| This site created and maintained by Jeremy Dunklin. cowboy-fan.com is in no way affiliated with the NFL or the Dallas Cowboys. All material on this site is copyrighted 2007 cowboys-fan.com |
META NAME="TITLE" CONTENT="Cowboys vs. Bears Game Notes">
 | |  | |  | |  | |  |
Latest News
2007 SCHEDULE
PRE-SEASON
Thu Aug 9 INDIANAPOLIS
(FOX) 7:00 pm
Sat Aug 18 DENVER (BSM)
7:00 pm
Sat Aug 25 @ Houston
(BSM) 7:00 pm
Thu Aug 30 @ Minnesota
(BSM) 7:00 pm
REGULAR SEASON
1. Sun, Sept. 9 NY GIANTS
(NBC) 7:15 pm
2. Sun, Sept. 16 @ Miami
(FOX) 3:05 pm
3. Sun, Sept. 23 @
Chicago (NBC) 7:15 pm
4. Sun, Sept. 30 ST. LOUIS
(FOX) Noon
5. Mon, Oct. 8 @ Buffalo
(ESPN) 7:30 pm
6. Sun, Oct. 14 NEW
ENGLAND (CBS) 3:15 pm
7. Sun, Oct. 21
MINNESOTA (FOX) Noon
8. Sun, Oct. 28 BYE WEEK
9. Sun, Nov 4 @
Philadelphia (NBC) 7:15
pm
10. Sun, Nov. 11 @ NY
Giants (FOX) 3:15 pm
11. Sun, Nov. 18
WASHINGTON (FOX) Noon
12. Thu, Nov. 22 NY JETS
(CBS) 3:15 pm
13. Thu, Nov. 29 GREEN
BAY (NFL) 7:15 pm
14. Sun, Dec. 9 @ Detroit
(FOX) Noon
15. Sun, Dec. 16 PHILLY
(FOX) 3:15 pm
16. Sat, Dec. 22 @
Carolina (NFL) 7:15 pm
17. Sun, Dec. 30 @
Washington (FOX) Noon
PRE-SEASON
Thu Aug 9 INDIANAPOLIS
(FOX) 7:00 pm
Sat Aug 18 DENVER (BSM)
7:00 pm
Sat Aug 25 @ Houston
(BSM) 7:00 pm
Thu Aug 30 @ Minnesota
(BSM) 7:00 pm
REGULAR SEASON
1. Sun, Sept. 9 NY GIANTS
(NBC) 7:15 pm
2. Sun, Sept. 16 @ Miami
(FOX) 3:05 pm
3. Sun, Sept. 23 @
Chicago (NBC) 7:15 pm
4. Sun, Sept. 30 ST. LOUIS
(FOX) Noon
5. Mon, Oct. 8 @ Buffalo
(ESPN) 7:30 pm
6. Sun, Oct. 14 NEW
ENGLAND (CBS) 3:15 pm
7. Sun, Oct. 21
MINNESOTA (FOX) Noon
8. Sun, Oct. 28 BYE WEEK
9. Sun, Nov 4 @
Philadelphia (NBC) 7:15
pm
10. Sun, Nov. 11 @ NY
Giants (FOX) 3:15 pm
11. Sun, Nov. 18
WASHINGTON (FOX) Noon
12. Thu, Nov. 22 NY JETS
(CBS) 3:15 pm
13. Thu, Nov. 29 GREEN
BAY (NFL) 7:15 pm
14. Sun, Dec. 9 @ Detroit
(FOX) Noon
15. Sun, Dec. 16 PHILLY
(FOX) 3:15 pm
16. Sat, Dec. 22 @
Carolina (NFL) 7:15 pm
17. Sun, Dec. 30 @
Washington (FOX) Noon
| Cowboy's Trivia Question of the Week! Who is the oldest player on the Cowboys' roster? Last Week's Answer: Danny White |
Cowboys vs. Bears Preview
I have a feeling this is going to be one of the first great games of
the young season. This is the first big test for the Cowboys and I'm
anxious to see how they respond. Neither of the Cowboys first two
games has come down to the wire, but I expect this one to.
Chicago Pass Offense vs. Dallas Pass Defense
Advantage: Even
This is the match up that will determine who wins this football game.
This is a very intriguing match up because of the inconsistency of
Rex Grossman and the Cowboys' secondary. Overall, Grossman
will throw for a lot of yards against a soft zone coverage, but he will
balance that by throwing at least one interception while trying to
force balls down the field. Dallas's defense matches up well
against Grossman for two reasons. One, is the fact that he is
impatient and will try to force throws deep that likely won't be open.
Secondly, he struggles with his accuracy. You have to be accurate
against a zone defense because everyone has their eyes on the
ball. If you sail the ball over a receiver across the middle it is going
to get intercepted. You saw both of these things happen with Trent
Green last week and they will happen again this week.
