Tag: Dallas Cowboys (Page 14 of 62)

      Roy Williams says Jon Kitna just as good as Tony Romo

      October 26, 2010 /
      ARLINGTON, TX - OCTOBER 25: Quarterback Jon Kitna of the Dallas Cowboys drops back to pass against the New York Giants in the second quarter at Cowboys Stadium on October 25, 2010 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

      It’s hard to fault Roy Williams for trying to put a positive spin on a bleak situation. His team fell to 1-5 with their embarrassing loss to the Giants on Monday night and he watched as starting quarterback Tony Romo went down with a serious shoulder injury.

      The latest on Romo is that he’ll miss 6-8 weeks, although he won’t need surgery. That means backup Jon Kitna will start for Dallas and according to Williams, the 38-year-old journeyman is just as good as Romo.

      From the Detroit Free Press:

      “Tony is our starter, but Jon is just as good,” Williams told the Dallas Morning News. “We are going to work this week in practice so we can get the timing down with the receivers. But I have complete faith in him. I have played with him for three years and I know how good he is.”

      Although he hasn’t played in over a year, Kitna can be a serviceable starter. He’s a true leader and he demands the best from those around him. He’s not a quiet leader; he wears his emotions on his sleeve and he won’t go down without a fight.

      That said, he’s very limited and while Williams was just trying to be positive, Kitna isn’t Romo. He has zero mobility, he folds under pressure and his decision-making during close games comes into question more times than not. This isn’t a guy you want at the helm when you need a big throw late in games and considering how bad the Cowboys’ defense has played the past couple of weeks, this will probably be a team that is trailing more times than not from here on out.

      If Wade Phillips’ defense was playing at the top of its game, then the Cowboys might be able to get by with Kitna. But they’ve already put themselves in a 1-5 hole so a rebound at this point appears to be out of the question.

      The Cowboys have a huge mess on their hands.

      External Sports, NFL

      Thanks to Romo’s injury, defense, Cowboys can essentially kiss 2010 season goodbye

      October 26, 2010 /
      ARLINGTON, TX - OCTOBER 25: Quarterback Tony Romo of the Dallas Cowboys lies on the field after a left shoulder injury in the second quarter against the New York Giants at Cowboys Stadium on October 25, 2010 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

      It’s usually not wise to pronounce a team’s playoff chances dead after only seven weeks. But an exception can be made for the 2010 Cowboys.

      Tony Romo broke his left clavicle in an embarrassing 41-35 loss to the Giants at home on Monday night. As of this writing there hasn’t been a timetable given for his return, but it’s estimated that he’ll miss anywhere from six to 10 weeks, which means the 1-5 Cowboys can essentially put a bullet in their season.

      Jon Kitna did throw for 187 yards and two touchdowns while subbing for Romo, but after the Giants took a 38-20 lead midway through the third quarter it was evident that the game was well in hand. The ‘Boys scored on a 15-yard Dez Bryant touchdown with 40 seconds remaining to cut the Giants’ lead down to six, but New York dominated the game once Romo left early in the second quarter.

      It’s hard to imagine a scenario in which Wade Phillips keeps his job. He’s come under fire for many things over the past few years but the one caveat is that his defensive game plans are usually sound. But the Cowboys’ defensive effort on Monday was atrocious.

      They were left on the field for long periods of time, but as a defense you still have to tackle. You still have to find ways to generate a pass rush and you can’t allow 497 total yards – 200 of which coming on the ground. The Cowboys did pick Eli Manning off three times, but he completed 25-of-35 passes for 306 yards and four touchdowns and at one point he completed 18 of his 21 pass attempts. With how easy it was to find space in Dallas’ secondary, receivers Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham must have thought that they were lining up against their scout team.

      The Cowboys faced an uphill climb when Romo was healthy but now that he’s going to miss a big chunk of the season, it’s safe to say that the Cowboys aren’t realistic playoff contenders. The Giants are light years better right now and we’re talking about a team that turned the ball over five times on Monday. I can’t imagine what the score would have been had the Giants not given the Cowboys’ scoring chances throughout the game.

      The Cowboys suffered a tough break when Romo went out, but there’s no excuse for how the defense played tonight. Phillips and company are in for a long rest of the season.

      External Sports, NFL

      NFL Week 6 MVP, COY and ROY Power Rankings

      October 24, 2010 /

      Every week we have different candidates here, because the 2010 NFL season has been wacky. And that’s okay, as it makes ranking MVP, Coach of the Year and Rookie of the Year candidates more fun. Anyway, here we go….

      MVP Power Rankings

      1. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts—Okay, so Philip Rivers and Kyle Orton have more yards per game, but they play for 2-4 teams. Manning’s Colts are 4-2, and check out these numbers through six games—1916 yards, 67.3 completion percentage, 319.3 yards per game, 13 touchdowns (leads NFL) and just 2 interceptions, for a QB rating of 103.4. As usual, Manning sort of defines what the term MVP is all about.

