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NFL FanHouse Roundtable: Do the Cowboys Have a Chance This Weekend?
Posted Oct 11th 2007 1:00PM by Ryan Wilson
Filed under: Cowboys, Patriots, NFL Fans, Boston, Dallas
It's only Week 6, but the New England Patriots-Dallas Cowboys matchup has already reached GAME OF THE CENTURY status. The NFL FanHouse got together for a little Roundtable action to discuss whether the Cowboys should just forfeit to save themselves the embarrassment of facing the mighty Patriots.
Ryan Wilson: There's so much hype surrounding this game, that it's hard not to pray for a 0-0 tie. Picking a winner is like deciding whether to hire 'N Sync or the Backstreet Boys to sing at your wedding. With New England's dominating start to the season and Dallas' Monday night near meltdown, does anybody give the Cowboys a real chance this weekend? (Currently, Dallas is getting 4.5 points, which makes me think Vegas wants to encourage Cowboys fans to get in on the action.)
Michael David Smith: Honestly, I really don't give the Cowboys a chance. I don't think Romo is going to throw another five interceptions or anything, but I'm just having a really hard time envisioning a scenario in which the Cowboys win this game. The Patriots are just rolling to such an extent that I'm not convinced the Cowboys can beat them.
Stephanie Stradley: The Patriots play has been just sick, but the difficulty in evaluating this one is that both of these teams haven't really played anyone yet, and the game is in Irving.
Larry Brown: The Patriots are just head and shoulders above EVERYONE in the NFL. Rather than battling through a close contest, I think the Pats will raise their game to a new level, just to prove that they're in a class of their own. I think New England is just going to blow Dallas out.
Ryan: Okay, it seems like we're all in agreement: the Patriots are AWESOME ... but: Wade Phillips was the Chargers' defensive coordinator last year, and the defense played pretty well against the Pats in the playoffs. The Cowboys have some athletic players -- maybe more than San Diego -- is there a chance Phillips could hatch a scheme to at least slow down New England?
Larry: Well, if Wade somehow convinces the Broncos to trade him Champ Bailey, the Bears to trade him Brian Urlacher, and the Giants to trade him Osi Umenyiora all before Sunday, then yeah, there's a chance. Until all that happens, it would take just about a Pro Bowl defense to stop New England's offense. Remember, when Phillips was d-coordinator for the Chargers last year, the Patriots did not have Randy Moss, Wes Welker, or Donte Stallworth. Needless to say, that's a major difference.
Stephanie: I don't know, I'm not sold on the Cowboys defense at all. They haven't played a team this season with a good offense, and they didn't seem to slow Eli Manning much Game 1 or Matt Schaub in the third preseason game where their starters played a lot. The Cowboys secondary has issues, and I think they are still getting used to the defensive scheme.
David Warner: Let's not get ahead of ourselves here. The Patriots haven't proven themselves to be head and shoulders above the Colts yet. The Pats are5-0 against competition that's a combined 7-17. Granted, the Colts' opponents so far are only 11-12, but 0-4 New Orleans is dragging that record down, and let's not forget that Indy has already won two road games in the toughest division in the NFL -- games that were losses last year -- and even without a lot of key starters last week, the Colts displayed ruthless efficiency in beating the Buccaneers.
The Cowboys just fell into a trap game on the road and still managed to escape with a win. The rest of their games have shown them to be just as strong as the Pats. Who's to say they can't outscore New England at home?
Sportz Assassin: I give the Cowboys a chance, but they must play darn near perfect to beat the Patriots. The main reasons are defense and special teams.
Dallas' defense isn't good enough to contain New England. They struggled against the Giants and Dolphins and are coming off wins against the inept Bears, Rams and Bills offenses. I just don't see that defense being able to hold down New England.
Stephanie: Agreed. The Cowboys have been able to score points, but it is hard to believe in their defense and special teams. And the Buffalo game makes you wonder about their offense some. Some reports suggest that Romo was confused by Buffalo's exotic coverages, and the Patriots are not going to make it any easier on them on a short week.
David: It works both ways, though. Is New England's defense good enough to contain Dallas? Yes, the Cowboys hurt themselves with all those turnovers against Buffalo, but they still won that game, and the Cowboys' offense has scored only 6 fewer points than New England's so far this season.
Seriously, I can't believe *I'm* the one sitting here trying to argue that the Dallas Cowboys have a chance to win. Has Bill Belichick hypnotized you people? Or is it just the AFC-NFC divide that has you all convinced the Pats will win going away? The AFC is only 12-10 against the NFC so far.
Stephanie: I think this is a symptom of these 5-0 teams only playing teams so far that they are supposed to beat. The Patriots crushed those teams more convincingly than the Cowboys beat their weak opponents. Between them, they have played some bad, injured, and/or incomplete teams.
