Hostile
The Duke
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I recorded the game, but didn't get to watch it until 9:00 last night when my wife and kids got ready for bed. This is what happens when you are the lone male in a house full of women and only one TV has the DVR. So I was up late watching the game after we got back from Church and was too tired to post last night.
Not going to get too excited by the win, just like I wasn't too panicked by the losses.
A question for Michael Irvin. Are we still playing 10 on 11? That sound you hear is striping gears as media and fans alike jam it into reverse.
You know, if not for a holding penalty on Alex Barron, Roy Williams would be the hero of the season so far. He's quietly had 3 decent games. Only the fumble last week is a real negative. Suddenly he's not the worst starting WR in the NFL. Funny how success breeds acceptance.
Oh I know, it doesn't erase the last year and a half, nor his salary nor the trade we made for him. It still debunks some very silly stuff that has been said about the guy. For instance did you see his teammates? Just a month ago people said I was daft for saying that his teammates even like the guy. That was Marc Colombo who was pumped in the endzone after his 63 yarder. O-linemen do not run 60+ yards to celebrate with guys they don't like.
As well as Roy played yesterday he was not the most impressive WR on the field. In fact, despite the scores he may have been the 4th most impressive if you count Andre Johnson who is just a joy to watch. Did anyone besides me chuckle to yourself when Scandrick hurt someone besides our WRs for a change? I bet you did. We played Andre Johnson about as good as he can be played. Even hobbled he was a factor in their Offense as he blocked for Foster and was their one decent chain mover. I have nothing but respect for that guy. That is who Dez can be.
Let's talk about our other two guys now and let's start with Miles Austin. After he makes a catch he is one of the hardest WRs to tackle I have seen in years. That fight he showed on the catch he got to the 1 yard line reminded me of Michael Irvin. Irvin made you pay for coming to tackle him and Miles does too. I love that kind of drive and determination.
If Miles isn't the hardest WR to tackle after a catch, Dez might be. The best catch I saw yesterday was the one he turned around for in the endzone. He hit the pylon. I actually wasn't sure if that was a TD or not. I guess it isn't since you still have to make the catch in bounds. Regardless that kid is the most electrifying rookie I have seen in Dallas since Emmitt Smith. If you can't tell already that Dez is going to be great then you need your eyes checked. Don't tap the brakes, hit the gas.
Dez is so much bigger than you expect when you see a DB come up to get to him after a catch. There are not enough O's in smooth to describe how fluid the guy is in getting open and then looking for yardage. On the play that got called back for him being pushed out of bounds, did you see him hit the passing gear once he had the ball? Two steps and the guy was not going to be caught ever. He has the best hands I have seen since probably Larry Fitzgerald.
I am pretty certain that if I go back in the game threads I will see where as soon as our first 2 drives stalled and the Texans went up 3-0 that we had fans who gave up. I could even make a pretty accurate guess as to who those fans would be. That's the beauty of football, one minute you are mad as a wet cat, the next minute relieved. It's an emotional roller coaster ride being a football fan. Oh but it is one hell of a ride.
I'm not completely happy today after the win. First of all we are still on the losing side of the ledger. I still think penalties kill too many drives. 8 of them is too many. I was glad to see the turnover story lean our way for a change. If you look at the first three games it pretty much tells you the NFL story. Get turnovers without returning any and you have a great chance of winning. We have outplayed each of our 3 opponents so far this year, but in the 2 losses, we gave them the football at crucial times. It will simply cost you.
We were only 4 of 11 on 3rd down despite moving the ball quite well on the ground and through the air. That led to us going for it on 4th down 3 times. Either we were in a desperation mode, a gambling mood, or we don't quite trust our Kicker. Perhaps a combination of all three. To his credit, our Kicker did convert both of his long attempts. I must admit that I would be more concerned about the lack of touchbacks on his kickoffs if our coverage teams were not doing a fairly good job. I'd prefer to see them not even working though. Hopefully he will start launching kickoffs again soon. Does he have a tired leg? I hope not.
