Silence over schedule is unsettling
By Randy Galloway
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
Posted on Sun, Apr. 09, 2006
Surprisingly, there was little if any yelping at Valley Ranch last week after the NFL released the Cowboys' 2006 schedule.
Face value says there could be an immediate burial.
Three of the first four games and six of the first nine are on the road.
But, now, for the obvious disclaimer:
In this day and age of the NFL, the worst percentage play in all of sports is to take the league schedule in April and attempt to project the impact next fall and winter.
What was last season rarely computes into a new season.
Teams change in a hurry.
Regardless, this 2006 schedule places an emphasis on the Cowboys surviving a rust factor in September, holding serve in the few home games between the first month and mid-November, then finishing strong after that.
Start with the early worry at Valley Ranch, which for now overshadows even the heavy emphasis on the road.
The Cowboys play their final exhibition game on Thursday, Aug. 31.
Between Sept. 1 and Sept. 30, they play only two games.
Two games in a month. That's not a good football thing.
The regular-season opener is a tough test at Jacksonville on Sept. 10, followed by the home opener against the Redskins the next week.
Then there's the hated early-season off-week, which is useless. Followed by two more road games, at the Titans on Oct. 1 and the Eagles on Oct. 8.
You think maybe Big Bill will be climbing the Valley Ranch walls in September?
But immediate reaction, negative, centers on that first month of inactivity.
Then there are what Jerry Jones and Associates consider the schedule positives:
Divisional opponents coming to Texas Stadium all in prime time.
That's the Redskins for a Sunday night in September, the Giants on a Monday night in October and the Eagles for late afternoon on Christmas Day.
On the flip side, divisional prime-time road games show the Cowboys with none, although the Giants' trip on Dec. 3 could change because the floating schedule allowing contests to be moved to Sunday nights in the second half of the season.
I'm not sure there's any statistical data to back it up, but at Valley Ranch there's a belief that divisional home games in prime time are an advantage. Again, that's them, not me.
Another thing the Cowboys look for, maybe first, when the schedule is released each April:
Is the Sunday game at home before the Thanksgiving game?
Bingo.
The Colts are at Texas Stadium, followed three days later by Tampa Bay.
Except it is the Colts, not exactly a gimme.
Still, that is an obvious scheduling advantage. Do note, however, that the Cowboys had the same advantage last season and lost to Denver in overtime on Thanksgiving.
And only at Valley Ranch is the glitz and glitter of prime-time TV considered a plus.
Yes, Mr. Jones loves six of 16 games being scheduled for a national TV audience, with possibly more to come.
That's the Eldorado Owens factor kicking in.
Then again, there's absolutely nothing to suggest that prime time gives the Cowboys any edge.
But we all can still imagine Jerry getting his hands on the schedule last Thursday, and gleefully proclaiming, "See ... see. I was right on Terrell."
OK, Jerry. We'll see about that.
Back to those first nine games, with six on the road.
Absolutely, the Cowboys must win the three home games in that span -- Washington, the Texans and the Giants.
Then on the road they could win only two of the six and still be 5-4 in mid-November and headed into a favorable stretch run.
The ultimate test will be three consecutive road games -- at Carolina (hello, Keyshawn), at the Redskins and at Arizona -- that starts in late October.
One more scheduling positive, at least in Valley Ranch opinions, is that an early report was false that the Cowboys would be in Philly for a Christmas Day game.
Instead, the Eagles are coming here.
Playing on the road on Christmas Day is considered a huge disadvantage because of family holiday disruptions.
But the 2006 season still boils down to how the Cowboys handle six of the first nine game on the road, including three straight at one point.
I thought I'd hear Valley Ranch yelping over that. I thought I'd at least hear Jerry screaming that the new commissioner should suddenly award the Cowboys an "extra home game."
But I guess that can only happen with a New York team.
This schedule is an early killer if things don't go exactly right.
But at Valley Ranch, the glitz and glitter of prime time seems to have soothed powerful voices.
