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November 2008
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Cowboys: September 2008 ArchivesIf it wasn't enough that nearly a third of the offensive plays in Sunday's loss were directed at receiver Terrell Owens, he apparently had a heated conversation with his quarterback (insert teary, emotional line here "He's my quarterback" -- circa January after the team's playoff loss to the Giants). According to our former corporate siblings at The Dallas Morning News, several people saw the pair in the midst of a heated conversation.... I don't think any of us as sports fans could've seen this past weekend coming. If you had USC losing at Oregon State, Florida at home against Ole Miss, Georgia at home against 'Bama, Wisconsin at home vs. Michigan, and by the way the Cowboys losing as 11 point favorites, you need to move to Vegas. In college football, no matter which way you look at it, parity is here and its here to stay. What this weekend left us with is an Oklahoma... Cowboys coach Wade Phillips didn't exactly call the 26-24 loss to the Redskins a good loss. "It's not good for your record I know that," Phillips said. "I think we'll be closer together." ...After yesterday's game Terrell Owens said he wanted the ball more and his head coach, Wade Phillips, agrees to a certain degree. "We try to get the ball to our best players as much as we can," Phillips said. "I think all good players want the football." The coach said because many drives were short there weren't a lot of plays to go around. He said he wanted to get the ball to Marion Barber more too. ...Cowboys coach Wade Phillips says he needs to coordinate the game plan so his team runs more. "Sometimes you just need to call a run and we didn't do that enough," Phillips said. "We need to run the ball more." ...Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips had some post game film watching analysis of his team. "When you loose you don't do as many bad things as you think you did," Phillips said. One problem was a lack or a running game. "We didn't run the ball enough in the game, that's my fault," the coach said. The coach said the team audibled out of too many running plays. On Felix Jones, the coach said they wanted to g... For those who are here at Valley Ranch regularly, like WFAA Assistant Sports Director Jose Gant, it is common knowledge that enigmatic wide receiver Terrell Owens only talks to the media during the week on Wednesday. Here is the exchange between T.O. and a big-time mustached sports network reporter, who will remain nameless. Reporter: T.O. got a minute? T.O.: It's not Wednesday. Reporter: You're right. Can we ta... Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo on the game: "You got to win some one-on-one match ups sometimes." "I think you always want the ball in your hands when you have a chance to win." "I think the reality of it is you hope to go 16-0." "We're a confident bunch and I think we'll come back next week." "We didn't have enough big plays." "When you put pressure on the quarterback it's hard to get the ball ... Cowboys coach Wade Phillips said the situations just weren't right to get the ball to Felix Jones. Jones had no carries or receptions. His head coach said the plays designed for him are not meant for a team that is down. ...Cowboys coach wade Phillips says his only gripe with the 12 men on the field call late in the game is with himself and his players. "That was a mistake that we can't make," Phillips said."I can't understand how two players playing the same position can be standing there next to each other." ...Cowboys coach Wade Phillips pretty simply summed up the loss to the Redskins: "I thought they out played us." ...The Cowboys just weren't sharp enough to defeat the Washington Redskins in the last game between the rivals. The Redskins win 26-24. ...The Washington Redskins now lead 26-17 and the Cowboys have 3:16 to get two scores. That's probably not enough. The Dallas Cowboys had the Redskins stopped on third down, but had 12 men on the field. It's the most basic rule of football: You can only have 11 men on the field at a time. It's the little things that matter and that keep drives going. The Dallas Cowboys had been finally showing signs they could pull the game out against the Washington Redskins. The offense had been clicking in the second half then Tony Romo sailed a ball a bit short to Miles Austin and Redskin Chris Horton intercepts to take over. The Redskins then went 29 yards in nine plays to kick a field goal. Redskins lead 23-17. ...Greg Ellis was shaken up and had to be helped off the field. We'll update his status when we get word. His replacement, Anthony Spencer, has been active pressuring Jason Campbell in his