Dallas Cowboys news and notes
by Dave Halprin on Sep 16, 2008 11:29 PM CDT
in News
32 comments
The problem with a short week is you have to get over a victory like the one we just pulled off to get cracking on next week's opponent. Sure, we'll get to that, but I can't let go of the Philly game just yet.
Some random notes/observations:
- T.O. now has 132 TD catches and is second all time to Jerry Rice. There's no other way around it, T.O. is a total stud. Owens moved past Cris Carter but Randy Moss is only 7 TD's behind at 125. The problem for Moss? His QB is Matt Cassel, T.O. has Romo.
- The refs were horrible in the game, and it just wasn't one-sided horrible. On the Cowboys side of the ledger, of course we're barking about the DeSean Jackson play where the refs apparently made no effort to actually watch Jackson and see if he crossed the goal line, signaling TD and rendering anything else moot. But they also missed a clear hold on Mike Jenkins when Westbrook scored on the short screen and they also missed Chris Gocong whack Romo right in the head on a screen pass. Plus, there was the ridiculous pass interference call on Anthony Henry when it was clear the Eagles receiver was the guy with a fistful of jersey. It also looked like they missed a horse-collar. I didn't keep as much track on the Philly side of things, but the two blatant facemasks they missed by the Cowboys was pitiful. They weren't even discreet; it was blatant jerking of the facemask.
- Speaking of facemasks, they are just symptoms of a disease, that being tacklephobia - the fear of actually tackling the opposing player. The Cowboys defense has a lot of good qualities to it, but so far they have not been the surest tacklers.
- The really bad thing is that for all the penalties the refs missed or got wrong, Dallas still managed to rack up a large amount of penalties that were justified. They have to get that under control.
- If there was any question about whether Felix Jones should be returning kicks, I think it's settled now. Are you serious? 247 yards in kick returns and one of them a 98-yard TD? El Gato is one bad vato.
- Jason Witten is simply the man. It's hard for anybody to argue that he's not the best TE in football right now.
- We're still a little rusty in the secondary. Adam Jones gave DeSean Jackson a free-run into the secondary and only belatedly tried to catch up. Terence Newman was by Wade's own words rusty and only played OK. We need those two guys to get back to top form quickly.
- Our special teams coverage units aren't nearly as bad as we thought they might be, Nick Folk is banging the kicks through the uprights and our return unit on kickoffs is lethal. I made mention of this in preseason that if we could get our coverage units squared away, we'd have a chance to be superior on special teams.
In case you didn't read the Wade Phillips press conference article today, the news is that Pat Watkins will be the starting SS and Ken Hamlin will stay at FS. Wade and the Cowboys think that FS is Hamlin's natural position and they also think Watkins is more natural as a SS than a FS.
This guy thinks the Cowboys offense is freakin' scary.
When the Cowboys are on TV, everybody watches.
ESPN's Dallas Cowboys-Philadelphia Eagles game Monday night drew 18.6 million viewers, a new record for a basic cable telecast.
A preview of the Green Bay game from the Packers website.
I hate to get snippy with my coffee-drinking buddy Peter King, but did anybody bother to tell him that the Cowboys played in that game on Monday night and won?
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Packers
The Packers WR’s make me nervous, we have to put some pressure on Rodgers.. I hope newman and Pac-man are on their A game..
"If you see me up in the mountains with a lion, I ain't lyin
don't help me, help the mountain lion"
by Wmillion on Sep 17, 2008 12:30 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
I more hope Ware is on his...
"Popularity is fleeting. Principles are forever."
"Maybe congress should take more vacations, whenever these people leave town, things just seem to get better..." - Jay Leno
by Longhorn on Sep 17, 2008 8:20 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
King is full of beans (coffee)
He says MB3 stats look poor (and lists each run). Then when talking about Westbrook says don’t talk to me about his stats.
Says the Turds (whoops the birds) were one play away from winning. I think the Boys were one play away from stomping the turds out of the birds near the beginning of the game.
Whatever.
The freakin’ scary article was good.
Mcflabb played the best he could, Romo threw in a couple of turnovers, and the Turds still couldn’t get the win.
Could you imagine what a Cowboys game would be like if they didn’t turn the ball over and had no penalties?
The Boys are the best team in football (my homer glasses are on) and I will be disappointed if they don’t win it all.
by DaBoys on Sep 17, 2008 1:34 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Disappointed in King's article.......give the damn credit where it's due....
