THE OFFENSE
Despite the loss of Tony Romo, the Cowboys offense was still pretty good. There were a lot of times where the play calling would make you scratch your head and one yard gains from Marion Barber became more frequent than Seinfeld reruns. Still, whether it be Romo or the resurgent Jon Kitna, the Cowboys were able to move the ball better than average for most of the year. A lot of this has to do with the skill of both Romo and Kitna and the receiving weapons the Cowboys have. Still, no one can be thrilled with this offensive machine that constantly had either broken parts, or squeaky cogs, throughout the entire season.
The problems start with the offensive line. Down right abysmal. This group was more than an achilles heel for this offense throughout the entire year. They were slow and weak the entire year. Aside from LT Doug Free, the unit seemed old, tired and lackadaisical. Colombo was repeatedly speed rushed into submission from the right side, Leonard Davis could barley get out of his stance before he was beat and Andre Gurode is so retarded he just snaps the ball whenever he's tired of squatting down. The smartest player on the line, Kyle Kosier, is constantly hampered with injuries. (His replacement Phil Costa is about as assertive as a mall security guard).The Cowboys have a collection of relics (plus the less talented Gronkowski) protecting their quarterbacks which is why Tony Romo finished the season on IR and why there was not so much of a pore for the running backs to run through.
The running game for the Cowboys was also rancid. Marion Barber is done. Finito! Get em out! His body once hit defenders like a massive bowling ball. Now he's rolling down the lane and knocking over no pins. In every single short yardage situation, supposedly his specialty, he hit the defenders like a pilates ball. Felix Jones did get more touches this season but he proved that, although gifted with great agility and speed, he truly needs to have the field opened up for him to cause any sort of measurable damage. Tashard Choice was banished to the bench for almost the entire season after his miscarriage in week one right before the half. I think he deserved a shot at more carries and he did get a few more at the end of the season. He proved that he was a talented back worthy of carries but he too, is nothing special.
The receiving corps and quarterbacks were the best part of this team in 2010... Tony Romo did not start the season as sharp but I still believe he is a good quarterback. His mobility often concealed the masquerade of an offensive line that the Cowboys shuffled onto the field every sunday. His balls were more inaccurate than usual to start the season but I think that he will take some cues from Jon Kitna's assertive leadership and come back extremely strong next season.
The receivers were inconsistent but showed us that they can be deadly next season. Dez Bryant looked like T.O. in his prime for much of the season until his ankle injury. Although he often doesn't know the routes to run, he was almost uncoverable. Roy Williams had his bad moments at terrible times (game-changing fumbles) but he also caught a lot of important passes this year and showed that he can contribute. He will be a good third receiever should the Cowboys choose to retain him. Miles Austin looked fantastic early on but seemed to disappear as the season stretched on. He did catch a good amount of touchdowns but his stats toward the end of the season were unimpressive. He dropped a lot of balls and it seemed that the big contract he recieved over the off-season has tainted his focus. I still think he has a few things to prove. Jason Witten started off slow and I thought that his skills were in decline. He was not the big play threat as much this season but a lot of that has to do with the QB. He still led the league in TE receptions and eclipsed the 1,000 yd mark again. He is well on his way to Canton.
Now that Garrett is officially the coach we can finally turn the page on this disgrace of a season and look ahead. More analysis of what the Cowboys need to do ahead.
Friday, January 7, 2011
2010 Season Wrap-up: Defense
THE DEFENSE
After Wade, the lugubrious play of the defense was a main culprit in this season's failure. Check this: No Cowboys defense has ever...NEVER EVER...given up as many points as this wretched group did this season. Whatever idiot suggested that Alan Ball could be a starting safety in the NFL should be run over multiple times with a dump truck. My gripes with the defense have to start with Ball. He, along with Gerald Sensebaugh, ran a secondary that allowed Quarterbacks to drop back, lick their lips, and FEAST on the Cowboys defense all season. The corner backs did not play well (See Jenkins v. Green Bay, or Philadelphia...Newman looked like an old man... Scandrick's overachieving finally caught up with him) but seemingly on every touch down the Cowboys gave up through the air, our last image was of Alan Ball running off screen a few seconds too late. A lot of the times that the CB's looked like they were beat, it was obvious that they were expecting help from the saftey's over the top...help that rarely came. Then I had to be repeatedly insulted by Alan Ball's tennis ball tackles where he would bounce right off of anything that moved. (Also...Dave Campo, the secondary coach, sucked as a head coach and clearly still sucks as an assistant coach. He might be less than 5 feet tall and you expect players to listen to him? Get him out).