place. ...The Cowboys only gave up a field goal to the Redskins on the drive following the Cowboys scoring drive. The Cowboys owe a lot of thanks to Redskins center Casey Rabach (and am I only one who thinks of Steven Segal and Under Siege when I hear this guys name). Rabach got two critical penalties (one hold, one illegal man down field) on the drive, negating a touchdown. The Redskins settle for a field goal and are up now 2... Touchdown T.O. The Cowboys began the second half with a commanding drive that resulted in a 10-yard touchdown throw and catch from Tony Romo to Terrell Owens. Maybe Wade Phillips gave a rousing pep-talk during the intermission. Or maybe the Cowboys just realized they are the more talented team and should show it. ...Anthony Spencer took the short kick off 18 yards. What's the big deal? Well he's a converted defensive end turned linebacker. It looked like he may have even tried to waive fair catch, which blockers often do when a short kick comes their way. The officials didn't call it so he ran. Redskins coach Jim Zorn wanted it reviewed, but that is not allowed. ...Last week Marion Barber rushed for 142 yards. In the first half Sunday he has 8 yards. Felix Jones has yet to be involved in the offense and the unit as a whole didn't show much between the first quarter touchdown by Jason Witten until the last drive of the half. Lackluster, lackadaisical, you name it. One of my concerns coming into the game for the Cowboys was that they would be down after emotion wins against the E... Tony Romo finally found some rhythm in the two minute offense. The Cowboys moved the ball swiftly to add a field goal and move within a touchdown of the Redskins to end the first half. Nick Folk knocked in a 36-yard field goal as time expired. ...The Cowboys appear to be all kinds of mixed up on both sides of the ball right now. Terence Newman is getting burned. The offense can not put anything together and even the special teams are looking pedestrian. Where is an exciting return from Felix Jones? The good news, if you want to call it that, is that after giving up a 53-yard pass to a wide open Santana Moss the Cowboys defense held the Redskins to a field goal. Maybe it's something about the last name. The Dallas Cowboys just don't do well against receivers named Moss. Randy Moss torched the Cowboys as a Viking and Santana Moss is doing it again to the Cowboys as a Washington Redskin. He slipped way past Terence Newman, at least he was the closest defender around, when Moss went for 53 yards. He now has six catches for 125 yards in less than a half of football today. ...Jason Campbell is out-dueling Tony Romo. Campbell hit Antwaan Randle El with a two yard touchdown pass to take the lead over the Dallas Cowboys, 14-7. Campbell is now 13 of 18 for 135 and two touchdowns. Romo is 9 of 13 for 86 yards and one touchdown. Neither QB has an interception. ...Washington Redskins defensive end Jason Taylor has not had good luck since leaving the Miami Dolphins. His consecutive games streak ended at 133 when he was inactive for Sunday's game at Dallas. He last missed a game in 1999. Taylor, whose streak was the seventh-longest among active players, is recovering from surgery from a rare injury sustained when he was kicked in the shin in the Redskins' 24-17 victory over Arizon... Tony Romo threw the ball just a bit behind Terrell Owens and it was tipped in the air only to come down in the arms of Jason Witten. Luck is good, but the Cowboys are forced to punt after the next play when Romo and Owens again failed to connect on pass play. ...Cowboys safety Ken Hamlin said this week he wants his defense to be one that doesn't bend or break. Through 20 minutes they were doing a good job of bending, but not breaking. Then the Redskins went on a 79-yard drive over 5:05 that culminated with a Jason Campbell touchdown pass to James Thrash. That is bending and breaking. ...Cowboys' back up defensive end Stephen Bowen has suffered a left hamstring injury. The team made an announcement that his return is questionable. ...Roy Williams need not be in game for horse collar tackle and his secondary mate Anthony Henry nearly got called for one. So why wasn't it a horse collar tackle and penalty. It appeared Henry just grabbed jersey and not shoulder pads. ...And now you remember why Keith Davis has the nickname crash. The Cowboys reserve safety and special teams ace drilled Redskins return man Rock Cartwright on the kick off return after Jason Witten's touchdown. ...Tony Romo appears to have his 'A' game today. The Cowboys' quarterback has been efficient and controlled, throwing the ball away when necessary. He made his smart decisions payoff with a pass to tight end Jason Witten up the seam in single coverage. Cowboys lead 7-0. ...Bradie