I usually defend this bum because we graduated from the same high school, and I’d gotten to know him personally through the years…but Pete….You certainly could’ve taken a different angle with your story line and approached it by praising the better, more superior, winning team ???? Not to take anything away from Philly’s effort, because they’ve clearly established themselves as the second best team in the league…But to even make the notion that Philly “McFlabb’s fumbled handoff” misque with 9 minutes left in the game cost the Eagles a victory is ab friggin surd…….Dallas deserved victory, and outplayed Philly in those last 9 minutes…hence….victory……..The better team won that game….does Peter King know that ??
A true diehard Cowboys fan since 1975.
"If you don’t take him off the field as a coach, he will just about die out there," Jerry Jones said. "That impacted my decision. It’s a Michael Irvin-type work ethic. That’s what we are talking about with Felix Jones."
- Owner/G.M of the Dallas Cowboys , Jerry Jones
by BoyzRback on Sep 17, 2008 2:14 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Either team could have won
and that’s what King should have said. It was a great battle between two apparently excellent teams. I heard the same spin from Colon Cowturd yesterday – the Eagles played so well, they had the Cowboys on the ropes, blah, blah, blah. I would buy that if we were talking about last year’s game against the Bills. They deserved to win that one. This one was clearly two teams paying in the second week of the season as if it were a playoff game. If he were anything but biased, he’d be celebrating great football. On both sides of the field.
Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty and the pig loves it.
by dunkman on Sep 17, 2008 6:56 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
in King's defense
he did say the Cowboys are the best team in football.
In Romo we Trust
by Terry on Sep 17, 2008 7:58 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
King
Everything I’ve read around the NFL and from the media points to the the Dallas Cowboys being the number one team in the league.
Eagles come into town and try to knock the star-studded Cowboys off their lofty perch and come close to doing it. Of course that’s going to garner more media attention than, “the Dallas Cowboys remain undefeated”. We’re only 2-0.
Get used to it men, everyone is now gunning for the Dallas Cowboys. If we somehow manage to stay undefeated through the bye, every team we play that’s above .500 and gives us a run for our money will be the flavor of the week. Had Philly and Baltimore been in playoff contention last year, when they gave the Pats a scare, they would have been the story rather than “has the code to the Patriots’ offense has been broken”.
King is just going with the flavor of week and stating the obvious: Eagles are a force and blah, blah, blah throw in some deserved man crush love for B. Westbrook and declare the Eagles his sleeper Super Bowl team (though I don’t think he declared them his Super Bowl sleeper), but you get my point.
Reality, like some of you have pointed out, Eagles were a few plays from not even being in this game, while the same can’t be said the other way around. Eagles are definitely a good team and there were questions surrounding some of their key positions coming into the regular season; after two weeks of play they’re the feel good story of the NFL. NFC East is now the new number one division, Eagles are going to give Giants and Cowboys a run for their money. You can spin this any which way and get a good number of readers and ratings.
His MMQB column was interesting, though.
by BLUE_Thru-n-Thru on Sep 17, 2008 8:46 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Let all the "experts" think
what they want, let the everyone believe that this team has a shaky Def. I know the packers will not take the bait. I have completely stopped tuning in to BSPN and other “expert” shows because I feel that coming here and other blogs that present facts and take the time to get the facts straight give us the clarity we need as rabid information hungry cowboys fans. I have grown a distaste for the instant-microwaved version of information that BSPN and sometimes the Dallas Sports Beat puts up because it is usually shallow and offers no real insight. This is the main reason I stopped looking up preseason predictions, and week to week predicitons; they have their angle and unless I feel the site or show provides acutal insight I will not bother with it. I know its hard not to want to read about what they say about our team; but after a few days it gets better. I come here to get a pulse of what the team looks like not Peter King. The mainstream will never offer the cowboys fans the proper coverage we would like and because of that I exercise my right to just change the channel or not visit the site. Do not be suprised if dallas wins it all and the first thing out of the mouths of these “experts” is well, if NE had Brady would Dallas have still won it all? You know they will, it is what I have come to expect from them.