The most disappointing thing for me yesterday though was our run defense. We allowed a 100 yard rusher for the first time in 20 games. It was his average per carry that disconcerted me most. Foster averaged 6.2 yards per carry and the Texans as a whole averaged 5.7. I am not concerned about the run defense overall, I just liked that consecutive games streak a lot and think we could have played them a little better. Especially with Chris Johnson and the Titans next up on the hit parade. He isn't going to approach last year's amazing season, but we cannot allow him to run like Foster did. He'll kill us. Different running style than Foster, but we have to shot down the lanes faster.
Has anyone seen DeMarcus Ware this year? Matt Schaub and the Texans will be seeing him in their nightmares. He was quite simply the wrecking ball of their passing game yesterday. In addition to 3 sacks to push his career total to 68.5 he had 2 other tackles for losses. I also saw him get constant pressure on Schaub every time he came. So much for him disappearing against lesser competition. He hasn't all year. The problem is some people only look for sacks. Spencer and Ware are both creating pressure on the QB. The sacks will come. Just like last year, they will come.
Speaking of sacks, Keith Brooking's sack on Schaub had me jumping out of my chair. That was a thing of beauty. I heard him describe that as Wade saying "don't miss the layups." Well, he didn't. He dunked it.
The most impressive player yesterday no one will be talking about was Marcus Spears. He is going to be a huge key to stopping the Titans because quite frankly he is our best run stuffer. If we put 8 in the box and dare Vince Young to beat us passing I think Spears will be the key to our success. He consistently pushes his man into the gaps play after play after play. It doesn't show up on the stats books, but oh boy does it show up in the win columns. Marcus Spears is playing winning football folks. Enjoy it if you can. I know it isn't as exciting as sacks and takeaways, but it wins games for you.
Once again we controlled the clock yesterday. We had the ball for 5 and a half minutes more than the Texans did. If we keep that up the sky is the limit provided we hang onto the football.
Tony Romo is one of the most under appreciated game managing QBs in the NFL. For the life of me I do not know why that is. I think people are too focused on when he escapes a pass rush to see just how efficient he is when he has time. 7 different players caught passes from Romo yesterday. It would have been 8 if the screen to Felix had not been called back on a penalty. Most of his passes are on the money so precise that you tend to forget them. He completed 77% of his passes yesterday folks and is at 68.8% on the year. If that keeps up he will destroy teams once we are clicking on all cylinders. That's right, I am saying we aren't there yet. But we are so close we know where there is.
I still say Tony doesn't not have a huge arm, but his knack of making the right reads is flat out beautiful. Joe Montana didn't have a huge arm either, he just dissected defenses. Yes, I went there. He has only been sacked one time despite a beat up OL. Part of that is thanks to game plans designed for him to get rid of it quick. Part of it is he is just a fine tuned and totally aware QB.
Speaking of the OL, here's hoping that Kosier will get healed up with the bye upon us next week. I can never eat enough crow about that guy. He is just a football player. Kudos to Montrae Holland for filling in well after he got dinged up. For a guy who was a wasted trade and who can't play at all, he sure plays well when we ask him to.
I said in the off season that by week 3 that people would be saying Doug Free is our best O-lineman. It was happening by week 1, but by now few of you if any can have doubts. Doug Free is fun to watch. That guy is mean, and I love it. Add Colombo bringing attitude back on the other side and the OL looks like as they continue to gel we can overcome the mistakes that plagued us for 2 games.
I know talking about OL is not sexy, but I want you to think about this for one minute. Orackpo, Peppers, and now Mario Williams. Romo on his pants 1 time in 3 games. Give them some credit folks. They've been disparaged enough to write a book on the subject. We did nothing to fix the OL remember?
It isn't exactly what I wanted this year for a start to the season, but I still feel this is one of the most dangerous teams in the NFL. I know many will disagree with me because of the two losses and that is fair. Point blank, we should not have lost either game. That cannot be denied. However, I will say this. if we were 3-0 like I think we should be, the hype would be unbearable. Especially with other tough teams in the NFC struggling a little bit.
Maybe, just maybe it's a good thing the team has to overcome some adversity in order to come together in the right way. Now, they just need to cut down on the penalties and build upon yesterday and maybe more of us will enjoy this season.
Make no mistake about it though folks, we are due some more stumbles this year. It's a rough schedule. Don't ever doubt that. If we play like we did yesterday, there is no reason at all that we can't be where we all dream of being. But remember the word is "if" for a reason.
