Time to move on.

So, I’m finally ready to start posting to this blog again after the Cowboys’ playoff exit on Sunday, but I have my sunglasses on, just in case I get a little emotional.

I won’t speak very much about that game, because frankly, what happened shouldn’t have, and I’ll leave it at that.

Now that the season is over, albeit a little earlier than any Cowboys fan wanted it to be, it’s time to look ahead, because dwelling doesn‘t help anyone.

Tony Sparano leaving was expected from the word go; Dallas’ loss just sped up the whole process and allowed Parcells and Co. to get the deal done a lot sooner.

Thankfully, Jason Garrett used both his head and his heart and decided to stay in Dallas, which works out great for everyone.

While that little raise he got is certainly a nice perk, Garrett gets to continue to ready himself for being a head coach, and frankly, getting to work with one of the league’s best offenses and be a part of big success for the foreseeable future sounds a lot more appealing than going to Atlanta (unless he likes the thought of going out to dinner and a show with Pacman Jones) or Baltimore.

A less secure man would probably get a little uneasy about all of the love that Garrett’s getting, but if you’re Wade Phillips, you have nothing to worry about, and not just because you’re still raking in more $$, even with Garrett’s hefty raise.

He knows he’ll be leaving the franchise in capable hands when he decides to retire, and besides that, after the success that Dallas had in ’07, having to install a new offensive gameplan likely wasn’t on Phillips’ list of things to do in 2008.

And, if you’re Jerry Jones, you now don’t have to worry about potentially making other plans for the future.

Now, provided that the Cowboys don’t lose anymore assistant coaches in the off-season, it’s time to think about the on-field personnel.

Marion Barber needs to be tied up soon, with a nice new long-term contract for the new starter. With all apologies to Julius Jones, but if it‘s a decision between giving one a new contract and letting the other one go, Barber‘s the choice, hands down.

Jones’ touches and effectiveness went down in the latter part of the season, and it was a pretty telling sign that Barber was the starter against the Giants after Jones had still held onto the starting job despite Barber getting more carries.

And, instead of giving Julius a hefty new contract, Jerry should just use the draft to get someone that will complement Barber’s physicality and add an extra dimension to an already high-powered offense (where it wouldn’t be strange to see both backs in the game at the same time), and allow Jones to pursue a fresh opportunity as a starter elsewhere.

Those two guys aren’t the only free agents the Cowboys have to make decisions on, but I‘ll address that and the draft in an upcoming post, along with a quick preview of next season, which promises to be another (and hopefully more) successful season, unless Tony Romo decides to give up his promising football career to become a movie star. And Tony, Dukes of Hazzard 2, no matter how nice Jessica might make it sound, would not be a good career move.

NFC playoffs update.

For the third time this season, the Cowboys and Giants will tangle, as New York’s 24-14 win at Tampa Bay means that Dallas will be hosting their NFC East rivals in the divisional round next Sunday afternoon.

The Giants have been one of the league’s best road teams this season, and that was the case again today. Eli Manning was efficient, going 20 of 27 for 185 yards and two touchdowns, with no interceptions, and the Giants forced three turnovers in erasing some bad memories against Jeff Garcia, who previously beat New York in the postseason with the 49ers and Eagles.

The last time Eli and Co. came to Dallas was in the first week of the season, when he and Tony Romo had an aerial tit-for-tat, as both threw for more than 300 yards and four touchdowns, but it was the Cowboys that came out on top in the highest-scoring game in the two teams’ rivalry, a 45-35 Dallas victory.

Here’s hoping that the third time isn’t the charm for the G-Men, and that the Cowboys can bookend the Giants’ season with defeats at Texas Stadium.

In the other NFC divisional round game, it’ll be Seattle going to Green Bay, after the Seahawks ended the Redskins’ ride with a 35-14 victory. It was quite a fight for Washington though, as they battled back from a 13-0 deficit to take a 14-13 lead with 12:38 to go.

It looked like destiny was going to shine on the ‘Skins again, when they recovered the ensuing kickoff at the Seahawks 14. But, former Cowboy Shaun Suisham missed a 30-yard field goal. Still, things looked good after Matt Hasselbeck was picked off on the next drive.

