Cowboys cut Folk, sign Suisham

 

Shaun Suisham is back in Dallas as their kicker.  His most recent NFL stint was with the Washington Redskins, but after missing a chip shot, he was cut.  The Cowboys cut place kicker Nick Folk after he missed a league-leading 10 field goals this season.  Suisham kicked for Dallas in 2005 and 2006.  He is excited for the opportunity and could get revenge this Sunday night at Fed Ex Field against the Redskins.  Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones said that quarterback Tony Romo will most likely be relieved of his holding duties in favor of punter Mat McBriar.  It is an important game for the Cowboys as they must keep pace with the Philadelphia Eagles.  The image is courtesy of kickingit4kids.com.

Undefeated no more

The Dallas Cowboys finally won a game in December.  They control their own destiny because they are one game behind the Philadelphia Eagles for the division lead with the Washington Redskins and the Eagles left on their schedule.  Dallas defeated the previously unbeaten New Orleans Saints 24-17 in the Louisiana Superdome.  It was another big game for Cowboys teammates Tony Romo and Miles Austin.  Romo had another game without throwing an interception.  He went 22 of 34 for 312 yards and a 49 yard touchdown pass to his wideout Austin.  Dallas had 294 yards through the air.  Dallas’ power running back Marion Barber led the rushing attack with 17 carries for 62 yards and two scores from three yards out and two yards out.  Austin and tight end Jason Witten really stepped up in this game.  Austin caught seven passes for 139 yards and a touchdown.  Witten grabbed five receptions for 44 yards including a 21 yard catch. 

The defense was fantastic.  The first two drives for the Saints were both three and outs.  The real standouts on this side of the ball were right outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware, left outside linebacker Anthony Spencer, and cornerback Mike Jenkins.  Ware, who sprained his neck in last week’s loss to the San Diego Chargers, was unsure if he could play.  He did play, and recorded two sacks and two forced fumbles, the last one to seal the victory.  Spencer was attacking all night adding two more sacks to his total for the season as well as a fumble recovery.  Jenkins picked off Saints quarterback Drew Brees in the first half and had four total tackles and three pass deflections. 

Dallas will travel to Washington in a rivalry game then fly home to face the Eagles which should decide the NFC East.  The image is courtesy of silverandblueblood.com.

Cowboys continue December swoon

The Dallas Cowboys lost to the San Diego Chargers 20-17 yesterday to continue their December swoon.  Dallas lost its grasp of the NFC East as well.  The Philadelphia Eagles take over the division lead after their 45-38 win over the New York Giants last night.  The Cowboys defense could not stop the Chargers explosive deep passing game.  San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers threw for 272 yards and wideout Vincent Jackson lit the Cowboys up with 120 yards receiving on seven receptions.  Cowboys strong safety Gerald Sensabaugh did a decent job on Chargers tight end Antonio Gates but he could not stop Gates from getting a touchdown to seal up the victory.  Dallas won the turnover battle at +1 with cornerback Terence Newman’s interception.  The story of the game was missed opportunities for the Cowboys.  The Cowboys defense played well on first and second downs but could not stop San Diego on third down.  The Chargers went 5-12 on third down and 1-1 on fourth down.  Dallas had four plays at the Chargers one yard line and could not put up any points.  They ran four times up the middle.  Every week, offensive coordinator Jason Garrett makes questionable calls and there were four of them right there.  Toss the ball out to Felix Jones and score a touchdown.  Dallas kicker Nick Folk missed another 40+ yard field goal.  Who is to blame for this one Nick?  Quarterback Tony Romo had a good hold.  Folk needs to be more accountable.  Speaking of Romo, he is not to blame for the December downfall.  He has not thrown an interception in December.  Also, a tidbit for those who want head coach Wade Philips fired.  He has won the second most games the past three seasons.  It does not get any easier as Dallas travels to the Lousiana Superdome to face the 13-0 New Orleans Saints on Saturday, December 19th.  The image is courtesy of ballstjournal.files.wordpress.com.

Romo to hold again

 

Dallas Cowboys kicker Nick Folk blamed his inconsistentcy this season on holder Mat McBriar.  The team will turn to starting quarterback Tony Romo for the holding duties.  Last time Romo held was in the 2006 wildcard playoff game at Seattle.  Romo botched the snap, was unable to run into the endzone, and the Cowboys lost the game 21-20.  Romo has been holding in practice and will likely do so on Sunday afternoon against the San Diego Chargers.  The image is courtesy of silentarchimedes.files.wordpress.com.

Kicking Issues

The kicking game is one thing the Dallas Cowboys organization and their fans have not had to worry about since drafting Nick Folk.  This year is different.  Folk missed two field goals (42 and 57) in Sunday’s game against the New York Giants and has missed eight so far this season.  The number itself is staggering, but it is the distances of Folk’s misses that should worry the Cowboys.  He has missed one in the 30-39 range, six in the 40-49 range, and one in the 50+ range.  Folk should get a pass on the 57 yard field goal he missed to end the first half Sunday against the Giants because his career long is 53.  The other seven misses are inexcuseable.   Folk had hip surgery in the off-season and it has affected his consistentcy in 2009.  Joe Decamillis came to the Cowboys as their new special teams coach.  He needs to fix the kicking battery or Dallas will have another terrible December and miss the playoffs.  The image is courtesy of Sports Illustrated.

