NEWS
By Bud L. Ellis
Tony Romo couldn’t hold onto the ball, Brett Favre couldn’t be slowed and the Dallas Cowboys’ surge to the Super Bowl ended two games short of its destination Sunday afternoon.
Sharp during a four-game winning streak that had propelled the Cowboys into the NFC divisional playoffs, Romo lost two fumbles and threw an interception. The Dallas defense, strong during the past two months, allowed Favre to fire a playoff career-high four touchdown passes. Together, it was too much for Dallas to overcome, its season ending in a 34-3 rout at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
The Vikings advance to the NFC title game next Sunday at New Orleans. The Cowboys end their season knowing they’ve shaken a 13-year playoff win drought, thanks to last weekend’s 34-14 triumph over Philadelphia at Cowboys Stadium.
But that won’t take away the sting of losing two victories away from the Super Bowl.
It came apart at the seams for the Cowboys early. Romo lost a fumble on the opening possession of the game, ending a drive where it looked Dallas would get points and take an early lead. The Dallas offensive line struggled, giving up six sacks, and Romo finished with just 198 yards on 22-of-35 passing.
Felix Jones led Dallas in rushing with 69 yards on 14 carries, but nothing was easy for the Cowboys on this day. Dallas found itself trailing 7-3 early in the second quarter, but a touchdown and field goal gave the Vikings a 17-3 halftime lead.
After no scoring in the third quarter, the Vikings put Dallas away in the fourth, a field goal and two Favre touchdown passes sealing the Cowboys’ fate.
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Sunday, January 17, 2010 at 4:05 pm by bud
Tags: Brett Favre, Cowboys Stadium, Dallas Cowboys, Metrodome, Minnesota Vikings, National Football League, New Orleans Saints, Philadelphia Eagles, Tony Romo
By Bud L. Ellis
Strong defense has sparked the Dallas Cowboys to the NFC divisional playoffs, and that defense will be put to the test Sunday.
In facing the Minnesota Vikings in the conference semifinals, the Cowboys will attempt to slow down gun-slinging legend Brett Favre, star running back Adrian Peterson and a cavalcade of game-breakers.
Minnesota ran out to a 10-1 start before losing three of its final five games. In three of their four losses this season, the Vikings have scored 17 points or less.
When they win? The Vikings ring up the scoreboard. Minnesota has topped 30 points 10 times this season, going 9-1 in those games (the only loss a 36-30 overtime defeat to Chicago). Favre has topped 300 yards passing six times, and Peterson has rushed for more than 80 yards on 10 occasions.
But the Cowboys’ defense has saved its best work for late in the season. Starting with a 38-17 win over Seattle on the opening day of November, Dallas has given up 20 points or less 10 times in a 12-game span. That streak includes back-to-back shutouts over Washington and Philadelphia to end the regular season, and a 34-14 win over the Eagles in the opening round of the playoffs last Saturday at Cowboys Stadium.
If the Cowboys are going to continue their season, they’ll have to get a strong defensive effort Sunday. Players like DeMarcus Ware, who leads the team with 11 sacks, Bradie James (the team’s leading tackler with 113) and Keith Brooking (second in tackles with 106) will need to lead the way if Dallas hopes to get out of Minnesota with a victory and advance to the NFC championship game.
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Saturday, January 16, 2010 at 9:43 am by bud
Tags: Adrian Peterson, Bradie James, Brett Favre, Chicago Bears, Cowboys Stadium, Dallas Cowboys, DeMarcus Ware, Keith Brooking, Minnesota Vikings, National Football League, Philadelphia Eagles, Seattle Seahawks, Washington Redskins
By Bud L. Ellis
When the Dallas Cowboys season ends – be it this Sunday in the NFC divisional playoffs or in the Super Bowl – so too will Todd Grantham’s two-year stint as an assistant defense coach with the team.
Grantham, a veteran of 11 NFL seasons, agreed to a three-year contract with the Georgia Bulldogs Friday to become the school’s defensive coordinator. Grantham, who cut his coaching teeth under Frank Beamer and Bud Foster at Virginia Tech, and under Nick Saban at Michigan State, will reportedly earn $750,000 a season during the next three years to direct the Bulldogs’ defense.
