All Aboard the Romo-Coaster

While watching the Cowboys completely dominate the Buffalo Bills this past Sunday, all I could say to myself is “ where the heck have these Cowboys been?”

After a season and a half of head scratching and dice rolling to see what team would show up, I came away amazed at every aspect of the game.

This current Cowboys team has been nicknamed “The Cardiac Cowboys” and not because they scare their opponents into cardiac arrest but because they have made some amazing–bone headed mistakes that has kept their games close.

The Cowboys have been part of some close games dating back all the way back to the middle of last season and it’s frustrating to watch. Not just because the Cowboys have lost many of these close games but they could have won almost all of them. The Cowboys are just a few bad play calls and interceptions away from an 8-1 record this year.

Things might be starting to come around though. The Cowboys have shown they can hang with all but 1 team they have played this year and they will get a chance at revenge on Christmas Eve against the hated Philadelphia Eagles.

In fact, the Cowboys have blown out three out of their last four opponents. Okay okay, so the 10 point win against the Seahawks wasn’t exactly a blow out but it was still a two score win and didn’t exactly play their best for four quarters.

You can say what you want about the Seahawks but they have a respectable defense and they just beat the Baltimore Ravens; a team many thought were the class of the AFC before that game.

So here we are at 5-4 and just one game back from the Giants for the NFC East lead with a real chance at making the playoffs.

Just a few weeks ago we were running Romo out of town after a few INT’s and then it was “Romo for president” after the fractured rib comeback against the 49ers. Then again we were running Romo out of town and now after a near picture perfect game and a blow out against a good Bills team, we find ourselves praising Tony Romo yet again.

Jeesh, I can’t imagine what Tony Romo must be thinking about the media and us fans. This season truly has been an up and down Romo-coaster and I’ve enjoyed watching every bit of it.

Week 8: This and That

-What Gives?!?!

It seems that there are more people discrediting DeMarco Murray’s record setting performance this past Sunday against the St. Louis Rams than there are praising it.

Former Eagles fullback John Ritchie on Murray’s performance:

“Heading into this game he was averaging under three yards a carry. This will never happen again, in my opinion. I like DeMarco Murray as a back, I do. And I think he catches the ball really well. I have issues with his pad level, at times, but against these Rams, it didn’t matter. They’re going in trying to tackle him high. No. 32 against the run coming in.”

Skip Bayless of ESPN, who is well known for being a Cowboys antagonist, agrees with Ritchie and added a few comments himself:

“I’ll just say he’s not the real deal. I’m not going to trust that DeMarco will save the day without Felix Jones”

What gives? In my opinion this is very low class. Just give the kid some credit for an amazing first career start or don’t say anything at all.

-Rookie linebacker Bruce Carter he is playing his first career game this Sunday night against Eagles and is “…very excited,” but perhaps somebody forgot to mention this to Head Coach Jason Garrett.

Garrett has not confirmed or denied Carter playing this Sunday night and appeared to be dancing around the question regarding Carter’s status. It looks like Cowboys will have to wait and see if the ‘Bruce-Lee’ era will begin until game day.

-Tony Romo has confirmed that he and his new wife are pregnant and should be expecting their first child this March.

This has vBookie bet written all over it. Over-under at 9 pounds, boy vs. girl, names such as Jason Witten Romo or Jerry Ann Romo. Any suggestions?

-For the fist time this season Cowboys Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator Jason Garrett called more run plays that pass plays. This surprisingly resulted in the teams most convincing win in over a year.

It’s easy to call run plays if they’re working and DeMarco Murray was a big part of that. Could this be a sign of things to come? One poster here on Cowboys-Forum think so. Manofaiki, a long time poster and respected member of C-F wrote this past week that:

“If Murray turns out to be a new breakout star for us much like Austin was 3 years ago, I think we can expect to see more games where Dallas will run more than they throw.”

Manofaiki also added that this will help the Cowboys hold a lead and close out games instead of giving away free-bee’s like the Lions game.

-Cornerback Mike Jenkins seems to coming back to his 2009 Pro Bowl form. Jenkins made a great play this past Sunday by man-handling Rams wide receiver Brandon Lloyd and intercepting A.J. Feely almost simultaneously.

