On 12/03/2009, In Sports News, By USATODAY.com Sports News
Can Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo finally play his best football when it matters most? The Romo-unfriendly month of December has arrived ...
On 12/03/2009, In Opinions, By Philly.com Sports Columnists
It is quite the phenomenon, the willful self-deception in which our local sports franchises seem to specialize.
Over the summer, the Eagles signed Michael Vick, and, magically, an organization full of people who would have sneered if the Dallas Cowboys had lowered themselves in such a way universally embraced the power of redemption and second chances for convicted dog killers.
Despite having won 30 of 44 games as coach of the Dallas Cowboys, Wade Phillips knows he better keep winning over the next month if he's going to keep his job.
On 12/02/2009, In NFL, New York Giants, By NFL.com Wire Reports
Injuries at running back will leave the New York Giants short-handed for Sunday's NFC East showdown with the Dallas Cowboys.
On 12/02/2009, In NFL, Sports News, By MJD
See the previous absurdly premature playoff picture here.
AFC First-Round Byes:
Indianapolis Colts
Cincinnati Bengals
Other AFC Divisional Champions:
San Diego Chargers
New England Patriots
AFC Wild Cards:
Denver Broncos
Pittsburgh Steelers
NFC First-Round Byes:
New Orleans Saints
Minnesota Vikings
Other NFC Divisional Champions:
Dallas Cowboys
Arizona Cardinals
NFC Wild Cards:
Green Bay Packers
Atlanta Falcons
• The Bengals and Chargers are both 8-3, tied for the second-best record in the AFC, but it took about .4 seconds to decide to give the Bengals the nod for the second first-round bye spot. The Chargers, bless their hearts, feel a tad flimsy to me. The Bengals have a stronger ground game, and they're better at stopping the run. They're built on a sturdier foundation. Fortunately, if the issue is still between these two teams on Dec. 20, they'll get to decide things on the field.
• I gave New England a brief moment of consideration for the two-spot as well, since the Patriots are just one game out, and I can forgive a team for laying an egg in the Superdome. It happens, especially if you don't play there often. Teams get in there, and they play like they're high. I don't know why. What I'm saying here is that the Patriots aren't as bad as they looked on Monday night, and I still see them as a major factor in the AFC. That said, I didn't feel like the rest of their schedule was soft enough to give them the benefit of the doubt for the two-spot.
• Denver, on the hand, has a remaining schedule softer than Ben Roethlisberger(notes). (Sorry, Hines Ward(notes) wrote that last sentence.) It still has two against Kansas City and it gets Oakland at home, so the Broncos should be looking at 10 wins, regardless. The other two are against Indy and Philadelphia.
• And yes, I have Pittsburgh over Baltimore, despite the results of Sunday night's contest. They're both 6-5 right now, both have two gimmes left on the schedule (Baltimore with Detroit and Oakland, Pittsburgh with Oakland and Cleveland), and let's not kid ourselves about that rematch in Pittsburgh. You don't think home-field advantage and Ben Roethlisberger's presence tilt the rematch in favor of Pittsburgh? When the Steelers played into overtime without either of those advantages?
• I feel like I should mention Jacksonville because it's also 6-5, but the Jaguars' next four are a little rough: Houston and Miami are both tough opponents, and they're followed by Indianapolis and a game in New England.
• A handful of 5-6 teams are still alive in the AFC, but they'll probably have to run the table if they want in. If any team's going to do that, it almost has to be Tennessee, doesn't it?
• The only NFC division where the champion isn't clear-cut at this point is the East, and I'd say Dallas is on the brink of that. It felt like the Giants checked out on the season for good on Thursday night, and Philadelphia feels like the most beatable 7-4 team in NFL history. Not that things can't change, because the Cowboys' cupcake schedule is behind them and the rest of their schedule turns into a cupcake made by this thing. GIANT, CAKE-SIZED CUPCAKES.
• About Philadelphia, I think I might be overly angry with the Eagles because their narrow win over Washington was ... well, we'll just say it was better for my bookie than it was for me. But really, when's the last time the Eagles were impressive? It wasn't in wins against Washington or Chicago, and it wasn't in losses to Dallas or San Diego. That takes us back to Week 8.
• That brings us to Atlanta, which I also don't feel good about, but Chris Redman(notes) at least deserves a chance. If Matt Ryan(notes) is done for the year, obviously, Atlanta's chances take a nosedive. He's definitely out for this weekend, which is unfortunate, because Atlanta plays Philadelphia and there's an NFC wild-card spot ON THE LINE.
