Can They be Better Next Year?

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Sunday was just not the Cowboys game to win.

The offense did what had plagued them throughout their dry spells of the season. They would drive passed the 50, but fail to get any points. After a decent drive to open the game stalled, the defense three and outed the Vikings, closing the drive off with a sack by DeMarcus Ware.

The Cowboys have another decent offensive drive, facing a 4th and 1 at the Minnesota 38. My thoughts were to either go for it or punt it. You cannot trust your kicker in this situation. It was too early in my opinion to worry about absolutely needing three points. If it were the end of the half, I would try the field goal.

Of course, the field goal was no good and just a couple of plays later, the most bizarre play occurred. Brett Favre was about to get hit and it seemed that he just threw the ball up just to get it out. It appeared that safety Gerald Sensabaugh had great coverage on receiver Sidney Rice, but Rice somehow pulls it in and runs in for a touchdown. Sensabaugh turned around like he had no idea what had just happened, as if he did not realize that Rice caught the ball and  just scored a touchdown.

Well, it turns out that Sensabaugh really had no idea what had happened. He said that he saw that the ball was thrown, but he did not know where it was going. He heard the crowd erupt and thought he just got called for pass interference.

It is a shame because Sensabaugh has had a solid first season with the Cowboys and he deserves a new contract. But that was the strangest play I have ever seen. If he gets his head turned around before the ball was coming down, he has an interception or most certainly a pass breakup. Unbelievable.

Even though this play occurred in the first quarter, it was pretty much game over. That play caused the Vikings confidence to hit the sky. Everybody on that team was fired up and nothing changed from there.

The Cowboys offense was getting harassed, reminiscent of the 2007 divisional round game against the Giants. The offensive line was getting pounded which caused Romo to get extremely harassed.

The defense was not playing poorly even though the score ended up being 34-3. They were making as many stops as they could, but the offense was the problem. At halftime, the score was 17-3. They were not totally out of the game yet. The Vikings had the ball to open up the second half and the defense pulled another three and out.

Then when the Cowboys got the ball, they began with two impressive runs by Felix Jones, followed up by a nice Marion Barber run. But to just smash any hope, Barber gets a toss play that not only went nowhere, but went backwards for a 7 yard loss. They went from the Minnesota 23 to the 31 in a couple of plays, capping it off with another missed field goal.

Throughout the season, after the first two games, the defense was a solid unit. When the Cowboys had problems, it was on offense. The team lost 17-10 in Denver. If your defense only gives up 17 points, this offense is supposed to be good enough to get 20 points. Then they lost 17-7 in Green Bay as well.

I cannot pinpoint what needs to be done to improve on these poor offensive outings. Miles Austin has emerged as the number one receiver, you still have Jason Witten and Patrick Crayton was your solid number three. Roy Williams is basically another Crayton at this point, which is fine. Kevin Ogletree could have an increased role next year as well.

Then you have a trio of good backs. I think that Marion Barber has lost a lot on every level. Not just a lack of speed and quickness, but he is not as strong anymore. I doubt that the Cowboys could cut his salary next year and release him. I think this team could split Barber and Choice’s carries and let Felix get the most carries. In the final month, Felix has proven that he can carry the load in a game.

So, I am not sure what they could do to avoid these bad offensive performances. I think the line has played well all season. Romo did take the most sacks that he has in a season, but I always attributed that to Romo being more careful with the ball. The line was certainly the issue in Sunday’s game, but overall, they had a nice season.

During the game, I pretty much thought this was exactly like or even worse than 44-6 to end last year’s season. I thought that there was nothing good to take away from this season regardless if they finally won a playoff game since 1996 and that they finally had a winning December/January.

But this season can be thought of as a positive. That is only if they can improve next season. In 2007, the team was the number one seed in the NFC and you probably could not be much better than 13-3, especially since their success was unexpected. At least the type of the success they had.

The 2008 season was supposed to be the year for the Cowboys, according to most people, but they failed to make the playoffs. This season, the Cowboys were thought of as a good team that could win the division or at least get in the playoffs. They did both and were the hottest team going into the playoffs. It was probably as good as any time to get to a Super Bowl. The team was completely healthy and they caught fire like a lot of Super Bowl teams do at the end of seasons.

Now the question is can they improve and be better next year? That is to be determined. They failed to improve after the 2007 season. There are many positives like the emergence of Miles Austin and the incredibly solid play from Mike Jenkins. Then the defense as a whole. They were second in the league in points allowed. I think the defense still needs to create turnovers. If they could do that, they could be the best defense in the league.

