the 'Boys need to thank their defense!

I'm glad I was wrong.

In the Cowboys-Buccs game today, neither offense thought it would be a good idea to show up. The two teams combined scored only one touchdown, and the Cowboys' offense gained just 172 total yards -- the lowest number of yards every put up by a Cowboys offense in a win. Even the game's one touchdown wasn't a testament to a well-developed sustained drive, as much as it was a testament to the 4 defensive penalties on Tampa Bay that all but handed a touchdown to the Brad Johnson-led Cowboys.

The real story in the game was the Dallas defense. They kept the Buccs out of the end zone for the entire game, and allowed just 9 points on 5 Tampa Bay drives into the red zone.

I do not feel confident about a Cowboys win next week at the Giants. New York has a smothering defense who just sacked Ben Roethlisberger 5 times in this afternoon's game against Pittsburgh -- and Big Ben is much tougher to bring down than the 90-year old Brad Johnson who will continue to start in place of the injured Tony Romo. Today the Dallas defense won a football game. Against the Giants I don't think that's nearly as likely.

So let's assume the Cowboys head into their bye week at 5-4. After their bye they'll get Tony Romo back, and what I saw today makes me think that they aren't completely out of the playoff hunt this season. However, a brutal schedule is yet to come, and it'll be a tough deficit to overcome.

A big week

It's gonna be one heckuva football week, in my opinion. I'm excited because the Cowboys play the early game... and it will be shown here! I haven't been able to watch the team play in weeks (which, if I were superstitious, might mean that they'll finally play well) and I'm really excited. I'm under no delusions about Dallas' chances in this game. I've got to say that probably for the first time this season I do not expect a win. There is, of course, still that little place somewhere inside me that hopes Peter King is right and that the 'Boys will have a fire lit under themselves this week and come out fighting, but like I said, that's a pretty little place somewhere inside me. The rational me picks Tampa Bay by two touchdowns.

I do have to mention that a Cowboys loss is going to put them in a nearly impossible situation to try to make the playoffs. The next two games after Tampa Bay are the Giants and the Redskins, and their last four games of the season are against Pittsburgh, Baltimore, New York Giants, and Philadelphia -- not the stretch you want to have when you need to WIN THEM ALL to make a wild card spot.

The biggest game of the week for non-Cowboys fans is Giants-Steelers -- two of the best three teams in football right now. Both teams have one loss, and have been playing pretty great lately. That game is also being shown, so it'll be two straight great games for me to watch.

Finally, the Falcons play the Eagles this week, and it could be a very interesting matchup. Matt Ryan has looked spectacular in his still-young rookie season, but the Iggles have a very tough defense and an even tougher secondary that Ryan will have to try to outsmart. I won't get to see this game, but I'll be following it very closely.

The only bad thing, football-wise, about this week is that there is no Sunday Night Football, so for the second straight week we won't get to hear John Madden being his usual senile Mr. Obvious self (he had last week off and Cris Collinsworth took his place in the announcer's booth). Oh well, the other games will make up for it.

Trouble

Peter King consistently has the best NFL column of the week with his Monday Morning Quarterback.

Apparently former Vikings receiver Chris Carter was on Mike & Mike's radio show this morning on ESPN radio, railing pretty hard on the Cowboys, and specifically their owner Jerry Jones. I've not heard the clips, but I'm sure he's right.

Dallas is in a world of hurt right now. Their next four weeks include the Buccaneers at home and the Giants and Redskins on the road (with a bye week thrown in). Right now it looks like they'll lose all three of those games. The last four weeks of their regular season include the Steelers and Eagles on the road and the Giants and Ravens at home. Right now it looks like they could lose all four of those. Even if the 'Boys kick it in gear and turn it up a notch, that is not the closing schedule you want to have when you know you'll be fighting for a wild card spot all the way down the stretch. They're gonna have to get to 10-6 to make the playoffs, and that's looking like a much higher mountain to climb than it did a few weeks ago.

'Twas the night before the Rams game

For no reason at all I feel obligated to post again before tomorrow's game.

