Tag: Tony Romo (Page 10 of 28)

      Phillips, ‘Boys finally get over playoff hump

      January 9, 2010 /

      Considering the Saints and Vikings haven’t played a down in the postseason yet, nobody should be ready to crown the Cowboys NFC Champions. But with how good Wade Phillips’ team has played over the past month, you get the sense that this Dallas team is primed for a great finish.

      The Cowboys obliterated the Eagles 34-14 in the opening round of the playoffs on Saturday, and the game wasn’t even as close as the final score indicates. Tony Romo completed 23 of 35 passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns, while Felix Jones rushed for 148 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries and Miles Austin hauled in seven passes for 82 yards and a score.

      But for as well as the offense played, it didn’t hold a candle to how good the Cowboy defense was. They held the Eagles to 14 first downs and 56 rushing yards, forced four turnovers and were so far up Donovan McNabb’s ass today that he probably thought he went to the proctologist. Fans will criticize him for his performance because, well, they always criticize him. But the fact of the matter is that he had zero time to throw the ball, zero time to set his feet and very few open receivers. I’m not suggesting that he played well, but his offensive line couldn’t block a stationary bike. They had no answer for the Cowboys’ pass rush.

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      NFL Playoff Preview: Saturday games

      January 9, 2010 /

      New York Jets at Cincinnati Bengals
      4:30 pm ET
      TV—NBC

      Last Sunday night, the Jets closed out the actual regular season history of “old” Giants Stadium the way the Giants wanted to the week before, turning a win-and-in situation into a rout against the Bengals, 37-0. The Jets and their # 1 pass defense held the Bengals to zero passing yards for the game. That’s right, ZERO passing yards. That’s not likely to happen again today, when the Jets visit the Bengals for a rematch that will determine who goes home and who moves on to the divisional round of the playoffs. Bengals’ head coach Marvin Lewis held RB Cedric Benson out of the Week 17 game, and only let QB Carson Palmer play a few series before letting some bearded guy named J.T. O’Sullivan take over. Lewis didn’t want to show too much, but what he may have shown in the process was that his team is fading fast and may have won games early in the season with smoke and mirrors. The Bengals’ defense is also solid, ranked #7 against the rush and #6 against the pass, but if they allow Thomas Jones and the Jets’ running game to control the clock again, this could very well be another dominant performance by the Jets. And don’t forget the way Jets’ all-world CB Darrelle Revis shut down WR Chad Ochocinco on the field and then on Twitter. The hotter Jets should prevail again, but either way, this is a game featuring two of the NFL’s best defenses, so it’s likely to be ultimately determined by who makes the least mistakes.
      THE PICK: JETS 17, BENGALS 13

      Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys
      8:00 pm ET
      TV—NBC

      For as surprising as the Jets’ thrashing of the Bengals was last weekend, the fact that the Cowboys shut out the Eagles may have been the biggest surprise of Week 17. Sure, the Cowboys have been on a roll since handing the Saints their first loss of the season a few weeks back, and haven’t given up a point since then. But the Eagles had won six in a row and were (insert cheesy line here like “flying high” or “soaring”). Despite having Brian Westbrook back, the Eagles have fallen to 22nd in the NFL in rushing offense and have been living by the big pass play most of the season, with second year WR DeSean Jackson changing games by himself on offense and special teams. The Cowboys, however, have beaten the Eagles twice this season, and their only losses came to the Giants twice (in games that could have gone either way), Denver, Green Bay and San Diego. They can run the ball (7th overall), pass with Tony Romo, Miles Austin and Jason Witten (6th overall) and they can stop the run (4th overall). The only blemish for the Cowboys is they are prone to big pass plays, but they seem to have remedied that recently, and with DeMarcus Ware coming off the edge, Donovan McNabb has to have eyes on the side and back of his head at all times. This game will certainly be close, and maybe come down to a field goal. And in that case, would you rather have David Akers or (gulp) Shaun Suisham as your kicker? That’s what I thought.
      THE PICK: EAGLES 27, COWBOYS 24

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      Can the Cowboys get over their playoff hex?

      January 7, 2010 /

      Over the past three weeks, the Cowboys have managed to end the Saints’ perfect season and hold the Redskins and Eagles to a combined zero points of offense. They’re the hottest team in the NFC right now and will play a Philadelphia team on Saturday that they’ve already beaten not once, but twice this season.

