SB Nation User Blog: DavidH22

This is Not a Game-Changing Defense

DavidH22 — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 03:29:53 -0000

Am I overstating the obvious?

30 sacks, 9 interceptions, 11 fumbles recovered and one defensive TD through 13 games. Clutch 3rd down conversions seemingly given up every single game (3rd and 14, anyone?). Easy touchdown drives given up immediately after the offense scores. Big gains given up with increasing regularity. Even last year with 59 sacks, they still only snagged 8 interceptions.

Wade's defense might end up with decent end-of-the-year rankings, but this is not a defense that is a difference-maker. This is not a defense that opposing teams seem to fear. And this is certainly not a defense that makes me, as a fan, comfortable at all.

Who on this defense is untouchable? Not to speak ill of the injured, but even Ware has been down this season, and it's my sense that he is not so much feared as just...respected. He's a nice guy! So many first rounders on that side of the ball, so many mediocrities and disappointments. I think the only untouchable player is Jenkins. But hopefully a new coach, or a new defensive coordinator, will help make these players more effective and the defense more cataclysmic. Because I am tired of bed-but-don't break defenses. Especially when they tend to break down in December.

Buh-Bye Giants Stadium...and Good Riddance

DavidH22 — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 18:59:46 -0000

According to Wikipedia (my third favorite website behind BTB and profootballreference.com), the first Giants game ever at Giants Stadium was in 1976 against the Dallas Cowboys.

Then the Giants were led by former Dallas QB Craig Morton (still hard to believe Schramm got a first round pick for that trade!) and were awful, while the Cowboys were at the height of the Staubach era, so it shouldn't be a surprise that the Pokes won on that inaugural day, or that they won the next few games at Giants Stadium.

But by the early 80s Simms, LT and Parcells had arrived and the Giants dominated Dallas at home; in the late 90s, the likes of a battered Troy Aikman, Quincy Carter, Anthony Wright, etc were no match for Jim Fassel's Giants, and in recent years Eli's Giants have done pretty well at Giants Stadium against the Cowboys as well - all this resulting in Dallas having a sub .500 record in East Rutherford, NJ (14-18 - there was no game at NYG in 1982).

It's been a tough but exciting three decades at Giants Stadium, and here are my favorite Cowboy wins during that time -

6) 2006: 23-20...Romo rolls left and hits Jason Witten on a 42-yard bomb to set up Martin Grammatica's last second, game-winning FG

5) 2003: 35-32...Parcells' first game back to Giants Stadium as a Cowboy. One of Quincy Carter's first passes of the night was intercepted and returned for a touchdown, but he recovered enough to throw for over 300 and lead Dallas to a 29-14 4th quarter lead - but the fun was just getting started. Kerry Collins threw a couple touchdowns and Giants kicked a field goal for a 32-29 lead with 11 seconds left. Then the ensuing kickoff went out of bounds, giving Dallas possession at their 40, and then Carter made the clutchest throw I have ever seen to Antonio Bryant with 4 seconds left at the Giants 34 yard line. Billy Cundiff hit a 52 yard field goal as time expired, and then won the contest in overtime with his 7th field goal of the game. I still remember running around outside in my front yard when they somehow managed to pull this one out.

4) 1985: 30-29...Danny White throws for 4 ints but 343 yards and 3 TDs as the Cowboys win a classic matchup. Phil Simms passed for 432 yards in the loss.

3) 1998: 31-7...Jason Garrett subs for an injured Aikman and throws an 80-yard TD to Billy Davis, as well as a 55-yard bomb to Deion Sanders. Neon Deion also had a 59-yard punt return touchdown and a 71 yard game-sealing interception return, in an incredible prime time performance on MNF.

2) 1992: 34-28...The young and relatively unproven Cowboys had just defeated the defending world champion Redskins and raced out to a stunning 34-0 lead agaisnt their next division rival, only to have Phil Simms lead four second-half toudown drives and cut the Cowboys lead to six points. Dallas needed to convert a critical 3rd and 6 to run out the clock, which Troy Aikman did by completing a nine-yard slant to Michael Irvin to clinch the victory. To me, the team showed great character and a sign of great things to come with this stellar win.

