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I need time to enjoy this unbelievable win, so I will keep this short!! Tony Romo had his worst STATISTICAL game ever, BUT, his determination and focus is unmatched. As Romo piled on the INTs, he looked deflated to me, but no one really knows what goes on inside Romo’s head. I think its something special, something at another level. To gather yourself, and take the team down the field in the do-or-die drive and pull out the TD, and the game winning drive to setup the field goal is what champions are made of!

Aikman had a record 5 INT game in his Hall of Fame career, and Romo tied Aikman with his horrific 5 INTS.

Take your hat off to this whole team. The defense could have crumbled, but they did not, they wanted to give Romo more chances on the field, and they held up their side of the ball. Most impressive.

With all the pregame hype, looking ahead to the Patriots, all the pressure, and all this in-game adversity, this team as a whole came together collectively and did not die, they literally kicked the nails off the coffin, crawled out, and won the game.

Heart and Soul, this team is just amazing. I know I’m ranting now, but you will not see many games like this in your lifetime.

Drafting Nick Folk was genius. Period. Dick Jauron tried the whole last second time out BS, but Folk stepped up and nailed the 53yrd field goal twice. Eat that Jauron!

What does this win mean? It means alot, the Cowboys have alot to work on, but these guys have heart, something the Cowboys have not had in years. The experts ask whether or not the Cowboys are in the same league as the Pats and Colts..I emphatically say hell yes. Never say die baby, we fight until the last second. This team will never give up. That’s what we know about this team. Go back a season or two ago, and this team would have crumbled.

Bring on the Patriots! Get Ready, its on!
BOX SCORE

The Cowboys go into Buffalo as the last undefeated team in the NFC. The Packers dropped one to the Bears. It seems like forever since the Cowboys last game, but fans remain pumped over this upcoming game. A win over the Bills will further solidify their supremacy atop the NFC. The Cowboys cannot take the Bills lightly, they do have some strong points in their game despite being banged up. They have a solid running back in Marshawn Lynch and he’ll be the first good back the Cowboys have faced this season and their special teams are also solid with McGee and Parrish.

Keys to Victory

Same as always, limit turnovers, limit stupid penalties, sustain drives, create pressure and earn some take aways. If we do all this, we will win the game. The Bills cannot double team all our offensive weapons. Romo knows this, and his quick throw will punish the Bills defense.

Go for the fast start this week. The Patriots come to town next week, and these guys have been very consistent with the fast start, so the Cowboys need to see if we can execute a fast start in a real game. So, let’s do what we do in the 2nd half, and smother the Bills for 4 quarters.

Pressure Edwards Early

The Cowboys defense is feeling confident, and resurrected with the return of Newman and Ellis. This defense will be looking for blood early and often. Edwards had success against the Jets, but we now know that the Jets are a horrible team on both sides of the ball. The Bills will have their hands full with Ware, Ellis, and Spencer bringing the pressure at any given time. Phillips wants to whip the Bills, and the defensive playbook will drop down on the Bills.

Special Teams

Special teams has also improved over the last few weeks, and this week the Cowboys will have to contain Roscoe Parrish, he’s speedy and elusive. If the Cowboys contain Parrish like we did against Hester, then we should be fine. Mat McBriar should have another great game. We’ll see how Folk does at this stadium. Ralph Wilson Stadium is one of the windiest stadiums in the NFL, so we’ll see how he responds to those variables.

Feed the Quadruplets

Romo will lead the way, as the head of this four-headed beast, but the Cowboys will be looking at a fast start this week, its been talked about all week. We’ll probably see a good dose if it early, and that means feeding the Quadruplets early and often. I think we’ll see TO, Witten, and Barber fully involved on the opening drive.

Cowboys @ Bills
Ralph Wilson Stadium - AstroTurf Gameday Grass
ESPN 7:30 PM CST
Analysts: Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, and Tony Kornheiser
NFL.com Gamecenter

The Rest of the NFC East:
Redskins defeated the Lions (3-1)
Giants defeated the Jets (3-2)
Eagles BYE WEEK

Browns Watch:
Brows lost to Patriots (2-3)

Join us for LIVE GAMEDAY discussion on the message boards!

Madden Forecast: Cowboys 26 Bills 24
My Prediction: Cowboys 30 Bills 20

The Cowboys have placed themselves atop the NFC, and are a step or two above the rest of the NFC this year. The Cowboys put on another offensive assault at the Rams expense. Romo Mania is on fire again! Can anyone stop this offensive juggernaut? Right now the Cowboys are on a collision course with NFL Supremacy at stake when they play the Patriots in week 6.