Unfortunately, this team is still hard to trust. If they can be better next year, they will finally have my trust. The team seems to struggle with success. Anytime they have a good thing going, they fall flat.

Lets see if they can be better next year.

Will the Cowboys Plunder in Minnesota?

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They finally had the December/January that they needed to have with convincing fashion and then they get the playoff win at last in the same style.

Going into the game last weekend, I had a score of about 24-10 in my head. I never envisioned another huge gap in a win. The Eagles have been the dominant force in the NFC East for the past decade and the Cowboys handled them like they were feeble.

Now the Cowboys travel to Minnesota where the Vikings are a well known 8-0 at home this season. The Vikings struggled in December, but still managed to blow out the Giants in the season finale to keep them in the first round bye hunt, which they secured.

I have only seen a limited amount of Vikings games this season and I noticed one major thing about them. It seems as if you can throw on them. I watched a Monday night game earlier in the season where they hosted the Packers. They had a huge lead, something like 24-3, but the Packers almost came back, which was led by Aaron Rodgers carving the secondary up.

A month ago, the Cardinals did a nice job on this defense too as did the Matt Moore led Carolina Panthers. I was amazed at how much Matt Moore of all people carved up this secondary. The following week, Jay Cutler and the Chicago Bears struggling offense torched them as well. Cutler ended up with 4 touchdowns in that game.

If Tony Romo can continue his fantastic play, the Cowboys should be able to throw on this secondary.

With all of that said, you need time to throw and we all know about Vikings defensive end Jared Allen. He can be relentless. Then there is the two Williams defensive tackles. It could be difficult to run up the middle, but that is why you have Felix Jones to run outside the tackles. Felix has come on very well in recent weeks.

The other issue in stopping the Vikings is obviously Adrian Peterson, one of the best backs in the league. His yards per carry is down this year, but it is still an impressive 4.4 yards per carry and he also ran for a career high 18 touchdowns.

The key in most games, but especially this game is stopping the run. The Cowboys do not always bring a ton of heat because they happen to have some really good edge rushers so you do not need to bring blitzes, but if a team is clearly one dimensional, you can call up some blitzes up the middle.

Brett Favre just had the season of his career and is still hard to defend against. He has also jump started the career of receiver Sidney Rice. This offense is the same style of the Eagles, but Favre will be trying many quick throws against the Cowboys on Sunday. Maybe this will allow the Cowboys corners to press the receivers to give the rush a little more time to get to Favre before he can try anything quick.

Both of the starting offensive tackles for the Vikings have struggled in the final month of the regular season. One of them is a rookie and the other one struggled so much against the Panthers against Julius Peppers that he was benched. He also has battled an injury. I am referring to Bryant McKinnie, the starting left tackle. This could be a good thing for DeMarcus Ware as well as Anthony Spencer.

The Cowboys are playing unbelievable right now and I now have the feeling that if there is anytime for a team to steamroll through the playoffs, this team’s time is right now. You cannot expect that a team is going to be playing this piping hot at this time of year every season.

Taking down the Vikings in Minnesota will be tough. All I hear about is how loud it will be and anytime the Vikings do something good, they have that extremely loud Viking horn call.

But I wonder how much louder it can be in Minnesota compared to how loud it was in New Orleans when the Cowboys took them on last month.

This game will not be effected by crowd noise. This game will come down to who the better team is. That is all. It is the playoffs and many stats made in the regular season can be thrown out. Yes, the Vikings are undefeated at home, but it does not make them unbeatable. The Cowboys have played in a very loud environment already this season and they handled that very well.

I would say that this offense is similar to that of the Saints. Same type of receivers, but with a better run game. If the Cowboys defense does what it has done recently and limits the Vikings offense, I believe that the Cowboys offense can score points.

Execution is as vital as ever. Regardless of the beating the Vikings gave the Giants in the season finale, they were a struggling them. The Cowboys need to do what they have been doing recently.

The bottom line is that the best team will win this game.

Playoff Win Very Important

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The first part of a Cowboys fans dream has come true in winning their final three games of the regular season to win the NFC East title and host at least one home playoff game.

This has set the stage for an instant rematch with the Eagles after completing a 24-0 shutout, making back to back shutouts for the first time in Cowboys history.

It is a little nerve-wracking playing the Eagles for the third time, but especially in a rematch one week later. The Cowboys did  make the sweep in the regular season and now they are trying to get a three game sweep.

