Tag: Dallas Cowboys (Page 12 of 62)

      Cowboys smoke Giants in Jason Garrett’s debut

      November 14, 2010 /

      Jerry Jones would have fired Wade Phillips a month ago if he knew the Cowboys would have played as well all season under Jason Garrett as they did in New York on Sunday.

      The Cowboys routed the Giants 33-20 in Garrett’s debut. Even though Dallas’ win was only by a 13-point margin, I use the term “routed” because many believed that this New York team was the best in the NFC coming into this game. (Not to mention the Cowboys have looked like an utter train wreck for most of the season.)

      There really was no secret to how the Cowboys dismantled the Giants: they stayed balanced offensively, they won the turnover battle and they produced some big plays. The Giants turned the ball over three times, including once at the goal line as Bryan McCann picked off Eli Manning and returned the gift 101 yards for a touchdown. It was the longest interception return for a score in franchise history for the Cowboys.

      Jon Kitna, who clearly located a genie sometime this week and cashed in one of his three wishes, threw for 327 yards and three touchdowns. Rookie Dez Bryant caught three passes for 104 yards and a score, while Felix Jones (who saw a lot of playing time after Marion Barber was benched) caught three passes for 85 yards and one touchdown.

      Outside of Mario Manningham (10 receptions, 91 yards, 1 TD), it was a day the Giants would like to forget. Dallas punched them in the mouth from the opening bell and New York had no response. They tried to make it close at the end, but a Hakeen Nicks touchdown was wiped off the board because of a holding penalty and then Manning turned the ball over twice on the Giants’ next two possessions to ice the game for the Cowboys. (Although a botched snap was part of the blame for one of Manning’s turnovers.)

      It’s not completely shocking that a divisional rival was able to walk into the New Meadowlands (a dark New Meadowlands at that, as the stadium suffered a couple of power outages during the game) and beat the Giants. What’s shocking is that the divisional rival was a Dallas team that had just fired its head coach earlier in the week and had played like crap in its previous three games. If I’m Tom Coughlin, I don’t even watch the reply from this loss. Just pitch the tape in the trash and look ahead to next week.

      External Sports, NFL

      NFL Week 9 ROY power rankings

      November 14, 2010 /

      We know they have offensive and defensive rookie awards, but let’s lump them together for our purposes.

      1. Ndamukong Suh, Detroit Lions—Not only has he anchored Detroit’s D-line, but the dude can attempt (and almost make) extra points too?

      2. Sam Bradford, St. Louis Rams—With that number 8, reminds some folks of Troy Aikman, and leads on the field even as a rookie.

      3. Mike Williams, Tampa Bay Bucs—On pace for 72 catches, 1112 yards and 10 TDs. As a ROOKIE.

      4. Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys—You won’t find a brighter spot on an abysmal team right now, and he’s a game changer.

      5. Jahvid Best, Detroit Lions—Finally the Lions are making smart draft picks.

      6. Colt McCoy, Cleveland Browns—He’s actually led the Browns to two wins in a row against Super Bowl contenders.

      7. Jermaine Gresham, Cincinnati Bengals—The Bengals haven’t had a relevant tight end like this in years

      8. Earl Thomas, Seattle Seahawks—Through a half-season, 4 interceptions and 39 tackles. This is shades of Jairus Byrd last year.

      9. Eric Berry, Kansas City Chiefs—2 sacks, 2 picks, 45 tackles—and solidifying a much improved defense

      10. Dexter McCluster, Kansas City Chiefs—Averaging an astounding 20.9 yards on punt returns with one TD, and probably more to follow

      External Sports, NFL

      Firing Phillips the right decision for Cowboys

      November 8, 2010 /

      Whether it’s Wade Phillips or Jason Garrett that finishes out the rest of the season as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, the team isn’t going to the playoffs. But Jerry Jones’ decision to fire Phillips on Monday isn’t about making the playoffs.

      Jones needed to send a message to those that will be around past this year that the lack of effort and execution that the Cowboys have displayed this year won’t be tolerated. Not all of the team’s problems are because of Phillips, but the head coach is always the first one on the chopping block when things fall apart.

      You always hear about how Phillips is a players’ coach, but most of his players stopped playing for him weeks ago. I don’t think there’s any question that Phillips can coach in this league, but obviously the players stopped responding to his methods and Jones had no choice but to let him go after the embarrassing 45-7 loss in Green Bay on Sunday night.

      Without Tony Romo, Garrett’s chances of succeeding are fairly slim. But he won’t be measured on wins and losses over the next eight weeks – he’ll be measured on how the players respond. If they quit on him like they quit on Phillips, then Garrett may be searching for a job after the season as well.