This week the Cowboys are at St. Louis and are playing in their first "early" game of the year (it starts at noon central time). Dallas is injury depleted, to say the least. However, apparently Tony Romo was practicing lightly the second half of the week and throwing a few passes. Some people are speculating that he might still try to play tomorrow (even though he's supposed to be out for four weeks with a broken pinkie). I don't really have any idea what the likelihood is of him playing, but I frankly don't think it matters. Brad Johnson is a more-than-capable backup QB -- probably one of the more accomplished backups in the league today, though he's also probably the oldest. The other injuries affecting the team might be more influential. Adam Jones has been suspended indefinitely and won't be playing anymore -- which I don't consider to be a huge loss because of his average play thus far, except that with other injuries in the secondary it could have an impact.

Still, given all the adversity, I think Dallas will prevail in this game. They've been playing so poorly lately that I almost think this "crash" with all the injuries and stuff might help motivate them. What I'm most anxious about is to see how the newly acquired receiver Roy Williams will fit with the team's scheme and how offensive coordinator Jason Garrett will use him. I hope T.O. doesn't implode.

Dallas will win this one handily.

Some new drama

Before yesterday's trading deadline, Dallas cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones had been suspended by the commissioner indefinitely (at least 4 games)... but on the other hand, Jerry Jones had negotiated a trade with Detroit for receiver Roy Williams.

While the Cowboys have TOTAL issues regarding injuries and team chemistry right now, Williams is a great addition, and he'll be a fantastic asset to this team. My biggest fear is that T.O., not known for his ability to share, will not completely self-destruct when Williams starts out-performing him (by the looks of the last few games, I could out-perform T.O. right now). Let's see how things work out.

On another note of irony, with all the talk of team implosion and drama and spinelessness and poor play with the Cowboys that's been going on in the media (and it's certainly not unwarranted), I find it somewhat funny that the 'Boys are still ranked 6th in ESPN's power rankings this week. They're third in the NFC (behind division rivals the Giants and the Redskins). Everyone's saying it'll be a miracle if they make the playoffs this season, and they'll have to compete hardcore for a wild card spot... but they're 6th. In the league. Third in the Conference. Did you know that 12 teams go to the playoffs? And that 6 go from the NFC? And that Dallas is tied with Washington in record (behind them because the 'Skins beat Dallas head-to-head) and only one HALF game behind the division-leading Giants? Just checking.

Gloom, but not quite doom

A shout-out to Jase, the only reader of this blog (that I'm aware of) who messaged me earlier saying, "You need to blog on Valley Ranch so that I know what to think."

I don't know if I'd say it's time to panic, but it's certainly time to feel fairly uncomfortable about the Cowboys' chances at going very deep in the playoffs. Tony Romo has a broken pinkie and will be out for four weeks. Other key players are out with injuries too (Felix Jones, Sam Hurd, Matt McBriar, and more). The next three games for the 'Boys are @ St. Louis, against Tampa Bay, and against the New York Giants. If Dallas wins two of those games with 40-year old backup quarterback Brad Johnson I'll consider it a success. 

The Cowboys have been outcoached and outplayed in their two losses this season. I thought that the loss to Washington two weeks ago would serve as a wake-up call. Then they played poorly against the Bengals last week, so I thought maybe THAT was the wake-up call. Now I'm convinced that it's gonna take more than poor play and softy coaches that treat the players like sensitive junior highers to get through to this team. They need some tough love.

I haven't thrown in the towel on the season for the Cowboys. They're still 4-2, and a lot can happen in 11 weeks of an NFL season. I still fully expect a playoff birth and at least a win or two. So, Jase, be angry at Jerry Jones, Wade Phillips, Jason Garrett, and every one of the players, but don't stop cheering for the Cowboys. They'll pull out a few big wins yet.

Bolts of lightning

I just feel like I need to say that I'm watching the Chargers-Patriots game right now (San Diego is ahead 27-3 at the end of the 3rd quarter) and the Chargers look like men playing against boys. Every time Philip Rivers lets go of the ball I simply KNOW it will be a completed pass. It's the way I felt about Brady and the Pats all of last season, only maybe even more so. Seriously, after today I would probably rank them 1 or 2 in the league, and I'm going to predict that they will represent the AFC in the Super Bowl. I will also revise my "projections" from the AFC West post I wrote yesterday. I was way off. San Diego WILL win the West, and the Broncos will fall short of the playoffs.