Filed under: Cowboys, Patriots, NFL Fans, Boston, Dallas
It's only Week 6, but the New England Patriots-Dallas Cowboys matchup has already reached GAME OF THE CENTURY status. The NFL FanHouse got together for a little Roundtable action to discuss whether the Cowboys should just forfeit to save themselves the embarrassment of facing the mighty Patriots.
Ryan Wilson: There's so much hype surrounding this game, that it's hard not to pray for a 0-0 tie. Picking a winner is like deciding whether to hire 'N Sync or the Backstreet Boys to sing at your wedding. With New England's dominating start to the season and Dallas' Monday night near meltdown, does anybody give the Cowboys a real chance this weekend? (Currently, Dallas is getting 4.5 points, which makes me think Vegas wants to encourage Cowboys fans to get in on the action.)
Michael David Smith: Honestly, I really don't give the Cowboys a chance. I don't think Romo is going to throw another five interceptions or anything, but I'm just having a really hard time envisioning a scenario in which the Cowboys win this game. The Patriots are just rolling to such an extent that I'm not convinced the Cowboys can beat them.
Stephanie Stradley: The Patriots play has been just sick, but the difficulty in evaluating this one is that both of these teams haven't really played anyone yet, and the game is in Irving.
Larry Brown: The Patriots are just head and shoulders above EVERYONE in the NFL. Rather than battling through a close contest, I think the Pats will raise their game to a new level, just to prove that they're in a class of their own. I think New England is just going to blow Dallas out.
Ryan: Okay, it seems like we're all in agreement: the Patriots are AWESOME ... but: Wade Phillips was the Chargers' defensive coordinator last year, and the defense played pretty well against the Pats in the playoffs. The Cowboys have some athletic players -- maybe more than San Diego -- is there a chance Phillips could hatch a scheme to at least slow down New England?
Larry: Well, if Wade somehow convinces the Broncos to trade him Champ Bailey, the Bears to trade him Brian Urlacher, and the Giants to trade him Osi Umenyiora all before Sunday, then yeah, there's a chance. Until all that happens, it would take just about a Pro Bowl defense to stop New England's offense. Remember, when Phillips was d-coordinator for the Chargers last year, the Patriots did not have Randy Moss, Wes Welker, or Donte Stallworth. Needless to say, that's a major difference.
Stephanie: I don't know, I'm not sold on the Cowboys defense at all. They haven't played a team this season with a good offense, and they didn't seem to slow Eli Manning much Game 1 or Matt Schaub in the third preseason game where their starters played a lot. The Cowboys secondary has issues, and I think they are still getting used to the defensive scheme.
David Warner: Let's not get ahead of ourselves here. The Patriots haven't proven themselves to be head and shoulders above the Colts yet. The Pats are5-0 against competition that's a combined 7-17. Granted, the Colts' opponents so far are only 11-12, but 0-4 New Orleans is dragging that record down, and let's not forget that Indy has already won two road games in the toughest division in the NFL -- games that were losses last year -- and even without a lot of key starters last week, the Colts displayed ruthless efficiency in beating the Buccaneers.
The Cowboys just fell into a trap game on the road and still managed to escape with a win. The rest of their games have shown them to be just as strong as the Pats. Who's to say they can't outscore New England at home?
Sportz Assassin: I give the Cowboys a chance, but they must play darn near perfect to beat the Patriots. The main reasons are defense and special teams.
Dallas' defense isn't good enough to contain New England. They struggled against the Giants and Dolphins and are coming off wins against the inept Bears, Rams and Bills offenses. I just don't see that defense being able to hold down New England.
Stephanie: Agreed. The Cowboys have been able to score points, but it is hard to believe in their defense and special teams. And the Buffalo game makes you wonder about their offense some. Some reports suggest that Romo was confused by Buffalo's exotic coverages, and the Patriots are not going to make it any easier on them on a short week.
David: It works both ways, though. Is New England's defense good enough to contain Dallas? Yes, the Cowboys hurt themselves with all those turnovers against Buffalo, but they still won that game, and the Cowboys' offense has scored only 6 fewer points than New England's so far this season.
Seriously, I can't believe *I'm* the one sitting here trying to argue that the Dallas Cowboys have a chance to win. Has Bill Belichick hypnotized you people? Or is it just the AFC-NFC divide that has you all convinced the Pats will win going away? The AFC is only 12-10 against the NFC so far.
Stephanie: I think this is a symptom of these 5-0 teams only playing teams so far that they are supposed to beat. The Patriots crushed those teams more convincingly than the Cowboys beat their weak opponents. Between them, they have played some bad, injured, and/or incomplete teams.
