Post by MR COWBOY on Dec 14, 2009 1:31:52 GMT -7
Cowboys can’t score on three tries from 1? Forget this season
RANDY GALLOWAY
star-telegram.com
ARLINGTON — Throw in the cheap second guess, if you like, and I hear you with that chirp, chirp, cheapness. But also hear this:
If you can’t make one bleeping yard on three bleeping downs, then it’s a game you don’t deserve to win.
The Cowboys couldn’t and didn’t, eventually losing to the San Diego Chargers 20-17, three big reasons being they couldn’t and didn’t in that particular late first-half sequence.
"I liked the call, and I’m sure you guys did, too," said quarterback Tony Romo.
Thanks for asking, Tony, and actually, in those situations, I always prefer to see you improvising at least one down, maybe two.
But again ...
Three downs from the 1-yard line, with Marion Barber carrying each time, the odds are supposed to be good.
Tell you what, however, if the only thing standing between the Chargers and a berth in the next Super Bowl is supposedly their defense, there were 90,000-plus witnesses at the Big Yard on Sunday who are a bit confused.
San Diego won this one with defense. Or, depending on your local point of view, San Diego won this one because the Cowboys malfunctioned in the offensive clutch.
Ten lousy points when it mattered. In a role reversal, this wasn’t about the strength of the Chargers — Philip Rivers and Co. — cutting loose on a Cowboys defense that wasn’t considered up to big-game snuff.
This was a case of the Cowboys making the outcome almost inevitable in the first half alone with the following:
A first down from the other team’s 16-yard line, a first down from the other team’s 4-yard line, a first down from the other team’s 27-yard line, and out of all that, there was a grand total of three points.
Yikes, Wade. There appears to be a problem, my man.
As defensive coordinator, Phillips could walk away knowing the Chargers hadn’t scored fewer than 21 points in the last 18 games going back to last season.
But as head coach? The downward spiral continues, huh? And a trip to New Orleans is up next on Saturday night.
Blame it again, if you like, on the December demons, but sometimes the caliber of competition trumps even hoodoo voodoo. For the Cowboys to have beaten the Chargers, everything had to go right.
Everything didn’t, particularly on offense.
"It will always come back to haunt you," said Romo, meaning the points that never came in the first half.
Also, for the Cowboys to win, it takes a big aerial output — Romo over 300 yards, at least — to light up the scoreboard. The Chargers knew that, and defended accordingly. Every opponent should know that.
The Cowboys got the run game going Sunday. But the run game doesn’t equal points. It does shorten the game, and give you a chance to win, particularly against a superior foe. But win? Nah.
And when it counted — before a meaningless late fourth-quarter TD drive — Romo had 162 yards passing.
Run that.
Touchdowns were needed, yet when the Cowboys started the game with excellent field position, and moved to the Chargers 16, on first down, Barber lost 3 yards, stalling the drive
Count your blessings, because Nick Folk made a 31-yard field goal, with a guy from Wisconsin holding, instead of a guy from Australia.
With the Cowboys trailing 10-3 late in the first half, they went exclusively on the ground to the Chargers 4-yard line, where Barber got 3 yards to the 1.
Let’s try that again, and again, and again, said offensive coordinator Jason Garrett. Barber went up the middle on second down, third down and fourth down. Nothing.
There should be no second-guessing of Phillips when he went-for-it on fourth down instead of opting for the field goal. Again, touchdowns were needed. But just in case, Wade’s answer was, "We thought we could score there, and if not, hold them, and get the ball back."
Bingo. The Cowboys did get the ball right back on a Terence Newman interception of Rivers.
But three plays later, Folk came on a for testy field goal from 42 yards out. No good. See there, it wasn’t the fault of the Aussie, and even Phillips, normally a speak-no-evil type, said "certainly" when asked afterward if he was finally losing confidence in Folk.
Wasted point-opportunities would hang heavy over the Cowboys, even after a 99-yard drive produced the first touchdown and a 10-10 tie as the third quarter ended.
But you can only hold down Rivers for so long. Twice in the fourth quarter, the Dallas defense couldn’t get stops, both times after the DeMarcus Ware injury. Certainly that’s a huge absence, but still ...
"I don’t know that we made a bunch of offensive mistakes today, but we made them at inopportune times," Romo said.
Being a home game, the Cowboys needed to win for December and playoff survival.
Even the most optimistic Cow Sheep among the fandom will admit it looks bleak for this team. Reality says this team is dead.
In this loss, they were outclassed, and in New Orleans the same formula will apply.