Chicago Run Offense vs. Dallas Run Defense
Advantage: Cowboys
The Cowboys shouldn't have any trouble stopping Cedric Benson
and the Chicago running attack. Benson hasn't been particularly
impressive and Dallas sports a stout run defense. It could be a
long day for the Cowboys if the don't stop the running game though.
Dallas Pass Offense vs. Chicago Pass Defense
Advantage: Even
This is the clash of the Titans so to speak in this game. The
Cowboys have a high powered passing attack while the Bears have
a great pass defense. The key will be Tony Romo. He should get
good protection behind an offensive line that has been nothing
short of amazing. He needs to balance out taking gambles down
the field and taking what the defense gives him. If he can be
patient and not turn the ball over there will be plays to be made
against any secondary including Chicago's in this game. This
game could go along way towards defining Romo's career. I know
that sounds ridiculous but think about it. Romo is on the verge of
superstardom. If he goes out there and carves up the Bear's
defense you are looking at the best young quarterback in the
game. Overall, I expect him to put up similar numbers to last week.
I will say he will need to repeat his two touchdown performance with
a maximum of one turnover if the Cowboys want to win.
Dallas Run Offense vs. Bears Run Defense
Edge: Chicago
Chicago sports the best run defense in the game. They have
stonewalled Larry Johnson and LaDainian Tomlinson. They should
have no trouble with Barber and Jones right? Not so fast. The
Cowboys have a really good offensive line. They may not have a
better unit that the Chargers but it is close. Chicago's run defense
wasn't that amazing last year. I'm waiting for a slip up. This team
will be stout against the run all year, but some team is going to
eventually have a productive day running the ball and why not
Dallas? That is obviously not based by any factual material
whatsoever so I still have to say the Bears have the edge.
Special Teams
Edge: Chicago
This wasn't too difficult. Devin Hester is probably the best return
guy to ever play the game judging by his first 1+ seasons. In
addition to him the Bears sport a great kicker, Robbie Gould, and
outstanding coverage units. Dallas will need to play up to their
level for four quarters or the special teams battle could tip the
scales towards Chicago.
Prediction
I'm really excited about this game. It is always fun to see your team
get tested. Dallas is 2-0, but that is what I expected going into the
season. Dallas hasn't played anyone yet. That will change come
Sunday Night. I think Dallas will pass the test. They may not be
able to win on the road at Soldier Field missing three key starters,
but they will make it darn close. I could see this game going either
way, but I have to go Bears 24, Cowboys 23. I hope these guys
prove me wrong though and I have all the confidence in the world
that they can.
I have a feeling this is going to be one of the first great games of
the young season. This is the first big test for the Cowboys and I'm
anxious to see how they respond. Neither of the Cowboys first two
games has come down to the wire, but I expect this one to.
Chicago Pass Offense vs. Dallas Pass Defense
Advantage: Even
This is the match up that will determine who wins this football game.
This is a very intriguing match up because of the inconsistency of
Rex Grossman and the Cowboys' secondary. Overall, Grossman
will throw for a lot of yards against a soft zone coverage, but he will
balance that by throwing at least one interception while trying to
force balls down the field. Dallas's defense matches up well
against Grossman for two reasons. One, is the fact that he is
impatient and will try to force throws deep that likely won't be open.
Secondly, he struggles with his accuracy. You have to be accurate
against a zone defense because everyone has their eyes on the
ball. If you sail the ball over a receiver across the middle it is going
to get intercepted. You saw both of these things happen with Trent
Green last week and they will happen again this week.
Chicago Run Offense vs. Dallas Run Defense
Advantage: Cowboys
The Cowboys shouldn't have any trouble stopping Cedric Benson
and the Chicago running attack. Benson hasn't been particularly
impressive and Dallas sports a stout run defense. It could be a
long day for the Cowboys if the don't stop the running game though.
Dallas Pass Offense vs. Chicago Pass Defense
Advantage: Even
This is the clash of the Titans so to speak in this game. The
Cowboys have a high powered passing attack while the Bears have
a great pass defense. The key will be Tony Romo. He should get
good protection behind an offensive line that has been nothing
short of amazing. He needs to balance out taking gambles down
the field and taking what the defense gives him. If he can be
patient and not turn the ball over there will be plays to be made
against any secondary including Chicago's in this game. This
game could go along way towards defining Romo's career. I know
that sounds ridiculous but think about it. Romo is on the verge of
superstardom. If he goes out there and carves up the Bear's
defense you are looking at the best young quarterback in the
game. Overall, I expect him to put up similar numbers to last week.
I will say he will need to repeat his two touchdown performance with
a maximum of one turnover if the Cowboys want to win.
