Are you expecting the extra prep time to make a difference?

[LittleBoyBlue]

I think it makes a tremendous difference. Not only has it goes Tony more time to rest and strengthen his back anyone who saw the game will tell you that Romo wasn't himself on the short rest.

I so t buy the short week.
Remember we were preparing for weeks for the eagles so technically we are preparing less for rematch.


Just play better.
Less predictable.
Better execution,

 

[Beast_from_East]

On Thanksgiving obviously we had a short turn around with our QB nursing several injuries I'm sure having really three days of prep time was especially taxing. Now that we're heading into Philly off ten days rest how much of a difference will that make for us? Philly is coming off what I'd call a bruising game as well I'm just hoping Romo will be more on point & also to get better play out of the O-line this time around.

I am hoping that it makes a huge difference.................we have a shot to play for division lead coming off 10 days of rest...................no excuses


If we lose a second time, it will be because Chip Kelly and the Eagles are just simply better than we are.

 

[NumOneQB]

I don't think it amounts to much at this point in the season. I think there's more weight with the revenge factor and the difficulty beating the same team twice in such a short period of time....

 

[RoboQB]

If you said rest or preparation, you're both right.

Dallas came off a brutal schedule which offset their routine in several ways.... by the way, I loved their "no excuses" attitude through it all...
we are the fans and we can make the excuses... it's nice to know that our team is holding accountability.

Romo didn't get the treatment he was accustomed to during the week... Honestly, the team looked tired on Turkey Day... just my opinion...
Now Romo will probably feel as close to 100% (which for him is probably 75-80%) as he has all season... and Demarco Murray will have
fresh legs after 10 days off.... also the DLine will have a slightly different look with Josh Brent plugging the middle... not saying he's a superstar...
just saying he appears to be an improvement on what we had after the Turkey Day debacle... Also, Rolando McClain played much of that game
with a knee injury... Health is a very underrated factor.

I think that covers the "rest" factor.

Now as for preparation.... 10 days to prepare.... re-hashing the loss... definitely makes a huge difference... typically, a team that has wiped the floor
with their opponent no longer respects that team... coaches can coach'em up all they want but human nature says "hey, we whipped in their house, we can whip'em in ours."
I'm not saying Philly isn't practicing and studying hard... I'm just saying Dallas is working hard as well... and yes, I've heard Jerry spout off how they were prepping for Philly
for weeks before the loss... not totally buying it... it's just not the same as addressing an opponent for the upcoming game.

So the preparation is now plenty... ample even.

Now, if Dallas loses as bad as last time, or worse, or even at all, we can say well Philly is better than we are and we're not ready yet... but they're a lot closer than in recent years past.

One small factor, if you believe in the road success... there won't be many Cowboys fans in Philly... part of the coolness of the road domination has been the fans in the local teams area
that are diehard Cowboys fans... it will truly be an "us against the world" feeling in Philadelphia.... which, of course, will make even sweater when we walk out with the "W".

The X's and O's of the game, to me, is that the offense really needs to pass to set up the run... I really wish they ran more crossing routes and attacked the middle of the field early and often...
I can't stand the comeback routes on 3rd and 4 like on the pick that was intended for Terracne Williams last time.... On defense, Seattle has shown what we all knew already... PRESSURE the QB...
something we've struggled with all year (putting it nicely)... this is a must!... roll coverage and blitz... do something different... I remember Ronde Barber being 2nd or 3rd on those old Bucs teams in sacks... we need to do something on Defense that Philly doesn't have on film against us.... just throwing that out there....Full disclosure, I know we aren't nearly as talented as Seattle on defense and we are definitely NOT the '03 Bucs... but this is a must win (technically no, I know)... we gotta have this one... we need someone on defense to step up and play "balls out" and dominate.

That is my hope and my opinion...... Go Cowboys!... hoping for this great season to continue on.

 

[Beast_from_East]

If you said rest or preparation, you're both right.

