Yakuza Rich
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Schedule Released -- Some Thoughts
by Yakuza Rich
http://yakuzarich.blogspot.com
The schedule was released and here's the Cowboys schedule for 2008.
Sept. 7 - @CLE
Sept. 15 - PHI (Monday night)
Sept. 21 - @GB (Sunday night)
Sept. 28 - WASH
Oct. 5 - CIN
Oct. 12 - @ARI
Oct. 19 - @STL
Oct. 26 - TB
Nov. 2 - @NYG
Nov. 9 - Bye
Nov. 16 - @WASH (Sunday night)
Nov. 23 - SF
Nov. 27 - SEA
Dec. 7 - @PIT
Dec. 14 - NYG (Sunday night)
Dec. 20 - BAL (Saturday night)
Dec. 28 - @PHI
Some thoughts:
1. I can't stand night games. As I pointed out in "YR's 25 Ways to Improve the NFL" (http://yakuzarich.blogspot.com/2008/03/yrs-25-ways-to-improve-nfl.html), not only should night games start at 7pm if they are two teams on the eastern or central time zone, but having the games start on time would be nice. Sunday Night games are supposed to start at 8:15pm and instead start around 8:30. And the MNF games are supposed to kickoff at 8:30 and instead start closer to 8:50pm. But as a Cowboys fan, you're just going to put up with late night games because whether people like it or not, the Cowboys are the team that most people watch. As long as they are decent, people are willing to tune in to see them win or lose.
2. Dallas didn't get anybody coming off a bye week which is pretty rare, I believe. Bye weeks are tricky, but I do know that you do not want to face the Eagles coming off a bye week, which Dallas is not.
3. I prefer to see the Cowboys not play cold weather games late in the year on the road. Not because Dallas cannot play in cold weather, more because winning on the road in December is hard enough. Throw in some bad weather and any team can keep the game close and possibly pull out a win. November 2nd at NY and November 16th at Washington should be iffy at best. Hopefully Heinz Field won't be in crappy condition (another one of my 25 ways to improve the NFL) and Philly in the last week of the season is probably going to suck.
4. We do have a 5 game stretch where we play 4 games on the road. But let me add this caveat that since Tony Romo has been named the QB, the Cowboys have been far better on the road than at home. They are 11-3 on the road and 8-6 at home since Romo took over (not including the second half against the Giants in 2006).
But look at those three losses on the road. Two of them were against the Commanders when the first loss was on one of the most fluke-ish plays you'll ever see. Had that not happened, Dallas wins the game. The other loss to Washington came in a half hearted effort with numerous Dallas starters missing because they had already clinched home field advantage. And the other road lost came against the Seahawks who are something like 23-3 in their last three years at Qwest Field. Furthermore, Dallas gave the Seahawks a real run for their money and if not for a fluke-ish fumble by Terry Glenn Dallas probably wins the game. That's not even mentioning the Romo bobbled snap (although I believe to this day that the defense would've given Seattle field goal position and Josh Brown would've buried a field goal. I've been there and done that with Zimmer's defenses for seven years.)
So is it Romo's fault? Not necessarily. Here's a look at the numbers (which don't include the Seattle or NYG playoff games because I'm lazy today):
..........................................ON THE ROAD........................AT HOME
Completion %.......................66%........................................64%
Pass Yds/Game.....................264.........................................263
TD's.....................................23..........................................29
INT's....................................14..........................................15
YPA.....................................7.9.........................................8.6
QB Rating..............................94.2......................................99.8
Romo's play has actually risen slightly at home despite the team having a worse record at Texas Stadium. He's still an excellent QB on the road and if you take out the week 17 game at Washington and he throws 2-3 INT's against Buffalo instead of 5 INT's, you're looking at a phenomenal road QB.
So what's the problem? Well, let's take a look at the Dallas pass defense on the road and at home since Romo took over (not including the first Giants/second half game and not including the Giants and Seahawks playoff games):
.............................................ON THE ROAD............AT HOME
Completion % Allowed...................60%..........................58%
YPA Allowed.................................6.7...........................6.7
Pass Yards Allowed/Game...............232..........................222
TD's Allowed.................................13.............................25
INT's...........................................17.............................12
QB Rating Allowed.........................70.9..........................86.0
For the most part the numbers really don't change until you get to passing TD's allowed. Dallas has allowed nearly half of the passing TD's allowed on the road then when they are at home. Their INT's are up higher as well, but not nearly as dramatic as the TD's allowed. This has caused for a 21% increase in QB Rating allowed at home. For all of the talk about how Romo needs to "focus more" when he's back home at Dallas, the reality is that the Cowboys defense needs to bring the same type of production they give on the road to Texas Stadium.
