The Cowboys will use Moneyball to replace Dez Bryant

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant has not been totally ruled out for Sunday's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He is scheduled to see a hand specialist today to determine if he can go.

You know the guy wants to play because he obviously realizes the gravity of this moment - his team desperately needs him. There is no one else who threatens opposing defenses the way he can.

But if he can't go the Cowboys are not going to immediately sign Chad Johnson or some other aging spare off the street who needs a check. Instead, the Cowboys are going to employ a "Moneyball" approach to replacing his productivity. The idea is that no one WR will be asked to be Dez rather a group of guys will be asked to combined to replace his production. Not easy.

It sounds great in theory, and at this point it's the best option, but unlike those Oakland A's teams that had AL MVP Miguel Tejada (nice omission, Michael Lewis) the idea the Cowboys are going to be able to replace Dez's production with their current cast of secondary receivers is a looooot to ask.

The replacements:
Kevin Ogletree 28 catches, 390 yds., 3 TDs
Dwayne Harris 11 catches, 135 yds., 0 TD
Cole Beasley 11 catches, 113 yds., 0 TD 
Total: 50 catches, 638 yds., 3 TD 

Dez Bryant  75 catches, 1,028 yds., 9 TDs

You do the math. Miles Austin has to start going to the hard places on the field, and winning.

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Whatever it's worth - the Dallas Cowboys do not quit under Coach Process

CINCINNATI, Ohio - (Computer issues). Whatever happens the rest of the year he Cowboys' 20-19 win in Cincinnati against a decent Bengals team will be the highest, and lowest, point of this season.

They are 7-6 and still have a chance, however small.

1. Jason Garrett – The best he has been since he took over as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. His post-game comments were sincere, compassionate, and from the heart. As to whether he remains this team’s head coach after this season, not been decided yet. The team continues to just barely be good enough to win or lose.

Say this again – he has never lost this team.

2. Right tackle. Doug Free’s days of holding this job down are obviously over. The Cowboys are trying to develop Jermey Pernell and are now rotating him in. That’s a stinging indictment on Free. Neither guy was great on Sunday against a very good Bengals’ pass rush, but both held up throughout.
With the exception of guard Nate Livings, the line held up better than expected. 

3. Dez Bryant. He didn’t have one of those monster days - four catches, 50 yards - like he had in the previous four weeks but he did come up with the rather large touchdown in the fourth quarter. All nine Dez Bryant TDs have come in second halves this season.
It should be noted when he had to come out for a bit that Kevin Ogletree, who down to fourth on the WR depth chart, came up with two catches for 28 yards in the fourth quarter. 

4. Rob Ryan. Absolutely embarrassing. It’s sometimes charming to watch him growl up and down the sidelines during a game. When he dog-cussed Bengals’ tackle Andre Smith for an obvious hold that was not called and was penalized 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct he crossed the line into Stupid. Can’t do that.
He really didn't need to "help" his defense that had enough to deal with without his stupidity.
His defense gave up 146 rushing yards on 20 carries.

4.5 Anthony Spencer is going to get paid this offseason. In a contract year Spencer is having the best year of his career. Against the Bengals he had 11 tackles and two sacks.

5. Brian Moorman. Wow. Noteworthy because it was really hard to do what he did – three punts of 30 yards or fewer. Granted, one was tipped but he had an awful day.

6. Miles Austin. Remains the very worst quote on this team. After the game I asked him what changed for his offense in the fourth quarter – the team scored 10 points in the fourth when it had been held to 10 the previous 45 minutes.

“I don’t know,” he said. “We have to go back and look at the film and see what we did schematically.”

He could say, "Nothing. We just made the plays this time."

7. DeMarco Murray. The Cowboys offense line isn’t that good. The Bengals defensive line is good. Both of these things explain why Murray ran for 53 yards on 21 carries with a touchdown. That said, he is so much more of a threat that any runner on this roster the Cowboys are completely different when he is not playing.

“You have a guy that can win one-on-one matchups in different avenues,” Tony Romo said, “whether it’s the run game or the pass game.”

On the Cowboys’ final drive they faced a 3^rd-and-5 inside the Bengals' 50, Murray’s leaping run gave them a first down that helped set up the game-winning field goal.

8. A.J. Green. One of the very best receivers in the NFL had maybe of the worst games of his life - three catches for 44 yards, and several drops. He hangs on to those passes & it’s a different game.

9. Brandon Carr v. Terence Newman. The Cowboys cut Newman in the offseason and signed Carr as his replacement. Carr was better on Sunday by catching the interception in the first half to set up a touchdown. Newman dropped at least one interception, including one that would have sealed the game.

