Blogging The 'Boys

Hurry Up Cowboys

I'm going against my personal football philosophy, which is pretty close to the Bill Parcells strategy, but we have a disappearing offense and something needs to be done. Before you think I'm going to say let's start using an aerial attack like we're collecting Sky Miles for an offseason vacation, that's not where I'm headed. Lately, every time Drew drops back I reflexively start going through a mental checklist of all the disasters that await; sacks, fumbles, holding penalties, interceptions, and feel half-way relieved when we only throw an incomplete pass. So while I love a long bomb TD like the next guy, throwing 40 times a game is not a good idea with this team.

What I would like to see is something that goes against the "control-the-clock" mantra, the hurry-up offense. Maybe bust it out to start the game on Sunday. Then drop it in again sometime in the second quarter. Depending on how the games goes, use it a couple of times in the second half. Just a few series to get the team moving, instill some sense of urgency. I know I wasn't the only one to notice in the Giants game that Dallas went to a hurry-up offense on the drive after they went down 17-0, and they actually moved the ball and kicked a field goal. They were getting to the line of scrimmage with 20+ seconds left on the play clock. On that drive, they actually resembled an NFL offense.

In baseball, it stinks to play behind a pitcher who takes forever to throw the ball to the plate. You know the guy, he walks around the mound, stands on top of it looking around before he finally comes set, looks in and shakes off three signs, steps off the rubber then back on, and starts the sign sequence again. The infielders call it being back on your heels, the mind wanders with so much time, you get agitated because all you really want to do is get back in the dugout and bat again.

The Cowboys offense has been playing back on its heels lately. Maybe we need to speed up the game a little bit, get up on our toes and move forward. We need something to spark this offense, any takers?

Irvin Arrest Video

The police have released a dashboard camera video of the Michael Irvin arrest, you can go here to see snippets of it from a local TV station. It's not real exciting but thought I would pass it along in case you guys are interested.

Kansas City Reading Material

You might want to start getting familiar with the Kansas City Chiefs who are on their way to Big D this Sunday for a game with playoff implications for both teams. KC pulled off a big win over Denver last week and were helped by a challenged call on the field that was reversed and helped seal the deal.

Recap of the Denver game.

Another view on the same game.

Overview of Kansas City and the Dallas game.

Keyshawn Not Happy

Yesterday I said we needed to forget about the Giants game and move on. That was good advice for us fans, but maybe not good advice for the players. Somebody needs to wake them up. If players are sleepwalking through games it's up to someone like Keyshawn Johnson to remind them how playoff opportunities shouldn't be taken lightly. A once promising season is starting to slip away from this team, and Keyshawn's not happy.

Johnson started out thinking about the 17-10 loss to the New York Giants on Sunday, then moved on to the team's two-game losing streak. Next came playoff scenarios, followed by bigger, deeper questions.

"Am I going to get back to the playoffs? How much longer is this guy going to coach? How much longer is that guy going to play?" Johnson said. "I was trying to figure everything out."

One the thing the controversial Keyshawn has never been accused of is not caring about the game. Johnson sounds like he had the same kind of night we all did on Sunday, only 100 times worse cause he actually plays for the team.

While Johnson often beats himself up over losses, he said it's been a long time since one bothered him this much. Then again, it's been a long time since the Cowboys played a game with ramifications this big.

I hope some other players in that locker room are just as upset as Keyshawn is over the loss, and are vowing to do something about it this week. Certain offensive linemen need to start playing like real NFL players this week, no excuses, just execution.

Keyshawn is not ready to quit, he still wants the playoffs, he still wants the division, he still wants a Super Bowl.

"Getting to the playoffs for me doesn't get it done. I'm trying to win my division," he said. "I don't want to be the sixth seed. That's not my mentality. I'm trying to win a Super Bowl, I'm trying to win a championship. I want to win. I didn't come here to sit around and be the sixth seed. I could go anywhere and be the sixth seed."

OK, we'll back you on that Keyshawn, we want all of the above, too. But let's take this one step at a time. First step, beat Kansas City this week. But Key already knows that, he knows that Dallas has very little cushion, one loss could be the end.

"Now, my cushion is like this," he said, holding his hands about a foot apart. "And eventually it's this," he said, moving them closer together. "With every loss, that gap closes," he continued. "I need some more wiggle room."

Here's hoping the offense is getting the message. It's time to start playing like you're a playoff team again. The offensive line needs to get it done, no matter which personnel is on the field. Drew Bledsoe, start acting like a 13-year veteran with 40,000+ yards passing. Julius Jones, are you a difference maker? And just because it's Keyshawn saying it doesn't mean the wide receivers are off the hook either.

NFL playoff spots are earned, not given, and the Cowboys better start acting like they want it again.

Full article here.