I have heard that in the history of the league, there have been either 17 or 19 situations where a team had a chance to beat a team three times and that team has prevailed 12 times, so the percentage does favor the Cowboys. The Cowboys most recently failed in this scenario in the 2007 playoffs when they lost to the Giants.

I also heard that the Eagles under Andy Reid have never lost their first round of the playoffs. If there are fans out there who get nervous after seeing these stats, remember that a lot of things have changed for the Cowboys this season. The most obvious is the Cowboys success in the final month of the season.

The Cowboys just need to keep showing some consistency that they seem to have going now. Tony Romo continues to play fantastically as does the defense. Also, the running game seems to be coming back to life.

In the first match up, the Eagles brought a lot more pressure and the Cowboys came out on top 20-16. The Eagles did not bring as much pressure in the second meeting, so for those who say that the Eagles will bring a ton of heat in the playoff game, they tried it in the first game and Tony Romo played well.

Probably the biggest thing from these two meetings is they way in which the Cowboys handled the Eagles big play game. DeSean Jackson has been ineffective in both games, but really, no one on the Eagles has been big except for a couple of plays that LeSean McCoy made in the first game.

The special teams has also kept Jackson in check on punt returns.

The Cowboys defense ended the season as the second best scoring defense in the NFL, giving up 15.6 points per game.

It has been a very long time since a Cowboys team has been playing this well that it is almost surreal. Two of the teams the Cowboys beat on their three game winning streak were great playoff teams in the New Orleans Saints and Eagles.

Even though the Cowboys shut out the Eagles in the final week of the regular season, the Cowboys did not play their best game. Many people could argue that there were plays the Eagles left on the field that if they hit on could have changed the game.

Definitely true, but the Cowboys were making stupid plays as well. That missed catch by Jeremy Maclin with a lot of field to run on was a defensive lapse and then there was the overthrown pass to Jackson that Newman got beat on. So there are still things the Cowboys could improve on which they should clean up in the playoff game.

This game has so much riding on it besides a huge playoff game against a huge rival. The result of this game will go a long way in determining the success of this season. If the Cowboys win, I think it would be great because it would be Wade Phillips and Tony Romo’s first playoff victories.

But if they lose, everything that has been going so well recently will have been inane. The 1996 talk will continue as well as the weight on Phillips and Romo’s shoulders about not winning a playoff game.

It is time for the negatives becoming positives from seasons passed to continue. I cannot stress it enough that a win in this game means so much and a lose would detract every thing. It is just time to go on a playoff run. The team has started to get hot which is an all important thing going into the playoffs.

The time has just come. The Eagles have been the most dominant team in the NFC east for the last decade and it is time for a shift.

It is still very scary to play the Eagles once again, but there might not be much for either team to really change. This game will be more about execution than any other game. Romo has shown that he can handle a blitz and the Cowboys should keep using the blitzes against the Eagles.

If the Cowboys can take this game, the sky may be the limit for this postseason.

Division Title Key to Playoff Success

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A playoff spot is sealed and now the stage is set for the division title as the Eagles come into Cowboys Stadium for the final game of the regular season.

The first thought that someone would have when thinking of a season finale against the Eagles is last seasons final game in Philadelphia, which was the most embarrassing game I have ever seen.

A playoff spot on the line for both teams, winner gets in, loser stays home.

Last season, when the early games fell the Eagles way, setting up that game for a playoff spot, I knew the Cowboys would lose because they had always shown that they would fail in a clutch situation.

This season has changed perspectives up to this point. That huge win against the Saints could mean a lot depending on what the Cowboys can do in this Sunday’s game and in the playoffs.

Even though the Cowboys have a playoff spot, winning the division could be a key to having success in the playoffs.

If the Cowboys could win this game, they would have a modest three game winning streak, but it will mean more than just three games. Even though the first two December games were loses, they were both close games that the Cowboys were in for the entire game. Then take in that the start of the streak was beating the then undefeated Saints, followed by a playoff clinching win against Washington, ending with a division winning victory against the Eagles.

That would be amazing going into the playoffs, as long as the Cowboys could keep the momentum going. Especially because they would have a home game to open up the first round.

But if the Cowboys end up losing on Sunday, they need to have a game where they stayed in the entire game with no glaring issues. We still do not know if this teams psyche is fragile. They have had some tough losses, but they have never had a blowout loss to deal with.

I would like to believe that they are strong mentally, but you can never guarantee that.

