Week 7 Recap: St. Louis (7) @ Dallas (34)

Finally, a very convincing win.

Since Jason Garrett took over as Cowboys' Head Coach, every game has been decided by 4 points or less, which means they have always been competitive enough to potentially win, but the results were just about split 50/50.

This game threw that 4 points stat out the window. Although it may have been against the winless Rams, who were without their star QB Sam Bradford (A.J. Feeley was in at QB,) but even so, Dallas didn't make mistakes, they took a lead and ran with it, putting their foot on St. Louis' throats and not giving up. That's all I've ever wanted them do. If anything, this should serve as a confidence builder as they get ready to head into Philly next week.

But let's get back to the game... 34-7 and that score very much reflects how the game went.

First, Tony Romo who has been a bit inconsistent the first 4 games was on-point yesterday... nothing over the top or crazy but he managed the game very well with 14 of 24 completions, 166 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Romo didn't need to throw as much for this game, mostly thanks to DeMarco Murray, who was playing for injured Felix Jones. On the first Dallas drive, Murray's first carry was a 91 yard touchdown run, one of the longest in Cowboys history, and his historic day didn't stop there. Let's just say that even if you took away the 91 yard run from Murray's stats, he still managed 162 yards rushing (that's a total of 253 for those who don't want to do the math and that beats the highest rushing total in Cowboys history (by Emmitt Smith with 237 yards.))

Dez Bryant also had a pretty good game, with 5 receptions for 90 yards and 1 touchdown. For the games he played this year, he always was productive during the first half of the game and pretty much fell off in the second half, but he redeemed himself and made most of his clutch plays in the second half, including a stellar catch in the end zone over the pylon.

Witten was, well, Witten. He made catches when he needed to and got an early touchdown to help build up Dallas' lead.

Dan Bailey was again the lone kicker, even though Buehler said he was good to go all week (I think/hope Buehler's days are numbered... although he's a good kickoff guy, he is just not needed anymore, especially with the new kickoff rule.) Anyway, Bailey was 100% on extra points and nailed two field goals, including a 51 yarder with ease.

The defense was ON-POINT... everybody seemed to be contributing, especially Abe Elam, who was exceptional, forcing and recovering a fumble. Mike Jenkins played great at corner and pulled in a beautiful interception. Sean Lee played well, and DeMarcus got lots of pressure on A.J. Feeley and close to the end of the game finally grabbed another sack for his stat sheet.

Overall, this was how I expected Dallas to play every game, and they may have looked good because St. Louis is so bad, but a lot of times good teams don't show up and lose to bad teams. This was a great rebound game from the Detroit and Patriots losses, and will hopefully serve as a reminder of how good they can be.

Dallas heads to Philly next Sunday night, a game that is always exciting. I just hope Dallas treats Philly just like they treated The Rams.

Week 6 Recap: Dallas (16) @ New England (20)

Another game that Dallas should have won... well, obviously going into the game, not many expected Dallas to win, but once they hit the field, they had a shot. The offense sputtered at times but the defense was solid throughout, (minus the final Patriots drive which gave them the lead with only :22 seconds left.)


Here are some of the concerns I have leaving this game:

- There were far too many penalties, this needs to be cleaned up.

- There is NO running game to speak of. The backs can't get any yardage no matter what they try. Felix Jones sucks, Tashard Choice sucks and DeMarco Murray sucks... I think it's time to at least give that Tanner guy some carries.


Here are some things that I was generally pleased about:

- Romo was not horrible, he managed pretty well.

- DeMarcus Ware racked up 2 more sacks... dude is a beast.

- Sean Lee continues to impress, he scooped up a nice interception...again.


All in all, it wasn't bad, and they held The Patriots to only 20 points... unfortunately we just need the offense to put up more than 20 to be effective. Someday it might happen.

Successful BYE

Dallas had their BYE this week which is why I didn't update anything, but things turned out pretty well. Miles Austin and Dez Bryant have both been practicing, and some of the other injuries have cleared up. The Cowboys should be close to 100% for their first game back... unfortunately, it is against New England, so even being healthy might not save them.

