A New Cornerstone? Dallas Fleeces the Eagles 33-10

Wow! What a win!!

Remember when I said? ….

EricR Says:

September 9th, 2005 at 6:42 pm

If there is one game to circle on your calander, its the Philly at Dallas game. The Boys should be pumped up after last years humiliating loss to the Birds in Big D. This game will be the true measuring stick to how far the Cowboys have come this offseason. During the Boys run in the 90â€â"¢s one game sticks out as the propelling of that dynasty, and that was when the young and hungry Dallas Cowboys beat the undefeated Washington Redskins in 1991. If not for those Cowboys, Washington probably finishes the year 19-0. The Cowboys knew they belonged after that win, and came out and beat the Skins in the season opener the following season, as a passing of the torch game, and of course go on to win 3 of the next 4 Super Bowls. A win against Philly here could mean just as much to this young team as the Redskin victory meant to that young team of the 90â€â"¢s. Mark your calanders!!

Raf: you’re a good analyst, and I certainly enjoy reading your wrap-up of the games more than the crap that the AP puts out, and everyone parrots for the first 24hrs!

I confess, I did NOT believe, I in no way thought this would be a win for the Cowboys.

I thought with the dumb loss against the Raiders, the season was over, and I said it here too!

I in no way have any idea anymore, what’s going to happen with this team, or the season, but I will say, I’ve enjoyed it so far; ups and downs!

For me, I agree, this could be a foundational win, regardless what happens the rest of the way; was it the 2nd game against Phila in 91, that was the same way?

I also think it was the most dominant, Total game, since at least 95; there may have been some other games where more points, or more yards were put up; but in All aspects of the game, Off, Def, SP, coaching, this was in my view, the most dominant game since 95.

A win against NYG next week, and who knows……but it was good, very good, I was impressed….

Dale,

I know loads of people who are happy and who HOPED for this type of outcome, but I think everybody is surprised by it.

In a happy way, of course. PLEASE, let it be the start of a run. As good as we all feel today, I can imagine we’ll feel that bad if they backslide and lose to the Giants.

Very impressive win by the Cowboys. All phases of their game was outstanding today. You can see Thompson and Crayton are getting more comfortable with their return duties on special teams but both players need to protect the ball better. The O-line is really starting to gel together. Great to see the constant pressure on McNabb. Did I see Terrence Newman in a 3-point stance at the line just before his blitz and sack of McNabb? The Eagles looked really flat to me. Could be a byproduct of back to back road games just like what Dallas experienced the last 2 weeks. I’m counting on Parcells to keep this team on an even keel and not be too confident against the Giants. They will be facing an improving QB(Manning), a RB (Barber) that gave them fits thru the years and receiver that can break the game wide open (Burress). Just remember the lessons today and what SD did, get way ahead and be aggressive throughout the game.

Dale,

I have to admit that I wasn’t too optimistic about a win this week, but man these Cowboys looked like a completely different team today. I am surprised that the Eagles didn’t use the Rbs more in this game. Going back to 2000, it has always been the Eagle running backs that have had big games against Dallas( Staley, Westbrook, even Buckhalter). This win was extremely important and I am glad the Boys stuck it those Eagles. I just hope we can carry the momentum into next week’s game, which is also extremely important. The Giants D seems to be a lot less ’scary" then the Eagles D. I just hope we can get to Eli and especially stop Tiki Barber. The guy killed us last twice last year. My biggest concern is stopping the run. It seemed we started off well in the first 2 games, but the 49ers and Oakland made the Boys run D look pretty bad. I really think that was the big difference in having a lot of success today, since Philly chose not run the ball.

Only drawback we have for next week is that NYG is coming off a bye week and pretty much have 2 weeks to prepare.

This was in fact a GREAT win for the Cowboys. They are starting to play like they are champs. I like the fact that they really show up to play for the really good teams. That says a lot for the playoffs if they make it. They could be and should be 5-0 right now. EASILY!!!! Tied with the colts as the only un-beaten teams left. This IS Cowboys football how they played today. OUTSTANDING!!!

Just to remind everyone,

From my mouth to God’s (and Landry’s) ears, I said we would sweep the Eagles. Doubt it now? How good does that Monday night game look after our bye week – if McNabb lasts that long?

Can you feel the power shift in the NFC? We broke out today!

Let’s give a warm Texas welcome to Eli next week!

Rafael, did you read my comment (at the end of learning to crawl)?

Cortez? Bledsoe- could he play another 3 or 4 years? Ware – sack #3. Crayton? Could Price be our secret weapon in the second half? Tyson Tompson? Ladeceur? Pettiti?

I don’t see Indianapolis on our schedule. Who should we be afraid of? Washington?

Jimmy Johnson said, “If you run into a big gorilla, you hit him in the mouth.”

I hope everyone has their chin straps buckled tight – for their sake!

I would just like to echo some other’s thoughts. Where the hell did this cowboy team come from??? I honestly did not believe…especially after Oakland. I was going into this weekend thinking…well maybe…just maybe dallas can play the Eagles somewhat well and get beat in the forth quarter…again. But wow, after washington and oakland I completely thought this team was gutless…yet, i was wrong. To come off such a awful game like oakland and to punch the best offense in the leage right in the mouth and keep them out of the end zone says alot. Let’s just get ready…those new york football giants aren’t anything to sneeze at….but for now I’m on cloud 9….go cowboys!!!!

Big Jim,

Yeah, I did. I don’t know if it was the best high school game I’ve seen in person, but for big plays, it was tops. And played on a beautiful fall afternoon, with the sun shining. I was taping the game and recall losing my battery just before Edinburg scored a long, textbook punt return that was the final margin of victory. Best play of the day and it doesn’t make air. Drat!

emrdog,

This is typical of a team that’s just this close on its execution. When things finally click, it’s not a gradual improvement. It’s like having an engine that won’t start and suddenly it catches. The crazy part is trying to predict WHEN the explosion would occur. I was worried it might take weeks to happen. I’m sure glad it was today.

Okay,

Just got off the phone with Roy William’s mom.

She said she’s received several messages from Eli Manning’s mom about not hurting Eli on Sunday.

SHE HASN’T RETURNED THE CALL!

Not to put a damper on things but I’m not sure that this is as much a foundation win as it is a wake up call for the rest of the NFC East. I think we caught an injury riddled team comming off an emotional win a little flat footed and looking beyond us a little bit. I think the rest of the division now knows what we know, that we have a young and talented team which is getting better week by week. I think the potential foundation wins come next week against the Giants and the Monday night matchup against the Eagles. I think that Monday night matchup will be huge as the consensus best team in the NFC will have one thing on their mind and that will be to avenge a humiliating loss. That will be our foundation game and it won’t matter if we win or lose so much as wether or not we make a game out of it. If we allow them to come out and dominate us then this victory is all for not. As for the Giants game I think it will be important that we don’t find ourselves in a similar position as the eagles found themselves in today, comming off an emotional win and overlooking an opponent. For 57 minutes we dominated the skins, for 60 minutes we dominated the eagles and I think we really need to go out and control the Giants game and then we will have our first Foundation win. On another note it was sure nice to see the boys come out with a balanced attack, we had a nice mix of runs and passes on first down which kept the Eagles D off balance and allowed us to execute better. If we can maintain that level of unpredictability, balance, and execution I think we’ll all be reevaulating our expectations for this season and 40 min TOP didn’t seem to impact our defensive unit negatively either.

