The Emperor
Marcus Aurelius Maximus
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Let me start of by saying Tashard Choice's tweet regarding his release is somewhat humorous. He writes, "I just want to say thanks to all the great dallas cowboys fans. My time in Dallas has comes to an end and the best is yet to come. God bless."
Wait, hold it. Tashard. Tashard, old buddy, your best has come. Do you understand that? You're going from a playoff team to heck knows what. Instead of doing as the coaches said and getting better on special teams, you copped an attitude of you versus the world. Maybe if you ate your cereal with water on game days as Michael Irvin once did to remind himself of where he came from and what a privilege it was to play professional football, you wouldn't have any "you versus the world" type of battles.
When you grow up riding a donkey and then someday ride in a limousine, never forget what it was like to ride the donkey because you may someday be out of the limousine. You felt entitled to ride in the limousine instead of working your butt off to stay in it. Now you're riding the donkey again. If you ever get to ride in the limousine again, I hope it's driving around in the AFC.
All right. Now, on to regularly scheduled expostulating:
My 87 year old grandmother is a diehard St. Louis Cardinals fan. It began long ago in an itty bitty community in central Arkansas. The men of the community would come over to my great grandfather's house and stand around the radio to listen to games. In fact, Grandmom is such a diehard fan that she doesn't know half of the players' names. To her, it's all about the Redbirds winning the game. It's not about the name on the back. I know a lot of you Cowboys fans have a problem with that concept.
Anyway, I didn't know how much time I had back home, so I decided to watch the NLDS with her. I was pleased we won. I didn't taunt dacatz about my family's Cardinals beating the Phillies because dacatz has more heart into the Phillies than I have in the Cardinals. When the LCS's were going on, and I found out I was going to be a street sweeper at the Texas State Fair, I was hoping the Cardinals and the Rangers would hook up in the World Serious so I could say I was in the town as it happened.
It happened. Initially, I didn't really care who won the series. I mean, yeah, I wanted the Cardinals to win, but I didn't despise the other side as I did with the Red Sox in 2004. I respected the Rangers organization; very classy. Heck, Nolan Ryan is a legend in the South, not just Texas. My father and my oldest brother loved him.
Well, that was until I settled in and started listening to the knuckleheads on the sports talk stations. Morons, all of them. First off, what do you need a sidekick for? That just shows you have no talent on your own.
[youtube]ClVQYbhEzr8[/youtube]
Secondly, you're on the level of a fourteen year old boy when you come up with fatuous names like "Greggo" and "Ben and Skin." What the heck does "Skin" mean? How did he get that name? "Skin" -- that's a name? What's his real name? No, call yourself "Ben and Skin" or "Greggo" or something and make believe you're instantaneously comedic and sporty. You're as comedic as Robert McNamara and you're as sporty as a bottle of hair gel.
Anyway, I noticed that these same knuckleheads that snicker at the Cowboys and have "fake Jerry" and all of this other malarkey came out and supported the Rangers cart blanche. What's astounding is how they chided the St. Louis media for being "lap dogs" to the Cardinals. Uh, hello? Jack Norworth had it right. It's "root, root, root for the home team." When they don't win, it is a shame, not a chance for you to chortle on the side with your hand in the advertisers' till. These schmucks act like criticizing the Cowboys is a civic duty; more important than our right to vote.
I'd had it at that point. I couldn't take their sanctimony. They bash my Cowboys who have set the bar for championships and then suck up to the Rangers. Then, they moan about the St. Louis media being lap dogs. My goblet of ire had spilled; I wanted to see the Rangers lose and these knuckleheads hang from their own gallows.
Oh, and they did. After the game, I heard one of them asking who they could blame for this series. There was no one they could blame; the Cardinals were a scrappy team that clawed and scratched all the way to the World Serious. They didn't back in. They earned it. And if not for the rain delay, the Rangers would have won because Carpenter wouldn't have been available for Game 7.
