be important because they are divisional match-ups. After this loss in the playoffs, it may hopefully give The Boys more incentive for revenge. We shall see.

Other than The Giants and the rest of the NFC East, there's a whole slew of rivals to worry about. The competition this year is going to be the AFC North (Baltimore, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Pittsburgh,) and the NFC West (San Fransisco, Seattle, Arizona and St. Louis.) Tampa Bay and Green Bay will also be added to the schedule being the next two highest seeds going into the playoffs.

There are also some internal problems, which include a few coaches leaving, and a few rumors floating. Tony Sparano and a few assistant coaches left for Miami, Jason Garrett got promoted to Assistant Head Coach and Dave Campo came back to town to coach the 'sometimes struggling' secondary.

The rumor that floated was that Jerry Jones was interested in a trade with Miami. The deal would give The Dolphins, Marion Barber and at least one first round draft pick for their overall first round pick, enabling Dallas to snatch up RB Darren McFadden. This was proven untrue by Jerry Jones himself.

Thankfully, some things about the team are extremely impressive and need only fine tuning. Tony Romo for example is resilient enough to come back strong in '08, as well as Terrell Owens, Jason Witten, the entire Offensive Line, Marion Barber, Greg Ellis, Bradie James, DeMarcus Ware, Terence Newman, and of course, Nick Folk.

Players I think could use some work are Sam Hurd, Miles Austin, Isaiah Stanback, Anthony Spencer, Bobby Carpenter and Anthony Fasano. To a lesser degree, Patrick Crayton could use some lessons in humility, Tank Johnson needs to get back his spark and Terry Glenn has to get back in sync. To a higher degree, Jacques Reeves, Julius Jones and Roy Williams can either step it up or get the stepping (If you ask me.)

The pieces are there, this team is a work in progress that's almost complete. It's hard to say what will happen in the off-season since it's only a few hours since the Super Bowl ended, but if Dallas continues on this path, success can only follow. With heartbreaking disappointment comes experience, and this team has 2 years full of experience to build on, let's hope the best in the 2008 season.

Playoff Wrap Up/Superbowl Preview

Ok, it's been a while since I last posted, which can't be too good for my Dallas Cowboys, can it? No, it can't, and no it certainly wasn't.

Dallas was once again denied a Playoff victory for the 2nd year in a row. This year, instead of The Seahawks it was The New York Giants who held their ground and Tony Romo, who couldn't connect with a Wide Receiver in the potential game-winning throw, which ended up being intercepted.

In the Championship Games, Green Bay couldn't beat the cold or The Giants. The Patriots also cruised right past The San Diego Chargers, which makes SuperBowl 42 a match-up between The Giants and The Patriots.

Tomorrow is the big-game, and personally, I'm at a stand-still as to who I'd rather see win. It doesn't matter to me either way really. If The Patriots win, it will be exciting to witness history as they sail to an undefeated Regular and Post-Season. But, if The Giants win, it will be nice to see the underdog upset one of the greatest teams ever, and manage such an impressive finish to their season.

I expect The Patriots to win, although I would put money on The Giants covering the 12/13 point spread. It should be a defensive game, and in that case, I'd also take the under (52.) Whatever happens, it should be a good game.

Divisional Playoffs - Day 1 Review

The Seattle Seahawks traveled to Green Bay on this cold and snowy Saturday evening to try and knock The Packers out of the Post-Season. The Seahawks took control early by forcing two fumbles and turning both into Touchdowns, all in the first two Green Bay possessions. Things wouldn't go any better than those two fumble recoveries, and as the snow fell harder, so did Seattle. Green Bay quickly drove the field twice and continued to dominate, taking the lead at 28-17 going into the half. Seattle managed only 3 more points while Green Bay grabbed 2 more Touchdowns and broke the playoff record most points scored by finishing 42-20. Next week Green Bay is either heading to Dallas or hosting The Giants in the NFC Championship Game.

On the AFC side of things, Jacksonville went to New England to take a shot at the top dogs. The Jaguars took the first drive for a Touchdown, which The Patriots quickly matched. The Pats then recovered a fumble and scored a Touchdown, which The Jags matched. New England missed a field goal, and Jacksonville punted and that was the first half. The second half started with a Patriot's impressive drive and a Touchdown, which The Jags could only counter with a field goal. New England then drove for a Touchdown, which The Jags could only counter with a field goal. 28-20 was the score with maybe 9 minutes left in the game. New England drove and ended up with a field goal 31-20, and as time was scarce, David Garrard had a pass intercepted with only 4 minutes left and one timeout. That pretty much sealed New England for a top spot in the AFC Championship Game, hosting either San Diego or Indianapolis.

