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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. Packers Game Notes
I couldn't be happier with the way all three phases performed
Thursday night. We only won by ten, but a couple of plays made
the score closer than the game appeared when watching.
Tony Romo put on a quarterbacking clinic. He hit pass after pass
down the field and he didn't make any bad decisions. He should
have had five touchdowns and no interceptions, but Owens's freak
play in the endzone cost him. That play kept the Packers in it and
actually gave them a chance to take the lead down only three.
Luckily the defense stepped up.
Marion Barber and the offensive line came up big last night. That
time grinding field goal drive late in the 4th quarter put the game
away. This team always seems to run the ball well late in the game.
Marc Colombo is quickly becoming one of my favorite Cowboy
players. He had his hands full with Aaron Kampman, but he held his
own. He got beat a couple of times, but he didn't allow a sack and
we weren't giving him just tons of help over there. He isn't the most
gifted athlete, but Marc Colombo will battle you to the bitter end
I thought our defense handled the Packers offense pretty well.
Brett Favre was awful before leaving with injury. You could tell we
had him a bit rattled. We were hammering him on every play and
he kept forcing the ball down the field. We picked off two of his
passes in the first half. Terence Newman had an interception for
the third straight game giving him four on the year. Ken Hamlin
added another one, giving him five on the year.
Our pass rush was dominant last night. Greg Ellis is now 2nd in the
NFL in sacks with 10.5. Ware is right behind him with 10. I don't
know what has happened with Ellis, but he is having by far his best
season of his career. I never would have expected that coming off
his injury.
Our secondary gave up some plays, but that is going to happen.
We were playing a great offense. You have to put it in perspective.
Our defense sure did a heck of a lot better than the Packers
defense which was supposed to be the better unit. I'm also not
buying the fact that Aaron Rodgers helped us because he played a
lot better than Favre was playing. He was throwing the ball
underneath and letting his receivers pick up first down. This is what
the Packers do best and this is what the Cowboys struggled to stop
with the Patriots.
The bottom line with this defense is that it always seems to shut the
other team down when it has to. The Packers had two different
drives in the 4th quarter to get back in the game and they couldn't
do it. We may give up some plays, but we are going to get pressure
and force turnovers.
The only play that annoyed me with this defense was the Ryan
Grant run. They guy didn't do anything but run straight. Ken
Hamlin and Roy Williams were both playing back to make sure
Grant wouldn't break a long run if he went untouched through the
line. He came through with a head of steam and neither guy
seemed ready to make the tackle. It is like they just assumed he
would be tackled at the line of scrimmage. Hamlin came in and
dove at his feet, but Roy Williams was so surprised he took a
horrible angle in and didn't even get close to touching Grant. That
is inexcusable. I could understand if it was Adrian Peterson and he
put a nice move on them, but Grant just ran in a straight line 62
yards for a touchdown. Other than that though, I thought the
defense played their heart out.
I'd have to say Tank Johnson has been a bit of a bust thus far. I still
think he might be able to contribute, but he isn't playing very much.
Stephen Bowen has made a few plays throughout this year and he
seems to be playing more than Tank.
Miles Austin might finally be figuring it out on offense. He had a
couple of nice catches against the Jets. He didn't show up on the
stat sheet against the Packers, but his two 40+ yard pass
interference calls set up touchdowns. He oozes ability. If we can
figure it out, he will be special. He beat the Packers deep on two
occasions. He has more speed than Patrick Crayton or Sam Hurd
and at 6'3 220 he sure is a lot bigger too.
Austin also had a big impact on a special teams unit that dominated
the Packers. Nick Folk had three field goals including a 51 yarder.
Miles Austin consistently gave us great field position on kick-off
returns. Our kick-off coverage finally showed up as well. We got
down better on the deep directional kicks by Folk and made the
tackle before the 25 on most occasions. Keith Davis lit up the
returner on a 2nd half kick-off.
You have to be pleased with this team. We are 11-1 for the first
time in franchise history. Any other year we would probably be the
runaway favorite for the championship. I don't know that we are
quite on the level with the Patriots, but I know that if you can get to
the game you have a shot at winning it and that is all you can ask
for.
I couldn't be happier with the way all three phases performed
Thursday night. We only won by ten, but a couple of plays made
the score closer than the game appeared when watching.
Tony Romo put on a quarterbacking clinic. He hit pass after pass
down the field and he didn't make any bad decisions. He should
have had five touchdowns and no interceptions, but Owens's freak
play in the endzone cost him. That play kept the Packers in it and
actually gave them a chance to take the lead down only three.
Luckily the defense stepped up.
