Dallas Cowboys 2014 Season Thread

[eagle eye]

Rolando McClain has been battling one thing or another for half the season and it's no different in the post season. McClain came out of the game against the Lions in the second half suffering from symptoms of concussion. Jason Garrett also said that he got a bit of a neck stinger as well. McClain will have to go through the NFL concussion protocols to be cleared to practice for this week's game in Green Bay. NFL.com is reporting that he probably won't be able to practice until Friday and the earliest. The good thing here is rookie Anthony Hitchens has become a good player as the season has progressed and he was able to play last Sunday despite an ankle sprain that was classified as a mild high ankle sprain.

 

The Cowboys will practice today and everyone except McClain and QB Tony Romo look to be practicing although some players may be limited. Romo will probably be taking his usual "Romo day off" as has been his routine this season and should be back on the practice field Thursday.

 

Anyone notice how good LB Bruce Carter has been playing. Same goes for DE Anthony Spencer. Carter leads the team in INTs for the season and most came in December. The linebacker position looks like it is a real strength especially for next season when Sean Lee and Justin Durant are able to come back. The only question is how in the world is Dallas going to sign all it's free agents. Nevermind. We can worry about that later. Right now it's important for Rolando McClain, Anthony Hitchens and Bruce Carter to be as healthy as possible heading to Lambeau this week.

 

Did anyone hear about what happened to DT Tyrone Crawford? Last Saturday the Cowboys ate lobster and Tyrone Crawford, being a big guy, at a few lobsters. Unfortunately, he found out he was alergic to them after the fact. His tongue and neck swelled up and he was in a bad way for a while. By game time Sunday he was doing better but his neck was still swollen and he was still having a little difficulty breathing. The trainers were talking about whether or not he would play in the game and Crawford nipped that discussion in the bud declaring that he was, in fact, playing. He did and he didn't do badly despite not being able to breathe right. That, my friends, is dedication.

 

On the game winning pass to Terrence Williams QB Tony Romo was tackled by Lions DL Ziggy Ansuh just as he released the pass. Romo never saw the pass completed but the crowd told him all he needed to know, their roar letting him know the Cowboys had their first lead of the game with 2:32 left in the game. Lying prone, face down on the turf Romo celebrated by pounding the ground with both hands. Well it seems that move has become a phenomenon. Here's a link to a slide show from DallasCowboys.com of employees and fans at Valley Ranch and AT&T Stadium participating in Romo-ing.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/galleries/2015/01/06/romoing#264371

 

I looked at my phone weather app today and one of the cities I've been tracking is Green Bay, for obvious reasons. At the end of the game last Sunday I checked the temperature in Wisconsin and at 6:30-ish the temp was -4. That's degrees fahrenheit not celcius. Fortunately, this week after a cold front passes through Green Bay on Thursday it will warm up some and the weather should be clear to partly cloudy on Sunday. Another good thing is the kickoff time is 12:00 noon so the game will be in the warmest part of the day which is forecast with a high temp of 23 degrees F. Make no mistake, that's pretty cold but on a sunny day that's not that bad for players as long as the wind isn't blowing. It seems like the chips are falling in Dallas favor doesn't it? Now, the Packers will benefit too but bitterly cold below zero weather sucks and it looks like the Cowboys won't be hampered much at all because of cold weather. Heck, I'll bet they are practicing today in Dallas outside and the temp there right now is 37 deg F with a wind chill of 28. The Cowboys will be ready for the cold in Green Bay and it looks like the flu that hit the team the past couple of weeks is finally phasing out. It sure looks like the ducks are getting lined up in the Cowboys favor.

[eagle eye]

The Cowboys lost a man who was one of the mainstays of the orginal Doomsday Defense when defensive tackle Jethro Pugh passed away of natural causes at the age of 70 yesterday. Pugh and his linemates, Bob Lilly, George Andre and Willie Townes who was later replaced for Larry Cole were the crux of Tom Landry's famed "flex" defense of the 60's and 70's. Pugh was a regular starter at defensive tackle for 12 consecutive years and is sixth on the club’s all-time sack chart, finishing his Cowboys career with 95.5. He led the club in sacks for five consecutive seasons (1968-72). Pugh played in all 5 Super Bowl teams in the 1970's winning two rings. His most infamous play was probably the quarterback sneak by Green Bay QB Bart Starr with 15 seconds left in the 1967 NFL Championship game. Packers guard Jerry Kramer got low and cut Pugh's legs out from under him on the icy field and Starr dove over Kramer's back for the winning score.