1) 1993: 16-13 (OT)...This game is so famous and Emmitt Smith's gutty performance so iconic that it seems almost anti-climactic to list it here. It's like saying that "Stairway to Heaven" is the best classic rock and roll song. But it did include the greatest individual performance by a Cowboys player ever, all things considered. For the young ones who may not recall what exactly happened on January 2, 1994, this was the game that pitted the 11-4 Cowboys against the surprising 11-4 Giants. The winner would clinch the NFC East and home field throughout the playoffs, the loser would be relegated to the wildcard. Emmitt injured his shoulder at the end of a 46-yard run, but he stayed in to finish the game, which the Cowboys won in overtime. Smith carried the ball 32-161-0 and had 10 catches for 61 additional yards and a touchdown. Not only did the win clinch the NFC East, but it gave the weary and banged up Cowboys a week of rest, which combined with home field propelled them to another world championship, and pretty much cemented Emmitt's honor as the 1993 NFL Most Valuable Player and his place in football valhalla.

Those games in the late 70s were a little before my time. My first memory of the dark-uniformed Cowboys playing at the Giants was in 1980

Felix for 40+

DavidH22 — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 05:55:37 -0000

With his 46-yard TD jaunt in the Raiders game, Felix Jones now has 3 runs of at least 40 yards so far this season.

The other two include a 56-yarder against the Giants and a 40 yarder against the Panthers.

Dude is a big play machine! So far as I can remember, the Cowboys have not had a running back with at least 3 40+ yard running plays since Emmitt in his absolute prime (1993 and 1995). And not to take anything away from Mr. Smith, but he had far more opportunities to break his long runs. Before, then, not even Tony Dorsett himself had as many long runs in a single season.

We all have been frustrated with Felix's various injuries and his lack of carries when healthy. But this is just a little reminder of how truly special he is.

Romo's interceptions

DavidH22 — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 05:41:23 -0000

Do you know what Romo's interception percentage is right now?

It's 1.9 percent, with 7 picks on 359 attempts. Pretty impressive stuff. And it's not like Romo just throws dink-and-dunk passes either, like other QBs who have lower int % but who's names have been changed to protect the weak-armed wusses.

1.9 percent is Aikman-esque. And of course 3 of Romo's 7 interceptions were in the Giants game. Take away that game and his int % is a minscule 1.2%. I for one am looking forward to next week's game, to see if Romo can redeem his earlier play, and continue his virtually mistake-free play.

New Captain Comeback?

DavidH22 — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:25:25 -0000

Sunday's game against Washington was the 10th time that Tony Romo led the team to victory from a 4th quarter deficit or tie.

The games (all first scores are in 4th quarter)

2006:

at Carolina - down 14-10, win 35-14

Indianapolis - down 14-7, win 21-14

at NY Giants - tied 20-20, win 23-20

2007:

at Buffalo - down 24-16, win 25-24

at Detroit - down 27-14, win 28-27

2008

Philadelphia - down 37-31, win 41-37

*at Arizona - down 14-24, tied 24-24 in regulation (lost in OT)

at Washington - down 10-7, win 14-10

2009

at Kansas City - down 13-10, win 26-20 (OT)

at Philadelphia - down 31-10, win 20-16

Washington - down 6-0, win 7-6

(In addition, Romo has led the Cowboys to many more first-half, inside the two-minute warning scoring drives, but the exact number requires more research and my wife is giving me the evil eye)

Keep in mind that Roger Staubach had (I believe) 23 such 4th quarter comebacks in his career. And I think I read in some books and certainly from comments on this blog that oftentimes Staubach's comebacks were needed because of poor game-planning by Landry. Sound familar to anyone?

One key difference, though - Staubach's late-game heroics translated to the postseason (1972 and 1975 divisional playoffs), while Romo's have not. The latter came oh-so-close obviously in the 2006 wildcard, but it wasn't meant to be. Let's see some of that patented late-second magic in the playoffs! Actually, come to think of it, I'd rather just see the Cowboys rout someone in the playoffs...

Cowboys and Redskins at Dallas - A Look Back

DavidH22 — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 21:30:44 -0000

This is of course the first time that the Washington Redskins will visit the new Cowboys Stadium. There were some great match-ups between these two rivals at Texas Stadium, especially in the last 30 years – or as long as I’ve been watching the Cowboys. Now is as good a time as any to take a look back. Here’s my Top Ten Cowboys-Redskins in Texas Stadium Games in the Last 30 Years.

10) Tied - 2000-2002: 32-13 (Dallas), 9-7 (Dallas), 27-20 (Dallas)

In these leans years (three straight 5-11 seasons), you could still count on the Cowboys to crush the Redskins. In these three games the Cowboys were quarterbacked by Troy Aikman (in his last game ever), Anthony Wright and Chad Hutchinson, and the offense passed for just 122 yards per game. But the running game more than picked up the slack, rushing for an astounding 664 yards combined, with Emmitt Smith running for 401 of those yards. Of course, it helped that the Redskins were fielding quarterbacks such as Jeff George, Tony Banks and Danny Wuerffel. Yikes!

