The Playoffs Begin Thursday

Raf, I don’t disagree, but to me, the season primarily turns on the next 2 weeks.

This week: We play at home against Denver. NYG play at Seattle. Lots of opportunity for separation here.

Next week: We play at NYG. Enough said.

After the NYG game, we should know everything we need to know. Finally.

Stop the run and we win!!!! I think we can take it to denver, If our defense picks up the pace we should be able to handle carolina, Put newman on steve smith, and give him the underneth stuff like chicago did. as long as he does not burn us for tds. I dont think we will lost to the Skins again. But we usually split with the g-men. next five games predition is:

Dallas 24 Denver 13
Dallas 27 NY 28
Dallas 31 KC 24
Dallas 28 Wash 17
Dallas 17 Car 14

for a grand record of 11-4

Offence will be our down fall unless they step up and do something.

Hey Cowboy fans,
Like I said in the last blog,
The best defense is a good offense.
Running the ball is the key !!!

We must run effectively against Denver
& we must stop their running game.

One main component of Dallas`s success has been time of possession. If we can hold on to the ball offensively for 35-40 minutes we have a great shot at winning this game.On defense we must stop the run. I would rather Plummer have to beat us in the air than be run on all day.

As always 1st down is key , if we can get 4-6 yards on 1st & put ourselves in 3rd & shorts for the most part we should have success.

This is a statement game for Dallas!!

I read earlier they have not won the 3 games going into Thanksgiving since 1980

Dallas 27
Denver 23

i agree, the offense could be the downfall. however dallas now has a 1,2 run punch with barber and jones that will continue to look like it did yesterday and sometimes even better. dallas hasnt done too much passwise which most people think is bad, but on the upside, that right there will have our opponents the next few games less material to look at on us which is good. bottom line is when drew has time he makes plays, we gotta make sure he has time. we need to use screen plays more also.
is say dallas goes 10-6 or 11-5. either way well be in the playoffs. im just hopin we win the division.

Mad,

the next two weeks are very important…….regardless of Denver we have to beat the Giants in NY!!!

The Cowboys hold their own destiny in their hands. They go 500 and are 10-6 and sneak into the playoffs. Or they can win 4 or 5 and have a week off and probably win the division and who knows.

We did not look flat in the first quarter which is good. Detroit brings heat and never backed off despite penalties. Detroit might have better pressure than Denver. I think we can move the ball on Denver, but we gotta run it and stop the run.

Bill has built a stingy defense and a ball control offense. We can and have opened it up, but in the end this team is really a 20-7 beating of Detroit team. Win time of possession. Don’t have turnovers. Play good defense. Win ugly ballgames where neither team is going to look like Cincy and Indy’s track meet that made Electronic Arts look boring in comparison.

Raf pointed out does BP understand the Turkey day game yet. Well let’s hope so and the nice little break it gives us afterward. Denver played on Sunday too, and blew out the JETS. They travel, and they play poorly on the road. Tatum Bell will probably love the Dallas carpet…..so we gotta have much better play out of the OLBs! Some sacks and not just pressure would be nice too!!!!

Drew throw the ball already. Even on some of our good plays he was hanging on too long.

The NFC East will be won December 4th in New York and in Landover. I believe that we’ll both have similar records and the tie breaker will be paramount.

The playoff seedings will be dependent on our conference record. We could lose against Denver and KC, yet maintain a tie-breaker edge against all but Seattle.

The determining factor on our obtaining a bye will be the Carolina game.

If we finish 4-2 down the stretch, beating Carolina, NY, and Washington, what happens Thursday will not play a major role. 10-2 or 9-3 conference record will be tops.

We have shown that we can consistently beat the bad deams, the mediocre teams, and the teams on the down and out. Now we will find out if the Cowboys are contenders are above-average-pretenders. The Cowboys backs, receivers, defensive backs and line backers are all resonably solid. The season comes down to the war in the trenches – who dominates the offenseive and defensive line. That is the key and the hinge that the season will swing on.

My prediction is if the cowboys score 21, we win. It will be paramount for one(great if 2) of our receivers to get 100yds and our backs to combine for 140.

We are going to be soooo geared up to stop the Anderson/Bell train, which I believe we will be successful at doing. The keys- Plummer to Lelie, Plummer to R. Smith.

Secondary play(erase the Washington Monday night catastrophe) has been the most consistent area of play all season. A Henry will be back with A.Glenn in the nickel and TNew on the other side- I like our chances. We must HHIIITTTTT Jake- need at least 3 sacks…..

Two words- BLITZZZZ++++ ROY++++

Winning this week will be nice, but its not a MUST.
NY plays 4 of its last 6 on the road. Their two home games are us and the chiefs.
Carolina has a tough schedule too, with the exception of a road game against NO. They also have to play TB and Atl again.
The season is not over with a loss on T-giving, but we need to play well in december. That will be the key. Being hot in november wont matter unless we can carry the momentum into next month.
Looking forward to an exciting december which is great since this is the first time in five years Im home for a whole season.

Fighter15 is right. The conference games are the important ones. If we are going to lose any (I sure hope not), the Denver game would be a good to do it.