However, a short punt gave the Seahawks great field position, and they would take the lead with six minutes to go.

From there, it quickly unraveled for Washington, as an illegal block nullified a long kick return, and on the next play, Todd Collins was picked off, and Marcus Trufant returned it 78 yards for a touchdown to make it 28-14.

The game was sealed when Jordan Babineaux (remember him?) returned a second Collins pick 57 yards for a score with a half a minute to go.

Even though the Redskins went down, you’ve got to give them a lot of credit for how they fought this season, especially after all the ups and downs.

And, as for Seattle, or more specifically for Matt Hasselbeck - 1) Please don’t grow that hideous sorta-stache back, even if it may seem to be lucky, and 2) if this one goes to overtime, let someone else handle the coin toss, and if you do, don’t guarantee a win, because the last time you did it at Lambeau, Al Harris picked you off and sent you home.

A look back at a big year for the Dallas Cowboys.

As we all get ready to ring in the New Year in some form, whether it by ringing up a giant bar tab, busting out the box of wine, or everything else in between, it’s time to reflect on the year that it’s been for the Dallas Cowboys.

From bobbling to baffling, here are the major moments for Dallas in 2007.

January 8: Seahawks 21, Cowboys 20 - This game is remembered by most not for what happened for the first 58+ minutes, but for Tony Romo’s bobbled snap that on a chip-shot field goal attempt with a little over a minute to play that ‘cost’ the Cowboys a playoff victory.

What many who made that single play a story that shouldn’t have been don’t care to remember is that the Cowboys let the game slip away before Romo supposedly did.

After a 29-yard field goal by Martin Gramatica, Dallas led 20-13 with 10:15 to play. On the ensuing drive, the Seahawks drove all the way to the Dallas 1 before the Cowboys defense held, and Seattle turned it over on downs with less than seven minutes to play, giving Dallas the ball at the 2.

On the first play, Romo completed a pass to Terry Glenn, who couldn’t hold onto the ball, and it went out of the end zone for a safety (initial call was a touchdown for Seattle, but it was reversed after a challenge), trimming the lead to 20-15 with more than six and a half minutes left.
Seattle got the ball at the 50, and four plays later, went ahead on a touchdown pass by Matt Hasselbeck.

Then came the drive that ended with Romo’s only real mistake of the night, but one that very well could’ve turned out just a little differently, because what those same idiots failed to mention is that after bobbling the snap, Romo picked it up and ran with it, and got tackled just short of the first down marker and the end zone.

Thankfully, that play has been forgotten and been replaced by even more irrelevant talk about Romo’s personal life, which frankly doesn’t matter to me unless he’s putting himself or anyone else in danger, or unless it affects his play on the football field.

Janaury 22: Bill Parcells retires - There’d been a lot of speculation about Parcells’ future after the playoffs ended, and he put all of it to bed by stepping down as head coach a little over two weeks after the loss in Seattle.

First, thanks Bill - I‘ll expound upon that in a moment. Second, when Bill Parcells says ‘retire,’ his definition of the word must be closer to ‘hiatus’ than the actual meaning of retire, since Parcells is now busy shaking things up in south Florida, trying to mend the mess that is the Miami Dolphins.

February 8: Wade Phillips gets hired as head coach - After a search that saw no less than 10 candidates interviewed for the job, Jerry Jones got his man in former Broncos and Bills coach Wade Phillips.

It was the best hire he could have made then (along with bringing in Jason Garrett), and ten months later, that A is now an A++.

September 9: Cowboys start Phillips’ era with 45-35 win - Sure, it left something to be desired defensively, but it was a precursor to what was a regular sight in 2007 (and hopefully for many years to come), Tony Romo picking apart a defense.

October 8: Cowboys make miraculous last-minute comeback to beat Buffalo 25-24 - Thanks to six turnovers by Tony Romo and two interception returns and a kick return for scores by Buffalo, it looked like Dallas was going to drop their first game, until a wacky final four minutes and the finish of all finishes.