What does that have to do with the Cowboys? I'll tell you. Come Sunday night if the Eagles win, the Rangers are going to be like Barabbas and walk out of the execution while the Cowboys will be like Jeebus and die for the Rangers' sin. The Metroplex is seething right now. The Cowboys losing, falling to 3-4, is going to be worse than the Rangers losing back-to-back World Seriouses.
Good thing it's not going to happen.
Let's take a look at the stats:
Total Defense -- Cowboys, 7th; Eagles, 13th
Total Offense -- Cowboys, 6th; Eagles 3rd
Rushing D -- Cowboys, 1st; Eagles, 18th
Rushing O -- Cowboys, 12th; Eagles, 1st
Passing D -- Cowboys, 14th; Eagles, 10th
Passing O -- Cowboys, 4th; Eagles 8th (leads league in picks)
We're a pretty evenly matched team. We've got some oddities going on in our running games. The Cowboys have been anemic running the ball, yet are 12th in the league thanks to Murray's performance last week. The Eagles are weak against the run, yet had a good outing against the Commanders two weeks ago. No, really. They're 18th against the run for a reason. My pal SaltWaterServr broke down the Eagles' rushing defense over their past six games:
St. Louis
Average 93 yards per game, allowed 169. St. Louis also lost Stephen Jackson after the first run of the game for several weeks and that's about the only offense they have.
Atlanta
Average 112, allowed 138.
NYG
Average 90, allowed 105. I thought NY was a power running team???
San Fran
Average 131, allowed 165. We held them to 74 including the 21 by Alex Smith.
Buffalo
Average 141, allowed 136
Washington
Average 118, held them to 42 without Hightower in the game. We held them to 65 of which Hightower had 41.
http://cowboyszone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=221896
I think the Cowboys running game is legitimate at 12 for this reason: Tony Fiammetta. It's no coincidence that our best rushing performances of the year have come during his games. Remember the Commanders game? He was there. Tony Fiammetta helps us spring those long runs. Now, I'm not saying that Murray and Tanner are going to have career games yet again because of Fiammetta's blocking, but I am saying that we're finally going to have a running game that can get four yards, give our offense another dimension, and grind the clock.
While we do have the 4th ranked passing offense and will face off against the 10th ranked passing defense, I really hope we don't make Romo throw more than 25 times this game. I know in his mind he can make some of those throws, but I still don't think his body can. That's why I'm hoping we rely on the running game more and more tomorrow night. If Romo throws more than 32 times, we're going to lose. It's a law of diminishing returns with him.
I think we're going to shut down the Eagles' run game. I really do. I think that's what Rob is concentrating on. We've got Hatcher back. We're going to have the uglies to do it, so I think we are. We're going to obviously keep Jackson and Maclin in front of us, but our theme will be to make Super Thug beat us. Rather, our theme will be to beat Super Thug. Their offense is going to fall on his shoulders. And the thing with Super Thug is he's a big play quarterback. He really is. He'll either make a big play against you, or you'll make one against him.
[youtube]Ojp2DkYpw0U[/youtube]
Everyone is talking about Austin and Dez versus the Dream Team's corners, but I think Witten versus that inauspicious linebacking corps of the Eagles is a more significant matchup. Witten used to eat up the Eagles when Jim Johnson coached for them. He continued to eat them up when McDermont took over after Johnson's untimely death. What makes you think a frickin' ex-offensive line coach that never coached defense at a professional level has the answer? Let's say he does. Jamar Chaney is going to cover Witten? Casey Matthews? Is that before or after he donates to Locks of Love? Moise Fokou? Maybe he can climb Mt. Sinai and see what kind of Chinese they have up there.
Witten's going to eat them alive. If they devote Nnamdi Asomugha to stopping him, then one of our lucky receivers is going to be the beneficiary.
