This Should Be An Easy Win

The game on Sunday against the Seahawks reminds me a lot of the game against the Rams a few weeks ago. The Cowboys just have an overwhelming talent advantage entering the game. That should be a recipe for another dominating victory.

I am still reeling from the beat down the Cowboys took from the Eagles. It has convinced me that the Cowboys just aren’t as good as I thought they were this season. Good teams don’t lose 34-7 to a 2-4 team. I have come to the realization that the Cowboys aren’t going to do anything this season if they don’t start getting on a roll right now.

Fortunately the Seahawks are coming to town at the right time. The Cowboys need a win. Any kind of win. The Seahawks are a team that could beat you if you took them lightly. But the Cowboys can’t afford to take anyone lightly.

I have some big concerns about Keith Brooking filling in for Sean Lee at linebacker. Brooking was absolutely terrible last week. He looked like a guy who should have retired a few years ago and it made me wonder if a big part of the defensive problems last year came from his performance. Hopefully he can get the Cowboys through this game before Sean Lee can hopefully return for the Bills game next week.

Is the offensive line ever going to improve? There has been a lot of talk about the lack of deep passes by the offense in recent weeks. It seemed pretty obvious to me against the Eagles that Romo just didn’t have time to get the ball down the field. Deep routes take time to set up and Romo isn’t getting enough time from the offensive line to get receivers open deep down the field.

On the positive side with the offensive line at least their run blocking seems to be rounding into shape. As bad as the game was last week was at least DeMarco Murray found some big running lanes on his limited attempts last week. I expect to see that continue this week against the Seahawks. I don’t think he’ll be running for 250+ yards but I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t break 100.

I’m confident the defense will be able to force a few Tavaris Jackson turnovers even without Sean Lee and Mike Jenkins. As long as Romo doesn’t have one of his high turnover games there is no reason to think that the Cowboys will lose this game. I’m picking the Cowboys to win big, 27-16.

Watching the Playoffs Is Painful on Many Levels

This feels like a repeat of the 2008 season. The Cowboys were talked about as Super Bowl favorites by the media for months and months leading up to the season. In the end, both seasons ended without a playoff appearance. And watching the playoffs, while exciting, also brings up a lot of painful memories and emotions.

During the Seahawks colossal upset of the Saints yesterday I'm sure a lot of Cowboys fans were thinking back to 2006. The Cowboys held a 4th quarter lead against the Seahawks and watched it evaporate quickly. But Tony Romo led the Cowboys down the field to set up a potential chip shot game winner to allow the Cowboys to upset the Seahawks at home. We all know how that game ended. Romo botched the snap, picked it up and it looked like he would score a touchdown for a split second, but he was tackled from behind short of a first down and short of the end zone. The Saints have learned a lesson the Cowboys learned in 2006. It is tough to win in Seattle. I don't even want to get back into the talk about the conspiracy with a brand new ball being put into play by the Seattle field crew or the horrible spot on the previous play that cost the Cowboys a shot at a touchdown instead of a field goal attempt.

Watching the Seattle-New Orleans game also brought back painful memories of the 2007 Cowboys-Giants divisional playoff game. The Cowboys were the #1 seed coming off their first round bye and were favored to beat the Giants in Dallas. Again, we know how that one ended. But seeing the Saints get upset in the first round of the playoffs had to feel the same for Saints fans as it did for Cowboys fans in 2007. Misery loves company I guess because I found myself pulling for the Seahawks just because I wanted to see the Saints go down in embarrassing fashion like the Cowboys did in 2007.

And how can the Philadelphia-Green Bay wild card game not remind you of how far the Cowboys have fallen in just one calendar year? It feels like just a short time ago that the Cowboys manhandled the Eagles in back to back games to end their playoff drought. And yet here were are watching the Eagles play a playoff game while we talk about what could have been and what we are hoping for next season. It is just sad.

I hope the players are sitting at home watching these games feeling the pain that the fans are feeling. I know guys like Jason Witten, Tony Romo, Jay Ratliff, and Demarcus Ware would give anything to be playing right now. Anyone who doesn't feel awful about how the season went down shouldn't be back next season. Every player who will return next year should be taking mental notes of how horrible it feels to be sitting at home in January watching their peers play for a Super Bowl.

Now We're Rolling!