Some of Jenkins struggles last season were due to a loss of confidence but that was not the only reason for his struggles.

Moving Alan Ball from corner to safety backfired and the results were a horrible secondary that got torched by mediocre quarterbacks like David Garrard. Cornerbacks must be able to trust that their safety has their back or things will get ugly real quick and they did.

Between his solid play, leadership and knowledge of the Ryan 3-4, Abram Elam has been the Cowboys best free-agency addition this year. He has solidified a position that has been burning the Dallas Cowboys since Darren Woodson’s sudden retirement.

-Jerry Jones Quote of the week.

A football lesson on the fullback position by Coach Owner/GM Jerry Jones:

“The fullback effectively splits the defense. It lets you block up in there, catch up, man up, with an extra player that you don’t have when you’re playing with a true prototype fullback.”

Is this the technical definition Jerry?

-Interesting Stat(s) of the week:

Thanx to DeMarco Murray’s record setting day, the Cowboys moved from 27th in the league in rushing to 12th. That’s a pretty amazing 1 week swing.

The Philadelphia Eagles are giving up over 123 yards a game on the ground–good for 18th in the league against the run.

Week 7: This and That

by Dustin Dalia

This is a quick look on what is going in Dallas Cowboys land as the team prepares for the Rams.

-It seems as though the Cowboys will be splitting the carries this Sunday between Choice and Murray with a few hints that Tanner could get his first regular season carries against the Rams:

Jerry Jones breaks down Sunday’s running game plan, “We’ve shown that we’ve split the carries and, in this circumstance, that’s very appropriate since DeMarco is still very early on inhis repetitions, his time that he’s sorted through the blocking.”

Jones on Tanner:
“He’s [Tanner] a very impressive player and a very impressive person. We just haven’t ha anybody come in, especially as a free agent, and be any more professional than he is and that really is him. That carries away from the practice field and goes into the meeting rooms and goes beyond that. He’s a serious young man. He has real good, natural instincts in finding soft spots and running with the ball. To the degree that we do give the ball to Phillip Tanner, I’m comfortable with that.”

-Rob Ryan expressing his man-love for DeMarcus Ware:
“I saw Superman I and II. Never saw the third one,” Ryan said. “I know Lawrence Taylor’s obviously a fantastic player, but the best player I’ve ever seen on defense is DeMarcus Ware without a doubt.”

- According to Calvin Watkins, Kyle Kosiar will be playing with a steal plate in the bottom of his shoe after tearing his Plantar Fascia. Kosiar says he will be fine but Terrence Newman suffered the same injury in 2007, missed 2 games and played the rest of the season in pain from the foot and from getting burned repeatedly on the field.

- Bucky Brooks of NFL.com thinks the Cowboys may be the best team in the NFC East despite their 2-3 record. Brooks points out that the Cowboys have the best defense in the division and have a favorable schedule for the next several weeks. He also said that the Cowboys need to fix their redzone issues before the team can take their game to the next level.

-In week 1 against the Jets, Dez Bryant injured his quad during a punt return and has not returned a punt since. That could change this week after the Cowboys released wide receiver Dwayne Harris. Jason Garrett says Bryant and backup wide receiver Kevin Ogletree will share the punt return duties this week against the Rams.

-Nick Eatman of dallascowboys.com thinks the Cowboys will blow out the Rams:
“I’m sensing a blowout here. I just think the Cowboys will take out their frustrations against the Rams this week. St. Louis just seems overmatched completely. Healthy again on both sides of the ball, I see the Cowboys putting up some points on offense and keeping a Rams team that has just four touchdowns this year in check as well. Something tells me this 11-game streak of games decided by four points or less will end in a big way.”

I am not buying any of this blowout stuff I keep hearing around the water cooler. The Cowboys have not “blown-out” a team in over a year when the Cowboys beat the Texans 27-13 on the road. I think the Cowboys will win and COULD blow-out the Rams but I wouldn’t bet money on it.

-Interesting Stats of the week:
Most sacks allowed by a team in 2011: 22- St. Louis Ram

Cowboys-Patriots: Keys to Cowboys Victory

by Dustin Dalia

The loss to Detroit was an absolute heartbreaker for most ‘Boyz fans to take. Not just because the Cowboys lost a game they had dominated for over 3 quarters but because we (fans) had to hear all of the anti-Romo chatter that comes with what seems to be every other week.