If the weather tomorrow night is frightful, it's going to favor us. Super Thug has demonstrated throughout his career that he doesn't perform well in the elements. And please don't bring up the wild card playoff game at Lambeau back in 2002. Brett Favre threw two picks and and the Packers lost three fumbles. Oh, yeah, and don't forget the blocked punt for a touchdown. But if you can explain how Super Thug's 117 passing yards somehow contributed to the Packers offense only mustering 7 points, then you can color me impressed.
Cowboys 7 7 0 7 21
Eagles 3 7 6 3 19
1st Quarter -- Romo to Witten for a 2 yard touchdown catch -- 7-0
1st Quarter -- Alex Henery, 39 yard field goal -- 7-3
***Dan Bailey misses a 47 yard field goal***
2nd Quarter -- Vick to Celek for an 8 yard touchdown catch -- 7-10
2nd Quarter -- Romo to Austin for a 57 yard touchdown catch -- 14-10
3rd Quarter -- Alex Henery, 44 yard field goal -- 14-13
3rd Quarter -- Alex Henery, 26 yard field goal -- 14-16
4th Quarter -- DeMarco Murray rushes for a 23 yard touchdown -- 21-16
4th Quarter -- Alex Henery, 52 yard field goal -- 21-19
COWBOYS
Tony Romo -- 23/34, 253 yards, 2 TD, INT
DeMarco Murray -- 17 rushes, 109 yards, 1 TD; 2 catches for 8 yards
Miles Austin -- 5 catches, 103 yards, 1 TD
Jason Witten -- 11 catches, 120 yards, 1 TD
DeMarcus Ware -- 2 sacks, 1 FF, FR
Gerald Sensabaugh -- 1 INT
EAGLES
Michael Vick -- 16/29, 188 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
LeSean McCoy -- 23 rushes, 73 yards; 4 catches, 29 yards
DeSean Jackson -- 3 catches, 58 yards
Jeremy Maclin -- 6 catches, 67 yards
I think it's going to be a hard, tough NFC East type of game. I think the Cowboys are going to exert their dominance throughout the game, even when the score's 16-14 in favor of the Eagles. The Eagles offense is going to perform below average against Rob Ryan's defense. The whole game, to me, comes down to Romo getting back to his 2009 form and taking care of the ball in critical situations. It's not so much about the big play. It's about making the right play.
Wait, hold it. Tashard. Tashard, old buddy, your best has come. Do you understand that? You're going from a playoff team to heck knows what. Instead of doing as the coaches said and getting better on special teams, you copped an attitude of you versus the world. Maybe if you ate your cereal with water on game days as Michael Irvin once did to remind himself of where he came from and what a privilege it was to play professional football, you wouldn't have any "you versus the world" type of battles.
When you grow up riding a donkey and then someday ride in a limousine, never forget what it was like to ride the donkey because you may someday be out of the limousine. You felt entitled to ride in the limousine instead of working your butt off to stay in it. Now you're riding the donkey again. If you ever get to ride in the limousine again, I hope it's driving around in the AFC.
All right. Now, on to regularly scheduled expostulating:
My 87 year old grandmother is a diehard St. Louis Cardinals fan. It began long ago in an itty bitty community in central Arkansas. The men of the community would come over to my great grandfather's house and stand around the radio to listen to games. In fact, Grandmom is such a diehard fan that she doesn't know half of the players' names. To her, it's all about the Redbirds winning the game. It's not about the name on the back. I know a lot of you Cowboys fans have a problem with that concept.
Anyway, I didn't know how much time I had back home, so I decided to watch the NLDS with her. I was pleased we won. I didn't taunt dacatz about my family's Cardinals beating the Phillies because dacatz has more heart into the Phillies than I have in the Cardinals. When the LCS's were going on, and I found out I was going to be a street sweeper at the Texas State Fair, I was hoping the Cardinals and the Rangers would hook up in the World Serious so I could say I was in the town as it happened.
It happened. Initially, I didn't really care who won the series. I mean, yeah, I wanted the Cardinals to win, but I didn't despise the other side as I did with the Red Sox in 2004. I respected the Rangers organization; very classy. Heck, Nolan Ryan is a legend in the South, not just Texas. My father and my oldest brother loved him.
