NFC East Breakdown: Week 7
By thelandryhat
(Dan T. writes for The Landry Hat, which is FSB‘s Dallas Cowboys blog. Representing the rest of the NFC East are G-Men HQ, Inside the Iggles. and Riggo’s Rag.)
For the entire week all ESPN anchors and analysts to say the Dallas Cowboys are the “New York Giants of 2009.” Don’t get elated too fast. It was an offensively sluggish win over the Bucs. The New York Giants however showed how resiliant the players in. After a bizarre safety when a backup long snapper snapped the ball through the end zone, the game was tied. The Pittsburgh Steelers showed why they have the best defense in the league because up until that point, the Giants were held to four deep redzone field goals. But the G-Men pulled it out. The Washington Redskins are a funny team. They don’t seem to crush anyone, but they make these fast big plays that sort of turn these games around for them. The Philadelphia Eagles got Brian Westbrook yet and he ran, and caught and scored all over the Atlanta Falcons.
Dallas Cowboys (5-3):
Looking Back: You sensed that the backs were against the walls. The defense played inspired football and kept pressure on Jeff Garcia all day. Although the cornerbacks continue to give teams huge cushions, and the overall secondary is riddled with injuries and mediocrity, the plays were made at key moments. The Bucs, albeit not known for their offense, only had three field goals. The Cowboys didn’t play to lose this one, even though they almost did with a Brad Johnson near fumble. Terrell Owens was ineffective in the third fourth straight game. It’s inexeplainable why he is just a non factor in games right now. Roy Williams finally caught his first touchdown in a short yardage lob and catch. Hooray to Wade Phillips who kept his job safe for one more week. Phillips decided to take over the defense and I think that might be a good idea, Wade. Keep doing it. But you really ought to reconsider letting the cornerbacks play 10 yards off the ball. If they suck that bad at man to man, they shouldn’t be playing.
Looking Forward: A huge game against the New York Giants is next. A Cowboys win would bring back confidence in the locker room. A loss might make them angier. If the Cowboys are without Jason Witten, and that it appears a strong possibility, the Cowboys lost their top receiver. They’ll leave the position to be shared with a rookie and Tony Curtis.
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Looking Back: The Redskins hold a full two-game lead over the Cowboys right now for the divisional playoff race (they have beaten them so if they have an even record, the Redskins win tie breaker unless Cowboys beat them next time around and then it goes to divisional record). They escaped a nail-biter at Fed Ex Field against the Cleveland Browns, who missed a 54-yard field goal in the final minute. A win is a win. Nothing was particular pretty about the Redskins this week other than Clinton Portis having another huge night.
Looking Forward: The Detroit Lions are really bad. It’s a perfect trap game for the Redskins who are riding high with new coach Jim Zorn. Problem is, the Lions don’t have any receivers left that they drafted all those picks for. Well, they have Calvin Johnson, but there is a quarterback with a last name from Norway that is throwing the ball to him. The Redskins cannot lose this game. But rookie coaches sometimes look past these games. You listening Zorn?