Whats wrong with you Guys???
                                                   Im sorry its hard to listen to cowboy fans say I didnt think we were going to win or this was a suprise…Why watch!!!!! No matter who we match up with believing is what makes this and every game so emotionaly good or bad depending the outcome….I knew we could be this way from the time Bledso was signed….This is what this guy can do that no one else can since Aikman…and that was to throw down the field and make plays happen…Just like against the Chargers we played with this same offensive domination

And then here comes Mr. CONSERVATIVE….holding back one of the deepest ball throwers in the game…

Every week I know we can put up these type of numbers and victories if just THROW THE DAMN BALL DEEP AND MAKE TEAMS RESPECT THE SPEED…. Dont doubt us fellas just KNOW

on a side note: Dat my man who is a great tackler but who cannot cover my 3 year old son needs to sit a little more and let the big cats roam and terrorize other offenses….I know you guys will disagree but Dat needs to just backup not start…………

Jeff,
        you’ve been watching too much ESPN…A injury riddled team…WHAT!!!! The Eagles play well when T.O and Westbrook find ways to make plays based off what less pressure is applied to Mcnabb….No pressure and he will kill you all day…..Take away the big plays like this defense did today and even in the Redskins game until you know what happened later and you can beat majority of your opposition….But here is the catch……THROW THE DAMN BALL DEEP TO FORCE SOME PLAYS THAT MAKES YOUR OPPOSITION RESPECT YOU……..

Now some of you are worried about the Giants….Are they good YES…but they are not use to a team like us constantly and consistantly going down field……OPEN up the O with plain old fashion in your face YOU CANT STOP ME THROWING and teams cannot react enough to know how to stop you….. WE WILL WIN NEXT WEEK I PROMISE ….AS LONG AS MR CONSERVATIVE RAISES HIS UGLY HEAD…………………

DONT RAISE HIS UGLY HEAD……………..sorry a little hype right now…….

Ray,
Maybe injury riddled is a little extreme, injury plagued is probably a little more accurate. Anyone who thinks we went out there and dominated a healthy eagles team clicking on all cylinders needs to take off their rose colored glasses. Now, even if the Eagles had been healthy I think we brought more to the table than they were prepared to handle today and we still win this one. But I still think the true litmus test comes on the Monday night game, we won’t be catching anyone off guard then. I do however agree that we need to continue to do a good job of mixing it up on offense including mixing in the deep passed but in the end I think we need too end up with a good balanced offence. I think it is as equally important to run on 3rd and 5 occasionally as it is to throw deep on first down or 2nd and 2 on occassion. It’s all about keeping defenses off balance. Just as they can stack the box with 8 or 9 players on first down when we run on every first down defenses can adjust to the throw it deep on every first down philosopy. If they don’t know what to expect next we can keep them in a base defense or catch them guessing wrong and the Cowboys O is good enough to exploit that.

Ray,
I tried to reply but apparently that comment is being moderated. I’m not sure why but it is.

one of the most impressive parts of the win was the
play of the special teams.The coverage was outstanding
and crayton and TT looked very good returning kicks.

HOW BOUT THEM COWBOYS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
PLEXICO BURRESS GONE BE LAID OUT WHEN MY MAN ROY SMACK EM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I THINK OUR PRACTICE’S SQUAD COULD BEAT THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I feel sorry for eli though. His career is going to end at such a young age.

Another wrinkle I saw yesterday towards the end of the game – Newman lined up as a downed lineman and blitzed. That was the one where he got his sack.

The place was rockin’ – I think some of the TExas/OU crowd stuck around for the game.

One pet peeve – the stadium was alost empty towards the end of the game! How the heck can you leave before the end of the game on a win over the Eagles like this?!?!?!? :shock:

Need some perspective here….did anyone see the Ronde
Kevin M incident???
I have only seen tape of it where it looks like K. M. has
ahold of R.B. face mask and won’t let it go so R.B. swings
DOWNWARD to break Mawae’s grip and accidentally
hits the ref.Ronde does not seem to take a punch at the
ref , the way the espn is potraying it.I am not defending
anyone just trying to figure out what happened.

Raul,

I noticed the empty stands too………kind of funny from
“fans” who only want blowouts a la jimmy johnson……
first home win of the year no less………..but then again
the same “fans” booed Vinny in a win because they wanted
to see if Drew H. was a “franchise” QB………intelligence
and loyalty have never been hallmarks of some Cowboys
“fans”.

Ray,
You do not need think that your team is going to win every game to be a fan. There really wasn’t any facts, stats, or history to predict anything other than a Eagles win. Of course, we all want the Boys to win, but after the past 10 years reality is firmly set in.
Becker,
I think you hit it on the head. Very few people at the stadium are “fans”.
Raf,
Right on with Bradie James. I hope finally, that he will now break out into a solid LB.

I’ve been calling this defense the Groomsday defense because we have so much youth, but I think that today they made a step towards earning the Doomsday label.

Good job, Cowboys. You may have made the Eagle an endangered species again.

there are only a few things I think the cowboys could do better but other than these minor things they played pretty damn flawless football.
1. We still had more penelties that messed up a couple of drives…those need to be done with when we play a team bringing it’s A game.
2. The running game was not automatic, J.J. still struggled quite a bit, the O-line still looks like it needs to gel a bit more in that area.
3. Don’t want to burst anybody’s bubble but Philly’s Offense is VERY one sided. I suspect that may be one reason dallas looked so great…they really didn’t have to defend the run. Like others I will be very interested to see the Dallas D up against Tiki Barber and Eli Manning.
    With all that said…Dallas still looks awesome. Although I’ve pointed out some things here, I really feel like dallas did a enough yesterday to beat practically anybody…so did get all mad at me for just pointing out a few things…go cowboys!!!!

The ailment appeared to be to his ankle, and Jones did not return in the second half. “I am fine,” Jones told the team’s official web site after the game. “I could have played today, but I will play next week…It is tough to watch when we are playing that well. I really wanted to get out there.”

becker,

I watched most of the NY Jets game (just had to see Vinny in charge of the Jets offense again with Curtis in the backfield; brought back memories).

What I saw of the “incident” after the play was Ronde trying to break Mawae’s grip on him by swinging to knock down Mawae’s arm. In the process Ronde accidently hit the meddling ref on the cheek bone just underneath the eye. I guess because it was an accident the ref didn’t eject Ronde from the game even though he could have been according to the rules.

I totaly agree with you emrdog,
i have to see the cowboys play the giants and she how that defene adjusts to play eli and tiki barber,and burress etc.I’m a die hard cowboys fan for life and always have been,but after those close losses to the redskins and the raiders still makes me question them.I need to see them win convicingly against the giants for me to believe that this is a benchmark win,for one because the giants are gonna be really prepared for this game.So basically this is gonna be a hard game for the cowboys,and im being realistic especially after that chargers game when i got real excited and next thing you know what the heck happened to the team.Well basically im post poning my excitement and emotions after they win the game and " If " they win the game!

This win was the biggest in years!You can bet it’s a dark day in Philly today!We were so dominate that it reminded me of our Cowboys team that mauled Buffalo in the Superbowl!A good point was made earlier on this blog that Philly,being a one diminsional(passing only) team made it easier for us to defend but still,this was a fantastic effort to build on!

The most complete win in the Parcells era. First downs: 28 to 6. Yards 456 to 129. Time of Possession: 40:43 to 19:17.

Those are the good things. A great win and a lot of fun to watch as a Cowboy fan.

But……

1) Anyone else a bit concerned about the redzone offense?

