Football Talk

[Autumn Wind]

The Raiders signed Kirk Cousins.  He could be a great mentor for Fernando Mendoza...

[Browne]

Two of the NFL's biggest stars both tore ACLs this past Sunday.

[homercocktail]

[Ram Guy]

Myles Garrett is going to the Rams for Jared Verse and picks...

[Mr Cowboy]

FOOTBALL IS BACK!!!!!!!!  Feels great!  Cowboys beat the Seahawks, but in the preseason, it's not about winning and losing as much as it is about seeing where players stand.  Who's going to make the team?  Who's going to start?  Who's rusty?  Who looks sharp already?  The Cowboys are running a 3 - 4 defense this year.  It looked weird to see 'em in that scheme on the first play.  The Seahawks marched down and got a touchdown on their first drive, but there's no reason to panic.  The Cowboys ranba 4 - 3 for most of their team history.  It was the right thing to do!  Now?  The league has changed and there's a lot of pass-happy teams.  It's not as much about having large linemen up front to stuff the run.  Ya' need those speedy linebackers running sideline to sideline.  From 1983 until 1997, the NFC won 14 straight Super Bowls.  During this period, the AFC had great passers including Dan Marino, Boomer Esiason, Dan Fouts, Jim Kelly and John Elway.  They say offense sells tickets but defense wins championships.  The NFC was winning with quarterbacks like Jim McMahon, Mark Rypien and Jeff Hostetler.  They were gritty, but there numbers never matched the guys in the AFC.  Why?  They had solid running games and great defenses.  Most of them ran the 4 - 3, just like the Cowboys during their 3 Super Bowl victories.  Because of the pass-happy nature of the AFC during this era, if ya' saw a 3 - 4, it was likely in that conference?  Now?  The game has changed.  Even though Gibbs (Lions) and Taylor (Colts) reset the running back market this past off season, the NFL has become a passing league.  Things go in cycles, and ya' never know if the 4 - 3 will make a comeback, but the entire league has been trending toward more linebackers and secondary players on the field.  I hope the 3 - 4 works out for Dallas.  Joe Milton looked good as a backup QB, and Jaydon Blue had burst in his legs as a backup RB.  There's reason to be optimistic as a Cowboys fan.  It's not about winning this game as much as it is believing we've found the right scheme for today's football.  The backups played a solid game as well...

[Mr Cowboy]

Yesterday, all NFL teams had to cut their rosters to 53 players.  Initially, the Cowboys kept 3 quarterbacks.  Sam Howell and Joe Milton were going to back up Dak Prescott.  Now just a little while ago, the Cowboys decided to cut Joe Milton.  He was well-liked in Dallas, had a great preseason, and he's more physically gifted than most QBs.  The new word is the coaches are saying Dallas decided to go with 2 quarterbacks but in this video, they're saying something is fishy.  For the record, I was hoping Milton would've made the roster over Howell.  This is a strange move.

I'm making my wins predictions:

Cowboys - 11
Rams - 12
Raiders - 6

I guess Aaron Donald decided to come out of retirement.  I wouldn't be surprised if the Rams win 14 games, but that would require focus for the whole year, and good luck with health.  As good as Nacua is, I'd bet he's injured at some point OR his legal problems mess with him.  Also, Stafford is getting up there in age and I'm not sure he'll make it through seventeen games.  As for the Raiders, they have a fresh start and new QBs but they have lots of holes.  Six wins is about right...

[Mr Cowboy]

Last year, the defense for the Cowboys was horrible.  This year, they have a new DC, new players, and they switched to the 3 - 4.  There was a lot of hope at the beginning of the year, but their statistics aren't much better than last year.  They show sparks but not much else.  Maybe they just need time together with the new defense.  Maybe they're a lost cause.  Either way, they're still trying to fix it.  Today, they traded for Joey Porter Jr.  He could help out, but they've got a long ways to go...

[Robo Jock]

The Cowboys lost 24-16 at home to a Buccaneers team that came in winless. The defense gave up 17 straight points in the third quarter and Tampa held the ball for over 39 minutes. Dak finally hit Pickens for a touchdown with about five minutes left, but it was too little, too late.

[Ram Guy]

This is quite interesting, actually ...

[Robo Jock]

The Commanders and Giants tied 27-27 after Washington botched the end of overtime. With no timeouts and a 42-yard field goal attempt set up, Jayden Daniels scrambled instead of throwing it away and went down with eight seconds left, and they couldn't spike it in time. Washington should have won this one, and Dan Quinn throwing his headset said it all.