But seriously. This will be a tough game. I think we will use a good number of 8 man fronts to slow down Anderson/Bell. I can live with Newman and Glenn on Smith and Lelie. (Not sure Henry is all the way back yet.)

When we have the ball, lets hope we can run. Some more play-action would be nice. I really feel thats a much underutilized play for us. But regardless, Denver is a balanced team that plays very good D.

I’d expect a relatively low scoring game, assuming we can stop the run. Maybe a 17-14 type thing. We have a healthy kicker, they don’t.

If we can’t stop the run, then it could get ugly. But lets not go there…….

I have 2 concerns: Both are on the Offensive and Defensive lines. My first concern is our Pass Protection which I feel is getting worse as the season goes on. Denver is getting good pressure on the QB. We must be able to protect Drew or it will be a long afternoon.
My other is getting pressure on their QB. Go back and look at the game stats and see we are getting less sacks and QB pressures than we have earlier in the season. I trust our secondary against Denver’s WR. I would call more Blitzes if we cannot generate QB pressure with a four man front. Denver’s wide-outs do not scare me.
Go Boys! I want to enjoy my Thanksgiving Meal with a victory.

I’d like to see Henry and Roy blitzing as run support to help out Ware and Fujita.
Is it common to guess with a CB and bring him in off the edge to prevent plays to that side from getting outside?

I don’t know why you guys are getting on the D. The D is not the problem they are not giving up many points. The offence has been playing poor. If the D continues playing the way they have the d will be fine but if the offence continues to play the same way we are in trouble. What happen if our D has a bad game? Will our offence be there to help out? Our D has had one bad game this year.

aw,

I recognize that our weak link is the offense. After 10 games, we know that we shouldn’t expect to score more than 21 points against a good team. To compensate, the defense has to be better than “fine.” It has to be dominant, which means run stuffing and pressure on the QB.

reasons for optimism…….on offense! and defense!

Hey all year we been saying when is the running game going to get on track. Against two of the leagues biggest and best tackles and pretty good front four………we moved the ball well. Two rushing TDs and JJ had 92 on 21 touches.

We saw some nice breaks and those 10 yard scampers like last year. Teams are going to respect the speed that JJ brings to the team, and that means they either put 8 in the box and let Drew, TG, KJ and Witten and Crayton beat em…….or if we can sustain it we give em a heavy dose of JJ and MB3 and maybe even TT.

Crayton should be back soon, and we all saw that he has hands and moves to be an impact. His hands looked like the old stick em were in effect in the early part of the year…..add him to punt and KR teams and we got more spark back there as well.

Tucker and Petitti ain’t that bad. We are playing mostly mistake free football. It was Detroit self destructing out there and not us. Don’t beat yourselves is always a sign of good teams.

Henry and Newman are both healthy and Aaron Glenn has also been worth every penny we paid him.

If we can run the ball like Bill Parcells wants to…….say 4.4 yards a carry like JJ averaged on Sunday…….we will see a big dose of JJ getting 25+ touches and MB getting another 20. Ball control and grinding it out…….when we face those high powered offenses we keep on the sidelines while Glover, Ferg, Canty, Spears, Ware and company get plenty of rest as well.

Run baby Run. If the running game falls into place the way BP and Payton have wanted it to all year……we can dominate with the Defense we got.

Improve on the red zone offense a bit and this team is in elite company in the NFL. I say the NFC is wide open. Bears look great on D but will struggle to outscore anybody that can put up a few touchdowns against em. Carolina is beatable…..as is Seattle…..NYG…..we can beat any and all of em.

Cundiff is back, never been so excited about a kicker but then it has been years since we had anybody as poor as Jose. So things are in fact shaping up for these Cowboys to make a run.

A few things that might really help……Burnett getting time on the field and making positive contributions! Dat getting better each week! Canty, Spears, Ellis, Glover, Ferg, and Company……still learning the 3 man front…..but looking pretty good at it……the blitz! Once we get a lead……bringing it!!!

I wonder if all the O-line discussions would be if these guys had been together as a unit from the git go. Remember that during the pre-season there were numerous players in there and then the season started with what was to be the stable unit. Well, that didn’t happen for long. The measure of better than good teams is their ability to deal with adversity. IMHO, the ’Boys have been dealt some really bad breaks (semi-pun) that for most teams would have ended their seasons before they even got started. Yet, here we are with a winning season, ranked 3rd in the infamous power rating, and apparently are being prepared for by our opponents as if we were the SB champions. Think about it.

As far as Ware’s performance, he’s being held by the tackle when he’s not being double/triple teamed. However, what has surprised me more than anything else is the lack of stunts on the D-line. Perhaps the 3-4 is not structured for such? Are line stunts a thing of the past?

Oline, Oline, Oline. If they perform, we’ll win easily. If they play like their “normal” performance we either lose or win a nailbiter 21-20. The defense has only given up more than 20 twice all year, SF (fluke) and SD the first game of the year.