If the Cowboys do win, there is a likely scenario that we could be playing the Eagles two weeks in a row in Dallas. If the Eagles win, they clinch a first-round bye and the Cowboys will be going to Minnesota or Arizona.

The other opponent from a Cowboys win could be another rematch, this time against the Packers.

Regardless, a division title could be a nice booster to end the season going into the playoffs. Because if this team goes into the playoffs that hot, they could beat anyone.

They have already beat the Saints, who are now on a two-game losing streak. The Vikings have cooled down since starting out hot. We have beaten the Eagles, but we will see if anything changes after Sunday. A few tough breaks and favorable calls for the Packers helped in a losing effort at Green Bay. And then Arizona is a team that you never know what you will get.

It seems like it has been a very long time since the Cowboys had some momentum going into the playoffs and they have some right now. A win Sunday will go a long way, but a loss should not faze them unless it is another loss like last years finale.

They have shown that the defense can be a dominant force. Tony Romo is playing like he truly can in this critical month of the season and the running game has shown signs of being able to sustain drives.

The Cowboys are showing those signs that we see from Super Bowl teams in recent years. Teams that were not playing their best football gaining some steam during the stretch run going into the playoffs and making a run to the big game.

There is hope around this time of year that has not been around in awhile and a division title could be the piece to bigger things.

Must Sustain Momentum

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A huge win against the undefeated New Orleans Saints last week. The defense dominated for three quarters and the end result was allowing the Saints to their fewest points total all season long. Tony Romo was also playing one of his best games in his career.

But this win could mean nothing if they Cowboys are unable to end the season without a playoff spot.

Everyone should rightfully feel good about beating the Saints, especially in the ways that they were able to beat them. The Cowboys controlled the entire game. Not even the most optimistic Cowboys fan could have imagined that.

Even though the Cowboys have given the fans a feeling of elation, we all must take a step back. We all know that this team is capable of letting us down, no matter how good they look.

Case in point is how the Cowboys talked before the Giants game. They sounded like they were more focused than they had ever been. I liked what I heard and I said how this team feels different from years passed. Well, we all know how disastrous that game went, even though it was only a 7 point game in the end. This game could prove to be the Cowboys’ bane of this season.

One of my biggest statements has been “if this team is different, they will…” So, from now on, I will refrain from saying that.

Many people will be worried that the Cowboys used all of their will and power on beating the Saints and they will relax and still not finish out strong. I can understand that.

That is why they need to keep this momentum going. Instead of feeling relaxed after just taking down an undefeated team, they should have the mentality that if they keep up that same will for every team they face from here on out, they have a chance to dominate.

You will be hard pressed to find a more explosive offense than the Saints in this league. There could be arguments for the Colts, Chargers and maybe even the Eagles. The Cowboys did a nice job containing the Eagles’ explosive offense earlier this season and they did a somewhat decent job on the Chargers.

The first step in sustaining momentum is visiting the Washington Redskins this Sunday. A team that had been playing well until they disappointed us in the rare case of a loss, in which they were destroyed by the Giants.

A lot of people will tell you that it is the Redskins and they always play hard against the Cowboys, so do not expect a smooth victory.

In most cases, I would feel the same way. But as I look at certain positions, the Cowboys need to punish the Redskins this time. Washington has a makeshift offensive line at the moment and look at the pressure we were able to get against a line that was not giving up much on Drew Brees all season long.

The Redskins are also on their fourth starting running back of the season. Also, Mike Jenkins is playing out of his mind this year and unless Terence Newman has another abdominal/groin tear before the game, he usually does a great job on Santana Moss.

This is not saying that it will not end up being a close game since it is a big rivalry. That would not surprise me. What I am trying to say is that the level of competition is unbalanced. The Redskins offense has some missing parts that favor the Cowboys.

The biggest issue will be facing the Redskins’ defense. They seem to be pretty healthy and the Cowboys were only able to muster up 7 points near the end of the game to beat the Redskins in Cowboys Stadium earlier this year.

But the Giants offense torched this same defense and I for one believe that the Cowboys have a better offense than the Giants.

My main point in all of this is that the Cowboys need to build off of the Saints win and they need to live up to their competition and beat a team who is struggling. There is not more time to bounce around mediocrity. You need to have a convincing win going into the final week of the season, where you really could be playing for your playoff lives.

The Cowboys do have a clinching scenario this weekend, but the Giants must lose before it goes into effect Sunday night. If the Giants do lose earlier to the Carolina Panthers, the Cowboys could clinch a spot with a win.

