Category: Cowboys (Page 12 of 54)
The biggest sports news of my weekend wasn’t that TCU qualified for the four-team college football playoff or that the Cowboys scored a franchise record 33-points in the fourth quarter to complete a blowout of the Colts. The truly earth-shattering, universe-altering, mind-blowing, euphoria-inducing news came down late Friday evening: Jacob deGrom has signed with the Texas Rangers!
deGrom is the best pitcher in Major League Baseball. And he is a Ranger. The 34-year-old, two-time Cy Young Award winner signed a five-year, $185-million free agent contract to pitch in Arlington after a couple of Zoom meetings with GM Chris Young and new Texas skipper Bruce Bochy. What a coup! deGrom brings that 98-mph heater and a winning clubhouse presence to a team that, finally, is making a serious push to win a World Series.
Last offseason it was Corey Seager and Marcus Semien in a remake of the middle infield. Last month it was pulling Bochy out of retirement to manage. They’ve also retained All-Star Martin Perez and traded for Jake Odorizzi. They’ve got top fifty prospects Jack Leiter, Kumar Rocker, and Owen White probably one year away from starting at the MLB level. This team is ready right now to compete in the AL West and should be in the mix for a run or two at the World Series starting in 2024.
Yes, this is exciting. This is bigger than the record-smashing signing of Alex Rodriguez back in the day. The Rangers have a legitimate World Series winning manager, a General Manager who’s been given an open checkbook by ownership, and now they have the best pitcher in the game at the front of the rotation.
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Concerning the Cowboys: don’t get too happy about a 54-19 win over the hapless Colts. Remember that the Indy coach, Jeff Saturday, had never coached football at any level before they pulled him out of the ESPN studios last month. Quarterback Matt Ryan looks like he should have retired a couple of years ago. This is a mess of a team – they’re terrible.
And it was a two-point game heading into the fourth quarter. Had Saturday kicked an extra point instead of going for two, it would have been a one-point game heading into that final period. Had they made the two-point conversion, it would have been tied.
Ryan and the Colts turned the ball over four times in that last quarter which led to the most lopsided fourth quarter in the NFL since 1925. But after three quarters at home against one of the worst, mismanaged, dysfunctional teams in the league, Dallas was only up 21-19.
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Alabama football fans, you need to sit down and be quiet. You know who you are. Stop it. The Crimson Tide didn’t have anything taken away from them when they failed to make the college football playoffs. They haven’t been ripped off in any way. They simply do not deserve to be playing for a national championship.
If you’re going to be one of the top four teams in the country, you have to be one of the top two teams in your own conference, and Alabama is not. They didn’t even qualify for their own conference championship game. They lost two games. Their best win is a one-point victory over Texas on the last play of the game. TCU beat five ranked opponents this season while going 12-0, including a seven-point win against those same Longhorns on that same field. TCU played in their conference championship game and lost by a field goal in overtime, after being stopped at the goal line on a fourth down run from the one. TCU beat everybody they played this year, having defeated K-State in the regular season by ten in the regular season.
And don’t give me the line that Alabama deserves it over TCU because if those two teams lined up against each other today, ‘Bama would be favored by a lot. Championships aren’t won in Las Vegas; they are won on the football field. And TCU did much more between the lines than Alabama this year.
Peace,
Allan
Carrie-Anne and I hosted the GCR high schoolers at our house a couple of Sundays ago to watch the Cowboys -Packers game. We played ping-pong and pool, made Dr Pepper and root beer floats, and generally hung out and watched the game together. And McKenzie and I made a bet.
McKenzie is a precious child of God. She’s a senior at Midland High School (Go Bulldogs) and an angel straight from heaven. But she is a crazy Cowboys fan. Over the top. Too much. About halfway through the first quarter, with the game tied at 7-7, I proffered a wager: If the Cowboys win, I’ll preach next Sunday wearing a Cowboys tie; if Green Bay wins, McKenzie wears a Packers shirt to youth group class and to worship on Sunday. She took the bet. Cowboys fans always take the bet.