Tomorrow we will find out the second half of the Championship Games. At 1 pm, San Diego goes into Indianapolis, and at 4:30 pm, The New York Giants will once again face off in Dallas.

Playoff Preview 2

Wildcard Weekend is over, and Divisional Playoffs are starting tomorrow. In the AFC, Jacksonville is going to New England and San Diego is heading to Indianapolis. On the NFC side, Seattle is traveling to frigid Green Bay and the New York Giants are once again visiting Dallas.

By Sunday night, the Conference Championship games will be set, as we head into the final stretch before the Super Bowl.

Saturday at 4:30 pm kicks off week 2 as Green Bay hosts Seattle. The temperature is supposed to be in the low 20's with flurries. This weather should favor Green Bay, especially with Ryan Grant as their new weapon of choice in the running game. Let them get into a groove and it's over. However, if Seattle can pressure Brett Favre as much as they did with Todd Collins, they have a chance to head to the Championship Game. The defenses are fairly equal, but The Packers' offense seems to be a little more in sync. Barring major injuries, major mistakes or wind, Green Bay should win this game.

Saturday Night Football, Jacksonville at New England, a team on a roll vs the team on the ultimate roll. The weather will be in the mid 30's, and clear... a perfect night for football. New England will bring out their 'A' game, no doubt, and that 'A' game is hard to beat. Expect Tom Brady to pick apart Jacksonville's defense and connect with Randy Moss for at least one Touchdown. Jacksonville has strength in Garrard, Maurice Jones-Drew & Fred Taylor and have a chance against New England's defense, yet with The Patriots able to score at least once a quarter, it's difficult to keep up. I'd go with The Patriots, although it may be closer than you think.

Sunday at 1 pm, San Diego is traveling to Indianapolis to try and knock out the defending Super Bowl Champs. This task may prove a bit more difficult as Marvin Harrison is expected to finally play after missing around half the season due to injury. Manning is better than Rivers... LT is better than Adai... San Diego's defense may be better than Indy's... it's leaning toward The Colts winning, especially with San Diego losing Antonio Gates in last week's match-up, but as we know, anything can happen on any given Sunday.

Last game... New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys

A true divisional playoff game as the New York Giants go into Dallas to face The Cowboys for the 3rd time this season. Having already won both match-ups in the Regular Season, Dallas is ready to make the 3rd time as much a charm as the first two times were.

The Giants' injuries aren't good, as cornerback Sam Madison is out and Plaxico Burress' ankle injury is obviously hampering his abilities. O'Hara missed last week's game but has returned to practice and is expected to play. Also, word is, Tight End Kevin Boss has not practiced on Thursday due to illness.

The Cowboys aren't without injury, but are definitely looking more positive than The Giants. Terrell Owens is the most questionable. He seems confident that he's going to play and play at a high level in this game. Coach Phillips initially called him a game-time decision, but tends to agree that he will play. Andre Gurode is also injured, listed as probable with a knee injury. He has practiced and is expected to play. On the positive side, Terry Glenn has fully practiced and is ready to play.

Both offenses are potent and dangerous and both defenses are fairly even. Romo hasn't performed his best for a few games, but is ready to finally make up for last year's devastating bobbled Field Goal snap. He's going to need to connect better with his receivers and Running Backs, Julius Jones and Marion Barber are going to need to establish the run in order to dominate The Giants' depleted secondary with the pass.

T.O. and Terry Glenn may be crucial to winning this game. T.O. is a #1 wide receiver for a reason, and he can keep all eyes on him. Wherever he lines up, he's got a man on him like white on rice, and if he gets double coverage for a second, Romo's going to rocket the ball to whoever is left open... this is why he's so important. Terry Glenn on the other hand can stretch the field with bursts of speed. A quick juke and he may be all alone in the backfield, waiting for a ball to fall into his hands. Without a quality wide receiver, Dallas is just another Philadelphia, therefore, if these two don't play, and play well, this is going to be an uphill struggle all the way.