By my count, 6 trips to the redzone, 2 TDs, 3 FGs, 1 downs. Not included in that count is the Keyshawn fumble returned for a TD. One of the TDs came on a 4th down “trick” play (Polite TD). So its not a big stretch to say Dallas had 1 “real” TD in 7 trips to the redzone. Coupled with the performance against Oakland, I have some real concerns about their redzone performance.

2) Short yardage offense. We seem rather inept at short yardage. How many blocks are we going to miss? That turnover on downs in the first quarter didnt hurt us because we forced a 3 and out, followed by the Glenn bomb. So Dallas got the points. But the left side of the O-Line has got to do a better job putting hats on defenders…..

3) Penalties by the veteran offensive linemen. Flozell and Larry have each killed drives this year with stupid penalties. What was Allen thinking on that block in the back penalty right after the holding penalty? Those two penalties cost them 4 points. It didnt hurt them this game. But how about next week?

4) Dallas got very lucky that McNabb missed 6 inches to the right on that pass play to Westbrook. That was 6 points. Not sure who was supposed to be covering him (I think Pile), but that was almost another big pass play….

5) Thompson fumbling….. We got lucky on this one. Twice. I’m sure Parcells is going to “remind” him about this.

Overall, there is much to be proud of and happy about from this game. But looking a little deeper, there are still some troubling trends. Many of these trends cost us against Oakland/Washington. They were covered this week. Will they cost us next week?

Finally the D and O play well together.

Kevin,

Groomsday. Funny — and fitting. I hope you don’t mind if I steal it.

Rob:

Polite’s TD was not a trick play – the Cowboys went for it on 4th down and executed a play-action pass. The Eagles bit on it because they rushed on the first 4th down at the 1 that failed. Blodsoe hit Polite for a TD.

That’s not a trick play.

I think we a missing a few very important things that went extremely well:

1) Tackling: The screen passes didn’t kill us today because of missed tackles. Everyone was wrapping up their tackles and forgetting about the big hit. Several big tackles happened on 3rd and short screen passes. Roy Had a couple and Terrence had a nice one too.

2) Blitz Coverage: The Philly Blitz just disappeared when it got to the OLine yesterday.

Next week: We need to come out firing again. Take their option of running to Tiki out of the game and just let Eli get murdered in the pocket. The pass rush has finally come back to Dallas and everyone is getting a piece of the action.

I love BP staying committed to the young guys. That is very un BP like and maybe it means he’s not even close to being ready to leave this team. But I have said before this is without a doubt the best rookie class in Cowboys memory.

I would like to see TT blocking a little better, so they can use him as that 3rd down type of back. A-Train did not run the ball well, but there was a few excellent blocks in there.

Anyone notice the lack of attention the 4th down TD to Polite recieved in the press analysis? I read dozens of stories and no mention. I thought it was a huge statement as well as a huge gamble and spoke volumes about the confidence BP has in Drew especially.

You can bet every team that plays the Eagles this year is gonna study the tape of THAT game,Eagles may have some tough sledding unless they make some changes…..now I wanna see the same preparedness and intensity against the Giants,and if we we get it,we might have started to turn the corner!

Pop quiz: Which RB currently hates Father Time most?
Not JJ: He’s #1.
Not TT: He’s #2. (Great breakout game yesterday!)
And not Anthony Thomas: He’s #3 and our 3rd downs back, the only guy who can pick up blitzes and catch reasonably (other than JJ).

That leaves…Marion Barber: The only rookie who looks good but can’t get on the field, simply because he’s behind so much other talent. That preseason injury sure looks like bad timing now, eh?

So why does he hate Father Time? Remember last year? If Barber had been here then, he would have started half the season and TT might never have been picked up. Instead, he’s losing the whole season despite his talent. What a difference a year makes!

Rafael,
You do a great job with this site. We disagreed last week. I think the boys proved my point. BP needs to loosen the reigns on this team and not teach it to fear losing. Maybe he read your blog Saturday night. This was posted on the team web site.

Glenn hadn’t said anything publicly, but was heard joking with fellow wideout Keyshawn Johnson in the locker room the week before the game about how no one could stop either of them, except the offensive coordinator.

Don’t want to get carried away with one win and every opponent will be different, but we stand a better chance of winning games if we just go out to win and not try not to lose.

sharkz,

I agree, the Eagles are going to have to change the way they approach their offensive game plans, and start developing a running game. McNabb is never going to last the season, if he keeps getting beat up playing in that pass-first, -second, and -third offense.

The Cowboys went to their nickel defense almost full time, pretty much ignored the run threat (didn’t even bother to activate Coleman, who had started every other game), and concentrated on shutting down their passing attack. It worked to perfection.

But, that’s their problem. The Giants won’t give us the luxury of only preparing a one-sided defensive game plan. We’ll have to be more balanced against the threat of Barber and Jacobs running. On the plus side, the Eagles’ defense is much better than the Giants’. The Giants have had trouble with their pass defense all year, and Tomlinson tore them up pretty badly on the ground.

Headlines in Philly:

“The Boy’s Toys”

“Doom in Big D”

Go Cowboys!!!!

Great Coverage Raph!!!

How were we dominant enough to go away from the 4-2-5 after only two plays? Was the line that Great!!

Great analysis Rafael, not much else to say. Great win, let’s see if they can repeat that type of performance on Sunday noon.

How did La’Roi Glover play? I was on a plane through the entire game, missed all of it.

Interestingly, I think that this is the 3rd year in a row that through the first 4 games, the Cowboys have had either the #1 passing attack in the NFL or the #1 rated passer in the NFL, and that does include Quincy. I guess it’s at this point that opposing defensive coordinators figure out the true nature of Peyton and Parcell’s game calling, and the true strengths and weaknesses of the players. over the past 2 years, after the 4th or 5th games, the Cowboys’ offensive firepower was effectively neutralized. I think that’s because over the past two years, Parcells did the best he could with what he had – subpar talent, and was effective until noticeable patterns emerged.
Now the question is, is he still doing a lot with a little, or, is this a legitimately flexible, dynamic, multi-dimensional offense that can continue to find success?
I think it is.
I think Bledsoe to Glenn or Witten is a serious threat to all defenses, which should free up jones/thompson to gash defenses for first downs. I think the main concern now is focus, execution and confidence. The only things that should beat this offense are penalties, drops, turnovers and missed assignments. And if the Eagles’ pressure D cannot force miscues, then the offense should have the confidence that they can hang 66 points on the Giants’ pretty mediocre D.

Signing Drew Bledsoe is just huge. I bet Parcells and Jones start spontaneously giggling when they think of Bledsoe and his Pro Bowl talent that just fell in their laps. The Bills actually thought JP Losman was the answer at QB. mystifying.

Eagles DE Jevon Kearse was unhappy with what he said was constant first-half, double-team help from Cowboys tight end Jason Witten for right tackle Rob Petitti, and unhappy that Dallas went for it three times on fourth down, making a first down twice. “It’s disrespectful,” said Kearse, who noted that the Cowboys punted only twice.
— Philadelphia Daily News

And I thought Jevon had more class than this

Another gem from that classy team player T. O.

Following the Eagles’ 33-10 loss to Dallas, Terrell Owens pulled a white Dallas Cowboys Michael Irvin throwback jersey from his traveling bag, shook it out, and put it on for the bus ride to the airport and the long, quiet charter flight home to Philadelphia.
— Philadelphia Inquirer

Just an observation, the defense faces Moss and Owens in back 2 back weeks and doesn’t give up a TD to either one of them. Credit has to go to an improved pass rush and Henry and Newman (who is finally starting to look like a top 10 draft pick).

