Raiders Giants Chargers Saints Skins Eagles

That's what's left folks. 4-2 in this stretch gets us in the playoffs, and 3-3 could also, if chips fall correctly.  Definitly do-able.  I'm feeling now like we are going to beat the Saints, kind of like we were the first to beat the colts a couple years ago.  We should beat the Raiders, and the boys better have some bad blood built up for when we see the skins again.

So, the question becomes (based on the non-scientific assumption above) Can we beat either the Chargers, Giants, or Eagles?  At this point, the Chargers are surging.  And, since they are in the AFC, I don't mind losing that game.  So then basically, we need to win 2 out of 3 of the remaining division games.  I think this can be done.

For 7-3 teams, the Bengals, Chargers, Cards and Pats are all ranked ahead of us (I'm unfortunately using ESPN).  What do you all think of this?

The Bengals just lost to the Raiders, so if we beat them tomorrow, we have to leap frog the Bengals, right?

A head to head with the Chargers will answer that question.  

The Cardinals, in my opinion are not better than us, especially w/o Warner.  

The Pats may, in fact, be better than us right now.  Hopefully that will change come SB time.

I guess the questions I pose then are the following:

A) Can we go 4-2 down the tough stretch ahead?

B) can we go at least 2-1 for our remaining divisional games, leaving us 4-2 or 5-1 in the division this year?

C) Where do you see us among the 7-3 teams?

Bonus) Did anyone, at the beginning of the season, predict that we'd be in a spot where the media is saying that our defense looks like Super Bowl quality, while our offense can only score once per game?   Aren't we supposed to be a potent offense with a Three Headed Monster in the backfield, a near top tier QB, and some young and promising receivers?  Aren't our corners supposed to liabilities?

Did I miss something?  Did I fall asleep? 

Oakland has never lost to the Bengals in Oakland 10-0.

Oakland has never lost at Dallas 3-0. Oakland has a new QB that can actually manage a game. They got back all their starters last week. They have some talented players on that team and a solid defense.

The way Romo has been playing the last two games and with his back hurting, this doesnt' look too good. He needs to pull it together.

The WR's just are not getting the job done against good CB's, especially Roy Williams. I know, he needs to go. I feel the same, but he's here now and know one else is stepping up the last two games.

Witten is a gametime decision. Not liking that. I think that he'll play, with some effectiveness but not the same Witten.

Greg Ellis against Doug Free. Yep, this will be something to watch. Hope Romo feels better cause he will have to move a bit.

I hope Dallas puts on a show. Don't we all?

In my previous Fanpost "when are we gonna see Tashard again Garrett", I touched on the subject of helping the pass offense with a stronger running game and better use of all the running backs, not just Tashard. It's obvious that the point of the fanpost was the running game should be used more, but another point of whether the rotation of the RB's was being used correctly was also brought up.

Putting the running game aside as a reason, what weaknesses do you see in this pass offense of ours?

Or better stated, what things need to happen to give Garrett the passing success he so sorely craves?

Obviously better blocking by the O-line. But that is a subject that is a little confusing, because pass blocking is not one of the O-lines strong suites, even if Columbo wasn't injured. But saying better blocking by the O-line is an obvious thought. But putting that aside,I'm looking for a nuance of the passing game that is not so obvious, and seeing which one brings out the most reaction out of people.

Something like designing more plays for Romo out of the pocket?

More screens to Felix and Tashard and MB3?

How about more motion from the recievers?

What about 4 WR sets?

How about play action?

Too much shotgun for your taste?

How about the option to Felix, like Vince Young does to Chris Johnson?

How about more passes to Felix?

How about more passes to Tashard?

Whatever happened to Marty B TV, because I wanted to tune in?

How about Kevin Ogletree for more than just a bubble screen?

Success in only one aspect of an offense can translate into success in another aspect of it. No defense should be able to look at, and figure out, and guess that an offense like the Dallas Cowboys offense should be one dimensional. This will make it too easy for any defense. It;s inexcusable to ever hear any defensive coordinator of another team talk about our offense as though it was vanilla, and fans should be insulted by such reality.

What would be the type of pass plays that are best suited to jumpstart an obvious stagnated and stunted pass offense that Garrett keeps going to even when it's being stopped or just plain not working? Personally, I feel Romo gets into a rythym once he jumps the pocket and makes one of his trademark plays. I would think the best way is to get a play that is designed to get him out of the pocket to do just that. Maybe Garrett is waiting to unleash that in the playoffs. The problem is, we still haven't locked up the division, and the Giants game and 2nd Eagles game both loom as the real tests. And with they're rabid need to get to Romo, i fear he won't have the time.

So putting the running game and offensive line issues aside....

What would you have happen? Inquiring minds want to know......!

It doesn't matter if we have two straight games scoring only 7 points in November.

THE only thing that matters: How are we going to be playing as 2009 winds to a close? Will we be peaking then?

I'd like to think our best game of the regular season will be Jan. 3rd @ home vs. Philly, and we'll ride that momentum DEEP into the playoffs.

Make it so, 'Boys! Make it so!

Here's the final edition of our weekly power ranking roundup heading into week 12. 

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The Cowboys have a good ol' fashion schoolyard bully and they need to take him down. The bully's name is "Blitz".

Through yesterday's games, Blitz has come after Romo 148 times, the most in the NFL. Almost 50% of the time Romo goes to pass, Blitz comes after him. The next closest percentage? 38%.

