Romo back, are Cowboys well?
By Dave Goldberg , AP Football Writer
Sunday, November 16, 2008
The party line in Dallas has been that once Tony Romo comes back, everything will be OK.
Romo will be back Sunday night when the Cowboys go to Washington. But everything might not be quite as OK as Jerry Jones and his team think.
The Cowboys' quarterback began practicing this week, a month after breaking the pinkie on his throwing hand. And while he reported some pain, he is expected to be ready to try to help a team that lost two of three games without him.
It's a big game for both teams, each chasing the Giants (8-1) in the NFC East or at least trying to solidify a wild-card playoff spot. For the Cowboys, the preseason favorite to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, the line is that it's a fresh start following a bye week that allowed Romo and some other injured starters to get healthy.
"You've got to get on a run in this league," coach Wade Phillips says of his team, whose four losses in nine games are one more than the Cowboys had in the 2007 regular season.
"We were able to last year. This year, we started out on a run, then didn't keep it going. But we've got a chance to come back and win some games."
The Cowboys now say they hope to emulate the Giants, who lost to them twice last season, then won in Dallas in the playoffs and went on to win the Super Bowl.
The Redskins (6-3) are two games behind New York and also coming off a bye. Their 26-24 win in Dallas on Sept. 28 was the first loss by the Cowboys after a 3-0 start.
Washington could be without Clinton Portis, the league's second-leading rusher. He has a sprained knee and is "50-50" according to coach Jim Zorn. His backup, Ladell Betts, might be back, or it could be newly signed Shaun Alexander, the 2005 NFL MVP with Seattle, and Rock Cartwright, primarily a special teamer.
The Redskins will, however, have DeAngelo Hall, the high-priced cornerback dropped by the Raiders after eight games. Where he fits in a rotation that already includes Shawn Springs, Carlos Rogers and Fred Smoot is yet to be determined. But it hasn't stopped Hall from exchanging lost-distance barbs with Terrell Owens, the kind of woofing from T.O. that is symptomatic of Dallas' problem - one that Washington hasn't had until now.
Dallas has a tough closing schedule: all three division opponents plus Baltimore and Pittsburgh.
"Three or four weeks from now, there will be big changes," Phillips said. "So, we'll see where we are."
Sunday, November 16, 2008
The party line in Dallas has been that once Tony Romo comes back, everything will be OK.
Romo will be back Sunday night when the Cowboys go to Washington. But everything might not be quite as OK as Jerry Jones and his team think.
The Cowboys' quarterback began practicing this week, a month after breaking the pinkie on his throwing hand. And while he reported some pain, he is expected to be ready to try to help a team that lost two of three games without him.
It's a big game for both teams, each chasing the Giants (8-1) in the NFC East or at least trying to solidify a wild-card playoff spot. For the Cowboys, the preseason favorite to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, the line is that it's a fresh start following a bye week that allowed Romo and some other injured starters to get healthy.
"You've got to get on a run in this league," coach Wade Phillips says of his team, whose four losses in nine games are one more than the Cowboys had in the 2007 regular season.
"We were able to last year. This year, we started out on a run, then didn't keep it going. But we've got a chance to come back and win some games."
The Cowboys now say they hope to emulate the Giants, who lost to them twice last season, then won in Dallas in the playoffs and went on to win the Super Bowl.
The Redskins (6-3) are two games behind New York and also coming off a bye. Their 26-24 win in Dallas on Sept. 28 was the first loss by the Cowboys after a 3-0 start.
Washington could be without Clinton Portis, the league's second-leading rusher. He has a sprained knee and is "50-50" according to coach Jim Zorn. His backup, Ladell Betts, might be back, or it could be newly signed Shaun Alexander, the 2005 NFL MVP with Seattle, and Rock Cartwright, primarily a special teamer.
The Redskins will, however, have DeAngelo Hall, the high-priced cornerback dropped by the Raiders after eight games. Where he fits in a rotation that already includes Shawn Springs, Carlos Rogers and Fred Smoot is yet to be determined. But it hasn't stopped Hall from exchanging lost-distance barbs with Terrell Owens, the kind of woofing from T.O. that is symptomatic of Dallas' problem - one that Washington hasn't had until now.
Dallas has a tough closing schedule: all three division opponents plus Baltimore and Pittsburgh.
"Three or four weeks from now, there will be big changes," Phillips said. "So, we'll see where we are."
posted by The Gryphon at 9:20 AM
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