Dallas Run Offense vs. Bears Run Defense
Edge: Chicago
Chicago sports the best run defense in the game. They have
stonewalled Larry Johnson and LaDainian Tomlinson. They should
have no trouble with Barber and Jones right? Not so fast. The
Cowboys have a really good offensive line. They may not have a
better unit that the Chargers but it is close. Chicago's run defense
wasn't that amazing last year. I'm waiting for a slip up. This team
will be stout against the run all year, but some team is going to
eventually have a productive day running the ball and why not
Dallas? That is obviously not based by any factual material
whatsoever so I still have to say the Bears have the edge.
Special Teams
Edge: Chicago
This wasn't too difficult. Devin Hester is probably the best return
guy to ever play the game judging by his first 1+ seasons. In
addition to him the Bears sport a great kicker, Robbie Gould, and
outstanding coverage units. Dallas will need to play up to their
level for four quarters or the special teams battle could tip the
scales towards Chicago.
Prediction
I'm really excited about this game. It is always fun to see your team
get tested. Dallas is 2-0, but that is what I expected going into the
season. Dallas hasn't played anyone yet. That will change come
Sunday Night. I think Dallas will pass the test. They may not be
able to win on the road at Soldier Field missing three key starters,
but they will make it darn close. I could see this game going either
way, but I have to go Bears 24, Cowboys 23. I hope these guys
prove me wrong though and I have all the confidence in the world
that they can.
Cowboys vs. Bears Game Notes
All I can say is double WOW!! Talk about a whipping. I knew the
Cowboys were good, but I didn't know they are this good. The
defense played great, the offense played great. This was simply a
total domination. If not for a collection of bad calls, silly penalties,
and a dropped TD by Crayton this game would have been 17-3 at
half-time.
Our offense got so bogged down in the first half that I thought we
were going to mess around and lose the game. Our first three
drives had us trying to convert 3rd & 12+ yards. We finally put it all
together in the 2nd half and started to fire on all cylinders.
Tony Romo was amazing again last night. There is absolutely no
doubt in my mind that this guy is the third best quarterback in the
NFL behind Brady and Manning. He was making plays last night
that neither one of those guys can make on a consistent basis. His
ability to avoid the rush and quickly find a receiver before another
guy got to him was amazing. Our line did a good job of handling
the blitz, but Bledsoe would have been sacked at least six times last
night.
Marion Barber continues to show why he is the best running back
on the team. Julius Jones again looked good in the open field, and
I think he looks as good as ever. The thing I'm noticing is that
Barber seems to be better than he was even last year. He is
running like his "dreds are on fire" according to a Sportscenter
anchor. That pretty much describes the passion he runs with. You
also can't overlook the fact that he has broke two long runs in three
games. He definitely doesn't have good speed, but he has a knack
for breaking long runs. Lots of guys are like that. Frank Gore and
an aging Emmitt Smith were slow, but they always seemed to break
free even though they would get caught from behind on most of the
plays. Julius Jones on the other hand is fast enough to break big
runs, but he can't ever seem to get past the one guy he needs to.
This defense is getting better in a hurry. The run defense was
stout with Cedric Benson getting only 46 yards on 16 carries. Jay
Ratliff is doing a heck of a job against the run as are all four
starting linebackers. I saw Spencer and Ware make several plays
behind the line. Remi Ayodele also looked good in limited time. He
had a big strip on Cedric Benson in the 2nd half.
The pass defense is quickly maturing. Terrence Newman had a
quiet night playing the nickel, but that isn't a bad thing. I can't even
recall a play when they threw his way. Jacques Reeves gave up a
few underneath passes, but he had a pass break up. Anthony
Henry had another monster game with two more interceptions and
at least two pass break ups. He leads the NFL in interceptions with
four and his pick six was a thing of beauty. He turned around just in
time to jump up and make an over the head catch. He then made a
few nice moves on his way to the endzone.
The safeties had a good game as none of the Bears completions
were down the middle of the field or deep except for the Desmond
Clark catch and run. That play wasn't even that big of a deal if Roy
Williams could have at least made the easy tackle. He did make up
for it with a late interception. This unit still gave up 195 passing
yards, but if they keep forcing turnovers they can give up 250 a
game and the other team still won't score enough to win.
The pass rush seems to be getting better. DeMarcus Ware finally
came through with two sacks. Anthony Spencer added a sack
when he came free through the middle on a twist. The lack of
blitzing was still a major theme last night. This front seven isn't
blitzing anymore than Parcells did. The only difference is that we
now stunt and twist on every play. I honestly can't recall a play
when we had more than five guys rushing. We were still able to get
good pressure though and it forced Grossman to throw into double
coverage a lot.
Terrell Owens has been a lifesavor for the Cowboys this season. I
don't blame you if you hate his guts, but you better thank your lucky
stars he is still with this team. We would be 1-2 at best without him
because none of the receivers have stepped up. I used to think
Crayton could be a decent starter, but he was doing better as the
3rd receiver. It would help though if he caught the ball.