If the Cowboys lose one of their last two and the Giants won their final two, see you next season. The Packers could still miss out, but the likeliness of them losing their last two is not good.

So, the Cowboys need this game badly and I think that a blowout type of win are as I said, a more convincing win should help going into the final week against the Eagles.

Obviously the best way to get into the playoffs is win out. You cannot rely on getting help because as we all know, the Cowboys can never let their fans rest easy until the final game has been completed.

Containing Saints Will Be No Brees

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The Cowboys are doing it again, failing in the part of the season when they need to be clutch. Embarrassing loss to the Giants and missed opportunities against the Chargers.

Now they go into a ruckus New Orleans Superdome where the Saints are now 13-0.

I am not so far annoyed where I have no confidence at all that the Cowboys can get a win, but they have once again proven to their fans and organization that they cannot be trusted when the season ends and they need to pick up some wins.

The Cowboys did take down the undefeated Colts in the 2006 season, but that was in November at home, not away in December.

The Saints have been creeping around losing for the past couple of weeks. If not for a missed Redskins field goal, the Saints would be coming into this game with a loss and they almost lost to the Falcons without their starting quarterback and running back in Matt Ryan and Michael Turner.

There have been a few games this season where the Saints probably should have lost, but the other teams were unable to finish drives and get some points on the board. That, along with the fact that the Saints are thrashing teams in the fourth quarter.

If the Cowboys feel like winning this game, they need to score early and often and keep their foot down and continue to score. You can move the ball on the Saints’ defense, but the Cowboys have problems finishing their drives with touchdowns and you cannot rely on the kicking game. The key on offense is not turning the ball over. The Saints are the top team in forcing turnovers, but as I said, if you do not turn the ball over, you can move the ball on them.

The main issue is containing the Saints’ offensive attack, which will be quite difficult. Drew Brees can carve a defense up, as he did to this defense in 2006 when he threw 5 touchdowns against the Cowboys at Texas Stadium.

The Cowboys can stop the run, but even when you know the Saints are passing, it is difficult to stop them. A key to stopping them is pressure, but the Cowboys also struggle in pressuring the quarterback. DeMarcus Ware is probably required to play in order for the Cowboys to get pressure. I hope that he plays, but as of right now, he is considered questionable and it will be a game time decision for him to play.

The Cowboys need to be on fire the entire game. If there is a lull in their play, you can expect the worst. It is easy to see when the passion is lost on this team when things do not go well.

The shame of it all is that the Cowboys have shown that they can be a great team, but they are too inconsistent.

Two close games in a row when they left plays on the field that would have likely given them two wins. 10 points were left on the field in the Chargers game, 7 at the very least, which would have won you the game along with some idiotic play calling. Freak plays against the Giants and an untimely turnover likely caused a loss.

For fans, this is surely time to panic. I came into this month, definitely expecting one win by now and we are staring three straight losses in a row right in the face.

At this point, if they lose this game, I am not sure that they win a game the rest of this season. The Redskins are playing much better and the Eagles are one of the best finishing teams in the league.

You need at least 10 wins to get into the playoffs in the NFC, which the Cowboys are two wins away from. But again, the Cowboys do this to us every single season. They are simply unable to finish out a season strong and go into the playoffs with some momentum.

In 2006, they coasted into the playoffs with 9 wins, not really needing to finish strong, already clinching a playoff spot with about three weeks left. They should have won that playoff game, but they indeed lost.

In 2007, they had already smoked through the season into December, not needing to play for much at the end of the season and they were buried in the first round of the playoffs.

For right now, you cannot blame Tony Romo for their struggles. A career game in New York was forgotten because of a few failures on the defense and special teams. He did miss a few throws that could have been huge, but if the aforementioned two units did not already give up plays, he would not have been in that situation.

He had another solid game against the Chargers, but some poor play calling at the goal line really hurt the team.

Us fans are very frustrated and there are really no answers for us. Maybe the Cowboys are not good enough. I tend to disagree with that assumption. Their problem is finishing whether that is finishing a season, finishing an offensive drive with a touchdown or stopping a team on third down.

And going into New Orleans, the Cowboys might need a prayer to take down the Saints.

Talk is Truly Cheap

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A lot is said about Wade Phillips, especially after losses. I wrote a little bit about Wade in my piece “Less Answers”, but I wanted to speak a little more about him.

Many people have an issue with Wade’s laid back attitude. They think that he does not get on his players enough and he is not too expressive during press conferences. They dislike how he never puts blame on the players and can never admit that there are any issues on the team regarding their late season struggles.