Down 24-16 with less than four minutes to go, Romo calmly led Dallas 80 yards down the field, completing 9 of 11 passes for 77 yards, the last of which was a 4-yard touchdown to Patrick Crayton that made it 24-22 with 20 seconds to play.

After Nick Folk's successful onside kick (which turned out to be only his second-biggest kick of the night), Romo moved the Cowboys in position for a 53-yard field goal, which the rookie drilled not once, but twice to cap off an unlikely win. Stuff of Folk-lore indeed.

October 14: Patriots hand Cowboys first loss - After their Monday night miracle, Dallas had to turn around and face the Patriots in a much-hyped battle of unbeaten teams.

There were two lessons learned that day: 1) Slowing down Randy Moss doesn’t equate to slowing down the Patriots, when you let Wes Welker and Donte’ Stallworth combined for 18 catches, 260 yards, and three touchdowns, and 2) You can’t get down 14 points to the Patriots and expect to win, unless you play error-free football, which still might not be enough.

December 9: Cowboys clinch first NFC East title since 1998 with comeback win over Lions - The little leprechaun who snuck on the sidelines during the Buffalo game made his appearance in Detroit in Week 14 to help deliver the Cowboys an unlikely win (and the NFC East title) at Ford Field.

The Cowboys survived a 13-point deficit, a fumble by Jason Witten at the 1-yard line on a potential go-ahead drive in the fourth, and a fumble that bounced the right way on what proved to be the game-winning drive, with Witten redeeming himself with the game-winning touchdown catch in the final minute.

Let’s hope that leprechaun has his tickets for the playoffs and the Super Bowl already…

December 18: League-high 11 Cowboys named to NFC Pro Bowl team - Seven were on offense, with five as starters (three on the O-line in Andre Gurode, Leonard Davis, and Flozell Adams, and T.O. and Witten as the others), and Marion Barber getting named to the team despite not being the ‘starter’ at running back. Three more were on defense, with DeMarcus Ware deservedly getting a starting nod (Ken Hamlin and Terence Newman as reserves), with Folk being #11, one of three rookies named as representatives from the NFC.

December 23: Cowboys clinch home-field advantage - Thanks to the Bears’ 35-7 demolition of the Packers, and Dallas’ 20-13 win over Carolina the previous night (and a 37-27 victory over Green Bay on Nov. 29), the Cowboys clinched home-field advantage for the first time since 1995.

The year got off to a rather conspicuous start, but it’s ended with one of the best regular seasons in team history.

After years of bumbling along offensively, the Cowboys’ offense is now one of the most exciting to watch in the league (minus yesterday, and in the last few weeks of the regular season), and even though they’ve scared the daylights out of us a number of times this season, it feels damn good for that ‘edge of your seat’ feeling to be the good kind again. And with the foundation that’s being built, it looks like it’s only going to go up from here (knock on wood).

What will 2008 bring? The Lombardi Trophy back to Dallas, I hope. That, a new contract for Marion Barber, a couple of future stars in the draft, and Jason Garrett still on the Cowboys‘ payroll come the fall.

What do you think of the year that it’s been for the Cowboys?

Dallas improves to 13-2 with 20-13 win at Carolina.

It wasn’t sealed until Marion Barber’s 11-yard run inside the final two minutes, but Dallas has their 13th win of the season by a count of 20-13 over the Carolina Panthers.

Barber ran for 110 yards, the second-highest total of his career behind a 127-yard game against Arizona in his rookie year, and Dallas needed all of those yards tonight, especially at the end.

Tony Romo bounced back well from Sunday's nightmare game against Philadelphia and finished 28 of 42 for 257 yards, with one touchdown and one interception, and broke Danny White’s single-season team record of 3,980 yards (it now stands at 4,125).

Give credit to the Panthers for staying in it even though the Cowboys should have had it sewn up well before the end. Matt Moore certainly has the tools to be a success as a starter in the NFL, as he’s shown in his first two starts - it wouldn’t have taken long for him to be the backup in Dallas, but he’s much better off in Carolina - and he nearly came back to haunt his old team.

