Dallas Cowboys "Get Real" Chat No. 3: The Giants game really happened

Thanks for checking in for this Dallas Cowboys Get Real chat to cover the wreck that was their 34-18 loss at home against the Chicago Bears on Monday night. Don't worry, it was actually much worse than the final score indicated.
 
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THE COWBOYS BEAT NEW YORK? NOT THE JETS, THE GIANTS? IN NEW JERSEY: After watching the last three games it does seem a bit amazing these same Dallas Cowboys traveled up East and defeated the Giants, 24-17.

The number decrease since then is amazing:

at NYG: 433 yards offense; Romo 22 of 29, 307 yards, 3 TD, 1 int; DeMarco Murray 20 carries, 131 yards
at Sea: 296 yards; Romo 23 of 40, 251 yards, 1 TD, 1 int; DeMarco Murray 13 carries, 44 yards
v. TB: 297 yards; Romo 25 of 39, 283 yards, 0 TD, 1 int; DeMarco Murray 18 carries, 38 yards
v. Chi.: 430 yards; Romo 31 of 43, 307 yards, 1 TD, 5 int; DeMarco Murray 11 carries, 24 yards

WHICH TEAM ARE THEY? The Cowboys have more matchup problems than you might think. The Giants were victims of their own unforced errors - dropped passes, etc. - the Seahawks out-physicaled the Cowboys, the Bucs were equally as ugly, and the Bears are much better defensively.

Despite an upgrade in talent here and there, the Cowboys simply don't look that much different than a year ago, and are playing like they are going to finish between 7-9 and 9-7.

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Dallas Cowboys "Get real" chat No. 1: It's an offensive line thing

Thanks for checking in for this Dallas Cowboys Get Real chat to cover the wreck that was their 34-18 loss at home against the Chicago Bears on Monday night. Don't worry, it was actually much worse than the final score indicated.
 

Post your comment underneath and we can begin a discourse.

IT'S A LINE THING: As bad as Tony Romo was against the Bears, and the Bucs and the Seahawks, this starts up front. The Cowboys change coaches, they change players and they change schemes for more than a decade the offensive line remains an enormous problem. Jerry Jones throws money and draft picks at this area and nothing works.

The notion that hiring Bill Callahan to coach the o-line and he was going to reverse this trend was inane. He is a good coach - I guess - but you can't coach not good enough.

If Tony Romo did not have good feet and the ability to move up in the pocket, or even repeatedly show the ability to take a hit, he would be sacked every other play.

Left tackle Tyron Smith's adjustment to his new position is ongoing. Doug Free continues to regress. The interior of the line is simply not good. Guard Mackenzy Bernadeau is routinely overpowered, or whiffs. Nate Livings has been pretty good, and the center combination of Ryan Cook and What is Your Name is a serious issue.

The offensive line was overpowered by the Bears, leading to a running game that went nowhere and a passing game that was under pressure and coughed up the ball.

FIX IT: These are the offensive linemen the Cowboys are going with in 2012. Smith has to be dominant, and Free has to elevate himself to competent. 
Either that or the Cowboys have to keep Jason Witten, John Phillips or whomever in to block.

 

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Cowboys Irrational Reaction - Who are we kidding?

So many things to choose from this latest disappointment made possible by the Dallas Cowboys professional football team.

Chicago Bears 34
Dallas Cowboys 18

The Clownboys are 2-2 entering the bye. After that, it's a trip to Baltimore where lots of teams with wretched offenses win football games. 

Where to begin with this steamling pile of Jerry's Secret?

1. Start with the owner.
2. Go to the team president.
3. Move down to the general manager.

4. The quarterback has eight turnovers in the last two games. Generally, that's not good.

5. The third year WR out of Oklahoma State looks like a rookie. Up, down, right and left. Dez Bryant, your career is calling. You may want to pick up.

