Weekend Football Notebook
KICKING OFF
It stinks to wonder if 2014 was Tony Romo's last fully healthy year.
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COWBOYS NOTEBOOK
Pregame Three Keys
1. The secondary (or, any defensive players covering the pass) needs to make plays and take advantage of the pressure the Cowboys' pass rush will apply on Manning. The Cowboys won't win unless they create turnovers and turn them into points, either directly or through strong field position.
There were interceptable passes and plays to be made that weren't. The pass rush did an OK job, but the pass coverage didn't hold up its end to the degree it needed to with a backup quarterback leading the offense. Zero takeaways just will not cut it.
2. Commit to the running game. Matt Cassel is not Brandon Weeden, but he's not much better either. If you ask him to win you the game, he won't. The running game will keep the defense off-balance and allow for Cassel to take advantage of play-action.
Credit to the Cowboys because they not only committed to the running game, but they committed to Darren McFadden, who rewarded them with a great performance.
3. Someone needs to step up as Cassel's chain mover. It's likely Witten, but it doesn't have to be. They need someone to help prolong drives and convert on third-and-mediums.
No one really stepped up and had a great game from the pass-catcher perspective. One of Matt Cassel's interceptions was due to Terrance Williams not finishing a route, but T-Will played fine beyond that. I guess it is tough to expect someone to step up when the guy who normally would step up is on the sideline.
Random Thoughts
*Darren McFadden was outstanding, not only as a runner but in pass protection, too.
*Matt Cassel wasn't great, but, call me crazy, he gives me more confidence than Brandon Weeden.
*With that said, I was somewhat bewildered as to why everyone assumed he was going to rev the offensive jets. He's not.
*Is it unfair if I'm left wondering what the team's record would be if Matt Cassel was the QB from day one post Romo? Couldn't be worse...
*I know it isn't this simple, but why did Cassel continue to challenge the only guy in New York's secondary worth a damn?
*The Cowboys' offensive line hasn't bullied a defense like that since 2014. That was nice to see again.
*I think the Cowboys lead the league in "almost turnovers" and, unfortunately, that was costly against the Giants.
*Cole Beasley has been incredibly solid as the punt returner. Everyone cracks at some point and it was terrible timing for him. I wonder if, in that situation when you need a play to be made, Lucky Whitehead would have been the better option as the "home run hitter" in that role.
*Just because Dwayne Harris burned the Cowboys, doesn't mean they should have kept him. He was worth 5 years, $17 million in this particular game, but most games he's not worth that. The better question is whether or not the Cowboys did a good enough job filling his void.
Numbers Game
*Cowboys gained 233 rushing yards–the highest of the season and the most since they gained 251 yards on the ground against the N.Y. Giants (9/20/09)
*McFadden's 152 yards were the fourth-highest single game performance of his career and the most rushing yards by a Cowboy since DeMarco Murray totaled 179 at Chicago (12/4/14).
*Lucky Whitehead had four rushes for 35 yards in today's game against the Giants. It is the first time since 1995 that the Cowboys had a wide receiver record at least three carries in a game, when Kevin Williams rushed three times for 21 yards against Arizona, and the four carries represents the most rushes in a game by a wide receiver in team history.
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MY NFL TOP FIVE
*A ranking not at all based on record but my own one-person committee's thoughts.
1. New England Patriots (6-0): I feel like saying that they'll run the regular season table is cliche, so I'll tell you that they'll go 15-1.
2. Green Bay Packers (6-0): They've sputtered a bit offensively, but their defense is much improved this year and they benefit from a week division.
3. Cincinnati Bengals (6-0): I don't want to believe in Andy Dalton because whenever I do, he lets me down. I'm a sucker to that running attack, though.
4. Denver Broncos (6-0): They're up here for their defense and in spite of their offense.
5. Arizona Cardinals (4-2): I know I'm leaving undefeateds off this list, but, head-to-head, give me them over the others.
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MY NCAA TOP FOUR
*A ranking not at all based on record but my own one-person committee's thoughts.
1. Ohio State (7-0): It's about time they figured out J.T. Barrett is the right guy to assume QB1 duties.
2. LSU (7-0): Give me Brandon Harris and Leonard Fournette over Jake Coker and Derrick Henry.
3. Clemson (7-0): Yeah, Miami is pretty bad, but Clemson's dominance was pretty impressive.
4.TCU (7-0): I would have put Baylor here but it is tough to include them when their starting quarterback suffered a fractured bone in his neck.
