Dallas Cowboys 2016 Regular Season

Great, Lucky Whitehead will not play tonight because he missed a team meeting. Apparently, Lucky has been missing meetings on a semi-regular basis and fines and kangaroo courts in the locker room haven't made an impact on his attitude concerning meetings. Jason Garrett had enough of that crap last year with Greg Hardy and Rolando McClain and he's not tolerating it even though Whitehead is the primary return man for the Cowboys. Garrett's message to the team from day one of OTA's was that everyone is accountable and missing out on a game against a division rival in December with a chance to clinch the NFC East on the line sends a pretty strong message to the team that bullshit will not fly around Cowboys headquarters. Whitehead is an exciting return man and he's been effective running jet sweeps for the Cowboys offense but this may be just the wakeup call the team needs to hone their focus for these remaining 4 games of the regular season. It's a Jimmy Johnson-esque move on Garrett's part. If you remember in the last game of the 1992 season RB Curvin Richards lost a couple of fumbles in the last game of the season. It didn't matter in the grand scheme of things as Dallas went on to with their first Super Bowl under Johnson later that season but the fact that Jimmy cut Richards as soon as the plane from that road game touched down in Dallas served notice to the Cowboys roster that they had better toe the line or else. Whitehead is too valuable to just cut but by sitting him tonight it just might get his, and the rest of the team's attention.

 

One guy who would probably like to get a little redemption from his play in the Cowboys only loss of the season is WR Terrence Williams. If you remember that far back, it was Williams who took a pass from Dak in the waning seconds of the game and instead of heading for the sideline to stop the clock which would give K Dan Bailey a chance at a long field goal to win the game Williams cut upfield gaining about 10 extra yards but in doing so the clock ran out before the Cowboys could spike the ball to stop the clock. Maybe it wasn't all Williams fault but he got the "Goat" sign hung around his neck and it didn't stand for "greatest of all time". It meant that fans blamed him for killing the Cowboys chance of winning that game and I'm sure he would like to make up for his contribution to the Cowboys only loss of the season.

 

Of course it wasn't all Williams fault. The O-line didn't play very well and neither Dak or Zeke did either. This isn't the same group that started out in Week 1 with more unknowns than Carter has pills. The O-line is again considered the best in the NFL and Zeke has learned how to run the ball like a pro. Dak Prescott has also learned how to run the offense and the restrictions a first time rookie had on him in Week 1 are things of the past as Dallas offensive brain trust has given him the keys to the car and told him to drive like he knows how. The last time Dallas played was a week ago Thursday against Minnesota. It was easily the worst game the offense had played since Week 1. Part of the reason was Minnesota has a really good defense and the rest of the reason, IMO, was Dallas was just plain tired after having played 3 games in twelve days. Most teams plays 3 games in 21 to 22 days just to give you some perspective. Dallas had 3 extra days of rest and recuperation and I look for them to be relaxed, rested and fired up about this game. I am not worried about the Cowboys resting on their laurels because, at this point, they have no laurels to rest on. There is a lot at stack tonight at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey and if this team isn't hungry like the wolf (that's my Duran Duran reference for today) then I don't know what in the world would motivate this team. Leaving Lucky Whitehead back in Dallas has probably perked up some attitudes as well. Dallas should be cocked, locked and ready to fire tonight. In Week 1 Dak had all of 227 yards passing on 45 attempts with no TDs and Zeke had a season low 51 yards rushing on 20 carries with one TD rushing. Throw in the fact that Dez Bryant had just one catch for 8 yards and you could say the Cowboys offense was just a little out of sync. I don't believe the Giants will see the same offensive team tonight and that's why I don't think this game will be all that close. Dallas has faced a tough defense now seemingly every week. The best at stopping the run or the best overall defense or something that was supposed to challenge the Cowboys like they had never been challenged before and the Cowboys had faced all comers and beaten them all. They even won a sloppy, penalty ridden game against the Vikings, a game they probably should have lost, but they found a way to win. That's the Cowboys in 2016. They are the Larry the Cable Guy of the NFL because they just "git er done". The thing that could even the odds a little in the Giants favor is the weather. It's supposed to be cold and either rainy or snowing tonight. I checked my weather app on my phone and it's not showing either rain or snow. If it's just cold, mid to upper 30's, and that isn't a problem especially if the wind isn't blowing. If there is no precipitation then I think Dallas will win by 10 or more. I just have that feeling. If there is rain or snow I look for a closer, less high scoring a game. Either way, I think Dallas wins. I don't care if the Giants activated RB Shane Vereen for the first time since he went on IR after being injured in Week 3. The Giants can't run the football and Dallas doesn't allow opponents to run the ball. The Cowboys are 2nd in the NFL in rushing yards allowed per game with 82.3 trailing only Baltimore who allows just 73.8 YRPG. Dallas does give up a lot of yards passing and that's what Eli Manning likes to do anyway, throw the ball. Eli has 3 good WRs, a good TE and his backs are good in the passing game so Dallas will have their hands full but, their pass rush is getting better and even though they give up loads of yards it's mostly between the 20's but they don't give up TD's much. The Cowboys defense is 5th in the NFL in points per game allowed with 19.0. I just don't see Dallas losing to the Giants and I can't stand the thought of losing to little whiner boy Eli. I'm not sure why I like Peyton and why I don't like Eli unless it's because he's in the Cowboys division and they play twice a year. I don't know, and I don't care. All I know is I want Dallas to beat the G-men tonight and hope it's not even close but it probably will be.

 

So, what does all this mean?

Dallas 33 New York Giants 24

I didn't realize this until yesterday when I started looking at it but did you know Dallas will be playing their sixth playoff team in a row tonight? That's right, ever since they played Pittsburgh in Week 10 the Cowboys have been through a gauntlet of teams who will make the, or is in contention to make, the playoffs. Today they will play Tampa Bay who has won 5 straight and they are currently tied for first place in the NFC South. No picnic here but it's a chance for Dallas to get a little redemption for a 10-6 loss last season. It was a game that Dallas had the lead until the last drive of the fourth quarter when the Bucs scored the game's last TD to steal a win. I wonder if Dallas has figured out how to stay out of all the 2nd and 3rd and longs that have plagued them for the past two weeks. The Vikings had the plan. Blitz Dak Prescott and keep contain so he can't get outside the pocket and cover the receivers tight to deny any quick passes to beat the blitz. The Vikings lost because of a turnover, a fumbled punt, recovered by the Cowboys at the Vikings 8 yard line which they were able to take in for what became the game winning score. The Giants employed the same strategy in last week's loss. Dallas didn't take advantage of the 3 turnovers they did force and they missed out on two others when Barry Church dropped two potential INT's. You could chalk it up to not being Dallas' week and they suffered their first loss in 10 weeks. The fact that both of the Cowboys losses came to the Giants doesn't cause me to want to throw up in my mouth a little bit shouldn't matter but it does. It irks me to lose to Eli Manning but that was last week and I am trying to put it behind me.

I am watching games right now and sometimes it's just too cool to have NFL Sunday Ticket. There is only one game on currently unless you have NFLST but it's a big one between the Texans and Jags. On another station I am checking on the progress of the Giants-Lions and in the 1st quarter the Giants are leading 7-0. This is a big game because of both Lions and Giants are chasing a division title and a playoff berth at very least. The Giants are at home but the Lions have decided every single one of their games this year except one on the final drive of the game. Right now the Lions are in Giants territory trying to even the score.

I want to tune out this game because I don't want to think about the consequences of a Giants win in relation to the Cowboys game tonight but it's almost impossible. If New York beats Detroit and Dallas loses tonight the Cowboys lead in the NFC East dwindles to just one game with two left to play. Dallas will know the outcome before they hit the field tonight so they will know what they need to do.

