(AP Photo/Eric Gay)

It is once again that time when you, the avid readers of The Landry Hat, get to have your questions answered by the erudite and insightful Landry Hat staff.  Once again your questions have inspired a wide range of opinions from your beloved writers.  For those of you who have been following the ongoing saga that is Seth’s quest to bring an Asian punter to the Cowboys, we are extremely saddened to report that the Thai boy who was kicking coconuts 35 yards failed to get authorization from immigration to return to the US with Seth. Don’t despair, we here at the Landry Hat are resourceful, we will come up with something.

Daniel Forsythe, San Francisco: Is it just me or does the defense seem much more conventional the last few weeks? If so, why do you think that Ryan has abandoned all the exotic coverages and confusing motion? Do you think Ryan’s basic strategies will change down the stretch?

Click on the link to read the answers. (more…)

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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We’ve narrowly avoided it for so long, that we forgot what a loss like this feels like. When a kicker’s miss really hurts the team’s chances of winning. When a coach forgets how to use the clock and his timeouts. When the offensive linemen don’t know when the ball is being hiked. Sound familiar? As was the trend earlier in the year, again we have to stew over a loss that should have been a win. And it still leaves a sour taste in our mouths. As painful as it is (even for me writing this), let’s take one final look at what happened on Sunday, and go over some quick points. (more…)