Ranking the NFC
1. Seattle: Shaun Alexander is a machine and the defense is playing well. Top team in the NFC, no question about it.
2. Chicago: Great defenses are what you want for a playoff team and that is what the Bears have. Coming off an impressive win over the Panthers, and that was indeed impressive.
3. Carolina: A good team but inconsistent. I still think Jake Delhomme throws too many interceptions for me to have the utmost confidence in them.
Everyone else in no particular order:
a. Atlanta: The Falcons scored 27 points, ran 31 more plays than Tampa and had 185 more yards with a 300-yard passing day and lost? How is that possible? Because if you turn the ball over in the NFL, you will lose. And that’s what Atlanta did.
b. Tampa: A solid team with a great defense. Chris Simms is learning on the job, but I’m not sure how to read them yet.
c. NFC East: I still think these teams are all going to knock each other off. Washington still has three games left against division opponents, as do all the other teams. It’s a round-robin tournament that could just result in all of them knocking each other around. No one is dominant, but as of right now I’d have to say the Cowboys, simply based on their record and the fact that they have the edge on the Giants based on their head-to-head win. The one thing I do know is that Philadelphia is done.
By Shannon Sharpe

Madcowboy
The D has been more than fine. The offence needs to get to fine for the team to do something.

The effort to protect Drew Bledsoe from the blitzing Denver defense began on Sunday against the Lions. Bill Parcells showcased Julius Jones just enough to demonstrate that even if he still has some discomfort in his ankle, the runner creates even more discomfort for linebackers and defensive backs when he bursts through a hole. This will force Denver to respect a balanced Dallas attack and should help the Cowboys find some yards through the air (Denverâ€â"¢s only real statistical weakness). The Broncos will consider the consequences of too many blitzes since Jones is so effective on draws and running through lanes created in pass blocking. He is very dangerous in space. Denver will still try to harass Bledsoe, but the focus for all Cowboys opponents now returns to stopping Jones, and that will naturally relieve Drew of the pass rush spotlight he hates so much.

Another note about Denverâ€â"¢s defensive numbers. Iâ€â"¢m guessing many of those passing yards against are by teams trailing in the third and fourth quarters and throwing for their lives. In that sense, the values are deceiving. If thatâ€â"¢s all you do, of course the numbers will inflate. During his press conference today, Parcells made that point sharply when a reporter asked if something was wrong with the Cowboys passing game since Bledsoe hadnâ€â"¢t reached 200 yards in four games. â€Å"You want to get 200 yards? We can get to 200 yards,” Parcells said. â€Å"Thatâ€â"¢s easy. Just throw it until you get to 200.” That cracked me up.

A nail biter is fine. Ws are good.

The Cowboys haven’t played a team this good yet. Have the Broncos played a team this good yet?

The teams are evenly matched at the top of a weak league. It’s a statement game for both, and both can maybe afford one loss here.

So, who needs it worse? Denver is a game up on Pittsburg, and two up on their division. Dallas is tied with NY for theirs, and headed to NY next, where it is tough to win. The Cowboys may need it more.

Both teams have an equally short week, but Denver is having to travel on a short week, which is no easy task, and they have been a mediocre road team thus far even on long weeks. Home field advantage is worth a field goal, which ought to be about the margin in a closely fought, low scoring game.

13-10.

Others have said it, but to chime in—Thank goodness the Cowboys finally have a kicker on the roster!

Dont underestimate the Broncos, take out the Miami game in week 1 and they look REAL tough. One fluke loss in the last minute i believe to the NYG on the road.

The Bears defense is great, but that offense is horrible. Thomas Jones is hurt and so is Benson. I know they beat Carolina, but Sea. and Chi. have beat the teams they should of, the rest of the washed up teams of the North and West. I still say we’re better than Chi and every team in the North. My rankings would be:

1. Sea
2. Dallas
3. Chi
4. Carolina
5. TB
6. NYG (1 win away from Giants Stadium, against the 49ers)
7. ATL
8. WAS

As a homer, I would pick DAL to win on Thanksgiving 23-17. But if I had to bet on it I would think 27-14 Broncos because of the quick turnaround and Bledsoe with 2 sub par games recently.

Here is what I saw on Sunday. A somewhat ineffective offense. Yes, MB111 and JJ ran well. But, the vertical game is almost non-existent. Either Bledsoe doesn’t have time to throw or he is only focusing in on one man. Mostly TG. He has a tendancy to look in only one direction. Hardly stretches the field with any long bombs. Which is what we were doing earlier in the season. We are a good team, not real good, not great. Maybe later it will kick in and they will get it as BP says? Otherwise it is going to be an early exit from the playoffs.

You know, I get nervous about Denver being so good-but then I look at the scores of their games against Wash. and the Giants! Don’t look so scary! I think that the team that gets out of the gate faster will win-tough to get the gas for a comeback on a short week

aw posted,

2. Chicago: Great defenses are what you want for a playoff team and that is what the Bears have. Coming off an impressive win over the Panthers, and that was indeed impressive.

How can you believe that Chicago is #2 when their offense is a shadow of ours and ours isn’t clicking right now?
Or was that just part of Shannon Sharpe’s work.

I think we beat Chicago 9 times out of ten on a neutral field.