Here are the scenarios:

1. Giants lose and Dallas loses - Dallas maintains 2 game lead in division with two games to play. Dallas doesn't clinch the division or a first round bye.

2. Giants lose and Dallas wins - Dallas clinches the NFC East and a first round bye.

3. Giants win and Dallas loses - Dallas maintains a one game lead over New York and has clinched nothing beyond a Wild Card spot in the playoffs.

4. Giants win and Dallas wins - Dallas maintains a 2 game lead over the Giants but they have not clinched the NFC East because the Giants hold the tie-breaker should they have the same record at the end of the season.

 

Obviously, the 2nd scenario is the ideal. It pretty much takes all the pressure off in terms of winning the division and avoiding playing in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. One more game is just one more opportunity to lose. Not only that but if Dallas does win they will be exactly 2 games ahead of Detroit, should they beat New York, and the Cowboys play Detroit next week with a chance to clinch home field advantage throughout the playoffs. So, today's game is big. Dallas needs to figure out how to beat a pressure defense and start getting back to controlling the clock and scoring TDs. At one time Dallas was top five in scoring offense but after back to back weeks of scoring 17 and 7 points they have fallen to number 6 in PPG scored. Still not bad but it is worrisome that Tampa that has only allowed 12.5 PPG in their last five games. Tampa is another team with the talent to play pressure up front and man coverage in the back which has been giving Dallas fits lately. The Cowboys are at home which is good. It's cold outside and with the roof closed at AT&T Stadium weather will not be an issue. I think Dallas has given up on the run too much. I think they have panicked a bit thinking they needed to pass the ball when they really didn't. The Bucs have been more efficient on offense but Dallas has been playing badass defense. They held the Giants to ten points last week while they held the Vikings to 15 the week before. It would have been less had Dallas just gotten a first down to run out the clock but Dak Prescott slid down on a scramble a foot to soon and then a fumbled snap by Prescott killed the Cowboys chances of running out the clock on the Vikings. Dallas is still 5th in points allowed with 18.3 so it's no easy sledding for Tampa's offense either.

The Cowboys don't have the plethora of weapons they had to face when they played the Giants. The G-men have OBJ, Victor Cruz, Sterling Shepard for teams to worry about. The Giants lone TD was a 61 yard catch and run by OBJ that was the difference in the game. Tampa's big weapon is WR Mike Evans and really, Evans is the Bucs only real threat. Dallas could double him and play zone or man on the rest of the Bucs. The Cowboys will need to continue to play good run defense to stop Doug Martin and the recently returned Charles Sims. Dallas has yet to allow a 100 yard rusher so you really have to be confident that they will continue to be stellar in run defense. What people may not know is that Dallas has allowed just one 100 yard receiver, Antonio Brown, among the top notch receivers and QB's they have faced this year. I think even the NFL in general is having to acknowledge that Dallas defense is pretty legit despite the injuries they have had to overcome. That situation hasn't gotten any better with Dallas having to go without their best pass rusher DeMarcus Lawrence. Lawrence had missed practice all week because of a back that has been giving him problems all season. S JJ Wilcox returned to practice this week but it is not known if he will play. On offense the Cowboys lost Chaz Green for the rest of the season after he hurt his back in practice. He had been battling a toe injury for weeks and once it looked like he would be back full strength he hurt his back that will require surgery to repair a ruptured disc. The starting O-line is in tact but the depth of the line takes a serious hit with Green's loss.

If Dak can figure out how to beat the blitz and if the receivers can figure out how to get off the line and beat the tight man coverage quicker than what they have the past two weeks Dallas should be able to take care of business.

So what does that mean?

 

Dallas 31 Tampa Bay 16

The final 26-20 score in last night's game was a bit misleading. Dallas beat the Tampa Bay Bucs in pretty much every way you can statistically. The Cowboys won time of possession 36:04 to 23:56, they won the turnover battle 3-1, Dallas won the total yards (449 to 276), passing yards (279-247), rushing yards (185-52) and on and on. They won every single category except penalties. Dallas was penalized 8 times for 91 yards while Tampa was only flagged 3 times for 35 yards. That is a killer stat because those penalties killed several drives for the Cowboys and they contributed to 2 of the 3 missed field goals attempted by Dan Bailey. He was short on a 56 yard attempt on the Cowboys first drive after a first down was negated by a holding call on backup WR Vince Mayle and a sack of Dak Prescott. Bailey also missed a 52 yard try wide left at the end of the half. That's six points off the board right there and you're looking at a score of 32-20.

There were a couple of other possessions that Dallas had to kick field goals when they should have had TD's. The Cowboys should have beaten the Bucs by 20 and it's proper to give Tampa some credit for being good too. Dallas went into halftime leading 17-6 but things turned around for Tampa in the second half as they scored 14 unanswered points to take a 20-17 lead in the game, one that Dallas should have been winning comfortably by the end of the 3rd quarter. Dallas received the kickoff after the Bucs second TD with 4:36 left in the 3rd and they seem to have righted the ship after spending most of the quarter rudderless. The drive bled into the 4th quarter as Dallas drove the ball down to the Bucs 22 where Dallas had to settle for a field goal. The score at that point was 20-20. On the ensuing kickoff pressure on Jameis Winston caused a pass to Mike Evans to sail and S Jeff Heath intercepted for the Cowboys. Dallas got yet another field goal to make the score 23-20 and Dallas added another field goal late in the quarter to make the score 26-20. That's the disconcerting thing, Dallas had to kick field goals instead of scoring touchdowns. There are still faults in Dak Prescott's game. I could spot a bunch of times that Tony Romo would have done a better job but that ship has sailed and it didn't sail because Dak threw for 279 yards with no picks and a rushing TD last night. That ship sailed in Week 10 when Romo didn't get his starting job back as he should have at the time. I know I sound like a broken record but if Dallas wins the Super Bowl this year I will be happy but it will also come with some melancholy attached because of the shitty way Romo was treated. No other top 5 QB in NFL history had to eat the shit sandwich Romo had to eat when he was declared healthy but was not allowed to even compete for a job that had been his for the past 10 years. I'm not sure I will ever forgive Jason Garrett for how he disrespected a guy who had sacrificed his blood, sweat, tears, broken ribs, broken collar bones and broken back and brought the only success the Cowboys enjoyed for the 10 years he started. If Dak played lousy last night he shouldn't have been benched then, he should have stepped aside in Week 10. But, the Cowboys won and I'm happy but in a Week we have to play Detroit and we still haven't sewed up the division or bye in the playoffs. Friggin Giants just won't go away. It is hell being a Cowboys fan because even when we win there is still something that sucks about the whole deal.

 

> Last week the Cowboys activated RB Darren McFadden off IR and he had the first action of the season recording 10 yards on 3 carries and one catch for -2 yards. To make room for McFadden Dallas released the second of the 6th round draft picks from this past draft RB Darius Jackson. Speculation when McFadden was going to be activated was that Albert Morris would be released because he doesn't do anything on special teams. Personally, I hoped they would keep Jackson and let Lance Dunbar go. Dunbar took 3 years to get on the field and he was hurt 3 weeks into the season last year for the entire season. He has spent more time on the sideline healing from one injury or another than he has on the field. Jackson is a younger better option than Dunbar but the Cowboys opted to keep Dunbar. Not even 24 hours after he was released Jackson was claimed by the Cleveland Browns. I'll bet Jackson is just tickled to death.

