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2013-2014 Regular Season: Shocked In San
Diego
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- October
6,
2013
At 2:47 PM CST
By Eric M. Scharf
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- “America’s Team” was fresh off its
second consecutive “Silence of the Rams” . . . with their suddenly
resurgent running game performing like it had quad overhead cams.
The Dallas Cowboys headed into San Diego for a winnable game and
weather pretty crisp. They enjoyed a successful first half, but they
finished the contest with a defensive performance lisp.
The San Diego Chargers were known to have regained their offensive
potency. 2013 opponents were already on notice that delivering less
than 60 minutes of defensive efficiency was pure lunacy.
The Cowboys had their own offensive firepower and skill – and they
could have played keep away with many a running play – but it was
not enough to overcome an unexpected and bitter defensive pill.
The Electric Horsemen
Much has been made – through the first quarter of the season – how
Tony Romo has played.
He has suffered only one blindside fumble and thrown but one
interception – and he has performed far better than the
mistake-prone gun-slinger . . . who spent much of last season
sidestepping fan rejection or avoiding the pointed finger.
Romo may appear too willing (this season) to throw the ball away or
take a sack – avoiding a free giveaway or an easy defensive snack –
but he has thus-far done a fine job of diminishing the Cowboys’
typical turnover stack.
Romo even had the Cowboys driving towards a late game touchdown –
almost connecting with Terrance Williams . . . before the promising
rookie suffered an untimely drop down.
Dallas would have been within one point of the lead but – upon
Phillips Rivers and a dink-and-dunk scheme – Kiffin’s Kids simply
could not even dream of drawing a bead.
Morris "Miserable Confidence"
Claiborne and Bruce "But Can He Cover" Carter did everything they
could to make a defensive recovery unnecessarily harder.
The Cowboys rode into halftime with a believable 21-10 halftime
lead, and their positively-performing defense clearly entered the
second half on a no-fault, no-adjustment steed.
Kiffin and Co. clearly thought they could maintain the same scheme
against San Diego’s electric team.
The Cowboys pass defenders must have mistakenly been dialed into Lee
“Hacksaw” Hamilton’s favorite phrase: “SHOW ME YOUR LIGHTNING BOLT!”
They did little to slow San Diego and earned little second half
praise.
Could the Cowboys have been more aggressive on offense – with their
defense suffering from delusions of Electric Horsemen? Sure but –
moving forward – it would have been tough to endorse ‘em.
Their mistakes were so numerous that even Robert Redford – riding in
with lights o’ flashin’ to save the day – would have been floored .
. . no matter the play.
The Cowboys had an excellent chance to close out the game with a
lead and lock it, but they chose to stick their defensive fingers in
the Charger’s electric socket.
Will They Or Won’t They?
The Dallas Cowboys continue to follow a predictable pattern from the
past two years – win one, lose one, fail to rinse, and unfailingly
repeat.
As we draw closer and closer to Halloween night, Cowboys Nation has
endured two straight yours of trick or treat . . . with Garrett’s
Gang continuing to find ways for fans to smell their feet.
The Cowboys knew no matter how convincingly they beat the Rams, they
absolutely needed to take care of business against the Chargers . .
. or end up looking – themselves – like lambs.
The Cowboys were shocked in San Diego . . . when they had a clear
opportunity to simply win and go.
Fans – no matter how ticked and feeling tricked – know deep down
inside . . . their Dallas Cowboys want – in the worst possible way –
to finally end their unpredictable slide on game day.
Actions continue to speak louder than words, and the Cowboys have to
find a way to follow solid victories with something better – and
cleaner – than from the birds.
Peyton Manning and the undefeated Denver Broncos have come to town,
and they have every intension of continuing to make the Cowboys’
defense look like a late game clown.
Manning is far too familiar with Kiffin’s defense for Callahan
to be anything but aggressive with play-calling on offense.
Can the efficient Romo add a little more gun slinger into the mix –
like a controlled substance – so the Cowboys can avoid settling for
field goal kicks?
Will DeMarco Murray get more touches to keep Manning off the field .
. . or will Callahan lean a little more towards the big play for a faster yield?
Does Murray really require a handoff to remain a potent bullet in
the Cowboys' offensive gun – or will Callahan swing him out of the
backfield and fire him out of the slot . . . so that DeMarco can
still grind out some fun and hit the spot?
Can Kiffin’s Kids keep the contest competitive . . . or will their
San Diego performance be repetitive?
The Cowboys know what is at stake . . . and pulling out a win
against the Broncos will give them a big NFC East break.
Will the Cowboys pull out an extremely – no,
impossibly
challenging win . . . or will they force their fan base to grab more
gin?
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- Dallas knows what to do, but will
they pull through?
We shall see. We always do.
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