Immediate Reaction: Cowboys Sink The Bucs

The Cowboys started the game against Tampa sluggish, pedestrian, and uninspired. First few drives only yielded field goals and the defense had more than a few holes in it.

After the 1^st quarter the score was a shock to most as the Bucs stuck with the ‘Boys as they only trailed 6-0.

The second quarter was even more ordinary as both teams seemed to maneuver their way around the field about as good as a blind person. Tony Romo threw in front, behind, and over receivers as they marched to an eventual 13-7 halftime lead after a 42 yard pitch and catch between Romo and Miles Austin ended in a touchdown.

Going into halftime the team still seemed to be finding its way as the defensive secondary looked confused and out of sync.

But the second half was a different story.

Bum’s son must have fired the troops up in the locker room because the Cowboys emerged more focused in the 3^rd and 4^th quarters.

Immediately out the gate the ‘Boys were swinging as Romo tossed a 66 yard touchdown pass to Roy Williams and the Cowboys went up 20-7.

Seemed as if Dallas was about to blow the doors off, but Leftwich marched the Bucs back down the field and newly acquired running back Derrick Ward scored on a one yard touchdown run.

That was pretty much the last ray of hope for the pirates as the Cowboys took control from there and never looked back.

Touchdown for Crayton? Check.

Running score for Marion Barber? Check.

It’s on now; the Cowboys are riding on “28’s with the windows down on a 2010 all blue Range Rover.

Romo finally pulled his head out of the clouds and the defense patched the holes in the submarine.

All in all it turned out to be a great day for the Cowboys. Tony Romo ended up with 353 passing yards (a career high), three touchdowns, and no turnovers. Now if he could only go on a run of zero turnovers for more than one game.

Romo also completed 66% of his passes thrown over ten yards and had a healthy 149 quarterback rating.

For Roy Williams, he ended up with a solid outing. He caught three balls for 86 yards and one touchdown.

Terrell who?

The worrisome part of the game was the Dallas defense actually. The Bucs ran for over 170 yards and scored two touchdowns, racking up 5.6 yards a carry. The Cowboys cannot play that way against the Giants and expect to win, not with Brandon Jacobs in the backfield.

Cowboys secondary gave up a few big plays down the middle, something Bum’s son will have to address this upcoming week in practice.

The Cowboys beat the Bucs 34-21 and head back home to face the Giants to open their new billion dollar stadium.

Injury note: Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo says that he injured his right ankle during Sundays game, the ankle will be re-examined on Tuesday. Cowboys new starting safety Gerald Sensabaugh was helped off the field after a big hit on Buccaneers wide receiver Michael Clayton, no word on if he’ll return next week.

-JH

Dallas Pregame Preview and a Call to Fans

As we all know, Tampa Bay offers the Cowboys a solid test for their new offensive and defensive schemes. With a commonly stout defense, our offense should be able to prove whether or not it’s as proficient as it claims it can be.

Here are a few reasons why our Offense can succeed:

1) Jason Garrett is a offensive mastermind, with Felix Jones and Marion Barber coming out in a possibly sloppy day, the formations and versatility that can be created with just those two names alone are limitless. We know what to expect with this tandem, but really who can stop them?

2) Tampa has to gameplan for more receiver threats then they’re actually expecting. With the emergence of Hurd and Ogletree, the speed of Austin, and the combinational attacks of Crayton and Williams, the utilization of talented wide receivers will be evident throughout differen’t packages. They should all receive ample reps to produce. However, with the impressive and underrated talent in the receiver position, 2 other receivers produce a bigger threat. Marty-B and J Witt are great all around tight ends, who will either produce big or create a distraction and draw double teams and schemes that will allow our Wide outs to produce significantly enough to score over 14 points.

cowboys_dunn

3) Lastly, Tony Romo. Earlier this week Emmitt Smith called out Romo’s leadership. I truly believe that Romo has evolved into the leader that he wants to be. That’s all we can ask. Tony Romo is a capable top 10 Quarterback who can deliver. Don’t believe me? We’ll in his 2 Season Openers he’s started in he’s undefeated. Not just undefeated but he’s been dominant. In 2007 he opened against the Giants, producing 15/24 345 yards, and 4 TD’s. In 2008 we opened against Cleveland with 24/32 320 yards, and 1 TD. In total that’s 39/56 665 yards and 5 TD’s. That’s a total passer rating of 136.97.