 

> I mentioned yesterday that the Cowboys have lost Chaz Green for the season because he needs back surgery. Bad break for Green who missed all of his rookie season recovering from hip surgery in the summer before the season. Hopefully, he is going to put his injury woes behind him and get back healthy next season because Doug Free isn't getting any younger.

 

> Randy Gregory is supposed to be able to practice this week after serving his cumulative 14 game suspension levied by the league for substance abuse. It has been reported that he has been working out at the Cowboys training facility and he's reportedly in great shape and raring to go.

 

> With DeMarcus Lawrence out last night with a bad back and Jack Crawford nursing an injury too there is one guy who stepped up last night and in the 4th quarter David Irving was virtually unstoppable. Every play he either had a hurry, a bat down of a pass or a sack. In the 4th quarter it was Butler's pressure that caused an errant throw that was picked off by Jeff Heath. This is the second time this season Irving has been dominating. Earlier this season against Green Bay he marched through the Packers offensive line like Sherman's march through the south. Last night he was even better. He was playing left defensive end and he really could be the new millennium "Too Tall" Jones. With Irving on the left and if Randy Gregory fulfills the promise he's shown on the right that Dallas pass rush could really be super charged at just the right time.

Edited December 19, 2016 by eagle eye

Dallas has a lot riding on their shoulders this week. The could clinch the NFC East and in doing so would also clinch the #1 seed in the playoffs meaning they get home field advantage throughout the playoffs. THAT is a big, big deal. Now, it could happen as early as tonight if Philadelphia manages to knock off the NY Giants on Thursday Night Football. Right now as it stands if NY loses no other team in the NFC can get as many as the 12 wins the Cowboys already have. In 2014 the Cowboys had 12 wins on the season but they didn't get their 12th win until the last game of the season. They had already wrapped up a playoff spot but because of tie-breakers they were the 3rd seed in the playoffs behind Seattle and Green Bay who were both 12-4 as well. As it turned out the Cowboys had to travel to Green Bay in the divisional round of the playoffs and we all know what happened there. A terrible call and some terrible Dallas defense cost the Cowboys a trip to Seattle for the NFC Championship game. Now, Dallas can be the host of all the post season games they play up to the Super Bowl. You'd almost have to say if Dallas gets to Super Bowl LI that will be a home game too since it will be played just a 4 hour drive down I-45 to Houston. This playoff season is shaping up just the way you'd draw it up even the fact that Dallas will have to go through at least Week 16 before clinching anything meaningful. Just one thing, don't tell Jason Garrett I'm looking this far into the future. That's just not the way they do things in Dallas. Right now their whole focus is on playing the Detroit Lions on Monday night at 7:30. Truth be told, they are all probably getting ready for Christmas too but they won't talk about that. Since they have an extra day this week the Cowboys didn't begin practicing this week until today. Normally, they practice Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and have a travel day on Saturday if they are on the road or a walk through if they are home. To stay on their normal routine the Cowboys begin practice today and continue through Saturday. Since they play at home on Monday night they will enjoy Christmas with their families on Sunday morning and probably meet for a walk through Sunday afternoon. All but two games this week will played on Saturday instead of Sunday which will feature just two games, Pittsburgh-Baltimore in the afternoon and Kansas City-Denver Sunday night. Of course that's not counting the Thursday and Monday night games. This will be a special week on one of the rare occasions that Christmas falls on Sunday.

 

It seems that there is a lot of uproar around Dallas for the Pro Bowl snub to Cowboys LB Sean Lee. The stats all say he is worthy except the two sexy stats that get most of the players over the hump. That would be sacks and INT's. In years past Sean Lee would add a couple of picks to his season resume but this year he has been shut out so far. The same with sacks but that is not Lee's role in the Cowboys 4-3. Most of the linebackers chosen are really glorified defensive ends or designated pass rushers in 3-4 defenses. Rushing the passer isn't even in the top 5 of the main roles and responsibilities in the Cowboys 4-3. Mostly, the Cowboys don't blitz much, if fact if you watch the Cowboys during games if they aren't getting much push with their front four they will play and extra DB or LB and just rush 3 players. What Lee is exceptional at is stopping the other team. He's always in position to make a play and he easily leads the team in tackles. By official NFL stats Lee has 140 tackles on the season, averaging 10 a game so far, and by team reckoning he's more like 168 tackles according to the coaches film. He is rarely out of position and he's always somewhere around the ball. He recovered a fumble in last Sunday's game against Tampa Bay. What's really a kick in the teeth is he didn't even make alternate. In this article linked below DallasCowboys.com's Rob Phillips talks about how the Pro Bowl snub of Lee can motivate this much maligned and underappreciated defense.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2016/12/21/phillips-lee%E2%80%99s-pro-bowl-snub-more-motivation-underrated-defense

 

Another article from DallasCowboys.com features the "Scout's Eye" from Bryan Broaddus. He uses his vast experience as an NFL scout to talk about some matchups that could be key in Monday night's game.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2016/12/22/scouts-eye-tough-draw-zack-martin-another-big-test-b-carr

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2016/12/21/scouts-eye-staffords-toughness-two-detroit-des-worth-watching

 

I always enjoy watching Bryan Broaddus breaking down film. I would love to spend a couple of day learning how to best do this in person someday even though that will never happen. In this edition of "Film Room" Broaddus broke down some plays that were keys to the Cowboys win over Tampa last Sunday night.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/video/2016/12/21/film-room-3-key-plays-tampa-bay-win

 

There hasn't been a report this morning but DE Randy Gregory was supposed to begin practicing with the team today. He may not be ready to play on Monday but I wouldn't rule out him playing 10-15 snaps anyway. As for the long term availability of Gregory here is an article from ProFootballRumors.com that talks about his appeal of a prospective year long suspension.

 

http://www.profootballrumors.com/2016/12/cowboys-randy-gregory-appeal-suspension

I hope everyone had a very happy and healthy Christmas. It was pretty nice around my house and I hope it was the same at yours.

 

Dallas got an early Christmas gift when Philly beat the Giants last Thursday night. I would be willing to bet any amount of money the fact that Dallas has wrapped up the NFC East division crown and the #1 seed throughout the NFC side of the playoffs won't make a bit of difference to Jason Garrett. He won't let the Cowboys take their foot off the gas pedal. The starters will play and Dallas is going to try like hell to win tonight. The only thing the Cowboys have to really play for is to help Ezekiel Elliott break Eric Dickerson's rookie rushing record of 1808 yards set way back in 1983. Currently Elliott has 1551 yards and with 2 games left to play he needs 258 yards to break the record. He would need to average 129 yards per game to do it. Not impossible but it's still a pretty tall order none the less. The Lions are the 8th ranked defense against the run this season so gaining 129 yards won't be easy but it's not impossible. BTW, Dallas is the #1 ranked defense against the run in the entire NFL. To date they have yet to allow a 100 yard rusher this season and they allowing just 80.9 rushing yards per game. Detroit is actually pretty consistent on defense ranking 9th in passing defense. They are better than Dallas who is ranked just 18th tied with Philadelphia in total passing yards allowed. Overall Detroit's defense is ranked 9th overall in the NFL while Dallas' D is 7th. If you go by points allowed it's about the same story only both Dallas and Detroit are ranked higher in this category. Dallas is ranked #2 in the NFL in points allowed with 258. New England is the best defense allowing just 236 points so far during the 2016 season. Detroit is in the neighborhood ranked #6.