      2. Clay Matthews, Green Bay Packers—I heard someone on NFL Network the other day call Matthews the “best defensive player in the NFL.” Not bad for a linebacker in his second year, who was selected after 25 other players in the 2009 draft. Anyway, Matthews has 9 sacks to lead the NFL, and 21 tackles through five games…and the Packers sorely missed him last Sunday in a loss to Miami when Matthews sat out with a hamstring injury.

      3. Antonio Gates, San Diego Chargers—We’re leaving Antonio on here this week because he left the game against the Rams last Sunday with an ankle injury, leaving Philip Rivers without his favorite target. And then the Chargers lost the game. To the Rams. Gates only had 2 catches for 12 yards in that one, but on the season he still has 31 receptions for 490 yards and 7 TDs (which leads all tight ends and receivers).

      Honorable mention: Michael Vick, Philadelphia Eagles (thanks to Kevin Kolb’s performance last Sunday, Vick got bumped off the list); LaDainian Tomlinson, New York Jets; Brandon Lloyd, Denver Broncos; Kyle Orton, Denver Broncos; Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers; Osi Umenyiora, New York Giants; Arian Foster, Houston Texans

      Coach of the Year Power Rankings

      1. Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers—If you start the season without your star quarterback for four games, and have the likes of Charlie Batch, Dennis Dixon, and Byron Leftwich at the helm, coming out of that 2-2 would be a huge moral victory. Well, Tomlin came out of that stretch 3-1 and it could have been 4-0 if not for that last-gasp drive by Joe Flacco and the Ravens a few weeks ago. Of course, the D led by a healthy Troy Polamalu and hard-hitting-to-a-fault James Harrison, has helped, but let’s give Tomlin some huge and well-deserved props here.

      2. Steve Spagnuolo, St. Louis Rams—Has anyone noticed that the Rams are 3-3, having already equaled their win total from 2008 and 2009 combined. And they’re giving up less than 19 points per game after allowing 27 per game last year—something that has much to do with the Rams’ defensive whiz of a coach.

      3. Tom Coughlin, New York Giants—How do you go from the scorching hot hot seat to a coach of the year nomination? Ask Tom Coughlin, who the New York media had being replaced by Bill Cowher a few weeks ago when they lost badly to the Colts, and then beat themselves badly in a loss the Titans at home. The Giants rallied around Coughlin and squashed the previously unbeaten Bears, then crushed the upstart Texans in Houston 34-10, before not allowing the dreaded trap game against Detroit ruin his team’s winning streak. So from 1-2 to 4-2, and tied with the Eagles for the division lead. That’s why Tom Coughlin is on here.

      Honorable mention: Pete Carroll, Seattle Seahawks; Raheem Morris, Tampa Bay Bucs; Todd Haley, Kansas City Chiefs; Rex Ryan, New York Jets; Andy Reid, Philadelphia Eagles

      Rookie of the Year Power Rankings

      1. Ndamukong Suh, Detroit Lions—Suh leads all NFL defensive tackles with 5 sacks, and he also has 21 tackles through six games, plus an interception—a pretty rare feat for a DT. Is there any doubt that this young big man is the real deal?

      2. Jahvid Best, Detroit Lions—Injury may have slowed Best down, but how about the fact that to go along with 249 rushing yards, Best has 31 catches for a league-high 285 receiving yards among running backs. That’s 534 all-purpose yards through six games.

      3. Sam Bradford, St. Louis Rams—He’s way down the list of quarterbacks stat-wise, but Bradford is averaging 226 yards per game and has 7 TD passes. We’ll let the 8 picks slide for now, because let’s face it—the kid is helping to lead the Rams to respectability.

      Honorable mention: Max Hall, Arizona Cardinals; Rolando McClain, Oakland Raiders; Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys; Jermaine Gresham, Cincinnati Bengals

      External Sports, NFL

      Losing is a collective effort now for Cowboys

      October 18, 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)

      Jerry Jones said Monday that he wouldn’t fire Wade Phillips during the season. He didn’t say whether or not he’d fire him a millisecond after the season, just that he wouldn’t give him the boot during the season.

      This may displease Dallas fans, but why should Jones fire him? Phillips isn’t the only reason the Cowboys are 1-4, nor is he even the main reason.

      The Cowboys racked up double-digit penalties in their loss to the Vikings on Sunday. They did the same thing in their loss to Tennessee two weeks ago and are now tied with Detroit as the most penalized team in the NFL.

      Is that on coaching or the players? Before you answer “coaching,” remember that Phillips made it a point of emphasis to his players after Marc Colombo was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct in the loss to the Titans not to jeopardize the team by making stupid mistakes. And yet there was Miles Austin on Sunday, leapfrogging over Roy Williams in celebration over Williams’ touchdown in the first quarter. Austin was also penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct and although the penalty didn’t lead to a score for the opposition like Columbo’s did, it still put the ‘Boys in bad position.