James has received quite a bit of criticism over the years for his play in pass defense. The linebacker made a nice break up of a pass intended for Redskins tight end Chris Cooley. Chris Canty sack followed the play up with a sack of Jason Campbell. The defense is looking strong again. ...The Dallas Cowboys gave up a fairly sustained drive to the Washington Redskins, but a third and one false start and nice pass defense by cornerback Adam 'Pacman' Jones led to a Washington punt. Penalties kill. ...The Dallas Cowboys have won the coin toss and will defer to the second half, utilizing a new rule in the NFL, the Redskins then smartly decided to receive the ball. The Cowboys will get the ball to start the second half. ...Washington Redskins "unofficial" mascot Zema Williams, known as Chief Zee, is here today. Every time I see I can't but think about all the years that he and Crazy Ray patrolled the sidelines in angst together. ...If warm up drills are any indication, Terrell Owens may have some trouble catching passes today. The popcorn-loving receiver dropped a pass on an out route from quarterback Tony Romo. Maybe it's just a random drop, but you'd like to think he wouldn't have any trouble catching a pass with no defenders. ...Today's game already has a little bigger feel than just the fourth game of the season. The Cowboys-Redskins rivalry is part of that, but a bigger part is the last season at Texas Stadium. Along with that bring some football legends. Former Cowboys running back and assistant coach and NFL head coach Dan Reeves is here to revisit some of the memories he's had here over the past 37 years. Broadcaster Pat Summerall is here... Now we're getting closer. In the first nod to official warm ups, the Dallas Cowboys specialists are now on the field at Texas Stadium. The rest of the team should be out shortly. Cowboys personnel chief Stephen Jones is also making his way on to the field and yes signing autographs. ...Maybe Jerry Jones was just standing up for his old friend Norv Turner. But now ESPN is reporting the Cowboys owner has been fined $25,000 for criticizing referee Ed Hochuli after his -- and I can say it without NFL retribution -- blown call against the San Diego Chargers in their loss to the Denver Broncos. You see NFL o... Former NFL referee Red Cashion is prowling around the field at Texas Stadium. The man known for his enthusiastic and forceful first down call has been taking pictures with friends. He was an NFL official for 25 years before retiring in 1997. He worked the Cowboys Super Bowl XXX win over the Steelers, and Super Bowl XX a decade before. For the record, Red's first name is Mason. ...No matter the new star power of Tony Romo or any of the other 13 Pro Bowl players on the team, one player is still more popular than them all... and he's not even playing today. Troy Aikman is here as a television analyst for the game and when walked off the field a few moments ago with Cowboys radio play-by-play man Brad Sham, Aikman's cheers were louder than any other's so far. I guess that's what three Super Bowl wins gets ...
We're at Texas Stadium to bring you the latest news, notes and opinions from the final game between the Cowboys and Redskins here. Right now sever... Today marks the last time the Dallas Cowboys will play the Washington Redskins at Texas Stadium (unless the two team were to meet in the playoffs this season). The two teams have played 46 times in Irving with the Cowboys winning 32 of them. So that's the number one thing to watch today. The history, the rivalry. From Clint Longley to Roger Staubach's fourth quarter comeback to Harvey Martin throwing a wreath in the Redskins' l... Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips says linebacker Anthony Spencer is ready to go against the Redskins Sunday. Spencer has missed two games this season with a knee injury. He had off-season surgery. Expect Spencer to spell Greg Ellis and it would be intriguing to see if Phillips and the defensive coaches devise a way to get Spencer, Ellis and DeMarcus Ware all on the filed at the same time in passing situations. ...Cowboys coach Wade Phillips says nose tackle Tank Johnson has a slight sprained ankle and missed practice today. Phillips said he expects Johnson to play Sunday vs. the Washington Redskins. ...Cowboys wide receiver Terrell Owens was held to just 2-catches for 17-yards against the Packers on Sunday night, but despite that low production, he seemed very calm about it. "I've said in San Francisco, I don't have a problem as long as we're winning, you know I don't have a problem," Owens said on Wednesday. "I think if it's a situation where games are close and we're losing, that's when I have a problem with it." The last six quarters, save what coach Wade Phillips