On the offensive side Dallas is the 9th ranked offense in the NFL despite having a shaky December so far. Detroit's offense is ranked 28th which was a shock to me when I saw that stat. With Matthew Stafford you would think that Detroit would be ranked much higher. It's mainly because of their lack of a run game. This is where Dallas holds a clear edge because the Cowboys have the 2nd ranked run game in the NFL with 154.5 yards per game while Detroit is 31st in the NFL rushing for a meager 81.7 yards per game. Detroit is the 18th ranked passing offense gaining an average of 254 yards per game but that is still better than Dallas' 26th ranked passing offense averaging 235 YPG. What is holding the Cowboys back in the passing game is Dak Prescott. I know that is near sacrilege to say that but it's true. Even though Dak has thrown for 3418 yards he is still the 20th ranked passer in the NFL. He is good at spreading the ball around but he hasn't really figured out how to beat an opposing defense's blitz or pressure. Dak doesn't make other teams pay for selling out to rush him. Tony Romo would have nipped that blitzing crap in the bud a long time ago simply because of his experience. Romo has seen it all and in most situations he would make teams pay for trying to pressure him. Tony would be much better at getting the ball down the field which would, in turn, open up the run game even more. In 2014 when Romo had DeMarco Murray Romo threw for 3705 yards with 34 TD passes and only 9 picks. This season through 14 games Dak has that 3418 yards passing but he's only got 20 TD passes with 4 picks. In 2014 Romo was the #1 ranked passer in the NFL with a Dallas 6 years to find Romo while they made do with has-beens and never were's at QB. Now, the future is right there and I couldn't be happier, I just feel the Dak era shouldn't have started until 2018 when Romo retires. Considering Romo's bad luck with injuries if it hadn't happened this year it would have happened next anyway. It's almost like how most people felt when Jerry Jones botched the firing of Tom Landry. There are people still pissed at Jerry for that.

I got way off track because the reason for this post was to give my take on tonight's game. The offense and defense of both teams is comparable and that is why Dallas is where they are and why Detroit is in contention for the NFC North division. Both are good teams. The stats say Dallas is better and should win but one stat jumps out and that is Detroit has won all 8 of it's games coming from behind in the fourth quarter. You can never, ever give up on playing defense against this group. Of course, the best way to beat the Lions is to run the ball, control the clock and score TDs instead of field goals. That's not easy against a playoff caliber team with a QB as good as Matthew Stafford. What has really held the Lions back is the loss of Calvin Johnson. They have no dynamic go-to receiver any more and it has made life difficult for Stafford. He does have Golden Tate and Anquan Boldin so you can't go to sleep on them but without Megatron the passing game of the Lions has lost its oomf.

Dallas needs to keep getting clutch performances out of their defense despite a continuous barrage of injuries that have plagued them the past month and a half. Tonight Dallas will be without DeMarcus Lawrence, Tyrone Crawford and Cedric Thornton, 3 key cogs in the D-line rotation. Fortunately, the Cowboys have had other players on the D-line step up. None more than David Irving. The guy was a flat out Tampa Bay terrorist last week. He was in the Bucs backfield in virtually every snap in the second half. He really should have been the NFC defensive player of the week last week because of that effort against Tampa. It was the second time this season Irving had dominated as he was almost as awesome against the Packers back in October. He will need to keep up the effort to help Dallas beat Detroit. Another guy who has stepped up is rookie Maliek Collins. Collins missed the first month of the season with a foot injury and it's taken some time for him to get into the groove but he has really come on strong in recent weeks. Since the Cowboys will be without DeMarcus Lawrence they needed in injection of pass rush in the D-line and they may have gotten it. Randy Gregory is back in action tonight. It is his first game he's been eligible to play all season because of the 14 game suspension he received for the violating the NFL's substance abuse program. It has been reported that he has been working with strength and conditioning coaches for a while now and it looking pretty darn good. He isn't ready to be an every down player but on passing downs he needs to be in the game and unleashed on Matthew Stafford. Gregory's quickness and athleticism could be the difference in tonight's game. There shouldn't be a snap count on him because, frankly, Dallas doesn't know how long they will have him. His appeal of a 1 year suspension is pending in January so the Cowboys might as well get the most out of him as they can while they can. If Gregory can be impactful then Lawrence, Tyrone Crawford and Thornton can take their time and heal up over the next 3 weeks so they will be ready for a playoff run. Tonight's game and maybe Week 17 against the Eagles may well depend on Randy Gregory. Let's hope he is up to the challenge.

 

So, after all this yadda-yadda-yadda what does that mean?

Dallas 27 Detroit 24

Dallas sure has a butt-load of injuries along the defensive line but fortunately they have the depth to continue to succeed. In the game last night it looked like the Lions were going to make a shootout of the game. Neither defense had much success stopping the other's offense. In fact, the Lions actually did a better job stopping the Cowboys offense than the Cowboys defense did against the Lions. Dallas got the ball first and after four total possessions it was 14 all. I was thinking at the time, "okay, buckle up because this is going to get crazy!" The first half was crazy and the fact that Dallas scored a TD right before the end of the first half to make the score 21-21 you just knew this was going to be one of those games where the last team with the ball was going to win. I hate games like that. They're just too hard on the nerves.

It didn't work out that way. Cowboys DC Rod Marinelli put some defensive adjustments in during halftime that just stifled the Lions and resulted in not only shutting down the Lions run game but also contained Matthew Stafford. Marinelli had the Cowboys play a 3-2-6 defense, which is to say, there were 3 defensive linemen, 2 linebackers and 6 DBs. That formation was borne of necessity because Dallas continued to lose defensive players in the first half. DT Terrell McClain injured an ankle, CB Anthony Brown got a concussion on a kickoff coverage in the 2nd quarter and Ryan Davis were all on the sideline before the 1st half was over. That old Forrest Gump line about a box of chocolates sure rings true for the Cowboys. Fortunately, the Cowboys are getting good chocolates in the persons of JJ Wilcox and David Irving who continues his amazing December. For the most part the 3 man line for Dallas consisted of Irving at left end, Maliek Collins at nose tackle and either Benson Mayowa or Randy Gregory at right DE. Jack Crawford also came in to give the others a breather as needed. If Dallas had needed any more guys to play the line they would have had to use linebackers because 5 guys is all Dallas had to work with by the end of the 1st half. Besides losing Davis and McClain in the first half the Cowboys already had as inactive for the game Tyrone Crawford, DeMarcus Lawrence and Cedric Thornton. The line accounted for 4 sacks on the night with Mayowa and Irving getting 1-1/2 sacks each and Maliek Collins getting the other. Randy Gregory didn't get a sack but he had a tackle for a loss and he applied a lot of pressure on Matthew Stafford the whole night. Of course he wasn't going to be perfect, after all he hadn't played an NFL game since last December, but he showed up which is something Dallas beleaguered D needed BAD.

All in all the Cowboys pitched a shutout in the 2nd half not allowing a single point after halftime. Dallas also recorded an INT and a fumble recovery on a strip sack by David Irving recovered by Kyle Wilbur. The Cowboys should have had a couple more picks but there is a reason why DBs play DB--they can't friggin' catch--Orlando Scandrick. It didn't matter because the Cowboys D forced a bunch of 3 and outs on Detroit and the Lions offense just couldn't solve the Cowboys defensive puzzle.

On offense you can be thankful that nobody got hurt--bad. LT Tyron Smith had to leave in the 3rd quarter after he pulled on a play around his left end to lead the way for Darren McFadden run. A Lion defender cut him at his knees and he was seen shortly thereafter on the sideline with his right knee wrapped in an ace bandage presumably with ice underneath. Jerry Jones said after the game that Smith and the other players who were injured last night were not hurt badly and should be available when called upon. There's an article in DallasCowboys.com that confirms Smith just got his knee tweaked a bit and he could play against Philly this week but probably won't to give it a chance to fully heal. After next week's game the playoffs begin and Dallas won't play it's first game in the playoffs for two weeks. That gives Smith and presumably some others 3 weeks to get back to full strength.