The usual suspects looked solid against the lowly Rams. A couple of Gameballs probabaly get handed out to Tony Romo and the Offensive Line.

Greg Ellis came back and played, and made his presence known. This defense is really coming along each and every week. For the most part, everyone looked good on defense. Hamlin is looking more comfortable roaming around in the secondary, and looks to be the part now.

Anthony Henry suffered some sort of ankle injury, preliminary x-rays came back negative, so Henry’s status for the next game are questionable at this point. We’ll see how the ankle looks this week. We could see Newman back in along with Reeves.

BOX SCORE 

When the schedule came out, I knew week two would be an interesting game. Its not just the Dolphins we’re playing on Sunday; but, in essence it’ll be ourselves we’ll be playing against . Basically, we’re playing against an offensive system the we employ in Dallas as well - Norv Turner offense. Cam Cameron ran it quite effectively in San Diego; however, he now inherits a very average group of guys on offense, and a virtual bust at RB, his bread and butter in San Diego. The Phillips 34 should not be a major surprise to Cameron; moreover, he should know it quite well as he practiced against the best defense in the league while Phillips was the Chargers Defensive Coordinator. This game is going to be a chess match, and every penalty and turnover will ultimately be the deciding factor.

Play calling wise, the teams that will take the field are virtual clones; but, the main difference is the pedigree of  players on the field. The Cowboys clearly have the better offensive unit, the defensive units of the Cowboys and Dolphins are very suspect going into week 2. The Dolphins could not stop the running combo of Portis and Betts; conversely, the Cowboys could not stop the passing attack of Burress and Toomer.

As it was last week, the offensive coordinator that can get past the opposing defense will win this game, so it’ll be on baby. Cam Cameron vs. Jason Garrett

Garrett comes into this matchup as the new young gun on the street, and Cameron has been running the Turner schemes for awhile now, and has had proven success. For this reason, I give the slight edge to Cameron, but I like Garrett’s chances. I kinda see this as the game where Garrett (the student) has the chance to show up Cameron (the master), (not that Garrett coached under Cameron, I’m just giving an example, since they come from the same offensive school of thought)

Or, if you want to look at it another way; defensively, which ever team can stop the opposing offense will win this game, so It’ll be on. Dom Capers vs. Wade Phillips

Looks like a dead heat, its amazing how close these two teams are. Capers is a defensive guru, and so is Phillips; however, at this point, the edge goes to Phillips. His style is more aggressive and has had solid proven success. Ellis and Newman are practicing more, and could bolster up the D for the game, so watch out. Jay Ratliff is very underrated at NT, and will be a menace up the middle, and what’s this?…do the Dolphins have a rookie starting at center? Samson Satele. Our boy Ratliff is gonna tear that up. Ah shhh…

Point is, the Cowboys will be quite prepared against a mirror image of a lesser self. Go Cowboys, Get Pumped!

Parcells still has his eye on the Cowboys and offers this bit of analysis on the Cowboys:

The Dallas Cowboys got off to a good start with their 45-35 victory over the New York Giants. The 45 speaks for itself, but the 35 will need to be addressed quickly.

Based on what I saw and who was playing, the Cowboys need to get CB Terence Newman back on the field as soon as possible. They also need one of their backup cornerbacks to emerge as a quality No. 3 option. The sooner players such as CBs Jacques Reeves and Nate Jones are able to function effectively behind the starters, the better the Cowboys’ defense will be.

Also, the season-ending injury to DT Jason Ferguson is going to be an issue. He is the most experienced inside defensive lineman on the team. His absence will definitely hurt Dallas. (ESPN)

I would say this is about what all of Cowboys Nation is aware of too, its just interesting to here it from the Parcells as well. I couldn’t agree more with the Tuna.

I’m confident Phillips will make some adjustments for the Dolphins, and we’ll see what happens. One thing is for sure, we have the better offense, and the Dolphins secondary is very suspect, as is their run defense; Portis and Betts had their way with them. Can you imagine the devastation Barber and Jones will inflict?

In an effort to add depth to the nose tackle position, the Cowboys claimed Remi Ayodele from waivers.

From DMN: The Cowboys have signed nose tackle Remi Ayodele to their 53-man roster Tuesday and placed Jason Ferguson on injured reserve.

Ferguson suffered a torn right biceps in Sunday’s season opener vs. the New York Giants and will have surgery on Friday. Ayodele, the younger brother of linebacker Akin, was among the Cowboys’ final cuts coming out of training camp.

The Cowboys hoped to put him on the practice squad, but he was claimed by Atlanta. The Falcons released Ayodele over the weekend, giving the Cowboys a chance to re-sign Ayodele.

