Tag: Dallas Cowboys (Page 47 of 62)

Giants absolutely crush hapless Cowboys

Cowboys-GiantsPerhaps no team in the history of the NFL needs their bye week more than the Dallas Cowboys do right now. After suffering a 35-14 blowout at the hands of division rival New York on Sunday, the Cowboys need to regroup before this season continues to slip away from them.

Brad Johnson was once again horrific while completing just 5 of 11 passes for 71 yards and two interceptions. Brooks Bollinger replaced him at halftime, who promptly threw an interception himself on his first pass attempt in the second half. Without the threat of the pass to beat them, the Giants loaded up against the run and stuffed Marion Barber, who only finished with 54 yards on the ground.

What’s worse for Dallas is that the defense that played so well against Tampa last Sunday disappeared again. The Cowboys surrendered 23 first downs, 319 total yards and 35 points. They certainly didn’t get any help from the offense, who constantly put them in poor field position all game, but still, the G-Men essentially did whatever they wanted.

Once again, the Cowboys are in serious trouble. The backup quarterback position remains unsettled and it’s not going to get any better until Tony Romo returns. The idea that Johnson could manage games and keep the team afloat until Romo was healthy again has blown up in their face and Wade Phillips continues to have no clue on how to fix the defense. Phillips better do something over the bye week or his seat will only continue to get hotter throughout the second half of the season.

Couch Potato Alert: 10/31

Florida vs. Georgia
The winner of this game should become the SEC East representative against Alabama in the conference’s title game, while the loser will probably not play in a BCS bowl game. Florida has revenge on their mind; they remember Georgia’s end-zone celebration from a year ago. Bulldogs coach Mark Richt ordered the entire bench on to the field after scoring their first touchdown in a 42-30 victory. Gators coach Urban Meyer was upset by the antics but has downplayed the animosity between the schools this week. You can expect fireworks on the field this Saturday at the Gator Bowl. National coverage will begin at 3:30 PM ET on CBS. Click here for the official Florida vs. Georgia smack thread.

Texas vs. Texas Tech
Texas is completing the final leg of their gauntlet schedule; they defeated: then-No.1 Oklahoma on Oct. 11, then-No. 11 Missouri on Oct. 18, then-No.7 Oklahoma State last week, and now face No. 6 Texas Tech in Lubbock on Saturday evening. Another week, another Heisman Trophy candidate will line up against the Longhorn defense. Red Raiders quarterback Graham Harrell has thrown for 3147 yards with 28 touchdown passes on the season. The winner of this contest will have the inside track to win the Big 12 South title, a division that features four teams ranked in the top nine of this week’s BCS bowl standings. National coverage will begin at 8PM ET on ABC. Click here for the official Texas vs. Texas Tech smack thread.

Dallas Cowboys vs. New York Giants
Dallas Cowboys had home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs last season, thanks in large part to a pair of victories over the New York Giants that propelled them to a NFC East title. But the Cowboys postseason run came to a quick end, as the Giants defeated them during their improbable run to a Super Bowl title. The Cowboys are hurting coming into this week’s game, with quarterback Tony Romo missing his third straight game because of a broken right pinkie and tight end Jason Witten will be a game-time playing decision due to his broken ribs. 40-year-old Brad Johnson will be in charge of the Cowboys offense, and he has looked his age at times on the field. He has been sacked six times in two weeks, and against a Giant defense that leads the NFL with 26 sacks, Johnson’s lack of mobility will be a major concern for the Dallas coaching staff. Regional coverage will begin at 4:15 PM ET on Fox.

NFL Week 9 Primer

Brad JohnsonSunday’s Best: Cowboys (5-3) at Giants (6-1), 4:15 PM ET
This game has lost a lot of its luster with Brad Johnson starting at quarterback in place of the injured Tony Romo and the uncertainty of Jason Witten’s (ribs) status. But it’s still a classic NFC East matchup and the Dallas defense is coming off its best performance of the season in a win over the Bucs. Let’s be frank – the Giants should roll. Their pass rush should eat Johnson alive, which could mean we see Brooks Bollinger before the day is over. But the wildcard in this scenario is Marion Barber. If the Cowboys can get him going and Johnson doesn’t turn the ball over, Dallas might be able to play conservative and sneak out a win. But if they get down early, a second half comeback is unlikely and New York might post a double-digit victory. The Cowboy defense will have to produce an effort similar to the one they did last Sunday against Tampa or else Eli Manning, Brandon Jacobs and the rest of the G-Men offense should have no problem putting up 30 points.

