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Out of reachAs they say, no one's going to evaluate at the end of the year how you got your wins. All that matters is that you got them. Plenty of teams in the NFL would kill to have the Cowboys' trashy wins.
Fact is, the Cowboys have had a good first half in six weeks and they've had two pretty awful games the last two. Still, they've done what they've needed to do: They swept November to go up 7-4 and first place in the NFC East. This includes one game against Arizona next week.
It's basically played perfectly, in the big picture. In the small picture, it's sucked. The Cowboys have played down to the Washington Redskins and Miami Dolphins in consecutive weeks, getting hit in the mouth over and over.
Or we can can look at it as the Redskins perpetually playing the Cowboys tough. And it's a Redskins team that went into Seattle and got a win. The Dolphins are a lot more feisty than you might think. Maybe these were just two hard-fought wins and we should be happy for them.
The best news is that the Eagles lost their seventh game of the season to the New England Patriots yesterday virtually killing their playoff chances. With the wild card and bubble teams hovering near seven wins, it will take 10 wins to get into the playoffs. The Eagles are done. Not that it makes that week 16 game any easier. It's just one less team the Cowboys need to leap to get into the post-season.
Tonight, the Giants (who've got a 0 point differential on the season) get the New Orleans Saints. The Cowboys could be looking at a one-game lead heading into the December stretch run.
Happy we could exorcise the ghost of Leon Lett. Happy holidays, Big Cat.
Grades:
Quarterback -- C
Boy, it started out like a disaster. We can still fall back on the "Tony Romo is still better than QB XYZ" argument and that the Cowboys won, but there is not a throw that Romo will not give to the other team. He's sucked, essentially, for two weeks against so-so teams, at best. It's December now. Time to take that leap.
Running Back -- B
I was borderline floored to find out DeMarco Murray eked out 87 yards on the ground. Seems like he was stymied with every attempt. I was further astonished to find that Felix Jones didn't record a carry. When was the last time a Cowboys team had one ball carrier for entire game? I can't even imagine Emmitt Smith getting all the attempts. This team desperately needs Tony Fiammetta back.
Wide Receiver -- D
It's shocking the Dallas Cowboys won if you consider they lost the turnover and time of possession battle, they could barely run the ball and they had two pass catchers on the field, and that includes a tight end. Receivers had 10 catches for 114 yards Thursday, and seven and 79 came from Laurent Robinson, who was almost on the Texans' practice squad eight weeks ago. Dez Bryant has mammoth tools, but it's clear that A) Tony Romo doesn't trust him; and B) he ain't getting open. The Cowboys are playing with one wide receiver and still winning. And that won receiver is Laurent Robinson. Freakin' amazing.
Tight End -- C+
Jason Witten goes dormant for long stretches these days. Then in the second half he'll burst onto the scene like he was never gone. I assume it's coverages and opponents taking away Romo's safety blanket.
Offensive Line -- B-
If you can win games with Tony Romo, then you can win games with this offensive line. They are far, far from perfect, but you can do a heck of a lot worse. A vast majority of the time, Romo has the room and opportunity to make an accurate throw. Is he forced out of the pocket sometimes? Yes. Who isn't? Improvement in run blocking will go a long way. They will only get better. You can win the NFC East with that front five.
Defensive Line -- B+
I feel they've put together two strong games in a row. I notice Jay Ratliff, Kenyon Coleman (underrated free agent?) and Sean Lissemore. They've been blown off the ball for whole games this year, but not recently.
Linebackers -- A
Two sacks, a fumble recovery, speed and solid, solid tackling. DeMarcus Ware is not a holy terror as he can be, but that's OK. At worst this crew is solid. Caused a lot of havoc against the Dolphins.
Secondary -- C
Brandon Marshall is good against better teams. That touchdown catch was just remarkable. They got Alan Balled a couple of times. The Dolphins were able to go down the field with relative easy, most coming off the pass and most going down the middle of the field. The Redskins did the same thing the week before with inferior (compared to the Dolphins) talent. Typically a guy like Davone Bess makes catches between the hash marks and gets pounded. Against the Cowboys, guys get comfy in the middle of the field without fear of getting decleated. A huge hole of late.
Special Teams -- B+
Bottomline: Dan Bailey. Nails. Love Felix Jones returning kicks. AOA and Dez Bryant with a pair of nice punt returns. Coverage was a little iffy.
Coaching -- C+
Wade Phillips loses that game. Romo would've had another four interceptions. There's a calmness to things when they aren't always going right. A crapload more good than bad. It's week 12 so there needs to be a lot more good than bad at this point, if you're worth a damn. It should be noted that the Cowboys lose to a better quarterback on Thursday.
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