Monday, October 16, 2006

Week 5: Cowboys 34, Texans 6 (3-2)

• After an amazingly stale first half, the defense and special teams gift wrapped several scoring drives for the Cowboys, and in the second half, suddenly the offense did not look incompetent. Once the cobwebs of the Philadelphia game were shaken, the Cowboys again looked like a team that can make the playoffs against another team that most certainly cannot.

• Terrell Owens scored 3 Touchdowns on Sunday, so I am sure now we can go through a “Terrell is happy” week. Man, just being in the same city as this guy is absolutely exhausting. Is there any way you can write into his contract that he is not allowed to talk to anyone at anytime? What happened between Todd Haley and him on Wednesday through Friday is anyone’s guess, and by many accounts, Todd Haley has a fine reputation for being impossible to work with, but man, every week it is something with Owens.

• Roy Williams had an impact game with a huge hit on David Carr and another huge hit on a WR when the ball appeared to be available for Williams if he was not so impressed with his ability to crush a man’s skull.

• With 9:00 to go in the 1st Quarter, the Dallas Cowboys committed their 4th facemask penalty. According to my math, that put them on pace for 40 facemask penalties, which surely would have been a record.

• And now, it is time for the Mat McBriar complimentary paragraph of the week: Dude is Ray Guy. What a punter! What a weapon. A 75 yard punt? But, I predicted his next punt was going to be dangerous, because he was going to try to duplicate the distance, not get the height and out-punt his coverage. And, what do you know? He has to focus on hang time, otherwise the return man gets a huge running start and bad things can follow.

• I know before the game we treated the Houston Texans with a little respect given the idea that they had the NFL’s leading passer. Well, it sure looked like the same old Texans offense. I am not seeing a whole lot of progress, and I know this could be deemed offensive in some circles, but you might want to get a Running Back when you have the #1 pick in the draft.

• Drew Bledsoe does not look comfortable in the pocket. He made some good throws, and I am not suggesting a change (yes, I am the one guy) but it is disturbing to see him look like he is hearing footsteps at all times.

• God Bless Cowboys fans who went all the way to 13:30 in the Second Quarter before they started getting “RO-MO” cheers going. Then for variety, they mixed in boos. Basically, Drew, provided you go 30 for 30 for 600 yards and 10 touchdowns they will support you. Otherwise, expect to hear from the Romo experts.

• Terry Glenn continues to have a very nice Cowboys career.

• As for those who believe Romo is the best option right now, I would hereby like to announce a new rule for those who want Tony Romo out there right now: When he plays, people who have campaigned for his debut are not allowed to criticize him for 1 year. Unwavering support should not be difficult despite the unrealistic expectations that have been placed on him by his supporters.

• For the record, I would like to restate my opinion on Tony Romo since now this argument over the Cowboys QB has divided the community again. It appears that people are taking sides where you have to claim one is awesome and the other is horrible. I think Romo can play. I always have. But, I don’t think he is your best option now. He is a nice piece to have for the future, but let’s not mistake that with saying he is better than a guy who has won as many games as Drew Bledsoe. So, I was pleased with Romo going out yesterday and showing some level of composure on his two throws. But, it doesn’t change anything for 2006. Stay tuned. With this offensive line, he may be forced into action at any moment.

• Julius Jones is really running hard and with purpose. He appears to have really matured as a player, and is starting to look like the man back there.

• Anthony Henry played a very solid game.

• Mario Williams did a few things out there that made him look like a promising young lad. Not sure he is 10% of Reggie Bush, but whatever.

• Any chance the Cowboys could get a pass rush going? You might not need it against David Carr, but Eli is coming to town.

• Perhaps one low-light of the game was when Bledsoe and the offense were trying to get their play right, and Drew hit Jason Witten in the flat. Witten then fought his butt off and took on 3 Texans for a great struggle which resulted in 0 yards. A play that Moose used to make famous – the 0 route.

• Would like to congratulate the defense for doing something that elite defenses do: take the ball away from the opposition. Nicely done. Now, keep it up.

• Here come the Giants. This is a key game for Bledsoe, and the offensive line to show that they are up to the challenge of winning this division. They must protect this house. Let’s see that elite defense bully someone who actually has an offense.

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good week for OU.

Anonymous said...

Crack kills...or at least breaks collar bones.

Fifth and straight.

Anonymous said...

I see the classy Longhorn fan has made an anonymous appearance today.

BTW, tough luck on your O-lineman who was lost for the season against OU. I honestly hate to see that.

Anonymous said...

Bob,

I understand that today is Cowboy's Monday on the blog and no other topics are allowed. And I understand that tomorrow is likely to be college football intensive, but before Wednesday is over we need some talk on the EPL (specifically the Reading/Chelsea game) and the 5-0 Dallas Stars. I'd like to hear your thoughts on skull depressions, third keepers, the new captain and even strength defense.

Drew J said...

I hate Cowboys fans. I understand that the Dallas Cowboys QB is one of the most prized positions in the sporting world. It's like batting cleanup for the Yankees or something along those lines. But booing Bledsoe in the first quarter on a game you aren't losing? I was embarrassed.

And anyone proclaiming Romo's greatness after the pass down the sideline to Hurd should be punched in the face. That pass was terrible and probably had a better shot at being picked off than caught.

Drew J said...

Mistake on my part, the Cowboys WERE losing. Yes, the Cowboys weren't playing great in the first half but they were down three points. There's a reason the game is 60 minutes long people. Just relax.

Anonymous said...

I'm not saying that Romo would necessarily be better than Drew, but he wouldn't be worse.