Something's wrong with this picture

For the second straight week my team's game was not shown on tv (fox opted to show a home-video quality movie about people on a boat who, I guess, occasionally went scuba diving), so I've only seen highlights from other networks.

It looks to me like when the Cowboys only have about a minute to go 80 yards to score, they succeed every time. They did it against Washington to pull within two at the end (and failed to recover the on-side kick), they scored late when the Bengals were within one last week, and today they scored 10 points in the last two minutes to tie the game and force overtime. Then in overtime, when there was no race against the clock, Romo took a sack for a huge loss, and then threw two incomplete passes before McBriar got his punt blocked which effectively handed the game to Arizona. Someone on the Cowboys' staff should just fix all the clocks in the stadium to look like there's 2 minutes or less left in the game ALL the time, right? It's like when there's an actual game plan and a huddle and an offensive coordinator calling the shots, things aren't going so well. When there's no huddle and the offense is flying by the seat of its pants and plays are being called and audibled at the line of scrimmage, the team can pretty much accomplish whatever it needs to. That's just weird. It's like all the practice throughout the week doesn't help at all. They just need to be thrown into the deep end and told to score twice in 2 minutes or the game's over. I'm going to start rooting for the Cowboys to lose the time-of-possession battle every week. That might be an indicator that they're scoring.

AFC West

I plan to write on each of the NFL's eight divisions and cover every team. Let's start with a look at the AFC West.

Denver Broncos: People (especially here in Denver) forget that this is a very young team. When we saw a 3-0 start, expectations of winning the division all of a sudden descended on Denver. I would describe this team as very good, with a LOT to improve on. Their defense actually showed up in week 5, surprising everyone. They have a fairly difficult schedule, as far as I'm concerned, but I think they should still at least compete for a division championship.

Projection: With the San Diego Chargers starting the season rather underwhelmingly, look for the Broncos to challenge for the division championship. Denver goes to San Diego in the last week of the season. Don't expect either team to have the West wrapped up. That game could decide the division champion. If Denver does not win the division, I think they'll still pick up a wild card spot for the playoffs.

Kansas City Chiefs: This is simply not a good team. I don't have a whole lot to say about them other than their inexperienced quarterbacks can't stop getting hurt, and it's tough to compete when that's the case.

Projection: If Kansas City wins five games they should consider this season a success.

Oakland Raiders: As long as Al Davis is alive and actively running the Raiders organization, it will probably be tough for them to succeed.

Projection: Same as Kansas City.

San Diego Chargers: Without Shawn Merriman the San Diego defense has not adequately adjusted. The Chargers have lost to every decent team they've played. Still, Philip Rivers looks pretty good, and I'm even told he leads NFL quarterbacks in fantasy points per game. The Chargers have not lost all hope by any means. They're still a good team, just probably not as dominant as most thought they'd be at this time.

Projection: Their home game against Denver in week 17 will decide whether or not they win the division, but even if not they'll pick up a wild card spot.

Cowboys-Cardinals

I've checked the local listings, and it looks like the Cowboys game WILL be shown on Fox here in Denver... which makes me excited. I didn't get to see last week's game against Cincinnati, but I will get to see them play at Arizona on Sunday afternoon.

This game actually has the potential to be pretty close. Kurt Warner has passed for over 1,400 yards so far this season, which is pretty incredible. The Cowboys haven't played extremely well this season, with the exception of the win over the Eagles, so we'll kind of have to see who shows up. I desperately want them to come out on Sunday with a renewed passion and win in a blowout. That would go a long way toward my confidence in this team. Honestly though, I'll still be happy with a win, even a close win.

In defense of the Cowboys... again

Not to beat a dead horse, but the hits just keep on comin', and I'll continue to defend my 'Boys.

What we're being fed: The Cowboys are in big trouble. They can't handle criticism. They have played poorly for two straight weeks. They're the third-best team in the NFC East. They got killed by the Redskins in week 4 and barely pulled out a win against the winless Bengals.