Even though I might not ever get over this loss for awhile it is now time to move on to the the next opponent…The New England Patriots.

I don’t think we need to go into great detail on the Patriots offense or Tom Brady’s golden locks. Instead lets take a look at a few things I think need to happen in order to tame ‘the gods of football’.

Take away the middle with General Lee

Brady and Welker have been hooking up at an alarming rate. Wes Welker is on pace to beat the single season records for both receptions and receiving yards. I doubt that Welker can keep this pace but it does show you how hard it is to cover the little engine that could one-on-one.

Rob Ryan will use Sean Lee’s superb recognition skills to take away a lot of the short passes over the middle that the Patriots offense relies on so much.  Lee has shown outstanding skills while dropping into zone coverage but has not had to deal with Wes Welker, 2 dynamic TE’s, and a crafty veteran RB all at the same time.

This game will tell us a lot about See Lee’s development and if he has a stellar game, it could catapult him into elite status.

Run, run and then run it again

One classic way to slow down a near unstoppable offense it to keep them off the field.  In order for the Cowboys to do this they need to consistently good yardage on the ground–not just break off 1 or 2 long runs by Felix Jones.

The Cowboys offensive line must open holes against the Leagues 13th defense against the run that is giving up 4.6 yards per carry. It will be a tough test against a couple of the games best space eaters in Vince Wilfork and Albert Haynsworth.

Take away Tom Brady’s strongest attribute

It is not an easy task confusing and knocking Tom Brady around but this is the key to slowing him down as the Giants did in 2007 and the Browns did in 2010. Guess who coached the Browns defense in that game?  You guessed it,  none other than our very own defensive coordinator Rob Ryan.

Eric Mangini broke down the 2010 Patriots/Browns matchup and pointed out that the Cowboys need to take away the chance for Brady to get a pre-snap read, make him move around the pocket, and jam the receivers at the line. This is easier said then done but Tom Brady is beatable. After all, he hasn’t won a playoff game since the 2007 season.

My Take

So there it is–the blue print to beating the beloved New England Patriots. I will have to say that at first glance I take a deep breath and pray that Brady doesn’t carve us up like a Thanksgiving turkey but when I take a deeper look at their 32nd ranked defense against the pass it gives me a little hope.

Romo and the gang must eliminate those costly mistakes and play like a championship caliber team for 4 quarters to have a chance.

I am putting on my homer glasses today…Cowboys win 31-28!

The Big Question: Can the Cowboys win a Super Bowl with Romo?

by Dustin Dalia

Last sunday Tony Romo was arguably single handily responsible for the worst collapse in Dallas Cowboys history when he threw back-to-back interceptions that immediately resulted in touchdowns with a 24 point lead in the third quarter.

Romo would later add a third pick when he mistakingly attempted a rather deep pass off of his back foot under pressure to tight end and BFF Jason Witten.

Following the heartbreaking collapse Sunday afternoon, the media and many Cowboys fans are left with the question of whether Tony Romo can lead Cowboys to a Super Bowl victory.

Many QB’s make mistakes and still seem to win but the problem is that Romo’s mistakes seem to come at the worst time.

Lets take a trip down memory lane to the 2007 playoffs against the Seattle Seahawks. Tony Romo had the team in position to win at the end of the game but he botched the snap on a 19 yard field goal attempt that would have likely sealed a win for the franchise looking for it’s first playoff win in over a decade.

Now I will admit that this mistake has nothing to do with his play as a quarterback but the argument could be made that he seems to, dare I say the word, choke a little more than you would like to see out of your “franchise QB”.

In Tony Romo’s defense he has led the Cowboys to 12 fourth quarter comebacks in his career since he has become the starting quarterback in 2006. So he has some clutch genes in there somewhere.

Despite these horribly timed mistakes, the Cowboys front office still voice nothing but support and confidence in the oft criticized QB.

“There’s no issue regarding Tony. I had all the confidence in the world in him on the last drive. He has the ability and gives us the best chance to go down and score a touchdown. We didn’t get it done, but we have a lot of faith in Romo.” said Cowboys Owner and General Manager.

