Under a post called Priorities, Priorities, Priorities that I put up a few days ago, I laid out an ambitious offseason plan that Dallas could implement. Several people thought I was stretching what we could do. By way of this post, I want to add a new argument about just how aggressive Dallas could be. Let's look at what Philly did last year.

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Here's who Philly added in the offseason last year, including the contracts they signed.

09/04/2011 Claimed G Kyle DeVan off waivers from the Indianapolis Colts (did not last)

08/10/2011 Agreed to terms with WR Steve Smith on a one-year deal (26) ($4 million)

08/02/2011 Agreed to terms on a one-year deal with S Jarrad Page (did not last)

08/02/2011 Agreed to terms with RB Ronnie Brown on a one-year deal (30) ($1 million)

07/31/2011 Agreed to terms on one-year deal with G Evan Mathis ($735K)

07/30/2011 Agreed to terms on one-year deal with LB Akeem Jordan ($735K)

07/30/2011 Agreed to terms on five-year deal with DT Cullen Jenkins (31) ($25 million)

07/29/2011 Agreed to terms on five-year deal with DE Jason Babin (31) ($28 million)

07/29/2011 Agreed to terms on five-year deal with CB Nnamdi Asomugha (30) ($60 million)

07/29/2011 Agreed to terms on one-year deal with QB Vince Young (28) ($4 million)

07/28/2011 Acquired CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (25) ($950K in 2011, $1.9 mill in 2012) and 2012 second round draft pick for QB Kevin Kolb.

07/26/2011 Agreed to terms with P Chas Henry ($500 K)

04/30/2011 Eagles select LB Brian Rolle with No. 193 pick in the NFL Draft

04/30/2011 Eagles select C Jason Kelce with No. 191 pick in the NFL Draft

04/30/2011 Eagles select OL Julian Vandervelde with No. 161 pick in the NFL Draft

04/30/2011 Eagles select RB Dion Lewis with No. 149 pick in the NFL Draft

04/30/2011 Eagles select K Alex Henery with No. 120 pick in the NFL Draft

04/30/2011 Eagles select LB Casey Matthews with No. 116 pick in the NFL Draft

04/29/2011 Eagles select CB Curtis Marsh with No. 90 pick in the NFL Draft

04/29/2011 Eagles select S Jaiquawn Jarrett with No. 54 pick in the NFL Draft

04/28/2011 Eagles select G Danny Watkins with No. 23 pick in first round of NFL Draft

02/11/2011 DE Phillip Hunt - Signed to a three-year deal (26) ($500K)

(I pasted in this list from a poster on a Philly board.)

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By comparison, here's my list for who the Cowboys should go after in free agency, matched against the Eagles' free agents. .

1. OG Carl Nicks = contract more than, but comparable to Asomougha (5 yr, $60 mil)

2. C Chris Myers = contract for less than Cullen Jenkins (5 yr, $25 mil)

3. OLB Anthony Spencer = contract comparable to Jason Babin (5 yr, $28 mil)

4. WR Laurent Robinson = contract for longer, but would cost less than Steve Smith in 2011 ($4 mil)

5. Free agent CB = contract could be done for less in 2012 than Vince Young cost in 2011 ($4 million)

6. Free Agent ILB = contract could be done comparable to Mathis + Jordan + Hunt ($2 mil)

7. Rex Grossman = costs about what Ronnie Brown cost ($1.15 million in 2011 v. $1 million for Brown)

8. FA Safety = No comparable

9. Punter = If McBriar, will cost more ($2 mil) than Chas Henry ($500K)

I think my plan could be done for no more than what Philly's plan cost them in 2011 because first year's of free agent contracts can always be structured to be no more than veteran minimums plus pro-rated signing bonuses. So, while I agree Carl Nicks will cost more than Nnamdi Asomougha over the life of the deal, he needn't cost any more in 2012. Meanwhile, Myers will cost less than Jenkins, Robinson will cost less than Smith, a free agent CB could be had for no more than Vince Young's 1 year cost, etc. etc.

The other thing I would note is that Philly spent a lot of money on mostly over-30 guys. Whereas my plan for the Cowboys would be to sign everyone under 30, with the lone exceptions of Chris Myers and Rex Grossman.

It's very doable in terms of cost for the Cowboys to implement this plan.

There is a lot the Cowboys need to do this offseason to be contenders next year. We have holes in the interior of the offensive line, a pass rush that is not good enough to threaten Eli Manning or other passers who can carve up our defense, and serious weaknesses in the secondary. We also have other issues: interior linebacking, third wide receiver, backup QB, third tight end, fullback, and punter. How do you go about filling all these holes?

The first thing you need to do is prioritize.

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I believe the Cowboys most need to improve their strength in the trenches if they want to be Super Bowl contenders again. Given the amount of money they have to spend -- upwards of $20 million -- and the ability to push some cap money out of this season, I think the Cowboys could be very agressive in free agency.