Marion Barber and the offensive line came up big last night. That
time grinding field goal drive late in the 4th quarter put the game
away. This team always seems to run the ball well late in the game.
Marc Colombo is quickly becoming one of my favorite Cowboy
players. He had his hands full with Aaron Kampman, but he held his
own. He got beat a couple of times, but he didn't allow a sack and
we weren't giving him just tons of help over there. He isn't the most
gifted athlete, but Marc Colombo will battle you to the bitter end
I thought our defense handled the Packers offense pretty well.
Brett Favre was awful before leaving with injury. You could tell we
had him a bit rattled. We were hammering him on every play and
he kept forcing the ball down the field. We picked off two of his
passes in the first half. Terence Newman had an interception for
the third straight game giving him four on the year. Ken Hamlin
added another one, giving him five on the year.
Our pass rush was dominant last night. Greg Ellis is now 2nd in the
NFL in sacks with 10.5. Ware is right behind him with 10. I don't
know what has happened with Ellis, but he is having by far his best
season of his career. I never would have expected that coming off
his injury.
Our secondary gave up some plays, but that is going to happen.
We were playing a great offense. You have to put it in perspective.
Our defense sure did a heck of a lot better than the Packers
defense which was supposed to be the better unit. I'm also not
buying the fact that Aaron Rodgers helped us because he played a
lot better than Favre was playing. He was throwing the ball
underneath and letting his receivers pick up first down. This is what
the Packers do best and this is what the Cowboys struggled to stop
with the Patriots.
The bottom line with this defense is that it always seems to shut the
other team down when it has to. The Packers had two different
drives in the 4th quarter to get back in the game and they couldn't
do it. We may give up some plays, but we are going to get pressure
and force turnovers.
The only play that annoyed me with this defense was the Ryan
Grant run. They guy didn't do anything but run straight. Ken
Hamlin and Roy Williams were both playing back to make sure
Grant wouldn't break a long run if he went untouched through the
line. He came through with a head of steam and neither guy
seemed ready to make the tackle. It is like they just assumed he
would be tackled at the line of scrimmage. Hamlin came in and
dove at his feet, but Roy Williams was so surprised he took a
horrible angle in and didn't even get close to touching Grant. That
is inexcusable. I could understand if it was Adrian Peterson and he
put a nice move on them, but Grant just ran in a straight line 62
yards for a touchdown. Other than that though, I thought the
defense played their heart out.
I'd have to say Tank Johnson has been a bit of a bust thus far. I still
think he might be able to contribute, but he isn't playing very much.
Stephen Bowen has made a few plays throughout this year and he
seems to be playing more than Tank.
Miles Austin might finally be figuring it out on offense. He had a
couple of nice catches against the Jets. He didn't show up on the
stat sheet against the Packers, but his two 40+ yard pass
interference calls set up touchdowns. He oozes ability. If we can
figure it out, he will be special. He beat the Packers deep on two
occasions. He has more speed than Patrick Crayton or Sam Hurd
and at 6'3 220 he sure is a lot bigger too.
Austin also had a big impact on a special teams unit that dominated
the Packers. Nick Folk had three field goals including a 51 yarder.
Miles Austin consistently gave us great field position on kick-off
returns. Our kick-off coverage finally showed up as well. We got
down better on the deep directional kicks by Folk and made the
tackle before the 25 on most occasions. Keith Davis lit up the
returner on a 2nd half kick-off.
You have to be pleased with this team. We are 11-1 for the first
time in franchise history. Any other year we would probably be the
runaway favorite for the championship. I don't know that we are
quite on the level with the Patriots, but I know that if you can get to
the game you have a shot at winning it and that is all you can ask
for.
Cowboys Have Closed Gap On Patriots
I'm officially tired of hearing how great the Patriots are. They have
struggled mightily against two below average teams over the last
few weeks. They let A.J. Feeley and an ordinary cast of receivers
throw for nearly 350 yards. Monday night they needed a complete
meltdown by the Ravens defense and some questionable calls to
stay undefeated. You have to give the Patriots credit for coming
back in both games, but it looked to me like more of an inability for
a team to closeout a game. That is understandable as the Ravens
and Eagles are both out of the play-off picture.
If the Patriots play like they did the last two weeks, they will get beat
by the Steelers next week. They would also get beaten by Dallas,
Green Bay, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, or just about any other
above average NFL team. One game could have been a fluke.
Many analysts pointed to the fact that the Eagles exposed the only
way to have a shot at beating the Pats. You have to play fast on
defense and you have to attack their slow and aging defense in the
passing game.
