By Jon Machota / Special Contributor
Oct. 17, 2011
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New England quarterback Tom Brady pulled off another signature fourth quarter comeback and helped the Patriots defeat the visiting Cowboys 20-16 on Sunday.
Here are five interesting topics from the Week 6 loss in Foxborough, Mass.
1.) Jerry Jones was not pleased with Jason Garrett's decision making in the final minutes. Clinging to a three-point lead with 3:36 to play, the Cowboys ran the ball three consecutive times and then punted, allowing Brady to have enough time to complete a touchdown scoring drive. Here were Jones' thoughts when he witnessed his team not throwing the football. "They're gonna get at least a field goal. We'll be lucky to get to overtime." That's what the Cowboys owner told Yahoo! Sports.
"When you get in a situation like that, you've got to go for the kill," Jones said. "I felt like we could've been more aggressive. Our defense had been good all day, but you knew Brady had a length-of-the-field drive in him - so it didn't surprise me at all when he took them down at the end."
Jones also stated that he has "complete confidence" in Romo "making throws at the end of a ballgame." He added: "We've been burned a couple of times this year, but I still like his chances in those situations."
2.) The Cowboys defense deserves credit for putting the team in position to win. Just ask Patriots guard Brian Waters. "They are as good as there is in the NFL. Period,'' Waters told the Boston Globe. "And I'm not trying to blow them up or anything like that. It's just the truth. Without a shadow of a doubt they've got the type of athletes, they've got the type of versatility scheme-wise, they have a very creative defensive coordinator and you have to know you're going to get as good as it gets in the NFL.'' The Cowboys defense held the Patriots under 30 points for the first time since the last time they faced a Rob Ryan defense, a 34-14 Cleveland victory on Nov. 7.
3.) The Cowboys were forced to settle for a moral victory in a town that prefers championship banners. That was the point made by Dallas Morning News columnist Rick Gosselin in his Monday column. Goose added: "The Cowboys carry the flag for a metro area that has won an NBA championship and two American League titles in the last 13 months. So this is a fan base that embraces genuine success, not moral victories."
4.) Tom Brady overcame the amoeba. According to ESPN Boston, Ryan chose to use a defensive scheme called the "amoeba" in the final minutes Sunday. The formation positions at least five defensive players in the box with sometimes not even one down linemen. While it's designed to confuse the quarterback, Brady managed to find success. According to ESPN Stats & Information, the Cowboys utilized the amoeba defense only 14.1 percent of the time through the first 57:29 of the game. "What they do is they make you earn every yard,'' Brady told the Boston Globe. "It's not like there are a bunch of gimme throws out there or gimme routes or gimme calls from the sideline. There are a lot of different things and they have a lot of good players that can execute it. It's a good defense and they really made us earn it today.''
5.) The running game could actually get worse. It wasn't a strong unit to begin with but with significant injuries suffered by right guard Bill Nagy and running back Felix Jones moving the ball on the ground should be even more of a challenge. Nagy could be lost for the year with a fractured ankle and Jones, who was already nursing a shoulder injury, suffered a high ankle sprain in New England.
Oct. 17, 2011
Link
New England quarterback Tom Brady pulled off another signature fourth quarter comeback and helped the Patriots defeat the visiting Cowboys 20-16 on Sunday.
Here are five interesting topics from the Week 6 loss in Foxborough, Mass.
1.) Jerry Jones was not pleased with Jason Garrett's decision making in the final minutes. Clinging to a three-point lead with 3:36 to play, the Cowboys ran the ball three consecutive times and then punted, allowing Brady to have enough time to complete a touchdown scoring drive. Here were Jones' thoughts when he witnessed his team not throwing the football. "They're gonna get at least a field goal. We'll be lucky to get to overtime." That's what the Cowboys owner told Yahoo! Sports.
"When you get in a situation like that, you've got to go for the kill," Jones said. "I felt like we could've been more aggressive. Our defense had been good all day, but you knew Brady had a length-of-the-field drive in him - so it didn't surprise me at all when he took them down at the end."
Jones also stated that he has "complete confidence" in Romo "making throws at the end of a ballgame." He added: "We've been burned a couple of times this year, but I still like his chances in those situations."
2.) The Cowboys defense deserves credit for putting the team in position to win. Just ask Patriots guard Brian Waters. "They are as good as there is in the NFL. Period,'' Waters told the Boston Globe. "And I'm not trying to blow them up or anything like that. It's just the truth. Without a shadow of a doubt they've got the type of athletes, they've got the type of versatility scheme-wise, they have a very creative defensive coordinator and you have to know you're going to get as good as it gets in the NFL.'' The Cowboys defense held the Patriots under 30 points for the first time since the last time they faced a Rob Ryan defense, a 34-14 Cleveland victory on Nov. 7.
3.) The Cowboys were forced to settle for a moral victory in a town that prefers championship banners. That was the point made by Dallas Morning News columnist Rick Gosselin in his Monday column. Goose added: "The Cowboys carry the flag for a metro area that has won an NBA championship and two American League titles in the last 13 months. So this is a fan base that embraces genuine success, not moral victories."
4.) Tom Brady overcame the amoeba. According to ESPN Boston, Ryan chose to use a defensive scheme called the "amoeba" in the final minutes Sunday. The formation positions at least five defensive players in the box with sometimes not even one down linemen. While it's designed to confuse the quarterback, Brady managed to find success. According to ESPN Stats & Information, the Cowboys utilized the amoeba defense only 14.1 percent of the time through the first 57:29 of the game. "What they do is they make you earn every yard,'' Brady told the Boston Globe. "It's not like there are a bunch of gimme throws out there or gimme routes or gimme calls from the sideline. There are a lot of different things and they have a lot of good players that can execute it. It's a good defense and they really made us earn it today.''
5.) The running game could actually get worse. It wasn't a strong unit to begin with but with significant injuries suffered by right guard Bill Nagy and running back Felix Jones moving the ball on the ground should be even more of a challenge. Nagy could be lost for the year with a fractured ankle and Jones, who was already nursing a shoulder injury, suffered a high ankle sprain in New England.