Oh and last time Romo played the Bucs? 22/29 305 yards 5 TD.

As for the other side of the Ball. Byron Leftwich will lead an inconsistent offensive unit. Antonio Bryant will likely produce, but Cadillac Williams is a great unknown.

Here are a few Reasons why our Defense will succeed:

1) Byron Leftwich has an unusually slow release. With an offensive line that is barely mediocre, the likelihood that the Cowboys star studded linebackers will be knocking on the door all day, is highly likely.

2) Byron Leftwich has an unusually slow release. With all that time to read the Quarterback, Our coverage units could have a field day. Not saying it’s going to be pick central, but I expect some good defended passes and a pick or two.

3) Our Defensive lineman, are run stopping, QB droppers. They will dominate TB’s O-Line and create nightmares for Cadillac and Ward.

Last Word

Listen I’ve been doing some looking around lately. All I see is pessimism, from fans, Dallas/sports reporters, and even people close to the organization. This is what I say, we are Cowboys Fans, we are supposed to be loyal and supportive of a team that brings us so much. If you are just rooting for the cowboys when they win, or disowning them when the screw up, then the bus stops here. I don’t want to hear your stupid pessimism and your ridiculous claims. You aren’t playing football, you’re sitting on your couch with a beer, a brat, and maybe a PS3 controller contolling your Madden Superstar. The point is, if you’re a fan, love and support your team. If it’s hard to do that and you can’t be a tad optimistic, shut up and color.

Weekly Roundup: Cowboys at Buccaneers

Welcome to the first regular season installment of “The Weekly Roundup”!

This week I had the pleasure of exchanging thoughts with Nicholas over at Buc’em a Top notch Buccaneer fan blog.

As is the case on every Weekly Roundup make sure you head over there to see our answers to their questions, and by all means let them know how you feel about the Cowboys and the game!

The game last year between these two teams was defensive and sloppy (thank you Brad Johnson) should Cowboy fans expect this same sort of game again?

Probably not as much.. Jeff Garcia was terrible in the 4th Qtr last year, and in the red zone too. Which explains so many trips inside the Dallas 30 yard line but only 9 points? With Tony Romo at full strength, its doubtful the Cowboys can be held under 21 points. If they are, the Bucs have a better chance to win

The Buccaneers have made several big changes this year, even making a change at Offensive Coordinator last week. How will all of these changes impact the mindset of this football team?

Its all be positive when viewed from the inside. Players were tired of Jon Gruden’s “Luv ya Bro” message. New Coach Raheem Morris is a rah rah guy, who has gained the respect of all the players during camp with his discipline, and has the team physical practicing in pads from Day One of camp. Expect a Bucs team that will make no excuses over injuries, heat, refs, and will play hard till the end of the 4th.

Byron Leftwich has had a very roller coaster type of career, do you believe, and better yet do the Buccaneers believe that the ride begins to flatten out for him to become a top flight quarterback in the NFL? Is he the QB for now? Or is he there for the long haul?

Very few Bucs fans feel Byron is anything more than a hold over until 2010 when Josh Freeman will start after getting a year of #2 QB Reps. Only if the Bucs go deep into the playoffs will you see Byron Leftwich QB next year.

Most Bucs fans are no really in ANY QBs corner right now, if anything, 4th string Josh Johnson has caught the fancy of many Bucs fans with this excellent play during preseason. Everyone agrees Josh Freeman is not ready, although a lot of fans are willing to roll with him, and the rest feel neither McCown nor Leftwich won the job, they just got it by not losing.

The Dallas Cowboys and most of its fan base believe they have what we like to call “Three headed monster” backfield. All three backs will be used on Sunday in Tampa, is this triple threat an area of deep concern for the Bucs? Or is our 3 headed monster merely impressive on paper?

No, Bucs fans and I’m sure coaches are very concerned about your three headed monster, and hope to counter with one of our own. Derrick Ward and Earnest graham make up two of them, but Cadillac Williams is back to full strength and will actually start. Then you have pro bowl special team returner Clifton Smith who will run the ball too. Bucs fans expect to run the ball often.

