Five Questions: Cowboys vs. Seahawks

Gryphon

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Five Questions: Cowboys vs. Seahawks
By Drew Magary

Every Friday, we’ll tackle five big questions for the Cowboys going into the weekend’s game.

1. Will Miles Austin have a third straight game with over 150 yards receiving? No. Seattle has a better pass defense than Kansas City and Atlanta, and Austin has clearly proven he’s no fluke. This will be the first game where Austin probably commands consistent double teams. The payoff is more room for Jason Witten and Martellus Bennett to get open down the field. And that’s one of the many delightful perks of having a true #1 wide receiver.

2. If the Cowboys lose this game, are we right back where we started? Yes. The Cowboys can’t take a step back and lose this game to an outfit that’s injured and doesn’t have the same caliber of talent. Seattle has more than enough weapons on offense to keep things close. You never know when Hasselbeck and the passing game will spring to life. But for the Cowboys to lose this game prior to their big showdown with the Eagles next week would permanently mark them as one of the league’s most maddeningly inconsistent teams. You’d hope the team would be past that after beating Atlanta the way they did. But you never know. Things turn on a dime.

3. Do I get free green beans if a punt hits the scoreboard? Again, all signs point to no. There have been no press releases from TGI Fridays this week announcing that their free fried green bean promotion has been continued, and my emails to the company demanding free green beans anyway have gone unreturned. THAT’S THE LAST TIME I VISIT YOU PEOPLE FOR A JACK DANIELS-SOAKED STRIP STEAK.

4. I think I’m over seeing if a punter can hit that stupid board. Are you too suffering from Lofty Punt Fatigue? I am. But your video board challenger this week is Jon Ryan of the Seahawks, who’s averaging nearly 50 yards a punt (his 49.9 yard average is 2nd in the league), and has boomed a 70-yarder this season. He could totally hit it. HE COULD! Ryan is the first in a line of excellent punters making their way to Cowboys Stadium. Shane Lechler comes into town at the end of November. And Mike Scifres comes in two weeks later. If none of those three men end up hitting the board, then I think PunterGate officially becomes a dead issue. So far, the board clearly doesn’t interfere enough with game play for it to really matter.

5. GAHHHHH! I ate half a bag of Reese’s cups already and it’s not even Halloween yet. Do I have a problem? If premature candy binging on Halloween is wrong, I don’t wanna be right.
 

Hawksfan81

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I agree about the miles austin thing. He has really made a name for himself the last few weeks so I wouldn't be suprised to see teams start to game plan for him. Trufant comes back this week for the hawks so that will help. Even if it is only in a limited roll.
 

dogunwo

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Hawksfan81;3045769 said:
I agree about the miles austin thing. He has really made a name for himself the last few weeks so I wouldn't be suprised to see teams start to game plan for him. Trufant comes back this week for the hawks so that will help. Even if it is only in a limited roll.
Its going to be tough for him to be a factor, i want the boys to go right at him, see where he is at.
 

jazzcat22

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Hawksfan81;3045769 said:
I agree about the miles austin thing. He has really made a name for himself the last few weeks so I wouldn't be suprised to see teams start to game plan for him. Trufant comes back this week for the hawks so that will help. Even if it is only in a limited roll.

Why didn't he mentioned things opening up for Williams also. If they double team Austin, then Roy is in single coverage as well as Witten or Bennett.
 

WarDaddy

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jazzcat22;3045852 said:
Why didn't he mentioned things opening up for Williams also. If they double team Austin, then Roy is in single coverage as well as Witten or Bennett.

Roy will break out just in time for the playoffs. I have faith that will happen. I wonder what Garrett and Wade have in store offensively and defensively for the late-season run through the division.

I'm sure the gameplans will vary from what we saw earlier in the season considering how it seems all our division games have been crammed into the back end of the schedule. When I saw the schedule before the season I figured this would be the year we do well in the playoffs due to how December would be the focus and the level of competition during that month is tough.

If we play well to end the year we should roll into the playoffs with more confidence than 2007.
 

rynochop

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I can honestly say the punt/scoreboard deal didnt even cross my mind in the Atlanta game. And thankfully Brennaman and Troy didnt mention it either. (that i heard)
 

DallasEast

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Gryphon;3045740 said:
1. Will Miles Austin have a third straight game with over 150 yards receiving? No. Seattle has a better pass defense than Kansas City and Atlanta, and Austin has clearly proven he’s no fluke. This will be the first game where Austin probably commands consistent double teams. The payoff is more room for Jason Witten and Martellus Bennett to get open down the field. And that’s one of the many delightful perks of having a true #1 wide receiver.
Bookmarked
Gryphon;3045740 said:
2. If the Cowboys lose this game, are we right back where we started? Yes. The Cowboys can’t take a step back and lose this game to an outfit that’s injured and doesn’t have the same caliber of talent. Seattle has more than enough weapons on offense to keep things close. You never know when Hasselbeck and the passing game will spring to life. But for the Cowboys to lose this game prior to their big showdown with the Eagles next week would permanently mark them as one of the league’s most maddeningly inconsistent teams. You’d hope the team would be past that after beating Atlanta the way they did. But you never know. Things turn on a dime.
Not necessarily. It will depend on how the game was lost.

Should the offense and defense sputter for four quarters, the answer is yes. If both units execute well and Seattle plays a great game, the answer isn't necessarily yes. Sometimes you lose to a team that's playing out of their minds on a given Sunday. It happens. We'll see.
Gryphon;3045740 said:
3. Do I get free green beans if a punt hits the scoreboard? Again, all signs point to no. There have been no press releases from TGI Fridays this week announcing that their free fried green bean promotion has been continued, and my emails to the company demanding free green beans anyway have gone unreturned. THAT’S THE LAST TIME I VISIT YOU PEOPLE FOR A JACK DANIELS-SOAKED STRIP STEAK.
Who cares?
Gryphon;3045740 said:
4. I think I’m over seeing if a punter can hit that stupid board. Are you too suffering from Lofty Punt Fatigue? I am. But your video board challenger this week is Jon Ryan of the Seahawks, who’s averaging nearly 50 yards a punt (his 49.9 yard average is 2nd in the league), and has boomed a 70-yarder this season. He could totally hit it. HE COULD! Ryan is the first in a line of excellent punters making their way to Cowboys Stadium. Shane Lechler comes into town at the end of November. And Mike Scifres comes in two weeks later. If none of those three men end up hitting the board, then I think PunterGate officially becomes a dead issue. So far, the board clearly doesn’t interfere enough with game play for it to really matter.
One of the dumbest pregame expectations is dedicating a single brain neuron hoping to see if someone's punt hits the videoboard. Let's be real here though. Every NFL punter can hit it. Heck, college punter could hit it too. The only real questions are, "Why would someone try to?" and "What's the motivation for doing so?" The only real accidents, which occur during punting, are shanks, especially at the NFL level.
Gryphon;3045740 said:
5. GAHHHHH! I ate half a bag of Reese’s cups already and it’s not even Halloween yet. Do I have a problem? If premature candy binging on Halloween is wrong, I don’t wanna be right.
Yes. :)
 

Hawksfan81

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dogunwo;3045840 said:
Its going to be tough for him to be a factor, i want the boys to go right at him, see where he is at.

I kinda want them to do the same because I want to know where he is at as well. But he is only supposed to be in there on 3rd downs and obvious passing situations. He isnt supposed to start. So there won't be too many opportunities to test him.
 
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