And any criticism of Romo would be tempered by the fact that he would be a first time starter. Not a 14 year veteran that gets praised like a rookie by Parcells for throwing the ball away when he can't find an open receiver.

At least Drew learned you can throw the ball to TO even when he doesn't have the coverage beaten by 2 steps.

Anonymous said...

5-0 and winning with 4 lines. The Lindros experiment is proving to be a total steal for the Stars...his third assist the other night was straight up nasty. I am pumped to win games in regulation as opposed to shootouts. Go Stars!

Anonymous said...

Yeah, and we see Sooner fan showing equal class. I'm still not sure how you concluded the anonymous poster was a UT fan as lots of people happen to dislike OU, but whatever.

Oh well, luckily, Texas has probably the deepest offensive line in the country, so they can overcome Dockery's injury. Too bad we can't say the same for OU's backfield depth.

Anonymous said...

jbr,

Fair enough. I don't know if it was Longhorn fan, or Aggy fan, or even Red Raider fan. I just made an assumption. I retract it.

BTW, you must have missed the part where I said "I honestly hate to see that." I said the same thing after Robison went down in the Iowa State game with a knee injury that looked worse than it actually was.

Perhaps I should have thrown in the word 'sincerely' for good measure.

Anonymous said...

No way Notre Dame should be a ahead of Texas. Longhorn has a legitimate beef (no pun intended) with the BCS right now.

Anonymous said...

Texas got hosed, but we can't worry about that now. If they just keep winning, thats all that they can do. A quality win against Nebraska this week will help. If aggy keeps winning, that will be a quality win and add another quality win in the Big XII Championship game. If Texas can win all of their remaining games, and Nebraska and ATM continue to win, Texas should have a legit shot at the title game, assuming there aren't 2 undefeated teams.

This year looks like it could be shaping up as a year where everybody might start hating the BCS again. Auburn, Florida, Texas, Notre Dame, Cal, and Tennesee are all good teams. And with Cal vs. USC, and Michigan vs. Ohio State, and Notre Dame vs. USC still on the schedule, we could end up with 5-6 one loss teams. We could hear lots of bitching and calls for playoffs after this year. A one loss Auburn, Florida, Texas, Michigan, etc. are all better than Louisville or WV. A team like Louisville in the Championship game will ruin the BSC.

Drew J said...

Agreed, Texas got seriously jobbed by the computer polls. Dropping from 5 in the human polls to 9 in the BCS? Stupid. Especially when their schedule has included OU and tOSU so far.

Drew J said...

I hate the Big East. Louisville is perennially over-ranked due to their schedule. Rutgers and Pitt being considered quality teams is a joke.

WVU is the only school that I think is a legitimate top 15 team in the conference, but put them in the Big-10 or SEC (and probably the Big 12) and they are at best a 2 loss team.

Anonymous said...

Gotta love the whiney orange.

Anonymous said...

I think we just had a Sooner, a Longhorn and an Aggy agree on something.

1st: Call the church. I think hell just froze over.

2nd: I don't think that qualifies as "whiney orange," Granpa Urine.

Anonymous said...

The whiney orange will be out in full force, disregarding the fact that UT's D1A opponents are 21-20 combined. Then throw in Sam Houston, and it hasn't exactly been the toughest schedule. Not tougher than Notre Dame's especially.

Anonymous said...

Not to mention, ND needed a furious fourth quarter rally fueled in part by some brain farts by MSU's QB to beat a pretty bad Spartan team three weeks ago.

Suffice to say, I think Texas would destroy Notre Dame if they were to meet.

Anonymous said...

Hmmm. I believe Michigan is #3. Who cares what they were ranked when they played? Yes, ND lost to Michigan badly, but the computers don't care about that. The fact of the matter is that Texas beat 2-5 North Texas, lost to 7-0 Ohio State, beat 2-5 Rice, beat 3-4 Iowa State, beat D1AA Sam Houston, beat 4-2 OU, beat 3-4 Baylor. Not quite murderers row.

Texas probably would beat Notre Dame, but the computers don't care about that. Texas hasn't played anybody of importance on the road, although that will change this week. If they can beat the good teams they play and win on the road, then they'll be rewarded. But don't bitch now just because the computers are recognizing a weak schedule up to this point.

By the way I don't like Galloway, but the Whiney Orange label always fits. No one can get up in arms and defensive like the Horn faithful.

Anonymous said...

If I remember correctly, it doesn't matter whatsoever to the computers what actually went on during the game. So, regardless if Notre Dame needed to rally, or if Texas (hypothetically) had pissed away a 28 point lead to OSU, the only thing that matters to the computers is the final score. And many times it isn't even that, it's just who won, making even any margin of victory meaningless.

PHE said...

Fake Gramps, you're right about Longhorn fans, but it's not just them. College football faithful get bent out of shape about their teams more than any other sport. I have no idea why that is, but it clearly is so.

Regardless, any chance to twist the 'Horns' tail (or the Ags, or Sooners, or Red Raiders, or anyone) should not be passed up.

Anonymous said...

Well, only two BCS polls really matter.

The one after the regular season ends to determine the bowl matchups.

And the one after the season that says who finished first and who finished everywhere else.

Anonymous said...

this is why college football is gay

Chance said...

I looked for ya Bob...Man that was a bad raping we got in Big D. Of course we are spinning it as Houston is up 3-1 in the lifetime series over Dallas when you do it by halves.

Drew J said...

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/football/nfl/10/10/packers.ap/index.html

Good article about Packers legend Paul Hornung.

Anonymous said...

chance,

did you try looking for bob on the sidelines with his head between drew's legs....