Like I said, I thought this was the game for special teams to show their stuff. And we even rode our Audi (formerly TT) in the second half. Actually, looking back, I had a pretty good prediction of what would happen. James finally stepped his game up, and looked quite good in coverage. It looks like we might have some depth at ILB after all. And I’m likin that Ratliff Kid, he has a pretty good motor. The other thing I noticed: DeMarcus Ware OVERPOWERED the eagles tackle on his sack (i think it was Tra Thomas, but I might be mistaken). Ware is definitely improving, and man, he really does look good at DE in the 4-3.

A couple of other things: One play that stuck out to me, was when TO threw Aaron Glenn to the ground. We play some big recievers, and while Glenn is really solid and just doesn’t make mistakes, he can pretty easily be overpowered. Not a knock on him, beause he’s nasty for his size, but playing guys like Plaxico twice, and TO again, he might be someone that gets targeted by opposing teams—we need to watch out for that.

On offense, if Pettiti gets his hand on someone, he’s got them beat in pass protection. But if his man gets a burst on him, Rob just doesn’t have the lateral speed to catch up with him—same problem that Flozell has. Theyre both so big, that unless they get that initial stop, it’s tough for them. Speaking of which, I only saw Flozell really get beat once or twice, but he’s looked a bit better in his recovery this season (probably has something to do with the weight he’s lost).

The biggest thing we lose when JJ is not in the game, is his blocking. He has improved immensly in that respect. JJ blows Thompson and even Thomas out of the water when it comes to protection. That was the biggest difference I saw from the first half to the second half. Audi did alright, but JJ has really become a good blocking back (which is good, cause he hasn’t been running as well as he can so far this season).

I could go on about my impressions of the game, but I have work I have to do. And oh boy, I get to watch next weeks game v the Giants on my friends big screen plasma HDTV with surround sound—too bad he’s a Giants fan.

Hooray for the Boys and good execution

So far this is what I’m hearing from everyone. It’s either “Wow, this is the best win in a decade” or I’m hearing “good win-but there are still problems”…I’m just wondering what the count is-how many of us really believe this is a turning point or we still have other big corners to turn? Personally, I feel the win was great but I can still see how we can be beaten especially this coming week. Let me just ask you all this-are we really that far from the Washington game…or the Oakland game…or the first four nailbitters collectively?—-Was dallas’ play that impressive that we are all going to forget about the first 4? I’m not trying to be negative but let’s not get ahead of ourselves…I think if anything we have learned in this first five games is that Dallas can beat or lose to anybody…hopefully this win can change the team mentally, but my proof needs to come against New York. Go Cowboys!!!!

jeff24, do you have a link to that kearse qoute? Thats hilarious.

I think the biggest result of this game, will be the boost in confidence. The players on both sides of the ball should be feeling a bit better about themselves. But most importantly, the coaches should have more confidence in the team. I think that was what was missing before. I think now the coaches are beginning to believe in the guys, and we might play to win instead of just playing not to make a mistake. I think Bill wanted to believe in the guys, and gave them the opportunity to prove themselves, which they did. We should be able to go out next week, and continue executing our plays, while not (to quote Bledsoe) “getting in the way of ourselves”. There are still things to work on, but hopefully the Boys are over any mental troubles they had up until this game. But yes, good point EMRDOG, we still can lose to anyone. But as long as they keep their heads up and believe in themselves and the gameplan, we should come out alright.

At least, I’m hoping our issues with consistency stemmed from the mental aspect of the game.

emrdog:
The only thing I need to hear, because I know it too, is what Parcells said after the game: “Playing like this we can win most games” or something like that. If they do keep playing like that, they’ll win on Sunday and 11-5 will be reachable.

Link to Jevon Kearse quote (it’s at the bottom)

http://www.macon.com/mld/dailynews/sports/12863532.htm

Waaaaaaahhhhhhhhh

I think Dallas was still in extended “training camp” the first four weeks. The coaching staff was teaching young players probably as much as they were preparing for the oponent. As a result, a few young players just kept moving forward in the first 4 weeks. These young players were learning to be more physical, and also learning how to play their positions. Ware, Canty, Spears, Burnett, Petetti, Crayton, Thompson, Julius, Davis, and Ratliff are all playing much better than they were in training camp. .. Two young players I personally critisized (James and Polite) also deserve a lot of credit. They came to play yesterday. I am glad Parcells stood with them!! .. Proved me wrong!

This week it all seemed to come together. A huge factor was Bledsoe and Keyshawn personally asking the coaching staff to open up the offense a bit. I think Parcells was waiting for something like this. Its one thing for the staff to come to that decision, but a whole other situation when the veteran leaders have the taste in their mouths to open up and “throw the first punches”. .. I have been impressed with Sean Payton’s play calling, and yesterday he took it to another level. He attacked the entire field. Dallas came out throwing right, throwing left. On the Boys second TD, did you all see Bledsoe look left, look left, then make an AMAZING throw to his RIGHT to Glenn!! Of course attacking the Eagles D deep, then they took some shots over the middle and short, and added a 4th down SWEEP RIGHT. Yes I said SWEEP RIGHT!! In the first half, Julius Jones also hit a couple off tackle runs to the left. Then Payton ended the game running down the middle of the field with Tyson Thompson eating up over 16 minutes of clock in two drives in the 2nd half.

One thing for sure ….

OUR COWBOYS WERE THE BEST TEAM IN THE NFL ON THIS SUNDAY!!!!!!!! ..

Haven’t said that for a while!!!

Rafael,

Go ahead and take the Groomsday idea. I’ll take half of whatever royalties come your way for it. :-)

By the way, what is up with this year of football. The Redskins are beating the Cowboys and the Cowboys are beating the Eagles. Who’d of thought.

emrdog
If we are a 500 team we will get beat badly against NY. But if this win is a turning point we will keep it going. We are a pass first team now, we are winning when we throw. As you get good each week is a big game and now we have NY coming off a bye. Its going to be big for one its are last home division game and two we don’t want to be 1-2 in the division.

Hey, fellas…I’m not blind…I know that if Dallas plays the way they did sunday they can beat anybody…there is no doubt in my mind!!! And I’m sure that has alot to do with “keeping their heads Up”. but my point is-yes we all know dallas has got what it takes…but my question is more this—-Has Dallas really put the first four behind them??? here’s my opinion—-If yes then dallas can win out…all the games…period…14-2…no joke, look at the schedule, there is not one game that they can not win playing the way they did sunday (baring maybe @ Philly*mon. night) Watching the league so far that’s how I feel. Ok, but what if Dallas doesn’t put the play of the first four behind them…well, I’m telling you all it won’t be pretty. Let’s just say if Dallas plays the way they did against…mmm…let’s say Oakland for the remainder of the season, we’ve got a real, real rough road that would ultimately lead to missing the playoffs. Seattle, K.C. Denver, @wash, Philly, and N.Y. count em, all loses. Don’t get me wrong this was an amazing unexpected win that is a complete turnaround from the first 4 weeks…let’s enjoy the eagles misery. Yet, let us remember we are still playing a lot of young guys next to alot of old guys…that is our team…so my “past the first quarter of the season prediction” is 10-6 wildcard. We should be absolutely 100% proud of being Cowboy fans this week…but I’m sorry I still remember what it felt like last week.

Foundational win? That was week 1 against San Diego, people. The Chargers are for real, and the Cowboys’ road win against them should have been the wakeup call to the league. Take away one defensive lapse or one missed field goal or one botched holding call against Washington, and Dallas should be 4-1.