 

Speaking of the "Ice Bowl" here is a link to some rare photos of the game that comes from DallasCowboys.com.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/throwback-thursday

[eagle eye]

The last injury report before the one issued Sunday morning that has to say who's in and who's out that was released Friday afternoon has the Cowboys with some good news and some bad news. Overall though the Cowboys are pretty healthy for a team about to play their 18th game of the 2014 season.

 

First the bad:

> Doug Free is not going to play this week. Hopefully, his ankle injury will respond and he can make it back into the lineup after this week's game with the Packers.

> DT Terrell McClain will miss this week's game after suffering a sprained ankle last week against Detroit.

> LB Anthony Hitchens suffered a set back of his ankle injury last week against Detroit and he hasn't practiced all week and his availability is officially listed as questionable. Hitchens actually injured his ankle in Week 17 against the Redskins and he was listed as questionable last week going into the Detroit game. He was able play 33 snaps and he was needed after Rolando McClain went out of the game with and injury but I'll talk about that later. The hope is Hitchens will be available Sunday as the Cowboys will likely need him.

 

The good news:

> Rolando McClain has been cleared under the NFL concussion protocol and will be in the lineup Sunday. Now, the interesting thing is that during the game last Sunday he went out and the Fox sideline reporter said he was out due to an illness. Later in the game the report changed to a neck injury. Now, on Monday after the game it was announced that he was going through the NFL concussion protocol. It was all sort of crazy and it looked like the Cowboys were trying to hide the concussion issue. At any rate, the protocols were followed and McClain is available. That is a good thing.

> DE Jeremy Mincey got his bell rung in the Lions game as well and he had to go through the NFL concussion hoopla this week along with Rolando McClain and like McClain he has passed the concussion protocols and he will be able to play. McClain and Mincey are both important pieces to the Cowboys defensive puzzle and it's nothing but a good thing that they will be available.

> LB Anthony Hitchens suffered a set back for his ankle injury last week against Detroit and he hasn't practiced all week and his availability is officially listed as questionable. Hitchens actually injured his ankle in Week 17 against the Redskins and he was listed as questionable last week going into the Detroit game. He was able play 33 snaps and he was needed after Rolando McClain went out of the game with and injury but I'll talk about that latter. The hope is Hitchens will be available Sunday as the Cowboys will likely need him.

 

Now I know that officially McClain and Mincey are both listed as questionable but according to the writers on DallasCowboys.com both will be playing while the other 2 players listed as questionable, Terrell McClain won't be playing and Anthony Hitchens is truly questionable and likely a game time decision.

 

With Terrell McClain likely out this week and only 3 healthy D-tackles, Tyrone Crawford, Nick Haden and Josh Brent, who returned to practice this week, the Cowboys have activated DT Ken Bishop from the practice squad. It will be the first time since the Seattle game early in the season Bishop has been active. To make room for Bishop on the 53 the Cowboys have cut DB Jakar Hamilton. With the emergence of Sterling Moore, Tyler Patmon and CJ Spillman over the course of the season it made Hamilton expendable. If Hamilton clears waivers Dallas can resign him to the practice squad or at very least I believe the Cowboys could sign him to a futures contract.

 

Want to see some rather cool Cowboys video? Try this link to the article from DallasCowboys.com that has the 8 different "Finish the Fight" videos produced over the last couple of weeks. My favorite is the one I posted here prior to the Redskins game. I still get chills when I see that one. There is also a video by Michael Irvin that was shown in the stadium prior to the Lions game that would have inspired me to jump up and cheer for the Cowboys. There's also a video made and taken from DallasMavericks.com of Mavs players showing support for the Cowboys.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2015/01/09/experience-all-seven-hype-videos-during-cowboys-%E2%80%9Cfinish-fight%E2%80%9D-series

 

Now comes prediction time. It's still hard to just be confident that the Cowboys will go into this game in Green Bay, Wisconsin and say Dallas will win. That's my hope, that's my wish and it's a real possibility that Dallas can go out in the cold weather and beat a team that is undefeated at home. Having this knowledge that Dallas isn't going to be walked all over is pretty darn good. It's certainly been a while since Dallas was considered a factor in the playoffs and this is also a pretty darn good thing. However after 20 years of high hopes followed by disappointment it also seems pretty surreal.