called a garbage drive, the Dallas Cowboys defense has played pretty good. Just two touchdowns and three field goals to two top offenses. What I like most about the defense is their attitude, the way they talk. They're confident and focused. Take this from Pro Bowl safety Ken Hamlin, he says he doesn't want to be a defense that bends, but doesn't break he w... Cowboys owner Jerry Jones mixed things up last night, on the charter flight back from Green Bay. Normally, they put a movie on during the flight -- on the way up it was the latest Indiana Jones movie (don't waste your time, by the way. It was bad.) Anyway, on the return flight, they played the Cowboys-Packers game, with all the commercials edited out and the radio call edited in. I think Mark Friedman from the Ticket described the atmo... The Dallas Cowboys again beat a likely playoff team, going to Green Bay and topping the Packers 27-16 on short week after beating the Philadelphia Eagles Monday night. The Cowboys did it running the ball and with timely passing from Tony Romo, who played his first game in his home state of Wisconsin since high school. ...Marion Barber III has rushed for 140 yards tonight and scored a touchdown. Luckily for him his fumble came late in what, barring a miracle Packers comeback, will be a Cowboys win. It's really too bad because Barber was electric tonight. The fumble, though, is something for him to work on. He lost a ball on a nasty hit earlier in the game that was recovered by Tony Curtis in mid-air. Turnovers kill. Barber was lucky ton... The passing game is not working too smoothly for the Cowboys. Terrell Owens is dropping passes. Tony Romo has been called for intentional grounding twice. Then just as I wrote that Miles Austin catches a bullet from Romo for a 52-yard touchdown. Austin goes over 100 yards for the first time in his career and appears to be the big play receiver everyone has been clamoring for, at least on this night in Green ... You generally like your odds in football when you hold to opposing team to only field goals. So far, that's what the Cowboys defense has done against the Packers. Adam 'Pacman' Jones got burned bad by Donald Driver, but the Cowboys didn't allow the Packers to score on three chances from inside the 10. Anthony Henry has been quite effective blitzing from his slot corner position. It's nice disguised. He's lined up see... Maybe Tony Romo is in awe of playing at Lambeau Field. He has been shaky so far. He's playing loose with the ball, missing targets, miscommunicating with receivers, and forcing the ball. He is 10 of 17 for 81 yards with an interception in just more than a half of play. He was lucky to have Flozell Adams recover a fumble again in scoring territory, like his interception. The Cowboys are lucky the running game ... ...you just saw it. Felix "Quick as a Cat" Jones 60 yard touchdown run puts him in the Cowboys history books by himself. Jones is the first Cowboy rookie to ever score touchdowns in his first 3 games. Somewhere Jerry Jones is grinning about his fellow Pig Suey. Felix the Cat! ...If you were still doubting the Cowboys drafting Felix Jones, now you see why the team was so high on the idea of having Jones sub in for Marion Barber. Barber pounds, then Jones runs by in a flash, 60 yards for a touchdown in this case. The offensive line, tight end Jason Witten and wide receiver Terrell Owens are putting on a clinic of how to run block. It is something to see TO sprinting down field to block. <...So Tony Romo scrambles around the pocket, ducks a defender and tosses the ball to Marion Barber, who get drilled the ball goes flying in the air and tight end Tony Curtis grabs it out of mid-air. It was all good for 23 yards. ...Tight end Jason Witten converted a couple of first downs on the Cowboys second possession, but on the crucial third down, Tony Romo shouldn't have even looked his way. Witten had 2 defenders in front of him, and another behind. There was no way that pass was getting through, and it didn't. Green Bay picked it off, snuffing out a 16 play drive that should have at least netted a field goal. ...Dear Tony Romo, You don't have to try to force it into double coverage. Thank you, A reverse pass is not a play coaches call too often. But when you do call it it helps to have a wide receiver who use to play quarterback. The guy who threw the incomplete reverse pass for the Cowboys -- Patrick Crayton -- was a quarterback at Northwestern Oklahoma State. The weird twist is he was a wide receiver before he was a quarterback and before he was drafted in the seventh round by the Cowboys as a receiver. >> Continue reading: Crayton tries to relive QB days Maybe Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, a backup QB on the Cowboys championship teams