In the days following the Dallas Cowboys’ crazy loss in the desert, the anger of the Cowboy Nation has shifted: it started with Jason Garrett, but now it seems to be directed toward the defense.  The defense certainly had a major breakdown in overtime, and they must be held accountable for that.  That being said, this angry criticism filled with invectives like “The defense sucks”, “The secondary is awful” and “The secondary is the worst in the league” just can not withstand any reasonable and objective assessment.

Let me try a baseball analogy.  If your starting pitcher only gives up two runs through 9 innings, but then walks a few batters in the 10th only to give up a grand-slam, does that terrible ending negate the rest of his day?  Does it make him an awful pitcher?  Make no mistake about it, that is what happened to the Cowboys defense on Saturday: they played an excellent game for 60 minutes, only to have it erased by a few poor plays in O.T.

Click on the link to consider an alternative perspective on the defense.

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(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Before Sunday’s game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Dallas Cowboys, Cowboy fans could be heard around the blog-o-sphere chanting “Trap Game” and “Strange things happen in Arizona”. But at the end of the day, it was predictable play-calling, penalties and a wrongly taken time-out that decided the game’s outcome. Despite a very weak offensive performance, the Cardinals were still able to defeat the surging Cowboys in overtime, 19-13.

The game that ended the Cowboys winning streak, also started by ending another streak. This one was rookie kicker Dan Bailey’s streak of consecutive field goal makes. Bailey’s streak of  26 made field goals ended when he missed a 53 yard attempt mid-way through the first quarter. Arizona’s veteran kicker, Jay Feeley would take  advantage of his opportunities. Feeley hit a 48 yard  attempt late in the first quarter to give Arizona the 3-0 lead. (more…)

The data suggest that Fitzgerald will hit pay dirt against Dallas

This Sunday, the 7-4 Dallas Cowboys will face off against the 4-7 Arizona Cardinals in the desert. Both sides of the ball have various fantasy studs that are must starts in what is expected to become an aerial shoot-out. Here are my starts, sits and a sleeper pick for the big game.

Starts

Larry Fitzgerald – Arguably the best wide receiver in the game should be an every week starter for you. But you might have had some luck later in the draft or through the waiver wire with names like A.J. Green and Victor Cruz. So sitting Fitzgerald could be in the realm of possibility. But Fitz has scored three touchdowns in his last three games and it appears he’ll have Kevin Kolb back in the pocket. The Dallas defense will be focused in on stopping Beanie Wells and getting pressure on Kolb. I see a lot of throwing in this game and Fitzgerald stands to benefit due to his size. The Dallas corner backs have struggled against taller receivers all year.  Here are the numbers from opposing “big” receivers versus the Cowboys secondary in the last three weeks alone: Brandon Marshall (6’4) – 5 recs, 103 yards, 1 TD; Jabar Gaffney (6’2) – 7 recs, 115 yards, 1 TD; David Nelson (6’5) – 4 recs, 31 yards, 1 TD. Based on the data, Fitzgerald is pretty much guaranteed to score at least once with the possibility for more.  (more…)