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HUDDLING UP
NCAA
• My mid-season guesses: Ohio State (National Champions) and Leonard Fournette (Heisman Trophy)...
• ...But there isn't a clear cut dominant team, which is funny because Ohio State was supposed to run away with this thing.
• Alabama squeaks by Tennessee at home. Calvin Ridley (WR) is the real deal. Derrick Henry is really good, but, in my opinion, not quite as good as Eddie Lacy if you want some perspective.
• The narrative shouldn't be that Florida State lost on a fluke play. It should be that they aren't nearly as good this year and were unable to put away a team that was previously winless in a somewhat weak conference and therefore fell victim to a late fluke play.
• Not sure how Al Golden was going to survive the worst loss in program history...at home...to a conference opponent...on a decent-sized stage.
• USC absolutely dominated previously-undefeated Utah, 42-24. My guess is that Utah loss is a part of a developing domino effect that will leave the Pac-12 without College Football Playoff representation.
• Until Texas A&M is able to consistently run the ball and commit to it, they're going to struggle to find consistency. In yesterday's 23-3 loss to Ole Miss, A&M ran for just 58 yards. On the season, they rank 96th out of 128 teams in rushing yards/game and 78th in yards/carry. Then again, Kyle Allen wasn't very good either. Chicken or the egg?
NFL
• Each great week Ryan Tannehill has simply delays the realization that they are going nowhere fast with him at the helm.
• How have the Houston Texans even won two games? Seems like a lot for a team that bad...Bill O'Brien to USC?
• The Falcons are the most overrated 2-or-less-loss team in the NFL. The Jets, however, are a playoff team.
• How many tight ends can you say without hesitation are better in the passing game than Jordan Reed? Honest question. Gronk...Graham? Kelce? Olsen?
• Take away his longest run in each of the last two games and Adrian Peterson's carried the ball 43 times for 60 yards. He's not the same.
• This might be a controversial statement, but I think Kirk Cousins is an NFL starting QB--not a top-notch one, but a decent one.
• Man, I know Andrew Luck has been bad this year, but in case people are souring on him, I still would start a team with him over everyone not named Aaron Rodgers.
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3-PIECE OF NUMBER NUGGETS
NCAA
-Stanford's Remound Wright has 19 rushing TDs since start of 2014, all on goal-to-go plays. Only Navy's Keenan Reynolds (23) has more on goal-to-go plays in that time.
-Baylor's Corey Coleman has 18 receiving TDs, most in Big 12 history through a team's first seven games. The season record for the conference is 25 by West Virginia's Stedman Bailey (2012) and the FBS record is 27 by Louisiana Tech's Troy Edwards (1998).
-LSU's Leonard Fournette became the first player to rush for 150+ yards in seven straight games since UCF's Kevin Smith (2007).
NFL
-Ryan Tannehill set an NFL record completing 25 straight passes, breaking Donovan McNabb's mark of 24 straight (2004)
-Matt Ryan (age 30) became the fourth youngest QB to reach 30,000 career passing yards. Those younger? Marino, Favre, and Manning.
-Over the last 10 seasons, Patriots are 4-0 when at least 80% of their plays are dropbacks to pass. All other teams are 3-109
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PICK-SIX
1. Tom Verducci on how Carlton Fisk's home run altered baseball and TV.
2. The Atlantic's Robert O'Connell on the inevitable decline of Peyton Manning.
3. ESPN's Ramona Shelburne on the fall of Lamar Odom.
4. GQ's Robert Bales on America's most notorious war criminal.
5. David Spade on why Eddie Murphy hated him.
6. Here's the annual NBA GM survey.
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HOLD ME ACCOUNTABLE
Here were my pre-season picks
NFC
East: 1. Philadelphia 2. Dallas 3. New York 4. Washington
North: 1. Green Bay 2. Detroit 3. Minnesota 4. Chicago
South: 1. Carolina 2. New Orleans 3. Tampa Bay 4. Atlanta
West: 1. Seattle 2. Arizona 3. San Francisco 4. St. Louis
AFC
East: 1. New England 2. Buffalo 3. Miami 4. New York
North: 1. Pittsburgh 2. Baltimore 3. Cincinnati 4. Cleveland
South: 1. Indianapolis 2. Tennessee 3. Houston 4. Jacksonville
West: 1. Denver 2. Kansas City 3. San Diego 4. Oakland
Super Bowl: Green Bay over Indianapolis