Getting tough with the local media last week didn’t work.
What, Wade, is your next scheme?[/b]
RANDY GALLOWAY
star-telegram.com
ARLINGTON — Throw in the cheap second guess, if you like, and I hear you with that chirp, chirp, cheapness. But also hear this:
If you can’t make one bleeping yard on three bleeping downs, then it’s a game you don’t deserve to win.
The Cowboys couldn’t and didn’t, eventually losing to the San Diego Chargers 20-17, three big reasons being they couldn’t and didn’t in that particular late first-half sequence.
"I liked the call, and I’m sure you guys did, too," said quarterback Tony Romo.
Thanks for asking, Tony, and actually, in those situations, I always prefer to see you improvising at least one down, maybe two.
But again ...
Three downs from the 1-yard line, with Marion Barber carrying each time, the odds are supposed to be good.
Tell you what, however, if the only thing standing between the Chargers and a berth in the next Super Bowl is supposedly their defense, there were 90,000-plus witnesses at the Big Yard on Sunday who are a bit confused.
San Diego won this one with defense. Or, depending on your local point of view, San Diego won this one because the Cowboys malfunctioned in the offensive clutch.
Ten lousy points when it mattered. In a role reversal, this wasn’t about the strength of the Chargers — Philip Rivers and Co. — cutting loose on a Cowboys defense that wasn’t considered up to big-game snuff.
This was a case of the Cowboys making the outcome almost inevitable in the first half alone with the following:
A first down from the other team’s 16-yard line, a first down from the other team’s 4-yard line, a first down from the other team’s 27-yard line, and out of all that, there was a grand total of three points.
Yikes, Wade. There appears to be a problem, my man.
As defensive coordinator, Phillips could walk away knowing the Chargers hadn’t scored fewer than 21 points in the last 18 games going back to last season.
But as head coach? The downward spiral continues, huh? And a trip to New Orleans is up next on Saturday night.
Blame it again, if you like, on the December demons, but sometimes the caliber of competition trumps even hoodoo voodoo. For the Cowboys to have beaten the Chargers, everything had to go right.
Everything didn’t, particularly on offense.
"It will always come back to haunt you," said Romo, meaning the points that never came in the first half.
Also, for the Cowboys to win, it takes a big aerial output — Romo over 300 yards, at least — to light up the scoreboard. The Chargers knew that, and defended accordingly. Every opponent should know that.
The Cowboys got the run game going Sunday. But the run game doesn’t equal points. It does shorten the game, and give you a chance to win, particularly against a superior foe. But win? Nah.
And when it counted — before a meaningless late fourth-quarter TD drive — Romo had 162 yards passing.
Run that.
Touchdowns were needed, yet when the Cowboys started the game with excellent field position, and moved to the Chargers 16, on first down, Barber lost 3 yards, stalling the drive
Count your blessings, because Nick Folk made a 31-yard field goal, with a guy from Wisconsin holding, instead of a guy from Australia.
With the Cowboys trailing 10-3 late in the first half, they went exclusively on the ground to the Chargers 4-yard line, where Barber got 3 yards to the 1.
Let’s try that again, and again, and again, said offensive coordinator Jason Garrett. Barber went up the middle on second down, third down and fourth down. Nothing.
There should be no second-guessing of Phillips when he went-for-it on fourth down instead of opting for the field goal. Again, touchdowns were needed. But just in case, Wade’s answer was, "We thought we could score there, and if not, hold them, and get the ball back."
Bingo. The Cowboys did get the ball right back on a Terence Newman interception of Rivers.
But three plays later, Folk came on a for testy field goal from 42 yards out. No good. See there, it wasn’t the fault of the Aussie, and even Phillips, normally a speak-no-evil type, said "certainly" when asked afterward if he was finally losing confidence in Folk.
Wasted point-opportunities would hang heavy over the Cowboys, even after a 99-yard drive produced the first touchdown and a 10-10 tie as the third quarter ended.
But you can only hold down Rivers for so long. Twice in the fourth quarter, the Dallas defense couldn’t get stops, both times after the DeMarcus Ware injury. Certainly that’s a huge absence, but still ...
"I don’t know that we made a bunch of offensive mistakes today, but we made them at inopportune times," Romo said.
Being a home game, the Cowboys needed to win for December and playoff survival.
Even the most optimistic Cow Sheep among the fandom will admit it looks bleak for this team. Reality says this team is dead.
In this loss, they were outclassed, and in New Orleans the same formula will apply.
Getting tough with the local media last week didn’t work.
What, Wade, is your next scheme?[/b]