On 12/01/2009, In NFL, By MJD
Shutdown Corner presents the weekly quarterback power rankings. They're just as arbitrarily decided as normal power rankings, except they rank quarterbacks, not whole teams. Rankings are based on play this year alone and meant to represent who is playing the best football at the current moment.
| 1. Drew Brees(notes), New Orleans Saints | ||
 |  | So that was a pretty solid performance last night, yes? Still, Brees laughed in Suzy Kolber's face last night when she suggested it was a nearly perfect performance. What's this guy want? He had a perfect quarterback rating, exactly five incompletions, and his team beat the hell out of the Patriots. What else was he supposed to do, rebuild the Ninth Ward at halftime, and capture Bin Laden during one of the 843,238 commercial breaks? Take it easy on yourself, Drew. |
| 2. Brett Favre(notes), Minnesota Vikings | ||
 | | I know a lot of you think I'm a Favre Hater, but -- well, actually, yeah, I might be. I promise you, though, before Drew Brees put on that show last night, I had my mind made up to bump Favre up the number one spot this week. It felt like a touchdown was a real possibility every time he dropped back against the Bears. He made every throw a quarterback could be asked to make. They were helpless against him. I'm almost certain that he'll end up at number one here at some point over the next few weeks. |
| 3. Peyton Manning(notes), Indianapolis Colts | ||
 | | Statistically, Peyton's effort against the Texans wasn't his finest, but one interception was a "hit as he was throwing" job, and the other was an inconsequential pick just before halftime. Regardless, the second half turned into "This is why I'm Peyton Manning, and that is why you're Matt Schaub(notes)" time. Peyton rose to the occasion, Schaub didn't, and that was the difference. |
| 4. Philip Rivers(notes), San Diego Chargers | ||
 |  | I'm hesitant to move Rivers up, because he's been playing so well while in the number seven spot in this list, but it's time. His quarterback rating has been over 100 for three consecutive weeks now, and two of those were over 130. The accuracy he puts on his deep balls is stunning, and he trusts his tall receivers to go up and get it over smaller corners. His yards per completion numbers are second only to Brees. |
| 5. Aaron Rodgers(notes), Green Bay Packers | ||
 | | Rodgers just keeps putting up the numbers and -- hold the phone -- he's only been sacked three times over the last two weeks. He's got a big game coming up on Monday night against a Baltimore team with a secondary that can be beaten. Rodgers has to be huge in that game. |
| 6. Ben Roethlisberger(notes), Pittsburgh Steelers | ||
 | | Roethlisberger stays in the same spot he occupied before he was sidelined by a concussion. Judging from the prognosis given by noted neurologists Hines Ward(notes) and Santonio Holmes(notes), I'd expect him to be back this week, but at the same time, there's probably no harm in resting him a bit longer with the Raiders and Browns up next on the schedule. |
| 7. Tom Brady(notes), New England Patriots | ||
 |  | I didn't want to drop Brady this far, but he was just juxtaposed with Drew Brees, and it wasn't pretty for Tom. Both interceptions he threw were "What the hell was that?" moments, and he produced no touchdowns to offset them. Brian Hoyer(notes) actually finished the game with a higher quarterback rating. |
| 8. Matt Schaub, Houston Texans | ||
 | | I promise I'll stop pounding on Schaub after this. I guess I was just disappointed. I really felt like the Texans could've won either game they played against the Colts this season, and they just let them both slip away. Schaub is still third in the league in yards and fifth in touchdowns, so I don't want to get too caught up in what he's not doing. |
| 9. Vince Young(notes), Tennessee Titans | ||
 | | It didn't make sense to hold him out any longer. Even if his sample size is smaller, his season stats are right in line with those of guys like Flacco, Romo, Orton and Palmer, the rest of the guys hovering around the fringes of the top ten, and Young is coming off an incredible performance. I still have trouble wrapping my head around the idea that Vince Young is a good pocket passer. I wonder if one of those, "Uh oh, now teams have film on me, and they'll take away my tendencies" streaks is coming. I know, film of him existed before, but the VY of today is essentially a brand new quarterback. |
| 10. Joe Flacco(notes), Baltimore Ravens | ||
 | | Flacco had a pretty solid game against Pittsburgh; solid enough that I'm willing to no longer hold that Week 9 performance against Cincinnati against him. For Ravens fans, it's not like there's any such thing as an "ugly" win over Pittsburgh anyway. |
Noses pressed against the glass: Tony Romo(notes), Dallas Cowboys | ||
On 11/30/2009, In Opinions, By Recreation and Sports: Football Articles from EzineArticles.com
Although there are many NFL teams which are extremely popular, and many states and cities in which the fans are particularly fervent, it is hard to say that there could be any team with a more dedicated fan base than the Dallas Cowboys. Dallas Cowboys trivia tells us that the team joined the NFL in 1960, and is now in the NFC east division of the league (post NFL -AFL merger). The best way you can see how popular the team is, is by their record of the most consecutive sold out games, both at home, and on the road.