Chuck 54
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I expect the Cowboys to get after Kurt Warner and the Cardinals today and generate some QB pressure, stop the run, and knock Warner around a bit, which usually leads to turnovers with any QB, but especially with Warner.
I'm not worried in the least about playing without Newman...not a big deal. We've won plenty of games without him, and Henry, Pacman, Jenkins, and Scandrick are plenty talented enough to get the job done, along with a highly paid FS in Hamlin who is due for a breakout game.
Let's not forget that the Cardinals are most likely without one of their weapons on offense as well. I don't expect Boldin to play, but if he miraculously does, I'd be shocked if he's the 100% Boldin.
Here's the bottom line for me:
If we lose, I won't start playing Russian Roulette or writing 28 threads about who in the Cowboys organization is to blame for the earth falling out of its rotation. The Cardinals are a good team, a physical team, a team that really shines at home so far this season. A mistake or two by Romo, a dropped pass or two by TO and Crayton, a special teams' mistake, a foul-up in the secondary down the stretch...and we could lose a close game, and it won't be the end of the world.
Having a very talented team on paper does not mean that we should be the best team in the NFL in the first 3rd of the season or that we should look like SB champs every week. It's nice to be great...it's nice to win homefield advantage, but as we've seen in recent years, what's most important is to be healthy and playing your best ball (peaking) in December.
I expect our offense to put up points in Arizona...we're too good, have too many weapons, and have too much talent not to hang 24-35 points on the Cardinals, even if we make some mistakes.
Today, we will learn a little bit more about our defense and the so-called tons of talent we have in all those first round draft picks. No matter what the scheme, no matter how much or how little blitzing, if our defense is anywhere near as talented as many fans think, they should perform well at some point in time. Missing TNew today is a minor thing compared to the other defenses around the league who have been missing 2-3 starters many weeks and still dominating opponents.
If Ware gets 1-2 sacks, but little consistent pressure or knockdowns today, that won't mean he didn't have a good game, but we need more than Ware. If the rest of the guys up front don't work with him to provide pressure, push the pocket, get hands up in Warner's face and knock him down 7-10 times, and if our secondary then can't stay with the receivers because there's no pressure, then I, for one, will be very unhappy.
We're going to learn a great deal about our defense today because our offense will put up points. Will our defense also give up a ton of points and play to hang on for a close victory? Or will today be the day our defense ignores what's going on with the offense and really tries to make a statement and regain a little defensive swagger.
Our offense is sometimes up and down, but we know what we have there. In my opinion, we look at the names on our defense, mostly home-grown high draft picks, and we expect greater performances than we have seen for the past two years. Even the defense has most of the season to gel and reach their peak by December, but I'm anxious to at least get a glimpse of what is possible with them...I'd like to see that today...I'd love to see a physical team sending a message to the NFL with a hard-hitting, attacking, confident approach that produces results.
I would be very excited about a defensive performance that holds the Cardinals to 17 points today. I'll be happy with a 34-31 win, but a game like that will still have me wondering if our defense is ever going to reach championship quality.
I'm not worried in the least about playing without Newman...not a big deal. We've won plenty of games without him, and Henry, Pacman, Jenkins, and Scandrick are plenty talented enough to get the job done, along with a highly paid FS in Hamlin who is due for a breakout game.
Let's not forget that the Cardinals are most likely without one of their weapons on offense as well. I don't expect Boldin to play, but if he miraculously does, I'd be shocked if he's the 100% Boldin.
Here's the bottom line for me:
If we lose, I won't start playing Russian Roulette or writing 28 threads about who in the Cowboys organization is to blame for the earth falling out of its rotation. The Cardinals are a good team, a physical team, a team that really shines at home so far this season. A mistake or two by Romo, a dropped pass or two by TO and Crayton, a special teams' mistake, a foul-up in the secondary down the stretch...and we could lose a close game, and it won't be the end of the world.
Having a very talented team on paper does not mean that we should be the best team in the NFL in the first 3rd of the season or that we should look like SB champs every week. It's nice to be great...it's nice to win homefield advantage, but as we've seen in recent years, what's most important is to be healthy and playing your best ball (peaking) in December.
I expect our offense to put up points in Arizona...we're too good, have too many weapons, and have too much talent not to hang 24-35 points on the Cardinals, even if we make some mistakes.
Today, we will learn a little bit more about our defense and the so-called tons of talent we have in all those first round draft picks. No matter what the scheme, no matter how much or how little blitzing, if our defense is anywhere near as talented as many fans think, they should perform well at some point in time. Missing TNew today is a minor thing compared to the other defenses around the league who have been missing 2-3 starters many weeks and still dominating opponents.
If Ware gets 1-2 sacks, but little consistent pressure or knockdowns today, that won't mean he didn't have a good game, but we need more than Ware. If the rest of the guys up front don't work with him to provide pressure, push the pocket, get hands up in Warner's face and knock him down 7-10 times, and if our secondary then can't stay with the receivers because there's no pressure, then I, for one, will be very unhappy.
We're going to learn a great deal about our defense today because our offense will put up points. Will our defense also give up a ton of points and play to hang on for a close victory? Or will today be the day our defense ignores what's going on with the offense and really tries to make a statement and regain a little defensive swagger.
Our offense is sometimes up and down, but we know what we have there. In my opinion, we look at the names on our defense, mostly home-grown high draft picks, and we expect greater performances than we have seen for the past two years. Even the defense has most of the season to gel and reach their peak by December, but I'm anxious to at least get a glimpse of what is possible with them...I'd like to see that today...I'd love to see a physical team sending a message to the NFL with a hard-hitting, attacking, confident approach that produces results.
I would be very excited about a defensive performance that holds the Cardinals to 17 points today. I'll be happy with a 34-31 win, but a game like that will still have me wondering if our defense is ever going to reach championship quality.