Enjoy the bye week Cowboys fans. You've earned it.
Not going to get too excited by the win, just like I wasn't too panicked by the losses.
A question for Michael Irvin. Are we still playing 10 on 11? That sound you hear is striping gears as media and fans alike jam it into reverse.
You know, if not for a holding penalty on Alex Barron, Roy Williams would be the hero of the season so far. He's quietly had 3 decent games. Only the fumble last week is a real negative. Suddenly he's not the worst starting WR in the NFL. Funny how success breeds acceptance.
Oh I know, it doesn't erase the last year and a half, nor his salary nor the trade we made for him. It still debunks some very silly stuff that has been said about the guy. For instance did you see his teammates? Just a month ago people said I was daft for saying that his teammates even like the guy. That was Marc Colombo who was pumped in the endzone after his 63 yarder. O-linemen do not run 60+ yards to celebrate with guys they don't like.
As well as Roy played yesterday he was not the most impressive WR on the field. In fact, despite the scores he may have been the 4th most impressive if you count Andre Johnson who is just a joy to watch. Did anyone besides me chuckle to yourself when Scandrick hurt someone besides our WRs for a change? I bet you did. We played Andre Johnson about as good as he can be played. Even hobbled he was a factor in their Offense as he blocked for Foster and was their one decent chain mover. I have nothing but respect for that guy. That is who Dez can be.
Let's talk about our other two guys now and let's start with Miles Austin. After he makes a catch he is one of the hardest WRs to tackle I have seen in years. That fight he showed on the catch he got to the 1 yard line reminded me of Michael Irvin. Irvin made you pay for coming to tackle him and Miles does too. I love that kind of drive and determination.
If Miles isn't the hardest WR to tackle after a catch, Dez might be. The best catch I saw yesterday was the one he turned around for in the endzone. He hit the pylon. I actually wasn't sure if that was a TD or not. I guess it isn't since you still have to make the catch in bounds. Regardless that kid is the most electrifying rookie I have seen in Dallas since Emmitt Smith. If you can't tell already that Dez is going to be great then you need your eyes checked. Don't tap the brakes, hit the gas.
Dez is so much bigger than you expect when you see a DB come up to get to him after a catch. There are not enough O's in smooth to describe how fluid the guy is in getting open and then looking for yardage. On the play that got called back for him being pushed out of bounds, did you see him hit the passing gear once he had the ball? Two steps and the guy was not going to be caught ever. He has the best hands I have seen since probably Larry Fitzgerald.
I am pretty certain that if I go back in the game threads I will see where as soon as our first 2 drives stalled and the Texans went up 3-0 that we had fans who gave up. I could even make a pretty accurate guess as to who those fans would be. That's the beauty of football, one minute you are mad as a wet cat, the next minute relieved. It's an emotional roller coaster ride being a football fan. Oh but it is one hell of a ride.
I'm not completely happy today after the win. First of all we are still on the losing side of the ledger. I still think penalties kill too many drives. 8 of them is too many. I was glad to see the turnover story lean our way for a change. If you look at the first three games it pretty much tells you the NFL story. Get turnovers without returning any and you have a great chance of winning. We have outplayed each of our 3 opponents so far this year, but in the 2 losses, we gave them the football at crucial times. It will simply cost you.
We were only 4 of 11 on 3rd down despite moving the ball quite well on the ground and through the air. That led to us going for it on 4th down 3 times. Either we were in a desperation mode, a gambling mood, or we don't quite trust our Kicker. Perhaps a combination of all three. To his credit, our Kicker did convert both of his long attempts. I must admit that I would be more concerned about the lack of touchbacks on his kickoffs if our coverage teams were not doing a fairly good job. I'd prefer to see them not even working though. Hopefully he will start launching kickoffs again soon. Does he have a tired leg? I hope not.
The most disappointing thing for me yesterday though was our run defense. We allowed a 100 yard rusher for the first time in 20 games. It was his average per carry that disconcerted me most. Foster averaged 6.2 yards per carry and the Texans as a whole averaged 5.7. I am not concerned about the run defense overall, I just liked that consecutive games streak a lot and think we could have played them a little better. Especially with Chris Johnson and the Titans next up on the hit parade. He isn't going to approach last year's amazing season, but we cannot allow him to run like Foster did. He'll kill us. Different running style than Foster, but we have to shot down the lanes faster.
