This first half didn't go the way we thought it would. For the first 29 minutes, there were zero offensive points scored. From then on, however, we, as fans, got ours. This was a phenomenal game to view as an unbiased football fan. Kurt Warner put the turnover woes away, Steve Breaston, Larry Fitzgerald, and Marion Barber racked up the receiving stats, and Tony Romo piled up the numbers. When the dust settled, however, we were left with an unfamiliar feeling. The Arizona Cardinals, through six weeks, are a damn good football team. Say what you will about any of the external variables. There's going to be whining about the officiating (which I'll cover Wednesday), name-calling directed at Romo vis a vis his "clutch" play, and finger-pointing at the Cowboys' special teams.
It's only natural to blame special teams when you miss a field goal, allow a KOR runback, and lose the game on a blocked punt in OT to blame the special teams. And they should primarily do so. Those mistakes are unacceptable if you want to be an elite team. The Cowboys have sky-high expectations, and when you neglect one very important aspect of your team like this, blame is going to be laid.
Another layer to the onion that is the Cowboys ... Terrell Owens, the esteemed selfish mental-midget, is going to be whining all week about the game-plan and/or his lack of touches. He's about to divide your team, Cowboys fans. Whether you love him or hate him, you have to admit, he's alienated two great guys in Jeff Garcia and Donovan McNabb before skipping town and finding someone else stupid enough to pay him. He's going to do the same to another good guy, Tony Romo, if the 'Boys aren't careful.
The real story here, however, is that the Arizona Cardinals wanted this game. They needed it. Ken Whisenhunt even escaped a mistake which is usually karmically punished. He pulled the old wait until the last second before the snap and take a timeout to ice the kicker move. Only we had the luxury of seeing his team block the field goal as the line judge was screaming in, furiously blowing his whistle and waving his arms.
To survive that and still win the game ... wow. The worm, Arizona Cardinals fans, may be turning. You've suffered for a while. Now you have a two game lead, and you just beat one of the most talented teams in the league.
As I said earlier in the week, you deserve this. Enjoy your team and their victory.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-13-2008 @ 2:28PM
cowboy fan said...
I cannot believe this game. WTF!!!! Special teams may have put more pressure on the offense to score, but this article fails to talk about the poor play calling and failures of the offensive line. I hope that Felix Jones was hurt and couldn't play because once again, they failed to use the two running backs simultaneously (even for blocking, did I mention that they are great receivers too). Yeah, they gave a heavy dose of MB, but there was no surprise to the plays, no real passing threat, and Romo was always home. Yeah Tom Brady is a good QB, but Romo is Romo. He got to where he is today for his own type of dynamics. They don't have to contain Romo, he does it for them. I don't know Garrett, I hope that you can overcome more tough defenses that are willing to pound it and blitz it for 4 straight quarters. For, this seems to be your achilles heel. Too much pressure. I think I will work next sunday, at least I will get something done. Today was a waste of my time. SAD!!!!!
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10-13-2008 @ 5:16AM
giant fan slince 57 said...
Time outs should not be allowed from the sidelines after the offense is set. It's an embarrassment to the game and doesn't belong in a professional setting like the NFL.
In fact the entire rule about allowing time outs from the sidelines should be repealed as well. Half the time when a coach calls time out it confuses his guys just as badly as the other team. Baltimore would have beaten New England last year except for a stupid time out from the sidelines.
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10-13-2008 @ 5:57AM
SKIP said...
THERE IS A GOD AFTERALL
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10-13-2008 @ 6:30PM
lowridersteeler said...
I HATE THE COWPADDIES GOOD ,THEY SUCK NOW ,THEY SUCKED THEN ,AND WILL ALWAYS SUCK, AND THEY CAN KEEP GOOBER,HEY THATS A NEW ONE THE DALLAS GOOBERS HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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10-13-2008 @ 10:50AM
chris said...
Speacial teams did cost them but lets face it also.The Boys did not play very well most of the game.Romo couldnt get a grip on the ball and got lucky with the fumble on the opening possesion.Also I know its a rule but the Tuck rule really is a joke.The defense didnt really show up in the second half.And then yes of course special teams were terrible.
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10-13-2008 @ 12:01PM
Robert said...
I would like the refs to explain how it is that when they didn't call a time out for an injured player, that they penalized the team the injured player belongs to. That is a ref mistake not a team or player mistake.
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