2013 Dallas Cowboys Thread

[eagle eye]

First off KAbrother88, I forgive you for your anti-Cowboys affliction. (LOL) But you ask two questions that I think I have an answer to. It's no coincidence that you are wondering about the two best players on the Cowboys and the most polarizing.

First off with Dez. He apologized for leaving the field and he was counselled by Jason Garrett about how people perceive his actions. Can you imagine how much grief he would have gotten if he sat on the bench and cried? How much fodder for ESPN and the NFL Channel would that have been? A few weeks ago when it looked like he had a meltdown on the sideline there just happened to be audio and the meltdown turned out to be Dez telling Romo they were, "the best in the business" at making plays which he finished by saying, "C'mon, Baby!" Until the audio came out Dez was hammered by everyone from Brian Billick who was did the color commentary at the game to every ESPN and NFL Channel commentator who was so critical of Dez without knowing just what he said.
The off field issues with Dez were that he spent a buttload of money on jewelry for his friends and he got kicked out of a high end mall in the MetroPlex for wearing his pants like a million other 20 year olds. This mall wanted to maintain standards and they want to keep the ''gangsta style and mentality" out of their mall. Otherwise I am aware of no other off field issues to speak of unless you take into consideration that when the new Play Station game console came out Dez bought one for each of the other Walmart customers who waited in line for them. Pretty embarrassing stuff there. Dez had a horrific upbringing that make it totally amazing he's not a crack head loser like his mother. He showed enough maturity to not get baited into losing his temper when he was questioned about his mother and the embarrassingly cruel questioning of Dez by the Miami GM during the scouting combine. When Cowboys beat writers agree that Dez IS a great team guy and that his teammates love Dez I believe them. This guy has overcome almost insurmountable odds to get to this point in his life. He is still a man-child who still needs to mature but his passion and enthusiasm for football and being a Dallas Cowboy is undeniable. And KA, I walked out of the room after Romo's last interception too. The losses to Detroit and Green Bay were embarrassing and uncalled for. It's no coincidence that the game management issues were to blame for both losses. That's not on Dez or Tony Romo speaking of which.......

As for Romo belittling his teammates I can't imagine that he's doing that. Unless you can read lips or know of some audio I'd like to hear it. If you listen to his post game pressers, he hasn't thrown anyone under the bus, he's accepted blame for a lot of things even when it wasn't his fault. He's been the leader people have wanted but didn't recognize because of all the other baggage that he has to carry. I can't imagine the pressure he has to play under because of all the expectations people have for the Cowboys and because of the perceptions about him, real or imagined that get so much attention solely because it's the Cowboys. He looks like he's yelling because he is. It's freaking loud on the stadium floor. It doesn't mean he's being a tool bag. He wants his receivers on the same page with him and there's nobody short of Jason Garrett who knows the offense better. Look at Tom Brady who is apparently chewing his teammates out. Does anyone question Brady about it. One of the most famous clips of Peyton Manning is a heated exchange between him and center Jeff Saturday. Stuff happens during the course of the game. Competitive people demand the best of each other and in the heat of battle your emotions come out. The main problem with Dallas is the 32nd ranked defense out of 32 teams. For two years in a row now they have been slammed on the defensive side of the ball. They weren't great but without Sean Lee, Bruce Carter, Justin Durant, Morris Claiborne, and a host of others on the D-line they are simply out manned on defense. It's gotten to a place where if the offense can't score 45 points Dallas can't win. I like Jason Garrett because I think the team is better since he took over. He's made mistakes in game management but basically he can't coach not to suffer hamstrings, Achilles tendons or ACL injuries. Dallas will need to go heavy on defense to upgrade the talent to be better next year. Certainly in the draft they need to go as heavy on defense as they did on offense this year.

[eagle eye]

If Dallas is going to fall (i.e. miss the playoffs) don't expect them to go down without a fight. That is the one thing that seems to be said of the Cowboys since Jason Garrett became the head coach. They fight. I'm not talking fisticuffs here, I'm talking about heart and guts and effort. If you saw the temper tantrum DeMarco Murray threw at the end of the game last Sunday or saw Dez Bryant walk off the field, everything else aside, it says one thing- these players care about whether they win or lose. They and their teammates are not mailing it in despite recent setbacks. Their defense is severely undermanned because of the plethora of injuries to most of their best players but they don't give up. This makes it even harder on the offense due to the pressure that's now on them to score a lot of points and make no mistake, they will bust a hump to do just that. The coaches and Jason Garrett in particular need to manage the game better but one thing for sure, those coaches will leave no stone unturned. It's one thing Cowboys fans can hold on too despite the hard times they are going through injury-wise. They play hard every single week and that's why they are 7-7 instead of what could very well be much worse.

