Contending Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Miles Austin (19) scores a touchdown after evading a tackle by Atlanta Falcons safety Thomas DeCoud, rear, for a touchdown in the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Cowboys Prove They Belong In Playoff Hunt with Dominating 37-21 Victory Over Falcons

From owner-GM Jerry Jones, to Head Coach Wade Phillips, and down to the players; the Cowboys’ have said all week long that Sunday’s (10-25) game against Atlanta was their most important thus far this season.

"It was our best game overall,” Wade Phillips said after the game. “But that's also perception. When you beat a team that made the playoffs last year and came in here 4-1, that's impressive.”

Even though Dallas had their top 3 running backs healthy for this game, the running game never quite took flight. Luckily for Dallas, quarterback Tony Romo stole the show, showcasing his athleticism by eluding tacklers in the pocket which led to big plays. Romo passed for 311 yards and 3 touchdowns while also competing 72 percent of his passes (21 of 29). After a record breaking week before the bye against the Kansas City Chiefs, Miles Austin picked up right where he left off with 6 receptions for 171 yards and 2 touchdowns. Austin proved he was no one week wonder and has the best 2 game stretch for a receiver in Cowboys history with 421 yards and 4 touchdowns combined.

The Dallas defense also provided a break out game. Matt Ryan came into this game having not been sacked in his past 17 quarters, and he had also been sacked only twice all year.

"After the first series, I think we established that we were going to put a lot of pressure on them," Phillips said.

The Cowboys sacked Ryan 4 times for the game and pressured him on numerous occasions which led to poor decisions, including 2 interceptions and a fumble. Cornerbacks Mike Jenkins and Orlando Scandrick both had interceptions and the Dallas defense had 4 takeaways for the game which is the most they’ve had all season.

It was up to Dallas to prove today that they could beat an elite NFC team, and they delivered. Even though there was still some sloppy play, the Cowboys showed that they could make up for their deficiencies with their explosive offense and an aggressive defense. Dallas plays next Sunday, November 1 at Noon, against the Seattle Seahawks in Arlington.

(Portions of this article were taken from the Associated Press)

News and Notes:

· This was Tony Romo’s 19^th career 300-yard passing game, the most in Cowboys team history.

· The Dallas defense had 2 interceptions on the day, matching their total interceptions thus far this season (2), which was lowest in the NFL.

· Both Dallas and Atlanta are now 4-2 on the year and with the Cowboys’ win they hold the tiebreaker come playoff time.

Cowboys Survive in Overtime 26-20

Miles Austin’s Record Breaking Game Overshadows Dallas’ Undisciplined Play

With starter Roy Williams out due to cartilage damage to three ribs, Miles Austin made the first start of his career and the Cowboys needed a big game from the third-year wide-out. The Dallas Cowboys wide receiver delivered 10 receptions and 250 yards against Kansas City, breaking the Cowboys receiving yards record for a game (246) held for 43 years by Hall of Famer Bob Hayes. That’s just 5 catches and 38 yards less than Austin had all of last season. Austin broke tackles to set up big gains all game long, culminating in the 60-yard game winning touchdown pass in overtime to win the game.

“I just wanted to show people I’m ready to play. I wanted to show my teammates that I want to contribute as much as I can,” Austin said. “I was able to do that.”

All-in-all, Dallas (3-2) did not have a crisp game on either side of the ball. Dallas shot themselves in the foot all game long: a missed field goal, 2 fumbles that led to 10 points for the Chiefs, dropped passes in the end zone, and 13 penalties for 90 yards at crucial points in the game led to a close contest with a winless Kansas City team.

“Our guys fought the whole game but we didn’t do all the right things,” said Coach Wade Phillips. “There are things we need to work on, but the bottom line is winning and guys coming through.”

The Wade Phillips led Dallas defense faltered with the game on the line in the 4^th quarter for the third time in the last four weeks. With a 20-13 lead and only 2:16 left in the game the Cowboys had a chance to put the game away with a defensive stop. Instead, Kansas City drove 74 yards in 10 plays to tie the game at 20-20 with 24 seconds left in regulation. Luckily for Dallas, the defensive unit shut the Chiefs down in overtime and allowed the offense to win the game.

The Cowboys offense managed only 170 total yards in the first half and went into the locker-room down 10-3 at halftime. Dallas picked it up in the second half, though, accumulating 328 yards and 17 points. The running game picked up the pace as Marion Barber and Tashard Choice combined for 145 yards on 23 carries and a touchdown. Quarterback Tony Romo also had a bounce back game. After failing to throw a touchdown pass for a total of (a career high) 13 ½ consecutive quarters, Romo was 20-34 for 350 yards and 2 touchdowns with no interceptions. Romo did have a fumble in the first half (which led to the first Kansas City touchdown of the game) on what appeared to be a botched play in which offensive lineman Leonard Davis knocked the ball out of his hands.