Well, that was until I settled in and started listening to the knuckleheads on the sports talk stations. Morons, all of them. First off, what do you need a sidekick for? That just shows you have no talent on your own.
[youtube]ClVQYbhEzr8[/youtube]
Secondly, you're on the level of a fourteen year old boy when you come up with fatuous names like "Greggo" and "Ben and Skin." What the heck does "Skin" mean? How did he get that name? "Skin" -- that's a name? What's his real name? No, call yourself "Ben and Skin" or "Greggo" or something and make believe you're instantaneously comedic and sporty. You're as comedic as Robert McNamara and you're as sporty as a bottle of hair gel.
Anyway, I noticed that these same knuckleheads that snicker at the Cowboys and have "fake Jerry" and all of this other malarkey came out and supported the Rangers cart blanche. What's astounding is how they chided the St. Louis media for being "lap dogs" to the Cardinals. Uh, hello? Jack Norworth had it right. It's "root, root, root for the home team." When they don't win, it is a shame, not a chance for you to chortle on the side with your hand in the advertisers' till. These schmucks act like criticizing the Cowboys is a civic duty; more important than our right to vote.
I'd had it at that point. I couldn't take their sanctimony. They bash my Cowboys who have set the bar for championships and then suck up to the Rangers. Then, they moan about the St. Louis media being lap dogs. My goblet of ire had spilled; I wanted to see the Rangers lose and these knuckleheads hang from their own gallows.
Oh, and they did. After the game, I heard one of them asking who they could blame for this series. There was no one they could blame; the Cardinals were a scrappy team that clawed and scratched all the way to the World Serious. They didn't back in. They earned it. And if not for the rain delay, the Rangers would have won because Carpenter wouldn't have been available for Game 7.
What does that have to do with the Cowboys? I'll tell you. Come Sunday night if the Eagles win, the Rangers are going to be like Barabbas and walk out of the execution while the Cowboys will be like Jeebus and die for the Rangers' sin. The Metroplex is seething right now. The Cowboys losing, falling to 3-4, is going to be worse than the Rangers losing back-to-back World Seriouses.
Good thing it's not going to happen.
Let's take a look at the stats:
Total Defense -- Cowboys, 7th; Eagles, 13th
Total Offense -- Cowboys, 6th; Eagles 3rd
Rushing D -- Cowboys, 1st; Eagles, 18th
Rushing O -- Cowboys, 12th; Eagles, 1st
Passing D -- Cowboys, 14th; Eagles, 10th
Passing O -- Cowboys, 4th; Eagles 8th (leads league in picks)
We're a pretty evenly matched team. We've got some oddities going on in our running games. The Cowboys have been anemic running the ball, yet are 12th in the league thanks to Murray's performance last week. The Eagles are weak against the run, yet had a good outing against the Commanders two weeks ago. No, really. They're 18th against the run for a reason. My pal SaltWaterServr broke down the Eagles' rushing defense over their past six games:
St. Louis
Average 93 yards per game, allowed 169. St. Louis also lost Stephen Jackson after the first run of the game for several weeks and that's about the only offense they have.
Atlanta
Average 112, allowed 138.
NYG
Average 90, allowed 105. I thought NY was a power running team???
San Fran
Average 131, allowed 165. We held them to 74 including the 21 by Alex Smith.
Buffalo
Average 141, allowed 136
Washington
Average 118, held them to 42 without Hightower in the game. We held them to 65 of which Hightower had 41.
http://cowboyszone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=221896
I think the Cowboys running game is legitimate at 12 for this reason: Tony Fiammetta. It's no coincidence that our best rushing performances of the year have come during his games. Remember the Commanders game? He was there. Tony Fiammetta helps us spring those long runs. Now, I'm not saying that Murray and Tanner are going to have career games yet again because of Fiammetta's blocking, but I am saying that we're finally going to have a running game that can get four yards, give our offense another dimension, and grind the clock.