McKenzie’s a really good sport and we had fun with it yesterday. And I’m glad we didn’t go double or nothing on the Vikings.
Peace,
Allan
The biggest fourth quarter collapse in the history of the Dallas Cowboys? Where else but at Lambeau Field against the Packers. Going into yesterday’s contest in Green Bay, the Cowboys were 195-0 when leading by at least 14-points in the fourth quarter. In 63 years of football, the Cowboys had never lost when leading by two touchdowns at some point in the final period. One-hundred-ninety-five games, one-hundred-ninety-five wins.
Until yesterday.
So delicious.
And so predictable. It’s the same problems that have plagued the Cowboys for the past two-plus seasons. These same issues, repeated week after week, don’t matter much against the Lions or the Bears. But you can’t do this against decent teams and expect to win.
Penalties, of course. Dallas continues to lead the league in yellow flags.
The run defense, yes. Green Bay ran for more than 200-yards against the Cowboys. In fact, heading into that fourth quarter, Aaron Rodgers had only attempted eleven passes. If you remain committed to the run game, if you stay patient and keep pounding the ball on the ground, you will beat the Cowboys.
Turnovers, again. Dak’s two picks looked like a result of miscommunication with his intended targets, CeeDee Lamb and Dalton Schultz. Really? A franchise quarterback, a number one wide receiver, and a tight end playing with a franchise tag shouldn’t be having communication issues in November following a bye week.
Clock management, check. Mike McCarthy’s indecision and complete lack of fundamental clock management skills cost the Cowboys dearly on their last drive in the fourth quarter.
The Cowboys’ playoff hopes ended yesterday with that fourth quarter meltdown. Dallas is in third place in its own division with the undefeated Eagles looking to widen the gap tonight against Washington. The Cowboys play the once-beaten Vikings in Minnesota this Sunday and then host the Giants three days later. You might be looking at a three-game losing skid here. Even if they win one of these next two, the division title and the potential first-round bye are gone. If – IF! – the Cowboys qualify for the postseason, they’re facing a wild card game against a division champ.
The biggest fourth quarter collapse in franchise history. That’s noteworthy. Significant, even. Under the leadership of Jerry Jones, the Cowboys keep breaking team records and making franchise history – just not the kind you put on the cover of your media guide.
Peace,
Allan
“This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” ~John 17:3
In the Bible, knowledge is not some special understanding or deep insight reserved for the spiritually elite. It’s not about unlocking the secrets of the universe. In Scripture, knowledge means understanding who God is and what he is doing through Jesus. It’s not knowing the kings of Israel in chronological order or how many generations are in Matthew’s genealogy or having a well-researched argument for why Adam does or does not have a belly button. Scriptural knowledge means knowing God in Christ.
“We have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.” ~Colossians 1:9
Jesus rebuked the Jews for diligently searching the Scriptures, but not knowing him. He accused them of looking for eternal life in the Bible, and missing it because they didn’t see him, the source of eternal life the Bible points to. According to Scripture, knowledge is knowing that Christ Jesus is the fulfillment of all of God’s salvation promises and plans.
The Word of God in its fullness, according to Colossians 1, is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
“We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom… that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” ~Colossians 1:25-2:3
Knowledge is understanding that all of God’s redemptive purposes are fulfilled in Jesus. It’s not gaining more biblical facts. We don’t read the Bible to bolster our arguments or to prove somebody wrong or to get my day started off right. Christian knowledge is understanding that God’s salvation is available to all people through Christ Jesus.
And that keeps us from being sucked into the world’s opposite kinds of knowledge and understanding. The beliefs and values of our culture are powerful forces. And without biblical knowledge, we can wind up buying into a mushy sentimentality or following a pathway of power and success or just kind of following the herd. You know, whatever is hanging on the wall this week at Mardel.
Christians may not know more than others. But we ought to know better.