Now Jerry Jones is not going to come out and blast his star quarterback so these comments are not surprising. Head Coach Jason Garret also states that he has no issue putting trust in Tony Romo; even after the 2 Cowboys losses have been a direct result of Romo’s bone-headed mistakes.

“I don’t think it’s difficult to trust him,” Garrett said. “We’ve had a lot of success in these situations over the last 6½ years with Tony as our quarterback. Now, have they been a 100 percent perfect? No. But you try to create the environments, and you try to do the things as a coach, to help him be as good as he can be in those situations.”

The front office obviously has confidence in Romo and we will not likely see the end of the Romo era for at least a few more seasons but as fans what do you think? Can the Cowboys win the big one with Romo?

 

My Take

I honestly believe that Tony Romo could win us a Super Bowl. If Trent friggin Dilfer can win a Super Bowl then Romo definitely can. Tony Romo is a damn good quarterback and yes he makes tons of mistakes but he makes tons of plays as well and he has won a lot of games for the Cowboys.

 

It is unfair how he gets treated and it sickens me whenever somebody questions his dedication, work ethic or leadership. Remember this guy went from undrafted nobody to the quarterback of America’s Team. That was no accident ladies and gentlemen. He had to work his butt off to even sniff a start in the NFL.

 

I admire Tony Romo for the crap he takes and how far he has come. His dedication and patience with the Dallas media and fans is simply amazing. Most other people would have cracked and went Ryan Leaf on everybody. I am going to agree with Terence Newman on this one.

“If you ask me, I’ll ride with Romo any day of the week.”

 

 

 

I decided to…………..

Credit to Domer, for this masterful piece of writing:

So i walk up to my boss and ask for a meeting. I told him there where some things we needed to discuss.

You see, this all started a few years ago, where among other things, the boss and I came to an agreement to divide the profits of the company 60-40, in my favor. Seeing how generous it was I gave him the option to opt out of this agreement after a few years. Well, he had the nerve to opt out of it. I mean seriously. Sure, he takes on all the financial risks of running the company, and pays me a great salary on top of providing great benefits. But I do work long hard hours with the company for 6 months out of the year. And don’t forget the week here and weekend there the rest of the year. I bet you, if I added it all up I probably work 7 maybe even 8 months out of the year!

And don’t forget the time I put into work on “my own time” the rest of the year! If we count that, I probably work all 12 months of the year and if I’m lucky I only get 3 or 4 weeks of actual vacation a year! Can you believe that? I work with this company 12 months a year, get maybe 3 or 4 weeks of vacation. And this guy doesn’t want me to take 60% of the companies profits. He can’t run the business without me. I’m the one actually doing the work, while he sits up in his office and twiddles his thumbs! This company was doing pretty well before I got her, but now that I’m here, it is really doing great. Sure, my boss “says” he has lost some money the past year or two and that growth of the company isn’t rising as expected, but, pfft.. I don’t believe him. I even asked him to show me his audited financials for the last decade to prove it, but he wouldn’t, he want to only show me a few years! Crazy man!

I mean all the data needed to determine whether or not he is telling the truth is a matter of public record via tax documents and other sources, but I need to see how he is spending his own personal money too. The nerve of this guy!

I know what some of you are thinking. You probably think, I make 10 million a year! No way. I make about 770,000 per year and on average most people in my business only last about 3 or 4 years. In all, I’m only going to make about 2-3 million for my career here! unbelievable! I have a family to feed. And if you haven’t heard enough. Do you know that salary isn’t GUARANTEED! If he fired me for some reason, I wouldn’t get paid for the rest of the year I didn’t work for him! What kind of crazy stuff is that! Seriously! He can fire me without cause and then NOT pay me the rest of my contract! I’ve never heard of such a thing! He needs to wake up to the real world!

And now, he has the nerve to lock me out of my office. He isn’t even paying my health insurance. I have to foot the bill for cobra insurance! Man, cobra insurance! And I have to pay for it! I’m so mad! I was only making 770K per year for Pete’s Sake! How can I be expect to pay ALL of my own insurance!

I know what I’m going to do. I’m suing! He made me work 6 months per year. Had me come in to work for another month or so per year. Paid me a measly 770K per year and provided great benefits on top of sharing 60% of his profits with me and now he has the nerve to ask for something back!

Where’s my lawyers number!

Domer