But, the defense certainly didn’t take it easy on Moore, sacking him five times, with DeMarcus Ware upping his total to a career-high 13 with two sacks and Greg Ellis adding one to his total, which is now at 12.5 for the season. The key plays for the defense were keeping the Panthers out of the end zone both times in the second half when they had a chance to cut into the Cowboys’ lead.

Judging by the statistics, it was a dominating performance by the Cowboys, even though the scoreboard indicates otherwise - 405 to 216 in total yards, 25 to 12 in first downs, 39:00 to 21:00 in time of possession.

That dominance could have translated on the scoreboard if not for a few missed opportunities for Dallas, but in the end, it’s not about the opportunities you miss, but the ones that you convert, and the important thing is that the Cowboys converted more than the Panthers, and thusly, Dallas is a Packers loss (or a win at Washington next week, if the Packers beat Chicago tomorrow) away from having home-field advantage in the NFC, while 6-9 Carolina is eliminated from playoff contention.

Into the final few minutes, Cowboys holding on...

Things have greatly quieted down in the second half, and as time winds down, Dallas is a stop and a few first downs from having it in the books.

All each team has to show for in the second half is field goals, with Carolina trimming the deficit to a touchdown right out of the locker room with a 37-yard field goal from Jon Kasay on a drive that got down to the Dallas 1, but was pushed back by a false start and two sacks.

The Cowboys moved the ball into scoring position early in the fourth, but a Romo interception kept the Panthers in it. But, he made up for it on the next drive, leading Dallas to a field goal and a 20-10 lead with less than nine minutes to play.

It’s far from over though, as Moore just hit Smith for 57 yards on fourth down, and Carolina has it at the Dallas 9 inside four and a half a minutes.

A touchdown here, and it gets a little nervy, because the Panthers still have two timeouts.
Time to close it out…

Cowboys on track for lucky #13.

It’s back to business as usual for Dallas, as the Cowboys are up 17-7 over the Carolina Panthers at halftime.

Tony Romo has already thrown 32 passes, but he’s surpassed last week’s completion mark by eight (21 to 13), and with his 188 passing yards in the first half, Romo has a new single-season Cowboys record of 4,056 yards.

It’s good to see Romo back on track, and even more so to see a semblance of balance in the offense, as Marion Barber has 80 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries.

The offense has thoroughly dominated proceedings in the first half, outgaining Carolina 291 to 109, but more importantly, holding a 50 to 17 edge in plays and a 15-minute edge in time of possession.

But, the Panthers are still very much in the game because of the one successful drive they put together, when a short kick gave Carolina the ball at the 37, and after a first-down completion and a 39-yard run by DeAngelo Williams, Matt Moore threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Steve Smith to get Carolina on the board.

After responding with a field goal, the Cowboys could have added to the lead before halftime, but a penalty for an illegal shift wiped out a first-down pass to Sam Hurd (that would have put it at the 20), and then Dallas simply ran out of time.

The second half just started, with the Panthers getting the ball first. The Cowboys will be playing the rest of the game without T.O., who left during the last scoring drive with an injury and won’t return. He had five catches for 48 yards and the score before he was hurt, so it’s a blow for him, since he was a key part of the offense after being quiet in the last two games. It shouldn’t be a big concern for the duration of the night, but hopefully it’s not an injury that will keep him out of any games from this point.

Carolina’s moving the ball and has it inside the 10, so the deficit could quickly be trimmed.
I’ll check back here and there…

Quick Take: Dallas at Carolina.

After seeing their seven-game win streak come to a abrupt halt against Philadelphia last Sunday, the Cowboys look to not only get back on track tonight, but take a big step towards clinching home field in the NFC when they take on the Carolina Panthers tonight.

For Carolina, the stakes are pretty high, as they need a win to keep their slim postseason hopes alive.

Dallas is 6-0 on the road this season, and the signs point towards the Cowboys rebounding from their atrocious offensive performance last Sunday in the 10-6 loss to the Eagles.

Dallas is averaging 32.2 points per game on the road thus far, with four of Tony Romo’s seven 300-yard games coming on the road, including a 35 of 44, 302-yard, two-touchdown afternoon in the 28-27 comeback win over the Lions in Week 14.

