From the opening kickoff the Cowboys looked tired and slow. At least that is what I’m hoping it was because if they weren’t and the Texans were as fast and explosive as they looked, then the Cowboys are in trouble. The offensive line could not handle any blitzes the Texans threw at them. It was total domination for the entire first half by the Texans. The running game was non existent for the Cowboys. Through three quarters they had a total of nine yards rushing. Even though Tony Romo’s numbers looked good, he had almost no time to get anything going. The entire offense never was able to get into a rhythm. Before the end of the third quarter the Cowboys offense had used up all three of their second half time-outs.

The defense was not much better as the Texans offense did what they wanted most of the night. Receivers were left open and their running game shredded the Cowboys defense, as Adrian Foster rushed for 110 yards before the third quarter was over. The Cowboys defense always seemed a step behind the Texans offense. Even when DeMarcus Ware stepped up and made a play by stripping the ball from Matt Schaub and then recovering the fumble, the Cowboys were called for a defensive penalty giving the Texans a first and goal, which they converted into a touchdown on the next play.

Tony Romo as well as Wade Phillips showed how unhappy they were during the game. It could be seen in Phillips face and it could be heard from Romo during a sideline interview. As a fan I don’t concern myself with wins during the preseason, but I do concern myself with performance. The Cowboys on offense and defense did not perform well against the Texans.

While writing the post and continuing to watch the game, the Cowboys finally found the end zone with a John Kitna to Kevin Ogletree 24 yard touchdown pass. There is now two weeks until opening day in Washington. This team needs to be ready and focused. I don’t have any doubt they will be, but tonight was very disturbing for a third preseason game.

Led by Tony Romo, the Cowboys clobbered the Eagles 24-0 in front of a packed Cowboys Stadium crowd. Romo threw a pair of first half touchdown passes with strikes to Jason Witten and Patrick Crayton, to put the Cowboys up 14-0. After a Suisham field goal, the Cowboys ended the first half with a 17-0 advantage and all the momentum on their side.

In the second half, an electrifying touch down run by Felix Jones increased the lead to 27-0, and that would be all the scoring for the rest of the game.

While Romo and company handled things on the offensive side of the ball, it was the defense that delighted 100,621 screaming fans as they completely shutdown and dominated the prolific Eagles offense led by Donovan McNabb. The Eagles tried their best to break through a solid defensive front, but their efforts were futile and all they could muster was a pathetic 37 yards rushing against a relentless Cowboys attack.

The Cowboys defense never even allowed the Philadelphia Eagles to enter the red zone for the entire game! (Revenge is a dish best served cold!)

It was the third straight big win for the Cowboys who have finally exorcised the ghosts of season’s past. Nobody will dare say that the Tony Romo and the Cowboys can’t win a big game anymore.

Next week we do it all over again, as we host these same Philadelphia Eagles once again at Cowboys Stadium.

This Cowboys team is operating at peak performance and is firing on all cylinders. It’s been exciting to see them evolve over this past season from a solid, but inconsistent team, into the juggernaut they have now become. For the first time in a long time there is a remarkable cohesion and a single minded philosophy that is focused and determined to win a Super Bowl trophy.  These are the Dallas Cowboys that we have all been waiting for.

* * * * * Record Breakers * * * * *

Tony Romo completes the most productive season of his career and in franchise history, setting club records for attempts, completions and passing yards.

Today’s Eagles shutout coupled with last weeks blanking of the Redskins, gave the Cowboys their first back to back shutouts in franchise history. It was also the first shutout of the Eagles since a 34-0 trouncing inflicted by the Cowboys in 1998.

Felix Jones ends the season leading the NFL with a 5.9 Yards Per Carry. He beat out Titans’ RB Chris Johnson who incidentally finsihed the seaon with over 2,000 rushing yards, the sixth player in NFL history ever to accomplish the feat.

The Cowboys did the unexpected and beat the previously undefeated New Orleans Saints 24-17 in a hard fought battle that kept most Cowboys fans on the edge of their seats right up until the final seconds of the game.

Tony Romo and Miles Austin lit up the sky and the scoreboard once again on offense, while Marion Barber and Felix Jones kept the ground game churning and burning.

However, it was the defense who stepped up the most and found a way to stop the juggernaut from New Orleans.

DeMarcus Ware was back and made some key plays including a sack of Drew Brees and a forced fumble with 10 seconds left on the clock and the Saints moving the ball. The Cowboys recovered and the rest as they say was history.

Anthony Spencer and Mike Jenkins had huge efforts on defense, and as for Spencer, he is quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with on defense.