The play of the linebackers also suffered this year. Bradie James and Keith Brooking both looked straight up OLD. For some reason the Cowboys are afraid to play high draft picks so Sean Lee wasn't even given much of a chance to spell the two aging linebackers until late in the season. What did we find out? Lee (if he stays healthy) can be one helluva line backer. Brooking, while his pregame speeches are still fiery, is just too old to be a starting lineback in the NFL. On the outside Anthony Spencer made a great effort to make everyone forget about his great efforts on the field last year. He played most of the season as if he actually didn't know where the Quarterback lined up on the field, because I rarely saw Spencer in that general area. On the other side, Demarcus Ware did lead the league in sacks with 15.5 sacks but it seems that during some of the key games this season, when the boys backs were against the wall, Demarcus was also shut out a lot of the time.
The big guys down in the trenches on the defensive front also significantly lacked in production this year. Jay Ratliff, arguably one of the best nose tackles in the game had a subpar year, his sack and tackle totals diminishing by 1/3 compared with his average of the past two years. In a 3-4 defense the ends and tackles are not normally supposed to accumulate mind-blowing stats but the bottom line is Igor Olishanksy, Stephen Bowen and Jason Hatcher were not eating up enough space for the linebackers to make plays in the running game and they, along with the rest of the (very vanilla) defense, failed to pressure any quarterback with any form of consistency. The entire, and by that I mean every single player with the exception of D-Ware, defense could use an upgrade. (Obviously this is impossible in 1 offseason, so lets start at saftey and work our way forward).
After Wade, the lugubrious play of the defense was a main culprit in this season's failure. Check this: No Cowboys defense has ever...NEVER EVER...given up as many points as this wretched group did this season. Whatever idiot suggested that Alan Ball could be a starting safety in the NFL should be run over multiple times with a dump truck. My gripes with the defense have to start with Ball. He, along with Gerald Sensebaugh, ran a secondary that allowed Quarterbacks to drop back, lick their lips, and FEAST on the Cowboys defense all season. The corner backs did not play well (See Jenkins v. Green Bay, or Philadelphia...Newman looked like an old man... Scandrick's overachieving finally caught up with him) but seemingly on every touch down the Cowboys gave up through the air, our last image was of Alan Ball running off screen a few seconds too late. A lot of the times that the CB's looked like they were beat, it was obvious that they were expecting help from the saftey's over the top...help that rarely came. Then I had to be repeatedly insulted by Alan Ball's tennis ball tackles where he would bounce right off of anything that moved. (Also...Dave Campo, the secondary coach, sucked as a head coach and clearly still sucks as an assistant coach. He might be less than 5 feet tall and you expect players to listen to him? Get him out).
The play of the linebackers also suffered this year. Bradie James and Keith Brooking both looked straight up OLD. For some reason the Cowboys are afraid to play high draft picks so Sean Lee wasn't even given much of a chance to spell the two aging linebackers until late in the season. What did we find out? Lee (if he stays healthy) can be one helluva line backer. Brooking, while his pregame speeches are still fiery, is just too old to be a starting lineback in the NFL. On the outside Anthony Spencer made a great effort to make everyone forget about his great efforts on the field last year. He played most of the season as if he actually didn't know where the Quarterback lined up on the field, because I rarely saw Spencer in that general area. On the other side, Demarcus Ware did lead the league in sacks with 15.5 sacks but it seems that during some of the key games this season, when the boys backs were against the wall, Demarcus was also shut out a lot of the time.
The big guys down in the trenches on the defensive front also significantly lacked in production this year. Jay Ratliff, arguably one of the best nose tackles in the game had a subpar year, his sack and tackle totals diminishing by 1/3 compared with his average of the past two years. In a 3-4 defense the ends and tackles are not normally supposed to accumulate mind-blowing stats but the bottom line is Igor Olishanksy, Stephen Bowen and Jason Hatcher were not eating up enough space for the linebackers to make plays in the running game and they, along with the rest of the (very vanilla) defense, failed to pressure any quarterback with any form of consistency. The entire, and by that I mean every single player with the exception of D-Ware, defense could use an upgrade. (Obviously this is impossible in 1 offseason, so lets start at saftey and work our way forward).