9) 2004: 13-10 (Dallas)

In a down year for Bill Parcells’ Cowboys, this game was special if only for the reason that it took a 39-yard bomb to rookie Patrick Crayton with about 30 seconds remaining. Plus, it meant that the Cowboys swept Joe Gibbs’s team his comeback year.

8) 1993: 38-3 (Dallas)

They say that revenge is a dish best served cold. In the first game of the regular season, the defending champion, Emmitt-less Cowboys stumbled against the Redskins and new head coach Richie Pettibon at RFK, losing handily 35-16. Fourteen games later, the Cowboys were rolling toward their second straight NFL Championship and the Redskins were falling apart like a cheap Coney Island t-shirt. Dallas won 38-3, which is the biggest point spread in the history of the rivalry.

7) 2007: 28-23 (Dallas)

It took four Tony Romo touchdown passes to Terrell Owens, a late-game, red-zone interception by Terrence Newman, some clutch 3rd down stops that forced Joe Gibbs to settle for field goals, and a controversial overturned interception to help Dallas eke out a five-point win at Texas Stadium. Redskins QB Jason Campbell threw for 348 yards and 2 TDs.

6) 1996: 21-10 (Dallas)

It was a season where the offense struggled all year long, and the Cowboys were just coming off a 20-6 loss to the lowly Giants where Emmitt rushed for a measly 20 yards and was replaced in the 4th quarter by Sherman Williams. Thanksgiving Day found 7-5 Dallas going up against the 8-4 Redskins. Emmitt took over, rushing for 155 yards and 3 TDs, while the defense stifled Norv Turner’s offense. The Cowboys used that game as a launching pad to win three in a row and their 5th straight NFC East title, while the Redskins crashed-and-burned to 9-7 and out of the playoffs. Interesting note: Aikman had a horrible day passing (19-9-61-0-1) but the team still pulled it out. Guess his “leadership” really won the day.

5) 1992: 23-10 (Dallas)

Opening day of the 1992 season showed that the Cowboys were ready for the prime time stage. Aikman threw a touchdown, Emmitt ran for 140 yards, the defense held the 1991 Super Bowl champs to 260 total yards, and the special teams blocked a punt for a safety and had a punt return TD. What a way to start a Super Bowl winning season.

4) 1997: 17-14 (Dallas)

This was one of the few last-second comebacks led by Aikman, the last hurrah of the Switzer era, and the last Cowboys win of the 1997 season. The game-tying drive included a critical 4th down pass to Irvin, and the two-point conversion to Emmitt could be the only crucial two-pointer in Cowboy history.

3) 1985:44-14 (Dallas)

Joe Theismann famously celebrated his birthday on this opening game Monday Night Football matchup by throwing 5 interceptions. Danny White threw a long bomb to Mike Renfro right before halftime, and the Cowboys were off to winning the last NFC East title of the Tom Landry era. The desert of the late 80s was waiting.

2) 1990: 27-17 (Dallas)

We knew the young Cowboys had something special going when they beat the Redskins on this Thanksgiving day. Aikman, Irvin and Emmitt the rookie all played crucial roles in helping the team come back from a 17-10 second half deficit. The game was over when Emmitt shook off Darrell Green for the clinching 48-yard TD run.

1) 1979: 35-34 (Dallas)

Do I even need to describe this game?

Garrett DOES Have a Running Problem

DavidH22 — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:50:55 -0000

Specifically, he never gives the running game a chance! Let me explain...

I went through the play-by-play of every Dallas game so far this season. And aside from seeing penalty after penalty called on the offense during the most inopportune moments, I also noticed that Garrett hardly ever calls two running plays in a row. Particularly on 1st and 2nd downs. I think that it could be worth it to run twice in a row on those downs. Even if you only gain a total of 4-5 yards total on thos two plays, that is still a manageable 3rd down. And chances are that Barber, Jones or Jones or a combination thereof would game 6-8 yards on two straight carries, further opening up possibilities on 3rd down. But after reviewing every offensive play, I could only find six plays when the Cowboys followed up a 1st down run of 5 yards of less (making it 2nd and 5 or greater) with another run, not counting plays inside the opponents 5-yard line or in run-out-the-clock circumstances. SIX TIMES!!! And two of those six plays were direct snaps to Choice! All the other playcalls were, of course, Romo pass attempts. Now, I'm not certain what the success rate was on those pass plays, but I'd guess they weren't wildly successful. All I know is that many times on these 2nd and 5 or greater, Romo would either throw incomplete, get sacked or there would be a penalty, putting the offense in a very difficult 3rd down situation. I suppose it is possible that Garrett has called consecutive runs but Romo audibled out, but we may never know exactly. All I'm saying is, our line seems to be big and strong and capable of just driving forward. Why not hand the ball off several straight times when the game is still close and see what happens?