The only bad note to the game was the continuing struggles of Nick Folk who missed a chip-shot field goal that the Cowboys needed to put the Saints away for good. There”s no way the Cowboys don’t replace him next week.

This was the first December win on the road since 2007 for the Cowboys.

The victory may have put a final nail in the Giants coffin, but keeps us alive and well for a play off spot as we inch closer to the final game of the season against the much hated Eagles at Cowboys Stadium. What a game that will be!

Merry Christmas everybody!

Enjoy this gift from the Cowboys!

As for the game, if you want to call it that, what can I say that you haven’t already heard every December for the last three seasons?

The Chargers made themselves right at home in Cowboys Stadium and beat us 20-17 in front of packed house of 90,000+ fans.

The Chargers have now won 16 consecutive December games, while the Cowboys still struggle to put a couple of wins in a row together in what has become their death knell. The Cowboys may have produced more first downs (22 to 21) than the Chargers, but it’s points scored that matter the most in the NFL.

It seems that whether they are on the road or at home, where they never seem to have any advantage, the Cowboys are always behind and have to play a vicious game of catch-up. In fact, do you know that the Cowboys have not had one touchdown drive on their first possession in over a year? The other team almost always strikes first blood and that’s not really a lasting formula for success..

The turning point of the game came just before the end of the first half when on first and goal and on the one yard line, Marion Barber failed to get in the end zone.

The Chargers defense was impenetrable as Barber failed to break through again and again and again including on fourth and goal. Barber got the hand-off on that final attempt, but the Chargers got penetration and dropped Barber once again for no gain allowing San Diego to take over on downs at their own one. It was as deflating a series as we’ve seen all season long and just humiliating and brutal to watch.

They went into halftime trailing 10-3 despite running an unbelievable 28 plays in Chargers’ territory. That is such an epic fail on so many levels, it’s almost hard to believe a team can be that futile and impotent.

And even when they did recover the ball after those failed Marion Barber attempts at the one yard line, Nick Folk missed a 32 yard field goal that would have made it 10-6.

There seemed to be no sense of urgency, and I took issue with the fact that Wade Phillips didn’t use up any of his timeouts to stop the clock and give his offense a few more shots to get some points on the board. Also, with 4 seconds left in the half, Romo took a knee rather than attempt one final pass if only to give the perception that there was some fight left in this team.

You could have turned your sets off right there. It was apparent that the San Diego Chargers were doing everything they could to win, while the Cowboys did everything they could to lose.

The second half only confirmed our first half fears.

So now the Cowboys have tallied consecutive losses for the first time this season, and head to New Orleans to face the undefeated Saints on Saturday night.

With the loss, Dallas falls to 8-5, and pending the outcome of tonights game between the Eagles and Giants, they will either be in second place, or in a three way tie for first. The thing about ties is this, the Cowboys have the worst record in the division and would lose any tie breaker.

How many days to the NFL Draft?

Early on the Cowboys seemed to be controlling the game with a score of 10-0 up until the two minute warning. Then all of a sudden the Giants scored two touchdowns in less than two minutes right before halftime.

Tony Romo put up good numbers, but that just proves that stats don’t win games. Romo went 41/55, 392 yards, three touchdowns and ZERO interceptions. Romo’s 41 receptions set a new franchise record.

Roy Williams collected two touchdowns and had six receptions for 60 yards. Jason Witten came away with a career high 156 yards on 14 carries. While, Miles Austin had 10 receptions, 104 yards and one touchdown.

Romo and the receiving corps played great but those numbers mean nothing though when you lose to a division rival. And, it certainly didn’t help that the ground game never showed up. Between the three backs, Dallas only had 45 yards on the ground. All three lacked explosiveness and ran tentatively.

Nick Folk missed two field goals, and to be honest may not be a Cowboy for much longer. The Cowboys need a winner and Folk is definitely struggling lately. Many games come down to field goals and when you are in a run for the playoffs you need to be sure your kicker can make those shots.

On the defensive side of things, highlights include Jay Ratliff’s forced fumble and recover, Mike Jenkins’ interception and DeMarcus Ware had one sack. Other than that, mistakes, penalties and missed tackles were abundant.

This one is on the defense and special teams.

Jason Witten, who should have been celebrating a career best day and his 500th career catch said it best…

“We’ve got to challenge ourselves and find a way to play. We have to get back to it and forget all this December stuff. I’m not trying to avoid it or say it’s not true. We’ve got to put it away. You let another one slip and you’re really in trouble.”