What can Dallas fans expect to see on both the Offensive and Defensive sides of the ball from the Bucs on Sunday? And what are you keys to a Bucs win?

Honestly, Dallas fans will have to wait like their Bucs counterparts, because even we don’t know what we are going to put on the field. We do fell one thing, how things go Sunday will probably be a very good indicator on how the season will go too!

There are some Bucs fans that feel we can win, however the majority of Bucs fans are very pessimistic on the season, and obviously the opener.

Once again a big thank you to Nicholas and all the guys over at Buc’Em for answering our questions. Be sure to head over There and see our answers to their questions

A week of posturing…

Posturing. I really love that word. I hear it quite a bit during the football offseason, as I watch UFC and WEC to feed my love for all contact sports. In fighting, in short, it is used to describe the strategy fighters employ to set up their opponent for submissions, knock outs, or to defend against either. But you could also use posturing to describe various statements from the media, as well as, how teams prepare for upcoming games.

Take for instance the now infamous comments from Emmitt Smith stating that he can see the Cowboy’s winning 7 games, delivered in a manner that would suggest he was being generous with that prediction. The posturing element, of course, is that had Emmitt adhered to the status quo, you probably would not have heard about it and it would not have any way helped Emmitt’s now dying options as a sports analyst. This posturing, breathed new life in his visibility to the sports loving world; though, I doubt it helps his chances catching on again with any media outlets. Maybe Tashard Choice could allow him to be a guest on his Cowboy’s insider column with the Dallas Morning News.

In response to Emmitt’s comment’s, Wade reasserted that the Cowboy’s have leader’s and have had leaders. He further pointed out that in 97 the Cowboys went 6 – 10, questioning what happened to their leaders then? In this scenario, Wade was posturing to protect his team.

Or how about Jean-Jacques Taylor’s recent article entitled “Trust Busters: Dallas Cowboys haven’t rewarded fans’ faith.” In this he points to the Cowboys lack of a play off wins since the mid-90’s, trying to lend credibility to a trend that, in his mind, should continue to haunt the Cowboys, despite being a completely different team every year, including this one. As usual, JJT is posturing to look intelligent at season end with his finger lightly tapping the “I told you so” button likely located in full view somewhere on his computer keyboard.

Of course, my favorite use of the word “posturing” involves what Wade intends to do to stifle the big arm of Byron Leftwich with the slowing, but still effective trio of receiving weapons Antonio Bryant, Michael Clayton, and Kellen Winslow. Not to be overlooked is also another effective trio of RB’s, Cadillac Williams, Derrick Ward, and Earnest Graham. Footnote to Mike Jenkins: Ward may grant you an opportunity to redeem yourself. Don’t usher fate by this go around!

Coincidentally, we faced Kellen Winslow last year in the 1^st game when he was with the Brown’s. Acknowledging our deficiencies at Safety last year, Wade challenged Greg Ellis to jam Kellen at the line throughout the game to upset his timing with Derek Anderson and it worked to perfection, Ellis limiting Kellen to 5 receptions for 47 yards and 1 touchdown. That’s not bad for a linebacker who had played very little in coverage against what many consider to be an elite pass catching TE. With Ellis gone, though, how does Wade address him this year? Does he have Anthony Spencer, Greg Ellis’ successor, shadow him, allow Sensabaugh to prove his worth in coverage, or does he try a combination of both? Anthony might be able to match him in physicality, but he won’t be able to run with Kellen stride for stride down the field. Sensabaugh should be able to keep up with him, but I have to think Kellen win’s the battle when it comes to getting to the ball in the air. In my mind, it probably will be a combination of both. Spencer will frustrate Kellen at the line, but will peel off to either watch for the check down or to pursue the normally statuesque Leftwich while Sensabaugh will pick him up to ensure Kellen doesn’t have an opportunity to create in space.

On offense, the double-move wide receiver route is apparantly the big upgrade Greg Olson brings to the table. Trouble is, the more moves in a given route, the more time your QB needs. Add to that the fact that Leftwich has a slow release and a long wind, and Ware and company should have plenty of opportunities to but him on his back.