Well, I am not sure if any of you heard Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin’s press conference after they lost to the Baltimore Ravens two Sunday night’s ago.

If you have not heard it, take a listen.

I will admit that after hearing that, I was actually excited because I love hearing a coach say this even though I am not a Steelers fan. He does not hide from the fact that his team needed to get back to playing smart and winning football. And then with his great quote, “We’re gonna unleash hell here in December”, he was being fiery.

But since the time of that loss and press conference, the Steelers have lost consecutive game to the Oakland Raiders in a last minute loss and the Cleveland Browns, whose defense absolutely shut them down.

This could prove a couple of things. It is still all about the players. You can tell the players what to do as much as you want, but ultimately, they are the ones who execute the plays being called.

Another thing is that it really does not matter whether the coach is laid back or forceful. I think that what matters is how they relate and treat their players.

Confidence is a fragile thing. You cannot pet a players ego because it could become inflated and you cannot criticize a player too heavy because they could crumble.

Obviously Parcells did not get the complete job done. He definitely set the table for this organization to get back to winning ways, but maybe his coaching style did not get through to these players.

It has been repeated that Wade is doing a great job record wise for this team, but people still believe he is too relaxed. When people defend Wade, they compare his attitude to that of Tony Dungy, a Super Bowl winning coach who was probably the most laid back coach in the history of the league.

In the 2006 season’s Super Bown, Dungy face off with Chicago Bears head coach Lovie Smith, who has the exact same attitude. Two laid back coaches leading their team into the Super Bowl. Of course, Love Smith does not have the same long term success as Dungy had, but he still took his team to a Super Bowl.

If you want Wade to be aggressive and forceful, it is never going to happen. It is easier to be a fired up coach that becomes more relaxed than it is to be a relaxed coach becoming fired up.

Wade still gets angry at penalties even though he is not going absolutely mental. So, if anyone thinks he is totally passive, he is surely not.

The main point is that talking about what you plan to do means absolutely nothing. Mike Tomlin’s team is likely sitting at home for this seasons playoffs after winning the Super Bowl a year ago. A betting man would have said that after Tomlin’s rant, his team was going to bust through the rest of the season, right into the playoffs.

It is all in the performance. All that Wade can do is put this team in the best position to win. They are in control of their own destiny and “they” need to finish the season strong.

When I say “they”, I mean the players.

Charging Ahead

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Coming into this Sunday’s game, the San Diego Chargers bring a seven game winning streak. Also, the last time that the Chargers lost a game in December was in 2005.

This Chargers team is a much better unit than the Giants. They bring a great pass rush as well. They are a 3-4 defense and as we all know, the Cowboys seem to struggle against the 3-4.

We also know that Philip Rivers has become one of the best quarterbacks in the league. Ever since he became the fulltime starter in the 2006 season, he has been very solid.

Having become the starter in 2006 and the Chargers not losing a December game since 2005, that means that Philip Rivers is undefeated in the month of December.

The Chargers are red hot. There is no question about that. The Cowboys are somewhat cool, needing to get hot. Beating the Chargers will obviously be no easy task, but every team is beatable, especially this season. Even though the Saints, Colts, and Vikings seem to be the best teams in the league this season, they all three have shown certain weaknesses.

San Diego is the 12th ranked defense, 15th in points allowed, but they are the 21st best rush defense. They lost veteran nose tackle Jamal Williams in the first game of the season and they have been gashed a few times this season. I recall watching the Steelers play the Chargers earlier this season and the Steelers were having much success running the ball.

If the Cowboys can contain the Chargers’ pass rush, they can probably do some damage to the secondary. Last week, Cleveland Browns quarterback Brady Quinn threw 3 touchdowns on this defense and the Browns only lost the game 30-23, with a failed onside kick stopping a chance to tie the game with under a minute left.

There is no question that the main issue the Cowboys will have to take care of is Philip Rivers and his passing attack. Not only do you have Rivers to deal with, but his top receivers are beasts in tight end Antonio Gates (6′4) and wide receiver Vincent Jackson (6′5).

Gates is having another fantastic season with 67 catches for 994 yards and 4 touchdowns. Vincent Jackson has emerged since last season as a number one receiver. He started the season with hot hands, but has cooled down somewhat recently. He still has 51 catches for 869 yards and 7 touchdowns with a 17 yard per reception average. The Chargers’ other primary receiver is Malcom Floyd, also 6′5, who carries an 18.4 yard per reception average. This team likes to go deep.