Parcells Press Conference Today (12/5)

A short recap of the Bill Parcells press conference today. Bill was pretty short and direct with the reporters but didn't seem overly pessimistic or upset. It was more of a back-to-business thing.

Aaron Glen might be OK. MRI was performed and it doesn't look to serious.

Anthony Henry is improving but still unsure, we'll see on Wednesday.

We didn't block very well, we had three false starts, two penalties and 4 sacks on the line so that will kill a lot of drives. The problem isn't mental errors so we are working on better execution.

Andre Gurode should've changed the blocking scheme on the "fumble for a TD" play. Al Johnson played fair, the injury wasn't a big hindrance.

The shotgun helps some QBs but others like to keep their eye on the defense. Also, weren't as comfortable with Gurode performing the shotgun snap.

10 wins might be enough to make the playoffs but it's still premature to guess what will happen.

We have exhausted everything we can scheme-wise to protect Drew, the line just needs to execute better on the blocks.

It's not the running game or the backs, we just didn't block well enough to do anything on offense. With the score at 17-10 we had 5 opportunities to do things and we didn't.

The 3rd and 1 (play-action pass) call was just an attempt to make a play and it was the wrong thing.

Overall he was pretty happy with how the defense played.

Yesterday we wanted to attack their corners, early on we tried to get Terry Glenn downfield, but they did a good job on defense.

We threw 40 passes yesterday, much more than we ran yesterday. The play-calling strategy takes into consideration not only how to attack the other team, but you have to help your offense, too. We had too many "minus-plays" that's what killed the offense. Plus we turned the ball over too much. We helped them quite a bit with penalties, etc.

We have a lot to do this week, we're not as familiar with Kansas City as some other teams. They run multiple formations and shifts so we have a lot to work on this week.

Lousaka Polite was inactive because we had to carry an extra lineman with Al Johnson's injury.

Price was released because we have some young kids at WR and don't want to stop their progress. With Crayton healthy Price wasn't going to be active very much.

We have to be ready for Dante Hall this week, he can be a difference maker.

Mike Barrow dressed but didn't play yesterday.

CB Glenn Wearing A Protective Boot

From the Dallas Morning News:

By MATT MOSLEY / DallasNews.com

IRVING – The Cowboys could receive more bad news at cornerback today.

Veteran Aaron Glenn, who had two interceptions in Sunday’s 17-10 loss to the Giants, underwent an MRI on his left ankle this morning and is wearing a large protective boot.

Glenn grimaced with each step as he limped toward the club’s locker room at 11 a.m.

“I’m just waiting to find out,” Glenn said. “I’m not sure what it’s going to be.”

A Picture Is Worth 1,000 Words

Feel free to add you own caption in the comments section.

Battling Back, Start With The Mental

Don't dwell on it, don't think if we just did this, or if they did that, or if the offensive line could block somebody, or if Drew Bledsoe could put the offense on his back and carry us to victory in a big game, or if we didn't call play-action passes on a crucial 3rd and short in the 4th quarter, or if the zebras didn't call bogus pass interference penalties when Keith Davis makes an interception. Forget it, wipe it from your conscious mind then work on your sub-conscious. It's the only way. To think about it is the pathway to madness. Nothing good can come of it. I besiege you to destroy the memory from your brain and your Tivo.

Think about this, if the playoffs were to end today, Dallas would be the #6 seed, the last wild card spot. That's still in the tournament. After yesterday, that's about as good as the news can get. So grab it, take hold of it, wrap your mind around it, cling to it like it's the last spot on the lifeboat. Say it this way in your mind, if we win next Sunday, we are still in the playoffs. That's as far as you should look. Don't work out complicated formulas about this team and that record. Just know that if Dallas can win next week they are still in it.

That's my one-step program for getting over what ails you, a prescription for the Cowboys Blues. Go here to see it for yourself.

Here are some post game quotes:

"There's a month of football left to go. To be judgmental right now, with just a one-game separation, would be premature. If you look at this like this is a disaster, then that's what it will turn out to be. If you look at it like, hey, we can bounce back, that's probably what will happen," said Bill Parcells

That's what I'm talking about, the mental side of things. Dallas has to continue to believe it will win next week. It's not like we're about to get some All-Pro offensive tackles, so they better believe they can win with what they have on offense.

"We did not play anywhere close to our expectations offensively," Drew Bledsoe said. "It's disappointing, but we're going to fight next week and the rest of the season to get ourselves into the tournament at the end of the season."

Drew, the offense didn't play anywhere close to our lowest expectations, let alone regular expectations.

"We're playing well, but we're not playing great," Jason Ferguson said of the defense. "You can't say you played great after you lost."

Not if you don't want to look like you're pointing fingers at the offense.

"These are my brothers all over this team," Ferguson said.

The defense has been spectacular, it's a shame their efforts are being wasted. But you got to like the fact that no finger pointing is going on, Dallas has to hang together as a team in order to win this next game.