[eagle eye]

Can you believe this? Up by 23 points and they lose and down by 9 in the fourth quarter and 6 with 3 minutes to play and the Cowboys win. Go friggin figure! That's our Cowboys. The O-line held up okay but it didn't stop Tony Romo from having to scramble around for most of the game but those scrambles led to some big plays including the game winner to DeMarco Murray. If you didn't see the game you've seen the highlights. It was a nail-biting 225 yards passing for Romo who played most of the game with his back giving him trouble and in the 4th quarter it looked like he wouldn't make the end of the game. But, he not only persevered to finish the game, he won the damn thing with a lot of help from his friends especially Murray. So Dallas wins it's first game out the four games that have been decided by one point. Previously they had lost to Kansas City, Detriot and Green Bay before beating the Redskins yesterday. Heck, even the defense stepped up to nail down the victory. They held the 'Skins to a four-and-out so Romo could do the victory formation one time to seal the win. That's saying something considering this same defense gave up 5 second half TDs to the Packers to lose last week and with roughly the same amount of time in the Detroit game Matthew Stafford took only 45 seconds to drive 80 yards to beat the Cowboys. So, let's not minimize what the defense did yesterday. Give them some credit because they have been shoulding a lot of blame this past month or two.
It comes down to a play-in game against the Eagles on Sunday. For the 3rd year in a row Dallas will face a division foe for the division crown and a trip to the playoffs. The only difference is they get to play the game at home instead of on the road. Dallas beat Philly earlier in the year but it seems so long ago. Since that win Philly has found it's defense, cemented Nick Foles as their QB of the future and they have been on a roll this past month. Dallas, on the other hand has seen injuries decimate their D-line and linebacking corp. They have sunk to 32nd out of 32 in total defense and the only thing they defend worse than the run is the pass. All in all, Dallas should be the underdog against the Eagles and according to a first look at the odds Philly is a 2-1/2 point favorite going into AT&T Stadium. Dallas is 5-2 at home this year so take that for what it's worth. Will Big D break through and win the division going 9-7 for the season or will Philly prevail and send Dallas into another off season at 8-8. How much do you think the Cowboys wish they could have a do-over on the Detroit and Green Bay games. Both one point losses and both games that Dallas should have won. 10-5 would look a whole lot better than 8-7 does but, no use crying over spilled milk. Beat Philly and Dallas is in the tournament. That's all that matters now. Santa gave us a chance for Christmas. Let's see if Dallas can take advantage of the opportunity.

Notes:

> The Eagles-Cowboys game has been flexed to Sunday Night which means Dallas will end the season since Sunday night's game is the last game of the regular season. Weather won't be a factor but having the Cowboys trying to figure out how to stop Philly's offense is another matter altogether.

> One pickup Dallas made last week for the Redskins game was a guy named Michael Spurlock. He was signed in 2006 by Arizona as an undrafted free agent. He went to Tampa Bay in 2007 and he played under then special teams coach Rich Bisaccia who is now the Cowboys ST coach. Spurlock returned a kickoff for a touchdown in December of 2007 giving him the distinction of being the first player to do that in franchise history. The reason I mention him is because the first time he touched the ball for Dallas he ran a punt back 62 yards to the Redskins 3 to set up Dallas' first score. It's the kind of spark Dallas was needing since Dwayne Harris was injured a few weeks ago. With Harris nursing a hamstring Spurlock could play a big part in this week's game too.

> It's nice that Tony Romo has finally earned enough respect that the football media has stopped bashing him at every opportunity. They finally recognize his value as a player and actually give him credit for bringing Dallas as far as they have come. The Cowboys may only be a .500-ish team but they would be a lot worse if Romo wasn't under center for them. Respect has been a long time coming from the media and all I can say is, it's about damn time!

[eagle eye]

I refused to believe it yesterday afternoon when a coworker of mine came into my office and told me Tony Romo was done for the season. But, there it was in full color on ESPN.com. Adam Schefter reporting via a league source that Romo was done for the season with a back injury. Mother--------!
I did notice that the report wasn't being stated as fact it was more of a rumor so I remained in denial until an official word came from Cowboys headquarters at Valley Ranch. Late yesterday afternoon Jason Garrett had his usual Monday press conference and by then results of Romo's MRI was known so here's the skinny on that issue.
Yes, Tony Romo was found to have a herniated disc in his back but no, Jason Garrett refused to acknowledge the Romo was done for the year much less for this week's win-and-you're-in game against Philadelphia. He indicated Romo was receiving treatment and would continue to receive treatment during the week and his status is listed as day-to-day.
Some are speculating that back surgery in inevitable but Romo and Cowboys will explore every avenue before resorting to surgery. I'm sure Romo and the Cowboys will seriously consider the short term risk vs the long term health and they will make the best decision to satisfy both concerns. To me, if Tony does need surgery I think it would be best to get it done as soon as possible to give him the best chance to get back for next season because the defense Dallas puts on the field right now is not playoff caliber. To risk Tony's health for what's pretty much a lost cause is fool's gold and should be treated as such. Jerry Jones just paid Romo $100+ mm with $55 mm guaranteed earlier this year, why would you risk your franchise QB for pipe dream? I know, right? Hell, if he wants to play make it on the condition that Kyle Orton can lead the Cowboys over the Eagles and he can have two full weeks to rehab his back. If Dallas loses then nobody can blame Jerry or Jason or Romo. You don't find many win-win situations even when you lose.

