DALLAS WINS
Well, turns out I was wrong with my Cowboys-Texans prediction as Dallas mostly dominated the game and showed that they might still have some life after all. I don't know what happened the week leading up to the game, but the Cowboys in Week 3 did not look like the Cowboys in Weeks 1 and 2.
OFFENSE, FIELD GOAL KICKING
The offense was not incredible--Tony Romo threw for more yards against Chicago and almost more against the Redskins--but it capitalized on its opportunities and David Buehler (probably spelled wrong) actually made some great kicks, especially the 48-yarder at the end of the first half which I was fully expecting to sail wide right or left. Dallas finally scored some points to go along with all its yards. The running game was still not what you like to see overall (about 100 yards total), but it kept the Texans defense honest and seemed to wear them down a bit as the game wore on.
DEFENSE
The defense was attacking and created three turnovers after not coming up with any in the first two games. Matt Schaub was sacked four times, and I think three of those were credited to DeMarcus Ware. It felt weird cheering against the Scahub but UVA allegiances go out the window in the NFL if a former Hoo is on the opposing team. And the goal line stand was simply incredible. I think that really broke the will of the Texans.
EMOTION
It definitely seemed like the Dallas players were more in tune with this game and ready to play. Several players were fired up. Dez Bryant sticks out in my head as someone who has a real bravado about him which borders on cockiness perhaps, but I think he really energizes the team when he's making catches. And he always seems to give 100 percent effort. Marion Barber should also not be overlooked as he could be seen on the sideline pumping up the defense after his rushing touchdown. The Cowboys knew they needed to win this game, and they responded accordingly, which was good to see. The coaching staff has not lost them and maybe even Wade Phillips was able to motivate them a little bit.
In the end, I think getting up on Houston early and weathering the first few minutes of the game was huge. The crowd was really wanting this win in the battle of Texas and being able to keep the fans out of the game was significant and helped Dallas swing momentum its way early. At first, it looked like the same Dallas team from the first two weeks. The offense drove down the field, but scored no points. And then Houston marched down the field pretty easily but Dallas held it to a field goal. I think if the Texans had scored a touchdown, Dallas could be 0-3. So credit the defense for not giving the fans a good reason to get really hyped early in the game.
Hopefully this is a sign of good things to come. I was pretty pessimistic leading up to the game but as I mentioned before the game, the Cowboys were only a few plays away from beating both the Redskins and the Bears. A game with the Redskins usually can go either way and the Bears, well, they might actually be for real after beating Green Bay last night. So I guess it was never time to panic for Dallas but I think 0-3 would have given reason for hysteria to break loose.
Now Dallas gets a bye week which should go much more smoothly given the team is 1-2 instead of 0-3. And no one has to endure two weeks of ESPN's coverage of "What's wrong with the Cowboys?"
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My Atlanta Braves are in quite a race for the NL Wild Card. Atlanta was first in the NL East for much of the year but the Phillies came back with a strong second-half record and overtook the Braves within the last month or so. Atlanta has been sliding of late, but a win over the Marlins last night gives it the wild card lead by a 1/2 game over the Padres, who lost to the Cubs. It would have been great for Bobby Cox to get a division crown in his last year as manager, but hopefully the team can at least get him into the playoffs (the Phillies officially clinched the NL East last night with their win over the Nationals).
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Tony Stewart was set to win the first Sprint Cup Chase race at New Hampshire when he ran out of fuel on the final lap, sending him all the way back to--I think--11th in points. A win in the first Chase race would have been huge and really could have set the stage for a third championship run for Stewart. He was unable to rebound Sunday at Dover and finished 21st. Stewart now sits 10th in points, 162 behind Denny Hamlin. If he is going to make any run for the title, it will have to be soon. Next race is Sunday at Kansas where Stewart has two wins and has been generally successful so maybe he can get something going. If Smoke can't win the title, hopefully Denny Hamlin--a native of Virginia--can hold on because I'd rather see him win than who is in 2nd (Jimmie Johnson) or 3rd (Kyle Busch).
Look for a new post coming Thursday or Friday with predictions for the weekend's football games. Lots of good college games on tap including UVA-FSU, VT-N.C. State, Oregon-Stanford, Oklahoma-Texas, and Wisconsin-Michigan State.
EDIT: And I shouldn't forget Florida at Alabama, perhaps the biggest game of the week.
Well, turns out I was wrong with my Cowboys-Texans prediction as Dallas mostly dominated the game and showed that they might still have some life after all. I don't know what happened the week leading up to the game, but the Cowboys in Week 3 did not look like the Cowboys in Weeks 1 and 2.