6. The offensive line remains a total mess. Since running for 143 yards in the Week 1 win against the Giants, the Cowboys' running game has averaged 3.1, 1.7 and 2.9 yards per carry, respectively, in the following three games.

7. Defending Bears WR Brandon Marshall was deemed completely unnecessary, so much so he had a free route in the fourth quarter. Brandon had 7 receptions for 138 yards and a TD.

8. Cowboys WR Miles Austin had four catches. The Bears defense had five catches. A few of those picks were not on Romo, but enough of them were.

9. The original reason Jerry Jones hired Jason Garrett away from Miami to join Wade Phillips' staff in 2007 was because of his offensive mind, and he wanted him to call the plays.

10. The Packers, Cowboys, Patriots and Broncos are all 2-2. Plan the parade!

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Bears & Cowboys QB in a cute baby, hot significant other battle

Chicago Bears QB Jay Cutler continues to win the Jeff George Body Language Award, and he really does not compare too much with Cowboys QB Tony Romo but the two have a few things in common.

The two have cute baby boys.  And the two have what some may call attractive blonde B-list celeb significant others. This is what we call "hard hitting sports news analysis".

Romo is married to Candice Crawford, who was once a Miss USA contestant. Her brother, Chace, is an actor who had a role on Gossip Girl. Romo and Candice married a while back, and now have a baby son, Hawkins.

Cutler had an on/off relationship with reality TV personality Kristin Cavallari. They were engaged. Then they weren't. Now they are engaged again. Now they have a 7-week-old son, Camden Jack.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Video: Big Mac & Galloway (fill in) zero in on NFL refs; Cowboys v. Bears

 

Dallas Cowboys victory formation chat No. 3: Cowboys favored to beat the Bears

Thanks for checking in for this Dallas Cowboys Victory Formation chat to discuss the "beauty" of their 16-10 win against Tampa Bay on Sunday.

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FACT: The Dallas Cowboys have been installed as 3.5-point favorites against the Chicago Bears in their game on Oct. 1 on Monday night.

REALITY: Do NOT touch this. In the first three weeks of the NFL season the Cowboys have looked:

1. Very good in a win against the Giants in New York. Tony Romo, Kevin Ogletree and DeMarco Murray were outstanding and the defense finally beat up Eli Manning.

2. Very bad in a loss in Seattle.

3. Very-ish in a win against the Bucs.

Who knows how this team will play or what team will show up when the Bears come? The Cowboys are very average right now.

The Bears are 2-1 with home wins against the Colts and Rams, and a road loss in Green Bay. They should be better than what they are; only Jay Cutler seems to be holding them back.

Just assume the Cowboys’ defense will have to win this. If they pressure Cutler, they can win. He has shown a proclivity to fold when hit.

But also assume that Julius Peppers, Lance Briggs, Brian Urlacher , Henry Melton and the rest of that Bears defense is going to pound the Cowboys’ offensive line. This means more tight ends staying into block, fewer route runners, and fewer options for what likely will be a fleeing Tony Romo.

This will come down to a field goal, and special teams, which is another subject entirely.

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Dallas Cowboys victory formation chat No. 2: Cowboys D looks legit

Thanks for checking in for this Dallas Cowboys Victory Formation chat to discuss the "beauty" of their 16-10 win against Tampa Bay on Sunday.

Post your comment underneath and we can begin a discourse. 

FEAR: The Cowboys defense is going to be lulled into thinking it is a top unit after reducing Bucs QB Josh Freeman to Quincy Carter-like numbers.

FACT: Freeman is terrible, and the Cowboys defense is pretty good. The addition of Brandon Carr has been a major upgrade, and CB Mike Jenkins should receive a nice pat on the back for his work against Vincent Jackson.

That said, Freeman is in his fourth season out of Kansas State and is looking more and more like a coach/GM killer. He is so big, athletic and has such a strong arm yet just can’t play. He was 10 of 28 passing for 110 yards with a QB rating of 45.2. That is really hard to do.