The Lions had made up their minds that Zeke Elliott wasn't going to run up a lot of yards on them and they made sure of it by having 8, sometimes 9 men in the box to stop the run. They did too on 11 of Zeke's 12 carries but that one cost the Lions big. In the 2nd quarter with the game tied at 7 all Zeke pulled off a 55 yard TD run that gave the Cowboys the lead again at 14-7. Zeke was done at halftime with Jason Garrett choosing to sit his MVP candidate and put the ball into the capable hands of Darren McFadden. McFadden was semi-effective gaining 46 yards on 14 carries while Zeke ran for 80 yards on just those 12 totes. Garrett didn't want to chance getting Zeke hurt so he benched him apparently not caring whether or not Zeke gets to break Eric Dickerson's 33 year old NFL rookie rushing record. Zeke needed to average 129 yards a game in the final two games to break that record and it's a sure bet Zeke would have at least got a 100 yards on the night had he stayed in the game. For the record, Zeke still needs 178 yards against the Eagles to break Dickerson's record. That would be a career and season high for Zeke and that is IF Garrett even lets him play at all. Jerry Jones said today there is still a chance Zeke can break the record but whether he gets the chance remains to be seen.

Dallas offense continued it's TD onslaught in the 2nd half scoring 21 more unanswered points in the second half. The best TD of the night came late in the 3rd quarter with Dallas with a 1st and goal at the Lions 10. Dez came around behind Dak on what appeared to be a jet sweep that is normally run by Lucky Whitehead. When Dez got outside the left hash marks he pulled up and threw a perfect pass to Jason Witten left all alone in the end zone by the linebacker covering him when he peeled off of go after Dez. Another thing that probably surprised the Lions was the fact that Dez is left handed so rolling to his left was right up his passing alley. It was a great designed play that worked to perfection.

The hit of the night came when punter Chris Jones flat laid the wood on Lions return man Andre Roberts. In the 4th quarter when Jones had to punt from his own end zone Roberts caught the punt at the Detroit 47 and ran for the left sideline. He was able to beat the coverage to the corner and turn up field. At the Dallas 30 yard line Jones was waiting and just as Cowboys linebacker Kyle Wilbur began to grab Roberts to make the tackle Jones put a shoulder into Roberts that knocked him back 3 feet straight on his arse. Both Roberts and Wilbur were taken out by Jones' hit. Jon Gruden said in the broadcast he had never seen a punter lay a return man out like that. It sure fired up the crowd. That hit is linked in the article from Sports Illustrated.com below.

 

http://www.si.com/nfl/2016/12/26/cowboys-punter-chris-jones-tackle-hit-lions-returner-andre-roberts

 

Saying Jones' hit was the best of the night is saying something too because JJ Wilcox had a couple of tooth rattlers but none could compare to Chris Jones hit. People have said that Chris Jones is really good athlete who isn't just a kicker but he's a football player and he showed it on that play.

 

Dez Bryant had a big night. He ended up catching 4 balls for 70 yards and two TDs to go along with his TD pass to Witten. His 2 TD pass catches put him past Michael Irvin for 2nd place for most TD receptions in franchise history. Dez only needs four more TDs to go past the #1 TD receiver in Cowboys history, Bob Hayes. Currently Dez has 67 TD receptions just passing Michael Irvin's 66. The next target is Hayes 70 TDs.

 

Brice Butler had a real nice catch of a TD pass in the 1st half. It's good that Butler made the play because he only sees like one or two passes a game and he's been known to drop his chances from time to time. Terrence Williams had a nice game too making some nice catches in traffic.

 

It's incredible how just a slight adjustment in a defensive game plan can turn things around. It looked like Dallas was trying to make Lions RB Zack Zenner look like the 2nd coming of Barry Sanders but in the end Zenner joined the list of running backs that have played Dallas this season and have failed to rush for 100 yards. Most of them not even smelling the century mark, Zenner finished his night with just 67 yards as the leading rusher for the Lions.

 

One other thing, Dallas has now tied a franchise record for wins in a season, 13. They did it in 1992 and again in 2007 for the only times in franchise history having done so. In 1992 Dallas won it's first of 3 Super Bowls in 4 years. In 2007 the Cowboys were ambushed by the New York Giants in the divisional round of the playoffs. The Giants went on to win the Super Bowl over the previously unbeaten and untied New England Patriots. This Cowboys team can actually set a franchise record for wins in a season if they beat Philly this coming Sunday and finish with a 14-2 record. Going strictly off their records it looks like Dallas (13-2) and New England (13-2) are headed straight for a showdown in Super Bowl LI in February. Both teams could very well end up with identical 14-2 records when the 2016 NFL regular season concludes this weekend.

 

One last thing, I was listening to a Cowboys podcast Talkin' Cowboys today and one of the guys on the show said there were many chants of, "Romo, Romo, Romo!" and "We want Romo, We want Romo!" going through the crowd at AT&T Stadium in the 4th quarter. It's nice to know so many fans still love Romo, he deserves the recognition and I'll bet it made him feel pretty darn good to hear that.

A thought just popped into my head this morning, my dream of an all Texas Super Bowl is alive and well. It may be a long shot but it's better than no shot at all, isn't it? Sure it is.

Dallas has an explosive offense based around a better than average running game. They also have a defense who might give up some yards but they don't allow many points to be scored. They are definitely a factor the Cowboys have been lacking for a long time.

Houston has probably the best defense in the NFL even without JJ Watt. Jadeveon Clowney has emerged as a force to be reckoned with. There was a fear that he would be a huge bust after being taken with the first overall pick in the 2014 draft. For sure it has a been a long two years after he messed up his knee in his very first game Clowney tore the meniscus in his knee and eventually it was found that he needed microfracture surgery. Microfracture surgery is a potentially career ending surgery and even the players who have successfully come back it has usually taken over a year for the player to get back to 100%. After a disastrous rookie season and an equally frustrating sophomore campaign he is emerging as a force to reckoned with. A force Houston thought they were getting when they drafted him.

Houston has had struggles on offense with an inconsistent offense mainly because free agent QB Brock Osweiler has not lived up to the $72MM contract he was given by the Texans in the offseason. Frustration with Osweiler culminated when he threw 2 INTs in a game against Jacksonville two weeks ago. Brock was pulled in favor of Houston's 4th round pick in 2014 Tom Savage out of the University of Pittsburgh. He led the Texans to a comeback win over the Jags igniting the offense in the process. In the game against the Bengals last Saturday night the offense was less explosive and the Texans defense carried them to a 12-10 win over the Bengals. What is encouraging is Savage takes care of the football which in contrast to Osweiler who had the 2nd most INTs in the NFL through 13-1/2 games. So far Savage does not have a pick in his 6 quarters of work. Houston's offense, like the Cowboys, is based around their run game with Lamar Miller on point for the Texans. Miller is hurt but Houston has the luxury of being able to rest him until the Wild Card round of the playoffs begins in two weeks. That down time will benefit both teams meaning they will be as healthy as they can be heading into the playoffs.

Keeping hope alive for the 2016 playoffs.

