Before I review the games from last week, let’s get
this out of the way: the Cowboys were flat out dominated by the Bears.
Tony Romo was intercepted 5 times, two of which were
returned for touchdowns. I listened to The
Ticket post-game show and the critique was not on Romo, but the offensive
line. Man, that was terrible blocking. How many times did Romo roll out of the
pocket? The host, Norm Hitzges, said that at least three of those offensive
linemen should be unemployed.
Over the last couple of seasons I’ve noticed that
there has been one glaring hole that cripples the Cowboys season. Last season
it was the secondary; this season, it appears that it is the offensive line
like it was in 2010. Remember, 2010 was when Tony Romo was lost for the half of
the season due to separated shoulder.
Another glaring issue was the skill position players.
This is Dez Bryant’s third season as a wide receiver in the NFL, and he can’t
seem to run the right routes. Where was Miles Austin? Tight end Jason Witten,
who has gotten off to a rough start this season in part due to a spleen injury suffered
in the pre-season, played his best game of the night.
Romo is asked to do a lot to keep this team
competitive and cover up the glaring holes that hurt this team. I have heard
the calls of people saying that we should get rid of Tony Romo… ARE YOU KIDDING
ME?! Kyle Orton was replaced by Tim Tebow in Denver. Remember, a couple of
weeks ago Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning threw three interceptions against
the Falcons. There were no talks of benching Manning for the rest of the
season. The six quarterbacks that currently have Super Bowl rings in the NFL
(Brady, both Mannings, Brees, Rodgers, Roethlisberger), how many of them had
their fair share of AWFUL games?
I also noticed that for a home game, this was a very
pro-Bears crowd. I had to make sure that this game was being played in Cowboys
Stadium and not Soldier Field.
Though I swore I heard “Bear
Down, Chicago Bears” after every time Chicago scored…
I didn’t watch the game to completion. I had enough
masochistic behavior with 7 minutes left in the game. I changed it over to the
Rangers game. And now the Rangers… (sigh) Save for another post.
The Cowboys might be finally be paying for the poor
drafts that have plagued this team over the past few seasons and it’s something
that Cowboys fans have realized since February 1994. The offensive line, the secondary,
the head coaches, we critique them but in the end it comes down to one person:
Jerry Jones.
Since Jimmy Johnson and Jerry Jones split due to “irreconcilable
differences” in 1994, the Cowboys have won only one Super Bowl. Even though
Jimmy Johnson was not the coach of the Super Bowl XXX championship team, it is
widely held belief among Cowboys fans that Barry Switzer, the coach hired after
Johnson, won with Jimmy’s Players. Before the Cowboys won their playoff game
against the Eagles in the 2009 playoffs, the last time Dallas won a playoff
game was when I was in seventh grade at Smithfield Middle School in North
Richland Hills, TX (GO RAIDERS!!).
Believe me, a lot has happened in 13 years…
Believe me, a lot has happened in 13 years…
Jerry Jones is not just the owner, but he is also the
general manager. As much as I want to think that Coach Jason Garrett has a say
in personnel decisions, this has Jerry Jones’s fingerprints all over this.
The Cowboys play in, from an engineering and architectural
point of view, one of the most impressive stadiums in the NFL. But the Cowboys
almost have no home field advantage. When the third quarter started, the Bears
marched down the field to score a touchdown and take a 10 point lead. That may
be due to Dallas’s secondary that night made Jason Culter and Brandon Marshall
look like the second coming of Joe Montana and Jerry Rice. However, home field
advantage does play a role in the NFL.
You have the largest television screen in the world,
you have the Cowboys Cheerleaders, a Victoria’s Secret store in the stadium… oh
and there is a football game going on. It’s not a football stadium; it’s a carnival.
The Cowboys are one of the more popular teams in the
NFL and they will be showcased in the NFL’s top broadcast spots (3PM game in a
doubleheader, Sunday Night, and Monday Night). It doesn’t matter because win or
lose, people will be talking about them.
Fortunately the Cowboys have a bye this week, but the
schedule does not get any easier. Four of their next five games are on the
road: at Baltimore, at Carolina, home against the Giants, at Atlanta, and at
Philadelphia.
So, the rest of the NFL in Week 4….
I was impressed with Browns quarterback Jason Weeden’s
performance against the Ravens. He played well, but the Browns are flawed at
other offensive positions. Again, wide receiver Torrey Smith is becoming a
playmaker in the emerging Ravens offense. I’ve said it once and I’ve said it
again: The Ravens might not have to rely so much on their defense to win them
games. This was a division game, so a tough go for both sides. Coach John
Harbaugh said that despite the record, he said the Browns are a good football
team. The Ravens avoided the trap 23-16.
The Texans made quick
work of the Titans. Up next for Houston is a trip to the Jets who were
throttled by the 49ers, 34-0. San Francisco chose to stay in the eastern half
of the country after their game at Minnesota instead of going back and flying
cross country. The Jets have now lost wide receiver Santonio Holmes for the rest
of the season due to a foot injury and the New York media is sounding the “Start
Tebow” alarms.