***

Things we kept waiting for but never happened:

1. Massive Sack Attack from DeMarcus Ware and Anthony Spencer

2. Deep Passes to Miles Austin

3. The Three-Headed Monster to Wake Up

4. Urgency From the Cowboys

Fans prepare yourself, because its going to be a long week of hearing about the Cowboys record in December. The schedule doesn’t get any easier either. Coming up: Chargers, Saints, Redskins, Eagles.

I’m not saying that our season is over, I’m not saying we can’t still win the division. All I’m saying is it won’t be easy.

This loss pissed me off more than any of the others this season. Usually I get sad, but not necessarily mad. It’s passion-driven anger. It’s uncontrollable and I shouldn’t let it get the best of me. I apologize to anyone who I offended or attacked during or after this game.

Don’t worry, I will pull myself together. I’ll get over it and look forward to the next game. The team should do the same thing. I hope they take this loss personally and take it out on the next team in line.

The most painful thing to come from this loss will be the hole that Marc Colombo leaves on the offensive line. Colombo went down in the first quarter and later it was learned that he suffered from a broken fibula. Doug Free came in to replace Colombo and immediately failed to protect Romo.

There was an injury scare with Bradie James who returned to play, and Ken Hamlin left the game with an ankle injury.

Another stinger was an arm injury to corner Mike Jenkins. He returned to play but left again for good after a few minutes.

Tony Romo also took a beating from the Green Bay defense taking five sacks, while Aaron Rodgers was sacked 4 times by Dallas. Romo ended the day 24 of 29 completions, 251 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Roy Williams caught 5 passes for 105 yards and a touchdown. Sounds good right? No, not really. He also fumbled what would have been a 41-yard completion along with a dropped pass that could have been a game changer.

Luckily the Cowboys were able to score a touchdown in the final seconds to avoid getting shutout for the first time since December 14, 2003.

The running game was basically nonexistent. The three-headed monster combined for a measly 45 yards.

Defensively things were looking pretty good, just not good enough when your offense can’t produce and injuries sideline your starters. DeMarcus Ware had two sacks and Bobby Carpenter and Stephen Bowen recorded one sack each. Jay Ratliff was quiet, however Anthony Spencer stepped up and made several great plays.

Dallas has to pray that their injuries aren’t as bad as they seem. Of course Colombo is likely out for the season, but Jenkins and Hamlin should be able to return.

The Cowboys move on with a 6-3 record, still leading the NFC East and come back home to play the Washington Redskins for the first time this season.

I warned all of you in last weeks recap that the victory over the Panthers was nothing to get excited about. So what… the Cowboys can beat the worst teams in the league… big deal. When is the last time this team won a big game against a tough opponent?

The fact of the matter is that the Cowboys, despite all their overpriced talent, are as mediocre a team as there is in the NFL.

We hail our quarterback as a star, but what lofty heights has he achieved to deserve such high praise?

Romo is an enigma. He is erratic and inconsistent and crumbles under pressure like a saltine cracker. You can blame the O-line if you want and continue to make excuses for him so you can feel better, but the truth is that outside of the Dallas – Forth Worth area, Romo has become the poster boy for the most overrated player in the NFL. He is no longer the promising warrior that was a product of the Bill Parcells offense. Jason Garrett should get most of the blame for his demise.

You can expect a win next week against the lowly Kansas City Chiefs who are still winless at 0-4. Maybe… But even if the Cowboys should prevail it will prove nothing more than the fact that the only teams the Cowboys could beat these days are the ones residing at the bottom of the barrel.

I’m not going to say the Cowboys miss T.O. because he was in fact a pariah, but I will say that you don’t let someone like him go and then sit on your hands and blow smoke up our ass about how Roy Williams will make us forget him.

Just because you blew up the 2009 Draft to get RW, and just because you paid him like a number one receiver, it doesn’t exactly make him a number one receiver. The fact is, I’d take Crayton over Williams any day. Did Jerry Jones really believe that Roy Williams could replace the 3,600 yards and 38 touchdowns that Owens delivered in his three seasons in Dallas?

Hey Jerry, maybe it’s time you step a side and hire a real football man as the general manager. You got away with playing GM thanks to having Jimmie Johnson and Barry Switzer to guide you, but since they left all you’ve really been good at is signing paychecks. You’re way out of your league.

Last night’s loss was all on the offense. Don’t blame the defense for allowing that final Denver back-breaking touchdown in the fourth quarter. Thanks to an offense that was so inept, our defenders were worn out and winded in the thin air of Colorado. It never should have come to that anyway. The “Romo and Garrett” led offense let far too many opportunities slip away.

