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Defense still played well vs Oakland. Not as well in the 2nd half as the first but very well indeed. Its nice to see this defense start to mold into a very solid unit. Of course, it all really hinges on Lee... without him, they are below average, with him they are above and unfortunately, he is injury prone. Be nice to see what this unit would do with a healthy Lee for 16 games next season!
i agree that lee in the lynch pin for the defense right now, and i hope he stays healthy next season. i am also gratified that the defense is starting to gell and become a force in the league. i think with a little more work and a few quality additions, a couple of general purpose linebackers in a similar mold as lee, and a few more good DBs, and i think the defense would be a complete package. i think a couple of quality additions to the offensive line crew, not just starters but back ups as well, and the cowboys can be one of the most complete teams in the league. then they just need to revamp the defensive scheme a bit to make it ll work well, and open up the offense a bit.
Dak certainly looks like he's regressed a bit. His accuracy is off and he's holding on the ball too long although that can be partly blamed on receivers who can't create separation. They were mighty lucky last night as most of the calls went against the Raiders and that measurement was bizarre. Let's hope Seattle is as lost next week as they were yesterday. They were awful.
Dak certainly looks like he's regressed a bit. His accuracy is off and he's holding on the ball too long although that can be partly blamed on receivers who can't create separation. They were mighty lucky last night as most of the calls went against the Raiders and that measurement was bizarre. Let's hope Seattle is as lost next week as they were yesterday. They were awful.
the offense is still finding its rhythm without elliot and with a slightly substandard offensive line compared to last year.
i doubt the cowboys are going to make the playoffs this year, they need too much help to get there, in addition to winning out. and the way the eagles are playing i doubt the cowboys will beat them this year, we shall see though.
I think i got this figured out.. probably not. If i missed something, please let me know..!
I was rooting for the Falcons to lose last night.. didn't happen.. go figure.
One of these 3 NFC South teams has to lose BOTH their final 2 games.
Falcons (Saints, Panthers)
Saints (Falcons, Bucs)
Panthers (Bucs, Falcons)
and the Lions have to lose one of their final games (Bengals, Packers).
Of the 3 NFC South teams, the Falcons appear to be the odds on favorite to lose both...
Regardless, the Saints and Falcons play next week so whoever LOSES will need to lose the following week as well..
If the Falcons lose to the Saints and the Panthers were to lose as well to the Bucs next week.. then the Cowboys would only need the Lions to lose one of their final games.. Bengals and Packers to get into the playoffs.
If the Saints lose and the Panthers lose then either a Saints loss to the Bucs or a Panthers loss to the Falcons along with a Lions loss in one of their final 2 games would get the Cowboys in...
To me the easiest path (as if any path is easy) would be for the Saints and Panthers to beat the Falcons and the Lions loose to the Packers.. long shot. Keeping in mind all this rests on the Cowboys winning their final 2 games.
But assuming the Cowboys win vs the Seahawks.. they will be alive the final week regardless because either the Saints or Falcons will have a loss... then the Cowboys will need that same team to lose again in the final week as well as the Lions.. to get into the Playoffs... assuming the Lions didn't lose to the Bengals the previous week... again assuming the Cowboys beat the Eagles in the finale.
Too much thinking IMO.. a long shot but one i will keep my eyes and HOPES on... it would be nice to see the Cowboys in the playoffs even if it will require a bit of luck and even if they are one and done. I suppose there is merit to a higher draft pick finishing just outside the playoffs vs just inside but once you get past the top 10 picks in the draft... need becomes more important than best player available IMO.. and the Cowboys likely end up with the same player whether they are picking 19th or 21st.
The Succaneers will not win another game this season.
I doubt the Cowboys will win both of theirs anyway
And the Detroit-Rock City Lions will definitely win one more. At least.
It is always a bad situation when a team has to say ("Well we can make the playoffs IF everyone else loses and we win" but how far would they get and what kind of a showing would they make against the Rams or the Vikings on the road anyway?
The Succaneers will not win another game this season.
I doubt the Cowboys will win both of theirs anyway
And the Detroit-Rock City Lions will definitely win one more. At least.
It is always a bad situation when a team has to say ("Well we can make the playoffs IF everyone else loses and we win" but how far would they get and what kind of a showing would they make against the Rams or the Vikings on the road anyway?
The Lions have to win 2 more to keep the Cowboys out.. One loss opens the door.. but they still need one of the NFC South Teams to loose BOTH!
i kind of doubt the cowboys are going to the playoffs this year, i doubt they are going to beat the eagles and the seahawks at this point. we shall see though as anything can happen in the next two weeks.
i kind of doubt the cowboys are going to the playoffs this year, i doubt they are going to beat the eagles and the seahawks at this point. we shall see though as anything can happen in the next two weeks.