That being said, and despite the Cowboys playing incredibly well yesterday, this game kind of slipped away from Philadelphia. Thompson’s return to start the game, and Crayton’s punt returns gave the Cowboys a short field to work with for almost the whole first half. McNabb was pinned inside his own 15 a lot, and also just misfired on passes to open receivers that could have kept Philly drives alive and changed the tone of the game.

The most encouraging sign for me was the offensive line finally blocking well for the run as well as the pass, and chewing up the clock in the second half. Dallas still doesn’t seem to have much of a power running game when they only need 1 yard straight up the middle, though. The one time they tried it, they got stuffed, and the two times they picked it up were on a pitch outside and a play-action pass to Polite.

This team is loaded at wide receiver and tight end, and has a quarterback that can get them the ball. The running game will be fine, and Julius Jones will regain his form for last year as the offensive line starts creating some holes for him. But the biggest sign of hope is the fact that we rarely hear Terrance Newman’s name on TV — he is becoming the shutdown corner Jerry Jones thought he was when he picked him so early in the draft. No one talks about him much on talk radio, but I guess corners only get talked about when they get burned.

emrdog, Agreed 100%…the sooner we forget how bad it felt against Oakland, the sooner we’ll get our ass kicked again. Let’s not even mention how bad it felt that monday night against Washington.

CowBoys #1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
whOoooooooooooooowhoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!

I think too much emphasis is being put on the Cowboys’ first 4 games. Flip a coin basically and the Boys could have been anything … 0-4, 1-3, 2-2, 3-1, or just as easily 4-0. … Parcells wanted more time to teach the youth on this team and used the first 4 weeks as an “extended training camp”. So don’t put too much emphasis on the win/loss, as compared to how much the young players have come along tuning up their skills and how they have become more consistant playing their positions. .. BUT, I am quite sure Parcells had this one against the Eagles circled. His young team responded!! …. An inexpierenced team that many of us had improving steadily throughout the year, played THIS WELL, THIS SOON. Watch out!! .. Those young guns on the D line … well they only pushed around arguably the best offensive line in the game!! Ratliff, Glover, Ferguson, Canty Spears, Ellis, and Ware had constant push into the Eagles’ back field. A sign to come? Hopefully!!

Do you all remember what Parcells said during the HBO Training Camp special a few years ago? The offensive line and backs were doing their blitz pick up drills, and Parcells told the team, “You are going to be praying they blitz you, once I am through with you!” .. Now if you are anything like me, you quivered with fear everytime the Eagles came to town, because it meant a bunch of sacks, a few forced throws, and unblocked blitzers in our offensive backfield all day .. now?? Well ……. I pray they blitz!!

Bring on the 30th ranked Giants defense!

Rafe and everyone else:
My gut this week was that the ebbs and flows of NFL energy were going to find the Cowboys up and the Eagles, perhaps, a bit down or at least banged up. If you look around the league — games like the Raiders-Cowboys last week, Saints-Packers, Carolina’s season — it is clearer and clearer that with parity, much depends on which teams are playing with a sense of desperation from week to week. I would love to think this is THE win for the Cowboys, but I tend to think it’s a flash of potential future greatness in a likely up-and-down first part of the season. I don’t think it’s the WE’VE ARRIVED and will look like this almost every week like the elite teams do and like those 92 Cowboys had. I think BP HAD gameplanned for this thing in a special way — maybe he didn’t use trick plays, but the game plan was pretty drastically different than what the Cowboys had shown the previous games in terms of pass-to-run ratio in the first half. I think he and the staff had spent some extra time in the off-season looking at how to attack Jim Johnson’s defense and came up with some wrinkles. I think the defense also showed enough wrinkles to make a difference. On top of which, the Eagles really weren’t playing at peak. Aside from the Westbrook opening, there was that other deep ball that McNabb threw 65 yards in the air and overthrew his WR, who was open, moreso than Santana Moss on his deep catches three weeks ago. The point is, we had some breaks go our way, and we were geared up.
Don’t get me wrong, I think it was all beautiful, but I don’t think we’re going to look at this like the Nov. 92 win, not yet. Still damn fun.

EricR,
    I think you are right to remind us how young this team is and how great they played…no doubt…and I’ve said this all along, this was a GREAT win. I see your point with the whole “extended training camp” thing and that’s a good way for us to all look at it with such a young team. Yet, there’s just one problem…the NFC EAST IS AND WILL BE VERY TIGHT THIS SEASON. That Monday night fiasco with the redskins COULD (not saying will), but could really hurt us once we are looking at the playoffs and they start handing out homefield. I’ve browsed the schedules of our nfc east counterparts this afternoon and everyone has a shot at a playoff spot at this point in the season. Loses in this division mean A LOT.

It’s a good day to be a Cowboys fan! I’ve been a Cowboys fan since 1971 when I was seven years old,and I’ll be the first to admit I didn’t have much confidence that the ’Boys could beat the Eagles. The Eagles were flying high putting up over 400 yards of offense in their last three games.
Still seeming loke the team to beat in the NFC. Meanwhile, the Cowboys through their first four games were running hot and cold-W,L,W,L.
Not scoring any points in the first quarter all year. Well,they finally did score on the opening drive,played for 60 minutes and dominated the entire game! What a win it was,especially a divisional win makes it all the more important. Now the next challenge is to win two in a row and win another divisional game by beating the Giants next week. Go ’Boys!!

What is up with this “extended training camp” get out of here with that. This is the season they all count. This was a big win and how we won is even bigger. Now next week we will see what’s going on.

I was trying to say that politely AW, right on!!!!

Sunday, October 9, 2005- VINDICATION DAY!!!!!

For all you guys who’ve been calling for Parcells to be more aggressive, open up the playbook, and throw the dang ball.

For all you guys who believed that in today’s NFL (where the days of the super teams are long gone) that THIS Cowboys team has the talent and the heart to go to win a championship- THIS year.

For all you guys who refused to blame our pass defense for our Monday night meltdown, and laughed when they said it was “all Roy’s fault”. (If we’d played offense like we did yesterday, we’d be 5-0!)

For all you guys who are still undecided about Julius as the answer to our RB situation. (Doesn’t Thompson hit the hole faster? Wish he’d hold on to the ball though….)

For all you guys who felt we didn’t need to pay PRICE all that money and then, once we signed him, maintained he’d be nothing more than an insurance policy.

For all you guys who DID NOT label that reciever we GAVE to Cleveland a ticking time bomb on the sideline who’d “be released by week 4”- Only bombs I saw during the Cleveland game were the one’s he caught for 2 touchdowns.

On the other hand, the only “time bomb” I saw on Dallas’ sideline was KJ, the “original” time bomb…. TICK. TICK. TICK.*

*Just kidding. I love Keyshawn- best darn tight end in the league!! lol

And finally, VINDICATION for those of US who KNEW WE’D BEAT THE EAGLES- You know who you are…. We saw the game on Sunday with disbelieving eyes- NOT that we didn’t think Dallas could play as it did, but that the coaches actually ALLOWED THEM

Good job of keeping the faith, guys. Those of us who never doubted should feel proud and satisfied. I’m not saying Superbowl yet- far from it- but if we simply MAINTAIN what we established on Sunday, we can play with anybody in today’s NFL….

Anybody.

rich
funny, I said it before the D hasnt lost a game this year. A-train and Price are insurance policies. JJ was on this way to a great game. The end of this year we will know about JJ.