Carolina is flawed, their offense depends too much on Steve Smith and as everyone can see, small recievers have been less dominant as the year progresses. I also don’t think that their ground game of Davis and Foster is vgood.

bring on Denver, then we will know all we need to know.

im life long dallas fan from the philly area and i am loving this!i got to school handing out tissue paper to everyone becuase dallas keeps winning and eagles keep losing.thursday will be a battle of the best.a real test for dallas.if dallas stops their run and protects drew.dallas wins another nail-biter thursday.go boys

Personally I think the Dallas Cowboys will go as our Offensive Tackles go. If Bledsoe keeps getting put on his back as much as he has the past couple of games we won’t be doing to much come playoff time. The Bears have 4 defensive linemen who all get after the passer. Without LB help. That allows them to drop back into some very aggressive coverage schemes.

Unless Tucker gets better at stoping his opponents from getting inside on him we will continue to struggle on the offensive side of the ball.

Dallas will only go as far as their Offensive Line can carry them. Since Flo got hurt, and even before.. the line hasn’t been very good barring the 1st Eagles game. If the OLine doesn’t get better fast.. we will start loosing games over and over. fact: Drew Bledsoe does terrible the 2nd half of the season, especially on the road. I don’t know why but he falls apart. Having the OLine play so so will only enhance his tendencies..

Alan, let’s be real. Chicago has the best defense in the NFL, and it’s not close.
The Cowboys cannot get a push up the middle and cannot sack the QB. Chicago gets unreal pressure with their front four, sans blitzing. C’mon.

What did everyone think about JJ not able to get a 1 yard run for a TD? Why did he keep running up the back of his own man. Why not stop and trun outside? Is BP behind this? Was BP sending a message? Why didn’t we try a play action pass?

well when Marcus Spears fails to block his man twice……..as Bill Parcells himself pointed out……it would not have mattered who the back was……..uh unless he was Emmit.

Chicago has the best defense in the NFL period. They score……they sack……they create turnovers. We ain’t there yet……but we have a more balanced game.

Give Orton a few more years though and another WR and maybe a TE and he will be on to something. They also got two pretty good running backs themselves.

Chicago’s D single handely carried them to the playoffs a few years ago under Dick Jauron. Turnovers were a big part of it. But they lost their first game at home if I remember right. But come January I don’t want to have to go to Chicago……so let’s beat us some Broncos, Giants, Skins, and Panthers and Chiefs and we won’t have to worry about it!!!

BP is a smart coach, and I think that as long as he felt he had this game in hand, he was reeling things in, putting future opponents a little at ease-both with our off. AND def. He did this before the first Phillie game. Our team is pointing to this game, I think the coaches knew they were a better team than Detroit and kept things simple. If I’m right, then we’ll come out of the gates strong Thursday!! That said, I think this game will be a dogfight to the end, and we’ll see which team makes the little plays. If NY and Wash can play these guys, we can

I know this current Bronco Ballclub, having lived here in CO for quite some time. I don’t think we can beat them, now. I don’t think that Parcell’s is going to reveal the cards he has up his sleeves quite yet. We could go down big in this game. And it will mean nothing in the end when we beat the Giants the following week.

While I pointed out that this game means much less than the Conference games, I’m not ready to concede the game.

Home field means alot.

Short week preparation means alot.

Look for us to come out wide open. Look for Denver to play it a little tight. It should be a great game.

Cowboys 31, Donkeys 27

Joey,

I didn’t compare our defense to their Defense, I was comparing their offence to ours.

 Their offense is bad, really bad. They have beat one team who was decent, and Carolina is flawed on offense.

Chicago couldn’t score 10 points on the Cowboys and I know our offense isn’t rolling, but we could score 12 on them.

BTW if Glenns’ pick stands, then we would have scored six from the Defense in three consecutive games.

Our Defense is stout, not as good as Chicago, but our offense is miles better than theirs.

It’s almost a shame that the Bears lost their first two QBs. I would like to see what might have been.

It’s funny, their offense is terrible, but they’d rather have things this way with Orton than sign Chad Hutchinson.

Our defense will come through against the Broncos. It will be close but we should come out on top.

Give our defense a lot of credit. We should be 9-1 or 8-2, if not for some late game meltdowns, but we have NOT been blown out once this year. We’ve been in every game right down to the wire, or have won handily.

That being said, the Broncos are only 2-2 on the road. Plummer is due for a bad game. Cowboys – 24 Broncos – 17

Joey,

Man they have a light sched coming.
They got two against GB, one more against Minnisota. The other three games should test them.

What they do against Tampa Pittsburgh and Hotlanta will tell if they are For real or just benefitting from a weak sched.

They have only one plus 200 yard passing game and no 100 yard recieving games.

To call Orton a Caretaker or Busdriver is to insult Janitors and Drivers everywhere. Their offense is barely there.

what is it with all these light schedules? a win in the NFL these days is a WIN! Sure I think the NFC East is as tough a division as any but it always has been. Look at our own schedule we beat SD a better team and lost to Washington and the Raiders one 500 one under. We should have beat Seattle and they have the best record in the NFC. So the records matter, but parity is king in the NFL which is one reason why I am so optimistic. We got a Defense, we got some special teams, we got a KICKER back, and we got a couple of running backs and some decent WRs……..if the O LINE shows up every week from here out we will have the best record in the NFC come January!