With that in mind, these would be my targets.

1. Mario Williams. Williams will command a lot of money, but he's likely worth it, as he could give us a powerful rusher opposite DeMarcus Ware. His sack totals were declining at DE, but he got 5 in 5 games at OLB under Wade's scheme. This is a better move than re-signing Anthony Spencer.

2. Carl Nicks. What Williams would mean to the defense, Carl Nicks could mean to the offense. We desperately need to shore up the interior of the offensive line, and Nicks is the best out there.

3. Chris Myers. Nicks alone cannot fix our o-line interior. We need a savvy veteran center who is still young enough to give us a few years. Myers could be that guy.

4. Laurent Robinson. We have our own free agents to consider, and Robinson is at the top of the list. He had instant rapport with Tony Romo, was able to stand in for Miles Austin or Dez Bryant, gives us a deep threat, and scores TDs. Plus, he really wants to stay in Dallas.

These 4 I put in the high priority bin. Then there are some others of lesser importance, but still free agents we need to consider signing.

5. Tony Fiammetta. We saw this year what happened to our run game when Fiammetta was hurt. A quality fullback should thus be considered a necessity, not an afterthought. My only reluctance here is the mysterious ailment Fiammetta came down with during the season. He's worth keeping if he can stay healthy. If not, we might consider looking elsewhere.

6. Martellus Bennett. We've all been underwhelmed by Martellus Bennett. But I believe he's worth keeping because: a) he's our best blocking TE, b) he knows the system and catches a reasonable number of balls given our other offensive options, and c) to replace him would cost us either more free agent money or a draft pick we need to spend elsewhere.

7. A safety. I don't have a name to insert here. Had LaRon Landry gotten surgery, I would have pushed to sign him to a make-do contract. But I don't trust his ability to stay healthy based on rest alone, since I read where the Drs. recommended surgery to eliminate what was irritating his Achilles. Without great options in the draft, I think safety is one of the areas we have to consider signing a free agent. We could always re-sign Abe Elam if we had no better options.

8. A backup QB. We saw the importance of this position when Chicago lost Cutler and Houston lost Straub. We also know that we cannot rely on McGee. He doesn't make decisions quickly enough, and therefore is unable to look and throw downfield. I would trade him while we still might get a draft pick, before his contract needs renewing. There aren't great options out there for backups. Despite his horrible turnover ratios, the best option might be Rex Grossman. Garrett got Jon Kitna to take care of the ball. He might be able to do the same for Rex, if we need him. (One reason to invest so much in the O-line is to keep Tony Romo healthy.)

There will be other signings, but these strike me as the key. Notice that if we were so lucky to sign all of these guys, we would be very well positioned for the draft.

In the draft, our targets would still be the offensive and defensive lines and cornerback for the first three rounds. By signing high-impact free agents to shore up both lines, it would enable us to go in any number of directions based on who was available. We might still take David DeCastro to build a DOMINANT O-line. Our O-line was a huge reason why the Triplets had HOF careers, and amassed 3 Super Bowl wins. We might also take a defensive lineman, if, say, Quentin Coples somehow fell to #14. Not likely, but if he was there, he'd be worth considering. Or we could take a CB if he was the highest rated available player.

My own preference would be to go for DeCastro unless a potentially dominant rusher like Coples were still on the board. I would go after a CB in the second round.

Build from the inside out. Protect Tony Romo and open running lanes for our dominant RBs, and on the other side, get to the QB. That would be my preference.

You may say it would cost too much money to sign Williams, Nicks, Myers, and Robinson, plus the other guys we need to sign. My response is that it's very possible to sign new free agents because they don't count much against the cap in their first year, and in later years, the Cowboys should be free of any dead money.

That's my wish list. I think it's very doable.

Whatever happens Sunday, here's my take on how the Cowboys could improve going forward.

1. Improve the coaching. Norv Turner is almost certain to be on the market, and no team is going to hire him as a head coach again, so if he doesn't want to go into broadcasting, he's likely going to land somewhere as an assistant. Why not back with Dallas, where he could be offensive coordinator merging his ideas with Jason Garrett and letting Garrett focus more on the big picture? The Dallas offense is good, but not great. It needs to be great if we want to win. If Turner won't accept, I would go after Tony Sparano for the offensive side to add some needed toughness. He could also call plays, and help Houck get more out of the O-line.