of the 90s, is channeling Norv Turner and Ernie Zampese, the offensive coordinators of that era. The Cowboys running game is looking strong to start the game and the pulling guard and seal of the Packers is very reminiscent of Nate Newton pulling ahead of Emmitt Smith. Now Marion Barber is no Emmitt Smith and Kyle Kosier is no Nate... The Cowboys gave up 30 points to the Eagles in the first half Monday night. The good news from that game is the Cowboys only gave up one touchdown in the second half. Now the defense needs to decide who they want to be. A strong unit that makes plays when it counts or a soft over-hyped unit of stars who are trying to coast on their reputations. The Cowboys did recover a fumble on the Packers first drive. On the secon... Adam 'Pacman' Jones sure looks a lot like the other Prime Time, Deion Sanders, who also wore #21 as a Cowboy. Jones just needs to work on his high stepping. Regardless, Jones recovered a fumble and returned to the ball to give the Cowboys an excellent chance to score. Fast forward... The offense doesn't get much going. Cowboys settle for a Nick Folk field goal to lead 3-0. ...It only feels like a Monday Night Football game of old. John Madden, Al Michaels, prime time, Lambeau Field, Cowboys, Packers. This game has juice (no not OJ), but it definitely comes with playoff-like intensity, especially for game three of the regular season. The Cowboys are coming off of another such game, the 41-37 thriller on the literal Monday Night Football against the Eagles. The Packers are coming of... You've heard about the Cowboys never winning here at Lambeau field - they're 0-5. Other streaky notes: The last time the Cowboys won a road game against the Packers - 1991 in Milwaukee. ...Two of the best sack men in the league on the field tonight. Top sack dudes from 2006 - 2007: 1. Shawn Merriman - 29.5 No, not the Beatles... Packers coach Mike McCarthy calls his 5 receiver set the "fab five" or "big five" and its had a big impact on this offense. The Packers were the best in the NFL last year when it comes to yards after the catch. Receivers gained an extra 2,294 yards last season after the catch, accounting for more than 51 percent of their total passing yards. They spread out the defense, and Aaron Rodgers will tr... Another prime time matchup, another "as good as it gets" moment for the NFL. That can certainly be said of last Monday night when the Cowboys and Eagles put on a heck of a show. This one has plenty of promise as well. Not only are both teams coming off 13-and-3 campaigns a year ago, but they're 2 of the most storied franchises this league has ever seen. Want proof? Here are the biggest numbers of all: the Cowboys and Packer... All the talk this week about the Dallas Cowboys trip to Green Bay to play the Green Bay Packers tonight has been about the quarterbacks, Tony Romo and Aaron Rogers. But there is more to watch in this game. Here are some non-QB things to watch: 1. No Deon Anderson. The Cowboy fullback isn't a big play guy on offense, still the only fullback on the team is out for two weeks after knee surgery. Not only is Anderson the lead bloc... The Cowboys Eagles game on monday night attracted the largest audience ever for a program on cable television. 12.95 Million homes were tuned in and 18.6 million viewers are said to have been watching. It's the second time in three years Dallas has set that
Cowboys running back Felix Jones has had an incredible first half. He has 4 kickoff returns for 189 yards, that's an average of 47.2 per carry. He also had one carry for 6 yards, so that gives Jones 195 yards total for the first half. ...The Cowboys and Eagles came within one point of the all time points total for two teams in a half, that's in games involving the Dallas Cowbos. Dallas and Oakland scored 55-points in a half in October 1983, and in this game, the two teams combined for 54 points. Hope that's enough scoring and sounds like its time for a break. ...Take a breath, it's halftime. The Eagles lead 30-24. Wow. Coming into the game I wouldn't have thought the Eagles would want to get into a shootout with the Dallas Cowboys. It looks like they do want a shootout and it also looks like they can keep up. McNabb has put the ball in the air 19 times, completing 14. He has thrown 1 of the Eagles 4 touchdowns. Tony Romo is 9 of 13 and 2 touchdowns. The difference in the g... With 7:38 left in the second quarter, Cowboys Tight End Jason Witten has been taken to the locker room for x-rays on his right shoulder. ...Eagles Wide Receiver DeSean Jackson thought he had scored a 61-yard touchdown, beating Roy Williams and Pacman Jones, but he spiked the ball before he crossed the goal line. By rule, Philadelphia gets the ball at the one yard line, no touchdown. Brian