Also a win is a win outside the division too. Your division record only matters in a tie. We could beat Denever loose to NY and still win the NFC EAST! Giants have a good defense and are playoff bound but they go back to Philly, Washington and Oakland……I can see them losing 2 of those 3 if those teams show up. Collins would love to beat the GIANTS and so would Norv and Moss. Chiefs are no walk in the park either but we got them too.

I don’t agree with those saying Parcells is holding back. This ain’t poker it is football. He game planned for Detroit. He wanted to get JJ close to 100 yards so teams would play the run the way the Eagles tried to earlier in the year. We tried to throw the ball against Detroit but Drew was under pressure all day….and we still moved the ball on the ground and controlled the clock. That is always going to be a Bill Parcells preferred plan. Now I ain’t saying he and Payton might not add a play or two for a different look and a different defense……but Parcells game plan is always good special teams, ball control running offense, good defense, no penalties, and take what the defense gives you. They stack the line throw the ball…..the playing the pass run the draw.

Does he maybe have another trick play up his sleeve……sure……migth we see more pass against Denver or opening it up? Maybe maybe not…….run and stop the run is still the name of the game in the NFL.

On any given Sunday these days in the NFL any team……including the texans can rise to an occassion and win a ballgame. Such a game took place when the Vikes beat a better Giants team. A win in the NFL is a win no matter who the other team was. There are no BCS in the NFL but there is the PLAYOFFS where a team coming out of the battle hardened NFC EAST black and blue division is better suited to play maybe a team from a less formidable division.

In a surprise to the media, the fans and the blog. Dallas is going to run all over Denver. Also Champ will look more like Chump….or is he even playing? Time for Julius Jones to show us some more of his primetime ability………remember this guy shined brightest on the Monday nights, TDay games that were nationally televised……throw in a heavy dose of the change of pace Barber and we put up the big two backs instead of Denver, we have stopped the big running games of SD, Seattle, NYG, Wash, and others. Our two let downs were Lamont Jordan in what might have been us overcompensating for Randy Randy Randy and a tough road loss and the recent Eagles who ran all over us up the gut.

Not this week. Dallas stops Bell and Anderson. While Jones and Barber show the League who the real best pair of RBs in the league is on Thursday and for the next few years.

Dallas 38 Denver 24…….Jake gets em back in it late but it is never a game! Terry Glenn explodes and Witten does too. The ground and air attack go hand and hand and after being torched in the first half the bronocs adjust for the running game and Drew and company eat em alive! Ware gets to Jake as does Roy, Greg, and Laroi! He throws a pick cuz Henry, TNew and Glenn are the best three coverage corners in the league. Something I am most thankful for. How big was the addition of Aaron Glenn! HUGE!!!

Go BOYS!!! Ok so it is a homer statement…….still we need to beat a good team and get JJ back on the cover of magazines…..after all the country loves a Dallas Running Back on Thanksgiving Day!

our offence has been shut down by Ds not as good as the Bears so what would the bears do to us? Our Offence likes to help out the other team sometimes. The game would come down to turnovers and where they happen. Bledsoe needs to get this act together. We need a good start on Thursday and no turnovers.

Chicago’s offense was shut down by San Francisco. But it is a moot point as we don’t play the Bears in the regular season.

Yeah the offense needs to put up points or we will be done early in this one. I think we will do well against the Broncos. Their Sack by comittee approach to DLine play falls into our strength-i.e. we don;t have a true Stud at tackle but two guys who are up and down and need help. I’d rather face that than BBerry. Our Secondary – If henry is healthy – can stay with their recievers and will let our SS support on the run.

If Henry isn’t healthy, it could be not so good.

Does Dallas need to Run Blitz these guys all game?

Our lines need to play with “ATTITUDE”!! Sometimes i think they play a little passive. If you remember back in the 90s,we had the meanest and best RT in the game,BIG E.And DE HALEY,was a beast and what im getting at,is they scared other teams.And their attitude carried thru to the rest of the line. And right now we dont have that enforcer that the rest of the line can feed off of,and dont get me wrong,i love LA but he is not that type of player.Just a thought.

The only thing about offense that offends me is when offense is spelled offence.

Seriously, we should be thankful this Thanksgiving for where our team is and where it’s heading. Last years turkey day excitement was watching JJ running. That’s about all we had going last year. I think all of you will agree that this year is much different and this team could possibly be in the playoffs and make a run. Here’s to the offense and their time of possession and a stingy defense. Ugly or not, we are winning. Probably will be a ugly win or it will be close. No matter, it will be a good day to watch Cowboys football!

interesting…….Chris Simms is a restricted Free Agent after this year. Wonder if Bill would take a chance on another Simms.

Bucs will have a hard time keeping both Simmms and Griese and Gruden prefers Griese and has badmouthed Lefties.

Anyway the Kidd was a ball boy for the Giants during the Super Bowl years and Bill knows him well. But Daddy might not want his chip off the old block taking the Parcells abuse that he endured. LOL!

Did we get the right guy?

Shawne Meriman stats 29 tackles 24 solo 7 sacks 1 tackle for loss and 2 FF. Three games he didn’t do anything one of those he didn’t play maybe two. In two games he has had two sacks and he has had at lease one sack in his last four games with 6 in those games.