2. Improve the offensive line. Our defense can't be fixed in one year, but our offense could be with a stronger offensive line. Think Green Bay, New Orleans, New England, Philly, even the Giants. We need an offense that can compete with any of them. A 40-point offense, not just a 30-point one. We have the QB, wideouts, running backs, and tight ends. We just need the linemen. We have our tackles, even if we need to flip them. Do you think we can rely on any of the young guys we have -- Costa (undrafted), Kowalski (undrafted), Nagy (7th round), or Arkin (4th round) -- to play at a high level? I doubt it. That means we need to draft a guard or center fairly high, even in the first round, so they can start in 2012. Between the other 4, hopefully they can fill the other slot. But I would also consider coming back to the O-line later in the draft -- even as high as the third round. Dockery and Holland are not the answer, but one of them might provide veteran depth. We also need a better backup tackle than Jeremy Parnell.

3. Upgrade the secondary. A lot of ink will be written about whether we should focus on the pass rush, or the coverage. I think we should focus first on the coverage. Newman needs to go because his $8 million cap hit is way too high for his production and we need that money elsewhere. Alan Ball is also a liability. And we can probably do better than Abe Elam at safety. I think we should draft a CB or two, and sign a safety. Laron Landry might be had for a make-do contract if Washington lets him go.

4. Change out the linebackers. James and Brookings no longer have enough speed, and should not be re-signed. Hopefully Carter can step in full time here. But we'll have to add some depth here.

5. Re-sign Bennett and Spencer. These guys get ragged on constantly. I think we should keep them both unless someone offers Spencer a huge deal. Bennett isn't Jason Witten, but he's our best blocking TE, and can catch 2-3 balls a game. We would miss his invisible production if we let him go. Plus, with needs elsewhere, we can't afford a high draft pick on TE. The same is largely true for Spencer. I'd rather spend the first pick on an offensive lineman to protect Romo and open holes for Murray/Jones than on a DE/OLB who might, if he's lucky, get one more sack than Spencer's 6. On defense, I'd rather spend the next pick on a CB. We shouldn't focus on where Spencer or Bennett were picked in the draft. The question should be, what would it take to improve the production at their positions, and what would it cost us elsewhere if we did that? We can do better than them, but it will cost us our first and second or third draft picks, and then where do we go to fix our secondary or offensive line? This is a prioritizing issue. If you want to let these guys go, you have to recognize we will end up with holes elsewhere.

6. Sign a new backup QB. McGee is not the answer. He has the physical skills. He just can't see the field well enough and quick enough to be an effective passer. I would try to trade him, sign a veteran like Kyle Orton, and look for a Matt Moore or Tony Romo to cultivate for depth. Romo is regularly dinged during the year. We need someone who can win 2-4 games for us if necessary.

What this doesn't do is fix the pass rush. Of course I'd love to do that too, but I believe our pass rush/run defense is good enough to win if we give our offense the line it has needed since we won our last Super Bowl. That's the direction I'd go. If we had more free agent money, I'd spend it on another impact player, either at CB, safety, defensive line, or linebacker. I'm just not sure who's available at the moment.

How long have we been waiting for the Cowboys to show some dominance over a hated opponent? It seems like a long time. There were the back-to-back wins over Philly in 2009, including our first playoff victory in more than a decade. There was the pretty dominant 2007 regular season team, Wade's first, that lost a tough game to the Giants in the playoffs when we allowed Eli to march down the field right before halftime to tie it up. That team beat the Giants twice I believe in the regular season, but couldn't when it counted. Do we have to go all the way back to Jimmy Johnson's Cowboys for real Boys' dominance? Barry Switzer oversaw the playoff debacle against the 49ers when, had Jimmy been the coach, we likely would have won our 3rd SB in a row on the way to 4 straight. Those Switzer teams were capable, but didn't have the same swagger that Jimmy helped provide. This year's team has had dominant performances against the lowly Rams and somewhat better Bills. We were dominating the Jets and the Lions until late turnovers cost us both games. No other win has been dominant, and the weakness of those opponents undermines the Boys' accomplishments. I'm just waiting for the Cowboys to be the team that dominates from the opening whistle till the end of the game against a team that is also in the hunt and desperate for a win to make the playoffs. There is no better time for that to happen than tomorrow night. A dominant win should carry the team to wins over the Bucs and Eagles, and make the final game in NY meaningless. It would set the Boys up for first round success against any wild card opponent, and allow the team to go to Green Bay with a fighting chance. Do I expect that to happen? No. But it would be awfully nice.

I've seen it repeated here and on ESPN that Bailey has won 3 games with kicks this year. But by my recollection, it's 4 -- SF in overtime (making up for his last miss), both Washington games (scoring all 18 points in one and kicking the OT field goal in the other), and yesterday against Miami. Indeed, you could make a case that Bailey is one of the most valuable Cowboys this season since, by comparison, we lost several games last year because Buehler missed kicks. (Buehler was 24 of 32 last year, or 30th out of 32 teams in accuracy.)

I think the "underachiever" label has fit the Cowboys perfectly for many years. Can you think of the last season where our team did better than you expected all the way through?