Much has been made about the lack of tape our defense will be armed with to attack the Bucs offense, considering the recent dismissal of their Offensive Coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski and promotion of quarterbacks coach Greg Olson. In short, the Cowboy’s don’t even have the benefit of tape from the preseason. In my mind, too much has been made of it. Considering that most coaches, including that of the Cowboy’s, like to keep things vanilla throughout the preseason, I’m not sure this will really make that much of a difference in the game. The key, as is always, is execution in all aspects. Execute identifying the play; run or pass? Execute flowing to the ball and prevention of play development. Execute the tackle. Execute the ball carrier. As the season wears on, then the film study becomes paramount, because the real meat and potatoes of success comes from knowing each opponent’s tendencies as a team and individually.

From what I’ve looked at, the Bucs are weak on the edges and a big part of their strategy will be to pin their ear backs and try to keep Romo on his back. Watch for the Cowboy’s to employ a variety of different screens (RB, TE, or WR) to keep the Bucs defense from putting pressure on Romo.

It’s all posturing, in the end. The big question is what are the Cowboys trying to do: Force the Bucs to submit, knock them out, or defend against both? Hopefully it’s not the latter.

Emmitt Smith Takes Shot at Dallas Cowboys

Emmitt Dancing 2

Four days before the season opening game, the greatest running back to don a Cowboys uniform, has decided that he needed to give his old team a good old fashioned tongue lashing.

Emmitt Smith was the perfect back for the Cowboys, outside of what he did on the field however was less than to be desired.

Known for being egotistical, arrogant, SOB. Maybe you have heard the story about the presents he used to give his O-Line? If you followed the Cowboys in the 90’s then I am sure you heard about them.

There is one story that some of you may have not heard about! As the story goes Emmitt had another spectacular year (won the rushing title) and the present he chose to get his linemen was???? None other than an autographed copy of his autobiography! How freaking nice of him!

Somewhere along the line of his career he has become the greatest (self proclaimed) prognosticator of talent in the NFL! Always having something to say (whether or not you can understand what he is saying is a different story).

Now apparently he has become so well schooled on what it takes to be a Head Coach, Wide Receiver, and Quarterback he has decided to drop some knowledge and let us know why the Cowboys can (via The DMN Blog)

“Realistically, I think that the Cowboys can win seven games,”

Seven Games! Seven games, is Doctor Dipshits win total for the Cowboys in 2009!

At first sight of this I thought “well maybe he has some inside information that none of us have!” but then he drops this as his reasoning behind his prognosis,

“I mean, when I start hearing things are going to change, I keep asking myself as a player, how much are they going to change?” he said. “Are you going to be a hard-nosed coach now since things are going to change? Are you going to be more focused than you were last year? Those kind of things, I’m like, c’mon. This is not a game where you can just turn it on and turn it off.”

Emmitt Smith obviously pays next to zero attention to the goings on of the Dallas Cowboys! Bradie James back in August had this to say about the HC Wade Phillips,

“He’s almost like a new coach,” James said. “He knows what’s at stake, and he knows we need to have a winning season. He’s been different. He said he was going to be different, and I didn’t know how he would pull it off, but I think he has.”

That was not the first time or the last time statements like that were said. We even got to see Ol Wade unleash on Courtney Brown on the sidelines after a stupid pass interference call, all these things were not seen last year! So evidently it is possible for a human being to change the way they do things!

Then as if he had not dropped enough knowledge on the fans of the Dallas Cowboys, he decided to give us an insight on Roy Williams.

“The question is, can Roy step up and be what they need him to be? I don’t know. I don’t know if it’s possible.”

“I do not see him as a No. 1. I never have saw him as a No. 1. Never have. When I say No. 1, I mean your No. 1 go-to guy. He’s not your No. 1 go-to guy.”

Let me say something to those of you who believe this line of thinking, THE COWBOYS DO NOT NEED ROY WILLIAMS TO IMITATE TERRELL OWENS! With the backs and Tight Ends they have this team does not need a pure #1 (ala Fitzgerald, Owens). This team needs Roy Williams to do what he does best, MOVE THE FREAKING CHAINS! SO STOP THE NONSENSE!!!!!!

