Tag: Dallas Cowboys (Page 40 of 62)

New Bang! cartoon: Drops in the Bucket

The Washington Redskins have had a go of things since jumping out to a 6-2 start. They thought they would be prepping for the playoffs right now but instead, they’re just clinging onto hope that they can finish the season on a high note. The guys at Bang! Cartoons document the Skins’ collapse in their latest cartoon, as well as having the lowdown on Ed Werder’s new book.

If you like Bang! Cartoons, check out their latest podcast.

Galloway: Jerry Jones should fire himself

Following their 33-24 loss to the Baltimore Ravens Saturday night in Dallas, Star-Telegram columnist Randy Galloway writes that Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones should fire himself.

Wade PhillipsThen again, Jerry Jones is the dumbest general manager in the history of football, and there he was, postgame on Saturday, proclaiming he has no plans, no matter what, to fire Wade. See, it’s real hard to find good puppets these days.

But please remember that much has changed in the 11 barren postseason years, including five head coaches.

The one and only survivor of this Titanic?

Our captain of the ship, general manager Jones. Why won’t this failure fire himself? No other GM in the league could survive this kind of ineptness, unless, of course, the team owner was in a coma. Now there’s a thought.

Not once, but twice, when Romo had cut the Ravens lead to two points in the last four minutes, the defense caved like a sand tunnel at high tide. Pathetic.

Any defensive coordinator should be fired on the spot. That’s you, right Wade?

Phillips had a run blitz called when Willis McGahee burst up the middle, untouched, for a 77-yard touchdown.

Phillips had a run blitz called when lumbering Le’Ron McClain started outside, broke a tackle at the line of scrimmage, broke two more five yards later, and then just kept running. He stopped in the end zone, 82 yards later.

The comeback was over. The season is all but over. And Wade should be over and out. But Jerry is, as always, football stupid. Nothing can ever change that.

I realize Phillips will take the heat because it was him who made the defensive play calls in the fourth quarter that eventually sunk the Cowboys. But it’s not Wade’s fault that multiple players missed multiple tackles on those two plays. All coaches can do is put their players in position to succeed and then it’s up to the players to execute.

That said, it’s hard to argue with Galloway that something has to be done with Phillips and/or Jones. This Dallas team is on the verge of missing the postseason despite having some of the best talent in the NFC. Somebody has to be held accountable.

Will off-field distractions eventually sink Cowboys?

Terrell OwensAt some point it has to happen, right? At some point all of this nonsense that was created by Terrell Owens a week ago has to catch up with the Dallas Cowboys, right?

As Dallas gets set to take on the Baltimore Ravens tonight, there seems to be a cloud hanging over Valley Ranch just ready to unleash a bolt of lighting and destroy the Cowboys’ season in a moments notice. And while everything looked just peachy in a 20-8 victory over the Giants last week, I’m not buying that things have completely smoothed out for Owens, Tony Romo, Jason Witten, Wade Phillips and everyone else that dons a big star logo on their clothing appeal these days.

First and foremost, everything is always great among teammates when they win. So it was no surprise to see Owens, Romo and Witten all smiles at the end of the Cowboys-Giants game last week, because Dallas won. Problems seem to get pushed off to the side rather quickly when everything is copasetic on the field.

But what has to worry Cowboy fans is that eventually, off-field issues rise to the surface at some point. And one has to wonder if some point is tonight.

The Ravens have a nasty taste in their mouths after losing at home to the Steelers last week when they essentially had a victory locked up. Ben Rothlisberger and the Pittsburgh offense had done virtually nothing until their final drive of the game, yet they made plays when it mattered most and pulled victory out of the jaws of defeat. Now Baltimore’s playoff hopes remain in flux, but a win over Dallas would go a long way in solving that issue.

If things start going array for the ‘Boys tonight, can they hold everything together? Or will Owens start complaining that he’s not getting the ball enough? And will Romo start turning the ball over again like he has a penchant for doing when the Cowboys are losing? Or will Jason Garrett have an answer for the Ravens’ stout defense if his offense isn’t clicking? (Especially if Marion Barber doesn’t play or cannot be effective with an injured toe and calf.)

Many purists think the Cowboys are back on track after their impressive victory over the Giants last week. They can’t stop writing about how Phillips has fixed the defense and how the trio of Owens, Romo and Witten are all best friends now. Hey, maybe they’re right. Or maybe the win over New York just kept the issues at bay for a week. Either way, we’ll find out very soon what kind of team Dallas is made out of because a win would go a long way in proving that this team is what many people thought they would be at the start of the year: A Super Bowl contender.