      Bill Cowher and Jon Gruden’s names will be brought up repeatedly over the next two months in connection with the Dallas job, but consider this: No head coach has ever won the Super Bowl with his second team. Bill Parcells (Giants/Patriots), Dan Reeves (Broncos/Falcons) and Mike Holmgren (Packers/Seahawks) all got close, but they couldn’t pull the feat off. That’s not to say that Cowher or Gruden would be bad choices to replace Phillips, but Jones needs to at least consider bringing in someone fresh.

      It’ll be interesting to see not only whom Dallas hires at the end of the season, but also whether or not Phillips will get another head coaching job next year. He may have to settle for a defensive coordinator position after what transpired with the Cowboys this season.

      External Sports, NFL

      Jerry Jones to meet with coaching staff; Wade Phillips not at Valley Ranch

      November 8, 2010 /

      Jerry Jones wants to meet with his coaching staff Monday afternoon following an embarrassing loss to the Packers on Sunday night. It’s unclear at this point if he plans to fire head coach Wade Phillips, who has yet to show up to Valley Ranch on Monday according to ESPN.com.

      If you’re an NFL betting man, you’re putting your money on “Canning -600.” After the ‘Boys lost to the Jaguars and Packers the past two weeks, one would think that things couldn’t get much worse in Dallas. But seeing how disinterested the players were in Green Bay on Sunday night, it stands to reason that things could get much, much worse.

      As I wrote following the game, it’s time for Jones to jettison Phillips and go in another direction. Jason Garrett certainly hasn’t done anything to deserve a promotion but why not see what he’s got over the final two months of the season? If you’re Jones, why continue to put yourself and your fan base through this nightmare when you don’t have to? Phillips may be a great guy, but his players have quit on him.

      And you know what? Maybe he’s quit, too. Nobody likes to be criticized and not all of the Cowboys’ issues can be pinned on Phillips. There’s only so much he can do before he has to trust that the players will step up and execute. But there’s probably part of him that just says, “Let’s get this thing over with already – I’m tired of waiting for the axe to fall.”

      Stay tuned – this will be a story all week.

      External Sports, NFL

      Wade Phillips must go

      November 8, 2010 /
      ARLINGTON, TX - SEPTEMBER 19: Head coach Wade Phillips of the Dallas Cowboys reacts during a 27-20 loss against the Chicago Bears at Cowboys Stadium on September 19, 2010 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

      The Packers showed up to Lambeau Field on Sunday night and to their surprise, it was “Free Win Night” at the stadium.

      I hear the Giants have the same promotion schedule for next Sunday in East Rutherford.

      Pathetic, unmotivated, horrendous, brutal, horrible, terrible – they all work when describing the 2010 Dallas Cowboys. They don’t tackle, they don’t block, and they sure as hell don’t care. They’re laughingstock of the NFL right now.

      And losing Tony Romo isn’t an excuse. Jon Kitna is useless but he doesn’t play defense. He doesn’t stand in the backfield and allow blitzing linebackers to have a free shot on the quarterback. He’s a part of the nightmare in Dallas but a small one at that.

      So is Wade Phillips for that matter. What do you want Phillips to do? He has a roster full of players that are clearly only interested in picking up a paycheck every two weeks, so do you want him to hop up and down? Scream and yell? Do the rah-rah speech? That’s not his style and it never has been. The only thing he can do is go about his daily routine until Jerry Jones says, “Hey Wade, we need to talk. Come into my office…now.”

      Which should be soon, by the way. After the Cowboys were destroyed 45-7 by the aforementioned Packers on Sunday Night Football, there’s no way Jones can retain Phillips for another week, day, minute or second. The big picture (making the playoffs) has been destroyed, but Jones might as well see what he has in Jason Garrett. Garrett has completely lost whatever touch he had as a playcaller, but what the hell – Jones is paying him top dollar so he might as well see what the redhead can do over the next eight weeks.

      I hate to see anyone lose their job but this is a performance-based business and the Cowboys ain’t performing. I’m sure Jones would like to jettison a handful of players as well, but he has to start with the head coach first. Phillips is done; what more is there to see?

      As for the Packers, this was a great win (especially with how banged up this team is) but it’s hard to talk them up given how unmotivated the Cowboys were. That’s not the Packers’ fault, of course, and I’m not taking anything away from their truly dominating performance. But I’m not going to sit here and tickle their balls after the sewer water the Cowboys just made us swallow.

      Still, despite all of their injuries, the last two weeks have reaffirmed that the Packers’ Super Bowl hopes have not been dashed.

      External Sports, NFL

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