Then he decides to get a few shots in on every ones punching bag Tony Romo,

“So when you have your off-season and you say things are going to change and you’ve never been that dominant personality or in that leadership position then, as a player, you lose me,” Emmitt said during an appearance on Sirius NFL Radio (via Pro Football Talk). “You lost me. I’m sitting there saying, ‘OK, now you’re going to become a leader?’ What happened when we had all this great talent over here and we had a chance to go, not only in the playoffs, but in the first round of the playoffs when we got knocked out both times?”

Once again in the land of Emmitt people are not allowed the opportunity to grow and possibly change the way they do things!

The Cowboys however have created this monster themselves, and the only way to make this retarded way of thinking go away, along with dipshits like Emmitt is by just shutting up and proving the naysayers wrong!

Emmitt I think maybe you should go back and listen to some of the crap you and your illustrious teammates told the fans of the Dallas Cowboys. It seems to me that I heard you and Michael, Troy, and Deion saying things like “we are just biding our time; we can turn it on whenever we get ready!” Do you remember those days? I sure do, and yet that grand switch you guys talked about in 1996 never got “turned on”, I think you might need to remember that old saying “people who live in glass houses should not throw stones!”

Wow… What A Game

Note: Just wanted to take a moment and welcome the newest member of our team at DCNation – Shaun Wellman. He’s been a commenter here since the beginning and always has some insight to share, so read carefully and pay attention. Welcome to the Team Shaun!

Excitement in the preseason is very rare. Most people watch these games hoping to see the starting units perform well and provide a glimpse of what the regular season version of the team will look like. A smaller percentage watch the second and third teams to get an idea of how the teams backups will perform. Of course underneath it all we hope for a win, but in the grand scheme of things most understand that whether or not your team wins in the preseason is the least important factor of all. What is important is how they play the game.

Putting all that aside for now, can anyone say that they sat down to watch the preseason finale versus the Vikings with any feelings other than “Thank God the Preseason is About to be Over”? I highly doubt it.

There were still some questions to be answered about the last few roster spots before the final cut down to 53 on Saturday.

Will Isaiah Stanback do anything to show that he deserves another year on this team?
Will Kevin Ogletree step up one more time and slam the door in Stanback’s face?
Can Patrick Watkins do anything besides play special teams?
Does Mike Mickens have any business being on an NFL football field?
Will Jesse Holley even get on the field?
Can Rudy Carpenter even throw a forward pass?

Anyone committing themselves to sit down and suffer through 3 hours of spare to fair preseason finale football had to be watching to get the answers to the above questions and probably several more. No way were we expecting entertainment.

No way.

Not only were a lot of questions answered, but we as fans were treated to a whole lot more. Maybe it was all the turnovers, penalties, missed assignments, and improbable touchdowns. How about the fact that the game was played on a Friday night, and there was a sense that everyone on this team played like there was no tomorrow.

Maybe it’s just me, but that sure felt like watching a High School Football game, and a very exciting and entertaining one at that.

A bunch of no-names pulling it out in the end, coming back from double digit deficits twice, with improbable play after improbable play to cap off an off season of philosophical change, and a preseason of no-nonsense nothing but football due directly to said changes. No T.O., not much hype, (except for the 4th and Long Guy,) and the only thing close to controversy being the competition between Mike Jenkins and Orlando Scandrick.

Alot was said about this teams chemistry or lack there of last year. How great was it to see the starters on the sidelines cheering on the back up and bubble guys? I was happy to see their involvement on the sidelines during a meaningless game that none of them played in. To see the vets on the sidelines coaching up the young guys portrayed a team oriented atmosphere that literally brought a smile to this fans face. How fitting was it that mister 80th man himself Jesse Holley was the one to make the play to win the game. He got me up out of my chair yelling and screaming just like he got the entire Cowboys’ sideline running with him to the end zone, basically clearing the bench.

I think that explosion of emotion really said something about this team, and I can honestly say now that because of a meaningless preseason game where they all showed that they cared, that I believe this TEAM is very focused and headed in the right direction.