"We got whipped," Dallas tight end Dan Campbell said. "We better get our stuff together offensively, or we're not going to win another one."

I wonder if "stuff" is really the word Campbell used, or did the newspapers clean it up for public consumption.

"If we don't play better offensively," Parcells said, "we're not going to do anything."

Can I get an amen?

Dallas Loss Is A Giant Loss

On a Sunday afternoon in New York, reality came crashing down on the Dallas Cowboys. No longer are the playoffs an assumed state of affairs, home field advantage disappeared into thin air, the bubble has burst on the "serious contenders for the NFC crown" scenario. After losing the division lead to the New York Giants (17-10), the Cowboys have a brand new perspective, fighting week to week for survival.

The statistical story says that the Giants won the game handily, but the factual account was something different. New York continually allowed Dallas chances to comeback in the second half, but Drew Bledsoe and the rest of the offense couldn't get it done. Dogged all day by Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora, Bledsoe turned in probably his worst game of the year. Drew was 15-for-39 for only 146 yards and for good measure had 2 INTs. Most of the day was spent moving around trying to avoid Giants, but even when he had time his passes were frequently off target. There is no denying it, Bledsoe is having a poor second half of the season. The efficient Dallas offensive machine in the first half of the year has been replaced by a sputtering mess, with nobody seemingly driving. Bledsoe isn't even a Vespa scooter driver at this moment, let alone a bus driver.

Drew is not alone in this mess, his offensive line has officially reached bottom. Rob Petitti, Torrin Tucker an Marco Rivera just might've been the Giants best players on the day. Strahan had 2 sacks, Umenyiora had 1, and together they must've hurried or hit Bledsoe ten times. Dallas tried having tight ends or running backs help, it didn't help. Reserve special praise for Andre Gurode, who so completely missed a block that the nose tackle, Bledsoe and Julius Jones all ended up together at the handoff exchange, the ugly result was a Giant TD on the fumble and return. Look no further than the pairing of Bledsoe and the Dallas line for the reasons behind the Cowboys new reality.

If we come to bury the offense, we also come to praise the defense. They are keeping the Cowboys heads above water in the NFC but you have to wonder how long that will remain true. Tiki Barber did get to them for 115 yards on 30 carries but they held the Giants offense to 10 points. You can't ask anymore of a defensive unit than what the Cowboys 3-4 is providing. Aaron Glenn has an incredible game with 2 INTs and keeping Plaxico Burress from dominating the game. In the end it still wasn't enough. They will need to pitch shutouts to win if the offense remains incapable of scoring with any regularity.

A couple of plays stand out for special examination besides the Gurode debacle. The Cowboys had the ball and 3rd and 1 early in the fourth quarter. Instead of running the ball for the first down, Dallas chose to run a play-action pass but New York got such quick pressure that the play went for an incomplete and Dallas had to punt. Bill Parcells gets a lot of flack for being too conservative but this is one play he probably wants back. New York eventually missed a FG on the ensuing drive, but they ate up valuable clock and Dallas never seemed to recover their momentum.

I'm never one to blame the officials but they made a glaring mistake that cost Dallas. At the beginning of the 4th quarter New York was trying to move the ball out of their own territory when Eli Manning threw a pass that was intercepted by Keith Davis. The referees decided to throw a very late flag and call pass interference on Aaron Glenn when it was clear Glenn had established position and Plaxico Burress ran into him. Instead of Dallas having the ball in Giants territory, New York kept the ball and continued the drive. The outcome might have changed on that call.

Dallas has one week to figure out a fix for the offensive line. Drew Bledsoe has one week to look in the mirror and rediscover his early season form. Dallas is no longer a playoff team, they are a playoff bubble team. Next week the bubble could burst.

How's that for a new reality?

Cowboys vs. Giants; Dallas Loses 17-10

Final Score: New York 17 - Dallas 10

The Dallas Cowboys went to Giants Stadium and laid an egg. The funny part, Dallas had every chance to comeback and win the game, but still threw it away. They were outgunned on offense, matched in intensity on the defense, committed more turnovers and was one big play from tying the game and sending it to overtime. Even with 1:33 left in the game they looked like they would have one final shot, but a great punt pretty much ended that chance.

Drew Bledsoe hasn't been the same recently and it showed big time today. The offensive line played on of their worst games, Strahan and Osi U. were in Bledsoe's face all afternoon. The defense once again played their heart out and only gave up 10 points. The Dallas offense gave up the other when Andre Gurode missed a block and the defender caused a fumble while we were trying to hand the ball off. That was pathetic. The Giants scooped it up and scored a TD.

There were so many opportunities given to Dallas in the second half. They failed to cash in. A once rosy season hangs in the balance, next week Dallas plays another important game. It may be the game that Dallas has to win to stay in the playoff race.

More detailed recap later.