Cowboys 2010 Season Wrap-up Part 1
I call this the 2010 season wrap-up but the season was really wrapped up 3 years ago when the Cowboys hired Wade Phillips. One could argue that the season was over as soon as the feebily inept Alex Barron held Brian Orakpo in the season opener against the Redskins. Perhaps it was the week after their bye when Marc Colombo receieved a crucial "excessive" celebration penalty for essentially falling down, setting up Chris Johnson and the Titans with great field position to punch in the winning ticket against the befuddled Cowboys. Maybe it was that fateful first Giants game when Tony Romo squirmed on the turf, his 2010 season expired. The straw that broke the camel's back was the debacle against the Green Bay Packers. The Cowboys were embarrassed up and down the field. Mike Jenkins played with his balls in his stomach, and the rest of defense acted like children who know nothing of personal pride. At this point, the last flame had been doused, the 2010 Cowboys season, one that began with such grand expectations, was painfully extinguished.
Under Interim coach Jason Garrett the Cowboys rebounded, somewhat, and finished with a 6-10 record. Still, this season will go down as the most dissappointing and most repulsive in the franchise's history. Never in NFL history, has a team been touted so highly and stumbled so far before the burden of those expectations. There are many reasons for this collapse and I am surprised that more people didn't see it coming. It all must start with the coaching style of Wade Phillips. At best, he's been a moderately decent NFL coach throughout his career. No one should be impressed with his 1 playoff win with a team as talented as the Cowboys have been under him. He ran camp cupcake in the preseason every year and the very moment that Dez Bryant was injured in this year's pre-season, baseball caps replaced helmets. The ending result? One of the softest, under-achieving, pudding-cake teams in the entire league and one of the most despicable regular season's in franchise history.
Under Interim coach Jason Garrett the Cowboys rebounded, somewhat, and finished with a 6-10 record. Still, this season will go down as the most dissappointing and most repulsive in the franchise's history. Never in NFL history, has a team been touted so highly and stumbled so far before the burden of those expectations. There are many reasons for this collapse and I am surprised that more people didn't see it coming. It all must start with the coaching style of Wade Phillips. At best, he's been a moderately decent NFL coach throughout his career. No one should be impressed with his 1 playoff win with a team as talented as the Cowboys have been under him. He ran camp cupcake in the preseason every year and the very moment that Dez Bryant was injured in this year's pre-season, baseball caps replaced helmets. The ending result? One of the softest, under-achieving, pudding-cake teams in the entire league and one of the most despicable regular season's in franchise history.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Cliff Lee
I just wanted to be the first one to predict this...Cliff Lee in The Decision 2.0 will go on the big screen in Cowboy Stadium during the SNF game on NBC against the Eagles and announce that he is staying with the Texas Rangers. You heard it here first.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Pipe down Rex Ryan
I know I'm speaking for a lot of us out there when I say: How great was it to watch the Jets fly into Gillette Stadium and absolutely CRASH & BURN. If you're a Jets fan, that was an absolute catastrophe. Now granted, my team has gotten their tails absolutely whipped for a good half of the year and we've been thoroughly embarrassed but I don't think I've ever seen a team get absolutely BAMBOOZLED like I saw last night. It was awesome.
Rex Ryan has been running his fat mouth all year and talking like he was about run through the AFC with a wrench and set of brass knuckles. Mean while, Bellichek and Brady (don't get me wrong, I still hate them) kept their mouths shut and just waited to pounce on an easy prey. I can just picture Bellicheks reaction to every sound bite from that bag of chips with a vest. "Just keep running your mouth you fat bush, and we'll stick your foot in it for you when you get up here." And that is exactly what the Pats did. They made Mark Sanchez look actually retarded and Tom Brady went through the "great" Jets defense like Rex Ryan goes through a box of Dunkin Donuts Munchkins. At least there were about 40 Dunkin Donuts for Rex to stop at to stuff his face for the long ride home.
With all that said...The Jets are still a good team and they are going to make the playoffs and cause problems for whoever they play. But take a piece of the humble pie and shut up and come back when you beat a good team.
-Just a note: I know the Cowboys suck this year so don't feel compelled to remind me so.
Rex Ryan has been running his fat mouth all year and talking like he was about run through the AFC with a wrench and set of brass knuckles. Mean while, Bellichek and Brady (don't get me wrong, I still hate them) kept their mouths shut and just waited to pounce on an easy prey. I can just picture Bellicheks reaction to every sound bite from that bag of chips with a vest. "Just keep running your mouth you fat bush, and we'll stick your foot in it for you when you get up here." And that is exactly what the Pats did. They made Mark Sanchez look actually retarded and Tom Brady went through the "great" Jets defense like Rex Ryan goes through a box of Dunkin Donuts Munchkins. At least there were about 40 Dunkin Donuts for Rex to stop at to stuff his face for the long ride home.