I can't help but look at this team as a team of destiny. From the beginning of training camp when everyone on the team was issued a T-shirt with the simple message FIGHT. on it to the speech at the Cowboys kickoff luncheon just prior to the season that was featured in the recent "FighttheFight" video that featured Jerry Jones talking about the Cowboys having their backs against the wall, both the team in general and players specifically, to the six game winning streak following the opening night loss to San Francisco to the magnificent December run after getting smashed on Thanksgiving. Dallas didn't just get into the playoffs they bullied their way in and kicked everyone's ass that stood in their way. I still remember Jason Garrett's post game locker room speech where he told his team to enjoy this win because it was special and they earned it but, "...at midnight tonight give this (NFC division champion) hat to somebody. Give it to your wife, give it to your kid, give it to your mom, give it to your dad, give it to somebody because, as good as this is..." and he paused for dramatic effect and finished his thought in a soft spoken tone that perfectly gave the dramatic effect he intended, "I think we have our sights set a little bit higher than this." I have to admit, I got chills writing this quote. The post Lions game presser with Garrett when he said the questions were focused on the wrong thing in reference to the PI non-call. We need to be talking about how well the team played and how we persevered. It was a sharp rebuke that let the media present know they weren't there to discuss the refs, they were there to talk about the game and the Cowboys, period.

The day-to-day, play-to-play focus of the Cowboys is what has made them special. The "Us against the world" mentality has never, in my lifetime, been embodied so thoroughly by any team in any sport. This is a wonderful story that would be a crying shame if it ends in anything less than a Lombardi Trophy presentation to Jerry Jones and Jason Garrett in Phoenix, Arizona on February 1st. We all know that stories don't always have a happy ending. This is, after all, the real world. All I can say about tomorrow's game is that Dallas has more than a good enough team to beat the Packers and that is all you can ask for. The weather will be cold but not frigid. It certainly won't be a repeat of the 1967 NFL Championship "Ice Bowl" that was played in -15 deg F. Tomorrow's forecast is now a cloudy and 21 degrees day out which IMO benefits the Cowboys. It will be played in the early afternoon which means it's being played in the heat of the day which benefits both teams. The NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers will be playing on a torn calf which benefits the Cowboys but I'm sure Dallas won't be counting on Rodgers being a sitting duck and certainly he will be dangerous regardless. This is a benefit to Dallas with appropriate caution. Dallas will have key defensive players in the lineup and possibly a 3rd which benefits Dallas. Last but not least Dallas has the best O-line in football to lean on. I can't fathom Dallas losing this game but I'm nervous as can be anyway. I want Dallas to win so bad I can barely stand it but, as the Rolling Stones pointed out over forty years ago, "You Can't Always Get What You Want" but you know even the Stones knew, "...if you try sometimes you get what you need.". That's why I'm not making a prediction about this game. Cll me gutless or chicken or whatever but I just can't. I want this too much for so many reasons. I must have been asked 50 times this past week, "What do you think about the Cowboys this Sunday?" and my only answer has been, "Dallas can win this game. They stand a real good chance of beating the Packers." That was it. That's as far as I would go and that's as far as I'm going here. Dallas can win this game. Circumstances seem to be pointing to a Cowboys upset win over the Packers. Do you realize that if Carolina can pull off the upset today in Seattle and Dallas can win in Green Bay tomorrow Dallas will host the NFC Championship game? Of course whatever happens in Seattle today won't mean squat if Dallas doesn't take care of business so I'll be in front of my TV tomorrow dying on every play knowing.......

 

Dallas has the real ability to win and I hope like heck they do.

[eagle eye]

The 2014 Cowboys season is over. It may not have ended with any different result if Dez Bryant's catch was not overturned but it would have been nice if fans could have seen what would have transpired. First and goal on the one with 4+ minutes left in the game probably would have resulted in a TD but if it didn't I could live with that result a lot more than what happened. Conspiracy theorists could point to the over the top coverage of how the refs blew the pass interference call in the Detroit game and the fact that the Cowboys never got the benefit of a call that mattered in the game. Forget the Bullshit excuse by the head of the referees Dean Blandino about why it was ruled not a catch, what about two separate non-calls on the Packers for hitting Tony Romo late and at the knees. That's the Tom Brady rule people. You're not legally able to go for a QB's knees and the fact both hits were late where were the refs on those plays? What about the offensive pass interference on a Packers receiver who held Orlando Scandrick enabling Randall Cobb to catch a 3rd and long pass for a first down on the drive where Green Bay took the lead. What the hell happened to the replay of the pass to Cobb in the first half that obviously hit the ground prior to the catch. That play was reviewed and NOT overturned. WTF, man? Dallas did get the benefit of call of the cheap shot a Packers lineman put on Nick Haden that resulted in a big bru-ha-ha but it didn't really hurt Green Bay it just pushed them back a little bit. The Packers would still score on the drive so instead of first and goal at the seven the Packers had first and goal at the 22. Big freaking whoop. This loss hurts because in the end the refs decided the outcome instead of the players. Like I said, if the catch holds up and Dallas scored a TD there's still roughly 4 minutes left in the game. Hell, the Packers may have scored and Dallas may have had enough time left to try to win the game. Even if they came up short and lost it would be an easier pill to swallow that the one we were left with. I am now officially rooting for the AFC team to win. Frankly, I'd like to see Tom Brady get his fourth ring but if it's Indy so be it. Dallas didn't deserve to be screwed like that--no team deserves to get screwed like that. And, No, it's not the same as the non-interference call against Detroit. Not even close and everyone except the trolls and the haters know it is not the same.

