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Cowboys in control of fate
Cowboys to face New York Giants in key NFC East matchup on Sunday
By Brian Vernellis
bvernellis@gannett.com
The Dallas Cowboys have one trip to the playoffs in the last five seasons and while that may appease some teams struggling and developing in the NFL, it's not good enough for head coach Bill Parcells and his team.
Parcells took the Cowboys to the NFC Wild Card Game two seasons ago for their lone trip since 2000. Even with their overtime loss to Denver on Thanksgiving, Parcells has his team in prime position for their first division title since 1998 and a return to the NFL playoffs.
"We have a chance, that's what I know," Parcells said. "We have to play good. We've got some tough games coming up.
"You start out with 32 teams and two or three divisions are pretty much over, but this isn't one of them. This is going to go pretty far down the road before it's resolved."
Much will revolve around Sunday's game with the New York Giants. The Giants and Cowboys are 7-4 and tied for first in the NFC East. The victor has command of the division with four weeks remaining.
"Obviously this week is really important because you stick a dagger in your chief rival in the division," Fox Sports NFL analyst Chris Landry said. "I think the winner of this game probably wins the division. The loser is going to be in a battle to get that wild-card with Atlanta, but they'll be in it at least.
"This week's game tells it all. I've felt that Dallas defensively is getting better and better. Their youth is going to serve them well down the stretch."
The loser still has a shot at making the playoffs though. If that's the Cowboys, they have an inside edge over the Giants with the tiebreaker in Dallas' favor from their overtime win in October.
"This team we're playing has some tough games to play as well besides our game," Parcells said. "The team that loses the game will be at a pretty good disadvantage, but I don't think it will be over. There's a chance a team could recover from it."
The Cowboys' final four games include Kansas City (7-4), Washington (5-6), Carolina (8-3) and St. Louis (5-6).
Kansas City is two games back of Denver (9-2) for the AFC West title and pursuing a wild-card berth.
Carolina has a game lead over Tampa Bay and Atlanta in the NFC South.
Dallas could have had sole possession of first place if Billy Cundiff's 34-yard field goal attempt against Denver went through the uprights instead of sailing wide. Cundiff's miss with 7:46 remaining helped set up overtime, which Denver won with Jason Elam's 24-yard field goal.
But at least the Cowboys are in this position -- with their fate in their own hands and not having to watch the scoreboard every Sunday. Parcells has done his job, getting his team to this position.
"As a coach you're just trying to make sure to the best of your ability, and that's not always an exact science, that you give your players the best chance to win," he said.
"Both in managing your team in practices and preparing them strategically, you have to decide a lot of things this time of year. How are you going to work them, all those things. You have to gauge your team. You can't just back off them because then you have a tendency to regress. It's a fine line in being sharp."
The defense is one area he wants to remain particularly sharp. The Cowboys' defense ranks among the NFC leaders in scoring and total defense.
The Cowboys are holding opponents to 17.1 points a game which ties them for the second-best scoring defense in the NFC. Their total defense ranks fourth in the NFC, allowing 285.4 yards a game.
Getting back to the playoffs is one step; moving beyond the NFC Wild Card Game is the next one. Dallas hasn't advanced beyond that pesky first playoff game since 1996 when head coach Barry Switzer led the team to the NFC Divisional playoff game.
"We got quite a bit of help (Sunday) around the league," Parcells said. "We're going to be the masters of our fate here. If we can play well here in the next month or so, we're going to be in it. If we can't, then we won't. You just hope to have a chance and I think we have that."
Cowboys to face New York Giants in key NFC East matchup on Sunday
By Brian Vernellis
bvernellis@gannett.com
The Dallas Cowboys have one trip to the playoffs in the last five seasons and while that may appease some teams struggling and developing in the NFL, it's not good enough for head coach Bill Parcells and his team.
Parcells took the Cowboys to the NFC Wild Card Game two seasons ago for their lone trip since 2000. Even with their overtime loss to Denver on Thanksgiving, Parcells has his team in prime position for their first division title since 1998 and a return to the NFL playoffs.
"We have a chance, that's what I know," Parcells said. "We have to play good. We've got some tough games coming up.
"You start out with 32 teams and two or three divisions are pretty much over, but this isn't one of them. This is going to go pretty far down the road before it's resolved."
Much will revolve around Sunday's game with the New York Giants. The Giants and Cowboys are 7-4 and tied for first in the NFC East. The victor has command of the division with four weeks remaining.
"Obviously this week is really important because you stick a dagger in your chief rival in the division," Fox Sports NFL analyst Chris Landry said. "I think the winner of this game probably wins the division. The loser is going to be in a battle to get that wild-card with Atlanta, but they'll be in it at least.
"This week's game tells it all. I've felt that Dallas defensively is getting better and better. Their youth is going to serve them well down the stretch."
The loser still has a shot at making the playoffs though. If that's the Cowboys, they have an inside edge over the Giants with the tiebreaker in Dallas' favor from their overtime win in October.
"This team we're playing has some tough games to play as well besides our game," Parcells said. "The team that loses the game will be at a pretty good disadvantage, but I don't think it will be over. There's a chance a team could recover from it."
The Cowboys' final four games include Kansas City (7-4), Washington (5-6), Carolina (8-3) and St. Louis (5-6).
Kansas City is two games back of Denver (9-2) for the AFC West title and pursuing a wild-card berth.
Carolina has a game lead over Tampa Bay and Atlanta in the NFC South.
Dallas could have had sole possession of first place if Billy Cundiff's 34-yard field goal attempt against Denver went through the uprights instead of sailing wide. Cundiff's miss with 7:46 remaining helped set up overtime, which Denver won with Jason Elam's 24-yard field goal.
But at least the Cowboys are in this position -- with their fate in their own hands and not having to watch the scoreboard every Sunday. Parcells has done his job, getting his team to this position.
"As a coach you're just trying to make sure to the best of your ability, and that's not always an exact science, that you give your players the best chance to win," he said.
"Both in managing your team in practices and preparing them strategically, you have to decide a lot of things this time of year. How are you going to work them, all those things. You have to gauge your team. You can't just back off them because then you have a tendency to regress. It's a fine line in being sharp."
The defense is one area he wants to remain particularly sharp. The Cowboys' defense ranks among the NFC leaders in scoring and total defense.
The Cowboys are holding opponents to 17.1 points a game which ties them for the second-best scoring defense in the NFC. Their total defense ranks fourth in the NFC, allowing 285.4 yards a game.
Getting back to the playoffs is one step; moving beyond the NFC Wild Card Game is the next one. Dallas hasn't advanced beyond that pesky first playoff game since 1996 when head coach Barry Switzer led the team to the NFC Divisional playoff game.
"We got quite a bit of help (Sunday) around the league," Parcells said. "We're going to be the masters of our fate here. If we can play well here in the next month or so, we're going to be in it. If we can't, then we won't. You just hope to have a chance and I think we have that."