NFL Week 16 Primer Early Games

Here’s a quick Week 16 preview for all of the early games with playoff implications in the NFL this week:

Joe FlaccoRavens at Cowboys, 8:15PM ET Saturday NFL Network
It’s a shame that only four people will have the opportunity to see this game Saturday night due to the broadcast being on NFL Network. It appears that Marion Barber will play again this week but he doesn’t have a great matchup against a stout Baltimore defense. The Ravens will continue to pound the ball on the ground and keep rookie quarterback Joe Flacco protected, which was one thing the Giants failed to do last week for Eli Manning when they gave up eight sacks in a loss to Dallas. The Cowboys are playing their best defense of the season right now but will all of their off-field issues eventually catch up to them? Can Terrell Owens behave? Will Tony Romo hold this team together?

Steelers at Titans, 1:00PM ET, CBS
Home field advantage in the AFC is on the line in this game, but Tennessee is in trouble. Not only are the Titans coming off a loss, but they also lost DT Albert Haynesworth for the season and managed to score just 12 points on the suddenly hot Houston Texans last Sunday. The Steelers, meanwhile, continue to play the best defense of any team in the NFL and while they still have of a fair amount of issues on the offensive side of the ball, they appear to be the team to beat in the NFL right now. We’ll find out a lot about both teams this Sunday in a game that should be a massive defensive struggle.

Cardinals at Patriots, 1:00PM ET FOX
New England is currently locked in a three-way tie in the AFC East although a win over Arizona would go a long way in earning a division crown because they wrap up the season against the hapless Bills next week. The Cardinals might have won the NFC West two weeks ago, but at 8-6 they don’t look like a team ready for the postseason. They have yet to beat a quality opponent on the road and their defense looked disastrous last week in allowing the Vikings’ Tarvaris Jackson to throw four touchdown passes and Adrian Peterson to do whatever he wanted on the ground. If they hope to get any momentum before the playoffs, the Cards might want to start with a win this Sunday in Foxboro. But that might be tough to do against a Patriots team on a mission.

Chargers at Buccaneers, 1:00PM ET CBS
The Broncos have kept the Chargers in the playoff mix but San Diego’s hopes are hanging by a thread. One more loss or a Denver win and they would officially be eliminated. Tampa Bay is coming off two straight losses to divisional opponents and injuries are mounting along the defensive line. The Buccaneers’ once stout run defense has been gashed for over 450 yards the past two weeks and if LaDainain Tomlinson can get going, the Chargers might be the next opponent to run amuck on Tampa. Still, the Bucs are in good shape for the playoffs if they can muster a win Sunday and they should have a huge advantage this week with wideout Antonio Bryant going against a spotty San Diego secondary. If the Bucs win out, they’ll secure one of the Wild Card seeds in the NFC and after hosting the Chargers this week, they wrap up the season against the Raiders at Raymond James.

Randy Galloway blasts T.O.

Randy Galloway of the Star-Telegram ripped Dallas Cowboys’ wideout Terrell Owens for calling ESPN reporter Ed Werder a “liar” last week when it was reported that T.O. had a problem with Tony Romo favoring Jason Witten in the passing game because the two are best buds.

Terrell OwensYou already know the story of what Werder reported last week. You already know Owens went on national TV after the Sunday night win over the Giants and called Werder a “liar.” You might or might not know Owens climbed atop the interview room podium a few minutes later and maybe a half dozen times called Werder a “liar,” and “unprofessional,” and said “he made it all up.”

That was Eldo’s story and he was sticking to it.

But on Tuesday, Werder’s employer, the mighty Bristol boys (by the way, I also draw a paycheck from those people), gave Owens free time to once again jump the butt of one of the nation’s most respected and most veteran NFL reporters, someone who has covered the Cowboys since 1989.
Maybe the suits in Bristol are smarter than I thought. Or maybe Owens is dumber than I thought. OK, nope, that last part couldn’t have been the case.

Anyway, Owens trapped himself with this comment on national TV:

“I believe someone said it,” he revealed. Really, Mr. Owens.

“Someone” would be the unidentified teammate who told Werder that Owens was jealous of the Tony Romo-Jason Witten friendship, and he believed they were conspiring to keep the ball from being thrown Eldo’s way.

So after repeatedly calling Werder a “liar,” after repeatedly saying Werder “made it all up,” now this fool tells a national audience he “believes someone said it.”

Galloway goes on to say that T.O. owes Werder an apology and that other Cowboy players (including linebacker Bradie James) aren’t denying having to play peacemaker between Owens and Romo.

All of this drama and yet the Cowboys stifle the defending Super Bowl champions on Sunday night. Amazing…

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