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The Cowboys play their first division game tonight at the Meadowlands against a team they’ve beaten by an average of 12 points nine of the last ten times they’ve met. Dallas swept the Giants last year by a combined score of 67-26 in two games. But not tonight.
All signs point to a Cowboys loss.
This is the first road game for a struggling offense. The Cowboys have scored a total of two field goals in their past three quarters. This is the first time Cooper Rush has ever played an NFL game when the other team can watch film of him from the previous week. The Cowboys still don’t have Michael Gallup. The Giants do have Saquon Barkley, the NFL’s leading rusher after two weeks, averaging over six yards per carry. It’ll be close tonight. It’ll be a one-score game. And it’ll be decided by a Cowboys turnover. Delicious.
Peace,
Allan
Well, that stinks.
Now what are we going to do?
The wonderfully delightful thing about watching the Cowboys is experiencing the week-by-week drama of the buildup to the inevitable disaster. There’s nothing quite like watching Dallas stack up a two or three game NFC East lead by Thanksgiving and then systematically implode in unimaginably creative ways, climaxing in a do-or-die division showdown in late December that they lose when something happens you’ve never seen before in your life. You can’t beat it.
Now all that’s gone. It’s already over.
Bummer.
It was bad before the $40-million quarterback broke his throwing hand thumb. Dak Prescott was having one of the worst games of his career Sunday night against the Bucs. He only completed one pass of more than 20-yards and left the game midway through the 4th quarter with a 47.2 quarterback rating. In his defense, he’s throwing to an overrated CeeDee Lamb and a bunch of practice team receivers. But he looked rough.
The offensive line was heading into the season depleted by free agency and injuries, so they could ill afford to lose left tackle Connor McGovern on the opening drive. But they did. Which means the running game was even worse than we thought it would be. Ezekiel Elliott’s longest gain was seven yards.
Which means the whole offense would sputter. And it did. The Cowboys finished with only 244 yards of total offense, twelve first downs, and no touchdowns. Zero. Nothing but that opening drive field goal. It was the Cowboys’ worst offensive showing on opening day since the Saints blasted Jimmy Johnson and Troy Aikman in their NFL debuts in 1989. Dallas finished 1-15 that season.
Dallas was the most penalized team in the NFL last year at 7.5 penalties per game. They picked up ten Sunday night. Terrence Steele was the worst offender with three false starts and a hold. And an offense this bad can’t overcome penalties.
The defense was always going to be the strength of this team, but Leonard Fournette looked like he was running against orange cones. He finished with 127-yards rushing with eight runs of nine yards or more. It was easy.
So. It’s already over, right?
The Cowboys are all alone in last place in the NFL’s worst division and they have the lowest scoring offense in the league. They’ve lost their starting quarterback until at least the 10th or 11th game. Cowboys fans booed and threw trash at Prescott as he was leaving the field with his broken thumb. He had a pin and a metal plate surgically inserted into his hand yesterday. Who knows if he’ll be ready even in eight weeks? And does it really matter? It’ll already be over by then.
Without Dak, the Cowboys will face both Super Bowl teams from last year and all three teams in their own division. Saquon Barkley is the league’s leading rusher for the Giants. Jalen Hurts to A.J. Brown helped the Eagles rack up 38 points in their opener. Even the team in D.C. won Sunday and has a one-game lead on Dallas.
The Cowboys have more salary cap space than any team in the NFL and they decided not to use it. Jerry Wayne decided this team didn’t need Amari Cooper or Cedric Wilson or Randy Gregory or La’el Collins. Jerry made this bed and now he’s in it. It almost makes a person feel sorry for Mike McCarthy.
Now what do we do? The franchise record for most losses in a season is 15. Is this what we’re watching now? If the Cowboys lose 15 or 16 games this year, would that be enough to put any kind of dent in Jerry’s wallet, forcing the owner/GM to reconsider his role in this 27-year dumpster fire? Is this really finally that year?
Peace,
Allan
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