Tag: Dallas Cowboys (Page 45 of 62)

Screw tradition – take the Lions off Thanksgiving

Detroit LionsOn our most recent podcast, John Paulsen and I debated whether or not the Detroit Lions should continue to be featured on Thanksgiving Day. I argued yes because it was a tradition in the NFL, he argued no because he didn’t want to see the Lions play every season.

After watching the Tennessee Titans completely demolish Detroit 47-10 on Thursday, I agree with JP – get the Lions off Thanksgiving Day. That was one of the most pathetic efforts of the season by any team and I feel for Lion fans that have to endure that on a weekly basis. There the Lions were with nothing to play for and they’re punting on 4th and 1 down four touchdowns in the second half. Are you serious? What do you have to lose?

That said, I’m officially petitioning for the Lions to be taken off of Thanksgiving Day. To be fair, I say take the Dallas Cowboys off of Thanksgiving Day too, although at least they field a competitive team more times than not.

Instead, why doesn’t the NFL do a rematch of the team conference championship games from the year before? Chances are the four teams will still at least be competitive, and therefore the networks should get decent matchups. This year would have been the Giants vs. Packers and Patriots vs. Chargers. Granted the Packers and Chargers aren’t as good as they were a year ago, but would anyone have a problem with those matchups? It’s probably safe to say both of those games would have been closer than the Tennessee-Detroit debacle. The third game of the day could be a divisional matchup of some sort.

Maybe that’s not the best solution, but they have to do something. On a day where everyone is off and enjoying football with family members, to watch the Lions get harassed for four quarters doesn’t make any sense. Fans don’t need a playoff-type matchup, but we deserve better that 47-10.

It’s a shame that the best matchup of the day is Cardinals-Eagles, which will be played on NFL Network for an audience of 12 people.

Tony Romo takes a homeless man to the movies

Dallas Cowboys’ quarterback Tony Romo is one sweet, sweet man.

A homeless man who goes by Doc was cashing in change at a Cinemark Theatre in Dallas when a guy walked up and offered to pay his way into the movie. He planned to spend his day passing out fliers and accepted a rain check before realizing that he recognized the generous gentleman.
“Was that Tony Romo?” Doc asked the worker behind the counter.

It sure was. Doc, who requested that his real name not be used, hustled across the street to the consignment store that paid him to occasionally pass out fliers and requested the day off. By the time he got back to the theater, Role Model had already started.

Romo, who confirmed the story but didn’t want to elaborate, waved Doc over to sit by him and his friend. Doc sheepishly mentioned that he hadn’t showered in a few days.

“Don’t worry about that,” Romo said. “I’m used to locker rooms.”

And so the $67 million quarterback and a man who doesn’t have $6.70 to his name sat next to each other and shared laughs for 90 minutes or so.

For Romo – who made news by changing a couple’s tire on a roadside on the way home the night of the season opener – it was just another kind gesture to a random stranger. It meant the world to Doc.

“For me, it was a blessing,” Doc said. “It came at just the right time. It gave me some encouragement and faith in mankind. I just wanted to say thank you.”

Hot ass Jessica Simpson got herself a good one. Call me sentimental, but I think that’s a cool story. It sure beats hearing every couple of days about Larry Johnson spitting and slapping (allegedly) women around.

Cowboys might have saved their season

Marion BarberWith their 14-10 victory over division rival Washington on Sunday night, the Dallas Cowboys may have saved their season.

Tony Romo was back in the lineup and while he did provide a boost to the offense, the Cowboys can thank their defense and Marion Barber for this win. Barber rushed for 104 yards (most of it coming in the fourth quarter) and essentially became the Cowboys’ “closer” when they took the lead with just over 10 minutes remaining in the game.

Dallas also got a tremendous effort from its defense, which not only held the Redskins to 10 points, but it also overcame poor field position after two Romo interceptions. (One pick wasn’t his fault – Washington intercepted a deflected pass after Terrell Owens allowed it to bounce off his hands.)

Getting nose tackle Jay Ratliff back was huge for the “Boys. He finished with two sacks on the night, including one that moved Washington back and helped cause a missed field goal.

The Cowboys still have a tough road to travel to make the postseason, but this win was massive. In their six remaining games, four of them are at home and their next two games are against the 49ers and Seahawks – two teams they should beat. If they can build some momentum heading into a rough final stretch of games – at Pittsburgh, vs. the Giants, vs. the Ravens, at Philadelphia – maybe they can grab one of the two Wild Card spots in the NFC.

As for the Redskins, they’re certainly not dead at 6-4, but they’re stumbling after losing their past two games. They have a similar stretch of games, but they do have to travel cross-country next week when they play the Seahawks, and they face tough defenses in the Giants, Ravens and Eagles over the final six games.

The NFC Wild card race is going to be a tight one.

NFL Week 11 Primer

John HarbaughSunday’s Best: Ravens (6-3) at Giants (8-1), 1:00 PM ET
Who would have thought this game would be the best matchup of the week with the Chargers playing the Steelers and Cowboys taking on the Redskins in the same weekend. The job first-year head coach John Harbaugh and his staff has done with rookie quarterback Joe Flacco has been amazing and the rest of the Baltimore players have really bought into the new regime’s system. They’ll get their biggest challenge this season on Sunday, however, as no team outside of the Titans is playing better than the Giants right now. There are a couple of great matchups within this game, but none bigger than New York’s power running game vs. the stingy Baltimore run defense. One advantage the Giants have is that this will be the Ravens’ fifth road game in six weeks and they might start to wear down. Flacco will face a ton of pressure from a quick Giants’ front seven, but getting Willis McGahee, Ray Rice and Le’Ron McClain going will help neutralize what New York does best defensively. This will be the most physical matchup of the weekend.