While we do have the 4th ranked passing offense and will face off against the 10th ranked passing defense, I really hope we don't make Romo throw more than 25 times this game. I know in his mind he can make some of those throws, but I still don't think his body can. That's why I'm hoping we rely on the running game more and more tomorrow night. If Romo throws more than 32 times, we're going to lose. It's a law of diminishing returns with him.
I think we're going to shut down the Eagles' run game. I really do. I think that's what Rob is concentrating on. We've got Hatcher back. We're going to have the uglies to do it, so I think we are. We're going to obviously keep Jackson and Maclin in front of us, but our theme will be to make Super Thug beat us. Rather, our theme will be to beat Super Thug. Their offense is going to fall on his shoulders. And the thing with Super Thug is he's a big play quarterback. He really is. He'll either make a big play against you, or you'll make one against him.
[youtube]Ojp2DkYpw0U[/youtube]
Everyone is talking about Austin and Dez versus the Dream Team's corners, but I think Witten versus that inauspicious linebacking corps of the Eagles is a more significant matchup. Witten used to eat up the Eagles when Jim Johnson coached for them. He continued to eat them up when McDermont took over after Johnson's untimely death. What makes you think a frickin' ex-offensive line coach that never coached defense at a professional level has the answer? Let's say he does. Jamar Chaney is going to cover Witten? Casey Matthews? Is that before or after he donates to Locks of Love? Moise Fokou? Maybe he can climb Mt. Sinai and see what kind of Chinese they have up there.
Witten's going to eat them alive. If they devote Nnamdi Asomugha to stopping him, then one of our lucky receivers is going to be the beneficiary.
If the weather tomorrow night is frightful, it's going to favor us. Super Thug has demonstrated throughout his career that he doesn't perform well in the elements. And please don't bring up the wild card playoff game at Lambeau back in 2002. Brett Favre threw two picks and and the Packers lost three fumbles. Oh, yeah, and don't forget the blocked punt for a touchdown. But if you can explain how Super Thug's 117 passing yards somehow contributed to the Packers offense only mustering 7 points, then you can color me impressed.
Cowboys 7 7 0 7 21
Eagles 3 7 6 3 19
1st Quarter -- Romo to Witten for a 2 yard touchdown catch -- 7-0
1st Quarter -- Alex Henery, 39 yard field goal -- 7-3
***Dan Bailey misses a 47 yard field goal***
2nd Quarter -- Vick to Celek for an 8 yard touchdown catch -- 7-10
2nd Quarter -- Romo to Austin for a 57 yard touchdown catch -- 14-10
3rd Quarter -- Alex Henery, 44 yard field goal -- 14-13
3rd Quarter -- Alex Henery, 26 yard field goal -- 14-16
4th Quarter -- DeMarco Murray rushes for a 23 yard touchdown -- 21-16
4th Quarter -- Alex Henery, 52 yard field goal -- 21-19
COWBOYS
Tony Romo -- 23/34, 253 yards, 2 TD, INT
DeMarco Murray -- 17 rushes, 109 yards, 1 TD; 2 catches for 8 yards
Miles Austin -- 5 catches, 103 yards, 1 TD
Jason Witten -- 11 catches, 120 yards, 1 TD
DeMarcus Ware -- 2 sacks, 1 FF, FR
Gerald Sensabaugh -- 1 INT
EAGLES
Michael Vick -- 16/29, 188 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
LeSean McCoy -- 23 rushes, 73 yards; 4 catches, 29 yards
DeSean Jackson -- 3 catches, 58 yards
Jeremy Maclin -- 6 catches, 67 yards
I think it's going to be a hard, tough NFC East type of game. I think the Cowboys are going to exert their dominance throughout the game, even when the score's 16-14 in favor of the Eagles. The Eagles offense is going to perform below average against Rob Ryan's defense. The whole game, to me, comes down to Romo getting back to his 2009 form and taking care of the ball in critical situations. It's not so much about the big play. It's about making the right play.