DeMarcus Ware stats 32 tackles 26 solo 4 sacks 6.5 tackles for loss. I think his impact is more on his teammates than his own numbers.

True on Meriman, but doesn’t he have Rosenhaus? I heard something about he changed agents after the draft, which Jerry some how knew he was planning. Which is why they didn’t draft him and why he held out.

aw…

Good point. That seems to be the overall attitude of the team as whole … forget the personal stats and win ball games! Recognize and acknowledge the needs for improvement then do it. It’s that kind of approach to the season that makes this truly America’s team.

Hmmmm…

After seeing Mojo’s post, I’m thinking that maybe I misunderstood aw’s post. IMHO, I still stand by my point in response to the focus on team contributions rather than personal stats. Questioning whether we drafted the right players is very moot at this point in the season and frankly, not very supportive of the players that maybe aren’t having the big stats that some of those we passed on are. The fact is, this is probably the most positive team attitude that has been developed for a ‘Boys team ever. They can “swagger” when they’ve finished the season. Right now, winning is their business.

ware vs. merriman will probably be a comparison made for their entire careers.

Personally I did not know much about Ware, but plenty about Merriman and I think we got the RIGHT GUY!!!

Ware has been drawing double team blocks and is still learning the 3-4….but he is just as strong as Merriman and Faster…….speed kills. Bill got his guy so I say we go with that. I saw Merriman get burned downfield in pass coverage, but then Ware has been out of position on occassion too so. Rookies…….

A great player elevates those around him and I think Ellis, Glover, Spears, Canty, James, and others are benefitting from the attention Ware draws. Hey LT was a monster in his rookie season, and perhaps as strong and powerful LB as has ever played the game…….but give Demarcus another year and I really think despite the double teams he will be registering double digit sacks, a few fumbles and the occassional interception.

Also……..where was Merriman to help his team out in the Dallas San Diego game?

Now give me one more like WARE as a bookend and LOOKOUT!!! Then we will have something!!! Makes it harder to double team when you got pressure coming from both sides…..i also like pressure in the QBs face as much as the backside…….that is why the bears are creating INTS cuz the QB sees it coming and has happy feet and is getting baited into throwing balls instead of taking a sack.

Marty Schottenheimer would have loved it if Bill took Merriman first….and basically said as much. He of the Giants LB coach during the Carson, Taylor, Banks years and the Derek Thomas of KC years. He knows a good thing when he sees it and he knows he got 2nd fiddle!

also…..wasn’t it the Postons and not Rosenhaus that got Merriman..either of em are just snakes……TO should not have let Drew say a word in his defense…..he lost all credibility at that point…….I think they have damaged more careers than helped……..TO and K2 are two good examples of what overzealous, idiotic agents will get you!

The only thing Rosenhaus did for TO was get him fired ! Nice job Drew !

o

I think Merriman was more ready for the nfl @ LB than Ware because he played for a major college two I think he played LB or some LB in collage and three sd already was playing the 3-4. Ware coming for a smaller school not facing as good as players Merriman was and only playing DE. It looks like both are going to be good players. Merriman is nasty and he is only 21 I don’t think SD is mad about him falling to them.

AW:

Good point !

Merriman was definately more ready than Ware for the NFL.

Like you said bigger college, better players. Ware will catch up next year.

Both are going to be excellent players!!

aw,
good points, also Merriman has lost time to injury and Ware hasn’t…..

Can’t believe we are questioning our draft. Folks, we got a hella draft this year, but I guess the Ware Merriman comparison will go on for years, but overall our draft was stellar.

Does Denver have defense? or do they play with a lead most of the time?

Not impressed with their front four, and Champ can be had. Solid LB’s though

Ware had some of his best games against the likes of LSU, Auburn and Alabama.

You are correct that the ACC was tougher conference. Still they play there Dukes, VMIs, Richmonds, and other smaller schools…..while TROY stepped up to play some pretty good schools and appeared in some bowls. It also had a TE from UVA named Heath Miller that made Merriman look like a paper tiger! He is a TE not a tackle. But then a few people passed on the likes of Walter Payton and Jerry Rice thinking the same way.

How many tackles for loss does merriman have? A tackle for a loss is as good as a sack just the QB don’t have the ball. Merriman was also bloated when he came into Valley Ranch, a no no for Parcells players.

No doubt the 3-4 being a standard D under Marty helps Merriman having more folks and a coach who know it better. Still despite that the Dallas Cowboys defense ranks much higher than the San Diego chargers. It is there offense that is stellar. An offense we managed to shut down for a victory. Our overall defense is already better than the 3-4 in San Diego and it is just our first year with how many rookies? and a rookie 3-4 Defensive coordinator…….not bad eh!

Our D gives up 15 point a game if you take away the two tds the offense gave up. Two times we have given up 24 points. This D is for real but will be tested the next two games.

Who is Denvers goto reciever?

Rod Smith is still holding it down in Mile High? Wow.

Its that running game and they are just a good team.

Heard that Tatum Bell had a chest injury last game and is doubtful for thursday…….

