One of the big issues on the NFL’s Competition Committee’s agenda this offseason was better defining what a catch is.
Kevin Seifert from ESPN’s NFL Nation tweeted the following this afternoon:
“The NFL competition committee appears to have unanimous agreement that controversial catch rulings involving Dez Bryant and Calvin Johnson should have been ruled complete, according to Giants owner John Mara. So the committee is working on changing the rule to relax the “going to the ground” requirement.”
Pittsburgh Steelers TE, Jesse James, was not mentioned in this tweet, but one can only imagine that the AFC may have played out differently had Pittsburgh beat New England in week 15.
This does very little to soothe the pain Cowboy Nation still feels from the overturned catch in the 2014 NFC Divisional Round against the Green Bay Packers. Tony Romo and the Cowboys could have been in position for their first NFC Championship appearance since the 1995-1996 season.
Hindsight may be 20/20, but ‘too little, too late’ rings more true with this ruling.
#dezcaughtit
-
Dez Bryant Signs One Year Deal with the New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints, fresh off a win against the formerly undefeated Los Angeles Rams, sign free agent WR Dez Bryant to a one-year deal. The terms of the deal have not yet been released, but the Saints have been looking for a reliable receiver ever since Ted Ginn, Jr. went down with a knee injury in October. The New Orleans Saints second and third leading receivers are RB Alvin Kamara and 37 year old TE Benjamin Watson. Dez should give Drew Brees a more than reliable second option at WR, although Bryant has not played since week 17 of last season.
Circle your calendars on Thursday, November 29 when the New Orleans Saints play the Cowboys in Dallas. It will definitely be an interesting homecoming for Dez after calling out many coaches, players and management after being released. He has since deleted many of those tweets and said that there is no bitterness or anger towards the Dallas Cowboys. However, look for an emotional game from Dez, and if he scores a touchdown, rest assured he will have a celebration ready.
Dez Bryant is the 5th among active player in receiving touchdowns with 73. Drew Brees is 1st in passing touchdowns of active QBs and 3rd in NFL history with 506, only 2 behind Brett Favre with 508. Dez Bryant has played all of his 8 years in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys. He has 531 receptions for 7,459 yards with 14 yards per reception.
-
GAME RECAP: Cowboys 28, Bengals 14
It was all fun and games in Arlington on Sunday as the Cowboys had their way with the Bengals. Dak continued to look poised in the pocket as he managed to make it to his 3rd and 4th read at will. The offensive line had their best game yet against a defensive front 7 that is the heart and sole of a usually stout defense. We all know how much the Cowboys have sunk into this offensive line – the Bengals have done the same with their defensive front. Their best vs our best. The result? 180 yards rushing, 134 from Ezekiel Elliott, 3 rushing touchdowns, 227 yards passing and 1 passing touchdown. The low point (because you have to stay grounded) was Dak’s first turnover of the year. The offensive line gave up just 1 sack on the day which resulted in a fumble which the Bengals recovered. That turnover ended a 12 play, 57 yard and nearly 8 minute drive at the CIN 18 yard line. The Cowboys were driving and about to make it 35-0. Instead, the Bengals recovered the fumble and 10 plays later cut their deficit to 28-7.
The Cowboys didn’t give up any big plays as their secondary was firm and Bengals QB Andy Dalton found himself under pressure within 2-3 second on nearly every drop back. The Cowboys actually had a pass rush for the first time all year thanks to the return of Demarcus Lawrence. Lawrence didn’t record a sack, but came very close on two separate occasions – we’ll chalk that up to the rust factor. But his speed off the end forced Dalton out of the pocket and right into our other 3 rushers, resulting in 4 sacks. As the weeks progress, and Lawrence gets continues to get his feet back, he won’t miss those opportunities. Rest assured, if he does, the other guys bull rushing from the other side won’t. AJ Green caught half of his 8 targets for just 50 yards while Brandon LaFell caught 8 for 68 and two TDs. The Bengals couldn’t seem to to get a quick score as both scoring drives were 10+ plays and over 5 minutes. The Cowboys were giving up the short plays to eliminate the quick strikes.Call me crazy, but this is exactly the way I like to watch my teams. Relaxed, with my feet up, blood pressure at a nice calm rate. There was never a time throughout the entire game where I was even a little worried. Dak continued to spread the ball around, Zeke busted a 60 yard touchdown run (untouched), the defense was swarming around the ball. It was utter domination beginning to end. All of this without Dez Bryant and Orlando Scandrick. Dez was sidelined another week with the hairline fracture in his leg, and Orlando rested his hamstrings another week. The offense didn’t miss a beat thanks to Terrence Williams catching all 5 of his targets for 70 yards and Jason Witten’s 3 catches and 43 yards with an absolutely beautiful stiff arm of Derron Smith:
The Cowboys will look to continue this 4 game winning streak in which they have progressed significantly each week as they head into Lambeau to face the 3-1 Packers. A win there will officially start the conversation about a certain Cowboy’s retirement. But for now, let’s enjoy this week, as it’s back to work tomorrow.
