What Just Happened?

I really hate games like the one last night. Not only did the Cowboys shoot themselves in the foot time after time after time, but they still had the lead with the clock running down only to finish the game on the wrong end of the score. I had a hard time sleeping last night after watching that debacle unfold. The hardest pill to swallow is that not only did the Cowboys just hand the ball over to the Giants 4 times but every tipped ball seemed to magically float into the arms of the Giants players. The Cowboys played terrible and had absolutely no luck at all.

The number one rule in football is don't turn the ball over. Well, the Cowboys turned it over four times and didn't force any turnovers of their own. One of Romo's three interceptions was returned for a touchdown and another came late in the half at the Cowboys end of the field. They were basically free points for the Giants. The Felix Jones fumble was awful and should never happen. The last Romo interception was a key turning point in the game.

I really want to keep believing that Tony Romo can get it done but I don't think he has ever played worse than he did last night. The interception at the end of the third quarter was another one of those inexcusable plays that Romo was supposed to be working to eliminate. The Cowboys were driving for a score that could put them up by 7 or even 11 points and Romo pulled a Romo. It was basically a pop fly to the center fielder who was waiting for the deep ball. He was off target more times in that game than I have ever seen him. I don't know what was going on but he never pulled out of his funk. He has started games poorly before but he usually breaks out of it at some point during the game. Not last night. How did he not see that the Giants audibled out of their defense on his pick 6 play? I think everyone saw the Giants change their coverage except the one guy that needed to see it.

Can Orlando Scandrick play any worse? He was so bad tackling that I was embarrassed for him. It was like he made a few bad plays and then things snowballed on him to the point that he lost confidence in every facet of his game. I think the debate is over as far as the starting cornerbacks are concerned. Newman, Jenkins and Scandrick all had their bad plays but Scandrick was without a doubt the worst of the three. Newman started off badly but he at least played better as the game went on. Jenkins was hit and miss but at least he looked ok in some spots. I don't understand how three guys that are supposed to be so good can get beaten so badly by the Giants receivers. The Giants were max protecting so there were basically three or four routes to be covered each play by 6-7 defenders but the receivers looked like they were running free on every play.

I am now officially concerened about the pass rush. Wade Phillips can use the max protection by the Giants as his excuse, but Demarcus Ware has to beat the double team once in a while if he is truly our defensive MVP. Anthony Spencer only put pressure on Manning a couple of times from his side. It really frustrates me to no end when the opposing quarterback is standing in the pocket with no pressure play after play. The scary part about the pass rush is how the guys were so tired at the end of the game because there is basically no one to come in to give Ware or Spencer a breather during the game. The defense did shut down the run which appeared to be the key going into the game. I don't think anyone would have thought they would lose that game if they could keep Brandon Jacobs bottled up the way that they did.

Why are the Cowboys so bad at tackling? They may actually be worse this year than they were last year. That better change.

On the bright side, the running game for the Cowboys was phenomenal. It was almost as if the Giants made the choice to allow the Cowboys to run at will as long as they didn't get beaten by the pass. I guess the strategy worked because Romo could never get anything going to save his life. Felix Jones and Marion Barber both looked great and the offensive line deserves most of the credit. I hope Barber is ok after he went down on his big run in the 4th quarter. I wish Jason Garrett would have continued to run the ball when the Cowboys finally got the lead back in the 3rd quarter instead of calling the play action pass that Romo threw up for grabs.

The season is not a lost cause by any stretch. The doom and gloomers will be running rampant over the next week so it is going to be tough to get myself back in the right frame of mind but I'm sure I'll be ready by Monday. And imagine if the Cowboys can get it together and string together 3 straight wins going into the bye week. That is entirely possible with the upcoming schedule. I would have told you before the season started that I would take 4-1 going into the bye week. I am praying that Romo has his bad play out of his system because the Cowboys are only going as far as he takes them. If he doesn't step up and the defense doesn't improve we are going to be in for a long season. The Cowboys need to start winning the close games in the 4th quarter because they are developing a very bad habit of folding at the worst of times. I hope it isn't too late to break that habit.