Upset Watch: Rams (2-7) at 49ers (2-7), 4:05 PM ET
Everyone is scrambling to be the first to predict the Jaguars to upset the Titans this weekend, but people have been waiting for Tennessee to fall for weeks and still they remain unbeaten. It’s hardly a huge upset to predict one 2-7 team will beat another, but after their strong showing on Monday night, football pundits might assume this game will be an easy victory for the Niners. While there’s nothing to like about the Rams following their abysmal performance last week against the Jets, this is a better team than what they’ve shown and San Fran is a bit dysfunctional right now after their debacle on Monday Night Football. Jim Haslett is still fighting for a head coaching job (as is Mike Singletary) and there’s no doubt he’ll have his team more prepared than they were last week in New York. Of course, a win for the Rams would mean that Marc Bulger has to get his head out of his ass and someone has to find Torry Holt. But as usual with my “Upset Watch”, I won’t predict an outright win for St. Louis, but I say they at least cover the 5.5-point spread.

Tony RomIntriguing Matchup: Cowboys (5-4) at Redskins (6-3), 8:15 PM ET
Tony Romo will be back in action this week, but will he need a game or two to shake off the rust? Unfortunately for him, Dallas can’t afford to lose any more ground in a stacked NFC East. The Redskins are also fighting to keep pace in the division and will look to avenge their ugly loss to the Steelers on Monday Night Football two weeks ago. They’ll have to do it without Clinton Portis, however, as he currently is sidelined with a MCL injury. Jason Campbell has been solid this season, but he’ll need to make plays without Portis in the backfield. If the Cowboys are going to walk away with a win, they’ll do so because of a strong defensive effort – not the play of Romo.

Other Notable Games:
Titans (9-0) at Jaguars (4-5), 4:15 PM ET
As previously noted, everyone is waiting for the Titans to slip and this very well could be the weekend they do. But they don’t seem like the team that gets ahead of themselves and every one of their wins has been a dogfight. The Jaguars rebounded with an impressive win over the Lions last week, but let’s not forget that they lost to the Bengals and Browns in two games prior to that.

Bears (5-4) at Packers (4-5), 1:00 PM ET
This is a must win for both teams because the Vikings are right back in the division hunt again. If the Packers lose, they might be able to kiss the playoffs goodbye. Kyle Orton is expected to play for the Bears.

Vikings (5-4) at Bucs (6-3), 1:00 PM ET
We’ll find out a lot about Minnesota this Sunday and whether or not they’ve returned from the grave. A win over a solid Tampa team would go a long way in proving they’ve rebounded from earlier seasons struggles.

Broncos (5-4) at Falcons (6-3), 1:00 PM ET
The legend of Matt Ryan continues this week in the Georgia Dome. Ryan is 4-0 at home this year and will have plenty of opportunities to make big plays against a horrible Denver defense. But Jay Cutler as lit opposing defenses up this year and there could be a wild finish to this game in the making.

Couch Potato Alert: 11/14

South Carolina vs. Florida
Florida is considered one of the hottest teams in college football, as they have won their last five games by an average of 39 points. South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier would love to knock off his alma mater out of this year’s BCS championship title hunt. And he will try to defeat the Gators by rotating quarterbacks (Stephen Garcia and Chris Smelley) on every offensive play. The rotation system did not seem to bother either quarterback in last week’s 34-21 victory over Arkansas; they combined to throw for 219 yards with two touchdown passes and only one interception. It will not matter how well the QB duo performs if the Gamecocks defense cannot contain Tim Tebow, he accounted for seven touchdowns in a 51-31 victory at South Carolina last season. National coverage will begin Saturday at 3:30 PM on CBS.

UFC 91: Randy Couture vs. Brock Lesnar for the UFC Heavyweight Championship Title
The main event of UFC-91 is a classic example of two contradictory styles going against one another, as Randy Couture puts up his heavyweight title against Brock Lesnar at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Lesnar is still untested as a fighter, as he going into only his fourth MMA fight this Saturday night. Couture is unstoppable coming into matches where he is an underdog with a 9-1 record. Lesnar is bigger, stronger, faster and hopes to neutralized Couture’s Greco-Roman wrestling style being a former NCAA wrestling champion himself. Couture has out-muscled larger opponents in his career and expects his experience to come into play in this fight. He hopes to avoid the takedown by moving side-to-side and using his hand speed and quick legwork to neutralize his opponent’s superior strength. If Lesnar can take Couture off his feet, the question will become: Can he keep him on the mat? Pay-per-view coverage will begin Saturday at 10:00 PM

Dallas Cowboys vs. Washington Redskins
The Dallas Cowboys hope the return of quarterback Tony Romo to the starting lineup will provide a spark and help them get a “W” in the win column this Sunday night in Washington. Since winning their first three games, the Cowboys have dropped four of their last six games and likely will need to win at least five of their final seven games to hopefully be considered for a playoff spot. Injuries could have a large role in determining if the Washington Redskins make the playoffs. They may have to go the rest of the season without running back Clinton Portis, who is second in the NFL in rushing with 995 yards. He injured his knee at the end of the first quarter against the Pittsburgh Steelers two weeks ago and has not returned to the lineup. National coverage will begin Sunday at 8:15 PM on NBC.

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