In Other NFC East News:

Once again, the BYE Gods have given Dallas a gift in the form of NFC East losses. The two NFC East teams who weren't on a BYE (NY Giants and Eagles) both lost this week. This gives the Giants a 3-2 record and drops Philly to a dismal 1-4. This division is still up for grabs, although Washington leads right now 3-1, Dallas' 2-2 doesn't count them out yet.

Week 4 Quick Recap: Detroit (34) @ Dallas (30)

Another one of these terribly disheartening endings, where Dallas had their biggest collapse in franchise history. At one point in game, Dallas was up 27-3 (if I recall correctly,) and it all went out the window after three Tony Romo interceptions in the second half... two of which went for pick six touchdowns. The rest of the team played exceptional for most of the game, but the deciding factor was the interceptions. Thanks for the shitty birthday present, Romo. Sheesh. (And NO I am not going to start whining that we need to get rid of Romo, it is just unfortunate.)



Will provide a more in dept recap at a later time...

Breaking News

This just in... it's my birthday!

Also, this just in... My wonderful wife just gave me tickets to see the Dallas/Buffalo game IN DALLAS, November 13th!!

Can't Wait!!!

That is all for now... the Dallas/Detroit game is on in less than an hour. Go Cowboys!!! 3-1 Baby!! Let's Do This!

Week 4 Q & A

I haven't done a Q&A section in a long while, so I figured I would start this feature back up... without further ado... here we go.


Q: Why is the media over-blowing Rony Tomo playing with a fractured rib?

A: First off, it's Tony Romo, not Rony Tomo, but to answer your question, the Sports media will always take a small issue and make it larger than it really is. I believe it is somewhat courageous that Romo plays through his injury, but some media outlets are putting him in a 'Hero' category, which is probably undeserved.


Q: What's up with Miles Austin?

A: Miles has a hamstring issue and isn't expected back until after the bye week (at least.)


Q: Why have the last 9 games been decided by 3 points or less?

A: Since Jason Garrett took over this organization, he has kept this team competitive and all of the scores have reflected that. Although we wish Dallas could blow out some teams, at least they are giving themselves a chance.


Q: How can Dallas beat Detroit?

A: They will have to pressure the QB as much as possible, stop the running game from developing, and the defense has to get turnovers and prevent The Lions from scoring... just like any other game.


Q: Why does Dallas still have two kickers on their roster, especially after Dan Bailey's 6 field goal performance last week?

A: Unknown... but more likely because Buehler (when healthy) has the ability to kick touchbacks, something Bailey struggles with.


Q: What the hell is wrong with Phil Costa?

A: There is still debate whether Costa was thrown off by the defense calling out the snap count, or if he was just nervous and messing up, but one thing is for certain, they better get this worked out ASAP. No professional center should have 4 premature snaps in one game... somewhere, Andre Gurode was probably watching and cracking up.


Q: How's the new job going?

A: Pretty good, thanks for asking.


Q: How long will you keep doing this stupid blog that no one even reads anyway?

A: Until I die jerk, so shut up! Enough questions for now, I'm outta here...

Here Comes The Lions...

Sunday at 1 pm may be the toughest challenge yet for these Dallas Cowboys (well, until the New England game that is.)

The Detroit Lions are firing on all cylinders and their 3-0 record proves it. Will Dallas, who is still hobbling into the game with injuries and missing players, be able to contend and walk away with a victory? It's pretty much a crap shoot.

There is no denying that The Lions' defensive line is a major threat... QB Matt Stafford is inching his way into conversations of 'Top 5 QB's'... and of course 'Megatron' Calvin Johnson is probably one of the best receivers in the league.

One could say that The Lions haven't played the highest quality teams their first three games (Tampa Bay, Kansas City & Minnesota) but they did manage to put up 48 points against Kansas City, and held them to only a field goal. Regardless who you play, that's pretty impressive.

