Monday Night Football- Panthers vs. Cowboys

Well here goes my first attempt at blogging... hopefully you don't fall asleep! So if you watched the MNF game then you probably saw just how amazing the Cowboys new stadium is. Too bad the Cowboys haven't played like a team that deserves a 1 billion dollar stadium. Yes I know I said 1 billion dollars. That is not a typo! The Cowboys have the talent to be a Super Bowl contender, but over the last two games they haven't shown that talent. I think a big part of that has to do with the play calling of the coaching staff. The Cowboys rushed for 212 yards in the game, with Felix Jones and Tashard Choice accounting for 176 of them. Between those two they averaged 6.7 yards per carry. When you have a 1st and goal with a chance to put away the other team for good, usually you go with what has been working for you all game. The things that had been working was the running game and Jason Witten(9 catches for 77 yards). With the first play on the 1st and goal the Cowboys rushed up the middle for about a 6 yard gain with Choice. The next play they threw a lob pass to Roy Williams who got both hands on the ball and then dropped it. The next play they split out their BACK-UP tight end and threw another lob pass that went incomplete. If you have Larry Fitzgerald, Andre Johnson, or another top flight wide reciever on your team then I would say those are good plays. Roy Williams, while he is a decent wide reciever, is not a true #1 go to reciever. All you Cowboy fans can argue this point all you want, but look at his numbers while he's been with the Cowboys. They aren't anything to write home about. He had 86 yards recieving in week 1, but 66 of those came on one pass. You have to show up for more than one pass to be an elite reciever. While I am not a fan of T.O I do realize that without him or another true playmaking reciever, the Cowboys are going to struggle to consistanly put up points. The Cowboys running game looks solid for sure, but what happens when they get down a couple scores and have to move the ball down field quickly. 6 yard passes to Witten won't cut it.

And now for the Panthers... I'll start off by saying thank you for making me lose this week in fantasy football. DeAngelo Williams is running all over Dallas and your passing game is horrid yet you decide that you should give up on the run game even though you were tied or only down by 3 for most of the game. Williams rushed for 64 yards on 11 carries for a 5.8 yard average. Most of which came in the first half. The Panthers started off the second half with three straight series of 3 and out's. On the fourth series they handed the ball off to Williams and he bursts up the middle for an 11 yard gain. Any reason why it took you so long to realize your running game was working? Not to mention your Quarterback has thrown 12 interceptions in his last 4 games! 2 of which came in the game tonight! Let me remind you of something Carolina... YOU'RE A RUNNING TEAM NOT A PASSING TEAM. You're top two running backs rushed for over 2,300 yards last season! Neither of them have rushed for 100 yards in a game this year. Get back to playing smash mouth football and you might see some more W's next to your name. Another thing you might want to work on Carolina... TACKLING! There were more missed tackles in this game than I have seen in a whole season from some teams. The Panthers just looked like a lost team most of the game. They played like they don't have an identity.

In the end I think tonights game was a very sloppy game from both teams. Both had shotty play calling and both went away from what was working best for them when it mattered the most. Carolina needs to get back to running the ball and take some pressure off of Delhomme. The Cowboys need one of their wide recievers to step up and become a legit threat in the passing game as well as get better play calling from their coaching staff. I see the Panthers as a 5-11 team. I agree the Cowboys have a lot of talent on their team, but I don't see them winning more than 8 games. Maybe 9 games if they can pull one out against the Falcons or Green Bay. So that puts them at 8-8. I have a small bet with a friend of mine about the Cowboys this year and after watching tonights game I feel pretty confident in my prediction. The Cowboys won't make the Playoffs this season. Sorry Ayo.

Thanks for reading my blog. Comment on it. Tell me if you like it or don't like it. This is just my opinion and I'm open to hearing yours if you have one. Oh and Teachers should be paid more! When I was in high school my teachers should have gotten bonus' for putting up with kids like me. Have a good rest of your night(or day if youre reading this in the day)

Todd