Week 10 Game 9 Analysis
by Manster
On a near perfect day to play football, the Dallas Cowboys took a step in the right direction to begin the second half of the regular season. Beating the 1-8 Arizona Cardinals was a routine expectation, as the Cardinals are now tied with the Redskins as the team that has lost to the Cowboys the most (55). Now with Arizona out of the division, they will not share that title very much longer. The Redskins though have beaten Dallas 37 times to the Cardinals 28 (including post-season).
A couple of other notes before I get to the game. Sam Rosen and Tim Ryan I thought did a fantastic job broadcasting the game. They didn’t go off on these tangents that had nothing to do with the game; they didn’t have idiots up in the booth taking the game away from the fans; they didn’t try to be humorous with corny jokes. ALL THEY DID WAS CALL THE GAME! THEY DID THEIR JOB! That was great!
The Arizona Cardinals may be struggling, but that sure is a beautiful stadium they have. Having football fields roll into the stadium was something I just could not imagine 20 years ago. That is a very nice stadium, and I enjoyed seeing the Cowboys play there. I hope this new stadium in Arlington is just as nice.
Onto the game.
Dallas won…but also lost. That 27-10 victory could very easily had been 41-3 if Parcells and company had not let off the throttle late in the game. Romo could have also had over 400 yards passing, but didn’t need to. It was nice to see Keylon Kincade out there in mop-up time. Unfortunately, Dallas lost one of their best players for the season (and maybe his career). Regardless, Dallas won this game Parcells style.
Sam Hurd made some nice plays out there. That over the middle catch, on Romo’s most horrid pass of the day, was incredible. Too bad he had this touchdown called back (thanks a lot Crayton).
Patrick Crayton sure was frustrating out there. You didn’t know whether to kiss him or kill him. He fumbles on his first reception (thankfully, Julius Jones was Johnny-on-the-spot), and then makes that beautiful catch along the sideline for the touchdown. Before the half, Crayton clearly messes up Sam Hurd’s touchdown – a play where Crayton didn’t even need to hit the defender as Hurd already had all of them beat. Patrick turns around again in the 3rd quarter and makes a sensational play. Crayton is a good player; he will be better if he limits the mistakes.
Owens? Well, he was frustrating at first, but he made some big plays. No single play was bigger than the over-the middle grab he made in the 4th quarter sustaining that 8-minute drive which put the nail in the coffin for the Cards. Nice to see that he didn’t celebrate much after the touchdown.
Even though the running game netted like 125 yards, it looked to have struggled all day long. Julius didn’t have as many running lanes as in games past. Is this credited to the loss of Terry Glenn? I didn’t really look to see if the Cardinals were playing eight men in the box.
Overall, the defense played well. They gave up yards, but kept Leinart out of the end zone until they were down by 24 points. It was frustrating though as the lack of pass rush reared its ugly head once again. Leinart had plenty of time to throw. How Boldin, Fritzgerald, and Johnson didn’t torch the secondary more than what they did is a testament the coverage.
People are going to be very critical of Anthony Henry. I am not one of them. Those were great receivers he went up against. You cannot expect perfection. Henry will give up plays to the colts as well. They are not going to get shut out. Get that out of your minds. Great players make great plays. Boldin and Fritzgerald are just that, and you are not going to shut them down.
It was nice to see how the defense took advantage of the opportunities presented to them. I am mainly talking about Ayodele and Watkins’ interceptions. Both picks were mistakes by either the quarterback or receiver. In Washington, they dropped those opportunities. That wasn’t the case in the desert.
Oh yeah, there was this Romo kid. Right now, he has a 101.4 QB rating. He trails only Peyton Manning, whom Dallas will get intimate with next Sunday. That 3rd down conversion, where he avoided the blitzer, then threw a strike to Crayton, was phenomenal! This young guy just keeps making plays. I was sweating bullets when he faked that spike and almost converted a pick-6 for the Cards. I he would have lobbed that to the back of the end zone, Hurd would have had it.
Here’s a question for you. What happened to Bertrand Berry? Where was he all day?
Unfortunately, Dallas took a blow, which may be fatal to the Cowboys playoff hopes. Greg Ellis, the team captain and heart and soul of this defense, went down with an Achilles injury. This could ultimately end his career if he cannot get back the speed and quickness he once had. It now time to see what Dallas has in Singleton, Carpenter, Glymph and Burnett. These guys are just going to have to play. Hopefully, one of these guys will surprise us.