YAKUZA
by Yakuza Rich
http://yakuzarich.blogspot.com
The schedule was released and here's the Cowboys schedule for 2008.
Sept. 7 - @CLE
Sept. 15 - PHI (Monday night)
Sept. 21 - @GB (Sunday night)
Sept. 28 - WASH
Oct. 5 - CIN
Oct. 12 - @ARI
Oct. 19 - @STL
Oct. 26 - TB
Nov. 2 - @NYG
Nov. 9 - Bye
Nov. 16 - @WASH (Sunday night)
Nov. 23 - SF
Nov. 27 - SEA
Dec. 7 - @PIT
Dec. 14 - NYG (Sunday night)
Dec. 20 - BAL (Saturday night)
Dec. 28 - @PHI
Some thoughts:
1. I can't stand night games. As I pointed out in "YR's 25 Ways to Improve the NFL" (http://yakuzarich.blogspot.com/2008/03/yrs-25-ways-to-improve-nfl.html), not only should night games start at 7pm if they are two teams on the eastern or central time zone, but having the games start on time would be nice. Sunday Night games are supposed to start at 8:15pm and instead start around 8:30. And the MNF games are supposed to kickoff at 8:30 and instead start closer to 8:50pm. But as a Cowboys fan, you're just going to put up with late night games because whether people like it or not, the Cowboys are the team that most people watch. As long as they are decent, people are willing to tune in to see them win or lose.
2. Dallas didn't get anybody coming off a bye week which is pretty rare, I believe. Bye weeks are tricky, but I do know that you do not want to face the Eagles coming off a bye week, which Dallas is not.
3. I prefer to see the Cowboys not play cold weather games late in the year on the road. Not because Dallas cannot play in cold weather, more because winning on the road in December is hard enough. Throw in some bad weather and any team can keep the game close and possibly pull out a win. November 2nd at NY and November 16th at Washington should be iffy at best. Hopefully Heinz Field won't be in crappy condition (another one of my 25 ways to improve the NFL) and Philly in the last week of the season is probably going to suck.
4. We do have a 5 game stretch where we play 4 games on the road. But let me add this caveat that since Tony Romo has been named the QB, the Cowboys have been far better on the road than at home. They are 11-3 on the road and 8-6 at home since Romo took over (not including the second half against the Giants in 2006).
But look at those three losses on the road. Two of them were against the Commanders when the first loss was on one of the most fluke-ish plays you'll ever see. Had that not happened, Dallas wins the game. The other loss to Washington came in a half hearted effort with numerous Dallas starters missing because they had already clinched home field advantage. And the other road lost came against the Seahawks who are something like 23-3 in their last three years at Qwest Field. Furthermore, Dallas gave the Seahawks a real run for their money and if not for a fluke-ish fumble by Terry Glenn Dallas probably wins the game. That's not even mentioning the Romo bobbled snap (although I believe to this day that the defense would've given Seattle field goal position and Josh Brown would've buried a field goal. I've been there and done that with Zimmer's defenses for seven years.)
So is it Romo's fault? Not necessarily. Here's a look at the numbers (which don't include the Seattle or NYG playoff games because I'm lazy today):
..........................................ON THE ROAD........................AT HOME
Completion %.......................66%........................................64%
Pass Yds/Game.....................264.........................................263
TD's.....................................23..........................................29
INT's....................................14..........................................15
YPA.....................................7.9.........................................8.6
QB Rating..............................94.2......................................99.8
Romo's play has actually risen slightly at home despite the team having a worse record at Texas Stadium. He's still an excellent QB on the road and if you take out the week 17 game at Washington and he throws 2-3 INT's against Buffalo instead of 5 INT's, you're looking at a phenomenal road QB.
So what's the problem? Well, let's take a look at the Dallas pass defense on the road and at home since Romo took over (not including the first Giants/second half game and not including the Giants and Seahawks playoff games):
.............................................ON THE ROAD............AT HOME
Completion % Allowed...................60%..........................58%
YPA Allowed.................................6.7...........................6.7
Pass Yards Allowed/Game...............232..........................222
TD's Allowed.................................13.............................25
INT's...........................................17.............................12
QB Rating Allowed.........................70.9..........................86.0
For the most part the numbers really don't change until you get to passing TD's allowed. Dallas has allowed nearly half of the passing TD's allowed on the road then when they are at home. Their INT's are up higher as well, but not nearly as dramatic as the TD's allowed. This has caused for a 21% increase in QB Rating allowed at home. For all of the talk about how Romo needs to "focus more" when he's back home at Dallas, the reality is that the Cowboys defense needs to bring the same type of production they give on the road to Texas Stadium.
YAKUZA
