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Cowboys at the Halfway Point
Thursday, November 09, 2006
By Tovash Hatcher
Cowboy fans, is a 4-4 record acceptable? Do you think that Bill Parcells is doing the job that you thought he would? The million-dollar question is this: do you have faith that the Cowboys can right the ship to get to the playoffs, or will they sink and drown?
If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, please feel free to log in to my website at http://www.tovash10.com/ and let me know how this can be done. I'm a long time Cowboy fan and I can't help but to think that this team is on the verge of mailing it in and giving up. So far, we've seen a statue for a quarterback get benched after throwing interceptions and games away, a selfish, loud-mouth receiver who can't catch crucial passes at key moments, and a defense that finds it virtually impossible to get to the quarterback. Did I mention that since that same defense cannot get to the quarterback, they are giving up more than their fare share of big plays over 50-yards?
Here's a synopsis of the first half of the regular season.
-The Cowboys defense was supposed to be one of the stingiest defenses in the NFL today. With a secondary that consists of shutdown cornerback Terrance Newman, "pro-bowl" safety Roy Williams, and linebacker Demarcus Ware. But why is this defensive unit giving up tons of yards on big play after big play leading to four losses in just 8 games? With 3 losses in the NFC East division, it will be very tough for the Cowboys to recover in time in hopes of winning the division. The defense also cannot keep allowing the "big play" or big penalties either. However, if you look at the numbers and the rankings, you'll be misled. The defense ranks in the top 10 of just about every category including yards per game which is good for 4th in the entire league. But the occasional deep ball is killing the secondary. Safety Roy Williams was guilty of a 40-yard pass interference play in last Sunday's game versus Washington that later resulted in a Redskins touchdown. The Cowboys lost that game as well.
The Cowboys defense obviously has problems. With the inability to get to the quarterback with consistency coupled with poor pass coverage, I see trouble down the stretch. And if the defense can't get it together soon, this team will again be at home come playoff time.
-The addition of Terrell Owens has been a grey area. Many members of the media and fans as well flat out dislike this man. There are thousands of other fans however, that think the controversial wide receiver is worth every penny of his 25-million dollar contract. Owens, who has been voted as the #1 most overrated player in the NFL has had his ups and down this season. His 6 touchdown receptions is tops on the team and is 1 TD shy of the NFL lead. Some people say that half of those touchdowns came against a not-so-good Houston Texans team and that Owens fails to make "the big play". Despite 107 yards in a clutch win against Carolina, Owens followed that performance up with a key drop in the Washington game just one week later. Owens leads the NFL in the dropped balls category. That provides ammo for every writer, news anchor, and radio personality. But how will #81 get those drops out of his head and become less of a headache and more productive? Stay tuned...
-And will the head coach be able to correct this 4-4 problem? The Hall of Fame coach from New Jersey made a big move a few weeks ago when he sent Drew Bledsoe to the bench and opted for a much-quicker-in-the-pocket Tony Romo. The return on Romo has been positive so far. The 4th year quarterback is putting up veteran type numbers and is looking good in the pocket by avoiding the rush and getting the ball out of his hands quickly. Parcells now needs to get the defense and the kicking game together to make a run in the NFC since only one team (Bears) is playing solid. The Cowboys will need its coach and his wisdom to help put this thing together before it gets too late. Parcells usually says that a 10-6 record will almost always promise a playoff berth. Hopefully for the Cowboys and their fans, Parcells is right.
I'm Tovash Hatcher
4:56 PM
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