10. NFC East
1. NYG Giants (8-5): at Falcons (11-2), at Ravens (9-4), v Eagles (4-9)
2. Washington Redskins (7-6): at Browns (5-8), at Eagles (4-9); v. Cowboys (7-6)
3. Dallas Cowboys (7-6): v Steelers (7-6), v Saints (5-8), at Redskins (7-6) 

 

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Uh-oh: Tony Romo's numbers are improving & will keep him with the Dallas Cowboys

IRVING, Texas - One-fourth of the NFL season remains to be played on the football field at football stadiums, and, yes - Tony Romo's football numbers are actually getting there. 

(Yes, this is a deliberate effort to say the word 'football' as many times as possible).

67 % completion percentage. 3,660 yards. 19 TDs. 15 Ints.
He is projected to throw for 4,880 yards with 25 TDs and 20 Ints this season.

PREDICTION: His numbers are going to eventually look good by season's end, and be the reason why the Romo Lovers - i.e. the Cowboys - will want to keep him around and slap an extension down in front of his face this offseason.

After a horrid beginning where every other pass Romo threw seemed to be picked off, his numbers are beginning to reflect just about every other season he has been a starter in the National Football League playing the game of football.

I asked him on Thursday what has changed.

"More than anything, our turnovers have been cut down quite a bit," he said. "Obviously, you've tried to be a little bit more judicious with the ball. Saying that, I've made similar throws. It's just we've done some things the right way on the other side as well. We've gotten in and out of the route the right way and things of that nature that kind of have cost us a few times. I think as we've gone on, as the season's progressed, people as a whole have understood what we're trying to do and where we need to be."

Translation - Guys like Dez Bryant, Miles Austin and Kevin Ogletree are where they are supposed to be. I'm not taking quite as many chances. Unlucky bounces aren't happening. When we run the ball well I don't have to throw it 50 times a game. And it really helps to play the Eagles twice and the Browns once in the past month.

Romo will be really judged over the last four games, and whether he can help push this average team to 10 wins. Either way, the numbers are coming around which almost ensures he will, too.

 

 

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Doug Free's replacement may be on the Cowboys' roster

IRVING, Texas - Of the many Dallas Cowboys who have been thrown into the FW/d Dunk Tank, the man who has "enjoyed" the most time there has to be right tackle Doug Free.

Free has taken a beating from the media and fans for his poor to average play this season. Less than adequate strength and bad techniques have led Free to routinely being beaten throughout this season. Sunday, against what may be one of the best defensive lines in the NFL in the Bengals, would be a really good time for Free to have a good game. Or at least not a wretched game.

Although only 28, Free's time with the Cowboys appears to be less than secure. To release him, however, would cost around $8 million in cap space. But progress is progress, and Free has shown more regression than anything else.

If the Cowboys don't/can't spend big money on a right tackle, they may have at least someone to consider in backup Jermey Parnell. The third-year player out of Ole Miss has started once this season in place of Tyron Smith at left tackle. At 6-foot-6, 305 pounds he has the size to do the job. Whether he can actually do it, and do it well, remains to be seen.

"Jermey has done a nice job when he has gotten in there and played," Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said Thursday morning. "He's gotten better before our eyes. We have tried to use him in two tight-end situations all year long. That may not sound very significant but it's really significant for a guy who hasn't played very much for a guy to go out there in those critical situations.

"To be honest with you, early on in the year, he didn't handle it very well. We felt like it was important to persist with that. He's gotten better and better. He's really improved."

Not sure if Parnell is a long-term alternative at right tackle, but given how Free's season has evolved the Cowboys have to begin considering different alternatives.

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Replacement refs football affecting Dallas Cowboys playoff chances

Your Dallas Cowboys are 6-6. Order your Super Bowl tickets now.

Thanks to the Cowboys' 38-33 win against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night, the Cowboys have extended your hope ... or pain.

1. Remember when Jerry Jones was cavalier about the replacement refs earlier this season? When asked about the replacement referees after that joke on Sept. 24 in Seattle when the Seahawks were handed a win against the Packers thanks to a wretched last-second call on a TD that was an interception, Jerry said he thought the officials were doing a fine job.

Kind of a big deal now.
The Bears (8-4) and Seahawks (7-5) own the two NFC wildcard spots, and both teams have head-to-head wins against the Cowboys should there be any sort of a tie.

The Seahawks should be 6-6, but thanks to those replacement refs they have that seventh win and are in a better position for a wildcard.

2. Dez Bryant.
He’s a pain in the a$$, but it does appear as if our favorite Oklahoma State Dallas Cowboy is really getting this football thing. The man really can’t be covered, or tackled by a cornerback. Dez had six catches for 98 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday night. Dez has six TDs in the last four games.