Merriman is significantly bigger than Ware. Merriman is 275lbs or more, Ware is closer to 250lbs. They’re the same height.
They play different positions, essentially. Ware is a four down OLB, Merriman is a slower, beefy situational (at least for now) OLB/DE.
At this point, Ware cannot defeat blocks by offensive tackles, and Merriman can, due to his immense size and 3-4 experience.
However, Ware is smarter, faster, quicker, and stronger than Merriman. He can bench 40lbs more than Merriman, believe it or not. He’s just not sure what he’s doing out there yet. When he’s comfortable, though, LOOK OUT. That’s why he’s the Cowboy and not Merriman. Also, he’s a great guy. Merriman is a bit of an attitude problem in the making.

Shame Merriman didn’t slip to Spears’ spot. We’d have terrors at the OLB spots.

NFL Network reports McNabb on McInjured Reserve

Merriman reminded me of McGinnest……Ware of LT and Derek Thomas.

Rafael,

whats the scoop on Owens coming to dallas this or next season? I just read a story on scout.com stating that both Chris Mortensen and Peter King have a “logical guess” that it will come to be.

To all at the blog:

What do you guys think? would you like TO as a Cowboy?
 
I for one dont.

i meant i for one dont mind

I don’t care if TO comes or not. If he does come we need to drop KJ and maybe TG too. If he comes or not I still think we need to draft a WR. Crayton should start next year. I would like to see Crayton-and KJ/TO/ TG starting with 3rd and 4th WRs be cooper and a rookie.

why would we need to drop KJ and TG? If we dont we would have the sickest WR lineup in the leage.

1. TO
2. Keyshawn=best overall reciever in terms of blocking and intangibles.
3. Terry Glenn who has proven to be uncoverable
4. Crayton has a big upside

Get rid of Peerless if we get rid of anyone.

Tough tough schedule ahead of dallas. If THey can beat both the Broncos and Giants then they will definently be in the divisional playoffs. Cowboys Offense has to step it up. The way they played against Detroit, there aint no way they will beat the Broncos. With Crayton coming back in a few weeks, our offensive stats will move up. Putting Newman at the punt returner spot is a great idea as long as he dont fumble the ball. He has excellent speed. And about the T.O. situation, i would LOVE to have him on the team. He would do a great deed with the offense as long as he gets along with all the players.

Alds,

I don’t think so on T.O. You never say never, but:
a. Rosenhaus is his agent. Does Dallas have any of his players? Don’t think so;
b. T.O. won’t come cheap. As long as two teams want him, he’ll have some leverage. He’s too expensive.
c. Is this team really one WR from a title? I think they’re one good OLB away and maybe one good guard or center away. They can win with the WR they have if Crayton is healthy.

ALDS,

Hines Ward is hands down the best blocking WR in football.

Raf,

I’ve heard that teams actually like dealing with Rosenhaus once they start putting a contract together. He’s even been criticized for not getting his clients enough money. His reputation is was really established when he got McGahee a first round slot despite the catastrophic knee injury.

For one why have your three WR over 30? I don’t even want two over 30. Crayton and TO as the starters. We only use three WRs The fourth guy doesn’t get to play unless someone gets hurt. Has Cooper seem the field yet other than ST? If cooper is not going to get better let him stay at #4 and bring in a rookie at #3. Price is gone no matter what happens with TO.

Raf
We have bigger holes on the offense than the D. Even with better line play I don’t think this is a real good offense. We need a playmaker at the WR. Our WRs can be taking out of a game with a good running game. This D is giving up 15 points a game so far. I’m not saying TO is the answer but I see a bigger need on Offense

cash: i never said KJ was the best blocker. i said he was best rounded reciever. and hines aint that much better at blocking than KJ

KJ is not the best rounded WR.

AW, Rafael said we needed a Center and Guard. I think those two spots are key to a dominating running game. I mean a truly dominating running game with 5yds per carry and 30+ rushing TDs a year. The 3 RBs can do it. We just need a better center and guard, and I’d love to see a huge, physical FB too.

Joey,

I would also add a big mean complement to Ware at OLB. The pass rush can still stand an upgrade.

You are right about a FB. I don’t think that first and goal would have been a problem last week if Dallas had a really good FB to lead in short yardage situations.

AW,

Name the PLAYMAKING WIDE Reciver from the New England Patriots three Super Bowl teams. Name the WRs on the losing side of the ball…..uh lets see Torry Big Game Holt, TO,Freddie “sitting at home on the couch” Mitchell and in Oakland NE beat Jerry Rice and Tim Brown……Panthers how about Proehl, Steve Smith and Mushin Mohammed.

I would say the losers all had the “playmakers” at WR.

The team we just beat has Mike Williams, Roy Williams and Rogers. Where will Detroit be in January? On the couch with Freddie Mitchell!

Now name the running back from those same three teams in New England…..before Dillon it was also a nameless position.

Hey I would love to have another Michael Irvin, but Bill Parcells in his career has never put as much empahsis on the WR position as on offensive line, QB, rb, TE, LB, DE, DT…….in fact Patrick Crayton is probably a shining example of what Parcells wants in a WR. Late round guy that takes a few years to develop but is turning into a serious threat at the WR position.