Stats Only I May Find Interesting

DavidH22 — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 05:19:11 -0000

Remember when the Cowboys defense started off their first two games with zero sacks, which was so frustrating considering they'd had 105 QB traps in 2007-08? Well, they are now at 21 sacks at the halfway point of the season, scheduled to have 42, although if I were a betting man I'd put the final tally closer to 50 once the 2009 season ends.

We all know how terrible the defense was last year in snagging interceptions, garnering just eight all season long. Midway through this season, they haven't been much better, intercepting six passes through eight games, but like the sacks I expect this number to improve dramatically as well by the end of the year.

Cowboy wide receivers Austin, Crayton, Williams, Hurd and Ogletree have combined for 1473 yards through 8 games so far. If they continue that pace and finish with 2900+ yards, it will be an team record for most yards gained by wide receivers, the previous record being 2818 in 2006 between Owens, Glenn, Crayton and Hurd.

And it's not like the Cowboys offense is like the Cardinals, with just wideouts getting looks. Jason Witten has a solid 44 receptions, but only 8.9 yards a catch. That's alarming. Those are Eric Bjornson-type numbers!

The Cowboys takeaway/giveaway ratio is +/-0, a precarious equilibrium. If the defense manages to grab a fumble or interception before the offense coughs it up, it will be the first time that the Cowboys have had more takeways than turnovers since December 30, 2007. That's a season and a half of being in the red!

A Fast Start...For Once

DavidH22 — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 14:26:56 -0000

I'd love to see the Cowboys take the opening kickoff on Sunday, or force the Seahawks to punt on their initial drive and take possession, and then drive down the field for a touchdown right off the bat.

So far this season, the Cowboys offense has not scored a touchdown on their first possession. The only time they scored any points at all the first time they touched the ball was in Week 1, when they barely moved into field goal range. This inability to score seven points immediately goes back to 2008, where they last did it in the 12th game of the season. So that makes 10 consecutive games where they have failed to score a TD coming out of the gate.

Of course, this trend often means that the Cowboys fall quickly behind, or at least frustrate the heck out of us fans. Of course, we all know that Romo has always had a problem with early-game jitters, so that probably has the most to do with the offense's overall sluggishness to start games. In addition, perhaps Garrett is also just being cautious at the beginning, trying to find out the opposing teams defensive tendencies and such.

Whatever the reason, I'd love to see an early touchdown against the Seahawks by about 1:10pm EST. And for what it's worth, when they last scored a touchdown on their opening drive - which was in the 12th game of last season - it was against this same Seattle team. It's time to set the offensive tone again!

Romo's Greatest Hits

DavidH22 — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:22:44 -0000

The scramble and touchdown pass against the Falcons to Crayton was special in many different ways, but it's just what we've come to expect from Tony Romo.

Just for fun, below are some of Romo's more famous "miracle plays." Take some time to watch them, it will be worth your time. There were a few plays that I couldn't find footage for on NFL.com, such as when he evaded the rush against the Redskins in 2006 and slipped a quick pass to Barber to get a FG right before the half, or when he dropped the ball in the end zone against Detroit in 2006 and picked it up and threw a first down completion to Owens. And the below list doesn't include any of his last second-heroics or near-great moments either. Am I missing any magical plays?

2007 vs. Dolphins http://www.nfl.com/videos/dallas-cowboys/09000d5d8026eb42/Tony-Curtis-Highlight-WK-2-vs-Dolphins-2007

2007 vs. St. Louis http://www.nfl.com/videos/dallas-cowboys/09000d5d802d2b6d/Can-t-Miss-Play-Tony-Romo-scramble

2007 vs Giants http://www.nfl.com/videos/dallas-cowboys/09000d5d8041d57d/Tony-Curtis-Highlight-WK-0-vs-Giants-2007

2008 vs. Pittsburgh http://www.nfl.com/videos/dallas-cowboys/09000d5d80d23498/Tony-Romo-Highlight-WK-14-vs-Steelers-2008

2009 vs. Denver http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-videos/09000d5d8132e035/Tony-Romo-Highlight-WK-04-vs-Broncos-2009