The Seahawks will be a tough out for sure. It helps that it is at home, not that the Cowboys play any better at home but the Seahawks typically do. Zeke being back has to help a lot. I think the offense will look better than it has since he left but i do worry about the defenses ability to put pressure on Russell Wilson and even when they do, he is going to hurt them. Derek Carr was not sacked this past Sunday night and he constantly made plays with his legs... Russell will do the same. We need to get him on the ground a few times.
If the Cowboys do beat the Seahawks then they will be alive for the final week regardless of what anyone else does because either the Saints or Falcons will lose which opens the door.. So the finale against Philly will mean something to the Cowboys (if they beat the Seahawks) and will mean nothing to the Eagles (likely) and in which case, Foles and several starters will play very little.. So if the Cowboys beat the Seahawks, they will have an even better chance at beating the Eagles... but the odds are still not in their favor. to reach the playoffs. but at least they still have a chance..
That early loss the Broncos is hurting them right now.. and the 3 game skid, especially the Falcons loss, is hurting them. To be honest, after Thanksgiving, i wouldn't have given them a snowball chance in hell at winning another game until Zeke got back, much less have a chance for the playoffs with 2 games to play. They looked terrible for those 3 games.. it helped that they played 3 fairly weak teams (Skins, Giants, Raiders) after that but they still regrouped and got back on track..
mco65, i was thinking more along the lines of the cowboys splitting their last two games. both the seahawks and the eagles will be tough games for the cowboys.
i think the seahawks game will be a lot like the raiders game, the team that makes the fewest big mistakes, and the team that scores last will win the game. and i do agree that the cowboys do need to get more pressure on wilson than they did against carr, but they also have to be smarter in how they get that pressure on wilson. with carr they could force him to make a play with his legs instead of throwing the ball down field, in essence taking away carrs receivers did the trick. the other thing that had to happen against the raiders was to compromise their running game as well, which they did reasonably well, though not great.
in the case of wilson though, they are going to have to take away wilsons ability to get out of the pocket and make medium to long runs, and force him to throw the ball more. of course that means better pass coverage down field as well.
my thoughts with the eagles game though were based on wentz running the team, not foles. wentz being more mobile would give the cowboys greater fits on defense. with foles in the game though, the cowboys dont have to worry about him taking off and running for a first down like wentz could, so getting pressure on foles might be a bit easier.
but i think with their offensive line the eagles are going to protect foles well enough to give him time to go through his progressions and foles can possibly shred the cowboys secondary, and there is was figuring the eagles beat the cowboys again.
in order to make the playoffs, the cowboys first have to win out making them 10-6. that would eliminate the seahawks from contention since the best they could do is 9-7.
then the lions need to lose a game putting them at a best of 9-7
and then the falcons need to lose their last two games. that would put the cowboys into the playoffs. will it happen?
mco65, i was thinking more along the lines of the cowboys splitting their last two games. Both the seahawks and the eagles will be tough games for the cowboys.
I think the seahawks game will be a lot like the raiders game, the team that makes the fewest big mistakes, and the team that scores last will win the game. And i do agree that the cowboys do need to get more pressure on wilson than they did against carr, but they also have to be smarter in how they get that pressure on wilson. With carr they could force him to make a play with his legs instead of throwing the ball down field, in essence taking away carrs receivers did the trick. The other thing that had to happen against the raiders was to compromise their running game as well, which they did reasonably well, though not great.
In the case of wilson though, they are going to have to take away wilsons ability to get out of the pocket and make medium to long runs, and force him to throw the ball more. Of course that means better pass coverage down field as well.
My thoughts with the eagles game though were based on wentz running the team, not foles. Wentz being more mobile would give the cowboys greater fits on defense. With foles in the game though, the cowboys dont have to worry about him taking off and running for a first down like wentz could, so getting pressure on foles might be a bit easier.
But i think with their offensive line the eagles are going to protect foles well enough to give him time to go through his progressions and foles can possibly shred the cowboys secondary, and there is was figuring the eagles beat the cowboys again.
In order to make the playoffs, the cowboys first have to win out making them 10-6. That would eliminate the seahawks from contention since the best they could do is 9-7.
Then the lions need to lose a game putting them at a best of 9-7
and then the falcons need to lose their last two games. That would put the cowboys into the playoffs. Will it happen?
no.
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