The were good and bad things from the special teams. Matt
McBriar did an amazing job as always. Hester never had a chance
on any of his punt returns. McBriar specializes at kicking the ball
50 yards with tons of hang-time and he aims it where the returner
gets the ball three yards from the sideline. Nick Folk had an up and
down night. The blocked field goal was his fault. His trajectory was
much to low for a chip shot field goal. He did nail a 44 yarder in the
2nd half though. He is kick-offs were really strong too when he
kicked deep to Hester. Our kick-off coverage was amazing. Hester
struggled to get back to the 20 yard line on his three deep kick-off
returns.
All I can say is double WOW!! Talk about a whipping. I knew the
Cowboys were good, but I didn't know they are this good. The
defense played great, the offense played great. This was simply a
total domination. If not for a collection of bad calls, silly penalties,
and a dropped TD by Crayton this game would have been 17-3 at
half-time.
Our offense got so bogged down in the first half that I thought we
were going to mess around and lose the game. Our first three
drives had us trying to convert 3rd & 12+ yards. We finally put it all
together in the 2nd half and started to fire on all cylinders.
Tony Romo was amazing again last night. There is absolutely no
doubt in my mind that this guy is the third best quarterback in the
NFL behind Brady and Manning. He was making plays last night
that neither one of those guys can make on a consistent basis. His
ability to avoid the rush and quickly find a receiver before another
guy got to him was amazing. Our line did a good job of handling
the blitz, but Bledsoe would have been sacked at least six times last
night.
Marion Barber continues to show why he is the best running back
on the team. Julius Jones again looked good in the open field, and
I think he looks as good as ever. The thing I'm noticing is that
Barber seems to be better than he was even last year. He is
running like his "dreds are on fire" according to a Sportscenter
anchor. That pretty much describes the passion he runs with. You
also can't overlook the fact that he has broke two long runs in three
games. He definitely doesn't have good speed, but he has a knack
for breaking long runs. Lots of guys are like that. Frank Gore and
an aging Emmitt Smith were slow, but they always seemed to break
free even though they would get caught from behind on most of the
plays. Julius Jones on the other hand is fast enough to break big
runs, but he can't ever seem to get past the one guy he needs to.
This defense is getting better in a hurry. The run defense was
stout with Cedric Benson getting only 46 yards on 16 carries. Jay
Ratliff is doing a heck of a job against the run as are all four
starting linebackers. I saw Spencer and Ware make several plays
behind the line. Remi Ayodele also looked good in limited time. He
had a big strip on Cedric Benson in the 2nd half.
The pass defense is quickly maturing. Terrence Newman had a
quiet night playing the nickel, but that isn't a bad thing. I can't even
recall a play when they threw his way. Jacques Reeves gave up a
few underneath passes, but he had a pass break up. Anthony
Henry had another monster game with two more interceptions and
at least two pass break ups. He leads the NFL in interceptions with
four and his pick six was a thing of beauty. He turned around just in
time to jump up and make an over the head catch. He then made a
few nice moves on his way to the endzone.
The safeties had a good game as none of the Bears completions
were down the middle of the field or deep except for the Desmond
Clark catch and run. That play wasn't even that big of a deal if Roy
Williams could have at least made the easy tackle. He did make up
for it with a late interception. This unit still gave up 195 passing
yards, but if they keep forcing turnovers they can give up 250 a
game and the other team still won't score enough to win.
The pass rush seems to be getting better. DeMarcus Ware finally
came through with two sacks. Anthony Spencer added a sack
when he came free through the middle on a twist. The lack of
blitzing was still a major theme last night. This front seven isn't
blitzing anymore than Parcells did. The only difference is that we
now stunt and twist on every play. I honestly can't recall a play
when we had more than five guys rushing. We were still able to get
good pressure though and it forced Grossman to throw into double
coverage a lot.
Terrell Owens has been a lifesavor for the Cowboys this season. I
don't blame you if you hate his guts, but you better thank your lucky
stars he is still with this team. We would be 1-2 at best without him
because none of the receivers have stepped up. I used to think
Crayton could be a decent starter, but he was doing better as the
3rd receiver. It would help though if he caught the ball.
The were good and bad things from the special teams. Matt
McBriar did an amazing job as always. Hester never had a chance
on any of his punt returns. McBriar specializes at kicking the ball
50 yards with tons of hang-time and he aims it where the returner
gets the ball three yards from the sideline. Nick Folk had an up and
down night. The blocked field goal was his fault. His trajectory was
much to low for a chip shot field goal. He did nail a 44 yarder in the
2nd half though. He is kick-offs were really strong too when he
kicked deep to Hester. Our kick-off coverage was amazing. Hester
struggled to get back to the 20 yard line on his three deep kick-off
returns.