Post by prossman on Dec 27, 2009 12:14:30 GMT -7
DMN:Dallas Cowboys shouldn't expect to march on Washington
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LINK
Tim Cowlishaw
At a glance, all signs point to a Dallas Cowboys blowout in Washington tonight. If you were to list the principal reasons why, it would go something like this.
One, with a victory over a 4-10 team, the Cowboys can play Philadelphia for the NFC East title next Sunday at home. Pretty simply carrot to dangle out there for Dallas.
Two, the Redskins showed new general manager Bruce Allen how much repair is needed in a 45-12 loss to the Giants on Monday night.
Three, DeMarcus Ware's quick return from what appeared to be a serious neck injury lifted the Cowboys to their biggest win in years in New Orleans last week.
Four, the Redskins couldn't block the Giants six days ago, and the cavalry isn't coming to FedEx Field to save the day for the home team.
Five, Shaun Suisham, who began December as a Redskin, suits up for Dallas. Never underestimate a kicker scorned.
These things say the Cowboys should be, if not worry-free, at least playing with significant advantages tonight against Washington.
But history – and not just the history of this storied rivalry – says something else, which is why they are going to go ahead and play the game instead of just letting the Cowboys play the Eagles next week for division bragging rights.
There's Dallas' recent history of struggling to stack up back-to-back wins. When the Cowboys have won this season, they have gone 3-4 the following week. And two of those victories came when the Cowboys were playing consecutive home games against non-playoff teams (Seattle after Atlanta, Oakland after Washington).
If the Cowboys played all the time the way they did against the Saints, this wouldn't be an issue. But that hasn't happened in any recent season other than 2007.
The Redskins' recent history also suggests that another embarrassing defeat like last week's is not in the cards for Washington.
The familiar refrain this week was that the Redskins have given up at 4-10. My question is why now?
They hadn't given up or come anything close to it the previous five games. During that stretch, Washington beat Denver and Oakland and was unable to hold fourth-quarter leads against the Cowboys, Eagles and Saints.
The Redskins were just a play here and there, maybe a missing offensive player or two, from sweeping Denver, Dallas, Philadelphia and New Orleans. Then they beat Oakland on the road.
Then they ... quit for the season, never to return?
Doesn't make sense.
Sometimes games get away from teams before they even get a chance to compete. When the Giants took a 17-0 lead on Washington in the second quarter, the Redskins offense had six snaps.
Washington, missing three running backs to start with, had to abandon the run before it could even determine if it had a chance to run.
Before the Giants game, the Skins' fourth choice at running back, Quinton Ganther, had run 27 times for 128 yards (4.7 average) and two touchdowns against the Eagles, Saints and Raiders.
That's why we can't be so quick to assume that this night game will look so much like the last night game the Redskins played.
The Cowboys got off to a great start offensively in New Orleans. If you have watched this team all season, you know it was out of character.
The idea that Jason Campbell is destined to get beat up by the Cowboys' rush because that is what the Giants did to him is silly.
The reality is that the Redskins have allowed 10 more sacks than the Cowboys. It's hard to think a one-sack disadvantage puts this game out of reach for Washington.
The bottom line: The Cowboys are playing the NFC East's weakest link, but they cannot act as if that's the case. A plan that's as aggressive as the team displayed in New Orleans should enable Dallas to keep the East up for grabs until the season's final Sunday.
Doing it on the road, doing it the week after a big win, doing it against a team that suffered national humiliation and has nothing to play for but the chance to embarrass a rival – those things make the Cowboys' path to win No. 10 much more difficult than some would imagine.
__________________
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LINK
Tim Cowlishaw
At a glance, all signs point to a Dallas Cowboys blowout in Washington tonight. If you were to list the principal reasons why, it would go something like this.
One, with a victory over a 4-10 team, the Cowboys can play Philadelphia for the NFC East title next Sunday at home. Pretty simply carrot to dangle out there for Dallas.
Two, the Redskins showed new general manager Bruce Allen how much repair is needed in a 45-12 loss to the Giants on Monday night.
Three, DeMarcus Ware's quick return from what appeared to be a serious neck injury lifted the Cowboys to their biggest win in years in New Orleans last week.
Four, the Redskins couldn't block the Giants six days ago, and the cavalry isn't coming to FedEx Field to save the day for the home team.
Five, Shaun Suisham, who began December as a Redskin, suits up for Dallas. Never underestimate a kicker scorned.
These things say the Cowboys should be, if not worry-free, at least playing with significant advantages tonight against Washington.
But history – and not just the history of this storied rivalry – says something else, which is why they are going to go ahead and play the game instead of just letting the Cowboys play the Eagles next week for division bragging rights.
There's Dallas' recent history of struggling to stack up back-to-back wins. When the Cowboys have won this season, they have gone 3-4 the following week. And two of those victories came when the Cowboys were playing consecutive home games against non-playoff teams (Seattle after Atlanta, Oakland after Washington).
If the Cowboys played all the time the way they did against the Saints, this wouldn't be an issue. But that hasn't happened in any recent season other than 2007.
The Redskins' recent history also suggests that another embarrassing defeat like last week's is not in the cards for Washington.
The familiar refrain this week was that the Redskins have given up at 4-10. My question is why now?
They hadn't given up or come anything close to it the previous five games. During that stretch, Washington beat Denver and Oakland and was unable to hold fourth-quarter leads against the Cowboys, Eagles and Saints.
The Redskins were just a play here and there, maybe a missing offensive player or two, from sweeping Denver, Dallas, Philadelphia and New Orleans. Then they beat Oakland on the road.
Then they ... quit for the season, never to return?
Doesn't make sense.
Sometimes games get away from teams before they even get a chance to compete. When the Giants took a 17-0 lead on Washington in the second quarter, the Redskins offense had six snaps.
Washington, missing three running backs to start with, had to abandon the run before it could even determine if it had a chance to run.
Before the Giants game, the Skins' fourth choice at running back, Quinton Ganther, had run 27 times for 128 yards (4.7 average) and two touchdowns against the Eagles, Saints and Raiders.
That's why we can't be so quick to assume that this night game will look so much like the last night game the Redskins played.
The Cowboys got off to a great start offensively in New Orleans. If you have watched this team all season, you know it was out of character.
The idea that Jason Campbell is destined to get beat up by the Cowboys' rush because that is what the Giants did to him is silly.
The reality is that the Redskins have allowed 10 more sacks than the Cowboys. It's hard to think a one-sack disadvantage puts this game out of reach for Washington.
The bottom line: The Cowboys are playing the NFC East's weakest link, but they cannot act as if that's the case. A plan that's as aggressive as the team displayed in New Orleans should enable Dallas to keep the East up for grabs until the season's final Sunday.
Doing it on the road, doing it the week after a big win, doing it against a team that suffered national humiliation and has nothing to play for but the chance to embarrass a rival – those things make the Cowboys' path to win No. 10 much more difficult than some would imagine.
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