Dallas legitimately stared a 2-3 record in the face going into their bye week. The Cowboy’s can’t expect to play like they did in this game and compete with any reasonably good NFL team. Dallas now has a week off to work on their deficiencies.

The Dallas Cowboys next game is Sunday Oct 25 at 3:15 pm, in Dallas against the Atlanta Falcons.

(Portions of this article were taken from the Associated Press)

Missed Opportunities

Terrence Newman (41) and Brandon Marshall (15) fight for what ended up being the game winning touchdown pass. (AP Photo/ Jack Dempsey )


Sloppy Play Leads to 17-10 Loss to the Broncos
Overthrown receivers, ridiculous penalties, costly turnovers: these are the things that summed up the Dallas Cowboys play today, Oct. 4, in Denver. Tony Romo led the pack as he consistently missed open wide receivers and accounted for both Dallas turnovers, including a fumble in the first half that led to Denver’s first touchdown of the game. Numerous times in the fourth quarter Romo found open receivers downfield and could not seal the deal, consistently throwing high or out in front of wide-outs who had beaten their man. Seven penalties for 70 yards didn’t help either as Dallas time and again shot themselves in the foot.

The Dallas defense had another strong effort, but failed to step up with the game on the line in the fourth quarter. With under 3-minutes left in the game, on first down from the Denver 49-yard line, Broncos’ quarterback Kyle Orton threw it up to the right side of the field high to wide receiver Brandon Marshall. Terence Newman, who was in coverage on Marshall, rose up to snatch the pass away before Marshall could seize the ball.

"I couldn't have played that play any better," Newman said. “I could have sworn it was going to be a penalty. He grabbed my jersey and threw me to the side. If that wasn't a hold, I don't know what is.”

Unfortunately for Dallas, no penalty was called and Marshall caught the ball, weaved, broke tackles, and sprinted his way to a 51-yard touchdown catch and run, giving Denver a 17-10 lead with under 2 minutes left in the game.

The Cowboys weren’t done yet, after a miraculous Tony Romo fourth-down scramble away from pressure, touch pass, and subsequent 53-yard catch and run by Sam Hurd; Dallas had a chance to tie the game with 53 seconds left in regulation. The Cowboys drove all the way to the Broncos 2-yard line, but consecutive passes batted away by All-Pro cornerback Champ Bailey (both intended for Sam Hurd) on third and fourth down with 2 seconds left on the game clock ended the Dallas threat. Romo tested Bailey all game, and didn’t learn from his interception early in the third quarter as he dubiously challenged him consecutive times with the game on the line. Although Romo considered foul play a possibility.

“Their good all over,” Romo said of Denver’s (4-0) top ranked defense. "I understand Champ's good. It's questionable. I think you could go either way on that call. It's a bang-bang play and the corner's always driving on the ball. If he gets to the ball early, that's part of the game. ... Those are always going to be contested throws."

The Cowboys offense found out just how good Denver’s defense was the hard way as they were held to their lowest total yards (315) of the young season. Romo was sacked 5 times on the day and was held to 255 yards, completing only 25 of his 42 attempts along with no touchdowns and an interception. This is the first time in Romo’s career that he has gone consecutive games without a touchdown pass.

Dallas was also held to their lowest rushing output (74 yards), as their giant offensive line was beaten to the point of attack all game by the smaller, quicker Denver defenders. Coming back from a quadriceps injury, Marion Barber carried the ball only 11 times for 41 yards but had the Cowboys only touchdown of the game on a 1-yard rush in which he bullied his way into the end zone.

With Tony Romo’s play being helter-skelter from one week to the next along with an equally inconsistent defense; Dallas finds itself at 2-2 for the season. As former Cowboys’ coach Bill Parcells used to say, you are what your record says you are and the Cowboys right now are a mediocre football team.

Dallas plays next weekend (10/11) at Noon, in Kansas City against the Chiefs.

(Photo and portions of this article were taken from the Associated Press)

Second Time the Charm

Felix Jones Breaks Off a 40-Yard Run In the Second Half. Jones had 94 yards for the game but injured his knee on the play.

Cowboys Shut Down Panthers in the Second Half to Win First Game in New Stadium, 21-7

The Dallas Cowboys rebounded after a slow start to steal a victory at home over the Carolina Panthers on Monday Night Football, Sept. 28. Dallas increased their overall record to 2-1 on the season even though they were being shut out at halftime 7-0. The Panthers (0-3) struggled mightily in the second half as the Cowboys scored 21 unanswered points on their way to victory.