A few weeks back I was hoping that the last second win against the Chiefs might be the spark the Dallas Cowboys needed to get a winning streak going. Well, here we are about three and a half weeks later and things seem a lot more settled in the world of the Cowboys. Tony Romo is on the longest interception free streak of his career, three games. Miles Austin has now performed as a top receiver for three games in a row. The defense is creating turnovers and getting pressure on the quarterback. And the special teams is making it a habit of making big plays and preventing big returns by the opposition.

I was at the game Sunday so I had a different perspective than usual for the game this week. Obviously it was complete domination, but I saw a team that just might be a real contender this year. Sure, it was the Seahawks, but there was no doubt that the Cowboys were in a different class than the Seahawks. Now the real test will begin as the Cowboys will travel over the next two weeks to Philadelphia and Green Bay. If they come out of those games with at least a split then I think we can start talking about the Cowboys being a playoff team. I want to look back one last time at the Seattle game and enjoy the win before shifting my focus to the Eagles...even though I am already pretty well focused on the upcoming game.

What went right: Well, pretty much everything. The passing game was very good once again. The Seahawks sent blitz after blitz at Tony Romo and the offensive line, tight ends, and running backs stonewalled them for almost the entire game. Romo had ample time to find his receivers all over the field. He completed passes to 10 different receivers and had three touchdowns and no interceptions. The running game wasn't great but it was certainly good enough to keep the Seahawks honest. Marion Barber looked almost full strength and Felix Jones is starting to seem a little more durable (by that I mean I'm not holding my breath every time he gets hit because I fear an injury). The defense pretty well dominated the Seahawks. They did give up a few big pass plays but Matt Hasslebeck is a very good quarterback and the big plays he made were near perfect passes. The secondary broke up several passes and the running game of Seattle was basically non-existent after the first quarter. And Patrick Crayton returned another punt for a touchdown. I'm going to have to admit that I was wrong about him as a returner. With adequate blocking he can make a big return because he knows how to read the blocks ahead of him.

What went wrong: From my perspective in the stadium I could see exactly what was happening between Tony Romo and Roy Williams. It appeared that most of the incompletions between the pair were a result of different reads by the two players on option routes. The fact that Roy is the only one having a problem with Tony tells me that the problem lies with Roy Williams. There was one pass in the second half where Tony correctly read that the safety was jumping the short route so he expected Roy to break deep. Tony threw what would have been a touchdown but Roy cut off his route and ran straight into the coverage instead of away from it. The "cute" playcalling of Jason Garrett made one appearance late in the game. With a 28 point lead and about 9 minutes to go, Garret called for a play action pass that resulted in a fumble by Tony Romo. It was a completely unneccesary play at that point in the game and, in the stadium, they showed the displeasure of Wade Phillips on the sideline. After the Seahawks scored, Wade went over to Jason Garrett and appeared to tell him something with the words run the ball in the phrase.

What needs to improve: The running game hasn't been the same since the Cowboys had Felix Jones and Marion Barber go down with injuries. They both seem to be getting close to full strength, but you can see that they both don't quite have their usual burst back yet. The Cowboys will need to be able to control the ball against the Eagles so both backs need to be ready to go this week. Obviously, Tony Romo and Roy Williams need to start clicking. I know it will happen at some point, but this is starting to get ridiculous. I think Roy needs to realize that Tony always looks for the big play first so he should always take that option on his routes when in doubt. The Cowboys can't afford any wasted plays against the Eagles so Jason Garrett needs to be smart with the playcalling especially late in the game with a lead.

My stadium impressions: I'm posting a view from my seats along with this entry. Although my seats were pretty high up (section 433), I had a great view of the field and I didn't feel like I was too far from the action like I had feared. The video boards obviously are amazing and I noticed a lot of fans were watching the board rather than the action on the field. I prefer the field view at the stadium because you can see so much more of the offensive and defensive strategy play out when you can see the entire field in front of you. The stadium itself is an absolute palace. The concessions and bathrooms are easily accessible. I don't leave my seat during the game so I don't know about wait times during half time or between quarters, but before the game there were no lines for the bathrooms or at the concession stands.

My biggest gripe about the stadium is the sound system. I don't know if it was where I was sitting, but I could hardly make out the stadium announcer calls after the plays and the music sounded atrocious due to the different speakers hitting me with the same sounds at different times. Things might be better down in the high dollar seats, but, up high, the sound system is flat out terrible.