As I alluded to before backup Kyle Orton will start against the Eagles if Romo can't go. I don't think Orton is as good as Romo but he is a better QB than he's given credit and he can certainly win a game for you. I believe that if Orton does have go Dallas' next-man-up mentality will make the Cowboys rally around Orton and people may be surprised. Orton has won in this league and after the total pantsing he got as a result of the Tebow mania in Denver he doesn't get the credit he's deserved. He did lead the Bears into the playoffs when Rex Grossman got hurt and he gave way to Grossman when he returned from his injury and the Bears went to the Super Bowl. The Bears would never have made it without Orton. Hell, I won a fantasy league championship with Orton when he was with Denver before Tebow madness swept the Mile High City. He can do this. If Romo can't go, he can do this. (Am I a homer or what?)

Other injury news. Sean Lee may be back this week. He injured a ligament in his neck and that's what has held him out the last couple of weeks but he could be back and I'd bet money if the Cowboys make the playoffs he will be in the game. Morris Claiborne should be on IR. Seriously. A second hamstring injury is always much worse than the first and he's been out so long he's forming major areas of rust on himself. Even if he plays how effective will he be?

Bright spots: With a full week of practice rookie LB Devonte Holloman played pretty well. The Cowboys were able to pretty much contain Alfred Morris last week and that's saying something considering the vast amount of yardage the Cowboys D has been giving up without Sean Lee in the lineup. Another bright spot is Orlando Scandrick. After a couple of bad games against Chicago and Green Bay he bounced back and did pretty well against Washington. In fact, he played so well Monte Kiffin put Scandrick on Pierre Garcon late in the game and shut him down. Garcon had been just wearing out Brandon Carr all game gaining over 100 yards on 10+ catches before Scandrick took over. Carr, by the way has just been awful in December. Even when Dallas decided to play man coverage he has stunk even though man coverage is supposed to his strong suit. Something has shaken that man's confidence because he was much better last year.

[eagle eye]

The stuff that happens when you're not looking. On Christmas Eve Dallas signed QB Jon Kitna as a backup to Kyle Orton. The Cowboys (i.e. Jerry Jones) still won't rule Tony Romo out of the equation but with a herniated disc in his back it would seem unlikely he'll play this week. Romo even took an epidural shot to relieve the pain in his back but so far it's only had limited success. Kitna was Romo's backup from 2009-2011 and he started 9 games in 2010 when Romo broke his collar bone in a game against the Giants. Kitna, 41, left his job as a teacher and football coach at Lincoln High School in his hometown Tacoma, Washington to come Dallas for his second stint with the Cowboys.

To make room for Kitna Dallas released WR/KR Michael Spurlock who provided a spark for the Cowboys in last week's game against the Redskins by setting up their first TD with a 62 yard punt return on his first touch in a game for the Cowboys.

Speaking of kick returners, Dwayne Harris was back at practice yesterday (yeah, the Cowboys practiced yesterday, bah humbug!). This is no guarantee that he'll play Sunday but since Michael Spurlock was cut Dallas could sure use him. For his part in an interview after practice yesterday Harris said he is for sure playing.

Dallas did get some good news yesterday. Christmas day practice saw the return of CB Morris Claiborne who has missed since pulling his hamstring November 24th against the Giants. He is listed as a full participant in practice and it's a good thing because Dallas needs some good news for a change. Only three players did not practice yesterday and that was Romo and LBs Sean Lee and Ernie Simms.

[eagle eye]

Tony Romo's status is still up in the air today as he continues to get treatment on his back. Kyle Orton has stepped in and is practicing with confidence which is a testament to the "next man up" mentality the Cowboys have shown all season as they have dealt with an 18-wheeler load of injuries this season.

Dez Bryant started having discomfort in his back yesterday so Jason Garrett limited his participation today. It's not a matter of concern as far as his availability on Sunday according to Garrett, it's only precautionary. Bryant has had some discomfort in his back from time to time all season but I'm sure the "sympathy pains" jokes are sure to start circulating.