Detroit’s special
teams unit is awful. For the second week in a row, the Lions give up a kick
return for a touchdown as the Vikings won 20-13 to move to 3-1 and join the
ranks of the surprise teams in 2012. Looking at the rest of Minnesota’s schedule
their only tough games remaining are an upcoming matchup with the Cardinals in
Week 7, at Houston in Week 16, and they play the Bears and Packers in 4 of the
last 6 weeks of the regular season. Their bye week is in Week 11 and if the
Vikings are say 7-3 at that point, they could make a playoff run. That upcoming
Cardinals game in two weeks will be important to the playoff race and could
determine if whether the NFC North or the NFC West will send one more team to
the playoffs. I am not discounting their late season divisional games; they’re
going to have to win one of them so that at worst they get a season split.
Carolina expected
jump to the playoffs might be delayed if they keep giving away games like
these. Quarterback Cam Newton has to learn how to control the ball better in
key situations. Late in the fourth quarter and needing a first down to gain to
ice the game, Newton snuck forward, but fumbled the ball. Even though a Panther’s
team mate recovered the fumble, the fumble occurred inside two minutes left in
the game. If a player fumbles the ball inside the two minute warning, he has to
be one who recovers it for his team. If one of his team mates recovers the
fumble, the ball goes back to where it was fumbled.
Carolina did punt the
ball down inside Atlanta’s 5 yard line, but Matt Ryan led last second drive
that put the Falcons in field goal range to win 30-28. That drive was similar to
what happened four years ago in his rookie season where Matt Ryan led the
Falcons to a game winning field goal with no timeouts left against the Bears.
San Diego… last week
they score 3. The next week, they score 37. I hate Jekyll and Hyde teams… That’s
what the Chargers are in 2012.
New England looked
flat in the first half against the Bills, but scored 45 points in the second
half to put Buffalo away 52-28.
The Rams got their second win of the season with a win
over the Seahawks while the Bengals defeated the Jaguars 27-10. Denver looked
like the team we expected them to be when Peyton Manning signed with the
Broncos in the off-season in their win over the Raiders.
Despite Dolphins rookie quarterback Ryan Tannehill’s
431 yard passing game, 253 of those yards went to receiver Brian Hartline, the Cardinals
moved on to 4-0 for the first time since 1974 when they were in St. Louis and
won the NFC East Title that season. The coach of that 1974 Cardinals team was
Don Coryell. Give credit to the Dolphins though, the last two weeks they have
lost games in overtime to field goals.
Robert Griffin III, what a game winning drive he led.
Tampa’s defense could not stop him from walking the Redskins into field goal
range. Billy Cundif, who last season was the goat in the AFC Championship game
for missing a last second Ravens’ field goal, redeemed himself with a 41 yard
field goal to push Washington to 2-2.
History was made in Green Bay as Saints quarterback
Drew Brees threw a touchdown pass in his 47th consecutive game. The
previous record holder was Johnny Unitas. Many thought that Unitas’s record was
unreachable, but in this day of this being a passing league we can expect more
passing records to fall. Not only did Drew Brees set the single-season record
with 5,476 passing yards last season, but he was one of three quarterbacks to
cross 5,000 passing yards in a single season (the others: Brady and Stafford).
Brees threw for 446 yards and 3 touchdowns, but again
the Saints fell short 28-27 to the Packers who are starting to look more like
the Packers team that started hot last season instead of the one we saw in the
Monday Night game in Seattle.
The Saints problem is that Drew Brees is trying to
carry this team with all the stuff that is going on. He doesn’t play defense,
which they are terrible at. They only had 45 yards rushing. Kicker Garrett Hartley
sent a 48-yard field goal wide left with three minutes left that would have
given the Saints a lead. The best outcome for New Orleans is to finish .500. Up
next… it’s not pretty… they play San Diego at home, two weeks later at Tampa,
then the Week 8 Sunday Night Game at Denver, Election Day Eve at home against
the Eagles, and in Week 10 they host the Falcons.
Time to break out the paper bags again Saints fans…
In the Sunday Night contest, Eagles running back
LeSean McCoy rushed for 123 yards as Philadelphia improved to 3-1 with a win
over the Giants. Philadelphia’s 3 wins have been decided by a total of 4
points. They have a flair for the dramatic this season. I would be cautious
about the Eagles; yeah they are 3-1, but they could easily be 0-4. They may win
a lot of close games now, but in previous seasons where teams lived dangerously
on the edge of defeat eventually that luck ran out.
What cost the Giant a win was their final offensive
drive of the game. Two pass interference penalties put the Giants in field goal
range. Eli Manning tossed another long pass, this time along the near sideline,
and another interference penalty.
Except it wasn't on the Eagles; it was on receiver Ramses
Barden. It was the third time that Eli Manning threw a pass to Barden on the drive. Take a
guess who the receiver Manning targeted on the two defensive pass interference
penalties… yup, it was Barden.