Ayodele, 6-2, 300, spent the spring playing in NFL Europa. He spent part of last year on the Cowboys’ practice squad before he was released.

If the Cowboys wanted to add another veteran presence at WR with Reche Caldwell its too late, the loser Redskins snatched him up and will now Redskinize (destroy his career) him.

I’m going to break down who has the stronger starting rosters in this upcoming game. The player in bold is the better player, and bold italics means even, at their respective positions.

OFFENSE 

QB: Romo vs. Manning

RB: Jones & Barber vs. Jacobs & Droughns

WR: Owens vs. Burress

WR(2): Glenn vs. Toomer

WR(3): Crayton vs. Smith

TE: Witten vs. Shockey

FB: Hoyte vs. Douglas

LT: Adams vs. Diehl

LG: Kosier vs. Seubert

C: Gurode vs. O’Hara

RG: Davis vs. Snee

RT: Colombo vs. McKenzie

DEFENSE

DE: Spears vs. Strahan

DE: Canty vs. Umenyiora

NT: Ferguson vs. Cofield/Robbins/Joseph

LB: Ware vs. Kiwanuka

LB: James vs. Pierce

LB: Ayodele vs. Blackburn

LB: Spencer vs. Mitchell

CB: Newman vs. McQuarters

CB: Henry vs. Madison

FS: Hamlin vs. Wilson

SS: Williams vs. Butler

K: Folk vs. Tynes

P: McBriar vs. Feagles

KR: Thompson & Austin vs. Moss & McQuarters

PR: Crayton vs. McQuarters

On offense, we clearly have the better offensive line, and our WR/TEs are superior to the Giants as well

On defense, the Giants clearly have the better DEs, Ferguson is the better player at the NT/DT spot, After DeMarcus Ware, the LBs corps of the Cowboys and Giants are close, I think we split at CB; however, we clearly have the better safties. I think our kick returners are better, but we’re even at punt return.

Field position is key in this game, and actually an area of concern for me. Our special teams coverage has looked worse this preseason than in previous seasons. I’m not sold on Bruce Read as our ST coach. He put together some solid units at the collegiate level, so hopefully this will get fixed for us. Game 1 will reveal alot.

Cowboys Nation has hit its first crossroad before the season even starts. In fact, I would say 50% are unsure if we can win against the Giants with the roster we have right now. The main concern is CB and LB.

Some fans cannot believe Glenn is gone? and I ask why? Neither Glenn nor Reeves or any of the other backups have quality skills to be a #2CB in relief. Now we’re in trouble. Some people say “don’t panic”…get real. Its time to worry. And if you think we can fill some of our inadequacies from the waiver wire you’re dreaming. I’ve looked, and there’s nothing out there. Even if there was someone out there, you’re taking someone that another team had all offseason and in the end did not like for whatever reason.

No, the waiver wire is not the way to go. Unfortunately, the only way to get some help is via trade. There’s rumors swirling that Marcus Spears is on the trading block, but nothing has manifested yet.

Linebacker is also paper thin. You can’t count on Burnett, he’s injured all the time, its becoming detrimental to the team. Ellis is the great unknown, who knows anything about Ellis, anything solid on this guy? No one seems to know anything about his status. Spencer is slated to start, and Carpenter will probably relieve the MLB and OLB on opening day, and special teams…Superman or what? What the heck is going on here??

No one is going to be happy about the roster right now, but either way you slice it, if we would have kept “this guy” over “that guy” is irrelevant. We simply don’t have quality, championship depth. When you make cuts on a quality roster, it should be easy to see who you are keeping. We shouldn’t have to be sacrificing one position for another, and that’s the situation in Dallas right now. You need depth if you want to make it down the stretch. The best teams out there have quality depth at various positions.

I wasn’t surprised by the first round of cuts today; however, I hope Jackie Battle can return via the practice squad, assuming he can recover from the ankle injury. After watching training camp and the first three preseason games, the 53-man roster is becoming clearer. Here’s my latest roster projections:

QB (2): Tony Romo, Brad Johnson
RB (3): Julius Jones, Marion Barber 3, Tyson Thompson

FB (2): Oliver Hoyte, Deon Anderson

WR (6): Terrell Owens, Terry Glenn, Patrick Crayton, Sam Hurd, Isaiah Stanback, Miles Austin

TE (3): Jason Witten, Anthony Fasano, Tony Curtis

OL (9): Flozell Adams, Kyle Kosier, Andre Gurode, Leonard Davis, Marc Colombo, Pat McQuistan, James Marten, Doug Free, Cory Procter

Offense (25)