With all that said...The Jets are still a good team and they are going to make the playoffs and cause problems for whoever they play. But take a piece of the humble pie and shut up and come back when you beat a good team.
-Just a note: I know the Cowboys suck this year so don't feel compelled to remind me so.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Cowboys get their potatoes mashed: Cowboys/Saints Reaction
In a normal season, as in one that has not been over since week 1, this loss would have left me restless and irritated. However, with this season already long lost at sea, I actually think there are positives to be found in the dramatic 30-27 Thanksgiving Day loss to the New Orleans Saints.
The start of the game looked very similar to my Turkey Bowl game this year. Everyone on my team was sorely hungover as a result of too many encounters with Johnny Jameson. As a result, our stacked squad had a better chance of running to the sideline to puke than filling the endzone with heaps of touchdowns. The Cowboys looked like they went out hard on Wednesday night too because in the first half they looked like they were hurting bad.. High snaps, fumbles, a pick thrown to a 350lb lineman, 1 yard rushes...it looked like an old NFL follies film.
Drew Brees embarrassed the Cowboys secondary for most of the day and as per usual, the Cowboys brought their diet package of pressure. Still, one has to be impressed with the way this team responded under the adversity that they were presented with. Under Wade Phillips, this team would have mailed in the rest of the game, probably lost 72-3, and they'd be running down to the shake shack with Wade to rub his belly. Under Red Jesus, however, the shake shack is closed. The Cowboys proved to be resiliant and took control of the game in the second half. The defense even stiffened up a little. Not Viagara stiff but, close enough to let the boys climb back in.
The Cowboys got creative and found a way to utilize Miles Austins speed with an end around for a touchdown. Both Marion Barber and Tashard Choice ( whom most of you probably have forgotten about) punched in 1 yard touch down runs. (Despite this, Marion Barber is increasingly unimpressive from game to game). For the first time this season, Dez Bryant was visibly frustrated on the field and especially on the sidelines where he was seen squabbling with receivers coach Ray Sherman. The Saints did a good job of disguising coverages on him all day and were usually rolling two players to his side. You gotta love the fire and intensity that Dez plays with but you're a rookie, don't disrespect your coach like that. Just learn from this and deal with it boy. With the Saints focusing so much of their attention on Dez, Jon Kitna was able to utilize his trusty TE Jason Witten to drive the field. He also was able to find Roy Williams multiple times for big plays...
Oh! Speaking of Roy Williams. In case any of you missed it, he fumbled the ball on a long reception with only minutes to go in the game. Sound familiar? The Cowboys were up and as long as Roy would have fallen to the ground with the ball the game would have been sealed. 5 straight turkey day wins would have been in the books...The cowboys could have gotten in feast beast mode and concentrated on tearing up turkeys. Instead, Drew Brees and the Saints got one more go on our impotent defense and did what everyone expected them to do. Took our turkey and stuffed it right in our house.
Now I can't fully blame Roy Williams for this terrible play. He has made plays all year and he was making one here. He had been having a superb game and CB Malcom Jenkins made a hell of a play. Plus, the defense should have been able to stop the Saints from marching 80+ yards. Of course, this season, nothing has gone right, and this Roy Williams play epitomizes not only his career but the 2010 Cowboys season. Now Jason Garrett has to deal with his first real challenge: Getting this team motivated to play the defending AFC champion Colts coming off a huge loss. Now we will have a real chance to see what Garrett is made of.
The start of the game looked very similar to my Turkey Bowl game this year. Everyone on my team was sorely hungover as a result of too many encounters with Johnny Jameson. As a result, our stacked squad had a better chance of running to the sideline to puke than filling the endzone with heaps of touchdowns. The Cowboys looked like they went out hard on Wednesday night too because in the first half they looked like they were hurting bad.. High snaps, fumbles, a pick thrown to a 350lb lineman, 1 yard rushes...it looked like an old NFL follies film.
Drew Brees embarrassed the Cowboys secondary for most of the day and as per usual, the Cowboys brought their diet package of pressure. Still, one has to be impressed with the way this team responded under the adversity that they were presented with. Under Wade Phillips, this team would have mailed in the rest of the game, probably lost 72-3, and they'd be running down to the shake shack with Wade to rub his belly. Under Red Jesus, however, the shake shack is closed. The Cowboys proved to be resiliant and took control of the game in the second half. The defense even stiffened up a little. Not Viagara stiff but, close enough to let the boys climb back in.
