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2016-2017 Regular Season:
Banged Up ‘Boys Clobber Cats And Look To Twice Slay Birds Of Prey
- December 30, 2016 At 7:23 PM CST
By Eric M. Scharf
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- While “America’s Team” had all their
immediate priorities – NFC East crown and the best playoff seeding
in town – locked in . . . the desire to be competitive and need to
maintain momentum meant the Dallas Cowboys would continue to try to
win.
“What about greater health?” some of Cowboys Nation have continually
asked. Maximum allowable health heading into the postseason is
another key mission with which Garrett’s Gang has been tasked.
The visiting Detroit Lions may have limped into Arlington . . . but
– with both a playoff berth and potential division crown on the line
– on Dallas they had planned to dine, and they seemed determined to
bare enough teeth to get the job done.
While the final 42-21 score suggests Dallas head-slapped Detroit to
the AT&T Stadium floor . . . the game was a tale of two distinctly
different halves before the Lions officially found themselves kicked
out the door.
Dallas won the toss and elected to receive. Darren “Run DMC”
McFadden – refreshed and ready after a long elbow-injury layoff –
returned Detroit’s kickoff 30 yards. He would add 49 more in the
running game, which only further encouraged (those within) Cowboys
Nation (still lamenting the loss of rookie 6th round draft pick
Darius Jackson) to believe his flexible presence will pay-off.
Dak Prescott would eventually conclude Dallas’ first offensive
series by finding Brice (The) Butler (Did It) on a 21-yard touchdown
dart for which he smoothly did his part.
Zeke Elliott – on the Cowboys’ next possession – would run their
next touchdown in from 55 yards out . . . leaving no question the
Cowboys’ running attack remained stout.
The Lions’ defensive front would apply a little more pressure – on
the Cowboys’ next series – causing some offensive line jitters by
any measure. Dak took an 11-yard sack, and the offense was called
for 12 men on the field . . . all combining to force a Dallas punt
and possession yield.
Detroit had gone up 21-14. Their bruiser of a starting tight end,
Eric Ebron, was eagerly seeking out each Dallas defender, and their
backup running back Zach Zenner toting the rock like a
rough-and-tumble winner. The wild-eyed Lions looked primed to pick
the Cowboys clean . . . as part of an increasingly tasty-looking
dinner.
The Cowboys – at a key moment with 1:20 left in the first half –
were held to three yards when they needed seven . . . which – to a
Lions' defense looking to force another Dallas punt – was pure
heaven. Worse – and right on time – was "Holding, number 68,
offense." Such untimely mental dents can be such a crime. Doug Free
– who seemingly likes to routinely role-play as infamously twitchy
tackle Phil Pozderac every few plays – has historically left "The
Tortured Cowboys Fan" screaming for days. A seemingly phantom
defensive holding call, however, bailed Free out . . . resulting in
offsetting penalties and – instead of a critical momentum swing –
the continuation of Cowboys' scoring to begin what would become a
total route.
Dak – on the very next play – found Dez from 25 yards out in the
left corner of the end zone . . . allowing him to snatch another
touchdown bone against a reserve defender looking all confused and
alone. The game was tied 21-all and – as the half came to a close –
Detroit had no idea that (for them) would be all.
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- The Cowboys and Lions spent much of
the first half exchanging seemingly unstoppable scoring drives . . .
though for the first 20-25 minutes it appeared the Cowboys’ defense
(enjoying game over game improvement) seemingly entered the gunfight
with knives. Towards the end of the second quarter, however,
“Marinelli’s Men” had once again sized up the competition, made the
necessary adjustments, and set things to their proper order. It
mattered not that Rod was having to – once again in the absence of
so many on defense – make do with a who's who to survive and help
the Cowboys push through.
While Detroit’s star cornerback – Darius Slay – would be out with
injury on the day (a constant color commentary reminder), Dallas
remained without Morris Claiborne . . . so Cowboys Nation was hardly
torn about the Lions’ inability to get their own secondary coverage
quite right the rest of the night.
The second half – as previously indicated – turned into quite a
laugh . . . as the Cowboys – on both sides of the ball – turned on
the efficiency charm, could practically do themselves no harm, and
doubled their scoring haul.
J.J. Wilcox – back from a temporarily troubling thigh injury – was
able to divert from his normal hard knocks history . . . to make an
interception within the first three minutes of the third quarter,
kick-starting the Cowboys’ second half motor.
Zeke – following two defensive penalties – would run in another
touchdown from one yard away to increase make it 28-21 on the day.
