Cowboys Week 12

This was really just a week to get ready for next week as the Cowboys romped the Jets 34-3. Playing back-to-back Thursday games will leave it as a normal work week. It would be nice if Green Bay had been coming off a short week, but they played Thanksgiving too, so they've had a normal week to get ready as well. They are playing the second of two road games while this will be a second of two home games. I'd like to have every advantage possible.

I was sitting there stuffed on the couch and listening to in-law conversation, so I don't really remember anything that struck me other than the seeing the Cowboys take care of a game they should win by running the ball and gaining 174 yds on the ground and Romo only having to throw for 195 yds but going 21 for 28 (75%) to do it. Crayton was a late scratch, but we need him opposite of Owens to give a little credibility to keep DBs from just doubling and tripling TO all the time. Jones broke for 19 once and Barber broke for 20 once. Loved Newmans INT return...he's healthy...now we just need to get Henry healthy and they'll be a great tandem going into the playoffs.

Bring on Green Bay! This could be for home field advantage throughout the playoffs, and we sure don't want to have to go to Lambeau in January for a playoff game, so this game could have a major impact on who goes to the Super Bowl.

Stat of the Week: Barber 18 carries for 103 yds, 1 TD - so we know he's ready to chew up the clock when needed.

Cowboys Week 11

Well, I figured this game to be one of the biggest hurdles. I was afraid my stat of the week was going to be that, between Washington and Dallas, the team with a worse record at the end of the year actually has a 9-7 record against the "better" team each of the last 8 years. Even in Jimmy Johnson's 1-15 season, that one win was against the Skins. The NFC East is just a big rivalry that I see as the best in the NFL followed by the AFC West. So far, we are 4-0 in the East with only 2 more games to go, so that's saying a lot.

The biggest thing I've seen is our poise when we are behind and finding a way to win. It starts with all three bad snaps turning into no loss plays. That is where Romo is a real threat. He can turn nothing into something. I would trust him to replay that bad snap play again, if for no other reason than I know that Folk, unlike Gramatica, would slow down the guy that tackled him enough for him to get in the end zone.

We are still on pace for a home field deciding matchup a week from Thursday with Romo's idol Brett Favre and the Packers. Both the Packers and the Cowboys play on Thanksgiving (@ DET and v. NYJ, respectively) and then a week later in Dallas. Yes, I do believe with the experience and domination they are showing, injuries or strange things must happen for the Patriots to get beat in the Super Bowl. But, maybe Belichick's ego of playing Brady and the others enough to break Peyton's TD record and going undefeated will catch up with him and get someone hurt.

I know this sounds repetitious, but as each area of the team gets better, the glaring weakness continues to be Roy Williams covering tight ends as we gave up 89 yds and a TD to TE Chris Cooley. Williams continues to lead the team in tackles (8 this week) because they continue to go his way with the ball.

Talking about injuries, we have got to stay healthy. Our secondary is getting better (in spite of the 348 passing yds they gave up yesterday) as they get healthier. Hopefully Flozell is okay with just a 4-day rest before the Thanksgiving game. We have the Jets who come off an upset of the Pittsburgh Steelers, so we can't just look ahead to the Packers, but this should be a game to get past fairly easy.



Terrell Owens blew up again. He took credit for it by blaming his past coaches for not using him properly, but did give Garrett credit...not for being a good coach, but for giving him the ball...lol. And Romo continues to give TO the credit. That's just what I've been calling for and I love that Garrett and Romo embrace TO like that! TO had 8 catches for 173 yds and 4...count them, 4...TDs. That moved him to 3rd all time and quickly approaching Cris Carter in second. Romo needs just 3 TDs to pass Danny White for the season TD record for a Cowboy. He also needs 1 Super Bowl Victory to make sure he isn't labeled as another Danny White who got the stats but not a Championship like QBs below him on the stat records named Aikman and Staubach.

Stat of the Week: other than TOs obvious big game, 1 TURNOVER (1 INT, 0 FUMBLES)...gotta keep this low because it's hard to recover from them in the playoffs and big games!

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Lean not on Your Own Understanding

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6

This is an all too familiar verse that I find myself constantly ignoring. Alisha, working on her Bible verse memorization for Bible Drill yesterday, walks up to me in the middle of a football game and quotes it to me. It was something I needed to hear. I believe I trust in God with most of my decisions and problems, but I don't always take away my "own understanding" in the equation. I want to worry in a way that makes me think I might be actually making suggestions to God about things I think I understand. And with things I don't understand, that worry turns into fear, frustration, and terrible thoughts. You cannot second-guess things because you can't change the past and the future is only secure when you give it to God and then LEAVE HIM ALONE with it.

Second-guessing is also a lack of faith. James 1:2-8 says, My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him aski faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord, he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. I am double-minded and unstable when I second-guess God, my past, or what God has for me from this point forward. And that isn't productive to those around me--especially my family.

