Quote:
|
I really thought that there was going to be a penalty on the insuing kickoff for that move.
|
Why would they be? It's only a 15 yard unsportsman-like conduct penalty. But hey, they didn't penalize the Giants for anything else, why start there?
:roll:
Ya know, I've got mixed feelings about the game. It was obvious from the first bogus off-sides call that gave the Giants a first down instead of having to punt on fourth down, that the refs were going to lay the wood to the Cowboys. After the 2nd bogus offsides call, they should have figured it out and decided they were going to have to win the game in spite of officials that were going to get docked pay and points and not be working the Super Bowl because of it. By the time the refs called the absolutely ridiculous intentional grounding call on Romo when he simply threw it away, though there wasn't a Giant within 5 yards of him, the Cowboys SHOULD have been comfortably ahead with a big fat F*** YOU to the officials.
But they weren't.
I can fault the refs for an absolutely horribly called game and I can be satisfied knowing that not a one of them will be working the Super Bowl. Hell, after that game, they all had to be operating with negative points.
But I digress.
There's the Cowboys to deal with...a 100% healthy team that was playing against a banged up patchwork defense with PRACTICE SQUAD players on the field! Up until about 50 seconds left in the first half, the Cowboys looked damn good. Then they went home. What happened after that, despite the refs, was all on them. They lost a game to a team they should have put 50 points up against.
Time to clean house.
There's been rumors the past couple weeks that if the Cowboys lost, Jones was going to fire Phillips. I hope he does. If a coach can take arguably the best team in the NFC to a 13-3 record, but can't beat the worst team in the playoffs, he doesn't deserve to be there. Just ask Marty about that. There's a reason why you're 0-4 in the playoffs, Wade, and that was all too apparent last night. I see Jones firing Phillips and making Garrett head coach. That'd be a move I would agree with, especially if it's the only way to keep Garrett with the Cowboys.
I don't see Romo bouncing back from this one. He took the loss to Seattle last year pretty hard, but bounced back from it for a good season. I don't see him able to do it this time. I like Romo...he's a good QB and has always been fun to watch. I still think the whole Mexico thing was blown way out of proportion, but he'll get grilled for this. Right or wrong, he set himself up for the backlash and he'll get torn to pieces because of it.
But you can't put the loss completely on him, either. How many passes were dropped, most of them by Crayton? I mean, he had a 70 yard sure TD on that slant and couldn't hold on. Let's not forget the that the O-line, one of the best in the NFL, decided not to play the second half, either. Of course, then there was the defense that missed some easy tackles on crucial plays, despite playing a fairly good game otherwise.
Then there's the running dominated game plan that made absolutely ZERO sense. When you have a QB like Romo, healthy receivers like Owens, Glenn, and Witten, why in the hell would you come out against a banged up secondary like the Giants and do nothing but run the ball? Barber had a great game, but holy crap!!! The Cowboys first play from scrimmage should have been a long ball to Owens or a flea-flicker to Glenn and they should have put it up all day. By the time they realized the screwup, it was too late.
In the end, the Cowboys deserved to lose that game, bottom line. With luck, it'll wake some people up and Jones will blister the paint on the walls, if he hasn't already. It'd be one thing to lose 21-17 to the Patriots or the Colts or hell, even the Packers the way they have been playing. But to lose to a team like the Giants and in the condition that the Giants were in, is absolutely, completely unforgiveable.
I have been a fan of the Cowboys since I was a kid. I went through the 1-15 years, and the back to back to back 5-10 years. Hell, when they sucked, they sucked, but losing was expected. But to be this good this year and do what they did in December and in the playoffs, this is the first time I've ever started questioning whether I want to continue being a Cowboys fan.
Dallas