 

One aside here. I made this same post on the Texans thread but there needs to be some mention about this as far as the Cowboys are concerned. Dallas finally got their 2015 2nd round pick on the field this year after not having him for the first 14 games because of the NFL suspended him for violating the substance abuse protocols. Great to have him back and considering he hadn't played in a year and he missed out on training camp because he was in rehab and he played pretty good. The problem is that Gregory may not be available for the playoffs. He failed yet another drug test and he is currently appealing a potential year long ban. That appeal will be heard in January. When in January isn't known but he might be around for the divisional round or might be available to go all the way to the NFC Championship if Dallas gets that far. Big bummer for both him and the Cowboys who really don't want to have a bust of a 2nd round pick but that's what they are looking at if Gregory can't lay off the weed.

Gregory, throwing his career away over weed? How sad and wasteful and if he is suspended, the Cowboys just need to move on.

The list of walking wounded has Dallas scrambling to try to field a full 46 man game day roster. They made room for a spot earlier in the week when they put DL Ryan Russell on IR because of a knee injury suffered last week against Detroit. After they put Russell on IR they signed a defensive lineman off the Jacksonville Jaguars practice squad. His name is Richard Ash and he is a 6'3" 320 lb nose tackle from Western Michigan who was an undrafted rookie free agent in 2015. The link below is a scouting report on Ash done by Bryan Broaddus.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2016/12/28/scouting-report-new-signing-richard-ash-brings-power-dt-spot

 

Those weren't the only moves made this week. Yesterday WR Vince Mayle was released which opens another roster spot. The reason the Cowboys need the extra spot is because LT Tyron Smith will not be playing this week as he needs to rest his right knee after spraining his MCL in last week's game with Detroit. Another disconcerting bit of news is that LG Ronald Leary is probably out this week as he joins the plethora of Cowboys players with back issues. One guy I have almost forgotten about is former starting LG La'el Collins. He has been on IR all season since he had surgery on his big toe. He has been on IR since October 4th and by rule a player can come off IR after 8 weeks. The roster spot will be filled by an O-lineman whether it's Collins or a guy off the Cowboys practice squad remains to be seen but there should be some word today.

 

Jason Witten has eclipsed two big Cowboys franchise records so far this season. One was surpassing Lee Roy Jordan's record for most consecutive starts in a career and he also passed Ed "Too Tall" Jones for most career starts with the Cowboys. There is one more milestone that Witten can pass this week in Philadelphia. He needs just 27 yards receiving to pass Michael Irvin for the Cowboys all time leader in receiving yards in franchise history. Irvin recorded 11,904 yards in a career shorted by cervical spinal stenosis which is a narrowing of the opening for the spinal cord. The condition was discovered, ironically enough, when Irvin injured his neck and temporarily paralyzed in a game in Philadelphia in Week 5 of the 1999 season. Irvin never played a down in the NFL again and the vile Eagles fans cheered when Irvin got hurt. One of the reasons I feel no empathy for any Philadelphia sports franchise. It will be cool if he breaks the record but there is always next year, as they say, I would love for Witten to break the receiving record against the Eagles in Philly. Take that shitheads.

 

What would be equally sweet would be to see Zeke Elliott break the rookie rushing record but that isn't likely to happen. Zeke won't play much if at all so Mr Dickerson's record is likely safe for another year. You hate that Zeke was taken out of the game with only 80 yards last week against Detroit. If Zeke could have gotten 30 or 40 more yards then it may be feasible for the record to be broken but when Jason Garrett pulled him out of the game that was the end of that record.

 

More tomorrow when all the events of today get updated.

The Cowboys brought up OL Ryan Seymore to fill the roster spot left when they released WR Vince Mayle. The Cowboys need the body on the O-line because Tyron Smith will miss the game and LG Ronald Leary is listed as questionable. The Cowboys could end up with a pretty weak left side of their line with a guy named Emmitt Cleary starting for Tyron Smith and Joe Looney starting for Leary with Seymore as your swing man in case of injury. All seven of the Cowboys inactives today are on the list because of injuries. They are significant players too. Here is the whole list of inactives for the Cowboys today.

 

LT Tyron Smith

CB Morris Claiborne

DT Tyrone Crawford

LB Justin Durant

DE DeMarcus Lawrence

DT Terrell McClain

DT Cedric Thornton

 

If you notice, 4 of the 7 are defensive linemen. Not good for a team who is trying to win a franchise best 14 games on the road in a city that hates the Cowboys. Last week the Cowboys resorted to a fairly new scheme running a 3-2-6 in the second half against Detroit after they lost both Cedric Thornton and Terrell McClain in the first half. It worked well with David Irving, Maliek Collins and Benson Mayowa predominately holding down the fort. Not just holding it down but creating havoc on the Lions offense. The Cowboys also got major contributions from newly returned Randy Gregory, Jack Crawford and they also used LB Kyle Wilbur as a defensive end at times. Making it work. Dallas also may not play Sean Lee too much either to make sure he's healthy for the playoffs but I'd guess he's be starting out the game on the field. If Dallas can continue to depend on Eagles receivers dropping the ball and if they can contain Darren Sproles Dallas, even undermanned as they are, can still beat the Eagles. I'm sure Jason Garrett has stated that it doesn't matter who is not playing, all that matters is the guys on the field do their jobs. Dallas will play hard just like they did two years ago in an equally "meaningless" game against Washington but the Cowboys went out and kicked the Redskins assess to continue their momentum into the playoffs. They were not down 10 players who were starters at the beginning of the season however and the Eagles will not roll over and play dead for Dallas either. This will either be a blowout win for Philly or a very close win for Dallas. I prefer to say Dallas will prevail but, of course, I'm a big freaking homer.

 

So, what does all this mean as we are at kickoff of the final regular season game of 2016?

 

Dallas 23 Philly 19

I've been putting off writing this post because I know just exactly where I'm going. The starting quarterback of the Cowboys is not the best quarterback on the team. Pure and simple. In a full quarter of work Dak Prescott only managed to lead the Cowboys to 3 points. Tony Romo came in early in the 2nd quarter and marched the team down the field to a touchdown and he made it look easy. Romo went 3 for 4 for 29 yards and a TD. He had a 134 QBR and he was done for the day. I will say this one more time, this is not me bashing Dak. I like Dak and I'm glad he's on the Cowboys team and will be the QB of the future. This about having the best guy under center and that guy is Tony Romo. He proved it on the field yesterday and you really can say I am comparing apples to apples considering both faced the same Philly defense and both had the same personnel on the field when they were in the game. Same for Mark Sanchez and you saw how he struggled. That's what Dallas is looking at next year. If Dak goes down then Sanchez will be the backup and do you feel comfortable about that? I sure as hell don't. Not when Tony should be the Cowboys QB now and in 2017. He can retire after that because I'm confident he will have a ring that says Super Bowl champs on it by the end of the 2017 season. This is not about changing QBs now, that should have been done in Week 9 or 10 when Romo was cleared to play. Been there, said that so I won't say any more.

 

The defense was handicapped because of the loss of 4 defensive linemen and Sean Lee. Lee was told before the game he wasn't playing and I'm sure he was not a happy camper. The offense was compromised some because Zeke Elliott was not allowed to play. Both Lee and Elliott were told during pregame activities they would not play. Garrett had informed all three of his QBs they would play so going to Tony in the second quarter was not unexpected and sitting Tony in favor of Mr Butt-Fumble was not surprise either. I kind of thought that Jason Garrett took the edge off the team by sitting so many people and he sort of forfeited the game before it started and there was so much to be gained by players playing. First off, the Cowboys had the chance to win a franchise record 14 games. Garrett didn't want the record badly enough to play for it. Guys like Nate Newton, who is a 6 time Pro Bowler and 3 time NFL Champion all with Dallas, wanted that 14th win BAD. He was disappointed the way things worked out because, as he's said himself, "...once a Cowboy always a Cowboy and I WANT that 14th win."