      But the postseason has not been kind to the Cowboys over the past decade. In 2003, the Bill Parcells-led Cowboys were shellacked 29-10 by the Panthers in the Wild Card round. In 2006, Tony Romo had, uh, some trouble with a field goal snap and in 2007, the ‘Boys were bounced out of the Divisional Round at home by the eventual Super Bowl champion Giants.

      Yes, the Cowboys have beaten the Eagles twice this season and yes, their defense is playing lights out. But these are the Wade Phillips-led Cowboys were talking about here: Nothing is a guarantee and nothing should be assumed.

      Dallas clearly matches up very well with Philadelphia. Their front seven has been able to shut down the running game and thus, Phillips has been able to amp up the pressure with edge-rusher DeMarcus Ware. Donovan McNabb hasn’t had a lot of time to throw the ball, which limits the Eagles’ ability to strike for big plays like they have all season.

      Playmaker DeSean Jackson has 63 receptions for 1,167 yards and nine touchdowns this year. But in two games against the Cowboys, he has just five catches for 76 yards and no touchdowns. That means Dallas has been able to contain Philadelphia’s most dangerous offensive weapon.

      That said, the Cowboys have found ways to lose before, so why should anyone trust them now? They’ve been a team under Phillips that hasn’t been able to get out of its own way, so would anyone be surprised to see Philadelphia walk into Jerry Jones’ brand new stadium and steal a win? Doubtful.

      Dallas needs to rely on its defense to win on Saturday and limit mistakes offensively. If they can do that, then they shouldn’t have issues beating an Eagles team that has fought their own postseason demons in the past.

      Should make for an entertaining Saturday night.

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      Cowboys end Saints’ run at perfection

      December 20, 2009 /

      Here are five, quick-hit observations from the Cowboys’ 24-17 upset over the Saints on Saturday night.

      1. The Saints might be a team of destiny, but they’re not perfect.
      There’s a reason why there have only been two undefeated teams in the history of the NFL: Because it’s freaking hard to run the table. It doesn’t matter that the Cowboys had lost two in a row or have always struggled in December under Wade Phillips; they had a great chance coming into Saturday night because the law of averages were eventually going to catch up with the Saints. And that’s exactly what happened.

      2. The Saints have a problem defensively.
      Three weeks ago when the Saints narrowly escaped Washington with a win, I noted that they better get healthy defensively or else they would have problems down the road. Not having DT Sedrick Ellis really hurt the Saints tonight, as Dallas churned out 145 yards on the ground and seized control of the game in the first half. New coordinator Gregg Williams has done a great job turning around the New Orleans’ defense, but this is not a unit that can overcome injuries and win a Super Bowl. They’re just not that deep.

      3. Jermon Bushrod had a tough night.
      Not to pile it on, but every defensive end that lined up across from Saints’ right tackle Jermon Bushrod abused him tonight. DeMarcus Ware was beating him so bad to the outside that on the final play of the game, Bushrod just fell over because he couldn’t get into his backpedal quick enough. (The play resulted in Drew Brees fumbling, which sealed the win for Dallas.) If Phillips’ defense can play with that much aggressiveness, energy and focus in the playoffs, the Cowboys are going to be a tough out.

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      Cowboys right on time with another December collapse

      December 13, 2009 /

      I know this is such a cliché, but I’m going to use it anyway, so eat it: There are three things we can count on in life: Death, taxes and the Cowboys collapsing in December under Wade Phillips.

      The Chargers won their eighth straight game on Sunday by knocking off the Cowboys, 20-17 in Week 14. Vincent Jackson turned in a banner performance by catching seven passes for 120 yards, which should appease fantasy football owners because he had just nine grabs for 147 yards in the previous four weeks.

      But getting back to Dallas, the ‘Boys have started off the month of December by dropping their first two games. They’re now 3-7 under Phillips, but it’s hardly fair to blame all of the Cowboys’ struggles in the fatal month on the head coach.

      In December and January, Tony Romo is 5-12 as a starter and the defense is allowing 25.1 points per game. So if owner Jerry Jones is getting an itchy firing finger again, he might want to clean house because it’s been a collection of things that have lead to the Cowboys’ woes in the final month of the season.

      Of course, Romo wasn’t that bad today. The Cowboys went run-heavy in the first half and he still managed to throw for 249 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. (Granted, he was helped by a last-second touchdown pass to Patrick Crayton.)

      That said, neither he nor the defense did enough to earn a win. There’s no shame in losing to a good Chargers team that can throw at will most Sundays. But the bottom line is that Dallas put together a lackluster effort at home in crunch time of the season. It doesn’t matter who’s most to blame – they just need to win.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

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