It’s a shame that average fans like us can figure out that the Cowboys are built for grinding it out with the running game and yet Garrett is clueless on that fact. We have three tremendous and gifted weapons that can each pound the ball and confound opposing defenses to no end. Rather than using Marion Barber, Tashard Choice and Felix Jones (when healthy) to control the clock and the pace of the game, the Cowboys always seem to revert to an air attack that is futile and ineffective to say the least.

Roy Williams took a swipe at Romo when he said,

“It wasn’t tough for us to get open. It ain’t never tough for us to get open.”

In other words he was accusing Romo of throwing to the wrong target or when he did hit the right receiver, the ball was overthrown or way off target. Williams is right, and if he’s saying it out loud for all to hear, it doesn’t say much for Romo’s leadership or grasp of the situation.

Even tightend Martellus Bennett threw Romo under the bus when he said the following about the Cowboys defense,

“Those guys busted their tales the whole game. For us to be on the field and be in that situation like that is really unfair.”

What Marty B was referring to was Romo’s consecutive drives lasting 1:28 and 1:43 in the fourth quarter, which caused a depleted defense to take the field both times. The Broncos ended up scoring the game-tying field goal and the game-winning touchdown on the two possessions following the two 3 and outs.

As far as bright spots go, Marion Barber scored the only touchdown, and Keith Brooking continues to shine on defense.

The Cowboys have been a .500 team (12-12) since the last month of the 2007 season. Wow… There’s all the proof you need.

They are now 2-2 and of the remaining 12 games of the season, the last five games are against New York, New Orleans, Washington, San Diego and Philadelphia. The way I see it, the Cowboys need nine wins to earn a playoff berth. That means they have to win 7 of the remaining 12 games.

Fasten your seatbelt, this could get even uglier.

The offense was clicking on all cylinders as Romo did a fantastic job of spreading the ball around and taking advantage of some huge blown coverages by the Buc’s secondary. And for those of you who were worried about the loss of Terrell Owens, you can all breathe easy as Roy Williams, Patrick Crayton and Austin Miles each hauled in a touchdown in the game.

Romo completed 16-of-27 passes for 353 yards, a career high, and tossed three touchdown passes. It was the most yards he has ever thrown in his career. His first strike was to Miles Austin, a 42-yard touchdown catch in the final minute of the first half to put Dallas up 13-7 at halftime. It was a picture perfect catch and run for Miles. 

Romo threw his second touchdown pass, a 66-yard strike to Roy Williams, to give the Cowboys a 20-7 in the third quarter, and then found wide receiver Patrick Crayton with an 80-yard strike. Crayton had a huge day ringing up four catches for 135 yards. Tight end Jason Witten also had a fine day with five catches for 71 yards vs. the Bucs.

The Cowboys also were solid on the ground and racked up 118 yards led by Marion Barber who had 79 yards and a six-yard touchdown run.

Nick Folk had a busy day and got us on the board with two field goals in the first quarter, giving the Cowboys a 6-0 lead to get things started. Folk nailed a booming 51-yard field goal, and then followed it up with a 22-yard chip shot.

Defensively, they played cohesively and got the job done in the last three quarters after allowing the Bucs’ Cadillac Williams to run wild in the first quarter. There were a couple injury scares when both DeMarcus Ware and Gerald Sensabaugh got the worst of two tackles, but Ware came back in the game in the next series and Sensabaugh said he’s fine and suffered a sore rib. Sensabaugh had a key moment in the game when he blocked a Buccaneers field goal.

Matt McBriar was looking good, and the Cowboys had no turnovers in the game. They even held the penalties to just 4 for 41 yards.

All in all, it was a great victory so let’s enjoy it!

Go Cowboys!

The Cowboys had three turnovers, allowed two sacks, were called for holding twice, had 12 men on the field on defense, blew a coverage that allowed a touchdown, and gave up an 81-yard punt return for a touchdown. Brutal…

Of course, last night was not so much about securing the victory, but giving the coaching staff one final opportunity to get an in-game glimpse of all the reserve players that are still fighting for a spot on the team. The Cowboys must now decide who will stay and who will go later today when they announce their final cuts.

There were some standout performances that may have secured a roster spot for some, and of course there were a few dismal performances as well. Let’s take a look at some of those who shined first.

Pat Watkins had a breakout game and stole the show for the Cowboys last night. The fourth-year safety made a clutch tackle on a fourth-and-one with 1:59 left in the first half that prevented a Vikings touchdown. Then he blocked a field goal with nine seconds left on the clock, to end the first half and prevent another Vikings scoring opportunity. Finally, he opened the third quarter with a a dazzling 23-yard interception return for a touchdown. It was a big day for the Cowboys’ backup safety. Take a bow Pat.