AW,

Tell that to Bill Parcells. If this were about anything else, but to get the young guys reps, then tell me why players like Patrick Crayton, Tyson Thompson, and Jay Ratliff were playing so much, and players like Peerless Price, Kenyon Coleman, Anthony Thomas and Jason Ferguson are loosing reps. It is pretty obvious that Parcells felt that training camp was too short to teach his young players the systems in place here. In fact if you listen to him he said as much. … Now I am not saying that Dallas wasn’t trying to win those first four games, but they weren’t going to win them at the expense of the youth loosing reps. To Parcells credit Julius, Canty, Ware, Petitti and a host of others have gotten better and better each week because of their on-field expierences, and the team weathered the potential storm with a 2-2 record, which as stated before could have easily been 3-1 or even 4-0, but as easily could have been 1-3 or 0-4. .. The coaching staff needed another month or so to teach the youth of this team, but they didn’t stop once training camp ended. They used the first month of the season as an “extended training camp” to do so. Look no further than the Cowboys refusal to switch to the nickel D when teams went to their 3 WR sets. I would say that was more about getting his inexpierenced team to execute under adverse circumstances than the coaching staff failing to determine the oppositions personell. As I saw it, Parcells tested his team much more than usual in the first quarter of the season. A true sign of teaching and evaluating, which is done more in the preseason than the regular season.

Thompson – undrafted FA
Ratliff – 7th round
Petitti – 6th round
Crayton – 7th round
Beriault – 6th round

Hey I have an idea … how about we trade our 1st rounder next year for like three 7ths and two 6ths? JK .. but that is some success in the late rounds and beyond!!

I find myself agreeing all around.

First, great win. I knew it was there, but did not know if it would come out tis quickly. I’m glad it did, and that the coaches let it.

Second, yes, Parcells has been calling early games like it was training camp, to make sure his players learned early from some weird situations that would benefit them later. I really think he was as surprised as anybody that the Redskins game got away like it did. That said, if the team learns from that inexplicable loss, it will earn some wins later that might have been more bitter losses. Personally, I’m not that scared of Washington, no matter what their record is. Up there will be payback.

Third, Oakland is one of those games. Home dogs always cover, and teams playing their second (or third) consecutive road game nearly always come out flat and struggle. Two Sundays back, that was Dallas at Oakland. This past week, that was Philly at Dallas. Philly was scheduled to lose, if Dallas comes out strong. They did.

The Giants are coming off a bye? Everybody but the sad sack Texans wins coming off their bye. Luckily, that game will be at Dallas, which equalizes things a bit. Look for a tough game where we all really find out how good both teams can become.

Fourth, win or lose against the Giants, this team is still young. Some week, they will forget just enough of what Parcells has been telling them that they will lose concentration and get beaten by an inferior opponent—they have one more of those in them this year, at least. Before the season, I predicted two, and am sticking by it. Bandwagon fans will jump off, and the faithless will gnash their teeth, but Landry’s and Johnson’s teams did the same thing, including some of their championship teams. The fact Bradie freakin James came to play gives me confidence that anything can happen, including winning at Philly and at NY (not likely, without much improvement).

The Cowboys caught a down team at an opportune time and ripped them. Good teams should win games like that, so I guess we can now classify the Cowboys as a good team, and give extra points for the manner in which it was done. Bad teams lose like the Cowboys did the second week, so this game shows definite improvement, and makes a statement, but is not a foundation win. Dominating this Sunday against the Giants, coming off a bye, would be a step, and beating Philly up there would completely establish who’s boss. Those would be much stronger, because harder to achieve.

Foundation is something you can build upon .. and this win is definately a win that a young group can build upon. The only question is will they? .. If the Boys go 11-5 or 12-4 and win the NFC East, this is definately the “foundational win” that they built a Championship upon. .. Cowboy Bert “to be the best, you have to beat the best” … this team DOMINATED the best!! … HOW ’BOUT THEM COWBOYS!!!!!

Raf,

Yeah I noticed James too. That suprised me the most that he showed up, esp with Dat out and being such an important game. Anyone else noticing Ratliff, the guy seems like a real player and not a 7th round pick. I wouldnt be suprised if he’s active every game from here on out. Bring on the Giants.

Today on nfl network coachspeak Jim Mora said ‘were it not for two minutes in the Redskin game this would be a 4-1 team. Next week’s game against the Giants will go a long way to determining’, something like dominance in the division. All I could think of all day was that great line as Eric says, ‘How bout them Cowboys!’.

I just remembered, anyone else notice RoyWill actually wrapping on his tackles? He wasn’t just going for the big hit today, which helped a lot. For example, that sack on McNabb, RoyWill could have easily just gone straight in and tried to spear him, but instead wrapped him up and didn’t allow him to elude the sack. And I forget who it was he was tackling, but RoyWill made a textbook open field tackle that I believe was for a loss. Good job Mr. Williams (maybe he was humbled after the Texas OU game?). And I quite liked when TNewman body slammed Reggie Brown. That got me out of my seat.

Hooray for the Boys and fundamentals!!

I don’t want to be thrown into the “doubter” crowd, but come on!!! When has Parcells ever been about developement!!! Does anyone remember Drew Henson anymoreNO!!! Because Parcells wanted to win last season and his argument for keepin vinny "INTERCEPT"erde in the last season was because he wanted to win…period. You think he’s changed that much from last season? I don’t get this argument about “the first 4 games were just run-through, extended training came stuff”. So we just lost those games cuz we wanted to??? That’s jacked up ya’ll!!!

EricR

Price is here because Glenn has only played all 16 twice in his career and Crayton earned his spot that’s why Price is not playing. A-train is not that good TT has more upside and can play ST that’s why he is playing more. Coleman please look at the draft that’s why he is not playing. Ferguson is playing they have 9 million reason why he is going to play. The young guys are playing because they should. MB will get back out there too, soon

i too was not thinking we could win the game, i thought we could keep it close and maybe squeeze out another victory, but the we played our best game of the year. hands down the defense is improving, hope for no set backs. the eagles didnt look the nfc champion part at all. dont no if they were drained by the KC win or what, good win ill take it. if this defense keeps improving and bledsoe stays on track the 10 win people might be right on, lets hope. jj appears to be fine and couldve played, glad bp kept him out and gave the rookie some snaps, he looked good running the middle, other then the 2 miss handles he was great. is it me or does crayton scare you guys when hes running with the ball still??? wrap it up crayton wrap it up…

1 more big thing no sacks allowed again,i think this 2 of 5 games without a sack impressive. kudos to the o-line

Just finished reading the links off the URL provided by NYGiantHater and noted that T.O. has not had really anything to say publicly … too shocked to talk? The others who did make comment on the game Sunday did so with a seemingly undertone of disbelief, yet profoundly stunned that Philly could not get anything going. My compliments to the writers on not so much whinning about their injuries as an excuse. Instead, they, including Andy Reid, merely said they got beat in every aspect of the game. Now that’s what it’s all about.

Giddy up ’Boys!!!!