The offensive pass interference pushed the Giants 10
yards back to the Eagles 36 yard line where Lawrence Tynes attempted a 54 yard
field goal. The kick was short.
Coach Tom Coughlin is a very detailed oriented coach
and I bet that he is stressing to his team about how much that penalties hurt
the team.
Oh, and the Cowboys lost to Bears 34-18 on Monday
Night… but we already talked about that.
One thing that I noticed during this week was the
return of the regular officials. It seemed like during the first three weeks of
the replacement officials there was an irregular flow to the game and they were
finishing later than normal. Last week it seemed like that flow was back.
As for my picks, better than that disaster of 5-11 in
Week 3. I was 9-6, but Ms. Roberts
was 11-4 widening her lead to 6 games on me. I think that Week 3 is going to
cost me, but it’s a long season; anything can happen. I am back above .500 so
that’s good.
WEEK 4: 9-6
TOTAL: 32-31
BREAKDOWN OF RECORD
MONICA
|
NOON
|
3PM
|
NIGHT
|
HOME
|
AWAY
|
TV
|
≤ 8 PTS
|
OT
|
|
WK 4
|
11-4
|
4-3
|
4-1
|
1-2
|
6-4
|
3-2
|
4-2
|
4-4
|
1-0
|
TOTAL
|
38-25
|
20-14
|
6-10
|
6-7
|
21-13
|
11-18
|
12-12
|
14-22
|
3-2
|
Week 5 starts off with Cardinals going to St. Louis
and in search for their fifth consecutive win of the 2012 season.
Quarterback duels litter the Sunday early games, a mix
between experienced players and rookies: Pittsburgh and Ben Roethlisberger
hosting the Eagles and Michael Vick; the Bengals Andy Dalton and the Dolphins Ryan
Tannehill; the Atlanta Falcons led by Matt Ryan will be Washington to take on Robert
Griffin III; and the Packers are in Indianapolis to play the Colts.
The Ravens are in Kansas City while the Browns return
to the east coast to play the Giants.
The afternoon games has the Bills travel to San
Francisco, the Titans are in Minneapolis, the Bears play in Jacksonville, and
the Carolina Panthers host the Seahawks.
Oh… and the game that MOST of the country will see…
The Denver Broncos travel to New England. I do not expect this game to be like
the playoff game. For starters, the Broncos quarterback is Peyton Manning so
there is a high probability that he will complete more passes than Tebow did.
Even though Peyton Manning changed teams, it should be another Brady-Peyton
Manning quarterback matchup classic.
Sunday Night Football has Saints quarterback Drew
Brees going for setting the record for most consecutive games with a touchdown
pass against the team that originally drafted him in 2001, the San Diego
Chargers. Records are nice, but I think it would be more important if the
Saints got their first win though.
Monday Night is the first of four prime time games the
Texans will have in 2012; 3 of them are on the road. I think the NFL could have
split it up so that the city of Houston would get some national exposure. But
anyways, the Texans earned it with the season they had last season and if the
Texans continue to play well, they might earn another prime time game per the
NFL’s TV rules (money says it’s their Week 16 matchup at home against the
Vikings that gets flexed into the Sunday Night slot).
Even though I have an anti-Houston sports slant, it’s
all in good fun. I’ll give credit where credit is due.
The Texans play the Jets which means ESPN’s Monday
Night pre-game show will be saturated with Tebow… sigh.
Right now Mark Sanchez is the incumbent quarterback
for the Jets. I say that the Tebow chants will start sometime in the second
quarter as the Texans defense is burying them.
The picks for Week 5 are below.
Kickoff Times are Central Time
Picks Indicated in BOLD
Sunday Day Games for the Dallas-Fort Worth Area are indicated with (DFW)
Picks Indicated in BOLD
Sunday Day Games for the Dallas-Fort Worth Area are indicated with (DFW)
BYE WEEK
Dallas Cowboys
Detroit Lions
Oakland Raiders
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
THURSDAY NIGHT (10/4)
Arizona
Cardinals at St. Louis Rams, 7:20 PM NFL
SUNDAY (10/7) CBS DOUBLEHEADER
NOON FOX
Philadelphia Eagles at Pittsburgh Steelers (DFW)
Green
Bay Packers at Indianapolis Colts
Atlanta
Falcons at Washington Redskins
NOON CBS
Baltimore
Ravens at Kansas City Chiefs (DFW)
Cleveland Browns at New York Giants
Miami Dolphins at Cincinnati Bengals
3PM CBS
Denver Broncos at New England Patriots (DFW)
Tennessee Titans at Minnesota Vikings
Buffalo Bills at San Francisco 49ers
3PM FOX
Seattle Seahawks at Carolina Panthers
Chicago
Bears at Jacksonville Jaguars
SUNDAY NIGHT
San Diego Chargers at New Orleans Saints, NBC 7:20 PM
MONDAY NIGHT (10/8)
Houston Texans at New York Jets, 7:30 PM ESPN
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