The Ravens took a different approach. They showed similar
aggressiveness on defense as they were able to shutdown both
Randy Moss and Wes Welker. On offense though, they pounded
Willis McGahee into a defense that seems to be slowing by the
week. Kyle Boller hit some nice plays in the passing game, but he
wasn't the focal point of the offense.
What is going to happen to the Patriots when they play a team like
Dallas or Indianapolis that can combine both of those offensive
gameplans against this team. The result won't be pretty for the
Patriots defense. I don't know what the problem with our offense
was when we played New England. Romo didn't make many
mistakes, but he failed to make the big plays that seem to
characterize every game for him this season. I don't know if he was
gunshy or what, but that was the real problem in that game. You
need to score more than 27 points on offense if you want to beat
the Patriots. Lucky for us, if we play again I don't see that being a
problem.
That is why I would honestly favor Dallas if these teams played next
week. The Patriots are going to progressively get worse on
defense. They are a big, slow defense much like ours. The key
difference is age. A big, young defense like ours will hold up as
good as any unit in the league. Our guys our young and still big
enough to take a pounding. A big, old defense like theirs is going
to slow down because 30+ year old legs struggle to make it through
some 20 weeks of action. Roosevelt Colvin's injury really hurts the
Patriots. An already thin linebacking corp gets thinner. They now
have to rely on Junior Seau and Tedi Bruschi for the rest of the
season. They don't have guys capable of spelling these guys for
long periods of time. Those guys won't have anything left by
February as both as just a fraction of the players they used to be.
If these teams were to play next week I think you would see some
similarities and differences between this game and the one played
in Week 6. Tom Brady would have his fair share of yards and
touchdowns. Anthony Henry replacing Nate Jones will help a lot,
but Henry still isn't a particularly good match up for any of their
receivers. At least we could try someone else on Wes Welker. He
was eating up Nate Jones. If I had to I would put Newman on him.
Newman could lock him down. I'd rather take away Welker with one
corner and double Moss with Reeves and a safety over the top.
Moss might win some battles, but I'd rather give up a big play to
Moss than die a slow death on short passes to Welker. Still expect
to Brady to have 300 yards and 3 touchdowns, but that isn't
necessarily enough if they don't have a running game and can't
score a 4th touchdown in any phase. Our pass rush would be
perhaps even more effective than it was in that game. The Patriots
offensive line struggled a bit against us and they have looked so so
the last two weeks.
The Patriots still wouldn't be able to run the ball on Dallas. I would
actually suspect that they would avoid even trying to establish their
running game this time around. The Cowboys running game would
be fairly effective like in the first game. The Patriots are still pretty
stout against the run although McGahee and the Ravens did a
good job.
The key difference would be Dallas's passing attack. Dallas has lit
up every defense they have played the past month. Tony Romo
has been nothing short of amazing. I think Romo would have more
confidence and it would show with a performance similar to Brady's
performance in the game. If Romo did this, we would have the
edge as our running game would likely be more effective.
As you can see, things would seem to tilt towards the Cowboys. I
might be overreacting calling for the Patriots demise. They are still
a great team, but I'd be lying if I didn't say I though Dallas had at
least a 50/50 chance of knocking them off. New England may play
better next week against the Steelers and win, but what I've seen
the last two weeks isn't a fluke. I saw a team get exposed by two
different game plans. The Patriots game is the only game Dallas
was exposed in. Everyone knows you can throw on Dallas, and you
better if you plan to win as you will need to score 30+ points to have
a chance. I saw the Patriots exploited in two entirely different ways
and that gives me lots of confidence that there is more than one
way to beat them.
Pete Prisco of CBS Sportsline brought up a good point in his Power
Rankings this week. He questioned whether the Patriots are
becoming a soft team. They got punched in the mouth by a
physical and aggressive Ravens defense and they didn't like it.
The won the game, but the didn't respond all that well. They may
lack the edge that their blue collar Super Bowl teams had.
That brings me back to another reason why I like Dallas's chances
so much. They respond so well to adversity. Every time they are
down they seem to come back with a huge counter punch. We
rarely get punched in the mouth, but when we do we answer with an
quick and emphatic response.
I'm officially tired of hearing how great the Patriots are. They have
struggled mightily against two below average teams over the last
few weeks. They let A.J. Feeley and an ordinary cast of receivers
throw for nearly 350 yards. Monday night they needed a complete
meltdown by the Ravens defense and some questionable calls to
stay undefeated. You have to give the Patriots credit for coming
back in both games, but it looked to me like more of an inability for
a team to closeout a game. That is understandable as the Ravens
and Eagles are both out of the play-off picture.