Has anyone seen DeMarcus Ware this year? Matt Schaub and the Texans will be seeing him in their nightmares. He was quite simply the wrecking ball of their passing game yesterday. In addition to 3 sacks to push his career total to 68.5 he had 2 other tackles for losses. I also saw him get constant pressure on Schaub every time he came. So much for him disappearing against lesser competition. He hasn't all year. The problem is some people only look for sacks. Spencer and Ware are both creating pressure on the QB. The sacks will come. Just like last year, they will come.
Speaking of sacks, Keith Brooking's sack on Schaub had me jumping out of my chair. That was a thing of beauty. I heard him describe that as Wade saying "don't miss the layups." Well, he didn't. He dunked it.
The most impressive player yesterday no one will be talking about was Marcus Spears. He is going to be a huge key to stopping the Titans because quite frankly he is our best run stuffer. If we put 8 in the box and dare Vince Young to beat us passing I think Spears will be the key to our success. He consistently pushes his man into the gaps play after play after play. It doesn't show up on the stats books, but oh boy does it show up in the win columns. Marcus Spears is playing winning football folks. Enjoy it if you can. I know it isn't as exciting as sacks and takeaways, but it wins games for you.
Once again we controlled the clock yesterday. We had the ball for 5 and a half minutes more than the Texans did. If we keep that up the sky is the limit provided we hang onto the football.
Tony Romo is one of the most under appreciated game managing QBs in the NFL. For the life of me I do not know why that is. I think people are too focused on when he escapes a pass rush to see just how efficient he is when he has time. 7 different players caught passes from Romo yesterday. It would have been 8 if the screen to Felix had not been called back on a penalty. Most of his passes are on the money so precise that you tend to forget them. He completed 77% of his passes yesterday folks and is at 68.8% on the year. If that keeps up he will destroy teams once we are clicking on all cylinders. That's right, I am saying we aren't there yet. But we are so close we know where there is.
I still say Tony doesn't not have a huge arm, but his knack of making the right reads is flat out beautiful. Joe Montana didn't have a huge arm either, he just dissected defenses. Yes, I went there. He has only been sacked one time despite a beat up OL. Part of that is thanks to game plans designed for him to get rid of it quick. Part of it is he is just a fine tuned and totally aware QB.
Speaking of the OL, here's hoping that Kosier will get healed up with the bye upon us next week. I can never eat enough crow about that guy. He is just a football player. Kudos to Montrae Holland for filling in well after he got dinged up. For a guy who was a wasted trade and who can't play at all, he sure plays well when we ask him to.
I said in the off season that by week 3 that people would be saying Doug Free is our best O-lineman. It was happening by week 1, but by now few of you if any can have doubts. Doug Free is fun to watch. That guy is mean, and I love it. Add Colombo bringing attitude back on the other side and the OL looks like as they continue to gel we can overcome the mistakes that plagued us for 2 games.
I know talking about OL is not sexy, but I want you to think about this for one minute. Orackpo, Peppers, and now Mario Williams. Romo on his pants 1 time in 3 games. Give them some credit folks. They've been disparaged enough to write a book on the subject. We did nothing to fix the OL remember?
It isn't exactly what I wanted this year for a start to the season, but I still feel this is one of the most dangerous teams in the NFL. I know many will disagree with me because of the two losses and that is fair. Point blank, we should not have lost either game. That cannot be denied. However, I will say this. if we were 3-0 like I think we should be, the hype would be unbearable. Especially with other tough teams in the NFC struggling a little bit.
Maybe, just maybe it's a good thing the team has to overcome some adversity in order to come together in the right way. Now, they just need to cut down on the penalties and build upon yesterday and maybe more of us will enjoy this season.
Make no mistake about it though folks, we are due some more stumbles this year. It's a rough schedule. Don't ever doubt that. If we play like we did yesterday, there is no reason at all that we can't be where we all dream of being. But remember the word is "if" for a reason.
Enjoy the bye week Cowboys fans. You've earned it.
: It will be nice to have a bi-week without all of the toxicity.