Accepting that "everything happens for a reason" is trusting God... needing to know that reason is going back to leaning on your own understanding.

Thanks Alisha...

Cowboys Week 10

This was a very defining game for the Cowboys. It essentially gave them a 3 game lead over the Giants by dropping them to 6-3 and sweeping them for the year. I didn't really expect them to beat the Patriots, but they did hang with them better than anyone outside of the Colts and that was with a banged up secondary. So, without looking past the upcoming opponents, it looks like we are on our way to an NFC showdown with the Packers that could be a preview of the NFC Championship game. It is a huge game because it could decide home field advantage for the playoffs including the championship game. We don't want to be playing on Lambeau Field in January.

Back to this week's game... The Giants came in with a good formula...and that was to take Witten out of the game and exploit Roy Williams. I'm getting really tired of discussing a Pro Bowl caliber first round pick like Roy as a liability, so an announcement needs to be made that for the rest of the year, he is officially auditioning to remain with the team. Hamlin is doing an awesome job, so he has the comliment they say he lacked. He lead the team in tackles, but that is only because they had no fear of going at him. I saw numerous plays where he watched other tackle and just stuck his hands in to pull a player down rather than to knock the crap out of them.

The corners continue to impress me. They are getting healthy and even Green has gotten enough starts to be able to come in with experience in a nickel situation or against the Patriots or Colts in a possible Super Bowl matchup. The WRs for New York had only 8 catches for 74 yards and no TDs.

I wanna see Barber get more touches. Jones had better numbers than Barber this week, but I knew that was padded as soon as I saw a poor defense give up a 20-yd run on the first play of the game. Outside of that run, they were about equal, but niether was very good. As good as Romo and the passing game is, I'd like to see us have the ability to chew up the clock with 5 yds per carry.



Stat of the week: Shockey 12 catches for 129 yds and 1 TD - that's on you, Roy...
Owens - 6 catches for 125 yds and 2 TDs - thank you Romo and Jason Garrett for making your team better by loving TO!

Cowboys Week 9

Well, the boys come off their bye and roll over the Eagles 38-17. Romo has his contract and continues to carry himself as a "humble celebrity." Oh, I have no doubt that he's a competitor, and I don't mean the humble celebrity thing in a negative way. What I mean by humble celebrity is that he takes his contract, does his thing, pushed for TO to have a huge game over his former team and the fans that ran him out of town. If there's a most valuable trait that Romo has, it's that he's treating TO the way a QB needs to treat him to get the most out of him, and I love it!

We saw a very equal performance by the two RBs. I see them letting Jones go next season and resigning Barber to a decent contract and drafting someone to share the load with him, but we'll see. The secondary did their job again as they continue to get healthy for the playoffs. Hamlin and Henry each had an INT, and over half of McNabb's completions when to Westbrook out of the backfield, so coverage downfield was good. Roy made 5 tackles but I swear I continue to see him lay a shoulder on guys instead of tackling them. More and more often, they are bouncing off that shoulder and someone else has to make the tackle.

We have a big test this coming week when we have to go to the Giants after their bye and a 6 game winning streak. Matchup of the week will be Plexiglass v. the Dallas secondary. Playoffs are nearly a sure thing, but we want home field advantage because I don't want to see us have to go to New York or Green Bay for a game.



Stat of the week: Terrell Owens- 10 catches, 174 yds, 1 TD
All Eagle WRs combined- 10 catches, 134 yds, 1 TD

Cowboys Week 8

Well the Cowboys were off, but they had way too much time on their hands...at least on of the reportedly did. First, Romo was granted a 6 year, $67 million deal, just ahead of the $65 million deal Marc Bulger got with the same agent this years and the $60 million deal Tom Brady went into in 2005.

Well, that's fine with me, but here's what gets me. Romo breaks things off with Carrie Underwood this summer stating that the celebrity dating situation could cause him to not be taken seriously as a football player. Then, as soon as he gets his new contract, he's reportedly seen by Ryan Seacrest getting a lap dance from Britney Spears in an LA night club this weekend. So, I guess once he got his money, he was not only not worried about not being taken serious, he was ready to move on to skank material...

Maybe I'm being too judgmental. I mean, Britney may be a generational thing that I wasn't a part of. Perhaps there is someone like that in my generation that guys couldn't resist no matter how bad they got, and people older than me were saying "yuck" about. I don't know...couldn't think of anyone. But, I'm just disappointed in our little Cowboy Playboy if this is true...

Add in the scandal about Coach Phillips saying that Britney stole the name of her album and "images" on her video from his daughter who is a dancer at a club called "Blackout" and I'm predicting an overkill on the Britney references on the Sunday night game this weekend...just glad its Madden and Michaels rather than Kornheiser on MNF!