If the Patriots play like they did the last two weeks, they will get beat
by the Steelers next week. They would also get beaten by Dallas,
Green Bay, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, or just about any other
above average NFL team. One game could have been a fluke.
Many analysts pointed to the fact that the Eagles exposed the only
way to have a shot at beating the Pats. You have to play fast on
defense and you have to attack their slow and aging defense in the
passing game.
The Ravens took a different approach. They showed similar
aggressiveness on defense as they were able to shutdown both
Randy Moss and Wes Welker. On offense though, they pounded
Willis McGahee into a defense that seems to be slowing by the
week. Kyle Boller hit some nice plays in the passing game, but he
wasn't the focal point of the offense.
What is going to happen to the Patriots when they play a team like
Dallas or Indianapolis that can combine both of those offensive
gameplans against this team. The result won't be pretty for the
Patriots defense. I don't know what the problem with our offense
was when we played New England. Romo didn't make many
mistakes, but he failed to make the big plays that seem to
characterize every game for him this season. I don't know if he was
gunshy or what, but that was the real problem in that game. You
need to score more than 27 points on offense if you want to beat
the Patriots. Lucky for us, if we play again I don't see that being a
problem.
That is why I would honestly favor Dallas if these teams played next
week. The Patriots are going to progressively get worse on
defense. They are a big, slow defense much like ours. The key
difference is age. A big, young defense like ours will hold up as
good as any unit in the league. Our guys our young and still big
enough to take a pounding. A big, old defense like theirs is going
to slow down because 30+ year old legs struggle to make it through
some 20 weeks of action. Roosevelt Colvin's injury really hurts the
Patriots. An already thin linebacking corp gets thinner. They now
have to rely on Junior Seau and Tedi Bruschi for the rest of the
season. They don't have guys capable of spelling these guys for
long periods of time. Those guys won't have anything left by
February as both as just a fraction of the players they used to be.
If these teams were to play next week I think you would see some
similarities and differences between this game and the one played
in Week 6. Tom Brady would have his fair share of yards and
touchdowns. Anthony Henry replacing Nate Jones will help a lot,
but Henry still isn't a particularly good match up for any of their
receivers. At least we could try someone else on Wes Welker. He
was eating up Nate Jones. If I had to I would put Newman on him.
Newman could lock him down. I'd rather take away Welker with one
corner and double Moss with Reeves and a safety over the top.
Moss might win some battles, but I'd rather give up a big play to
Moss than die a slow death on short passes to Welker. Still expect
to Brady to have 300 yards and 3 touchdowns, but that isn't
necessarily enough if they don't have a running game and can't
score a 4th touchdown in any phase. Our pass rush would be
perhaps even more effective than it was in that game. The Patriots
offensive line struggled a bit against us and they have looked so so
the last two weeks.
The Patriots still wouldn't be able to run the ball on Dallas. I would
actually suspect that they would avoid even trying to establish their
running game this time around. The Cowboys running game would
be fairly effective like in the first game. The Patriots are still pretty
stout against the run although McGahee and the Ravens did a
good job.
The key difference would be Dallas's passing attack. Dallas has lit
up every defense they have played the past month. Tony Romo
has been nothing short of amazing. I think Romo would have more
confidence and it would show with a performance similar to Brady's
performance in the game. If Romo did this, we would have the
edge as our running game would likely be more effective.
As you can see, things would seem to tilt towards the Cowboys. I
might be overreacting calling for the Patriots demise. They are still
a great team, but I'd be lying if I didn't say I though Dallas had at
least a 50/50 chance of knocking them off. New England may play
better next week against the Steelers and win, but what I've seen
the last two weeks isn't a fluke. I saw a team get exposed by two
different game plans. The Patriots game is the only game Dallas
was exposed in. Everyone knows you can throw on Dallas, and you
better if you plan to win as you will need to score 30+ points to have
a chance. I saw the Patriots exploited in two entirely different ways
and that gives me lots of confidence that there is more than one
way to beat them.
Pete Prisco of CBS Sportsline brought up a good point in his Power
Rankings this week. He questioned whether the Patriots are
becoming a soft team. They got punched in the mouth by a
physical and aggressive Ravens defense and they didn't like it.
The won the game, but the didn't respond all that well. They may
lack the edge that their blue collar Super Bowl teams had.
That brings me back to another reason why I like Dallas's chances
so much. They respond so well to adversity. Every time they are
down they seem to come back with a huge counter punch. We
rarely get punched in the mouth, but when we do we answer with an
quick and emphatic response.