After shooting blanks last week against Philly with his newest love interest, Jessica Simpson, in attendance, Romo has to keep his head on straight tonight if the Cowboys aren’t to lose their hold on home field. He’s playing with a sore thumb, which could affect him if he chooses to let it, but you know what they say about molehills and mountains.

The offense should have the chance to move the ball against the Panthers, even though they shut down the Seahawks last Sunday. Matt Hasselbeck threw for 274 yards, so a big night is there for the taking if Romo wants it.

T.O. hasn’t been a factor lately, making only five catches in the last two games, but the last time he had a dry spell like this, earlier in the season, he busted out of it by going over 100 yards in five of the next six games.

More important than getting the ball to T.O., though, is utilizing the run, which has been completely invisible at many times this season, both due to the great success that Romo has had throwing the ball and because the Cowboys have had to play from behind on several occasions.

As for the Panthers offense, it’s led by none other than Matt Moore, the rookie QB that Dallas cut at the end of the preseason instead of keeping on the roster. The Panthers snapped him up before the Cowboys could put him on the practice squad, and with injuries ineffectiveness at the position, Moore has gotten the chance to see the field much, much quicker than he would have in Dallas.

He performed well in his first career start last Sunday, going 19 of 27 for 208 yards in the 13-10 win over Seattle. His offensive line made things a lot easier for him, not allowing him to be sacked at all, so it’ll be on the Dallas pass rush to wreak havoc and rattle the rookie, and leave the hugs and handshakes for before and after the game.

But, Moore might not have to worry about having the world on his shoulders tonight, as the Dallas defense hasn’t been as adept at stopping the run in the last three weeks as they had been for the better part of the season, and they’ll have their hands full with Carolina’s double-De’s, DeAngelo Williams and DeShaun Foster, who haven’t been consistent week in, week out, but aren’t to be taken lightly.

Tonight’s game is being broadcast by the NFL Network, and it starts at 7:15, which means it’s time to head to Applebee’s, Chili’s, Friday’s, or your nearest sports bar, go to the neighbor’s house, or, if you’re lucky, watch the game from the comforts of your living room.

Which one will I be doing? Well, considering I plan to provide periodical updates of the game on here, I’ll let you guess.

Cowboys well-represented on NFC Pro Bowl roster.

A league-high 11 Cowboys were named to the NFC’s Pro Bowl roster yesterday, with most of the names you‘d have expected to see on the list making it.

Seven offensive players were named to the team, with Terrell Owens and Jason Witten being named starters, along with three starters along the offensive line - center Andre Gurode, tackle Flozell Adams, and guard Leonard Davis, who makes the Pro Bowl in his first season in Dallas.
Tony Romo leads the NFC in touchdown passes and is second in yards, but he is only a reserve on the Pro Bowl roster, as the rejuvenated Brett Favre gets the starting nod.

The other Cowboy to get an invite on the offensive side of the ball is Marion Barber III, who isn’t exactly the starter at running back, but with 1,130 all-purpose yards and 11 total touchdowns, he’ll be going to Hawaii.

On defense, DeMarcus Ware is unsurprisingly a starter, with a career-high 75 tackles, along with 11 sacks (.5 off of his total from last year) and about 572 QB pressures.

Terence Newman is a reserve at corner, and Ken Hamlin was also named a Pro Bowler in his first season in Dallas. Hamlin was named a reserve at free safety, with the league honoring late Redskins safety Sean Taylor by very deservedly naming him the starter - an honor that he likely would have received if not for his untimely death last month.

Rookie kicker Nick Folk, who beat out Martin Gramatica for the starting job in training camp, was rewarded for his excellent rookie campaign by being named as the NFC’s placekicker.

The only move that could be considered a snub is Greg Ellis being left off of the roster. Ellis missed the first three games as he was trying to overcome nagging Achilles’ issues, but has 11.5 sacks in the 11 games since, two higher than the career high he set in 16 games in 2004.

Anthony Henry was off to a Pro Bowl start this season, with four interceptions in the first three games, but missing three games with injuries hurt him, though he’s still having an excellent season, with five interceptions.

The question now is: How many of those who were invited will show up?