Do I think Dallas has a chance, even without Miles Austin and a less than 100% Dez Bryant, Tony Romo & Felix Jones? Absolutely.

Rob Ryan will be dialing up some different looks for Stafford, you can be guaranteed of that. Hopefully the offense will be working hard at fixing some of the mistakes from last week, including improved route running...ahhem...Ogletree.

It's a home game for Dallas, and because of that they are 1.5 point favorites on the Vegas line. I may be biased, but I think there's a good chance Dallas can play a close game (as they have been lately) and succeed in the 4th quarter. My prediction is Dallas 31, Detroit 24.

Week 3 Recap: Washington (16) @ Dallas (18)

A 'win' is a beautiful thing, The Cowboys victory against Washington was far from beautiful, but it was a win.

This Monday Night Game was not a high octane, offensive battle with points being racked up left and right... it was a slow, defensive struggle where Dallas had to win with 6 field goals and no touchdowns, in fact the only touchdown of the game was a 5 yard screen pass to Tim Hightower who wasn't being covered properly and walked right into the end zone.

Tony Romo played with fractured ribs and you could see that they were trying to gameplan to protect him as best as they could. He utilized more screen passes and quick throws than he normally does, but was still efficient out of the pocket...although with Miles Austin out and Dez Bryant not 100%, the young receivers gave Romo some problems. They didn't know where to line up and Kevin Ogleetree ran the wrong route at least 3 times during crucial moments of the game.

Romo also wasn't helped out by Center Phil Costa, who had no less than 4 premature snaps resulting in Romo scrambling around to recover the loose ball. Luckily, none of those were lost and he even made a couple yards with one of the faulty snaps. All this with a fractured rib... unbelievable. His frustration was evident and his leadership (which many used to question,) was on full display as he seemed to be constantly yelling at his receivers and center.

Let's move on to the positives, shall we...

- Tony Romo played exceptional given the circumstances... he threw 22 for 36, 255 yards and 1 interception (which was moreso Ogletree's fault than Romo's.)

- Sean Lee had another outstanding game on defense, with 4 tackles, 4 assists and another interception.

- Dez Bryant made the catch that kept Dallas alive in the 4th quarter, converting a 3rd and 21 to set Dallas up for the game winning field goal.

- DeMarcus Ware added another sack, as well as Victor Butler and Anthony Spencer.

- Speaking of Anthony Spencer, he chased down and forced the fumble at the end of the game, extinguishing any chance Washington had for a comeback.

- Felix Jones finally broke off some nice runs, giving the team it's first carry for over 9 yards (21 and 40.) He finished the day with 115 rushing yards.


Overall, it was not an easy win, but Dallas managed to stay alive in the game the whole time and pulled it together in the end to finish with a field goal to give them the lead, and a defensive stand to close the game out. Dallas now leads the division at 2-1, although that doesn't mean too much this early in the year, it does feel good though.

Injury Bug

Now that the dust has settled a bit from Dallas' overtime victory in San Francisco, we will start seeing how things will play out for Monday Night's game against Washington.

Due to the game being on Monday, The Cowboys will be receiving an extra day off, which should help some of these guys heal a bit.

And speaking of the injury front... there are a lot of injuries:

- Miles Austin reaggrivated his hamstring and it seems he is not expected to play against Washington.

- Felix Jones sustained a separated shoulder during Sunday's game and depending on his tolerance for pain, he should be a go for Monday Night.

- Dallas is 'hopeful' that Dez Bryant will be healthy enough from his thigh contusion that he will play this week. I think he'll be listed as questionable and they will take it day-to-day to evaluate him.

- Terence Newman has tweeted that he will be playing in the Washington game, further evidence of this is Dallas cutting CB Bryan McCann yesterday (to re-sign WR Laurent Robinson.)

- Tony Romo, the warrior, will more than likely play. Apparently the fractured rib and punctured lung (which sounds worse than it actually is,) won't medically force him to miss the game, as long as Romo can handle the pain, he'll play.