Another Detroit three-and-out was followed by a little trickeration
treat for Cowboys Nation. Dez role-played as Lucky Whitehead –
wheeling behind Dak for a quick toss which Dez took left – and
delivered a 10-yard southpaw heft . . . to a wide open Jason Witten
for another score that just about put the Lions to bed. The tally
was 35-21, but the scoring fun was not yet done.
Some – in haste – would say Dez Bryant’s trick play was a waste. It
was nothing of the kind. It was a warning . . . to all potential
playoff opponents to keep in mind or find themselves in mourning.
Dak would connect once more with Dez for a 19-yard touchdown score.
Dez, in fact, would become just the fifth player in NFL history (and
first since David Patten with the 2001 New England Patriots) to
statistically frame two touchdown receptions and one touchdown pass
in same game.
While Dallas' offensive and defensive units were having all the fun,
special teams were determined to produce a memory that would stun. Punter
Chris Jones – punting from his end zone in the fourth quarter with
6:25 remaining – left an indelible mark that needed no explaining.
The Lions' Andre Roberts was in the middle of a speedy sideline burn on
his punt return when Jones rolled the bones, smacking Roberts out of
bounds with some serious stones. Backup linebacker Kyle
Wilber was there for the assist, but Jones got the "Lions' Share" of
the credit for making yet another Detroit player feel completely
dissed.
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- The closest Detroit would get to
filling their 21-point hole was a missed
field goal.
Dak Prescott threw for three touchdowns on only 15-20 passes and
Zeke Elliott gained only 80 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries
to finish the game. Though the yardage accumulation for both teams
was low . . . the excellent field position from punting helped the
Cowboys’ offense and defense go.
Damage Hurts Advantage
While The Tortured Cowboys Fan is all about maintaining late season
momentum by playing all remaining games to win, injuries to key
players are viewed by fans and prognosticators alike as an
irresponsible coaching sin.
The Cowboys – before inviting the Lions into their den – were
already in full MASH (Major Athletic Surgical Help) unit mode for
Marinelli’s Men.
Morris Claiborne was still recovering from an avulsion fracture in
his groin. DeMarcus Lawrence has been out the past couple games with
a continuous pain in his a . . . back. Tyrone Crawford has been hung
up by a lingering hamstring and further slowed by a shoulder strain.
Offseason Eagle-eyed free agent addition Cedric Thornton is nursing
an ankle and – with his big bucks but limited production – some fans
it would continue to rankle. Justin Durant (the timely replacement
for perpetually problematic Rolando McClain) endured an extension of
his elbow but – considering his injury history – Cowboys Nation is
just happy he has been able to regularly go without too much pain.
Randy Gregory – tentatively back from suspension – might as well
have been dealing with an injury, as he overshot or was almost
pushed too wide on almost every play due to at least some lethargy.
Still, this is the same problem he had last season. Marinelli’s Men
need the defensive line depth, though it ain’t too pleasin’.
Tyron Smith – who has been managing a herniated disc all season long
– suffered a ‘mild’ hyper-extension (or MCL strain) of his right
knee. The Cowboys – who were lucky he was wearing a brace – replaced
Smith with journeyman Emmett Cleary . . . who clearly was able to
lean on Travis Frederick and Ronald Leary.
While potential injury damage hurts a team’s skill and performance
advantage, the Cowboys need to do their reasonable best to continue
playing to win . . . to maintain and further build momentum that
will only help them conquer what remains of their past seasons’
mental baggage.
Will They Or Won’t They?
America’s Team heads to Philadelphia – normally known as “The City
Of Brotherly Love” – but when it is with Dallas the Eagles have a
football date, that town proudly prefers to rate as the “The City Of
Brotherly Hate.”
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- While the Eagles and their fans –
with nothing to lose – will be jacked to see the Cowboys endure some
abuse . . . Dallas is expected to (eventually) rest a number of
their best and set the controls on cruise.
There has been a suggestion that Sanchez might be sent in as a (sad
sack) stand in for both Dak and Tony . . . with the expected absence
of too few starting offensive linemen creating a passing pocket too
dark and lonely.
There is also a Romo rumor making the rounds . . . that he might
actually be allowed to do more than simply step foot on the Linc(oln
Financial Field) grounds. The last game of the season – with but
individual achievements on the line – would seem to be a good enough
reason to see if Romo is rusty or fine.
With little – in the way of team goals – to gain, will Dallas usher
more backups to the field . . . so more starters from potential
injury they can shield?
Will Dallas – as Herm Edwards is famous for saying – still “play to
win the game” . . . or will they perform the safe minimum, remaining
just a step above disinterested or lame?
We shall see. We always do.
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