Despite a big game from Williams, Cowboys lose to Giants

Cowboys wide reciever Roy Williams had a two touchdown performance but it was not enough.  Dallas’ December blunders continue after a 31-24 defeat at the hands of the New York Giants.  Dallas’ schedule does not get any easier.  Out of all the teams hoping to make the playoffs, the Cowboys have the most difficult schedule.  They will host the Chargers, go to New Orleans, go to Washington, and finish the season at home against the Philadelphia Eagles.  Dallas is now tied with the Eagles with an 8-4 record atop the NFC East.  The Cowboys own the tiebreaker because of their win in the first meeting between the two teams.  Dallas’ running game was completely shutdown.  The Giants allowed only 45 yards rushing.  In the first game, the Giants were gashed by the Cowboys running attack.  The Cowboys were 9 of 17 on third downs but mental errors and good schemes by the Giants were their downfall.  Dallas put a linebacker on Brandon Jacobs late in the third quarter.  Jacobs is usually the centerpiece of the New York ground game, but quarterback Eli Manning threw to Jacobs on this play.  Brandon broke the tackle of not only the linebacker but strong safety Gerald Sensabaugh on his way to a 74 yard score.  Dallas won the turnover battle (one giveaway to two takeaways) and controlled the clock but could not get the win.  A turning point in the game came when Giants punt returner Domenik Hixon broken four tackles on his way to the house.  The score put New York up by 14 points.  The Cowboys added a touchdown with 58 seconds to play when Romo found Austin in the endzone.  It was too little too late as the Dallas lossed their fourth game of the season.  The image is courtesy of blog.nj.com.

Bradie James welcomes December jinx

While most players on the Dallas Cowboys do not like to think of the team’s December jinx, middle linebacker Bradie James welcomes the criticisms.  “We need to right the wrong as far as December because that is what everyone has been saying.  Oh, we have a tough schedule in December.  There is no way getting around that.  We have to play one game at a time and go out there and win,” James said.  Inside the locker room, the Cowboys believe that they can win in December and the playoffs.  For the media and outside outlets to believe in this team they will have to play the games and prove it on the field.  Dallas travels to East Rutherford to play the Giants on Sunday.  The image is courtesy of lonestarstruck.com.  The quotes are courtesy of the multimedia center on dallascowboys.com.

Cowboys Defense

The Dallas Cowboys rank second in the NFL in scoring defense giving up an average of 16.5 points per game.  This could be the biggest reason why Dallas will play better this December than in years past.  The Cowboys will face the Giants, Chargers, Saints, Redskins, and Eagles to end the season.  Throwing out the Redskins who are 29th in scoring offense, the other four teams score between 24 and 37 points per game.  Dallas’ defense is peaking at the right time.  In order for the Cowboys to win their division and make the playoffs they need to stop these high-octane offenses.  A Giants team desperate for a win is first on the list on Sunday in East Rutherford.  In week two, Dallas lost to New York 33-31 in Arlington, TX.   The statistics are courtesy of ESPN.com.  The image is courtesy of blogs.dallasobserver.com.

Perceptions and Reality

In the NFL, December is perceived as the make or break month for many teams hoping to make the playoffs.  Mickey Spagnola of dallascowboys.com explains why December is not as important in determining a Super Bowl champion as the media and experts make it seem it is.  A link to his article can be found here.  In the article, Spagnola talks about Bill Parcells’ sub-par record with the Cowboys in December and January.  He makes a good point about Wade Philips inheriting the perception that Dallas can not win in December as well as giving specific examples to back up his argument.

December

With the 24-7 win over the Oakland Raiders on Thanksgiving the Dallas Cowboys improved to 8-3 on the season.  The good record and the fact that the Cowboys lead the NFC East after three months is not surprising.  Quarterback Tony Romo is 4-0 on Thanksgiving but now comes the month of December.  The Cowboys have not had a winning record in December since 2001.  Dallas has not won a playoff game since 1996.  These stats should be a cause for concern to Cowboys fans but tight end Jason Witten knows what December is about.  “We know it’s a tough schedule but we have to take it one week at at time, and we’ve done all this work to get to this point we don’t need to let it slip away,” Witten said.  Dallas did let it slip away last season.  After 12 games, the 2008 Cowboys had an 8-4 record.  Then, they lost three of their last four games to finish with a 9-7 record including a 44-6 spanking at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles to knock them out of the playoffs.  The Cowboys have a tough December schedule.  They are at the Giants, home vs. the Chargers, at the Saints, and home vs. the Eagles to finish the 2009 regular season.  The defense is playing well but middle linebacker Keith Brooking expects more from his team.  “We feel like the talent that we have, our aggressiveness, our mindset, the way we believe in each other, we can shut any team out,” Brooking said.  The quotes are courtesy of the multimedia center on dallascowboys.com.  The image is courtesy of dallascowboys.com.