3. DeMarco Murray. The bad offensive line suddenly didn’t look so horrid and the anemic running game had some life when Murray returned for the first time since hurting his foot on Oct. 14 in Baltimore. Murray finished the game with 83 yards on 23 carries but the numbers should have been bigger. He took an 11 yard loss on his final carry of the game when the Cowboys were trying to run out the clock.
Of course, it really helped the Cowboys were playing the Eagles.
These are the Cowboys’ rushing stats since Murray went out:
at Car. 31 for 85 yds.
vs. NYG 17 for 19 yds.
at Atl 18 for 65 yds.
at Phi 25 for 101 yds.
vs. Cle 21 for 63 yds.
vs. Wash 11 for 35 yds.
vs. Phi 33 for 123 yds.

4. The middle of the Cowboys defense. Weak.
Not that anybody has noticed the work by Josh Brent in recent weeks but there is no denying the loss of Sean Lee, Bruce Carter and Barry Church continues to hurt this team. The Eagles ran pretty much wherever they wanted – Philly RB Bryce Brown ran 24 times for 169 yards and two touchdowns.
A lot is forgiven when Josh Brent forced Brown to fumble late in the fourth quarter and Morris Claiborne returned it 50 yards for a game-clinching touchdown.

5. Morris Claiborne. Kinda fast. On Sunday night, he really made up for the bad game he had in Philly when he was penalized six times.

6. Doug Free. It’s clear by now whatever he had going for him a few years ago is gone. He is not strong, and routinely gets pushed backwards and is unable to hold the edge on blocks. He leads all NFL o-linemen with 12 penalties. Whatever it’s worth, he was better in the second half.

7. NBC cameras have a thing for Tony Romo’s lady friends.
You may have forgotten but on Dec. 25, 2006 the Cowboys hosted the Eagles when NBC cameras caught Jessica Simpson wearing a pink Cowboys No. 9 jersey for a priceless pop culture/NFL picture.
On Sunday night, NBC cameras fell in love with Romo’s wife, Candace. It would have been better if she wore a pink No. 9 Romo jersey.
Actually, it would have been better had she worn a Kyle Orton jersey.

8. Tony Romo.
Can't bag on Romo. In the second half, he was 10 for 10 for 169 yards with three TDs. In the past five games, Romo is 138 for 200 for 1,587 yards, 10 TDs and two INTs.

9. Tony Romo is the Dallas Cowboys all-time leader in career TD passes.
You may think he sucks, but this is a pretty significant number and achievement.

9.5 Jason Garrett. Still has a job. His challenge of a spot on the final play of the third quarter on a 4th-and-1 play was reversed, and the Cowboys scored a touchdown a few plays later. It saved the game.

10. The Cowboys are 1-0 in December. If you want to believe they are reversing their December collapse trend … do so at your own risk.

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Video: Galloway & Big Mac bury the Cowboys

 

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A fan has started a petition to dump Jerry as Cowboys GM

It was only a matter of time, but a fan has begun a petition to get rid of Jerry Jones as the GM of the Dallas Cowboys.

I noticed this petition on the comments portion of the column I wrote regarding Jerry will likely do something big this offseason if the Cowboys don't make the playoffs.

The petition states: "We are asking that Jerry Jones step down as GM, and generally bow out of all the football decisions from this point forward. We are tired of the one person that has brought nothing but shame to the Cowboys. We want changes made. We demand changes be made."

Click here to read and perhaps even sign said petition.

Good luck with that.

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Dallas Cowboys defeat Browns; fall to 8th in BCS

In what celebrated American historian David McCullough* calls "one of the least impressive wins in the history of modern sport" the Dallas Cowboys professional football club defeated the Cleveland Browns 23-20 in overtime on Sunday.

The game had an Ishtar-like quality to it. Only Ishtar was better.

Alas, the Dallas Cowboys are 5-5 and on their way to winning the Super Bowl **. The Cowboys host the Washington Redskins on Thursday in their annual Turkey Day game and should be 6-5 very soon.

1. Dez. The Cowboys receiver is becoming like Cher in that he requires but one name.
Granted, it came against a really bad Cleveland secondary but Dez Bryant played the best game of his career - 12 receptions for 145 yards with one TD.
He was go-to, could not be covered and was the best player on the field.
For this game he is worth the headache. 

2. Speaking of Dez ... it's fun to note that Browns president Mike Holmgren tried to tell Jerry Jones before that draft not to select the Okie State WR.

3. Offensive line. Awful. Tony Romo was sacked a career-high seven times, and the running game averaged 3.0 yards per carry. Doug Free was brutal. Whatever progress he made two years ago is gone. The Cowboys have to find his replacement.
The high ankle sprain suffered by left tackle Tyron Smith led to Jermey Pernell, who looks like the second coming of Torrin Tucker.