Dallas came off a brutal schedule which offset their routine in several ways.... by the way, I loved their "no excuses" attitude through it all...
we are the fans and we can make the excuses... it's nice to know that our team is holding accountability.

Romo didn't get the treatment he was accustomed to during the week... Honestly, the team looked tired on Turkey Day... just my opinion...
Now Romo will probably feel as close to 100% (which for him is probably 75-80%) as he has all season... and Demarco Murray will have
fresh legs after 10 days off.... also the DLine will have a slightly different look with Josh Brent plugging the middle... not saying he's a superstar...
just saying he appears to be an improvement on what we had after the Turkey Day debacle... Also, Rolando McClain played much of that game
with a knee injury... Health is a very underrated factor.

I think that covers the "rest" factor.

Now as for preparation.... 10 days to prepare.... re-hashing the loss... definitely makes a huge difference... typically, a team that has wiped the floor
with their opponent no longer respects that team... coaches can coach'em up all they want but human nature says "hey, we whipped in their house, we can whip'em in ours."
I'm not saying Philly isn't practicing and studying hard... I'm just saying Dallas is working hard as well... and yes, I've heard Jerry spout off how they were prepping for Philly
for weeks before the loss... not totally buying it... it's just not the same as addressing an opponent for the upcoming game.

So the preparation is now plenty... ample even.

Now, if Dallas loses as bad as last time, or worse, or even at all, we can say well Philly is better than we are and we're not ready yet... but they're a lot closer than in recent years past.

One small factor, if you believe in the road success... there won't be many Cowboys fans in Philly... part of the coolness of the road domination has been the fans in the local teams area
that are diehard Cowboys fans... it will truly be an "us against the world" feeling in Philadelphia.... which, of course, will make even sweater when we walk out with the "W".

The X's and O's of the game, to me, is that the offense really needs to pass to set up the run... I really wish they ran more crossing routes and attacked the middle of the field early and often...
I can't stand the comeback routes on 3rd and 4 like on the pick that was intended for Terracne Williams last time.... On defense, Seattle has shown what we all knew already... PRESSURE the QB...
something we've struggled with all year (putting it nicely)... this is a must!... roll coverage and blitz... do something different... I remember Ronde Barber being 2nd or 3rd on those old Bucs teams in sacks... we need to do something on Defense that Philly doesn't have on film against us.... just throwing that out there....Full disclosure, I know we aren't nearly as talented as Seattle on defense and we are definitely NOT the '03 Bucs... but this is a must win (technically no, I know)... we gotta have this one... we need someone on defense to step up and play "balls out" and dominate.

That is my hope and my opinion...... Go Cowboys!... hoping for this great season to continue on.

While it mathematically wont be over, it is going to be very difficult for the loser of this game to make the playoffs.....................that is why we need to treat it like a playoff game, go for it on 4th down, exotic blitzes, some coverage that nobody has film on, ect......

This is basically a win or go home game for us so we need to do anything and everything to win.

 

[RoboQB]

While it mathematically wont be over, it is going to be very difficult for the loser of this game to make the playoffs.....................that is why we need to treat it like a playoff game, go for it on 4th down, exotic blitzes, some coverage that nobody has film on, ect......

This is basically a win or go home game for us so we need to do anything and everything to win.

Agreed.

I was just bracing for someone to chime in with the numbers stuff.... we have to win this game to justify being a contender... no outside help or freak circumstance...
Thanks for sharing... I've already taken next Monday off... hoping it will be a happy hangover..

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

While it mathematically wont be over, it is going to be very difficult for the loser of this game to make the playoffs.....................that is why we need to treat it like a playoff game, go for it on 4th down, exotic blitzes, some coverage that nobody has film on, ect......

This is basically a win or go home game for us so we need to do anything and everything to win.

Yep.

Our playoffs started in Chicago!

Now we just need a 6-7 game win streak and we are 6olden!

 

[RoboQB]

Yep.

Our playoffs started in Chicago!

Now we just need a 6-7 game win streak and we are 6olden!

I like the way you think, RED.

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

I like the way you think, RED.