DL (4): Jason Hatcher, Jay Ratliff, Chris Canty, Marcus Spears

NT (2): Jason Ferguson, Remi Ayodele

LB (8): DeMarcus Ware, Bradie James, Akin Ayodele, Greg Ellis, Bobby Carpenter, Anthony Spencer, Kevin Burnett, Junior Glymph

CB (6): Terence Newman, Anthony Henry, Aaron Glenn, Jacques Reeves, Joey Thomas, Quincy Butler
FS (3): Ken Hamlin, Patrick Watkins, Courtney Brown

SS (2): Roy Williams, Keith Davis

ST (3): Nick Folk, Mat McBriar, L.P. Ladouceur

Defense (28)

With injuries and quality depth issues, I see the Cowboys carrying just (2) QBs again this season. Matt Moore has show his ability, and should be able to run the scout team on the practice squad, he’ll continue to work with Garrett, and that will only make him a better prospect for 2008. Deon Anderson makes the team with his big hits, blocking and special teams play. Miles Austin makes the team as a return specialist, but would not be surprised if he does not make the Sept. 1st cuts. Tony Curtis has come a long way, he’s had a strong camp and solid preseason, so he’s probably in. No big surprises on the Offensive Line. Junior Glymph continues to play well and has drawn praise from Phillips several times, so he’ll be solid in rotation. Cornerbacks is where we could see some surprises. Right now I have Aaron Glenn at #3, but he hasn’t really separated himself from the other backups at all, so he’s on the bubble with the rest of the guys. If we can mount a trade to add someone solid at cornerback, this will give us some relief. The cornerbacks are not getting any props from the staff at this point, and its a concern as we draw closer to the game opener against the Giants. Courtney Brown makes the team with his good play, and his versatility as a safety and cornerback experience.

Can Kevin Burnett go one season without an injury. There were rumors the Cowboys would be looking at moving a LB for a CB, and I’m hoping this comes true. Please take the injury prone Burnett off our hands and get us a capable cornerback. The latest news from Cowboys camp is not good, Newman has a tear in his heel, and says the injury will bother him all year. Not good, not good at all! In addition to that, we have Burnett being injured again, and will require surgery. Ellis will not be ready, and could go on PUP for 6 weeks, and in all honesty, Spencer and Carpenter have just been average at OLB. I’m not hitting the panic button yet, but it’s looming.
DMN on Burnett:

LB Kevin Burnett said Saturday night that he didn’t think his ankle injury was serious, but X-rays showed bone chips. He’ll have an operation tomorrow, and the plan is for him to be ready to go against the Giants.

Other injury news:

OLB Greg Ellis, who has been day-to-day for a month, is visiting Dr. James Andrews in Alabama to get a second opinion. “We think he’s pretty close [to playing],” Wade Phillips said. “We’d like to get a second opinion for both parties, so he’ll be comfortable.”

K Martin Gramatica has a slight pull in his right hamstring. Phillips wasn’t sure whether Gramatica would kick against the Vikings.

LT Doug Free and WR Terry Glenn, both recovering from knee injuries, are both expected to practice Saturday.

Phillips said he thought Terence Newman will “be fine.” By that, I assume Phillips meant Newman wouldn’t miss any regular season action.

Gramatica is all but assured to be cut here soon, the kicking battle was close upto about two weeks ago, and then this last weekend, Gramatica missed a chipshot. Its’ Folk time.

And on Newman’s latest injury news:

CB Terence Newman said he doesn’t have plantar fasciitis after all. He has a tear in his plantar fascia near his right heel.

“I think it’s something that’s probably going to be bothering me for the whole year,” Newman said. “At the same time, there’s ways that we can deal with it that will limit the pain that I have. Right now, the problem that I have is I can’t plant on it. There’s no way that I can plant on my foot.

“We can do things that can help me out during a game – maybe freeze it a little bit, I don’t know. It would have been better if I completely tore the whole thing, I think, than just to tear half of it.

Newman said the Cowboys’ trainers have told him this is an extremely rare injury. Doctors they discussed it with could only think of two cases they’d seen. That makes it very tough to predict a timeframe for his recovery.

“I’m going to try to be ready for the opener,” he said. “That’s the target date. I don’t think I’m going to miss the opener, one way or the other. If I’m ready, I’m playing. If I’m not ready, I’m playing.”

Newman sounds optimistic enough, unfortunately, I don’t share this optimism. Sure, he says he can play, but how effective would he be, we won’t know until the time arrives. If anything, a Newman at 75% is still better than our backup CBs, that looked like crap against the Texans. Newman’s heel could be our Achilles heel this year, and just all the more the reason for us to get a solid #2CB, and reload the backup CBs, we are paper thin.