Keys to the Game Scorecard:
- Time of Possession: Cowboys lost this stat 32:17-27:43. When you lose a whole possession by taking the first play 60 yards for a score, that tends to happen.
- Convert in the Red Zone: The Cowboys were 3-4 in the red zone, converting those 3 chances into Touchdowns. The one failed trip was the lost fumble by Dak Prescott. Dan Bailey ended up playing this game but allowing him to focus on a 32 yard extra point is a lot better on the back than kicking 50 yard field goals. Just to note: Bailey made all 4 of his extra point attempts with ease.
- Play Smart: No stupid penalties this time around. There were a couple pass interference plays that I didn’t have a problem with. Morris Claiborne was penalized twice on one drive that extended the drive, but made a great play in the end zone which resulted in a missed field goal. The following play was the 60 yard gallop by Zeke.
Prediction Scorecard:
Zeke runs wild:
Cowboys: 31
Bengals: 27
I had the “Zeke runs wild” part down, although I did not see this defense playing as soundly as they did, nor did I think we wouldn’t miss Dez against a reportedly solid Bengals Defense. When I am wrong, I want it to be in this way!
-
GAME RECAP: Cowboys 7, Giants 10
Is this the rookie wall we all keep hearing about? For 12 weeks, we’ve been hearing non-stop about how Dak Prescott can’t be doing what he’s doing, that he can’t keep this up. After an average performance in Minnesota against a very good Vikings secondary, and whatever you want to call last night, is this it? Are the critics and history right? Twitter blew up throughout the game with pleads for Tony Romo. After the game, Jerry Jones and Jason Garrett both said they are comfortable with Dak Prescott as the QB of this team going forward. How true will that be if Dak has another catastrophic performance against a solid Tampa Bay defense this coming Sunday Night? Prescott finished the game 17 of 37 for 165 yrds, 1 TD, INTs and a Passer Rating of 45.4. That brings his rating vs the Giants to 58.6 compared to his rating against all other teams of 114.3. Is Prescott hitting the rookie wall or are the Giants his kryptonite?
The Cowboys offense missed a lot of opportunities Sunday night at MetLife Stadium. The running game was there most of the night and Ezekiel Elliott did his part rushing for 107 yards on 24 carries. However, the story is most definitely the play of QB1, Dak Prescott. Dak was awful. There is no way to sugar coat it. Poor decisions and poor throws throughout the entire game made it impossible to move the ball with any type of regularity. This team has been pretty consistent in 3rd down efficiency throughout the year, yet only converted one 3rd down out of 15 tries. There were also 0 red zone appearances. Now, this isn’t all on Dak, the Giants defensive front was getting to in the backfield on nearly every drop back. What has saved the offensive drives in prior weeks was Dak’s ability to use his feet. Last night, Dak had 1 rush for 1 yard. The ability to extend the play to find the open man simply was not there and the numerous stalled drives were a result.
The bright spot of this game was the defense, led by Sean Lee’s 18 total tackles. This defense provided 3 takeaways and held the Giants to 260 total yards, 61 of which were on one play. That one 61 yard TD pass to Odell Beckham Jr was the one mistake this defense made on the night. The Cowboys were playing man defense so Sean Lee followed the running back, leaving the middle of the field wide open. Brandon Carr couldn’t keep up and the Safety took a horrible line and whiffed on the tackle about 10-15 yards from scrimmage. Two mistakes, one play.
This game was about as even as you can get. One minute difference in time of possession, 260 total yards of offense for both teams, 3 turnovers for both teams, 1 big play resulting in a TD for both. The difference? The Giants made a 39 yard field goal, the Cowboys 55 yard attempt hit the cross bar. Looking forward, the Cowboys now have to make a decision. Learn and move forward. Or sulk and continue the slide. Tampa Bay has something to play for and has won 5 straight. They will be poised and ready. Will the Cowboys?
Keys to the Game Scorecard:
- Avoid mental mistakes. Mental mistakes this week weren’t penalties, rather poor execution. Dez fumbling the ball, Dak throwing 2 interceptions (1 was his fault) and a couple dropped interceptions.
- Play your game. The Cowboys stuck to their game plan and Zeke rushed for over 100 yards. Poor execution by the QB1 was the game changer.
- Pressure. Eli Manning was sacked 3 times for a loss of 26 yards. He fumbled one, which the Cowboys recovered and should have had more than the one interception. Defense played perhaps their best game yet.
Prediction:
Cowboys: 35
Giants: 17
Result: WAY OFF
Cowboys: 7
Giants: 10