Some other stand-out performances belonged to Steve Octavien, who returned a 44-yard interception for a Cowboys touchdown, and Jesse Holley, who scored the game winning touchdown on a wild 82-yard punt return. Still, Holley may be in danger of getting cut today. Octavien should easily make the cut and will be the backup outside linebacker for Ware and Spencer.

Kevin Ogletree guaranteed himself the number five wide receiver job with yet another touchdown, but he came out of the game with an eye contusion. The injury is not considered to be serious.

Jon Kitna, who probably is in no danger of being cut, had another brutal showing that included two turnovers that led to Vikings touchdowns.

By the way, you could go ahead and pencil Duke Preston in at backup center, and say goodbye to Cory Proctor. There’s no way Proctor makes the cut.

The question as to who will be the right cornerback between Mike Jenkins and Orlando Scandrick, has been answered. According to Wade Phillips, they have been named co-starters, whatever that means. Reportedly, neither player was thrilled when they learned that neither won the job outright. I’ve heard of quarterback controversies, but a right cornerback controversy sounds ridiculous to me. Phillips can be so wishy-washy and indecisive and it drives me nuts. Make the call dude!

The Cowboys finished the pre season with a 2-2 record and get bragging rights in the NFC East as the rest of the teams in the division finished 1-3.

The final roster has to be announced by 5:00 PM today, stay tuned to Lone Star Struck and we’ll bring you the results as soon as they are announced.

The next game is for real people!

Here’s to another great Cowboys season!

The Cowboys had this game in their hands, but the defense couldn’t hold back the hard charging second stringers who pushed through the Dallas defensive line as if they weren’t there. The Cowboys were up 10-3 at halftime, but were outscored 17-3 in the second half.

Tony Romo and the rest of the first team offense had no trouble moving the ball, but seemed to stall inside the red zone. They did manage to score one touchdown, thanks to some nifty 3-yard run by running back Felix Jones that highlighted a 94 yard drive that featured strong runs by Marion Barber and some clutch passes to receivers Patrick Crayton and Miles Austin, and tight end Jason Witten.  By the way, I thought it was interesting that they went with Felix on that three-yarder instead of their closer Marion Barber. That could mean more touchdowns for Felix and less for Barber down the road.

There were some missed opportunities by the first team…

Tony Romo threw an interception at the 4-yard line that ended one scoring opportunity, and a penalty erased a Nick Folk 49 yard field goal that ended another scoring opportunity. Still, there were others. Incidentally, Folk did make two other field goals of 24 and 25 yards.

One key play for the Cowboys was a 4th and 1 in which Wade Phillips opted to go for the field goal. As the home team, I thought they should have went for it and continue the drive to the end zone. It was a conservative play and I expected more from a Cowboys team who boasts so many offensive weapons.

Miles Austin did a fine job filling in for the injured Roy Williams, and Kevin Ogletree had another impressive game and could be locking down a spot on the final roster as the Cowboys’ fifth receiver. He caught two passes for 36 yards in the first half.

The first string defense was superb and showed some toughness when they stuffed the Niners after a 57-yard interception return from Romo. They held the Niners to just 3 points in the first half, and it was the second string that allowed San Francisco to come back and win the game. Bradie James and Jay Ratliff, who recorded a sack, looked impressive and ready for prime time.

This weeks quote of the game comes from the ultra conservative Wade Phillips who went ballistic after witnessing one of his players maul a 49ers receiver.

“The first part of the game, I thought we did some good things. Our second group didn’t play as well. We had penalties and turnovers that really hurt us at the end of the game. The kind of things that get you beat.”

On a sad note, safety Mike Hamlin, a fifth-round pick, suffered a broken right wrist covering a kickoff in the third quarter and he is expected to be out about six to eight weeks. Also, safety Alan Ball sprained his neck and rookie Jason Williams suffered an ankle sprain. 

During the game, the Cowboys paid homage to former Cowboy safety Roy Williams. Number 31 for the Cowboys got flagged for a horse collar penalty… it was DeAngelo Smith.

Anyway, lets get one thing straight… The bottom line is that their reserves beat our reserves. Unfortunately, that has been the case for most of the pre season thus far. Guys like Bobby Carpenter, Cory Proctor, Isaiah Stanback, Courtney Brown, and others have had their chances to impress, but have not. In the end, the only thing this loss shows is how poor our depth is behind our talented first teamers who have been solid, especially on defense.

My advice to the Cowboys is simply this… Stay Healthy!

Tomorrow is yet another cut day as the Cowboys do some more roster trimming. I’m willing to bet that at least two of the players that will be cut, have been named in this recap. Can you guess who?