Zeke had a couple of milestones to reach too. First he needed just six yards from scrimmage to surpass 2,000 total yards. He would be only the third RB to accomplish that fete. The only other men to bust 2K as a rookie was the Colts Edgerrin James in 1999 and Eric Dickerson in 1983. Speaking of Dickerson, Elliott needed 178 yards rushing to eclipse his 33 year old record of 1808 yards rushing as a rookie. That ship to pass Dickerson sailed last week when Garrett benched Elliott in the second half of the Detroit game last week.

 

Pretty much everything about yesterday sucked including being shown how much Dallas has really missed Tony Romo and how much they are likely to miss him when the games start to mean more and more. Dak's inexperience will be exploited in the playoffs. It doesn't matter if Dallas has beaten Green Bay and Detroit. It doesn't matter that Dallas lost to New York twice, It doesn't matter that Dallas hasn't played Seattle in 2016. The intensity ramps up at each level of the playoffs and that is where Dak could suffer. I know it's terrible of me to say but when Dak got hit in his last series I sort of hoped he would get hurt. I know it's terrible to wish harm on somebody else but I just feel so bad over how much Romo has gotten screwed by Jason Garrett, a guy who was supposed to be Romo's friend. I know results say Garrett made the right decision handing over the reins to Prescott after 9 weeks but that is assuming Romo couldn't have done as well or better. That, as we saw yesterday, just wouldn't have been the case. I'm not sure I will ever forgive Jason Garrett for the way he did Romo. I think it's such a shame that I feel so torn over the Cowboys success. On the one hand I am happy Dallas has bounced back and they are where they are but on the other I feel like the Cowboys did it wrong by disrespecting a guy who has given so much to the franchise only to be screwed over and forced to eat the biggest shit sandwich I have ever seen a player have to eat when everyone clearly feels he is the best QB on the team. Cowboys are the #1 seed! Here's my response, "yeah."

 

On a happier note I want to recognize the play of Randy Gregory. He was a bigger factor in yesterday's game and if Dallas had managed to win he would have been one of the stars of the game. He had tackles for loss and he recorded his first NFL sack. I hope that the appeal of his latest drug faux pas goes well he avoids a year long suspension and that he has finally seen the light and he can leave his past behind him and turn over a new leaf in his life because, he really is a special player and I believe he will be a top notch NFL player.

 

Dallas now has two weeks to rest and recuperate in preparation for the Divisional round of the playoffs. Counting yesterday in which the Cowboys sat a bunch of players as a precaution against injury that gives the team 3 weeks to field the best version of themselves. I like that. I remember how much it meant in 1994 how Dallas beat the New York Giants in the last game of the season, the same game Emmitt Smith suffered a separated shoulder and gave one of the most heroic performances in NFL history, and how much that two weeks off meant to the Cowboys on their way to winning their second straight Super Bowl. It should be even more critical they have that two weeks offs considering the extent of the list of those injured.

 

I really am happy the Cowboys are winning.

Wow, take a couple of days off and look at how much changes!

 

Dallas signed former 1st round pick of the Arizona Cardinals in 2013 G Jonathan Cooper formerly out of the U of North Carolina. Cooper was the 7th overall pick of Cardinals and he was the 2nd best guard in the that draft behind Alabama's Chance Warmack but Cooper was selected 3 spots higher than Warmack. Here's a scouting report on Cooper from DallasCowboys.com writer Bryan Broaddus. To make room on the roster for Cooper the Cowboys released G/C Ryan Seymore who was promoted from the Cowboys practice squad the week prior the regular season finale against Philadelphia.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2017/01/04/scouting-report-former-1st-round-pick-coopers-athleticism-intriguing

 

The headline on DallasCowboys.com said, "Cowboys Sign Lotulelei to Reserve/Futures Contract", and I'm thinking how did Dallas get such a great player like Star Lotulelei? Why would Carolina let a playing like him go? It turns out it was Pro Bowl DL Star Lotulelei but his cousin, John. John has been in the NFL since he was an undrafted free agent signed by the Seahawks in 2013. Lotulelei made the final 53 man roster with Seattle and he played in 2 games before being released in October of 2013. He was claimed by the Jacksonville Jaguars and was with the team from October 2013 until he was among the final cuts by the Jags on September 3, 2016. He was not on an NFL roster during the past regular season. Being signed as a reserve/futures player means he is not eligible to play in the playoffs with Dallas but he will be on the 90 man off season roster. Lotulelei is a linebacker who is a bit undersized at 5'11" and 235 lbs but Dallas gets a free look at the players so this is one of those no harm-no foul situations.

 

Dallas signed WR Shaquelle Evans out of UCLA. Evans was a 4th round draft pick by the NY Jets in 2014. He has spent the past 3 seasons with the Jets, Jaguars and Patriots before being signed by Dallas. He's got good size at 6'1" and 205 lbs and he was a good receiver in college. The Cowboys practice squad was a man short after Dallas brought up G Ryan Seymore the week prior to the Eagles game.

 

Anyone wanting an update on Cowboys 2016 2nd round draft pick Jaylon Smith has come to the right place. Smith spoke to reporters for the first time in a long time yesterday and he gave the Cowboys and fans great news. Smith said his rehab is going well and he is fully recovered from the torn ACL and MCL he suffered in last January's Fiesta Bowl against Ohio State while he was with Notre Dame. The real hold up with his rehab was been the wait for when the damaged peroneal nerve, which affects the ankle and foot area, was damaged as well. When the nerve doesn't fire it causes a condition call "drop foot" which basically means he can't flex his foot without the aid of a brace. Smith indicated that he has feeling from the nerve in his foot but it isn't firing as it would if totally healthy and he still needs the brace to walk or run. He has been under the constant watchful eyes of the Cowboys training staff and he is maybe not-so-patiently waiting for the nerve in his foot to begin firing as it will when he's fully healthy. Even when he was drafted this past April the prognosis was that Smith would not be fully healed until around May of 2017. He's been at the Cowboys training facility every day this season rehabbing his knee and foot just waiting for the nerve to wake up and fire. He has done so well that Smith said he recently ran a 4.5 - 40 yard dash which is awesome for a guy who needs a brace on his foot just to walk. Smith told reporters that he could go play today if he needed to. That is no failing of Smith, who is so optimistic about everything, but he hasn't had a moment of football practice since he was injured just over a year ago. He may be feeling like he can play but, realistically, he not. It sure gives fans high hopes for next season though, doesn't it?

 

On the same day the Cowboys got such good news about Jaylon Smith he got kicked in the groin about another piece of news. The NFL league office made a decision about Randy Gregory's appeal of his 4th substance abuse violation didn't go well. In fact, it was denied which means that RG will miss one year, presumably from January 5, 2017 through January 4th 2018. Listening to a Cowboys podcast, The Cowboys Break, the panel on the show couldn't say for sure if Gregory failed a drug test or just failed to show up for a scheduled drug test. If he failed the drug test, to heck with him, no other place of business gives employees 4 chances to mess up and still be employed. If he missed a scheduled drug test it is possible he missed it because he was in rehab which, to me, should have been a reason that could be accepted as reasonable since he was actively trying to get himself help from the causes why he was in the NFL drug abuse program anyway. Too bad for Gregory who really showed a real spark during the one game he was available to play for the Cowboys.