The Cowboys got creative and found a way to utilize Miles Austins speed with an end around for a touchdown. Both Marion Barber and Tashard Choice ( whom most of you probably have forgotten about) punched in 1 yard touch down runs. (Despite this, Marion Barber is increasingly unimpressive from game to game). For the first time this season, Dez Bryant was visibly frustrated on the field and especially on the sidelines where he was seen squabbling with receivers coach Ray Sherman. The Saints did a good job of disguising coverages on him all day and were usually rolling two players to his side. You gotta love the fire and intensity that Dez plays with but you're a rookie, don't disrespect your coach like that. Just learn from this and deal with it boy. With the Saints focusing so much of their attention on Dez, Jon Kitna was able to utilize his trusty TE Jason Witten to drive the field. He also was able to find Roy Williams multiple times for big plays...
Oh! Speaking of Roy Williams. In case any of you missed it, he fumbled the ball on a long reception with only minutes to go in the game. Sound familiar? The Cowboys were up and as long as Roy would have fallen to the ground with the ball the game would have been sealed. 5 straight turkey day wins would have been in the books...The cowboys could have gotten in feast beast mode and concentrated on tearing up turkeys. Instead, Drew Brees and the Saints got one more go on our impotent defense and did what everyone expected them to do. Took our turkey and stuffed it right in our house.
Now I can't fully blame Roy Williams for this terrible play. He has made plays all year and he was making one here. He had been having a superb game and CB Malcom Jenkins made a hell of a play. Plus, the defense should have been able to stop the Saints from marching 80+ yards. Of course, this season, nothing has gone right, and this Roy Williams play epitomizes not only his career but the 2010 Cowboys season. Now Jason Garrett has to deal with his first real challenge: Getting this team motivated to play the defending AFC champion Colts coming off a huge loss. Now we will have a real chance to see what Garrett is made of.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Jason Garrett: Red Jesus/Thanksgiving
The Christians can stop waiting for the second coming of Jesus. The Jews can stop waiting for his first appearance. I think the Muslims may still be sitting this one out but...Jesus has arrived in ginger form. Jason Garrett A.K.A Red Jesus has surfaced, leaving his imposing press conference podium, to lead a newly inspired Cowboys team to a dominating and crushing victory over the New York Giants and another fortunate win over the unlucky Lions.
Okay, I may be getting ahead of myself by anointing Garret Top as the Messiah but I was completely floored by the Cowboys performances these past two Sundays after the banishing of Wade Phillips. Not that they have played great in any way, shape, or form, but they are playing with great tenacity and effort. Their lackadaisical play and sense of self-entitlement seems to finally be a thing of the past. (By the way... you would think that fat clown Wade would have wallowed in his mire of embarrassment and disappointment indiscreetly. Instead, he went on Bruce Smith'sVirginia
Okay, back to what is relevant. Since Jason Garrett has taken over, this team has suddenly come back to life. Throughout the past three weeks Garrett has talked tough, with a military like presence that is a refreshing change from the yawn and gone tactics of Wade Phillips. He's demanded accountability and effort from his new team all week and that is what he has received. One could argue the Lions may have outplayed the Cowboys and I wouldn't disagree. Under Wade, the Cowboys give up and the Lions win. Under Jason Garrett? Not on your life. I think this team has found something special in Garrett. I would not be surprised if they win the majority of their remaining games...including the Thanksgiving shootout against the Saints. Watch them go 9-7 on the year and miss the playoffs. How annoying would that be?
Red Jesus has injected some life and adrenaline into these boys. All of a sudden they're playing with some pride. (The fact that grown men who are paid to play football need someone to remind them that they have pride to protect is more baffling to me than the Yankees current stance with Derek Jeter) He has put them in pads during practice, required them to be early to meetings, implemented a dress code and has fined players for being messy. I'm not saying any of these things directly translate into victories but they provide structure and discipline that this team has lacked. Red Jesus also is curt but to the point with the media. His replies are instantaneous and there is none of that "fat-man stuttering syndrome" that chronically gripped Wade. He's aPrinceton grad and you can tell when he speaks. He isn't going to be running some cuddly family farm like Wade. He is the boss and if any of these players want to be on the team next year they better buy into this system quick. The thing is, I believe that most of the players are and that is why they are winning. Case point: Mike Jenkins has played much better since Garrett took over.
