Here on the Dark Side, things have gone a dark, scary green, sorta like the North Texas sky on a tornado day. The aftermath of Eagles 38 - Cowboys 24 has the sheep bleating whinily, and the Dark Siders cavorting with glee.
So, now we know the Cowboys are not an elite team. The Eagles are good, but not great - their offense is too low-speed to keep up with the real big boys. And now we know how the Cowboys stack up against a decent team: Not well.
It starts with the offensive line, as usual. This bunch just isn't very good. Oh sure, they looked like Stepnoski, Gogan, and Co. against Washington and Tennessee, but who doesn't? The Eagles have a real NFL defense, and that's all it takes. Bledsoe put together some nice stretches, but overall the Eagles' D dominated.
TO Owens was not much of a factor, with three catches and less than 50 yards. More balls were thrown in his direction, but some of those bounced off his hands, while others were bad throws, forced by Bledsoe while running for his life. Owens seemed to want to take over the game, but didn't get the opportunity as the Eagles teed off on Bledsoe in the second half. His post game reactions, though measured and somewhat (by TO Owens standards) restrained, are but a taste of what is to come as the Cowboys plod on thru the season. He's not getting the ball, which can be blamed on everything from tired, old Bledsoe to no protection to the Pear-Shaped Football Genius directing the offense away from him to who-knows-what else. And when TO Owens isn't getting the ball, there will be fireworks.
I can't wait!
The rest of the offense? Some more flashes of brilliance from Julius Jones, a couple of nice grabs by Glenn and Witten (who must be sore as crap, after getting hammered by half the defense on a short down and in during the 3rd quarter - not a spectacular hit by any means, but it looked like it hurt an awful lot), but not enough to overcome the Eagles' big plays on offense.
And what of those big Eagle plays on offense? Wasn't the Cowboy D supposed to be "Doomsday III"? McNab seemed able to torch the secondary at will. Everyone, but especially the safeties, gave up big plays all over the field. And to whom? Do the Eagles have one WR who's worth a flip? They are a bunch of spares, but they looked like Rice, Largent, and Monk against this ridiculous pass defense.
And don't forget, the Eagles had no running game either. Westbrook is a decent, but far from great, back when healthy, and he wasn't healthy.
So, wait a minute - a team with an admittedly top-notch QB, but a bunch of spares at receiver and no ability to run the ball, were able to make the Cowboy D look like the Frisco Wakeland Wolverines? Hmm. Could the Cowboy D be (GASP!) over-rated?
Folks, not only is the defense over-rated, everything about this team is over-rated. They beat up on a pathetic Redskins team, then wiped out arguable the worst team in the NFL in Tennessee (and don't give me the "but the Titans almost beat the Colts" bit – Indianapolis slept thru that game and only regained semi-consciousness long enough to swat those pests) and the sheep, led by the homer media, is ready to start planning the Super Bowl Victory Parade.
The truth should be obvious now: The Cowboys are a middle- to lower-rung team in the NFL. They will win games against the weaker sisters (this week against Houston is Example A) and will lose, and look bad doing so, to the better teams in the league (Giants and Carolina are Examples B and C, Your Honor).
There's lots of room over here on the Dark Side, boys and girls. The best seats are going quickly, but we'll make room for you. I expect to see most of you over here before the end of the season.
So, now we know the Cowboys are not an elite team. The Eagles are good, but not great - their offense is too low-speed to keep up with the real big boys. And now we know how the Cowboys stack up against a decent team: Not well.
It starts with the offensive line, as usual. This bunch just isn't very good. Oh sure, they looked like Stepnoski, Gogan, and Co. against Washington and Tennessee, but who doesn't? The Eagles have a real NFL defense, and that's all it takes. Bledsoe put together some nice stretches, but overall the Eagles' D dominated.
TO Owens was not much of a factor, with three catches and less than 50 yards. More balls were thrown in his direction, but some of those bounced off his hands, while others were bad throws, forced by Bledsoe while running for his life. Owens seemed to want to take over the game, but didn't get the opportunity as the Eagles teed off on Bledsoe in the second half. His post game reactions, though measured and somewhat (by TO Owens standards) restrained, are but a taste of what is to come as the Cowboys plod on thru the season. He's not getting the ball, which can be blamed on everything from tired, old Bledsoe to no protection to the Pear-Shaped Football Genius directing the offense away from him to who-knows-what else. And when TO Owens isn't getting the ball, there will be fireworks.
I can't wait!
The rest of the offense? Some more flashes of brilliance from Julius Jones, a couple of nice grabs by Glenn and Witten (who must be sore as crap, after getting hammered by half the defense on a short down and in during the 3rd quarter - not a spectacular hit by any means, but it looked like it hurt an awful lot), but not enough to overcome the Eagles' big plays on offense.
And what of those big Eagle plays on offense? Wasn't the Cowboy D supposed to be "Doomsday III"? McNab seemed able to torch the secondary at will. Everyone, but especially the safeties, gave up big plays all over the field. And to whom? Do the Eagles have one WR who's worth a flip? They are a bunch of spares, but they looked like Rice, Largent, and Monk against this ridiculous pass defense.
And don't forget, the Eagles had no running game either. Westbrook is a decent, but far from great, back when healthy, and he wasn't healthy.
So, wait a minute - a team with an admittedly top-notch QB, but a bunch of spares at receiver and no ability to run the ball, were able to make the Cowboy D look like the Frisco Wakeland Wolverines? Hmm. Could the Cowboy D be (GASP!) over-rated?
Folks, not only is the defense over-rated, everything about this team is over-rated. They beat up on a pathetic Redskins team, then wiped out arguable the worst team in the NFL in Tennessee (and don't give me the "but the Titans almost beat the Colts" bit – Indianapolis slept thru that game and only regained semi-consciousness long enough to swat those pests) and the sheep, led by the homer media, is ready to start planning the Super Bowl Victory Parade.
The truth should be obvious now: The Cowboys are a middle- to lower-rung team in the NFL. They will win games against the weaker sisters (this week against Houston is Example A) and will lose, and look bad doing so, to the better teams in the league (Giants and Carolina are Examples B and C, Your Honor).
There's lots of room over here on the Dark Side, boys and girls. The best seats are going quickly, but we'll make room for you. I expect to see most of you over here before the end of the season.
1 comment:
Who's this TO you speak of?
Don't you mean OD?
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