Upset Watch: Cardinals (4-3) at Rams (2-5), 1:00 PM ET
Since Jim Haslett took over in St. Louis, the Rams are playing more physically sound football. They hung tough against the Patriots last week in Foxboro despite not having Steve Jackson in their backfield and the defense is starting to show signs of life. The Cardinals are coming off a disappointing loss to the Panthers, a game in which they led 17-3 early in the third quarter. Arizona continues to struggle on the road and although he’s played well this year, Kurt Warner can’t seem to avoid costly turnovers. Jackson might not play again this week, but the Cards’ defense doesn’t post that much of a threat and the Rams should have enough offensively to pull out a win. Obviously they’ll need to keep Warner and ‘Zona’s prolific passing attack at bay, but this could be one of the better upsets in Week 9 if St. Louis keeps playing hard under Haslett.

Indianapolis Colts
Intriguing Matchup: Patriots (5-2) at Colts (3-4), 8:15 PM ET
Boy this game has lost a lot of pizzazz hasn’t it? Who would have thought that when this game was schedule, it would feature a Tom Brady-less Patriots and a 3-4 Colts team? Regardless, this is still the most interesting matchup on the Week 9 schedule. Indy has to win this game to at least keep within sniffing distance of a Wild Card berth and New England is in a great battle with the surprising Buffalo Bills in the AFC East. The Colts have major issues on the defensive side of the ball and things got worse earlier this week when it was discovered that starting CB Marlin Jackson would miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL. Without Jackson and Bob Sanders in the secondary, the Colts are giving up big plays on third downs. If they sell out to stop the run, opposing quarterbacks are picking apart the beleaguered secondary. If they play not to get burned deep, opposing backs are having a field day running against Indy’s smaller front seven. A loss to the Pats on Sunday night could mean a Colts-less postseason in the NFL. That’s hard to imagine.

Other Notable Games:
Packers (4-3) at Titans (7-0), 1:00 PM ET
With “Elbow Bad” Johnson starting for the Cowboys this weekend in New York, the Green Bay-Tennessee game might wind up being the best matchup on the Week 9 schedule. With the Titans coming off a short week and finally getting the monkey off their backs in beating the Colts, are they primed for the taking? Aaron Rodgers vs. the Titans’ D should be an intriguing battle.

Ravens (4-3) at Browns (3-4), 1:00 PM ET
Some believe that Baltimore is a legitimate playoff contender in the AFC and Cleveland is starting to resemble the team that many thought would take the next step this year. You gotta love it when Art Modell has to travel to Cleveland, too.

Dolphins (3-4) at Broncos (4-3), 4:05 PM ET
Miami continues to be one of the better surprises this year in the NFL and will look to build off their impressive win over Buffalo last Sunday. Denver needs to shake off its embarrassing loss to the Patriots two weeks ago on Monday night.

NFL News and Notes: Reggie Wayne misses second practice

Reggie Wayne– For the second straight day, Colts’ wideout Reggie Wayne missed practice due to a knee injury. If he doesn’t practice Friday, there’s a good chance he won’t play against New England Sunday night. (Rotoworld.com)

– Steven Jackson’s status for Week 9 is still up in the air after being “limited” in practice on Thursday. Jackson is battling a quad injury. (Belleville News-Democrat)

– Cowboys’ TE Jason Witten will be a game-time decision this Sunday in New York. He did not practice on Thursday as he continues to nurse a rib injury. (DallasCowboys.com)

– Rookie Darren McFadden apparently has turf toe on both of his feet and isn’t expected to play Sunday against the Falcons. (ESPN)

– It might not be this week, but the Lions are expected to give Drew Stanton a shot at quarterback sometime this season according to beat writer Tom Kowalski. (Mlive.com)

11 Things We Have Learned from the NFL this season

Epic Carnival lays out their top 11 things that they learned from the NFL so far.

9. When a quarterback lines out wide in the “wildcat” formation, no team is allowed to jam him hard, because the league needs to encourage every team to eventually use this formation

8. If a West Coast team plays on the East Coast with a 1pm start time, they are required to stink on ice, since no team can ever overcome Private Chartered Jet Lag

5. To keep his job while others lose theirs, Marvin Lewis must have photos of Bengals’ GM Mike Brown in bed with a dead girl, a live boy, a convention of hobos and some ritualistically slaughtered puppies

3. If you give a Manning a better defense, special teams, running game, offensive line and schedule, he must now be the best Manning

2. The Cowboys and Patriots are model franchises with fantastically talented personnel, despite the fact that both were a starting quarterback injury away from getting waxed by terrible teams

The one about the west coast teams not being to overcome private charted jet lag is pretty funny. It’s amazing how these west coast teams completely forget how to play when they travel to the east coast. It’s no wonder you see more and more teams spending extra days when there’s a major time change involved, just so they can get used to the difference.

« Older posts Newer posts »