The Cowboys recent string of success hinges on the fact that they are playing harder and executing better in all three phases of the game. Against the Giants Jon Kitna looked like a pro-bowler, firing the ball all over the field. He tossed the rock 13 times for 327 yards and finished with a stellar 124.1 QB rating. It seems that the entire offense played with a great sense of both urgency and confidence. The line looked like a new set of players compared with the group we've been gagging over for the past 8 weeks. (Leonard Davis still needs to grab some bench though) I'm not saying Kitna is better than Romo but Tony would do well for himself if he took a few notes from the wily veteran. Kitna makes sure all of his receivers are on the same page with him. He is constantly conferring with Dez Bryant on the field to make sure the rookie knows where to be. The result? Dez Bryant is playing like a stud and in a few years he will be the best receiver in the NFL. He is the definition of being in Beast Mode. The fact that his mom may or may not be a crack head/hooker is irrelevant. If the ball's in his vicinity it’s getting gobbled.
The defense still looks slow and vulnerable but they are playing much harder. They will face a stiff test against the Saints especially with Reggie Bush coming back from injury. The Cowboys defense still suffers from the fact that its linemen are not getting enough pressure (where the hell have Anthony Spencer and Demarcus Ware been hiding?!) Their linebackers are too old and can't cover in the middle of the field. Their secondary is downright despicable and that is not a formula for success.
My bold Thanksgiving prediction.Dallas : 34 New Orleans
Okay, I may be getting ahead of myself by anointing Garret Top as the Messiah but I was completely floored by the Cowboys performances these past two Sundays after the banishing of Wade Phillips. Not that they have played great in any way, shape, or form, but they are playing with great tenacity and effort. Their lackadaisical play and sense of self-entitlement seems to finally be a thing of the past. (By the way... you would think that fat clown Wade would have wallowed in his mire of embarrassment and disappointment indiscreetly. Instead, he went on Bruce Smith's
Okay, back to what is relevant. Since Jason Garrett has taken over, this team has suddenly come back to life. Throughout the past three weeks Garrett has talked tough, with a military like presence that is a refreshing change from the yawn and gone tactics of Wade Phillips. He's demanded accountability and effort from his new team all week and that is what he has received. One could argue the Lions may have outplayed the Cowboys and I wouldn't disagree. Under Wade, the Cowboys give up and the Lions win. Under Jason Garrett? Not on your life. I think this team has found something special in Garrett. I would not be surprised if they win the majority of their remaining games...including the Thanksgiving shootout against the Saints. Watch them go 9-7 on the year and miss the playoffs. How annoying would that be?
Red Jesus has injected some life and adrenaline into these boys. All of a sudden they're playing with some pride. (The fact that grown men who are paid to play football need someone to remind them that they have pride to protect is more baffling to me than the Yankees current stance with Derek Jeter) He has put them in pads during practice, required them to be early to meetings, implemented a dress code and has fined players for being messy. I'm not saying any of these things directly translate into victories but they provide structure and discipline that this team has lacked. Red Jesus also is curt but to the point with the media. His replies are instantaneous and there is none of that "fat-man stuttering syndrome" that chronically gripped Wade. He's a
The Cowboys recent string of success hinges on the fact that they are playing harder and executing better in all three phases of the game. Against the Giants Jon Kitna looked like a pro-bowler, firing the ball all over the field. He tossed the rock 13 times for 327 yards and finished with a stellar 124.1 QB rating. It seems that the entire offense played with a great sense of both urgency and confidence. The line looked like a new set of players compared with the group we've been gagging over for the past 8 weeks. (Leonard Davis still needs to grab some bench though) I'm not saying Kitna is better than Romo but Tony would do well for himself if he took a few notes from the wily veteran. Kitna makes sure all of his receivers are on the same page with him. He is constantly conferring with Dez Bryant on the field to make sure the rookie knows where to be. The result? Dez Bryant is playing like a stud and in a few years he will be the best receiver in the NFL. He is the definition of being in Beast Mode. The fact that his mom may or may not be a crack head/hooker is irrelevant. If the ball's in his vicinity it’s getting gobbled.
The defense still looks slow and vulnerable but they are playing much harder. They will face a stiff test against the Saints especially with Reggie Bush coming back from injury. The Cowboys defense still suffers from the fact that its linemen are not getting enough pressure (where the hell have Anthony Spencer and Demarcus Ware been hiding?!) Their linebackers are too old and can't cover in the middle of the field. Their secondary is downright despicable and that is not a formula for success.
My bold Thanksgiving prediction.
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