      The penalty is a reminder that not everything is Phillips’ fault in Dallas. He didn’t leapfrog over Williams – Austin did. Those kinds of penalties are on the individual – not the Cowboys’ coaching staff.

      That said, Phillips and his crew don’t escape criticism here. When Tony Romo threw that horrendous interception to E.J. Henderson with under three minutes to play on Sunday, Marion Barber was 5-for-5 picking up first downs at that point. Yet with his team facing a 3rd-and-2 from the Dallas 22-yard line, offensive coordinator Jason Garrett called a pass play and the result was disastrous. He did the same thing earlier in the game from practically the same spot on the field and Romo threw an interception then, too.

      Garrett also out-thought himself at the beginning of the game when he ran Barber three straight times to pick up an easy first down on the Cowboys’ first possession, then called three straight passing plays which netted a punt. I know Minnesota’s claim to fame defensively is stopping the run, but for the love of foghorns, Jason, keep the ball on the ground if it’s working.

      But this is what the Cowboys do every week now. The players shoot themselves in the foot with dumb penalties while the coaching staff either fails to make the proper adjustments or winds up out-guessing itself. It’s a sick cycle right now and one that is sure to continue unless Phillips, the players or Jones does something about it.

      Something has to give in Dallas.

      External Sports, NFL

      Darius Rucker has an End Zone Obsession…and he’d like to share it with you

      October 5, 2010 /

      Not that there aren’t already plenty of places on the World Wide Web where you can go to make weekly football picks, but if you’re one of the millions of people who have owned and loved Hootie and the Blowfish’s album Cracked Rear View, then it might just behoove you to offer a cursory click onto Darius Rucker’s End Zone Obsession.*

      End Zone Obsession originated out of an attempt by Rucker and his “people” to figure out a more exciting way to interact with his fans, and when the talk turned to football, Rucker knew they’d hit on an idea that had serious potential. Soon, web designers were hard at work, putting together an easy-to-use site that would allow Rucker and his fans to pick the winners and losers for each week of the NFL season.

      “People have been challenging me, and I’ve pretty much accepted every challenge,” said Rucker. “Last week, everybody was talking trash before the weekend, and then I won, ‘cause I picked every game right. So I was on this morning, doing the trash-talking. I’m telling them, ‘Guess you’ve got to do better next week!’”

      As Rucker is a diehard Miami fan, this interview obviously took place prior to the Dolphins having been blown out of the water by the Patriots, but it’s not as though his tune will have changed as a result. Clearly, it’s far too late for that now…

      * Rucker officially became a Miami Dolphins fan on January 16, 1972. “The Dolphins are playing the Cowboys in the Super Bowl, and I’m in the house with all my cousins. My two aunts are there. There’s, like, 14 kids, and every kid in there, everybody in my whole family, is pulling for the Cowboys. I decided that day that I was pulling for the Dolphins…and I remember crying when the Dolphins lost at the end. But the next year, I started playing little league football, and ever since then I’ve loved the game.”

      * He has a piece of swag that would make any Dolphins fan drool. “The very first Miami Dolphins game I ever got to go to, it was a Monday night game against the Steelers back in ’94, and I got to sing the National Anthem. After that game, Dan Marino took his jersey off and gave it to his assistant and had it framed for me, and that is my favorite piece of paraphernalia that I got. I’ve lived in my house for 12 years, and my decorator laughed at me when I moved in, because that jersey was up in the house before anything else could enter.”

      * There has only ever been one occasion when his devotion to Miami has wavered. “When I heard that Dave Wannstedt told Dan Marino that he thought that he had a better chance to win with Jay Fiedler than him, I really thought about switching my alliances, because I thought we had the dumbest coach that had ever coached a game of football.”

      Given Rucker’s dedication to the Dolphins, he’s not afraid to admit that you can always count on him to make the same selection on End Zone Obsession week after week after week.

      “I’m talking to my assistant yesterday, I’m making my picks, and he goes, ‘What do you think about the Dolphins game?’ And I said, ‘Dude, I’m picking the Dolphins sixteen times in a row.’ I can guarantee you that. I’ll be picking the Dolphins sixteen times in a row. And it’s not, like, I’m thinking in my heart, ‘Oh, well, I’ve got to pick the Dolphins.’ I truly believe they’re going to win.”

      * For the record, yes, we do know that Rucker has not only continued to record well beyond Hootie’s aforementioned 1994 album but, indeed, has been shifting mass country-music units for the past several years as a solo artist, thanks to such hit singles as “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It,” “It Won’t Be Like This for Long, and “Alright.” But, damn, man, Cracked Rear View went platinum sixteen times over. I think that still warrants being cited as his predominant accomplishment, don’t you?

      Bullz-Eye Sports Channel, Interviews, News, NFL, Super Bowl

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