Hostile;3050074 said:
Someone pinch me. Is Patrick "Fair Catch" Crayton really leading the NFL in Punt Return yardage after 2 straight games with a TD? I'll take my helping of crow deep fried please. I never would have believed that was possible. He has made me eat the crow.
Actually the credit goes to a man who is a walking, talking, butt kicking miracle on our sidelines. Joe DeCamillis has been one of the most refreshing additions to this team in years. I find him to be utterly inspiring. I would love to have played for the man. Instead of dreading Special Teams I find myself believing it is a battle we will automatically win. What an unreal change for this team. Maybe there's some magic in Tom Landry's bullhorn. I don't know what it is, but I couldn't complain about the Special Teams if I wanted to. They are executing.
Speaking of executing, Tony Romo is in a groove right now. For the first time in his career he has 3 straight games without an INT. He did lose a fumble today, but he has protected the ball amazingly well for a guy that more people doubted than believed in just 4 weeks ago when we were 2-2. Three of his four INTs on the season happened in one game that we almost won. I'll take Romo friendly.
I saw some people who still can't stand Jason Garrett and I have to be honest with you that has me perplexed. The Offense is scoring, mistakes are down, and he is still as hated by some as he was last year when we actually did suck. I suppose it will take a TD on every single drive for him to be good enough. That's ridiculous, but then expectations of the fans sometimes are.
I know mine are. Hard for me to confess to that. It is unreal of me to expect some of the things I do. Like the dozen sacks I was expecting to see today. I really did even though I didn't post it. 3 sacks almost left a bad taste in my mouth. I expected more than that from Ware alone. I know better than to do that, but I couldn't help it. The Seattle OL was so patchwork I expected our Defense to go through them like gas through a funnel. Hasselback was pressured today, but not sacked enough or forced into INTs so I was a little bit disappointed. I believed the Defense had turned a corner and was going to start getting those stats in bunches. It doesn't work that way in the NFL and I know it.
Still I am not disappointed in the Defense. I feel like they made some critical stops and when you look at the time of possession and see a nearly nine minute advantage for the Cowboys Offense it is pretty obvious that they performed exactly as they should. I'd like to see the total yardage lower but when I see the yards per rush at 3.6 I know they did their jobs.
The problem is I also see our yards per rush at 3.9 yards. I could be wrong but I think that is our lowest of the season. The Offense has shifted from a run powerhouse early this season to a pass oriented Offense. I understand that because it is working. I would just like to see the run work better than this. 113 yards rushing is pretty meager. I realize a couple of the RBs have been dinged up, but even so they have rushed better than today. I'm not worried about it, but I hope this is the lowest of the season.
Penalties were down again. 5 for 43 yards. That is encouraging. I read that none of the penalties were pre-snap. If that is true (and I honestly wasn't paying attention to that) then that is more than encouraging. It is flat out room for celebration.
Which is where I am when I see this team at 5-2 and tied for the lead in the NFC East. You see, even when we were 2-2 I was sticking to my belief that this is a 12-4 team that will win the NFC East. I took some heat for that from a few friends. I simply refused to budge. A big step in that direction can happen next week if we can beat the Eagles. That hasn't been easy this decade. Andy Reid has been our worst nemesis. Last year to end the season was the worst, but it was hardly the only time he has led his team to prevail.
Last week I posted a thread about November being Tony Romo's best month. Today was a good way for that trend to continue. A division game on the road against a team who has owned us this decade could erase a lot of doubts.
Erasing the doubts has kind of been a theme of this team. A couple of players still need to finish the job. Nothing is better than a clean slate. It's an all new NFC East folks. The battle for bragging rights there begin next week and it is a tough opponent. I couldn't be happier with the momentum right now. 5-2 feels pretty right to me. A solid November could erase a lot of doubts.
I wonder if crow and eagle both taste like chicken? I'm eating my crow, here's hoping the Cowboys serve up some Eagle.
...well i don't think that Barber is 100% and it's questionable if he will be by the end of the season...but he is the better blocker of the three...he just does'nt have the same explosiveness...
...Garrett must be careful to not fall back into the trap of a pass-heavy offense like he did down the stretch last year...i still think that Choice and Jones could see a few more carries per game...the throw to Jones late in the third quarter was what finally broke Seattle...C and J give you more versatility and speed but i'm really just nitpicking here...
...i was pleasantly surprised to see Ratliff in the game...the defense probably wanted the TD to Deion Branch back...Scandrick was in perfect position, he only needed to turn his head back to the ball and it's likely that he could've picked it...Sensabaugh dropped one as well...but again just nitpicking, as the entire defensive unit played pretty well...credit Hasselbeck and a bye week to prepare for Dallas...they came in with a premium on getting rid of the ball quickly and not taking sacks...it worked for a while but the offense just ran away with it...it went pretty much the same way as last year's game...
...the Dallas offense is beginning to remind of the one in New Orleans...they can beat you short, long, side, back and forth...they can bulldoze you with hand to hand combat in the running game, pick you apart underneath and deep six you when you blitz...of particular note is the added dimension of RAC...once Williams gets on the same page with Romo, the Cowboys offense will be a beauty to behold and a terror for defenses to face...he's the final piece of the puzzle...
...when you click in all three phases it's hard to lose ballgames...Crayton has been simply spectacular since his demotion...he did bungle the reverse but man did he make up for it...two td returns in as many weeks...DeCamillas has those guys reported, present and correct...it's been too long since Dallas has had a special teams unit that's a difference maker...
...my only real problem with Garrett, who called a great game btw, was the series where Seattle had them pinned deep around the 5 yard line...they ended up three and out, though Seattle was'nt able to capitalize on the good field position...
Romo has put up three straight plus 100 passer rating games...he's played within himself and kept mistakes to a minimum...he was a little off today but Seattle kept coming after him...Dallas can win championships with the current version of Tony...
...with the demotion of Crayton and the emergence of Austin the chemistry of this team has changed significantly...if they can at least split the next two games they have a chance to be 8-3 to start December...a nice place to be for the final push...
