Dallas Cowboys vs Washington Redskins, Week Four

Ok, I know officiating is part of the game and the Cowboys didn't exactly look very good yesterday but the missed calls were atrocious. The face mask on Adam Jones, the pass inteference no call on Terrell Owens, the false start by the Redskins and the 12 men on the field call to change a 50 yd field goal into a 30 yard field goal and taking an extra 2+ minutes off the clock. It felt like a screw job. Just saying. Those were all really horrible calls. Adam almost got his neck broken, the false start by the Redskins was a full second before the snap of the ball and the 12 men Troy and Joe couldn't find looking at two different replays.

The 12 men on the field call. I don't know if that's reviewable, but Aikman said it was reviewable and Wade Phillips had the red flag out. If it was reviewable, Wade Phillips made a huge mistake not throwing the flag. I know the arguments against reviewing. We only had two timeouts at that point. If we burn one with a bad challenge, we only have one timeout left to stop the clock. Either way, if the Redskins hit a field goal, it was going to come down to an onside kick anyway. Wouldn't you rather take the chance and make the Redskins hit a 50 yard field goal. If they miss, it's only one possession with 5 minutes to go. Timeouts become mute at that point.

Despite all that, the defense didn't do it's job yesterday. The secondary looked terrible as Santana Moss, once again, tore it apart. The defense did step it up and stopped them on some key possessions and the 12 men on the field call didn't help matters. But, overall, we couldn't stop Clinton Portis or Santa and it hurt us a lot.

The offense didn't exactly shine either. Marion Barber only got 8 carries and Felix Jones didn't get a carry at all. One thing that bothers me about Garrett is that he gets too impatient sometimes. Why did he shut down the run and become so one-dimensional? I realize it's only his second year as a coordinator so there's some learning curve to be had. But, we need to utilize every weapon we have and Barber/Jones is a major asset to the offense.

Dallas Cowboys vs Green Bay Packers, Week 3

So much for never winning at Lambeau Field. Dallas was a far better team as Wade Phillips and Jason Garrett decided to grind out the game with Marion Barber. Perhaps to keep the Green Bay Packer offense on the sidelines a little longer. Or maybe they just didn't think the Packer defense could contain him. Either way, it worked.

This is the best game I've seen from the defense in years. Ryan Grant was held in check and Aaron Rodgers struggled to find some rhythm. Most of their yards came in the closing minutes as the game was already decided. Is it a coincidence that Roy Williams was not in uniform that day? We'll find out more in the next couple of weeks? But my guess is yes. Roy's good for at least 80 yards and TD in each game. For the other team.

Tony Romo didn't look great and Terrell Owens was held to 2 catches for 17 yards. Very encouraging as we beat a very good Packer squad. Jason Witten is absolutely, without question the best tight end in the game today.

Dallas Cowboys vs Philadelphia Eagles, Week Two

So, Tony Romo had his big game jitters going again. It resulted in a interception and a botched handoff that resulted in 14 points for the Eagles. The final score ended up being 41-37. This game was a drag out, pull no punches brawl. It seemed like whoever had the ball last would win it. Anyway, the analysis.

Defense, C: They accounted for only 23 points but the game brought about many issues that we seem to be dealing with every season lately. I'm not going to blame this on the secondary since McNabb seemed to escape every possible pressure situation until their last series. But, something is wrong with this defense. For as much as we're touted for talent, it doesn't seem like we can consistently pressure the QB like the Giants do, WITHOUT Strahan and Umenyiora. I'll give some credit to McNabb but we need to see the QB go down a couple more times on crucial drives.

Offense, A: Without the two miscues, this was another finely tuned offensive game. There's really nothing else to talk about. Witten was amazing, Owens did his job, Barber was a beast and we even saw a little bit of Miles Austin. Even with the miscues, they played an amazing game. They did score 41 points.

Special Teams, A+: Felix Jones had his first career return for a touchdown. Folk nailed a couple of key FG's to keep the game close.

Injuries of Note: Jason Witten separated his shoulder but returned and is expected to play against Green Bay. Roy Williams is out for four weeks due to a fractured forearm. Isn't Roy being injured really a victory for the Cowboys as well.

Start Em Or Sit Em: Week Two

Start Em:

1. Any GB Starter vs DET, Did you see what Michael Turner and Matt Ryan were able to accomplish? Throw in a confident Aaron Rodgers and a much more potent offense and I see lots of points being able to be put up against Detroit. The only question is will Detroit be able to put up enough points to keep it competitive.

2. Chris Johnson vs CIN, He and Lendale White split the carries in week one but Lendale managed a paltry 2.7 yds per carry to Chris Johnson's 6.2 yds per carry. I'm thinking the load may shift over to the former East Carolina speed demon.

3. Any NYG Starter vs STL, Good night, St. Louis might want to think about drafting some defense. Marc Bulger is looking like Aikman at the end of his career. And didn't you see the highlights from the Philly game. Start em.