__________________
Manster
On a near perfect day to play football, the Dallas Cowboys took a step in the right direction to begin the second half of the regular season. Beating the 1-8 Arizona Cardinals was a routine expectation, as the Cardinals are now tied with the Redskins as the team that has lost to the Cowboys the most (55). Now with Arizona out of the division, they will not share that title very much longer. The Redskins though have beaten Dallas 37 times to the Cardinals 28 (including post-season).
A couple of other notes before I get to the game. Sam Rosen and Tim Ryan I thought did a fantastic job broadcasting the game. They didn’t go off on these tangents that had nothing to do with the game; they didn’t have idiots up in the booth taking the game away from the fans; they didn’t try to be humorous with corny jokes. ALL THEY DID WAS CALL THE GAME! THEY DID THEIR JOB! That was great!
The Arizona Cardinals may be struggling, but that sure is a beautiful stadium they have. Having football fields roll into the stadium was something I just could not imagine 20 years ago. That is a very nice stadium, and I enjoyed seeing the Cowboys play there. I hope this new stadium in Arlington is just as nice.
Onto the game.
Dallas won…but also lost. That 27-10 victory could very easily had been 41-3 if Parcells and company had not let off the throttle late in the game. Romo could have also had over 400 yards passing, but didn’t need to. It was nice to see Keylon Kincade out there in mop-up time. Unfortunately, Dallas lost one of their best players for the season (and maybe his career). Regardless, Dallas won this game Parcells style.
Sam Hurd made some nice plays out there. That over the middle catch, on Romo’s most horrid pass of the day, was incredible. Too bad he had this touchdown called back (thanks a lot Crayton).
Patrick Crayton sure was frustrating out there. You didn’t know whether to kiss him or kill him. He fumbles on his first reception (thankfully, Julius Jones was Johnny-on-the-spot), and then makes that beautiful catch along the sideline for the touchdown. Before the half, Crayton clearly messes up Sam Hurd’s touchdown – a play where Crayton didn’t even need to hit the defender as Hurd already had all of them beat. Patrick turns around again in the 3rd quarter and makes a sensational play. Crayton is a good player; he will be better if he limits the mistakes.
Owens? Well, he was frustrating at first, but he made some big plays. No single play was bigger than the over-the middle grab he made in the 4th quarter sustaining that 8-minute drive which put the nail in the coffin for the Cards. Nice to see that he didn’t celebrate much after the touchdown.
Even though the running game netted like 125 yards, it looked to have struggled all day long. Julius didn’t have as many running lanes as in games past. Is this credited to the loss of Terry Glenn? I didn’t really look to see if the Cardinals were playing eight men in the box.
Overall, the defense played well. They gave up yards, but kept Leinart out of the end zone until they were down by 24 points. It was frustrating though as the lack of pass rush reared its ugly head once again. Leinart had plenty of time to throw. How Boldin, Fritzgerald, and Johnson didn’t torch the secondary more than what they did is a testament the coverage.
People are going to be very critical of Anthony Henry. I am not one of them. Those were great receivers he went up against. You cannot expect perfection. Henry will give up plays to the colts as well. They are not going to get shut out. Get that out of your minds. Great players make great plays. Boldin and Fritzgerald are just that, and you are not going to shut them down.
It was nice to see how the defense took advantage of the opportunities presented to them. I am mainly talking about Ayodele and Watkins’ interceptions. Both picks were mistakes by either the quarterback or receiver. In Washington, they dropped those opportunities. That wasn’t the case in the desert.
Oh yeah, there was this Romo kid. Right now, he has a 101.4 QB rating. He trails only Peyton Manning, whom Dallas will get intimate with next Sunday. That 3rd down conversion, where he avoided the blitzer, then threw a strike to Crayton, was phenomenal! This young guy just keeps making plays. I was sweating bullets when he faked that spike and almost converted a pick-6 for the Cards. I he would have lobbed that to the back of the end zone, Hurd would have had it.
Here’s a question for you. What happened to Bertrand Berry? Where was he all day?
Unfortunately, Dallas took a blow, which may be fatal to the Cowboys playoff hopes. Greg Ellis, the team captain and heart and soul of this defense, went down with an Achilles injury. This could ultimately end his career if he cannot get back the speed and quickness he once had. It now time to see what Dallas has in Singleton, Carpenter, Glymph and Burnett. These guys are just going to have to play. Hopefully, one of these guys will surprise us.
__________________
Manster
posted by The Gryphon at 11:37 AM
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