 

5 Cowboys have been selected for the All Pro honors by votes from members of the Associated Press. The players selected are chronicled below in the link to the article from DallasCowboys.com. One of the guys who made it was snubbed by the Pro Bowl balloting which raised quite a lot of ire from the guys at the Star in Frisco and that guy is LB Sean Lee. It's good that the sportswriters from the AP recognized just how good Lee has been this season because they are not wrong. Here's a link to the article from DallasCowboys.com listing the 5 players from the Cowboys selected for All Pro honors. It's significant to note that between the Pro Bowl and All Pro honors being All Pro is the far more prestigious of the two. Good for Sean Lee.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2017/01/06/despite-pro-bowl-snub-lee-among-5-cowboys-earn-first-team-all-pro

This past week DallasCowboys.com began a series titled, "Finish This Fight". It is an eleven part series featuring members of the Cowboys roster who tell their own story of how they came to be a Dallas Cowboy and what the team means to them. The videos last around 3 minutes and they are pretty good. Today I am giving you guys the link to the "Finish This Fight" home page. The first 3 episodes feature, in order, Tyron Smith, Morris Claiborne and Dak Prescott but they are listed in the most recent backward so Dak's story is first while Smith's is last. The page also features a brief paragraph of what the accompanying video is about. I hope you enjoy the series because it really is entertaining and it shows that while these players have a dream job the road to get there wasn't exactly a cake-walk.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/FinishThisFight

 

One more Finish This Fight video is linked below as it hasn't been added to the FTF home page above. This one is about former linebacker and current Cowboys fullback Keith Smith. IMO this is the best one yet in the series.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/multimedia/videos

The Cowboys are playing the Packers. We all know that but you might not respect the Packers as the threat they have become since Dallas beat them 30-16 three months ago. The Packers defense is better and the Packers offense is definitely better. You might have some hope since there is a chance Jordy Nelson won’t play. You might have some hope since RB/WR Ty Montgomery had to be helped off the field with some sort of leg injury. Trouble was a possession later Montgomery was back in the lineup. There is no mention of him on the injury report from NFL.com.

 

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000771996/article/injuries-justin-houston-spencer-ware-in-good-shape

 

The Cowboys have 5 days until they play the Packers and come 3:30 this Sunday I will be a nervous wreck. We will already know if the Texans could pull off the upset of the new millennium by beating the Patriots in Foxborough so that bit of stress will be out of the way. I honestly may have to watch that game by myself because I may not be fit to be around civilized people especially if things don’t go well for Dallas. I am excited as heck for the Cowboys to be in the playoffs but I’m not sure my heart can stand the strain.

 

The Cowboys website continues with the #FinishThisFight series profiling players who have had to fight to overcome adversity to be where they are right now. The latest additions to the series are about Lance Dunbar and Sean Lee. I think the Sean Lee piece is my favorite of the series so far. This link will take you to the FinishThis Fight page on DallasCowboys.com and it features all the completed videos with the latest addition at the top down to the first video at the bottom. If you haven’t seen this video series before, it’s really pretty good. None of the videos is over 3 minutes long but each has its own powerful message.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/FinishThisFight

 

DallasCowboys.com’s Bryan Broaddus, in his Scout’s Eye feature breaks down some plays from the Packers win over the Giants last Sunday in an attempt to give us fans a taste of what challenges await this Cowboys defense this coming Sunday. The article also includes video of the plays Broaddus is explaining which helps in the understanding of what he’s saying.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2017/01/09/scout%E2%80%99s-eye-plenty-study-green-bay%E2%80%99s-wildcard-win-over-giants

 

Finally, DallasCowboys.com’s Nick Eatman takes a look at the fact that the Packers are a better team since Dallas beat them way back in October and he give 5 reasons why the Cowboys are better too.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2017/01/09/eatman-sure-packers-are-better-now-here%E2%80%99s-5-reasons-why-cowboys-are-too

Who am I to tell you how emotionally invested you should be in the Cowboy season. Me, it's a freakin game. Win or lose, I'm not going to lose any sleep over it. Having said that, The Cowboys are not going to lose Sunday. The reason I feel this way is the Cowboys can run the ball on GB. The run sets up the pass. The Dallas D has been playing beyond expectations all year and they will be at full strength and rested. Dallas wins.

The most important game of the season is today. Minutes away as a matter of fact. Words are unnecessary at this point so I'll get to it. I think this will end up being a shootout but Dallas' defense has surprised all season and they will be the difference if Dallas can prevail. I'm nervous as a snake-bit cat because I just don't know how this game is going to turn out. So I will just go homer on this prediction.

 

Dallas 34 Green Bay 31

 

The game has started and Dallas has the first possession and things are looking good early. Fingers crossed? Mine are. Here we go!

So here we are in the offseason. As Cowboys fans we didn’t expect to be here thinking about all these offseason things like the Senior Bowl or the NFL Scouting Combine or free agents, our own and those who might be available with the free agency period begins in March. There are only two teams who haven’t morphed into offseason mode yet and they are the Falcons and Patriots. They don’t begin their offseason until the final gun of Super Bowl LI in Houston on Sunday February 5th. We all wish it could be Dallas as one of the final two teams but we can take some consolation that the Falcons probably would have beaten Dallas anyway had Dallas squeaked by Green Bay. Atlanta is just the best overall team in the NFC and even though we Cowboys fans are loathe to admit it, deep down we know it’s true. So suck it up brethren, it’s time to move on.

 

Last week I posted the list of 20 unrestricted free agents the Cowboys will need to decide if they want to resign them, let them go or let them test the free agent market and then negotiate a deal. Here is the list of those 20 URFA’s and my opinion on what the Cowboys should do.

 

QB Kellen Moore – I’d sign him and we know the Cowboys coaches like him but they can still keep an eye out for a veteran free agent.

 

QB Mark Sanchez – I’d let him go. He looked terrible in the 2-1/2 quarters he played against Philly in the season finale and the boat just sailed on this guy.

 

RB Lance Dunbar – Oft hurt and really made no lasting impact. You can get better in the draft.

 

RB Darren McFadden – To have a 1,000 yard rusher backing up Zeke? For the right price I resign him.

 

WR Brice Butler – Let him go. He is the fastest runner in the receiving corps but he drops way too many passes to trust him.

 

WR Terrance Williams – I like Terrence. He’s made some nice catches but he’s a no-show way too much of the time.

 

TE Gavin Escobar – Let him go. He’s had 4 years to prove he could be something and all he’s done is prove he needs to find another job.

 

G Jonathan Cooper – Former first round pick of the Arizona Cardinals could be yet another 1st rounder on the O-line. At the right price I sign him for depth.

 

G Ronald Leary – Both years Leary has started, in 2014 and 2016, the O-line has dominated especially in the run game. I would love to see Dallas resign him—at the right price.

 

DT Richard Ash – Let him go.

 

DT Jack Crawford – I might sign him for the right price but Dallas can get better in the draft.

 

DE Ryan Davis – A guy that just can’t stay healthy. Let him go.

 

DT Terrell McClain – He was probably the best interior lineman on the team this past season. I would resign him if it’s the right price.

 

LB Andrew Gachkar – Good special teams guy but nothing special as a player. Let him go.

 

LB Justin Durant – Very valuable and if he got the right price tag I’d resign him.

 

LB Rolando McClain – That’s funny. Rolando Who?

 

CB Brandon Carrs – How can you let a guy who has never missed a game as a pro go especially when he played as well as he did. I would look to sign him.

 

S Barry Church – The defense is just better when he’s on the field and he has a great pairing with Byron Jones. Sign him.

 

CB Morris Claiborne – I’m sorry Mo, but you just can’t stay healthy. Mo isn’t really a bust as a sixth pick in the draft he has just been unlucky as hell health-wise.

 

S J.J. Wilcox – This guy seem to have a light go on in offseason prior to the 2016 season and he played way above expectations. This is the one guy on the list who I would let test free agency and let the market set the price for him.