13-3 was nice, but it was followed by a home loss to the Giants in the playoffs. The next season ended 9-7 sitting home for the playoffs, with the 44-3 debacle in Philly leaving a sour taste in everyone's mouth.

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If the Cowboys are to have a winning record and make the playoffs, it will depend on:

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Now that we've all seen games where teams kick off from the 35 yard line, how do you think that's going to change the game? Here are some initial thoughts.

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Have the Cowboys lucked out this season?  The NFC East has no team that looks ready to run away with things. 

Washington just blew a 17-point lead to the Texans at home.   Any number of plays would have iced the game for Washington, and they blew them all.  Plus their new LT was dinged up.  There is no depth on that team.  Shanahan will do his best, which means they will be in the hunt for 8-8 or 9-7.  But they are flawed.

The Eagles look the most dangerous with Michael Vick at QB.  He nearly brought them back against GB, and led a high scoring attack in Detroit.  But they gave up 32 to the Lions, and Kolb is the QB as soon as his concussion clears. 

The Giants are absolutely awful.  They beat an even-worse Panthers team.  But they have no hope.  The oline is in worse shape than ours, which means no running game.  And they can't win many with Eli trying to pass his way to victory. 

The division also has touch matchups against the AFC South and NFC North. 

Thus, 9-7 looks like a division-winning record.  8-8 with the right tiebreakers might be enough.  This is the only silver lining I can find in our 0-2 start. 

I don't think the Cowboys have a talent problem.  Yes, we could use some younger, more athletic offensive linemen to join Doug Free.  But was the Bears' oline better than ours?  The Cowboys can win with the talent on this line.  They haven't lost all their skills in one year. 

What I think is that the Cowboys largely have a mental toughness problem.  It includes the coaches too.

1.  Why do our wide receivers give animated gestures every time they make a first down?  Austin does it.  RW does it.  Dez Bryant has joined the parade.  This bugs me.  Celebrate if you score a TD, okay?  Otherwise, get back to the huddle for the next play.  When we've scored all of 2 TDs on the year, and lost both games, there is no cause for celebration by anyone on the team. 

2.  Why the heck did management even trade for Alex Barron, the most penalized lineman in the NFL last year?  This was a move that completely undermined team morale.  Not only does Barron draw multiple holding calls in his first, and hopefully only, game, but he makes the one that costs the Cowboys the first game of the season.  Jimmy Johnson never would have stood for having a guy like this on one of his Cowboys' teams.

3.  After doing #2, management could have fixed the problem, and really helped restore team morale by cutting Barron the day after his penalty cost us the Washington game.  This could have done more to show that management is not willing to tolerate half-hearted effort, or stupid penalties, than any other action.  Yet, by coddling Barron, the Boys may have killed their season.  Now, no one is accountable.  You can't win that way.

4.  We have Buehler as FG kicker in part because he has a monster leg.  I'm sure he can kick from nearly 60 yards over the goal posts 9 out of 10 times.  Yet in both of our first two games, McBriar punted when the FG try would have been under 55 yards.  3 points in either game could have made all the difference.  Both punts went into the end zone, netting us less than 20 yards of field position.  I say let Buehler kick the long ones.  Chalk this up to the category of not allowing the players we have to do what we have them here for. 

5.  Where's the physicality in our play, especially on offense?  We manhandled the Eagles at the end of last year.  This year, we don't look like we have any interest in mixing it up.  The team just looks horribly soft.   For this I have no solution.  We miss Tony Sparano. 

Cowboys need a big jolt.  The proper move would be to cut Barron for blowing the block that negated the winning TD.   Instead of elation to get a win we didn't deserve, the Cowboys are looking at a season that could quickly go down the tubes.  Forget the Super Bowl.  This team is going to be fighting just to make the playoffs if they don't wake up and figure it out. 

This is a move Jimmy Johnson would make.

From reading various post-game analyses, you wonder why the Cowboys have stuck with this cast-off for so long.  We paid a 5th rounder for him I think.  Yet he couldn't get acclimated to the offense, then couldn't stay healthy.  Now he's penalty-ridden, and can't get to the second level.  Runs to his side are futile.  He doesn't mesh well with Free and Gurode on pass blocking, leading to free guys coming in on Romo.  And I'm sure his contract is up there as well. 

Anyone have a redeeming thing to say about Holland?  Why not keep, and play, the younger guy who might quickly overtake Holland if given a few plays?  I'd rather have a guy on the upside trying to work his tail off to get better than the overweight, slow, penalty-prone Holland.

If they aren't ready to move Brewster in there, then go with one of the other young guys.  Or consider making a cut-down type trade like we did when we got Holland in the first place. 

After the Cowboys drafted Dez Bryant, the Cowboys should have cut Roy Williams this offseason because it wouldn’t have caused them any cap hit.

