Denver Drops Dallas. (Waiting for the other shoe?)

Going 2-2 at this point in the season it’s exactly the type of situation that screams for panic. The Cowboys lost to a very good Giants team, but they did it at home, on opening night of their billion dollar new home. They did beat Tampa Bay, who are winless, and they did beat Carolina, who…uh-oh. Carolina is winless, too. Dallas has beaten the dregs of NFC NASCAR division and they’ve fallen to the two teams with winning records. Still, this is no time for panic.

Denver isn’t a very good 4-0 team. They’ve beaten the Bengals, the Browns, and the Raiders. Big deal. Give me a dozen high school cheerleaders who are reasonably sober and I can take two of three from that crowd on any given Sunday. Kyle Orton, the quarterback for the Broncos, is as effective as most back-up quarterbacks with back injuries who have rabid badgers attached to their throwing arms. They have a rookie running back, a rookie coach, and they just aren’t that impressive.

Yet Dallas loses to this team.

Romo had all the time in the world to throw the ball today yet he was sacked four times, and threw an interception and fumbled once. For the first time since anyone can remember he didn’t throw a touchdown pass. He didn’t fumble the snap on a field goal, and he didn’t spend last weekend in Mexico frolicking on a beach, but he didn’t play very well either.

Head Coach Wade Phillips has to wonder what in the hell is going on. He also has to start looking over his shoulder. Owner Jerry Jones has access to the same information as I do, and sooner or later, he’s going to start drawing some of the same conclusions.

Dallas is loaded with talent. They’ve got a great defense, they’ve got weapons all over the place in offense, so what the hell is the matter here? On Denver’s 51 yard touchdown play to go ahead late in the game, no less than five Dallas defenders could have tackled the receiver before he got near the goal line. At best that was a very good fifteen or twenty yards gain, but no one with a star on their helmet could tackle.

Who is responsible for teaching professional football players how to tackle?

Dallas owned the first half of the game and was up by ten points early. They moved the ball at will, but just didn’t score when they should have. They let an inferior team hang around until the 4^th quarter then, when they had a chance to tie the game, from inside the ten, they blew two shots at punching it in. They threw at Champ Bailey who had already burned them for a pick. You can’t run a draw, or something to the outside on 4^th and goal? You can’t beat the Denver Broncos on the ground?

Who is responsible for play calling late in the game?

The NFC East is one of the most brutal environments to have to survive. The Eagles lost McNabb but didn’t miss a beat. The Redskins won again today. The Cowboys have already lost to the Giants, at home. Breaking even is as good as losing in this division.

Who is responsible for doing the math here?

The cowboys cannot afford to look too far ahead. This is who they face for the rest of the season.

@ Kansas City Chiefs

. Atlanta Falcons

vs. Seattle Seahawks

@ Philadelphia Eagles

@ Green Bay Packers

vs. Washington Redskins

vs. Oakland Raiders

@ New York Giants

vs. San Diego Chargers

@ New Orleans Saints

@ Washington Redskins

. Philadelphia Eagles

They ought to beat the Chiefs, the Seahawks and the Raiders outright. But they cannot hope to beat the Eagles twice, or the Giants in NYC the way they played today. The Falcons have a much better team this year than normal, and the Redskins always play them tough. They are likely to drop either the Packers or the Chargers game.

At best, I see them winning six or seven of the remaining games, if how they’ve played so far means anything at all.

8-8 isn’t going to get it done, and 9-7 isn’t going to look much better. Hell, 10-6 might get them a wild card place, but then again, it might not.

Who is responsible for doing the math here?

That would be Mr. Jones, and I suspect things are just not adding up the way he likes.

Take Care,

Mike