Preview Cowboys vs Eagles

A game that once had people excited to go watch, a game that people knew would be a good one. And is now a game for 2 teams to try and get back to .500. The Cowboys and Eagles have an intense rivalry but this year both teams are struggling and non Eagles/Cowboys fans, don't care that much about this game. Both teams are losing in the fourth quarter and are committing way too many turnovers, here is what the Cowboys need to do in order to win.

The Eagles offense is one of the greatest disappointments on this team, but it does not mean they can't make big plays. McCoy is still on super star status and is getting over 100 yards almost every game, and we all know how Desean Jackson is one of the trickiest players in the league. What the Dallas defense needs to do is get to Vick. Vick has had many multiple interceptions games this year. And the Cowboys still stand as one of the best pass defenses in the league. With pressure on Vick, he will be forced to throw which will give the corners a chance to make a big play. With that being said, the Line backers need to do their job and stop McCoy, he is a huge threat to the Cowboys. Last week the loss could be blamed on not being able to stop Turner, so stopping McCoy is key.

The run game, Murray is unfortunately listed as doubtful for the game. Which is a huge blow to this team. Every offense needs to try and have a balance on offense, and with out Murray, the Cowboys can do no such thing. Jones and Tanner combined aren't getting close to being productive. And the Cowboys can't rely on passing the whole time, Jones needs to step it up in this game in order to get the win.

Offensive line, they weren't a problem last week, and they need to do the exact same this week. Romo was only sacked once last week, and with that time he had thanks to the blocking, he didn't turn the ball over once. If the run game is not there, then making sure Romo has time to throw is the most essential thing to winning this game. The Cowboys can not allow turnovers because falling behind and coming back has not worked well for the Cowboys this season.

Now this game comes down to who ever can stop the turnovers. And with the offensive line doing much better, and great cornerbacks, I think the Cowboys will win the turnover battle and win the game.
My Prediction - Cowboys Win 20-10

Jason Garrett

The Cowboys team has lots of areas to improve on, but one of the areas that a lot are concerned about is Jason Garrett. Many are wondering if he will even end the season as the head coach. Here is what I have to say about this.

Jason Garrett is a great a guy, and is hard not to like, but that might be one of his problems. He may not have that strict side of him. A side that can get his team back into shape after a loss. Every coach needs to have this side so that they can show the players who is boss. Plus a lot of the losses this year came in the fourth quarter. And most of them were lost because of bad time management. In some areas of the game you can blame the players for dropped balls or fumbles, but time management is all on the coach. He needs to make sure his players know exactly what to do in these situations. Garrett also needs to control the play calling more. When Romo wants to kill a play, Garrett should see what he is trying to do and have some sort of thing with the receivers to make sure they know what to do. Also with play calling, converting on third downs and converting in the red zone has been a problem this year.

Could this season really be the last with Garrett?

Well we all know who will do anything to win, Jerry Jones. He managed a dynasty Cowboys football team, and right now they are no dynasty. Jones is one of the most known managers in football, he always loves to talk about his team and how they will win the super bowl this year. And when he sees them losing in the fourth quarter because of silly time management, he hates it. 

Just look at Wade Phillips, his 2010 season started with horrible losses early on and late losses in the fourth just like this season. And Jones ended up firing him, and looked towards Garrett. With Garrett at coach, the Cowboys had a winning record in the last half of that season. This showed promise, but the Cowboys failed to make the playoffs last year because of late losses in the season and Garrett hasn't improved the Cowboys much since.

There is also one thing that pops up when talks about Garrett comes up. Sean Payton will be a free agent coach. The suspended Saints coach has gone to the playoffs the past two seasons in a row, and won a super bowl three seasons ago. This could also be another reason to fire Garret, the Cowboys could finally have found a coach to lead them to the super bowl. To be like Landry and Johnson. Payton would definitely be a great addition to the team.

Before that happens though, what about the second half if the season? The Cowboys are not out of the race and have one of the easiest records left with their opponents having a combined record of 19-30, and only one of them has a winning record. The Cowboys getting a wild card is a chance, can Garret turn around this team? Or will more losses continue, and maybe a new head coach?