Felix the Cat, no its Uncle Felix!!!
by cowboy78 on Sep 17, 2008 9:13 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
+1
I totally agree. I hardly ever watch ESPN and rarely tune into a local Dallas sports show. Most of my Cowboys info comes from this site or the DMN blog. If I ever feel like catching up on the rest of the league, I will watch NFL Network. The NFLN usually provides pretty good, unbiased info.
"So you can’t stiff arm at all? What about the throat?"- Marion "Barbarian" Barber
by DC_fan on Sep 17, 2008 10:26 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Secondary
I agree it was rusty, but on the up side, the deflections to prevent long completions are new to this team. Reeves would have made sure he was in the same frame as the WR for the game tape, but never would he have made the play.
The blow to the head thing is frustrating. This is two weeks in a row they have missed obvious hits to Romo’s head without a call. They post a referee right behind the QB whose only job is to watch what happens to the QB during and after the play. Apparently that guy is now also responsible for quick whistles that negate fumble recoveries so he can’t be bothered with protecting the QB from cheapshots…
Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty and the pig loves it.
by dunkman on Sep 17, 2008 6:53 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
The Burger King
I agree partially with him in that Philly, McNabb, and Westbrook are indeed playas and should be mentioned among the NFL elite this season.
But it’s almost like he just gave the Cowboys and their players some token love… like “as a side note” or something.
Not taking anything away from that outstanding Eagles squad, but Dallas had a lot of highlights worth mentioning, too.
"Jerry Jones offers more second chances than a tent revival." -- Kevin Sherrington, The Dallas Morning News
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by silverblue5 on Sep 17, 2008 6:53 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
I think our bad tackling
is a result of Wade not having the players tackle in camp. I don’t care how long you have played football, tackling is a skill just like everything else and must be practiced as well.
I think as the season rolls on, our tackling will improve, but its the double edged sword, do you have the guys ready to tackle by week 1 and risk injuries, maybe even season ending injuries in camp, or do what Wade did which results in shoddy tackling early in the season.
Tough call.
In Romo we Trust
by Terry on Sep 17, 2008 8:02 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Hate to tell you this Grizz...
But your coffee drinking buddy must be sharing a cup with Bayless now. Was he watching the same game as the other 18.6 million viewers?
Calling out Barber’s stats to show that Philly “can really play the run” and spew about how “terrific” their run defense was but instead of looking at Westbrooks numbers, saying “I don’t care about his stats”? We’ll let’s care just a little and see what we get…
Barber, 18 carries for 63 yards. Westbrook, 18 carries for 58 yards. Now Westbrook did have 2 rushing TD’s to Barber’s one but one of those TD’s was gift wrapped and handed to him by the refs on the Premature E-celebration call.
Here’s another stat…Westbrook had 45 yards on 13 carries in the first half…in the second half he carried the ball 5 times for 13 yards.
It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish and not only did Barber finish better than Westbrook but our run D finished by making the adjustment and shutting down one of the scariest backs in the league.
So Pete? Who’s run D is “terrific”? But hey, let’s not let the facts ruin a good story right?
by NateMac on Sep 17, 2008 9:06 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Westbrook also got another one-yard TD
out of the bogus pass-interference play. I think it was a receiving TD, but can’t recall for sure.
by grapejoos on Sep 17, 2008 11:03 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Westbrook
Also got the benefit of a blatant holding call on Mike Jenkins to get him one TD
Cowboys fan since 1978.. I was 3 years old
by Mullin on Sep 17, 2008 12:42 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
There were 2-3 players being held on that play
Jenkins was the most obvious because he was on the edge
by mhuff13 on Sep 17, 2008 12:46 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I saw this too
What a load of garbage. If the Cowboys were defenseless, what were the Eagles?
by grapejoos on Sep 17, 2008 11:25 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Ridiculous article from a Philly homer.
McNabb made the crucial mistake in the fourth quarter, and Romo capitalized on it with a game winning drive. His team won, he had better stats, and the other QB made the mistake that helped decide the game, so I don’t know how he was considered less poised.
by Baked Potato Soup on Sep 17, 2008 12:27 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
What worries me this game coming up,
is our tackling against those GB WR’s. Driver and Jennings are two of the best at picking up YAC, and they killed us with that last year. If we don’t sure up our tackling this week, it could be a long day Sunday.
by Mandmeisterx on Sep 17, 2008 11:47 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Holding on Jenkins
Grizz.
Did you also notice any other holds on Jenkins?
I thought I saw at least one more on another play.