- There are a few other injuries like Lineman Bill Nagy, CB Orlando Scandrick and a few others, but there hasn't been any definitive word on them, so we'll see as we get closer to gameday.


In Other News:

- Two former Cowboys have been signed by, surprise surprise, The Miami Dolphins... LB Igor Olshansky and CB Nate Jones.


In Stat News:

- Dallas has notched a couple top spots in regards to stats for the first two weeks of the season. Sean Lee leads the league in tackles with 23. DeMarcus Ware leads the league in sacks with 4 and Tony Romo has the fifth most passing yards in the league with 687 (although it's still a far cry from Tom Brady's 940.)

Week 2 Recap: Dallas (27) @ SF (24)

This match-up may have been a sure-thing win for Dallas on paper, but when it came down to it, The Cowboys needed everything they could muster to pull off a victory, including an overtime field goal.

The opening drive seemed like something straight out of last season, 14 plays, wasting 2 timeouts and driving all the way to the 3 yard line when newbie, Dan Bailey, missed the 21 yard field goal. What a whammy.

The rest of the first half was almost as bad... The 49ers managed two touchdowns which started the despair with a score of 0-14 and a real possibility of losing to a mediocre San Fransisco team. Dallas' offense just couldn't get rolling, with a 3 and out, after 3 and out, after 3 and out. Luckily late in the second quarter, Romo connected with Miles Austin on a slant for a 53 yard TD which brought the game back within reach at 7-14 going into the half.

To start the third quarter, things started looking rough again, Romo appeared to be out for the rest of the game with a fractured rib which he apparently injured early in the game (also Felix Jones was hampered with a dislocated shoulder.) Kitna came in the game and ended his drive with an interception. Alex Smith followed suit and threw an interception on the next drive and thankfully Kitna took advantage of great field position and threw a 5 yard touchdown pass to Miles Austin, tying the game up at 14.

San Fran and Dallas went back and forth, 49ers punted and then the next drive, Kitna was driving down the field nicely when he threw another interception. Alex Smith responded with a touchdown pass putting the 49ers back in the lead 14-21.

Something special happened after that... Tony Romo, who sideline reporters were telling us would be out for the rest of the game, asked for his helmet and then marched onto the field. Although his first series back resulted in a punt, you could tell the team was influenced by his courage.

Heading into the 4th quarter, San Fransisco managed a field goal and took a 14-24 lead. Romo came back in again and drove down the field, ending with an amazing Miles Austin dive for a 25 yard touchdown. 21-24.

The defense held strong and forced a 49ers punt and Romo came in driving down the field once again, thanks to some clutch catches by Miles Austin and none other than '4th and long' reality show winner, Jesse Holley. They were not able to put up 6 on the drive, but Dan Bailey redeemed himself from the missed 21 yard field goal by knocking threw a 48 yarder with :04 left on the game clock and sending them into overtime.

Dallas lost the coin toss and was forced on defense to start OT. The defense held up yet again, forcing SF to punt. On the first play of the drive for Dallas, Romo connected with a streaking Jesse Holley, who ran for 77 yards and ended up on the 1 yard line. Although they were tempted to run it in, they decided the smart move would be to kick a field goal. Dan Bailey, who missed the first 21 yard field goal of the game lined up ready to kick the game winning 19 yard field goal, and... SUCCESS, it was good. Dallas 27 - SF 24.



Other Things I Forgot to Mention:

- Jason Witten, for the second straight game, had over 100 yards receiving.
- Sean Lee led the team with tackles again, racking up 8 tackles and 2 assists... he currently leads the NFL in tackles through 2 games.
- Demarcus Ware added 2 more sacks to the 2 he had last week. Jason Hatcher also had 2 sacks. Anthony Spencer and Jay Ratliff each had 1.
- Miles Austin had a career day with 3 TD's and 143 yards, but he re-injured his hamstring and didn't play in OT.
- Felix Jones separated his shoulder early in the game but still played throughout, although the running game was not very effective regardless.
- I'm sure there's more but that's all I remember right now...