(Had a nice spreadsheet here with Blitz stats but OCC's blitz research is much better)

NFL Matchup also talked about the blitz against Romo this past weekend.

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I really admire and appreciate the analysis and insight that Vela and Grizz provide when they review the Cowboys performance. But I don't know how to communicate with them; so, I'm asking via this post.

1. It seems the Cowboys are particularly bad at surrendering 1st downs on 3rd and long. Is this so statistically, and, if so, what needs change/improvement?

2. It seems the Cowboys WRs cannot get open on hot reads when the opponents blitz. Is this a problem, and, if so, what do they need to do to overcome this?

Thanks.

For the sake of full disclosure, I am chuckling as I write this, only because I know how many Cowboys fans think a Win truly IS a Win. Then there’s the rest of us, who came away sick from watching Dallas play like an also-ran. So we played a rivalry game against an overmatched foe and eeked out a win with 7 points. That’s 7 total points.

So, in keeping with my so-called role on BTB, I’ll take a contrarian perspective, partly for the sake of argument and largely for the sake of truth.

But just so I don’t get misinterpreted, let me play the Oreo game of professional feedback. Two positives surrounding the negative.

The defense played an outstanding game yesterday. In fact, it wasn’t since the Tampa Bay game last year that I felt the defense just refused to allow their opponent to win this game. During the game thread, I saw people posting things like “why can’t the D just stop them?” and “the D is putting the offense in terrible positions”. Come on, you know who you are... 

The defense gets the game ball (yes, there is only one) for the game. 

On the other hand (notice I didn’t say “having said that” for all you ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ fans), the offense had another horrible outing. The argument about coaching, play calling, personnel packages, talent levels and execution rages on, but that’s not the point. The point is that, offensively, they stink like poo.

During the game thread, I made note of Romo’s footwork and mechanics having broken down and having become Jake Plummer-esque in his inability to get comfortable in the pocket. His arm-only tosses consistently sail high, mainly because it is the QB’s ability to step into a throw and finish with their passing arm fully extended and with their thumb pointed down that keeps the release point where it needs to be on any given pass. Romo has to play better and with more consistency.

I also made mention of the O-line’s trouble with A-gap rushers (again) early in the game, which made Romo even more uncomfortable. In the off season, I wrote a post about Hudson Houck and how he could be Dallas’ hero, returning the O-line’s play to top-5 status in the NFL. Thus far, Hud has been more zero than hero.

Garrett has been roundly criticized for his play calling. Much of it is warranted, IMO. The WR’s have been criticized supposedly for not getting open. Much of it is warranted, IMO. The RB production has tapered off mightily since the first few weeks and Felix Jones looks like the third best back of the famed trio (he, Chris Johnson and Rashard Mendenhall) that came from the draft 2 years ago. Again, warranted IMO.

But here is what gives me some hope…

During the Bye week, Dallas regrouped as a team. They came out of the Bye with a bit more urgency and efficiency. They got to the line more quickly and gave Romo time to identify the gaps in the defense and make his calls at the line. The defense was also improved out of the bye in that the DB’s made fewer mental breakdowns than the ones they had been making (thoughts of the Giants and the Chiefs games come to mind) and reduced the front seven’s silly penalties like lining up in the neutral zone or umpteen consecutive encroachments.

Who is to say they can’t do the same thing when they have a 10-day respite after the Raider game? Every year, Dallas has a chance to reinvent itself during the Bye week and they’ve failed to do so…until this year, where they surged out of the Bye with a 3-game win streak where they beat two solid teams. So again, why not this year?

In the end, the biggest concern going into the December stretch run is the lack of offense. If Dallas can’t control the time of possession, move the ball downfield and score points, the defense will suffer badly as they play high-flying offenses like New Orleans, San Diego and Philadelphia (who likes to score on us in bunches in December).

Dallas can’t allow their season to hinge on more Shaun Suisham missed chip shots in December because Lawrence Tynes won’t miss them. Drew Brees won’t misfire like Jason Campbell. Vincent Jackson won’t drop the ball like Devin Thomas. Andy Reid won’t coach stupid like Jim Zorn.

Would I rather we lost? Of course not. I point that out because, invariably, those comments will come pouring onto this thread if I don’t. So please direct that kind of comment toward someone else’s post about benching this player/that player or someone who posts about our season being over. It’s not over. Anything can happen. But let me be clear, to any fan who has the same aspirations for Dallas that I have, yesterday’s game should have felt like a loss. Outside of a stellar defensive effort, there’s not much to be happy with from that performance. My biggest worry is that the coaching staff approaches the outcome with less than adequate fire in their bellies around what needs to change across the board to get where they need to go (remember Wade’s comments when they had a 1st round Bye?).

And yet, a win is a win if you’re Detroit. I was glad to see the Lions overcome huge adversity and roar back to win an exciting game yesterday. But their win should be placed in a DIFFERENT context than ours because of what their team aspirations are. Any win is big for Detroit right now. They were 0-16 last year! We, on the other hand, have to overcome the historical propensity to fold up in December like a baby stroller. We want, no, we need a Super Bowl win.

To do that, we have to play better. We have to win better.

GO COWBOYS!

Sunday's game against Washington was the 10th time that Tony Romo led the team to victory from a 4th quarter deficit or tie.

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The Redskins-Cowboys rivalry has always been intense.

The Redskins have three Super Bowls to go along with their two NFL Championships, while Dallas has five Super Bowl wins of their own.

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