Even though the Cowboys gave up some huge gains to the Giants Sunday, they were more products of poor tackling. Most of those plays started out as short throws that those players were able to run around and get a big play out of it.

The Chargers get their big plays out of the vertical game. Rivers will launch a ball down field and those big guys go up and get it. We have not seen the Cowboys give up those kinds of plays. Hopefully this can be to their advantage. If you can get a good pass rush on Rivers and make him get the ball out quicker, you have a shot at them not being able to get off a deep throw.

But there is one issue as far as stopping a big gain off of a short throw. Darren Sproles has proven to be a solid receiver out of the backfield and he has the speed to kill. As the number two running back and third down back, Sproles has 39 catches for 449 yards and 3 touchdowns. They need someone on him every time he is on the field.

Defending the run should not be as difficult though. LaDanian Tomlinson and Darren Sproles each have a 3.3 yards per carry average. The Chargers like to establish the run for sure. They will likely not abandon the run, making the defenses wonder what they will do instead of going pass heavy for the defense to only focus on the pass.

If the Cowboys lose this game, the fans will certainly be done with the team, assuming they are officially out of the playoffs. It is definitely natural to think that way because of how tight the final three playoff spots in the NFC are. But there is a lot that could happen with those other teams.

I for one believe that they cannot afford to lose more than one game the rest of the season. This race has gotten too difficult to mess around with a loss.

It is going to be a tough game for sure. The Chargers are one of the hottest teams, but they are coming to Dallas for the contest and the Cowboys have yet to drop two games in a row.

The Chargers are due for a December loss and the Cowboys are due for a December win. Maybe those due dates will be on Sunday.

Less Answers

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At the end of the Cowboys’ first drive on Sunday, Martellus Bennett dropped a pass on 3rd and 2 at the New York 38. Obviously that brings up a 4th and 2.

Why would you not go for it on 4th down and 2 at your opponents 38 yard line when you were moving the ball pretty well? I think many other teams would have gone for it there. We all know that the Patriots would have.

I am sure that Wade Phillips’ argument would have been that it would have given the Giants good field position. Alright, but he should have enough confidence in his defense to want to go for it.

This leads me to think that this entire team and coaching staff needs more guts. As I said in my post yesterday, the Cowboys seem to always get “out-gutted”.

You can never question heart and I am not. But I think that this team needs to take more chances such as going for it on 4th downs. Some other things could include consistent press/bump coverage and more aggression when it comes to forcing turnovers. Anthony Spencer and Jay Ratliff both had strips at the beginning of the game, but it seems rare that this team does those things. Of course, it would also be nice if our defensive backs could get some more picks.

Just think of the confidence that would result in a 4th down conversion. In Sunday’s case, had they gone for it and converted, you are probably going to get some points off of that drive. We never go for it on 4th down and short before we need to in the fourth quarter, it seems.

Going back to confidence, letting your offense go out there on a 4th down tells your ream that you have confidence that they can keep the drive going. It can only help. Sure, if you are unable to convert, the team is a little dejected, but I still think that allowing them to try would make them feel good that you gave them the opportunity.

If this team continues to run the wildcat/razorback, they need to come up with a different play. It is either the power or counter. I especially disliked it on the goal line in Sunday’s game. Marion Barber is supposed to be your power/short yardage back, so use him in those situations.

When you do use the formation, get Felix involved somehow. Put him on the sweep there. Also, they sort of showed their hand in a play that looked like Romo was going to get a throw to find someone down field before a penalty was called. They need to change something there.

I have no major issues with Wade Phillips. He is a great defensive mind and has done a solid job with this defense, particularly this season. I could say a lot about what other people think of Wade, but there is no point because it has all been repeated a thousand times. He has had a very nice record since he has been here and an overall winning record.

Just remember that Bill Parcells failed to get this team anywhere either in his four years here. I would have liked to have seen Bill stay for one more year, just to see where this team could go under him, especially having Romo as the starter at the beginning of the season.

But it did not happen and Wade’s first season was a greatly successful regular season, although a poor finish.

One reason that I will not bash Wade is because what he shows us through the media may not be who he his in the locker room and on the practice field. It is easy to blame coaches and it is easy to blame players, but I think that you need to look at the team as one unit instead of blaming individuals.

All we know right now is that this team is in quite an unenviable situation going into the final quarter of the season although they “control their own destiny”. It is hard to feel good about this team maintaining their division lead.

It is also just as hard to imagine this team making the playoffs as a wild card seed since the two teams that are the true problems for the Cowboys are tied and the other is one game behind. That is scary. Extremely scary.