My friend... Almost 20 years.

We DESERVE this!
Any normal cowboy fan feels that way ;-)

 

[DogFace]

I so t buy the short week.
Remember we were preparing for weeks for the eagles so technically we are preparing less for rematch.


Just play better.
Less predictable.
Better execution,

Like others have said. Most important was the lack of rest. The Sunday night road game was unprecedented before a Thursday game.
More prep time will help as well.

They essentially had two days rest. Not good for Romo's back.
It was an excuse. Excuses have a bad name but shouldn't always be discounted.

 

[Hoov]

I think Romo will play better - actually he couldnt play much worse so that is not saying much, but i think the offense will look significantly better. Still the eagles defense has been tough at home - not sure we score 30, maybe 24-27. The biggest factor to me will be the defense. Sanchez had a rough outing last week and fans are talking about it so he is probably feeling some pressure.

IF the cowboys defense can contain the eagles run - I think Sanchez will struggle to win this game. I say a win this week is more dependent on the cowboys defense stepping up.

 

[Fredd]

the rest factor should be a difference for the cowboys, there won't be any differences to the eagles as they are on normal rest...the eagles offense is pretty rested after the seattle game, I just read two or three threads in the same amount of time that philly's offense had the ball last sunday......that all being said, Dallas has to come ready to play, and if they happen to get down, stick with the game plan....

 

[DallasDW00ds0n]

Can't remember the last time we made so many excuses for losing on Thanksgiving, they better show up Sunday. If they don't make the playoffs this year what a disappointment

 

[bayeslife]

I expect the Cowboys to give Philly their best shot. They all know this game is win or go home in all likelihood.

 

[morasp]

As others have said rest and prep but also getting healthy. It's uncanny the way we pick up these undrafted free agents but I think Patmon is a playmaker and getting him back is a plus for the pass defense. Kiffin has watched more than a few players and said he's like Ronde Barber. Sullivan said he thought Leary had a career game against the Bears so it will be fun to see if our OL will take it to their DL for 60 minutes. I'll be using the replay and slow motion features on Tivo a lot during the game. It would be great to see us put them on their backs a few times.

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

Like others have said. Most important was the lack of rest. The Sunday night road game was unprecedented before a Thursday game.
More prep time will help as well.

They essentially had two days rest. Not good for Romo's back.
It was an excuse. Excuses have a bad name but shouldn't always be discounted.

Like the cowboys said.... We were preparing for weeks for the eagles.

Eagles and Commanders beat us down.... Like the commercial = "No more...... No more.............. No more"

 

[Doomsday101]

I think health wise this question is a no brainer. Romo was not physically ready to go, some was his own doing by not taking the injections. Mental side of the game I think OL having the chance to see the mistakes they made in game 1 vs the twisting and stunting eagles will be a big help to them. They have the talent to correct those mistakes.

 

[Alexander]

Preparation, at least to the team, was not the problem. Seattle has stated they found the Eagles offense to be very simple to diagnose. The key is stopping them from doing what they want to do. The Seahawks held the edge, kept McCoy dancing and tackled well.

The Dallas defense looked gassed, winded, tired and even disinterested at times on Thanksgiving. They wanted none of the Eagles OL and were sucking wind after a few drives. They looked out of shape and could never get their composure back, mostly because the run game was not buying them the time they had become accustomed to.

On the flip side, that was also the first time I have seen any DL physically match the Cowboys OL from start to finish. Cox and Logan were very good.

That is why the "rest" component has a better chance of being relevant than preparation.

People think Kelly throws the kitchen sink at teams and he really does not do so. He is no Belichick when it comes to changing up the personnel and interchanging the gameplan and components from week to week. He is more about managing the tempo than anything else.

 

[JoeKing]

Of course it makes a difference. Will it net the Boys a win? If everyone else does their job, yes we will win. IMO, that's a big "if". I can see Romo doing well but Philly still winning. Everyone else must do their job.

 

[BotchedLobotomy]

I'll let you know late Sunday night.