Barber and Jones haven't been as productive as they were earlier this season, so they need to step up in order to get those short yards and wear out The Giants defense. It's no easy task with Strahan and Umenyiora barreling down on anything that moves, so the O-Line is going to be a pivotal part of Dallas' success.

Dallas' defense will have to deal with an 11th ranked O-Line, and a seemingly improved Eli Manning. Luckily Manning (regardless of recent acheivements) is still unpredictable at times and The Cowboys have a slew of Pro-Bowl defensive backs just dying to pull down a happy-footed Quarterback. Terrence Newman declares his health the best all year, and Roy Williams... well, he remains to be Roy Williams, good and bad. The defense overall has performed extremely well this year, and they should be ready for action come Sunday Night.

Wildcard Weekend Review

Wildcard Weekend is over and now we approach week 2, The Divisional Playoffs. The brackets are set and we have Seattle heading to Green Bay, and The Giants going to Dallas for the NFC. The AFC match-ups are Jacksonville at New England and San Diego at Indianapolis. Let's take a look at how we got here:

Jacksonville fought a 60 minute battle against Pittsburgh, and fought hard every second of it. Turnovers seemed to dominate the game, but luckily for Jacksonville they pulled off the win, reaching 31 - 29 with a last minute field goal, which was set up by a 32 yard scramble from David Garrard.

San Diego and Tennessee proved they both have the defense to make things happen, or should I say, stop things from happening. The San Diego offense came up short on every drive in the first half, while Tennessee could only muster up a field goal a quarter, leading 6-0 going into halftime. Once the second half started, San Diego came alive. Scoring 10 points in the 3rd quarter, and an amazing 4th and goal Ladanian Tomlinson leap into the endzone, during the 4th quarter, put the Chargers ahead 17-6, and didn't allow another single point from The Titans.

Washington went to Seattle and had to contend with an overpowering defensive effort. Seattle gave it their all, and pressured Todd Collins throughout most of the game, leaving them with no points heading into the 4th quarter. Washington began to stage their comeback and actually took the lead at 14-13. Seattle quickly jumped ahead and pretty much ended the game after a pick-6 by Marcus Trufant gave Seattle a 28-14 lead. With :44 seconds left on the clock, Seattle intercepted the ball again, taking it in for a Touchdown. 35-14, Seattle.

The New York Giants traveled down to Tampa Bay to face one of the NFL's toughest defenses. The Giants were prepared and Eli Manning was at his best. Tampa scored first, near the end of the 1st quarter, and both defenses were holding up when Eli Manning shined and led the team to back to back, unanswered Touchdowns going into the half. An early 4th quarter Touchdown that put The Giants up 24-7 pretty much sealed the game, and only then was Tampa Bay able to add another 7 points to the scoreboard. 24-14, The Giants.

And now it's time to head into week 2... I'll post my Divisional Playoffs Previews tomorrow...

Wildcard Weekend Preview

There are two weeks before The Cowboys play another game in Week 2 of the Playoffs, which will be against either the New York Giants, the Tampa Bay Buccanneers, or the Washington Redskins.

Two weeks to re-motivate themselves, regain focus, and prepare themsleves for the most important battles yet in this war.

By Saturday Night, we may know the opponent. Washington and Seattle play at 4:30 and if The Redskins win, they automatically are heading to Dallas in Week 2. If Seattle wins, the team heading to Texas Stadium will be the winner of Sunday's New York Giants at Tampa Bay Buccanneers' game.

If it's New York...
Dallas would have to face The Giants for the 3rd time this season, and defeat them for the 3rd time to advance to the Conference Championship Game. Eli Manning is either on, or way off... Jeremy Shockey is out due to injury... Center Shaun O'Hara, linebacker Kawika Mitchell and Cornerback Sam Madison all might be out due to injury as well... I predict a threepeat if New York comes to town.


If it's Tampa Bay...
Dallas would have to have a repeat performance of last year's Thanksgiving Day Game where the 'Boys dominated the entire game, finishing 38-10. The Defense, however is the number 1 rated Defense in the NFC, and the offense isn't shabby either, they aren't in the playoffs for nothing. I can't predict an outcome, but if the Cowboys are on-point, then it shouldn't be impossible for Dallas to pick apart their D and dominate Offensively.

