While 4-1 is a good start, their last 2 games have not been pretty. Not to mention a certain someone deciding to open his mouth after their loss against Washington.
I think their is reason for concern for the Dallas Cowboys even after starting the season 4-1, and here's why...
1. If you notice the last couple weeks the Cowboys have not been playing like a 4-1 team. Against Washington, the Cowboys defense did not play well, specifically a cornerback by the name of Terrance Newman, who couldn't seem to defend anybody. On the offensive side of the ball there is a guy by the name of Marion "The Barbarion" Barber, and there's a reason he has that nickname. Even though he is a guy that can make plays when given the opportunity, against Washington he had only 8 carries, the only game Dallas has lost, whereas in the other 4 games where they won he had 16 carries or more. There seems to be a pattern, but that's just my opinion. Another thing that especially worries me in this game actually didn't happen during the game, it was in the postgame interviews. Of course I am talking about T.O.'s remarks about not getting the ball enough, even though he was targeted about 20 total times. He had more receptions this game than any other game this season. For the people who watched the game know that he just dropped balls. I mean when your number 1 WR gets more receptions than your star running back gets total carries for the game, something just doesn't seem right about that. He also didn't seem to say anything the week before when he had only 2 catches. T.O. just needs to be quiet and play, but again I know with T.O. that's asking alot.
2. This last week they played Cincinnati, supposed to be an easy blowout win, right? Well it started off that way considering the Cowboys first 3 drives ended with first a field goal then 2 Touchdowns, while Cincinnati's first 3 drives were INT, Punt, Punt. Now I don't know whether the Cowboys just said "Ok game over" after these drives or what, but the Cowboys next 6 drives were as follows: Punt, Fumble, End of half, Punt, Punt, INT, and Cincinnati, understanding there are 4 quarters in a game, came back on their next 6 drives with: Field Goal, Punt, Field Goal, Touchdown, Punt, Field Goal. And just like that, they're back in the game. Now it's the 4th quarter, about 14 minutes left in the game, and Dallas is just barely ahead 17-16. Now I don't know if Dallas just couldn't get anything going on those 6 drives or decided to lighten up because they figured it was over after the first quarter or maybe some other reason, but whatever the reason, the Bengals were back in the game in the 4th quarter. Now, thanks to the momentum-changing catch by Terrell Owens for a 57-yard TD, the Cowboys were able to finish the game with a win, not to mention the bounce catch by Patrick Crayton that went through the hands of Miles Austin with less than 2 minutes to play.
Anyway, how they played there last 2 games definitely gives me cause for concern. The questions I am asking now are "The next time they lose, what will T.O. say, will he blame someone for the loss, complain about not getting the ball again, will he cause problems in the locker room?" "Will they play like they are capable of doing at some point during the season?" So anyway, the way these last 2 weeks have gone have me worried, not about whether or not the Cowboys will make the playoffs, I think they have too much talent. The question is will they make it in as Division winners who could have Home Field Advantage, or as wild cards who will have to play on the road? So these last 2 weeks have me concerned, but what do you guys and gals think?
About the author:
Shabbywolfman originally published this article at rootzoo.com. He's not just a cubs fan, but he's one of the biggest sports fans around. Besides baseball, he's got his eye on the nfl football schedule and analyzes the nfl scoreboard every Sunday.