What's actually true: The Cowboys were defeated by the Redskins by 2 points in week 4. Did you see that? TWO points (but remember, they got KILLED). They beat the Bengals by nine. Did you see that? NINE points (but remember, they "escaped," and "barely pulled it out"). The Cowboys, by their own standards and those imposed by analysts and fans, have played to expectations in exactly one week so far. They've not been at their best the other four. Still, in the league's toughest division, they're 4-1.

Over the last couple of days I've read three or four stories that criticize Tony Romo for the following comment: "I'm sorry that I'm not sorry we won." I didn't see whatever interview he offered this up in, but I'm sure it came in response to someone's suggesting that they didn't play very well and they had mistakes. He's not denying that, by the way. Re-read the quote. He's not sorry that they won, and he makes no apologies. (two of those stories can be found here and here)

Of all the credible places where I could find this week's power rankings (ESPN, NBC Sports, Fox Sports, and Sports Illustrated), no one had the Cowboys ranked lower than 5th or higher than 2nd. What's all the fuss about?

The Cowboys are doing just fine, so back off.

I'm a little confused. People seem to be going off the "What's with the Cowboys?" deep end. Today Matt Mosely, ESPN's blogger for the NFC East, posted a story about how the 'Boys need a reality check, because apparently they cry and whine too much and expect to be treated like champions while refusing to acknowledge that they aren't playing like it.

Today at school the first friend who greeted me, a fellow Cowboys fan, said, "Man, what's with our Cowboys?" My boss at work welcomed me with, "The Cowboys escaped!" I'm confused.

Of the five games the Cowboys have played this season, they have looked truly great in one of them. It was week two and they beat Philadelphia in a shootout at home. The other four weeks they looked average at best. Yet after their week 3 victory over the Packers at Lambeau Field, most of the analysts were ready to crown them Super Bowl champs. So were many other football followers, Cowboys fans or not. After those first three wins, the 'Boys lost (by two points, mind you) to a now obviously very good Redskins team. They didn't look bad, they just looked as average as they had in two of the first three weeks and got served their first loss. Yesterday they looked just fine again (by "fine" I mean not great and still with a lot of work to do, but not bad by any stretch of the imagination).

Friend: There's nothing "with" our Cowboys, other than a completely normal need to improve in certain areas of their game. Ask any other team in the league if they have anything they could work on and see what they say.

Boss: I don't think a game can be called an "escape" when 1) the 'Boys never trailed and 2) the margin of victory was nine points (that's TWO scores... a great play as time expires wouldn't even have made a difference).

Mosely makes a big deal that the Cowboys are the NFC East's third best team (I think he means it in a bad way), but when this week's power rankings come out tomorrow, you can bet Dallas will be in the top five in the entire league. I guess I just don't see what all the fuss is about. The Cowboys have to put some serious work into certain parts of their game. There's no doubt about that. But consider the fact that the East will provide both NFC wild cards for the playoffs this year, hands down. To be third in the division is still plenty good enough. And don't forget there's a LONG way to go this year, and no one's won anything yet.

At the end of the day, the Cowboys are 4-1, which is a tie for the second-best record in football. I don't think there needs to be a whole lot of panic.

5 weeks of weirdness

After week 5 in the NFL, there are some major surprises, some not-so-surprising realities, and the bottom line is that it feels like we don't really know anything yet about how the season will end up.

The Green Bay Packers are 2-3, with their two wins coming against teams whose records combined include only one victory. Against teams who have won more than one game, the Pack is 0-3.

For the Chargers to have a solid shot at making the playoffs they'll have to finish about 10-6, which means that in their 11 remaining games they have to win 8 of them (and they've got some tough teams ahead).

The Miami Dolphins, who last year won one game, have now toppled both of last year's AFC Championship contenders (Chargers, Patriots) in consecutive weeks. It looks like Bill Parcells was a good choice as GM.

The Arizona Cardinals are leading their division, while the long-time division champion Seattle Seahawks are 1-3, good enough for third place (out of four).

And of course, there's the NFC East. Four teams in the East have 4 wins. Of the 7 other NFL divisions, 3 of them don't have even one team with four wins (that could change if the Steelers hold on to their current 5-point lead), and no other division has more than one team with at least 4 wins.

It's been a weird 5 weeks. I'll write something about the Cowboys' week later.