Dallas’ running game was unstoppable again as they became the first Cowboys’ team since 1979 to record 2 straight 200+ yard rushing games. Felix Jones had 94 yards on 8 carries (11.8 yards per carry) and Tashard Choice had 82 yards and a touchdown as the Cowboys’ averaged 6.2 yards per carry as a team. Felix Jones became the first running back since Bo Jackson to achieve 400 career yards in less than 50 attempts. The offensive line was once again dominant at the line of scrimmage, bullying the Panthers’ defenders all game long.

The Dallas defense played a high-quality game for the first time all season. After going the first two games without recording a sack or causing a turnover; the Cowboys’ had three sacks, two forced fumbles (one recovery), and two interceptions. Two of those sacks, the fumble recovery, and one of those interceptions were a part of a second half in which the Dallas defense completed dominated the Panthers’ offense. The interception was Terrence Newman’s first of the season, and the 27-yard return for a touchdown was the second of his career. This put Dallas up 21-7 with 5:07 left in regulation. Rookie linebacker Victor Butler accounted for the two sacks (the first sacks of his 3 game career), including the forced fumble with 1:07 left to seal the victory. Carolina failed to register a first down in the second half until under 5 minutes left in the game.

Tony Romo had a bounce-back game, although he mostly just played the role of facilitator. Romo went 22-33 for 255 with no touchdowns or interceptions. Jason Witten led the way receiving for the Cowboys with 9 catches for 77 yard and Roy Williams had 4 catches for 75 yards in an overall balanced offensive effort.

It definitely wasn’t pretty, but the Dallas Cowboys badly needed this win as a second consecutive loss to break-in the new stadium would be nothing less than an embarrassment for a team with Super Bowl aspirations – especially to a struggling 0-2 Panthers’ team. But Dallas’ responded and gutted it out in the second half using a superior running game along with suffocating defense to pull out a desperately needed win.

The Cowboys’ are tied for second in the division with the Philadelphia Eagles at 2-1. Dallas’ next game is Oct. 4 at 3:15 pm, in Denver, against the Broncos.

Above Photo Copyright 2009 Associated Press

Dallas Mavericks Looking For a Point

The Dallas Mavericks acquired two point guards; Rodrigue Beaubois from France (pictured upper left) and Nick Calethes from Florida (pictured right) Thursday night, both by trade, in what was a guard heavy 1st round of the 2009 NBA Draft. 17 guards were taken in the 1st round alone.


Dallas acquired Rodrigue Beaubois through a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder in what was basically a one pick swap in which Dallas took Ohio State Center B.J. Mullins at #24 and OKC picked Beabois at #25 and then both teams swapped players. Dallas received a 2nd round pick in next years draft as part of the deal.

Beaubois is 21 years old, 6'1, and 182 lbs but has a 6'9 wingspan. In the French League last year he averaged 10 points, shot 47.5 % from the field, and had 2.3 assists while committing 1.9 turnovers. Beabois played 22.3 minutes per in 29 games. By all accounts he will not play in the NBA until at least next season. Dallas plans to let the Frenchman develop overseas. Overall a solid if not unspectacular pick as many mock drafts had Beaubois going in the 2nd round. Here is a scouting report from CBSsports.com.

The Mavericks acquired Nick Calathes through a trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2nd round. Minnesota had already drafted 4 guards in the first round (PG's: Ricky Rubio, Johnny Flynn, and Ty Lawson; along with SG Wayne Ellington) when they drafted Calathes with their first pick of the 2nd round at #45. Dallas managed to trade for Calathes while only giving up a 2nd round draft pick in next years draft. Ironically, that second round pick is the pick Dallas got from Portland for moving down two spots (from #22 to #24) in the draft. Maybe that extra 2nd rounder wasn't so worthless after all.

Nick Calathes was named SEC co-freshman of the year for 2007-2008. Calathes also broke University of Florida records for assists and assists per game in his first two years. He is 6'5 and 188 lbs. His career averages at Florida are: 16.2 points per game, 5.3 rebounds, and 6.2 assists. Calathes, like Beaubois, figures to spend some time overseas before seeing action in the NBA. Unlike Beabois, Calathes has to spend at least 1 year in Greece after signing a contract with Panathinaikos. This was the biggest reason in which he fell to the 2nd round. CBSSports.com has the full scouting report.

Dallas was also able to keep their pick at #56 which was 6'9, 242 pound power forward Ahmad Nivins. Nivins played 4 years at St. Joseph's and averaged 19.2 points and 11.8 rebounds his senior season. Seems like a pretty decent player.

All-in-all Dallas had a solid draft on paper but it seems as though any type of contribution from their top two picks will have to wait at least 1 year.

This is not it for the Mavericks as the start of free agency is only 6 days away (July 1st). There are more deals to be done and I will try and keep you up to date with all of them.