Cowboys get early shot at revenge
By Darrell Laurant ; 04/12/06
All this spring, the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins have been dealing hands of player poker. Imagine Jerry Jones and Dan Snyder wearing green eyeshades and surrounded by clouds of cigarette smoke.
"Akin Ayodele, huh? I'll raise you Andre Carter."
"OK, I'll see your Antwaan Randle El and raise you Terrell Owens."
It's been fun to watch, and the piles of chips have been steadily rising. But we won't get a good idea of who will actually rake in the pot until the Redskins travel to Dallas for a Sunday night game on Sept. 17.
True, a second game is just that -- a second game. Whoever comes out on the short end will have another 14 games to regroup.
Still, the Redskins and Cowboys were two of the most active teams during the free agent season, aggressively bidding for a hostile takeover of the NFC East. Besides WR Owens and LB Ayodele, Dallas brought in place kicker Mike Vanderjagt (addressing a chronic weakness from last season) and offensive lineman Jason Fabini. The Redskins also went on a shopping spree, signing DB Archuleta, wide receivers Randle-El and Brandon Lloyd, backup quarterback Todd Collins and LB-De Andre Carter.
And they haven't even gotten to the draft yet.
Then there is the revenge factor. Washington swept the two-game series in 2005, and the Cowboys were definitely not playing Texas Hold 'Em.
In the first meeting, the Cowboys let the game slip away, 14-13, by surrendering two long touchdown passes from Mark Brunell to Santana Moss in the fourth quarter.
That was frustrating. The second game was just discouraging, as Washington pounded Bill Parcells' team 35-7 and locked the Dallas Cowboys out of the playoffs. In the process, Dallas made average players Chris Cooley (three touchdown receptions) and Philip Daniels (four sacks of Drew Bledsoe) look like Pro Bowlers.
The Cowboys will kick off the 2006 campaign at Jacksonville, the team from which they snatched Ayodele, then open their home season with the NBC prime-time Redskins' matchup. Because the home team is supposed to win traditional rivalry games, the pressure will be more on Dallas than on the Redskins.
Losing to Washington might not make for a long season. But it will definitely make for a long Monday.
All this spring, the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins have been dealing hands of player poker. Imagine Jerry Jones and Dan Snyder wearing green eyeshades and surrounded by clouds of cigarette smoke.
"Akin Ayodele, huh? I'll raise you Andre Carter."
"OK, I'll see your Antwaan Randle El and raise you Terrell Owens."
It's been fun to watch, and the piles of chips have been steadily rising. But we won't get a good idea of who will actually rake in the pot until the Redskins travel to Dallas for a Sunday night game on Sept. 17.
True, a second game is just that -- a second game. Whoever comes out on the short end will have another 14 games to regroup.
Still, the Redskins and Cowboys were two of the most active teams during the free agent season, aggressively bidding for a hostile takeover of the NFC East. Besides WR Owens and LB Ayodele, Dallas brought in place kicker Mike Vanderjagt (addressing a chronic weakness from last season) and offensive lineman Jason Fabini. The Redskins also went on a shopping spree, signing DB Archuleta, wide receivers Randle-El and Brandon Lloyd, backup quarterback Todd Collins and LB-De Andre Carter.
And they haven't even gotten to the draft yet.
Then there is the revenge factor. Washington swept the two-game series in 2005, and the Cowboys were definitely not playing Texas Hold 'Em.
In the first meeting, the Cowboys let the game slip away, 14-13, by surrendering two long touchdown passes from Mark Brunell to Santana Moss in the fourth quarter.
That was frustrating. The second game was just discouraging, as Washington pounded Bill Parcells' team 35-7 and locked the Dallas Cowboys out of the playoffs. In the process, Dallas made average players Chris Cooley (three touchdown receptions) and Philip Daniels (four sacks of Drew Bledsoe) look like Pro Bowlers.
The Cowboys will kick off the 2006 campaign at Jacksonville, the team from which they snatched Ayodele, then open their home season with the NBC prime-time Redskins' matchup. Because the home team is supposed to win traditional rivalry games, the pressure will be more on Dallas than on the Redskins.
Losing to Washington might not make for a long season. But it will definitely make for a long Monday.
posted by The Gryphon at 6:39 PM
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