 

Jason Garrett was right about having opportunities to win outside of the non-catch. Right at the end of the first half Dallas failed to score and then they allowed the Packers to march down the field and kick a field goal just before halftime. Folks, that's a six point swing and Dallas lost by five. If Dallas kicks that field goal and the half ends 17-7 it would have been a lot better than the 14-10 score that turned out to be how the half ended. DeMarco Murray's fumble was a killer. Murray likely would not have scored on the play but it would have put Dallas deep in Packers territory so if you count those 3 points minimum and erase the 3 points Green Bay got as a result of the fumble that's another 6 point swing, 12 altogether in a five point loss. The fact that James Hanna failed to recover a Randall Cobb fumbled punt and there's another 3 minimum. So, that's the offense and special teams groups that left points on the field but the defense tackled as bad in the second half and they tackled well in the first half. Dallas just plain sucked at tackling and it cost them dearly in terms of getting off the field when they had the Packers in 3rd and long situations.

 

The rest of this winter is going to be long and cold, I can tell you that right now. Shoot, it's taken me 4 days to even feel like posting about the game.

 

It's not much consolation now but Dallas did have a really remarkable year. 12-4 when nobody gave Dallas a snowball's chance in hell of winning more than 6 games prior to the season is way above and beyond what fans could have expected. Having Dallas roll through September and October with a six game winning steak that saw DeMarco Murray win the Fed-Ex Offensive Player of the Week award 6 out of the first 8 weeks AND set an NFL record for the most consecutive 100 yard games rushing to begin the season with 8. Murray won the NFL rushing title with a total of 1,845 yards which was 484 yards more than the 2nd place rusher, Le'Veon Bell. He was named the Pro Football Writer's Association as the NFL Offensive Player of the Year. Tony Romo finished the season as the No 1 ranked passer in QBR, completion percentage and 2nd in TD passes as well as several other categories. In the Divisional Playoff game Romo went 15-19 for 191 yards and 2 TDs and no picks. His completion percentage of 78.4 was phenomenal. The final pass to Dez Bryant would have made him 16-19 for 222 yards but, again, he wasn't. The pass Romo threw to Dez on THE PLAY was described as the finest throw Romo has made in his career. His final QBR in the Packer game of 143.6 is an NFL record. Dez led the NFL in TD receptions with 16. DeMarco led the NFL with 13 rushing TD's. Dallas' defense actually played well for the most part it's just a shame what may have been their worst game of 2014 against the Packers.

 

There is a lot of bright light at the end of this season's tunnel. The Cowboys have a bunch of work for Jerry Jones to do to sign a number of coaches and players whose contracts expired this season but the core of the team is sound and they will only get better. It's sad to see the season end especially the way it did but there is a lot of hope for the coming seasons. That's more than a lot of teams can hope for and that's a good thing. Dallas will be in serious conversations this off season right up until the beginning of the 2015 about legit contenders for a Super Bowl next year. The truth is, 31 teams end their season sad. Only one team is happy at the end so short of winning it all this year Dallas was bound to be sad at some point. The Cowboys arrow is definitely pointing up and for beleaguered fans that's all we can ask.

[LUSportsFan]

Agree with every thing you are saying.

 

Someone give me the definition of "a football move". I had the game dvr'd and ran the Dez play back several times. I counted at least three steps going forward after the reception before he reached out for the goal line. I guess I don't understand what constitutes a catch anymore.

 

I guess the game has left me behind. I've been watching the Cowboys since the Eddie LeBaron and then Dandy Don days. Johnny Unitas was my hero before the Cowboys. :) It was a lot less complicated back then. A catch was a catch. A fumble was a fumble. A hit was a hit.

[eagle eye]

Agree with every thing you are saying.

 

Someone give me the definition of "a football move". I had the game dvr'd and ran the Dez play back several times. I counted at least three steps going forward after the reception before he reached out for the goal line. I guess I don't understand what constitutes a catch anymore.

 

I guess the game has left me behind. I've been watching the Cowboys since the Eddie LeBaron and then Dandy Don days. Johnny Unitas was my hero before the Cowboys. :) It was a lot less complicated back then. A catch was a catch. A fumble was a fumble. A hit was a hit.

 

 

Amen, brother, amen.