Barry Church, who is out for the year now, was replaced by Carr at free safety and there was no apparent drop. Carr is a physical corner who looked comfortable at that spot.

On the other team, 87-year veteran Ronde Barber has made a similar transition and still looks like a good pro. This can be done, but Carr would be better at corner.

Having Carr, Morris Claiborne and Jenkins gives Cowboys D-coordinator some flexibility, and room to breathe, that he has never had before. This secondary is holding coverages long enough for the front seven to pressure the QB.

LONG TERM: This team still needs nose tackle Jay Ratliff, who remains out with an ankle injury. Rob Ryan’s defense is the best part of this team.

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The Dallas Cowboys should not be saying they need to play Dallas Cowboys football

IRVING, Texas - One of the great and rapidly growing cliches in sports are athletes and coaches saying, "We just need to play TEAM X" kickball.

And when you play for the Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots, New York Yankees, LA Kings, etc. you should do that. To play to that brand means you are winning.

On Wednesday, Cowboys defensive end Jason Hatcher said, "We just need to go out and play Dallas Cowboys football."

Jason Hatcher is truly one of the good guys on this team, and in this league, but I have to respectfully disagree with Mr. Hatcher. The Dallas Cowboys should NOT be playing Dallas Cowboys football. Winning on the road against the Giants and then following that with a bad loss in Seattle is Dallas Cowboys football.

The Dallas Cowboys should be playing New England Patriots football. The Dallas Cowboys should be playing Baltimore Ravens football.

The brand of football and identity of the Dallas Cowboys for more than a decade is that of mediocrity, and that is not good enough.

I asked Hatcher what 'Dallas Cowboys' football is.

"It's aggressive, physical, fast, loose, physical football," he said. "It's the way the Dallas Cowboys were in the '90s. I grew up on those teams."

That is an admirable aspiration. If the Dallas Cowboys want to play 'Cowboys football' as defined by this century, prepare for more stink.

If the Cowboys want to follow Hatcher's lead and try to define 'Cowboys football' as established by that collection of bad asses in the '90s, great. 

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Video: Galloway & Big Mac take aim at the Cowboys' loss to the Seagals

 

Cowboys Bash Chat No. 5: Reasons for optimism

Because it is such a nice and mild day here in the greater Fort Worth-Dallas area, despite the Cowboy's wretched performance in Seattle on Sunday there is always a reason for hope. I think. Maybe not. Let's try it and see how it fits ...

1. The Cowboys reflect the entire league. As stated below, the Cowboys are one of just the vast majority that is 1-1 at the moment. Can they just separate themselves even a little bit to look like a team that deserves to be and is capable of being anything other than 8-8 or 9-7? The line between 8-8 and 10-6 nearly non-existent.

2. The real regular season does not begin until October. The real preseason for a team's top 22 players is September, and so far the Cowboys have been erratic.

3. There is no way this penalty trend can continue. Can it? The Cowboys have committed 18 penalties this season for 168 yards. Couple that with a minus-2 turnover margin and this team is doomed. No way this continues. If it does, it's draft talk on November 1.

4. There is talent and there are players on this team. Out-playing the Giants in New York in the season opener can't be classified as some fluke, or a Giant mistake. The Cowboys were the better team, and displayed a varying degree of good qualities that night.
They are good enough parts to be a competitive team throughout the season. They have a pair of home games coming up and, this is a big if, if they can win at home they will be fine. 

5. No major injuries.
This meaning no one among the lot of Tony Romo, DeMarco Murray, Dez Bryan, Tyron Smith and the rest of the major contributors is out. Yes, I know Mike Jenkins and Jay Ratliff have been out and the safeties may be out for the game on Sunday against the Bucs. Ratliff is the priority.
If the key guys remain clean the Cowboys should be in every game. Of course, they were clean in Seattle and that worked out well. 

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