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
Posted on Sun, Apr. 09, 2006
Surprisingly, there was little if any yelping at Valley Ranch last week after the NFL released the Cowboys' 2006 schedule.
Face value says there could be an immediate burial.
Three of the first four games and six of the first nine are on the road.
But, now, for the obvious disclaimer:
In this day and age of the NFL, the worst percentage play in all of sports is to take the league schedule in April and attempt to project the impact next fall and winter.
What was last season rarely computes into a new season.
Teams change in a hurry.
Regardless, this 2006 schedule places an emphasis on the Cowboys surviving a rust factor in September, holding serve in the few home games between the first month and mid-November, then finishing strong after that.
Start with the early worry at Valley Ranch, which for now overshadows even the heavy emphasis on the road.
The Cowboys play their final exhibition game on Thursday, Aug. 31.
Between Sept. 1 and Sept. 30, they play only two games.
Two games in a month. That's not a good football thing.
The regular-season opener is a tough test at Jacksonville on Sept. 10, followed by the home opener against the Redskins the next week.
Then there's the hated early-season off-week, which is useless. Followed by two more road games, at the Titans on Oct. 1 and the Eagles on Oct. 8.
You think maybe Big Bill will be climbing the Valley Ranch walls in September?
But immediate reaction, negative, centers on that first month of inactivity.
Then there are what Jerry Jones and Associates consider the schedule positives:
Divisional opponents coming to Texas Stadium all in prime time.
That's the Redskins for a Sunday night in September, the Giants on a Monday night in October and the Eagles for late afternoon on Christmas Day.
On the flip side, divisional prime-time road games show the Cowboys with none, although the Giants' trip on Dec. 3 could change because the floating schedule allowing contests to be moved to Sunday nights in the second half of the season.
I'm not sure there's any statistical data to back it up, but at Valley Ranch there's a belief that divisional home games in prime time are an advantage. Again, that's them, not me.
Another thing the Cowboys look for, maybe first, when the schedule is released each April:
Is the Sunday game at home before the Thanksgiving game?
Bingo.
The Colts are at Texas Stadium, followed three days later by Tampa Bay.
Except it is the Colts, not exactly a gimme.
Still, that is an obvious scheduling advantage. Do note, however, that the Cowboys had the same advantage last season and lost to Denver in overtime on Thanksgiving.
And only at Valley Ranch is the glitz and glitter of prime-time TV considered a plus.
Yes, Mr. Jones loves six of 16 games being scheduled for a national TV audience, with possibly more to come.
That's the Eldorado Owens factor kicking in.
Then again, there's absolutely nothing to suggest that prime time gives the Cowboys any edge.
But we all can still imagine Jerry getting his hands on the schedule last Thursday, and gleefully proclaiming, "See ... see. I was right on Terrell."
OK, Jerry. We'll see about that.
Back to those first nine games, with six on the road.
Absolutely, the Cowboys must win the three home games in that span -- Washington, the Texans and the Giants.
Then on the road they could win only two of the six and still be 5-4 in mid-November and headed into a favorable stretch run.
The ultimate test will be three consecutive road games -- at Carolina (hello, Keyshawn), at the Redskins and at Arizona -- that starts in late October.
One more scheduling positive, at least in Valley Ranch opinions, is that an early report was false that the Cowboys would be in Philly for a Christmas Day game.
Instead, the Eagles are coming here.
Playing on the road on Christmas Day is considered a huge disadvantage because of family holiday disruptions.
But the 2006 season still boils down to how the Cowboys handle six of the first nine game on the road, including three straight at one point.
I thought I'd hear Valley Ranch yelping over that. I thought I'd at least hear Jerry screaming that the new commissioner should suddenly award the Cowboys an "extra home game."
But I guess that can only happen with a New York team.
This schedule is an early killer if things don't go exactly right.
But at Valley Ranch, the glitz and glitter of prime time seems to have soothed powerful voices.
posted by The Gryphon at 9:48 AM
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