Recap Cowboys vs Falcons

And yet another 4th quarter collapse. This can sum up 3 of the Cowboys losses this year. The Cowboys were yet again sloppy on offense. Only getting 2 field goals early on in the game and then their lone touchdown in the fourth quarter from Romo to Ogletree. Here is what went well and what didn't go well in the game.

Pass protection
Romo was only sacked once in the entire game, with this blocking Romo was given plenty of time to throw. And with that time, he didn't turn the ball over once. Neither did anyone else on the team. These were 2 main issues heading into this game and they seemed to be cleared up.

Defense
This Atlanta offense lowest scoring game before this one, was 23 points. The Dallas defense did great of getting to Matt Ryan and only allowed one touchdown. The area they could improve on is the run defense, if they were a bit better in stopping Turner, they may have on this game.

Special Teams
Lance Dunbar may have had one of his best games this year, with 3 kick returns for an average of 24.3 yards, and a long of 39. He is just what the Cowboys needed in this year. Then the only punt return of the game by Harris went for a 37 yard return, so no Dez back there, no problem.

But then here are the reasons why the Cowboys lost.

Converting on 3rd down and red zone
The Cowboys were only 3 out of 10 in 3rd downs, and 0-2 in the red zone. It seems surprising the Cowboys only lost by 6 with just 3, 3rd down conversions. They are key for drives, they need to get those and be able to get into the end zone.

Run game
Again I am not putting to much blame on the run, since Demarco Murray was out. But Felix Jones has not been stepping up. He needs to be consistent and show us why the Cowboys picked him to start a year ago.

Penalties
If these don't stop, then converting on downs will get harder. The penalties have improved a bit, but they need to do more. The Cowboys had 7 that went for 50 yards, these are yards being wasted.

Luckily next week the Cowboys have the struggling Eagles, where they will look to bounce back.

Go Cowboys!

Injury Update

The main injury this week is sadly that Demarco Murray is out. Which is now putting all of the work on to Felix Jones to produce for the running game. This means the offensive line needs to really step it up so Jones can find some room to run.

Lissemore and Connor are both out for the defense. Them being gone should not effect this powerful defense too much.

Bryant, Ogletree, Harris, and Jones are all questionable/probable but are expected to play. Bryant, if he plays, will not be seeing anytime returning punts.

Preview NFC East

The Giants are set on top of the East, and all three of the others have must win games this weekend in order to stay in the race for the play offs. Here is a break down of the games and my predictions for who will win and who will lose.

Washington Redskins
The offense is the only reason why this team has 3 wins. RGIII and Alfred Morris are an unstoppable duo, but the defense can't stop anything. Which is why the Redskins are at 3-4, a team with just an offense can not go very far, just look at the Saints, who only have 2 wins with one of the best quarterbacks in the league. Luckily in week 9, the Redskins play the disappointing Panthers. With Cam Newton struggling to find the magic he once had last year, this team is going know where. Plus the defense, like the Redskins, is also terrible. The Redskins are also set up in a very good position here, they play a very bad team, so they could get a win heading into their bye week which is always good for a players motive. Plus with this bye week coming up, it may help with the defense.
My Prediction - Redskins Win 32-14

New York Giants
This game against the Steelers might be one of the best match ups of week 9. The Steelers had a slow start but are now starting to come back to its super bowl winning self. This game will most definitely not be a walk in the park for the Giants. What they need to do in this game is make sure their defense is able to handle the pass. Last game they gave up 437 yards through the air and if Romo hadn't thrown 4 interceptions, they would have lost the game. So making sure the secondary is ready is key to win this game. Manning also needs to produce, even though the Giants have been winning most of their games recently, Manning has not been producing great numbers. He has to stop relying on his defense to get turnovers and stop the other team.
My Prediction - Steelers Win 14-10

Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles along with the Cowboys are the two highest teams in need of a win this weekend. After yet another off season in which they thought they were going to be great, they have yet failed again. Vick is throwing interceptions consistently and is hurting the teams chances of winning. Luckily for the Eagles, they play one of the worst defenses in the entire league, the Saints. Without their coach they seem lost. This will mainly be a battle of offenses with the Eagles defense seeming even more lost. But I think that with McCoy and this Eagles offense, they should be able to produce enough points to win the game.
My Prediction - Eagles Win 35-28

And I already talked about the Cowboys and how I predict them to win 28-27.