Now they have compounded the problem by preparing to cut Patrick Crayton. If you look at the stats from last season, Patrick had one less catch than Roy, but gained more yardage. He had 5 TDs to 7 for Roy. Roy fumbled, Patrick didn’t. Compare yourself.

Player G Rec Yds Yd/G Avg Long TDs Fum Fum Lost
R. Williams 15 38 596 39.7 15.68 66t 7 1 1
P. Crayton 16 37 622 38.9 16.81 80t 5 0 0

Crayton also contributed on special teams by averaging 12.1 yards per punt return, his highest total ever. He also broke a couple for TDs.

Player G Ret FC Yds Avg Long TDs
P. Crayton 16 36 23 437 12.1 82t 2

Then there’s this:
Incomplete Pass Information
Targets Drops Percent Caught Percent First Down
86 8 44.2 33.7

Incomplete Pass Information
Targets Drops Percent Caught Percent First Down
67 4 55.2 40.3

Guess which one is Roy and which is Patrick? Of course the first is Roy.

To sum up, Roy catches 1 more ball despite being thrown 19 more balls, for fewer yards and a lower average, two more TDs, but a turnover that Patrick didn’t have, for a lower percentage of first downs, and he doesn’t play special teams, where Crayton was by far the best punt returner, and at 12.1 yards per return, he ranked 3rd in the NFL.

Objectively speaking, you would have to keep Patrick Crayton over Roy Williams. When you factor in that Patrick outperforms Roy for a tiny fraction of his salary, it is pretty ridiculous. But this is what happens when the owner goes all in for a player that turns out to be a big mistake. Maybe Dez Bryant can stay healthy and relegate Roy to #3 receiver, where he’ll produce almost as well as Patrick Crayton, and the whole thing will be a wash. Albeit with a lot of wasted money by the Cowboys that needs to be invested in the Offensive line.

I think there is no way to sugarcoat it at this point.  The Cowboys offensive line performance has so far reminded me a lot of the Washington Redskin's O-line woes from last season, when Jason Campbell and the running game had essentially no chance because no one could block up front.  All you had to do to defeat their offense was to bring the pressure, making sure not to open up any quick trapping running lanes in the process.  Campbell spent far too much time on the turf, and runners went no where or backwards much of the time. 

I'm really starting to wonder if Football Outsiders may be right.  The over-under for the Cowboys win totals for the year might be 7.5 wins.  Because without an offensive line pass and run-blocking effectively, it's gonna be ugly.  Cowboys play plenty of teams that can bring the heat.  And if that's the book on beating us, they'll bring it more and more. 

Last year, that didn't work that effectively.  Our line both pass and run blocked very well.  So how could it go down hill so fast?  It's a good question.  But last night, it wasn't just a factor of too many guys rushing to pick everyone up.  A lot of the guys who got through WERE BLOCKED.  Or only sort-of blocked.  And it wasn't just Barron and Holland being abused.  It was Gurode and Bigg and everyone up and down the line. 

Maybe the guys are just tired.  Too many preseason games.  No breaks.  Moving from San Antonio to Oxnard with road pre-season games in between.  Kosier and Colombo hurt.  Things can snowball. 

I'll just say this.  If the line doesn't show DRAMATIC improvement over what they've shown the last few weeks, the Cowboys aren't going to win the Division or even make the playoffs.  We don't have enough patsy opponents this year to get by on weaker line play than we've had the last several years. 

P.S.  I could write another post on the defensive side of the ball, which has been pushed around by power running attacks the last two weeks, and last night looked like it had huge gaps in the secondary, especially on underneath throws.   But while I think the defense will look better when it starts scheming, the O-line needs to show that it can block people, and so far it hasn't been able to.     

 

I read Bob Sturm's blog entry on the game today, in which he picks Minnesota to win.  http://www.sturminator.blogspot.com/

I don't agree with it.  And one of the biggest factors is because I think the Vikings have fattened up on a much weaker schedule than Dallas has had. 

Here's the Vikes' schedule.

1.  Win at Cleveland.  2.  Win at Detroit.  3.  Beat SF on miracle last play at home.  4.  Beat GB at home.  5.  Win at Rams.  6.  Beat Ravens at home b/c Ravens miss 44-yard FG at the end.  7.  Lose at Pitt.  8.  Win at GB.  9.  Beat Detroit at home.  10.  Beat Seattle at home.  11.  Beat Bears at home.  12.  Lose at Arizona.  13.  Beat Cincy at home.  14.  Lose at Carolina.   15.  Lose at Bears.  16.  Crush Giants at home. 

In this list, I consider the wins against GB to be the only two quality wins.   The win over Cincy is a maybe, only because they ran the ball well against a normally stout run defense. 

But there were also two miracle home wins that should have been losses -- to SF and the Ravens. 