Let me put this into perspective…..my headline would read…..“Cowboys submit Eagles to brutle ass-whoopin”…….lol

EricR…

Cute on the trade idea. Maybe Jerry ought to give the scouts who provided the info on draft day an extra special bonus for doing such a great job.

dog,

No one is saying that Dallas lost “because we wanted to”, but the first quarter of the season saw Parcells testing his young players instead of relying on veteran players. More than he normally would in the regular season. That is all. BTW Parcells has always been about developing players. His football trend is to draft well and build a core with young players, but have veteran leaders around them. .. Parcells clearly stated in the beginning of the year that he is starting some younger players as he sees that they WILL BE better than what he had then. That is saying that better, expierenced players will loose reps to YOUNGER players, because of up side. Most call this a “rebuilding” stage, but I just used the term “extended training camp” because all is not lost this year. Parcells used the first 4 games to evaluate some of his players. Of course its not an “extension” of training camp, because the games do indeed count, but in the sense of evaluating and how he played his younger players, in that sense, it was an “extension” of training camp. .. My point was to not put much emphasis on the first 4 games because in those games these kids are still learning and are at high risk to make mistakes, which they made. But if they are improving and learning, what was a 2-2 record will mean very little, if this young team can be consistant and play to their potential by season’s end.

if we can back to back games then im going to be happy, something we dont do often. even down teams kick the big dogs ass every once in a while, see miami and new england last year. i really do hope this is a foundation win and we keep going forward, this team could be special. as for the 4 extra preseason games or w/e. BP is always gonna test his team, but i also know like evryone bithced about when we would sign another veteran FA you gotta let the youbng guys play and make mistakes so they can grow and learn. thats what he was doing. if this win is what we are hoping for then the young guys are jelling and who knows, we might finish 11-5, 12-4. or this could be a smoke screen and we could be 8-8 or 7-9. hope for the later

eric,
agreed

Did Ware sack Mcnabb on the eagles’ first play of the game? I thought so, but I don’t remember….

dog,

Henson obviously wasn’t in that group of young players that Parcells said will be better in a month or two than what he had at the beginning of the season. Bledsoe will probably be better than Henson for a time to come.

mike,

Philly’s O-line is one of the best in the game, if not the best. No injuries, no excuses there. The young upstart Cowboys defensive linemen pushed them back CONSISTANTLY. I hope that this is what we get. But you are right, down teams do come up with victories to good teams. Good teams that can’t really motivate themselves for the bad team. If Philly thought that’s what we were .. I don’t think they believe it anymore. … We got to see what this team can be .. now we need to see concistancy.

Parcells has always been about development.

Giants in 83, Patriots in 93, Jets in 97. In each case, he brought in wholesale changes through the draft, with a sprinkling of vets. Twice, he developed QBs (including the one now leading our team). That’s development.

Here’s an excerpt from the Cowboys website bio of Parcells.

"All three of the previous NFL franchises that have been coached by Parcells can attest to his ability to develop a winner and maintain success. His results with the New York Giants, the New England Patriots and the New York Jets were dramatic and provided a winning foundation for the years that followed his departure. "

Being his last go around, who can blame him for not wanting to develop a QB. And whose to say he wouldn’t if Henson showed outstanding ability.

As far as the first 4 games being “extended training camp”, there is no doubt that BP stayed in basic formations and conservative play calling in order to protect known weaknesses from players that didn’t have the experience to do more. As the season progresses, and execution improves, there’s no doubt that you’ll see a more aggresive offense and more exotic D. THAT is sound logic.

Based on past Cowboy trends:

The key to the Giants game will be how well the defense tackles on the Giants’ opening possession. When Dallas tackles, they win. When they don’t, they lose, and their losses are almost always apparent early in the game, as players break arm tackles and keep going for first downs. As David noticed, the defensive players tackled against Philly. If Dallas wraps up and tackles the stinking “New York football Giants” (I still dislike Howard Cosell, for that obnoxious and outdated phrase as much as anything), they will win, no two ways about it. Eli is better than last year, but not yet ready to carry a team by himself—the Giants still have to rely on YAC and missed tackles, like most of the league.

I forgot to watch for it, but how did the DT’s do in holding their ground during the game. I couldn’t tape it, but could someone tell me how Canty, Glover, Fergusen, and whoever else played inside did? Wow, I think that’s the first game where I didn’t pay any attention to the middle lineman, on either team. Anyway, could someone write a quick snippet on that group?

I still believe that the Giants are still a paper tiger, at least on offense.

They’ve beaten the Cards and Saints (two powerhouse D’s), had their butts handed to them by the Chargers, and outran a Rams team also known for their defensive prowess.

Yes, they have the highest scoring team…but it really shouldn’t scare this team. Here’s a quiz. Who do you want to face?

1. Tiki Barber, LaDanian Tomlinson, Clinton Portis, or Bryan Westbrook?
2. Plaxico Burress, t.o., or Randy Moss?
3. Eli Manning, Drew Brees, Kerry Collins, or Donovan McNabb?

But more importantly, the OL of EVERY team we’ve played to date is (or was at the beginning of the year) ranked significantly better than these Giants.

Each of their wins was at home (even though the Saints game was officially a road game). Their only road game…S.D. whipped ’em.

Sorry all you naysayers. Just don’t see a problem.

And anyone really think their D is good?

The Monday postgame thread is my favorite of the week and I finally got to read this one.

Love the analysis, but I can’t understand this king of thinking, as someone wrote on the thread: "The Cowboys caught a down team at an opportune time and ripped them. "

That’s bull. The Eagles were not down. They had been averaging 425 yards a game. McNabb’s injury didn’t stop him from hanging 31 straight on KC. This was not a down team and any attempt by the mediots or anyone else to say so is just revisionist history.

Now, on to the Gints…

oops, I meant kind of thinking, not king of thinking. Damn typos…

EricR,
  In the first 4 games dallas was testing their young players rather than relying on their veterans?? Hello??San Diego…who won that game…Drew Bledsoe…Keyshawn Johnson….veterans….who was the only Touchdown in the Washington game….Terry Glenn….That’s an awful argument….Dallas lost those two games because they just lost them.

emrdog,
What EricR means, is that the young guys were still adjusting to the speed of the professional game, and they were still figuring everything out as far as the schemes and things like that. BP obviously wasn’t taking time away from vets at that time, but it isn’t like we have young QBs or WRs to play in place of those guys.
Just look at the differences of who was active from the first couple games to this past one. Aside from Barber, the inactives were Coleman, Nguyen (to rest his neck, but he was still inactive), and Price. As he gets more comfortable with the young guys, he’s putting them in more and more. That’s what EricR was talking about.

It was “extended training camp” because the young guys were still figuring things out and finding their place on the team. It takes almost every rookie a bit longer than their first training camp to be totally ready for the NFL, and we just need to cut those 9 or 10 1st and second year players some slack in their development—which, if I might add, looks to be coming along quite nicely

I been a big Bradie James critic this year……..he was a difference maker on Sunday and I hope he can continue to play like that. It was a huge difference from what I have seen of him. Here is my congratulations to Bradie……..keep it up……..we need you to play like that!!!!

Yes Jon!!
And don’t forget, he was running the defense in the absence of Nguyen. BP handed the coverage and defensive playcalling to James, which appeared to be a good decision. James is a quick, big body, and if he can become more of a leader for the defense, not only will he stick around, but he will be able to flourish in our new defensive scheme.
Again, what I was most impressed with, was his ability to drop back into coverage. Besides that nice deflection in the endzone to force a field goal, he did a good job picking up crossing recievers, tightends and backs, and was a big part of the team-effort of frustrating McNabb. James also showed some impressive lateral quickness, if I remember correctly (i wish i could have taped the game), and looked really fluid. Anyway, James was one of many bright spots in the game—I just hope we can start to perform this effectively on a consisten basis.

Len:

You miss my point. This win was fantastic! This is what we have all been waiting for, and have not seen since the Jimmy years—taking a team that has made a habit of embarrassing the Cowboys, and watching them get the crap kicked out of them, start to finish. It was a dominating, satisfying win.