Go Cowboys!

Preview Cowboys vs Falcons

This is just about the worst position for the Cowboys, they play the undefeated Falcons in a must win game. At 3-4, falling back in the race for the NFC East is not affordable. With the Eagles and Redskins also tied with them, the Cowboys need to get some breathing space to try and get a spot in the play offs. Here is what to look for in the game.

The defense needs to do what it has been doing all week long. Be dominate. Matt Ryan comes in as one of the best passers in the league. He has one of the best wide receiver corps in the league, and a very good running back to back him up. Stopping this offense will be key to win this game. Luckily with one of the best defenses in the league, I don't think stopping them will be to big of a problem for the Cowboys.

The offensive line needs to step up big in this game. The Falcons defense has also been hot this year, so  there going to need to be able to block for Romo well enough to give him time in the pocket to throw. If he gets pressured too much, then Romo will be forced to scramble and through the ball, which does not end well. If Romo keeps having to throw the ball under pressure, he will throw interceptions which have been the main reason for the losses this year. Romo's main problem is he always try's to force the throw. It seems that he never wants to throw the ball away, or scramble if receivers aren't open. He is always trying to get yards threw the air. Which yes sometimes works out, but if an interception happens, it hurts the Cowboys chances greatly. Just look at the Giants and Bears games, if Romo only threw about 1 interception in both of those games, they would have won.

Another thing the Cowboys need to do in this game, is make sure they control the fourth quarter. This year the Falcons have been known for coming back in the fourth to win games. The Cowboys will need to be able to manage the clock and not turn the ball over to make sure they don't lose from a come back.

The running game also needs to be there in this game. Demarco Murray may be back for this game which would be a huge help. Without him Jones has not been a big success. Having a balanced offense is key with a quarter back that throws one to many interceptions. If Murray is back and healthy for this game, he will be key for winning the game.

The last thing, is to not fall behind early. Yes they were able to recover from a 23 point deficit to the Giants, but if they had just stayed in that game more they could have won it.

Over all the Cowboys just need to get their offense clicking in order to win this game and show that they deserve to be in the play offs.

My prediction - Cowboys win 28-27

Play off predictions for NFC

The NFC has two divisions in which a wild card will not come out of. Then the race for the two spots are still very close as the season is half way through. Who will make the play offs?

NFC North
If the season ended now it would be the Bears winning the division and the Vikings as a wild card. But that will not be how it turns out. The Packers have been making a come back after a sloppy start, and the Vikings will for sure not have a winning record by the end of the season.
Prediction
Division winners - Packers (3rd seed)
Wild card - Bears (5th seed)

NFC South
The team ranked first in the league leads this division, and with nobody to challenge it. All three of the other teams have struggled to win games, there will definitely be no wild cards coming out of this division.
Prediction
Division winners - Falcons (1st seed, round one bye)

NFC West
The 49ers are one of the best teams in the league, and just like the Falcons, they have no competition. With the Cardinals falling from a 4-0 start, the 49ers will be the clear winners for this division.
Prediction
Division winners - 49ers (2nd seed, round one bye)

NFC East
The East is the trickiest division to predict in the whole NFL. The Giants look to have control but have a very hard schedule ahead. And then the Cowboys, Redskins, and Eagles are all tied up. So predicting the winner and wild card is very hard to do. But I think the Giants have gotten far ahead with 6 wins and should stay on top. Then the Cowboys look to have the best defense out of the last three teams, so if their offense starts clicking, good things may be ahead.
Prediction
Division winners - Giants (4th seed)
Wild card - Cowboys (6th seed)