I think the Vikings are far more dangerous in the dome than they would have been on the road.  Even so, they haven't faced a single team all year that can play a complete game like the Cowboys can and will -- running, passing, defense, and special teams.  Which means they need all the breaks to go their way.  

If the Cowboys protect the ball, and stay committed to the run even if Minny stuffs it early off an adrenaline rush,  I believe we will win the game by more than 7 points. 

As fantastic as Sunday's game was, the good news is that Dallas has yet to really reach it's potential. 

I'd say the defense is pretty much there with the back-to-back shutouts.  That's due a lot to great special teams play that backed Philly up on every possession.   It's also due to great ball possession by the offense.  And the defense can bring the pressure without having to blitz, which keeps opposing O-coordinators guessing. 

But the offense is still short when it comes to turning yards into points.  If 100 yards is worth 7 points, then we should have scored 35 yesterday. 

I expect for that to start clicking at some point here in the postseason.  It would be really nice that, instead of 24 points being our norm, that something north of 30 points becomes our offensive norm.  Because if we get there, no one is going to outscore us the way our D is playing. 

I think either team could win this game.  It could be a close barnstormer, like last year's opening game in Dallas.  Or it could be a lopsided affair, as it was at the end of last year, or the 2007 game when Dallas came in and dominated Philly.  Of all the outcomes, I'd say a dominant Dallas win is the least likely, but it is certainly possible.  If you bottle up Philly's weak running game and pressure McNabb, they can get frustrated on offense. 
 
That being said, here are my thoughts on keys to the game for Dallas.
 
1.  Protect the ball.  If you look at the stats of the two teams, what jumps out is the turnovers Philly has generated.  If we hand them the ball, they are going to beat us, plain and simple.  And one turnover tends to morph into multiple turnovers, as Philly is able to gamble more with a lead, bring the blitz, jump routes, etc.  If I had only one key to the game, and I'm tempted, this would be it.  Equalize or win the turnover battle, and I think we win the game.  Lose it and I think we lose the game. 
 
2.  Pressure and sack McNabb.  Oakland beat them by sacking McNabb 6 times.  When he has to run for it, his passes lose their accuracy and their offense can become ineffective. 
 
3.  Don't let Jackson get behind the secondary.  We beat them in Dallas last year even though Jackson had a long TD hookup.  But that's not a recipe for winning.  The Eagles are not a team that dinks and dunks its way down the field any more.  They like the HR ball.  Stifle that and they become far less effective. 
 
4.  Cover KOs and punts.  Our special teams play has been outstanding in both areas this year.  But Jackson will test us.  We need to neutralize them at least.  It would be nice if either FJ or Crayton broke off some good returns of our own. 
 
5.  Use Felix Jones more.  One pass on Sunday to FJ was Romo's easiest of the day -- judging by how wide open the receiver was and how quickly the ball came out -- and it went for 30 yards.  This same play went for even more yards to open the season.  With Philly likely sending lots of blitzers, the Cowboys need to use these outlet passes and screens to burn Philly and force them to consider dialing the pressure down a bit or pay for it.  A well-designed trap/draw can also beat some blitzes, though Philly tends to try to get the runner on the way to the QB. 
 
6.  Don't force it to Roy.  Romo to Williams needs to get fixed, and the sooner the better.  But if it's not working early the same way it hasn't been working the last couple of games, then go somewhere else to keep the chains moving.  10 guys caught passes this last week, and Tashard was not even one of them.  There are enough options out there without missing on Roy passes over and over again. 
 
7.  Keep hitting hard and forcing turnovers.  Lately we've been getting these.  The streak needs to continue and get better.
 
8.  Let Choice run if MBIII is still too slow.  MBIII had some nice holes and a couple of nice runs Sunday.  But he can't get too far because it is obvious his leg is not near 100%.  Given those same holes, Choice would likely have had quite a few more yards.  If you aren't going to give those runs to FJ, then give a few to Choice.  Granted, MBIII is still the best blocker.  But in terms of running skill, with a bum leg he's the 3rd best choice (unless you are talking short yardage). 
 
9.  Use the tight end down the middle and to keep the chains moving.  Boss had some of the Giants' best plays down the middle.  Witten used to beat Dawkins here regularly.  I'm still waiting for Dallas to throw this pass to the faster Bennett, who might actually break it all the way.  Also, Philly's corners have a lot of their picks, but are less likely to cover the TEs. 
 
10.  Be more physical.  We have a huge, bruising offensive line.  And Philly's offensive line, while in better shape than it was a few weeks ago, still has holes.  We need to win the battle in the trenches.  Philly often makes up for this by bringing unique blitzes and by swarming.  Still, when Dallas has won these matchups, it is usually b/c we find ways to take advantage of our superior size.  This game should be no different. 

 

We all know the issues the Cowboys need to improve on.