I say it is unenviable because of what I have said before. This team has not given the fans any confidence that they can close out a season and get into the playoffs after being in imperial position to get into the playoffs.

I truly do believe that the final game of the season against the Eagles will be for a playoff spot for both teams.

Before I feel nauseous about having that scenario play out again, we just have to wait and see what this team changes for the final quarter because answers are needed.

Where Do They Go From Here?

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Not only was the Giants game a loss for the Cowboys, but it changes the season dramatically. Probably more dramatic than anyone initially thought. Instead of getting a win and essentially needing just one more win to likely get into the playoffs, the team is now in for the fight of their lives.

The Cowboys are currently tied with the Eagles for first place, with the Cowboys taking the current tiebreaker.

Now you have the Giants trailing you by one game, who have the advantage over you in a tiebreak scenario.

But the one team that is going to be a burden to watch and hope for losses is the Green Bay Packers.

The most heart wrenching scenario for all Cowboys fans and players is if the Cowboys cannot take the division title and end up tied for a wild card spot with the Packers and Giants, they will be packing up early once again.

Another disheartening feeling that the Cowboys have given to the fans is that the fans cannot trust this team in a clutch part of the season. Every single December in recent seasons, one part of the team crumbles.

At the end of 2006, the defense was terrible. In 2007, the offense could get nothing done. In 2008, the defense gave up two big runs in a game at its most critical point.

To start this December, the defense gives up big plays in which they had not done all season, but the passing game was great and the running game disappeared.

I have to go back to one word for the fans and that is hope. All you can do is hope that this team will be different. Maybe Sunday’s game was a hiccup and they will be fired up for the rest of the season.

But even in hope, there is doubt because of this history, this hex. We have been letdown so often. Every time this team needs to go out and play consistently fired up, they flame out.

Too many times does this team get faced with an opportunity to put themselves in prime position do they fail. They cannot hold teams down who come into the game absolutely needing to win. They get out-gutted. The other team always gets the upper hand, even when the Cowboys are arguably the better team.

This fear could just be the result of one game where just a few silly plays made the difference. The defense has played well all year and hopefully this was just an aberration and they will get back on track. Because before Sunday’s game, I honestly had no doubt that the Cowboys would win because I thought they were flat out better then the Giants.

If they play how they can play without stupid mistakes, they could win the final four games of the year. That is not unrealistic.

The Chargers do not have the most quality defense and if you can stop their vertical game, the run should not be hard to stop.

The Saints have a questionable pass defense and they have nearly been beaten twice by lesser teams, having their offense stymied, but the other team failed to keep the throttle down.

Then they have already beaten the Redskins and Eagles, but those games can go either way since they are divisional games although still winnable.

The Eagles game could very well have the implications that last seasons final game had.

The main issue with all of this is that we have not seen this team close out seasons in a positive fashion. The doubt remains with the strange loss Sunday.

The issues inside of the major issue of closing out the season include Nick Folk, Orlando Scandrick and Bobby Carpenter.

If anyone was not worried about Folk before the game, you better be now. Some people seem to think that maybe Mat McBriar is not doing a good job of holding. There is no way to tell what the problem is if it is not Nick Folk himself.

If the Cowboys are not going to give David Buehler a shot, they should bring in a few kickers this week, just to give Folk the hint that his job is no longer secure and maybe that will creep into his head and he will get back on his game.

Last year, Orlando Scandrick was the most consistent rookie, playing the slot and was even in a battle for the second starting cornerback position with fellow second year player Mike Jenkins in training game and at the start of the season. Not only has Jenkins become the best cornerback on this team, but Scandrick has become a disaster this season.

His confidence may be destroyed. In week 2 against the Giants, Scandrick had a bad game in which he starter. But even after going back to just playing the slot, he has been beaten several times. I feel sorry for him because there have been a couple of games where Scandrick had perfect coverage, but the receiver was able to catch perfect passes. I am not sure that there is a solution for this problem besides hoping he gets better.

Before this year, I was a big advocate for getting Bobby Carpenter into games. I was sucked in after his great playoff game in Seattle his rookie year in 2006. After that game, he rarely saw the field. Now he has the nickel linebacker position. I think he has done a decent job in that role even though he sometimes takes bad angles on tackles.

But please, get him off of the goal line package. Teams run right at and through him. They need to put someone else in there immediately.

This is a broken record now, but if this team is different, they will make the playoffs. If they are not different, there are many more long Decembers to come.