The coolest thing I saw at the stadium was the opening of the giant glass doors in the endzone before the game. At 10 am when fans were allowed to enter, security lined up in front of the doors. Dramatic music fired up and then the doors slowly opened to unveil the center of my football universe. It was the neatest pre-game moment I can ever remember at a stadium. It took a few minutes for the doors to open and then the fans streamed into the stadium when the line of security gave the ok.

Game 8 Keys to Victory

This is another one of those games that can easily become a dogfight if the Cowboys allow it to happen. On the flip side, if the Cowboys play up to the level of their ability it should be a blowout. There is really no telling at this point which version of the 2009 Dallas Cowboys will show up this week. We've seen the impressive, dominant version in one game and a pretty disorganized, sloppy team in the rest of the games. If the Cowboys really expect to be a team who can make a run deep into the playoffs then games like the one on Sunday should be no trouble. It would be nice to see them dominate a clearly inferior team from start to finish for once. Here is what I think the Cowboys need to do to win the game:

1. Show up. I mean that literally and figuratively. Just stepping on the field gives them the edge in this game. But the Cowboys need to be there mentally as well. If they can come out focused and energized they should be able to jump out early and extend the lead from that point on.

2. Improve this week. In games like this it is important to come out with a purpose. Although the Seahawks do have enough talent to pull off the upset I think everyone realizes that the Cowboys will win if they play decent football. So the goals need to be higher than just winning. The team should be focusing on playing better football every week. This game should be no exception.

3. Take advantage of the weak offensive line of the Seahawks. The Cowboys should have a field day getting after Matt Hasslebeck, but they will have to force the Seahawks into obvious passing situations to expose the weakness. That means that they need to keep Julius Jones and the rest of the backs for Seattle bottled up. We have all seen first hand that Julius is capable of a big day, so they need to stop him early before he gets into a rhythm. If the Cowboys shut down the run they should put up an impressive sack total for the game.

4. Get the lead early and then grind it out. I would like to see the Dallas offense come out firing and establish a big lead before settling down to grind out the clock with the running game. It has been a few games since the running game has looked dominant and this is just the type of game they need to work out the kinks.

I have a great feeling going into this game. The players seem focused and I haven't heard mention from any coach or player about anything beyond the game Sunday. That is a good sign. The Cowboys should dominate and get the crowd heading home early. I predict a 34-13 victory for the Cowboys.

Cowboys Need to Keep the Ball Rolling

Now that the Cowboys seem to be finally getting a little bit of momentum it is imperative that they continue to win games against inferior opponents. A couple of weeks ago the Cowboys were staring disaster in the face as they tried to overcome the Kansas City Chiefs. The dramatic overtime victory may have finally given the Cowboys the shot in the arm they needed. After winning back to back games they Cowboys have a real shot to re-establish themselves as a real contender in the NFC.

The last thing any of us want to see is the Cowboys playing down to the level of the competition. It has been a long time since they went out and completely dominated an opponent from start to finish. The game Sunday against the Seahawks is a golden opportunity for the Cowboys to show that they can impose their will. I don't want to see the Cowboys bumbling around turning the ball over and making dumb penalties.

The Cowboys can't look past Seattle or they will find themselves in a dogfight. I'm not sure what the vibe is in the locker room this week but I hope they are going to keep "grinding" as Tony Romo keeps saying this year. Maybe the Falcons game was the start of something special, but time will tell. The only way the Cowboys are going to establish some real momentum heading into the tough part of the schedule is by dominating the Seahawks.

I'm a little worried because everything heading into the game seems to favor the Cowboys. The Cowboys have home field advantage. The Seahawks offensive line is a mess thanks to injuries. The Seahawks #1 cornerback is iffy heading into the game. The Cowboys are essentially at full health. All of those advantages don't mean anything if the Cowboys don't come out with the fire they did in the Falcons game. I hope they keep themselves motivated because I don't have any faith that Wade Phillips will force them to keep grinding during practice. Keith Brooking, Jason Witten, Tony Romo and the rest of the leaders need to make sure the team is working hard heading into the game. If they focus this week then I have no doubt that the Cowboys will win handily on Sunday.