The Watershed Game?

That’sAllFolk!OK. At the end of the game, as Nick Folk’s second 53-yard game winning field goal split the uprights, I was standing up in my living room, two feet away from my TV, laughing.

 Laughing.

 It was the craziest game I can remember watching. Ever. And regardless of what this game means to the Cowboys from here on out (more on that in a minute), there’s not a person who watched it who will ever forget it.

Tony Romo throws five interceptions and fumbles three times. And still wins the game. Four of his five picks were thrown right to the Bills defender without a Cowboys receiver in sight. Two of them were returned for Buffalo scores. Late in the fourth quarter, right after Terrence Newman had given Dallas some hope with his own interception deep in Bills territory, Romo responded by throwing his fifth pick, this one in the end zone. At that point, as I was visiting with a friend over the phone, our conversation turned to what this was doing to Romo long-term. Should a coach take him out of the game because every pass he makes is a disastrous one? What lasting damage is he doing to his own psyche and confidence and to the relationship he has with his 52 teammates? Should they pull him or keep giving him the chance to win it?

And as funny as I think it is when the Cowboys lose, I hated seeing Romo play the goat. He seems like such a great kid and he’s a genuine joy to watch. I hated that he was the one obviously giving the game away. But then Terrell Owens started dropping more balls. Roy Williams started missing more tackles. And it was clear that there was plenty of blame to go around. I can enjoy a Cowboys loss a lot more when T.O. is the one who drops the two-point conversion.

And look at how this thing was setting up to really implode. This loss to the Bills could have triggered the avalanche of despair that would drive Dallas straight to that 8-8 finish I’m hoping for. Owens was stomping on the sidelines in the fourth quarter. He was ripping his helmet off and cursing when he thought he was open and Romo didn’t get him the ball. They lose that game last night, go on to lose to the Patriots Sunday, and suddenly they’re 4-2 with a two-game losing streak and the finger-pointing begins. Doubt creeps in and sets up a tent. The bye week forces the media to create stories about the team, and they’d all be negative. The tough part of the division schedule is coming up and all the positivity is gone. Maybe they really were just playing lousy teams at the beginning. Maybe they’re not as good as everyone thought. Maybe Romo really is playing over his head. Maybe Phillips doesn’t know what he’s doing. Maybe.

But the Cowboys score 9 points in the final 20-seconds and win the game. When’s the last time you saw an onsides kick actually work? Hasn’t it been years?!? Do you realize that if Buffalo’s offense could have scored more than just three points they would have won? The Cowboys first lead of the game came with 0:00 on the clock.

And now this horrible nightmare of a game for everybody involved could turn into the very thing that propels this team to greatness over the next four or five years. Who can’t they beat? What can’t they do? Somebody joked with Jerry Wayne afterwards that he should have sent his contract proposal to Romo’s agent during the third quarter. And Jerry said, “he just went UP in value in my opinion.”

Of course he did!

The Cowboys gain more positive energy and confident vibe from last night’s miracle than they would have if they’d drummed the Bills by 17 like they were supposed to.

And what about the Bills and their fans? They live in that awful city (sorry, Bob Matuszak) with that horrible weather with all those factories and plants. The Bills and their hatred for all Dallas sports teams are all they have. And for 59:40 they completely control that football game. How do you get six takeaways in the NFL and lose? Come on. You gotta feel for those poor folks today.

BillsFans

And, (last thing on the game unless somebody else wants make an observation) the NFL probably won’t have to wait until this coming spring to change the rule on allowing a head coach to call a timeout a split-second before the ball is snapped on a game-winning field goal attempt. Just wait. Pretty soon some coach is going to pull that stunt and the opponent’s kicker is going to slice a 43-yarder into the benches. And then he’ll split the uprights on the second try and win the game.

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A-Fraud Getting ItI can’t allow the Yankees to go away without another observation on A-Fraud. He’s #1 in the American League this season in RBIs, homeruns, and runs scored. Yet he goes 4-15 in the four game playoff series with the Indians with six strikeouts and a total of one RBI. I don’t have time this morning to look up his performance in the four games with runners in scoring position or how many runners he left on base against Cleveland. Somebody else look that up for us and let us know.

But it’s typical.

He’s a very good baseball player. I think anyone who uses the word “great” in reference to Rodriguez hasn’t done his homework.

Peace,

Allan

3 Comments

  1. Rob's Dad

    Tap the brake just a little on that 4 to 5 years comment. I am not as big a Cowboy homer as KB, but I do think they have a chance at this year. Still early yet hopeful.

    The last second timeout is chicken when it’s used against your team. Nice to see him come back and do it again. Heard the competition committee doesn’t have any heartburn with it but with all the usage it’s seen this year, they may change their stance.

    I’m right there with ya brutha on Rodriguez as the hands go up towards the neck and that familar choking sound is heard.

    One last bit of news to cheer you up – heard that the Commish is thinking of shortening Tank’s suspension. If he does, I’ll try to take him to the range to celebrate – do you want to join us?

  2. Allan

    The only thing I’m good at is shooting off my mouth. That won’t work with you and Tank.

    Does it make you feel better about the Tank Johnson signing to justify it by saying the Cowboys are ministering to Tank and getting him the help he needs from Calvin Hill and others so he can get his life straight and become a better person? If so, how do you sleep at night knowing that the Cowboys will can Tank the minute they decide he can’t make a tackle?

    Don’t mean for that to be directed entirely at you. That’s in response, probably, to lots of Cowboys fans I talked to this past w/end.

  3. Rob's Dad

    Nice work with the hard count and changing cadence. Maybe if you add some motion you’ll get me to jump. If it’s still out there in cyberspace, i would refer you back to my original note about the Tankster. It’s a business decision – Texas is an at-will state so if he doesn’t work out, he’ll be gone. That doesn’t impact my sleep, but we do have an 11 yr old Sheltie that gives me trouble.

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