But—we all know about McNabb’s groin, too much, it seems. The Eagles also did not suit a couple of other starters, hoping to get them an extra week’s rest, with the bye coming up. Philly will look at that as excuses, like San Diego can point to Gates sitting as an excuse. A cornerstone win involves no excuses, just an eyes open ass whipping that cannot be prevented or explained away. This win did not reach that threshold.

Teams historically play poorly on the road coming off a tough road win, which the Eagles were doing. The tendency is to come out flat, which they did. The Cowboys defense had something to do with that, too, taking their enthusiasm away right from jump. That was heartening to see, too.

In the old days, the term was “helmet games.” The idea was that one team could just throw their helmets onto the field, and the other team would cower and quit. In the Landry days, the mediots talked about the “Cowboy mystique.” Other teams knew they would get beaten, even when they had a late lead, so they did.

The Eagles hoped to win a helmet game, based on their past dominance. Campo’s and Gailey’s teams (and last year’s) would have found ways to lose that game. This one did not. They deserve all the credit for winning it, but I would not start printing Super Bowl tickets just yet. The Giants may be overrated, but they have had two weeks to prepare. Let’s see how that game goes, and the Philly rematch (no way they come out that unprepared twice, especially at home and after this loss) and maybe we can start thinking bigger. Right now, it is just one win, albeit a very impressive one.

Rafael,

Can I complement you on your insightful analysis (as always) – and many of the other contributors as well. The site is a godsend to those of us on the other side of the globe with limited access to the games. (fortunately seen 2 Cowboys games this year – unfortunately the Skins & Raiders games…)

2 points :
Consolidate: we need to win next week to consolidate this win, or we will lose much of what we gained from this game

Conservatism: I think Parcells has been calling a more conservative game until he sees what he has – probably too conservative, but that’s easy to say in hindsight. There is clear evidence he adapts his calling to his team’s strengths e.g. his Patriots (with Drew) setting a league record for passing attempts. I think you will see more aggressive playcalling, he’s got to have got more confidence out of this game.

2 questions:
Did Petitti beat Kearse himself or did he get a lot of help?
Does anyone think the Drew-Keyshawn spat is an indicator to anything more serious, or was it just the competitive juices flowing and now forgotten?

I have been reading since the beginning of the blog and I have agreed and disagreed in some things.
I really want to thank all people involved in the blog and all the people that give their opinion.
Here’s mine (hope I dont get bashed).
I have seen all cowboys game (Sunday Ticket) and I too was unimpressed with James. But I saw him again on Sunday and it was the James we all are waiting for. Do you think it has something to do with Dat playing along him, and maybe pushing him to play like he does (being the D capitain) and according to what he sees in the Offensive Formation. Maybe all he needs is a some more freedom to play without restrictions (not like freelance, just trust him a little more)?
I think Dat is an excellent player and I want him on my team, but maybe he thinks all the LB need to be like him (Think more and rely on his reads because of him being smaller, instead of just play smart and rely in the physical tools of every player)

Another thing, I also think that BP was giving his young players extra time to take reps, because he would rather lose 2 games in the first 4 from mistakes than lose 2 games on the last 4 games because some guys got injuried and he had to put the younger and inexperienced ones to play in those.

Boy from Oz,

there is no doubt in my mind that the competitive juices were flowing with Key and Drew, nothing else. And yes, Pettiti got alot of help

Listen, fellas, I got ya. It is clear that Parcells did let a younger crowd play on Sunday (especially on the D). But my point is reguardless of what the motives were those games counted…especially washington. Right now it doesn’t really matter who won or lost those first games. The more important issue is that the NFC East is maybe the best division in the NFL and we dropped a home game to the “weakest” team in the division. My bigger concern is that dispite how great of a win this is we still have to play catch up in the division and we are still not sure that this team can play the way they did sunday EVERY game. That’s my only reservation, other than that I"m on it baby!!! Go Cowboys…let’s not be hatin’ on each other!!!!

Why is everone still harping on how young we are:
                                                                          We were young in 92 need I remind anyone when I last heard it couldnt be done…..Yet take notice again when have you heard of a ROOKIE QB winning every reg season game and in some playoffs…..Roth at Pitt…The norm is meant to change…When you have a coach who scouts well and pick tru football players they usually play well….Now of course bumps in the road are evident for young guys….Just look at the veteren leadership on offense…These young guys dont want to let those guys down because of what we classify as growing pains….

These Rookies in todays game are a little better prepared for the NFL than before because of the NFL coaches working in the college game….Plus talent and the Will to play you cannot teach….Recognize one thing we resulted in almost the same game plan as Phili and that was to throw the ball most of the game and focus little on the run…..Give Phili credit our running game against them was subpar at best…It was more them than us…But yet we aired it out like tru Boys back in the days which in reality caught Phili off guard…..To leave on that note I guess thats why some of you were in suprise too…………….

Ricardo,
             good point as I stated this same thought earlier in relation to Dat…He is an excellent tackler by far no question or doubt in my mind….Yet he cannot cover tightends or rb’s at all….Could Dat really be apart of the problem on defense?? I say absolutely…James look like a confident LB making huge plays on coverage….especially in the endzone….I think Dat needs to backup not start…Yes, I hear all of the Dat fans disagreeing but I thank sundays game made a statement that James is the MAN and who maybe need to run the show instead of taking direction in it

Ray……our running game was subpar???? We rushed for 157 yards on the Eagles!

Actually 167 yards lol

Ricardo,

Good point about rather lossing two games early than two games late in the season for the same mistakes. That is kind of what I mean.

emrdog,

Rookies are going to make mistakes. Might as well get them out of the way early. The biggest thing there is how they bounce back after a mistake. As Parcells said earlier in the year, “If you keep making the same mistakes, after a while, that is what you are.”

No doubt that loss to Washington, at home, on Monday Night, hurt. It stung then, and it hurts us in the standings now. It counted for sure. But hey, you know what … the Dallas Cowboys control their own destiny. And if they can play like they played like they did on this Sunday … they can beat anybody!! ANYBODY!! … Lets go Cowboys Baby!!!

I have to say that the crowd at Texas Stadium seemed to sense this early. The echoed chants of “DE – FENSE!! DE – FENSE!!” really got the wheels going for this team! .. The Giants are playing really well right now, so I incourage anyone going to the game to be even louder!! Make that stadium rock when the Giants have the ball!! … Lets go Cowboys!!!!

Here are a few stats for you.

Offense 7th overall (up from 12th) 5th NFC (up from 8th)
Defense 10th overall (up from 18th) 5th NFC (up from 13th)

JJ 9th overall (407 yards) 4th NFC
TG 4th overall (518) 4th NFC
DB 4th overall yards at 1351 and 3rd at passer rating (102)

Look for us to climb higher on both sides after we face the giants.

EricR,
  Cool man, I see what you are saying. I think you are totally right that it is better for us to make mistakes earlier than latter. I really feel like the best teams start peaking in play after week 12 or so. But I think we can all agree that everyone of us needs to start praying for consistency from this team. In all honesty that is the only area that this team has lacked so far…playing every down, every quarter. Scroll up and see one of my earlier comments…I said " if this team plays like it did sunday every game it can go 14-2"——is that realistic? not really. But it is true. I just think this Sunday is going to be the real test whether or not this team means business.

You guys probably dont remember, but I said last week the "to Look for the Cowboys to beat the Eagles and the Giants. Look back if you will, just wanted some props is all. And I will say it ONE last time never and I mean never ever forget the Bill Parcells factor!!!!!!!!!!!!!

hbo’s oz…

I Googled for something completely different, but found your page…and have to say thanks. nice read….