1.  Romo's INTs.  Romo has said he's going to cut down on his turnovers.  And so far, he's at least looking better at handling the ball and cutting down on fumbles.  But he laid an egg against the Giants and needs to do much better.

2.  Pass coverage.  This is the other reason we lost the Giants' game.  Newman, Scandrick, and Jenkins didn't get it done against the G-men.  And they were fairly well torched the previous game against Tampa too. 

3.  Forcing turnovers.  I'd say this is even more important than generating sacks.  It probably won't come, however, until the coverage is better and the pressure improves.

4.  Generating pressure.  No sacks in 2 games after leading the league.  Wade's got to figure this one out. 

5.  Stopping the run.  Very bad against Tampa.  Very good against the Giants. 

6.  Catching the ball.  The WRs were wide open against Tampa, but gained nothing against the Giants.  More consistency is needed.

7.  Running the ball.  Tremendous game against the Giants.  OK game against Tampa.  Could use more consistency if teams start stacking the box. 

The point I want to make in this post is that I think all of these problems are correctable over the course of the season with the players we currently have on the team.  And I thnk it may be a good thing to get a wake-up game like the one against the Giants early to keep the team from getting complacent and thinking they've got if figured out.  This is a team that to be successful is going to have to improve every week. 

No one should care where we rank on offense or defense over the course of the season.  The only thing that should matter is how we play each game, and have we improved. 

We've got young guys in the secondary who are likely to get better.  We've got a prideful veteran CB who knows how to step up his game.  We have an experienced DC at head coach who knows how to make adjustments to get pressure on QBs.  We've got a QB who has played plenty of great games, and has more often than not won them. 

There's no guarantees that this team will come together and get stronger as the season goes on, unlike the Cowboys teams of recent vintage.  But I think some early adversity could be better than getting off to a start where the team thinks it has already arrived, only to find out in December that the teams that keep improving are now better than us. 

 

One thing will be interesting to see this year is how the Cowboys deploy Felix Jones.  Clearly they underutilized him last season, which may have led to his hammy pull (after which he messed up his toe and missed the season). 

 This year, the Cowboys plan on starting MBIII again, spelling him with Felix after the defense is used to MBIII's (lesser) speed. 

 I think this is a mistake.  If Barber were truly a guy who beat up teams, ala Brandon Jacobs, I could more easily see the value of saving the speed guy until the defense was tired.  But I don't think MBIII is that guy.  Sure, he runs very hard, and bangs guys.  But if they are fresh, he isn't so big that he's going to win most of those early head butts.  (He's 6 ft. 222.  FJ is 6 ft., 218.)  When they are tired, he's a load to tackle, but not so much when they are fresh.  I think the "proof" is in the much lower YPC totals he posted as a starter v. as a finisher.  (4.8 in 2007 v. 3.7 in 2008).  (Sure, some of this should be chalked up to Kyle Kosier's injury.) 

 Felix Jones, on the other hand, is to me the best RB the Cowboys have, and by a pretty good margin.  On any given play, he has the chance to take it to the house.  He had the longest run from scrimmage last season on only 30 carries, and consistently had long runs despite only a few chances per game.  He has the longest pass play this pre-season, a little dump off he turned into a 42-yard romp by blowing by 3 guys who thought they had him boxed in. 

By starting Jones, the Cowboys are more likely to give him the most carries, which he should have.  He's going to win the YPC race, I think pretty easily, no matter how many carries you give him.  And it's not as if he's can't be durable enough.  He's 6 feet, 218, just 4 lbs less than MBIII at the same height.  Chris Johnson, who is 5'11" 200, got 250 carries last year for the Titans. 

Jones is also likely to force defenses to adjust to start games more than MBIII will.  I think teams think they can stop Barber early with their standard defense.  He doesn't have the speed to burn them long, and hasn't proven he can run, run, run down the field early in games.  So they don't have to stack the box.  Deeper safeties will help cut off the Cowboys' passing game, both to WRs and to the talented TEs. 

Putting Jones in the game to start forces more of a problem.  You almost have to stack the box to keep him penned in, b/c if he gets into space he'll kill you.  But this will open up better deep passing opptys, esp. off play action.  And, the Cowboys will more likely gain yardage when they do run b/c Jones is scary good when he gets to the edge, but that means the area between the tackles should also be open as defenses have to cover the field side-to-side.  Don't think Felix Jones can't run between the tackles.  He can, and against a spread D with safeties up, it won't take a huge hole for him to threaten some home runs that way as well. 

I would use MBIII on short yardage, near the end zone, when we have a lead, and as a closer when defenses are too tired to handle his style of running.   Those are the places where MBIII excels.  I don't see him as that far above average as a starting tailback in the beginning of games. 

If you ignored the contracts, which the Cowboys should do, I think starting Jones is the best plan.  MBIII played best when he backed up Julius Jones.  It's time to return him to that role.  He'll stay fresh and healthy that way too. 