Looked like a definite grab under the shoulder pads ……………….
by oldtimer on Sep 17, 2008 11:49 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
It's not just King.
MNF just kept going on and on about Westbrook, including a silly “Where’s Waldo” thing about where he lined up. At one point they showed it and he had lined up 22 times in the backfield, and only 4 times anywhere else – real hard to find. Also way to come up with a hip, timely reference to something that was popular 15-20 years ago.
Barber had slightly more rushing and receiving yards than Westbrook and one less touchdown, and the Cowboys won. I’d call that a draw between them.
by Baked Potato Soup on Sep 17, 2008 12:10 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
i'll take the cake over the frosting anyday of the week...
i have to agree with king it was a fantastic LOSS…..amazing the way they got BEAT…..no other team in the league could LOSE like them….we won’t even go into the stats…..
I don't need a compass to know which way the wind shines....
by hashishkabob on Sep 17, 2008 12:34 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Am I just too much of a homer when I think our secondary didn't play that bad?
A lot of the passes that were given up (other than the obvious long bomb to Jackson) seemed to be lack of pass rush completions. The secondary did a good job, and McNabb made amazing plays to get out of the pocket and make nice passes.
For all that was said about Philly’s passing attack after week 1 (against the Rams) we still held him to under 300 yards and only 1 TD pass, which was a screen with at least 2-3 holding penalties that weren’t called.
Sure he would have had 2 TD passes if Jackson wasn’t a moron, but I still think the passes given up were more a product of good pass protection by Philly. Even the best secondary can’t hold up too long with no pressure on the QB.
by mhuff13 on Sep 17, 2008 12:50 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Our defense was better than it seemed.
They basically got burned one time, they shut them down in the second half, and at least 11 of the 41 weren’t their fault. Without penalties, Romo’s fumble, and that pass interference call, I think they hold them to 20-26 points; not bad for a high powered offense and one of the best QBs in the league having a great game.
by Baked Potato Soup on Sep 17, 2008 12:56 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Agree
Wade also said after the game that the strategy was to give them the short passes (not that it wasn’t completely obvious when watching). The secondary covered everyone on consecutive plays when the game was on the line – they couldn’t do that last year. Other than Pacman’s apparent gaffe on Jackson’s shoulda-been TD, they played pretty well.
Sunday night is an even bigger test for the secondary. Hope Newman is getting close to starting.
by grapejoos on Sep 17, 2008 4:55 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Just to show what a lead Rice has on everyone with TD's
T.O. would need to score as many TD’s as Michael Irvin scored in his career to tie Rice…
by mhuff13 on Sep 17, 2008 1:18 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Horse TAckle! I forgot!
Dave, you are right! I completely forgot about the horse tackle. I didn’t see who did it from the Eagles, but it was on Marion Barber, I think in the fourth quarter. It was very obvious, and he held on for a good few seconds. It pulled Barber back but he kept on a bit.
Anyone have a video of that? It needs to be posted, because a lot of criticism has been aimed at the Cowboys for this illegal tackle because of Roy Williams
thelandryhat.com New Coach, Same America's Team
by thelandryhat on Sep 17, 2008 1:31 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
I actually saw a few others
in the Sunday games. They seem to have implicitly revised the rule and the refs haven’t been calling it when the player doesn’t drag the ballcarrier all the way to the ground before letting go.
Maybe they only call it on Roy. Wouldn’t be surprised.
by grapejoos on Sep 17, 2008 4:56 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
It wasn't a real horse collar.
The way the rule is supposed to work is where the defender jerks him down to the ground. Oh, and it doesn’t count if it’s in the mix at the line of scrimmage. It has to be an open field type of thing. The thing is, very few guys have the size/speed ratio to make that type of tackle in open field. It takes good speed plus a lot of strength. I think that was an LB, and Barber pulled out of it. It’s hard to get someone like that past the line of scrimmage, and most guys that are fast enough would get shrugged off. It really is a rule that is pretty much unique to Roy Williams. The messed up thing is that if you get a second hand anywhere else on the player, it is supposed to be okay, but I saw Roy get called last year when he had a hand on the guy’s front. That’s not how it’s supposed to work. Basically, the only guy that can do that tackle consistently is Roy, but he was hurting people doing it. If it looks like he might do it, they’re gonna flag him.
by Baked Potato Soup on Sep 17, 2008 11:11 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
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