KJ and TG are rejects from other teams that he has playing pretty darn well. I think it would be hard to not call Terry Glenn a playmaker. He made a TD grab in Philly……does Roy Williams TD matter if TG does not get 6? So far the knock on him is he gets hurt……well here we are in week 10.

Bringing in FA WR even a successful one does not always work either. Look at Moss in Oakland……or Alvin Harper in Washington……Price in Altanta….Laverneus Coles in DC……the list goes on and on.

Aikman talked about repore and timing and working together with your WRs. Harper made a mistake leaving, he might well be a HOF candidate had he stayed with Troy. Did you notice the drop off in our passing game with Dave Lefleur took over for the departed Jay Novacek….yeah me TOO!!! Look at INDY……how long have Marvin Harrison and company been working on routes together.

In fact I heard Aikman say he was surprised by how well McNabb and TO had picked up timing together. And TO decided to blow a good thing…..it was not just him that made that season…….Donovan had a pretty good year too.

I ain’t saying Dallas could not make TO a threat. I am just saying there ain’t no guarntee. Bill Parcells would proabably prefer another TE with Witten’s talent to a TO anyway. Imagine if Dan Campbell was more of a threat in the passing game….teams could not always double up on Witten and vs versa. Copper was showing promise last year also. I see a need cuz of age of KJ and TG but TO is the same age as KJ…..so long term he does not solve the problem they came in the league the same year along with Marvin Harrison.

Drew Bledsoe has history with Terry Glenn and Peerless Price……that means timing history…….I figured he and Witten would have done more so far, but teams are doubling up on Jason so KJ is a bigger target. Crayton had great performances before injury. Price is under 30, and could still develop at WR for us.

We have explosvie players on our team…..Julius Jones and Tyson Thompson with screens and other passes out of the backfield could well do what Marshal Faulk or Brian Westbrook added to the passing attacks of their teams in their prime.

In fact even saw a dump off to Jones for a nice gain last week……need more of it though!!!

ALDS,

The only reason I say that is that I read an article a while back where they surveyed the CB’s around the league on a number of issues concerning receivers and Ward was the most feared blocker among WR’s. The guy blows people up. And that’s not taking anything away from Keyshawn. KJ is a big man who will do anything you ask him to do. Hines Ward is known for knocking people out of their shoes.

Yeah, and Keyshawn knocks opposing DBs out when they try to tackle him. LOL!

I can’t stand T.O. But my problem is not with T.O. the player. It’s with T.O. the person. The guy is an @sshole. If he were to straighten up, I’d have no problem with him coming. I realize that’s a big IF, but a lot ot people thought Keyshawn was the same way. Look at him now. I think T.O. is going to get quite a surprise when he hits the open market. Maybe he’ll get it. I wouldn’t count on it, but I say, if he does, bring him on. I think he provides the kind of threat we really need. Offensively, he COULD be the big peice of the puzzle we need. We look to be only a few players away from getting the job done. A repentent T.O. would be a welcome additon as far as I’m concerned. You can keep the T.O. we saw this year.

CASH:

NAME 3 WR THAT ARE MORE ROUNED THAT KEYSHAWN

Jon
First NE has Tom and he is their playmaker, Bledsoe is nowhere near as good as Tom. Last time I checked Rice had three rings. Last time I checked Big game Holt had one ring. Every team that win has a playmaker on their team. If NE didn’t need a rb why go out and get a stud at Rb? they did it because they needed an upgrade to keep winning. Alvin Harper a HOF candidate you are crazy, he was a good player for us but not a star. Freddie Mitchell is no playmaker if he was he would be playing. Its time to upgrade our offence like we upgraded our D. A true number one WR would really help this offense. Coles worked out he still put up numbers. I don’t care if TO comes or not but I do want to draft a WR high and let KJ or TG go with Crayton starting next year. Some players made this team this year on D not because they were better than the players let go it was because they had upside. Price is done here we shouldn’t have signed him.

i have not seen enuff from Price to say he is done.

Bledsoe is one of few QBs to pass for more than 40,000 yards and he is playing good for us. He aint Tom Brady or Joe Montana but then again he is the 2nd highest rated passer in the NFC.

You keep complaining about our WRs but TG has PLAYMAKER written all over him. Teams are double teaming him and that is what you want from a playmaker. A playmaker draws more coverage and still makes plays. Look up Glenns TD in Philly for an explanation. When they don’t he scores 6 from just about anywhere on the field.

So you failed to name the WRs from the three super bowl NE teams and from that I gather that you agree they won 3 super bowls without a playmaking WR. Both Parcells and Belichek are similar in how they draft, I don’t see Parcells going after a WR high in the draft.

TO does not fit your description of more upside. He is the same age as KJ.

Copper has upside. We really have not seen enough from Price to know, if he is worth keeping or not. He has not had the kind of contribution Crayton did.

Bill Parcells drafted some of those no name WRs in New England and expect more of the same from him here in Dallas. I doubt he touches a WR in the first two rounds. More likely he goes OLB and probably another offensive lineman. When you look at where we are going to age quickly it is at GUARD. Rivera and Allen are both old. Doesn’t matter who is the QB or RB if those guys are not any good. It will also be telling if he adds another QB to the roster if he stands pat with Bledsoe, Romo and Henson.