But while the announcement came out of Athens on Friday that Grantham is returning to college football for the first time since 1998, he still has work to do for his current employer. Grantham currently is occupied with the Cowboys’ quest for the Super Bowl. Dallas plays Sunday at Minnesota in the NFC divisional playoffs. But once Dallas’ season is done, Grantham’s focus will shift to rebuilding a Georgia defense that allowed 34 or more points five times during a disappointing 8-5 campaign in 2009.
Grantham, 43, has played a big part in Dallas’ defensive success this season. The Cowboys ended the regular season ranked second in the NFL in scoring defense, fourth-best against the run, seventh in sacks and ninth in total defense. Prior to his two years in Dallas, Grantham spent three seasons in Cleveland as the Browns’ defensive coordinator, three seasons as a defensive assistant at Houston and three as an assistant at Indianapolis.
In his first season with the Cowboys, Grantham helped direct a defense that led the NFL with 59 sacks. In 2008, Dallas finished eighth in the league in total defense. His last season in Cleveland featured the Browns improving by six wins, sparked in part by a strong defensive showing. During his time with Cleveland, Grantham’s defensive units were in the top half in the NFL in many statistical categories.
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Friday, January 15, 2010 at 7:59 pm by bud
Tags: Bud Foster, Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, Frank Beamer, Georgia, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Michigan State, Minnesota, National Football League, Nick Saban, Todd Grantham, Virginia Tech
By Bud L. Ellis
In his seventh season as an NFL quarterback, maybe Tony Romo’s luck is changing.
The much-maligned Dallas Cowboys signal-caller certainly has had his share of playoff failure. But perhaps things now have turned for Romo and his team, which sits just two wins from the Super Bowl.
Dallas travels to Minnesota Sunday for the NFC divisional playoffs, fresh off a 34-14 pasting of Philadelphia in the wild-card round last Saturday at Cowboys Stadium.
For Dallas, the win ended 13 years of angst and defeat in the playoffs, a streak where the Cowboys had dropped six straight postseason games and hadn’t tasted playoff success since 1996. For Romo, who went 23-for-35 for 244 yards and two touchdowns, the game served as yet another step along a path of vindication.
In his past four games – a stretch where Dallas won its final three regular-season games and the playoff victory over Philly – Romo has been stellar, going 94-for-141 for 1,153 yards and six touchdowns.
It’s a refreshing change from the past.
In the 2006 wild-card round, Romo mishandled the snap on what could’ve been a game-winning field goal. The Cowboys lost to Seattle.
Two years ago, Romo found himself in a firestorm of controversy when it was revealed he was vacationing with then-girlfriend Jessica Simpson the week before the Cowboys’ division-round game against the Giants. Dallas lost.
But all of that is ancient history now, and with another strong showing this weekend in Minneapolis, Romo can further distance himself from yesteryear’s playoff misery.
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Thursday, January 14, 2010 at 9:10 pm by bud
Tags: Cowboys Stadium, Dallas Cowboys, Jessica Simpson, Minnesota Vikings, National Football League, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, Seattle Seahawks, Super Bowl, Tony Romo
By Bud L. Ellis
Three victories to end the regular season definitely gave the Dallas Cowboys confidence. The franchise’s first playoff victory in 13 years now has the Cowboys on a roll.
Fresh off a 34-14 pasting of the Philadelphia Eagles last week inside rocking Cowboys Stadium in the NFC wild-card round, Dallas hits the road for Minnesota and the NFC divisional playoffs Sunday.
A win there would propel Dallas into the NFC championship game. Anything seems possible now that the albatross of a six-game playoff losing streak that spanned parts of two decades is gone.
Dallas’ win over the Eagles marked the franchise’s first playoff triumph since a 40-15 rout of the Vikings way back on Dec. 28, 1996. One of those losses came to the Vikings, a 27-10 defeat in January 2000.
Frazzled and rattled in postseasons past, the Cowboys were steady and smooth in dispatching the Eagles’ carrying over the strong play that marked the end of the regular season. Quarterback Tony Romo, criticized for key mistakes in past playoff losses, has been solid during the Cowboys’ late season surge. A stable of running backs has helped to take the pressure off the quarterback. Tashard Choice and Felix Jones teamed up for 190 yards rushing in the win over the Eagles.
One playoff win in the books. Do it again Sunday, and Dallas will find itself one win from the Super Bowl.
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Wednesday, January 13, 2010 at 9:43 pm by bud
Tags: Cowboys Stadium, Dallas Cowboys, Felix Jones, Minnesota Vikings, National Football League, Philadelphia Eagles, Super Bowl, Tashard Choice, Tony Romo