OFFENSE, FIELD GOAL KICKING
The offense was not incredible--Tony Romo threw for more yards against Chicago and almost more against the Redskins--but it capitalized on its opportunities and David Buehler (probably spelled wrong) actually made some great kicks, especially the 48-yarder at the end of the first half which I was fully expecting to sail wide right or left. Dallas finally scored some points to go along with all its yards. The running game was still not what you like to see overall (about 100 yards total), but it kept the Texans defense honest and seemed to wear them down a bit as the game wore on.
DEFENSE
The defense was attacking and created three turnovers after not coming up with any in the first two games. Matt Schaub was sacked four times, and I think three of those were credited to DeMarcus Ware. It felt weird cheering against the Scahub but UVA allegiances go out the window in the NFL if a former Hoo is on the opposing team. And the goal line stand was simply incredible. I think that really broke the will of the Texans.
EMOTION
It definitely seemed like the Dallas players were more in tune with this game and ready to play. Several players were fired up. Dez Bryant sticks out in my head as someone who has a real bravado about him which borders on cockiness perhaps, but I think he really energizes the team when he's making catches. And he always seems to give 100 percent effort. Marion Barber should also not be overlooked as he could be seen on the sideline pumping up the defense after his rushing touchdown. The Cowboys knew they needed to win this game, and they responded accordingly, which was good to see. The coaching staff has not lost them and maybe even Wade Phillips was able to motivate them a little bit.
In the end, I think getting up on Houston early and weathering the first few minutes of the game was huge. The crowd was really wanting this win in the battle of Texas and being able to keep the fans out of the game was significant and helped Dallas swing momentum its way early. At first, it looked like the same Dallas team from the first two weeks. The offense drove down the field, but scored no points. And then Houston marched down the field pretty easily but Dallas held it to a field goal. I think if the Texans had scored a touchdown, Dallas could be 0-3. So credit the defense for not giving the fans a good reason to get really hyped early in the game.
Hopefully this is a sign of good things to come. I was pretty pessimistic leading up to the game but as I mentioned before the game, the Cowboys were only a few plays away from beating both the Redskins and the Bears. A game with the Redskins usually can go either way and the Bears, well, they might actually be for real after beating Green Bay last night. So I guess it was never time to panic for Dallas but I think 0-3 would have given reason for hysteria to break loose.
Now Dallas gets a bye week which should go much more smoothly given the team is 1-2 instead of 0-3. And no one has to endure two weeks of ESPN's coverage of "What's wrong with the Cowboys?"
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My Atlanta Braves are in quite a race for the NL Wild Card. Atlanta was first in the NL East for much of the year but the Phillies came back with a strong second-half record and overtook the Braves within the last month or so. Atlanta has been sliding of late, but a win over the Marlins last night gives it the wild card lead by a 1/2 game over the Padres, who lost to the Cubs. It would have been great for Bobby Cox to get a division crown in his last year as manager, but hopefully the team can at least get him into the playoffs (the Phillies officially clinched the NL East last night with their win over the Nationals).
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Tony Stewart was set to win the first Sprint Cup Chase race at New Hampshire when he ran out of fuel on the final lap, sending him all the way back to--I think--11th in points. A win in the first Chase race would have been huge and really could have set the stage for a third championship run for Stewart. He was unable to rebound Sunday at Dover and finished 21st. Stewart now sits 10th in points, 162 behind Denny Hamlin. If he is going to make any run for the title, it will have to be soon. Next race is Sunday at Kansas where Stewart has two wins and has been generally successful so maybe he can get something going. If Smoke can't win the title, hopefully Denny Hamlin--a native of Virginia--can hold on because I'd rather see him win than who is in 2nd (Jimmie Johnson) or 3rd (Kyle Busch).
Look for a new post coming Thursday or Friday with predictions for the weekend's football games. Lots of good college games on tap including UVA-FSU, VT-N.C. State, Oregon-Stanford, Oklahoma-Texas, and Wisconsin-Michigan State.
EDIT: And I shouldn't forget Florida at Alabama, perhaps the biggest game of the week.
It was good to see Dallas finally put it altogether against Houston. They could just as easily be 3-0 if they had played that way during the first two weeks. The defense really stepped it up and the offense seemed to gel. They seem to play with intensity and emotion not there the first two weeks. I don't understand that; how can they not get fired up to beat Washington. And the running helped. Let's hope they can focus now and really turn it on after the bye week. Go Cowboys!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to see Stewart fading. He looked to be really turning it on just a couple of weeks ago. Hopefully, he can get it together and put together a couple of wins.