If it's Washington...
Dallas would be facing the Redskins for the 3rd time this season, and having lost so harshly to them just one game ago, this matchup might give the Cowboys the motivation they need to enact a revenge at home. It's hard to predict how the Redskins will play, they are on 4 game winning streak, but it followed a 4 game losing streak. I guarantee with 2 weeks to prepare, the desire for payback, starters...starting, and home field advantage, Dallas will keep this game a lot closer than they did in Week 17.

Regardless of the opponent, Dallas will be heading into the playoffs healthier than once thought, although there are a few crucial pieces that are questionable. Terrell Owens and Andre Gurode have certainly been key components in the Cowboys' 13-3 record, yet both are nursing injuries and have had limited to no practice this week.

There is good news with injuries however, as Terry Glenn finally seems healthy, even without a catch in his first game back in Week 17's Washington Game, he seems ready to play and can provide much needed support if T.O. doesn't play. Terrence Newman, Pat Watkins and Jay Ratliff all sustained injuries in the matchup at Washington, yet practiced and are expected to play in the Post-Season.

A year ago, Dallas fell to Seattle in the first week of the playoffs. An unforgettable bobbled snap by Tony Romo on the potential game-winning field goal attempt, ended The Cowboys' hopes for a Superbowl run. Will the pendulum swing the other way this year, showering The 'Boys with luck, or will they continue their streak of bad performances, mistakes and missed opportunities, and end the year on yet another sour note?

Week 17 - @ Washington

Having personally been to the game, it was an exciting experience to see an All-Pro Defense live in the flesh and performing incredible... unfortunately, it was Washington's Defense. The game's atmosphere was as lively as a game could be, with this possibly being the Redskins' final game of the season if they lose.

The weather was horrid, the fans were intense, and the absence of Terrell Owens was obvious.

The Redskins certainly are no joke, and they proved that on the field. The Defense allowed only 1 total rushing yard, and held the Cowboys to only 2 Field Goals. The Cowboys defense couldn't seem to get things straight however and allowed Todd Collins to sail to 27 points with ease.

Maybe Dallas had nothing to play for, but to lose in such a manner, especially after falling victim to the Eagles at home two games ago, this was an embarassement however you look at it.

We can blame it on the lack of motivation, Terrell Owens injury, sitting the starters in the second half, bad weather, big heads, or even that Ryan Seacrest was in the audience this time... but the bottom line is the 'Boys lost, and it was ugly.

Week 13 - Week 16 Mini Recaps

Week 13 Recap - Vs. Green Bay

Cowboys 37... Packers 27... Favre gets knocked out due to injury in the second quarter and doesn't return... Romo gets 4 Touchdowns, and 309 yards. Dallas goes 11-1.

Week 14 Recap - @ Detroit

A game that should have been lost, but the 'Boys somehow always seem to manage a comeback in the last second... Or 18 seconds, where Witten, who fumbled on the goal line just a couple of plays prior, shows his worth and grabs the game winning Touchdown Pass, stunning the Lions.... Dallas 28... Detroit 27...

Week 15 Recap - Vs. Philly

Ugh... Defense was strong for the 'Boys, but unfortunately the Defense was strong for the Birds too... Not to mention that Brian Westbrook sealed the coffin with a goal line kneel rather than a 2 possession lead Touchdown... Dallas 6... Philly 10...

Week 16 Recap - @ Carolina

A game that shouldn't have been a challenge, was much more than bargained for. The Cowboys lost Terrell Owens to a high ankle sprain in the 2nd quarter and couldn't conjure up a Touchdown at all in the second quarter... hmm... coincidence? Luckily they still pulled it off against subpar Carolina.... Cowboys 20... Panthers 13...

Week 12 Recap - Vs. New York Jets - Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving. Indeed.

As the food was already in the refrigerator, and families all over the country were lazily sprawed out on couches and floors, The Dallas Cowboys once again came into their living rooms to host another Thanksgiving Day Game. This year it would be against the New York Jets who had a record of 2-9.

Many people saw this game, and the final score of 34-3 probably eplains more of the game than I could put into words, but here's just a few. Dallas' defense was the star of this game, but the offense was as good as it always is. It was a great win for Dallas that propelled them to their first 10-1 start in franchise history, and will throw them into a 10-1 vs 10-1 battle next week when they host The Green Bay Packers in the NFL Network's 2nd Thursday game of the year.

10-1 feels good, but the true challenge is next week.