4. Rookie QBs facing the Cowboys continue to tear it up. Or at least not be exposed.
First it was Russell Wilson of the Seahawks in Week 2. On Sunday it was Brandon Weeden playing the part of a competent NFL quarterback. He was 20-of-35 for 210 yards with two TDs and no interceptions.
Of the three rookie passers the Cowboys have faced this season, only did Nick Foles of the Eagles look like a rookie. 

5. Tony Romo dropped back to throw 57 times and attempted 50 passes. Those numbers normally equal a loss. Despite being under constant pressure, Romo passed for 313 yards with one TD. It was his third consecutive game without an inteception.

6. There is no reason for Dez Bryant to return another punt. Now that Dwayne Harris seems to have figured this punt returning thing out, there is no reason to roll the dice with Dez.

7. Why did the Cowboys punt to Josh Cribbs late? With less than 1:20 remaining and nursing a four-point lead, Cowboys punter Brian Moorman's punt went to Cribbs at about midfield. He ripped off a 21-yard return to set up the game-tying touchdown.

8. Shout out to the referees for their fine work. The Browns gave the Cowboys 10 first downs on penalty. Ed Hochuli, we get it ... your in good shape and you like talking. The Cowboys were penalized 9 times for 92 yards, which is awful.
The Browns were penalized 12 times for 129 yards, which is God awful.

9. The Cowboys had the ball for 42:16. And they needed overtime to win. This game looked very similar to the one against the Bucs earlier this season - brutal, but ...

10. Jason Garrett. He has his team on a two-game winning streak. The last time the Cowboys won consecutive games was Nov. 20 & Nov. 24 in 2011. 

10-5 is so possible, but 8-8 still feels inevitable.

* This never actually happened.
** Won't happen. 

 

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How Ben Bass made it to the Cowboys is greatness

IRVING, Texas - An NFL agent once told me if you are being paid to play football you are doing pretty well. Ben Bass may never be the second coming of Harvey Martin, but the man is collecting a check to play football. Not many people who ever play football can say that.

This week, the size of Bass's check just increased by a large amount.

Bass was elevated from the Dallas Cowboys practice squad to the active roster after the team lost Kenyon Coleman to a season-ending, torn triceps injury. At 6-foot-5, 295 pounds Bass has the ideal frame to be an NFL player. 

Only the diehard Texas A&M Aggie fan knows Ben Bass, and even the diehards may not remember much about him. He started one time last season as a senior in College Station. He was not drafted and only after a tryout with the Cowboys during the rookie mini-camp did he sign with the team. 

Now he is expected to play against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.

A graduate of Plano West, Bass attended A&M from 2007 to 2011 with one small interruption.

In 2009, Bass was kicked out of school because of bad grades. Then coach Mike Sherman told him if he brought his grades up, he could return. Most of the time when that happens the player is never heard from again.

In his year away from Texas A&M, Bass attended Blinn Junior College in nearby Brenham and brought his grades up. Then Sherman told Bass he had to make a pitch to the defensive coaches, who did bring him back.

Now he is an active NFL player. This never happens.

"It was a great example of a guy who came in and just took advantage of an opportunity," Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. "He was a guy that we liked, but literally from Day 1 that he belonged here in some way, shape or form. He kinda came from nowhere and showed us that he deserves to be on this football team."

 

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The one thing Cowboys Stadium is not

IRVING, Texas - Forgive the Cleveland Browns head coach if he is wrong, because he is.

"All road stadiums are loud," Browns coach Pat Shurmur said today on a conference call with FW/d area reporters.

All road stadiums should be loud. Cavernous Cowboys Stadium is not.

Shurmur's team has never played at Cowboys Stadium, but on Sunday they will feel the joy of playing in the NFL's Mall of America - $15 cheeseburgers, Cowboyritas. And, to get a jump on the holiday shopping - a Victoria's Secret collection (that will never grow old).

Cowboys Stadium is so much to so many, all but to the actual football team itself. The venue is a wonderful draw, a cash cow, and the giant TV set should keep the stadium feeling "new" for several years. Sound, however, is an issue. Noise there gets so lost it almost feels as if the game is in an airplane hangar.

Since re-locating to Arlington's Cowboys Stadium, the team is 14-13 in the regular season at home. Here is a year by year record of the Cowboys in their new home:

2009: 6-2 (won home playoff game vs. Eagles)
2010: 2-6
2011: 5-3
2012: 1-2 

Beginning Sunday, the Cowboys will play their next three games at home. Other than piping in crowd noise (see Houston Astros playoff games), there is not much the team can do to create a noisy stadium. Winning might help.

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