Westbrook scores the touchdown from one yard out. ...I said it during my 6 o'clock sportscast tonight - this matchup is about as good as it gets in week 2. AND THEN SOME FOLKS! You can take the 85 Bears and go somewhere. I'll take this anyday. Its like a heavyweight fight - the Eagles and Cowboys throwing haymakers back and forth. Terrell Owens just scored his second touchdown of the night. And somebody needs to tell me how safety Brian Dawkins ends up tryin... There is 11:32 left in the first half, and Dallas has 6 yards rushing. Granted a 72 yard touchdown will take care of the offense for a while, but Marion Barber has 4 carries for 0 yards. The 6 yards came from Felix Jones, his first carry. Jones is having a great night, thanks to that 98 yard kickoff return. ...Tony Romo just had a flashback to his Monday night game against the Bill last season. Inside the 5, he mishandles the snap and couldn't get a handoff to Marion Barber. After picking up the fumble in the endzone, I'm not sure what he was trying to do, but he was hit, fumbled and its a quick six for the Eagles. The cowboys go from leading 14-6, and in 2 snaps now trail 20-14. Hang on people, we're in for a wild ride tonight!!!<... Quarterback Tony Romo didn't have much pressure in the first quarter, but when the Eagles finally came through, he tossed an interception. The pressure came from both sides, he escaped, but then was picked off by Asante Samuel. Romo had three interceptions the last time the Cowboys played the Eagles, so not a good sign. The Eagles get a touchdown off the turnover to move within a point of the Cowboys at 14-to-13. Then after the touchdown, Ro... Cowboys defensive end Jason Hatcher got away with one. The stadium crowd moaned out loud when he grabbed the face mask of Brian Westbrook. No penalty from the official. Lucky for Hatcher. Wow!!! I talked in preseason about how much explosiveness this guy has, and he just put it on display for the entire NFL to see. It was a crease in the middle of the field, and it took just one move on the kicker, and he was gone! 98 yards for the touchdown!!! The only bad thing about that return was having to watch Wade Phillips reaction on the sideline. What's up with that, coach? ...Felix Jones just did something we haven't seen in a while. He returned a kickoff 98-yards, showing the speed that the Cowboys have been bragging about since they drafted him. It's the seventh longest kickoff return in Cowboys history. Last week, he scored a touchdown the first time he touched the ball in the NFL. What a great start for this young guy. ...The Eagles tried twice to throw Tony Romo a curve ball. We've been talking all week how we expected the Eagles to bring plenty of pressure. But on consecutive 3rd and longs, the Eagles rushed just four. Romo made them pay twice - for a first down, then a 72 yard touchdown to Terrell Owens. Jim Johnson probably can't wait to unleash his pressure package now. ...You had to be really paying attention, and if you're a cowboy fan not jumping up and down screaming to see it, but Terrell Owens may have come up with his most subtle celebration yet. I know... those two words don't normally go together. But when Owens caught his 72 yard 1st quarter touchdown from Tony Romo, as he crossed the goal line, he looked like a sprinter leaning at the tape. It was a take off on his homage to Olympic Champion... If the cowboys can't get more pressure than they did on the Eagles first offensive drive its going to be a long night. On one 3rd down, the Cowboys blitzed with 5 players and got zero heat on Donovan Mcnabb. He had several seconds, and checked down to what looked like his last option, a backup tight end wide open for the first down. Fortunately for the Cowboys, rookie receiver DeSean Jackson dropped what should have been ano... Wide receiver Austin Miles, Cornerback Terence Newman and Linebacker Anthony Spencer are all active for tonights game against the Eagles. Brooks Bollinger will be the third quarterback. The inactive players include wide receiver Sam Hurd, Cornerback Alan Ball, Safety Courtney Brown, Guard Kyle Kosier, Guard Montrae Holland, Tackle Doug Free and Defensive end Stephen Bowen. The crowd seems a little quiet, consiering its the last Monday night fo... Former Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith took a swipe at the current Cowboys during an ESPN Monday Night Football chalk-talk luncheon today at Ruth Chris Steakhouse. Smith says the difference between this year's Cowboys and his - a lack of leadership. Smith says Troy Aikman would bark at his offensive lineman if they weren't protecting correctly, and Michael Irvin wasn't afraid to put anyone in his sights and make sure they knew they ...
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