Of course, that leaves Tashard Choice, who is good enough to start himself, as he proved last year against Pitt and Baltimore.  Problem for him is he's not better than Felix Jones.  And he's not the same banger as MBIII is.  What he can do, though, is keep both of those guys as fresh as possible, so maybe we can win some December games for a change.  I would use Choice extensively whenever we have a significant lead.  I would also use him to spell both Jones and MBIII if they are looking at all tired or have sustained any type of injury.  I would also phase him in more as the season wears on and Jones' and MBIII's carries accumulate. 

When you think of historic Cowboys running backs, the guy I would liken Felix Jones most to is Tony Dorsett.  I'm not sure we've had that kind of speed at RB since Dorsett.  Of course, Dorsett was a lot smaller than Felix, at 5'11" 192.  Yet he was more than able to run between the tackles. 

Love to read your comments.

VAfan

Just wanted to point out that the Cowboys never won a playoff game during Greg Ellis's 12 years with the team. 

Of course, there is no correlation between him being on the team and that run of futility.  But it is an easy way to mark the sorriest stretch of the Dallas Cowboys' great history. 

 

(Note: we also didn't win a playoff game the year before Ellis arrived, but this doesn't change my observation.)

All the articles about Roy Williams talk about Romo and Roy spending time this offseason getting in sync.  20-30 minutes per day, several days per week, is what I have read.

I guess my question is -- is Romo spending any time getting in sync with Miles Austin, who many people feel will leapfrog Patrick Crayton into the starting lineup opposite Roy? 

And, if the answer is no, then why not?  Austin has something like 18 catches in his CAREER.  Wouldn't time with him be equally well spent? 

Ditto for Isaiah Stanback and Sam Hurd.  Romo needs to be in sync with all his potential receivers, doesn't he? 

New turf was laid at Heinz Field right before the Pitt/WV game just over a week ago.  The Steelers played on the road last week.  So that field has had only 1 game played on it.  Plus, if it really is in the 20s, it will harden up, yet not be rock hard.

The result?  Expect a faster field than everyone is predicting.  That should help the Cowboys. 

It will be the wind, more than the turf, that will affect play.  I expect us to have a game plan similar to our victory in Washington, where the swirling wind kept Romo from chucking it deep.  He's just got to be careful not to throw those slant passes to Steelers.   

Count me among those who felt the commissioner's punishment this season for Pacmans' little ruccus with his bodyguard in a hotel bathroom was grossly disproportionate to the offense.  It was pretty much a non-event in my eyes.  No one was hurt.  Apparently, according to Jerry Jones, it may have been as much the fault of Pacman's "bodyguard" as Pacman.  Though the police were called, they felt it was a non-event.  And even if was apparently alcohol-related, it didn't trigger any problem with Pacman's ongoing probation terms which specifically cover alcohol. 

But my bigger point is this.  Pacman was -- and the operative word here is was -- a thug.  When he "made it rain" in that strip club, and when he engaged in numerous other irresponsible acts, he was a guy deserving of punishment.  But he paid for that conduct with a year's suspension from the NFL, and criminal sanctions, which include ongoing probationary terms that still cover him. 

Does anyone think that Pacman -- the one during his Tennessee years -- is the Pacman that showed up to play for the Dallas Cowboys?  Does anyone think he's any longer remotely like the thug who "made it rain"? 

I don't.  And, because I don't, I believe the guy deserves to be treated like any other human being who has screwed up and paid his debt to society.   Anything else he does should be treated on its own merits.  Don't keep hanging him for events of the past.  That person really no longer exists. 

Let me start this post off by saying I have no idea how to draw up the "wildcat" plays that many teams, starting with the Dolpins, have been running this year. 

But, don't we have two players on the Cowboys who would be absolutely perfect running that formation a couple of times a game?  I'm talking about Isaiah Stanback and Felix Jones. 

I know Stanback's shoulder is hurt, but is it his left or right shoulder?  If it's his left, there should be no reason he can't throw the ball out of a wildcat formation.  And if anyone has seen that You Tube video of his 70-yard heave while at Washington, he can probably throw it farther than Tony Romo.  Plus, he was always a running QB at Washington, and he has speed to burn.  Not all that unlike Pat White of West Virginia, who I've watched a lot.

Then you have Felix Jones, who ran this formation a lot while at Arkansas, correct?  So it's totally natural for him. 

This strikes me as a far superior "trick" play to the unproductive end-arounds that seem to be all Jason Garrett can think up.  Indeed, given the speed of both Stanback and Jones, you could run this play anywhere on the field and threaten to break it for a TD.  Plus, with Stanback, it would have a passing option that none of the other teams running it have really exploited. 

I want to see us run this play!  More than once!!