One neat item: NFL.com is reporting that while new backup QB Jon Kitna may not play Sunday against the Eagles but whether he does or not Kitna has indicated that the $53 K he is slated to earn will be donated to Lincoln High School in Tacoma Washington where he was working as a math teacher and football coach until he was signed by Dallas on Tuesday. It's not known if Kitna will get his job back at Lincoln but it's a great publicity story and if they are smart they will keep him. In all likelihood Kitna won't be off for very long but that's the pessimist in me coming out.

[eagle eye]

Week 17. The third year in a row Dallas has gone into this game with an 8-7 record and with a win will claim the NFC East title and a trip to the playoffs. Some things are the same, some things are different.

What's the same? Well, there's the simple fact I already stated. The fact that the Cowboys defense is severely undermanned due to injury is the same as last year. DeMarcus Ware will be playing with an injured back and elbow which has caused him to be listed as questionable for the game. That's the same as last year except Ware isn't as crippled as he was last year. The media is still harping on the Cowboys so-called December woes. Last but not least they are going into the last game against a team on a hot streak. This will be the second season Sean Lee is not playing due to injury.

What's different? First and foremost is the loss of Tony Romo. Romo is a good quarterback, a talented player who gets more blame than he deserves and too little credit for what he does in the face of an unbelievably challenging situation in Dallas. Romo is the main reason Dallas is in this position once again and he will get no chance to redeem himself for the past two year's losses. If Dallas loses Romo will still get bashed for it by media types who will point out the failures the past two seasons. If Dallas wins Romo will get bashed because a backup not many feel is all that good did the one thing Romo couldn't. Until Romo wins a Super Bowl he will never get credit for being the player he is. It isn't his fault Jerry Jones can't put a team around him that's playoff ready. On the good side there is the fact that Dallas has its first 1000 yard rusher in DeMarco Murray (1,073 yards and counting) since Julius Jones did it in 2006. That's seven years if you're counting. The only trouble is will whoever the heck is calling plays call Murray's number enough for him to make an impact on the game? Kyle Orton will be leading the Cowboys into this game as Romo's replacement. I believe Orton is better than he's given credit for and he's had success in the league. Orton is the real wild card in this game. If he turns out to be an Ace Dallas has a real shot at winning but anything but an Ace and I don't like the Cowboys chances. The last thing that's different is the fact that Dallas is playing at home in what's becoming a real home field advantage. Roughly 92 thousand people will pack AT&T Stadium and if they bring the energy and noise it may be enough to push the Cowboys over the top and beat the one team in the NFL I hate worse than any other.

Even though I am realistic enough to know Dallas has an almost insurmountable task Sunday night I desperately don't want to see those sorry assed Eagles celebrate a win in Dallas. In a radio interview on WIP in Philadelphia yesterday LeSean McCoy told Eagles fans,

[eagle eye]

This thread is closed as far as I'm concerned when I post this reply. The season is over after Dallas lost 24-22 to the Eagles last night. Dallas did exactly what I expected--they played hard and they had an opportunity to win the game but on first down of what could've been the game winning drive Kyle Orton threw a pass behind Miles Austin, severely behind, and it was picked off and the game was over for all intents and purposes. Dallas is going to need extensive healing time because you can only shoot yourself in the foot so many times before you got to get off your poor aching dogs and let them heal and the Cowboys have been doing a lot of shooting this season. The whole truth is they didn't deserve a trip to the playoffs for just that reason. Dallas set an NFL record for losses (5) when losing by no more than 3 points with a final record of 8-8. Just think, Dallas is one play or one series away from finishing the year 13-3. That's enough to keep the die-hards cursing until the draft.
But besides gift wrapping a win for the other team Dallas also did something maddening---AGAIN. What was that? Dallas took DeMarco Murray out of the game. Not literally, but they did it figuratively by abandoning the run in the second half of the game. Out of 32 second half plays Murray had 8 touches and he was targeted one other time on the fateful 4 and 1 pass in the fourth quater. By contrast Orton threw the ball 24 times. The Cowboys were never far enough behind to warrant abandoning the run but it isn't anything new for Bill Calahan or whoever the heck is responsible for play calling. Murray only got 13 touches in the first half and he was effective for the most part despite a fumble on the Cowboys first possession of the game. By contrast Orton attempted 46 passes. In the weekly press conferences by Jaso Garrett he talks about striving for balance in the offensive attack but it is rare when anything coming close to balance has been achieved. BTW, for all the Garrett haters out there, Jerry Jones said he will not discuss Garrett's status as head coach but there are a lot of items subject to change. I personally don't think Garrett will be fired but you don't know just how pissed off Jones is after missing the playoffs in the last game of the season for the third year in a row. So long 2013, it's been a friggin' slice.