Dallas Cowboys Trim the Roster, Final Cuts made

And here we go! The preseason is officially over! We know this because the final cuts have been made and may I just say I nailed on particular point? Isaiah Stanback has seen his last day as an active member on the Dallas Cowboys Football Team. His play has been less then mediocre and has been a complete bust, despite his athletic talent (which exists) he just couldn’t transition to the NFL.

isaiah

Replacing Stanback will be the only undrafted rookie to make the team, Kevin Ogletree. Ogletree has turned enough heads and produced enough to deserve this spot. He has worked out and has been, dare is say, spectacular in his opportunities. Hats off to you Ogletree, I hope that you have a long and productive career in a Cowboys uniform!

Last tidbits that really had me amped about this final cut season was that Steve Octavien has made the team, a player that I really believe deserves a shot, and who has certainly proved it last night, he will be a good sub for Demarcus Ware. Also, some of our draft picks didn’t make the team, leaving us slightly slim at the cornerback position again… However keep in mind there are some people being released today (veterans) that could provide solid depth.

*Just for the record: I’m a bit bummed that Carpenter, Crosslin, and Mike Mickens didn’t make the team. I believe they all have good potential.

Here is a list of the players who have been cut:

Travis Bright

Courtney Brown

Scott Chandler

Julius Crosslin

Marcus Dixon

Tearrius George

Ryan Gibbons

Jeremy Haynes

Jesse Holley

Mike Jefferson

Manuel Johnson

Keon Lattimore

Mike Mickens

Willie Reid

Derreck Robinson

Asaph Schwapp

Jonas Seawright

DeAngelo Smith

Isaiah Stanback

Matt Stewart

DeAngelo Willingham

NFL 2009-2010 Early Predictions

We are about a week away from the beginning of the season and much is still to be decided. However, I thought I’d begin a new tradition (being it’s my first year with the site, I can do those type of things). Today I’ll propose to you my yearly predictions, some will shock you, some will entertain you, and some might just outright piss you off… Enjoy!

NFC EAST PREDICTIONS:

Philadelphia Eagles (12-4)

Dallas Cowboys (10-6)

New York Giants (10-6)

Washington Redskins (8-8)

NFC NORTH

Green Bay Packers (11-5)

Minnesota Vikings (10-6)

Chicago Bears (10-6)

Detroit Lions (5-11) Continue reading →

As Camp Ends, What should happen?

ORLANDO SCANDRICK SHOULD BEAT OUT MIKE JENKINS

This training camp hasn’t seen a lot of story lines, but incase you’ve been stuffed in a coffin for the last 3 months, Scandrick and Jenkins have been battling for starting position throughout camp. A lot of people are pulling for Jenkins, mostly because he was a higher draft pick and the Cowboys have more money invested in him. Let me serve you all a fact: Jenkins is not better then Scandrick. I know this because I watch them play, I study them, it’s my passion. Scandrick is more aggressive which sometimes causes mistakes, but Jenkins is a little more passive he doesn’t tackle as well and he takes a while to make decisions. Statistics over this preseason mean nothing. As the coaches are weary to deliver an answer, I expect Scandrick to win the job, but he’ll shift to the nickelback in nickel packages. KevinOgletree-2

SAM HURD SHOULD START OVER MILES AUSTIN AND PATRICK CRAYTON

Since the departure of Terrell Owens, we have heard to cry to a savior. A savior who will save the Tony Romo from another mediocre season. A savior from New Jersey, named Miles Austin. Let me say this, though I understand that not much can be deduced from preseason, Austin has been only slightly impressive, Crayton has been Crayton, and Hurd….well Hurds been breath taking. This preseason Hurd has made 6 catches for 96 yards, and has been brilliantly spectacular during practice. Football is a sport about earning your spot and earning your time. Lets see if this holds true.

KEVIN OGLETREE SHOULD MAKE THE TEAM

It happens to us every year. We read the articles and watch the games and tape and fall in love with a character that is highly unlikely to make the team. This year that character is Kevin Ogletree, except….well he may just make the team. He has played consistent and though he hasn’t been brilliant, he has gained a bit of trust from a guy on the team named Tony Romo. His competition is a umm veteran? Kinda… who has been injured, and a bit of a bust. Stanback just doesn’t deserve the spot any more, he hasn’t delivered and certainly hasn’t been consistent. Here’s to you Ogletree…. We’re pulling for you! Unfortunately that means nothing.

Dallas Cowboys Nation

Monthly Archives: September 2009