Sit Em:

1. Chad Ocho Cinco vs TEN, He didn't do anything last week and there's something wrong with this offense. Carson Palmer seems to be regressing. And Tennessee's defense ain't too shabby. Stay away.

2. Chad Pennington vs ARI, I'm thinking revenge was a fairly dominant motivation last week. Having said that, Arizona has built themselves a decent defense. I'd sit him. If you don't have any better options right now, you're in some trouble for the season.

3. Matt Hasselbeck vs SF, No receivers, no running backs. Stay far far away from Seattle. I'm thinking they are going to have a top 5 pick in the next draft.

Tom Brady Officially Out For The Season

Talk about karma. This is better than taking away their better first round pick in the draft. Losing their all world, model knocking up, egotistical QB. Unfortunately, I was counting on him this year with Randy Moss being my number one pick in every league I have. Oh well, it eliminates some competition from the Cowboys path to a ring.

By the way, he still thinks the Patriots will win the Super Bowl. Talk about ironic if that ends up being true. Reminds me of a story of a QB named Bledsoe.

Dallas Cowboys at Cleveland Browns, Week One

Ok, so week one is in the books and the Cowboys gained 487 yards against a suspect Cleveland defense. Besides one series in the game, Tony Romo seemed to have forever and a day to deliver the ball to anyone he wanted. Marion Barber got into the secondary with ease and so did Felix Jones, who scored a touchdown on his first NFL carry. Only an injury to Barber marred this victory.

The defense played exceptionally well, allowing only ten points to high octane offense that scored a lot of points last season. It might have something to do with Derek Anderson and Braylon Edwards being a little rusty as they didn't seem like they were on the same page all day. However, they were able to shut down Jamal Lewis for most of the day and Kellen Winslow seemed to disappear as the day went along.

The Cowboys offensive line still commits way too many penalties, but it didn't seem to matter on Sunday. But I would like for that to eventually fade out this season because we won't be able to overcome 1st and 30's too often in the playoffs. Overall, a very good start to the season.

Fantasy Football: Put Him In Or Yank Him

These will always exclude your obvious every week starters like Tom Brady, LT, Peyton Manning, etc.

Put Him In:
Michael Turner vs DET, It's Detroit's defense and Michael Turner is the featured back with Matt Ryan starting in his first NFL game. They will run early and often.

Thomas Jones vs MIA, Bill Parcells and Co lost Jason Taylor AND Zach Thomas. Who's going to stop Brett's boys in this game?

Kurt Warner vs SF, Gotta give it to the grocery boy. He can throw the ball and was a top ten fantasy QB last year when he started. With Boldin and Fitzgerald, you can't do too much wrong. Although he does fumble when touched.

Yank Him:
Ryan Grant vs MIN, First time starter at QB, Jared Allen, Minnesota's defense. Not looking good. He did rip off a huge game last year against this defense. But he had Favre at QB and Minnesota did not have Jared Allen.

Chicago Bears vs IND, Don't start anyone from Chicago, the Colts offense and defense are way too talented for this squad. Forte and Orton won't help in this contest.

2008 Cowboys Season Preview

It's the beginning of Tony Romo's second full season. The artist formerly known as Pacman was reinstated by the league. No one cares that Terry Glenn isn't on the team. We just resigned our special teams gunner Keith Davis. DeMarcus Ware will be a nightmare for offenses to handle. Marion Barber and Felix Jones look like a fearsome tandem in the backfield. The season is full of promises and the Super Bowl is in sight.

So what could possibly be a concern for a Cowboys fan? Wide receivers and defensive backs. Although, at this point, no one seems to worry about the loss of Terry Glenn, including me, it's a concern. For the first couple of games, we might be seeing TO, Crayton, Stanback and Pacman at WR. I don't know about you, but I'm down on Patrick Crayton. He's had serious problems or lack of focus in the past two playoff games. Dropped balls at key points in the game or drive. This is supposed to be our second best WR. Miles Austin, who I am incredibly high on, hasn't been healthy for consecutive months since Woodstock. Sam Hurd is a nice option. But the fact is the only wideout we can trust game in and game out is Terrell Owens. And he has his own issues with hanging on to passes.

Defensive backs. Roy can change his number all he wants. If I was a defensive coordinator, my whole game plan revolves around isolating him one on one and burning him deep. With anyone. The Cowboys staff has been disappointed with the progress or lack thereof by Mike Jenkins. Pat Watkins hasn't grabbed that SS spot despite the eyesore that Roy is. No one knows if Pacman Jones will be able to hold his wad for the whole season. And like it or not, Terence Newman is having some trouble staying on the field lately.

I know it sounds like I'm nitpicking, but in order for us to succeed in the playoffs, these issues have to be addressed or answered by playoff time. Especially since the ultimate goal is the Super Bowl.