The Dallas Cowboys

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hate the cowboys, but great work man cool layout really strong keep up the good work

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TEAM PROGRESS REPORT

Dallas Cowboys 2011 Statistics, through Week 9
Passing	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	YDS/G	LONG	TD	INT	RAT
Tony Romo	150/216	2050	9.4	256.2	61	10	7	101.4
Terrelle Pryor	13/18	138	7.6	34.5	24	0	0	94.2
Rushing	ATT	YDS	AVG	LONG	20+	TD	YDS/G	FUM
Felix Jones	162	1098	6.7	58	11	13	137.2	1
Phillip Tanner	49	390	7.9	89	4	4	65.0	0
Demarco Murray	65	313	4.8	21	1	2	44.7	0
Chris Ogbonnaya	12	56	4.6	10	0	0	56.0	0
Shaun Chapas	15	43	2.8	10	0	1	5.3	0
Tony Romo	12	42	3.5	13	0	1	5.2	1
Terrelle Pryor	3	6	2.0	6	0	0	1.5	0
Receiving	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	20+	YDS/G	YAC
Jason Witten	29	336	11.5	3	36		42.0	77
Miles Austin	26	596	22.9	4	61		74.5	68
Felix Jones	23	127	5.5	0	17		15.8	115
Dez Bryant	23	292	12.6	0	33		48.6	45
Kevin Ogletree	22	389	17.6	1	57		48.6	103
Dwayne Harris	15	194	12.9	0	28		24.2	55
Demarco Murray	9	114	12.6	2	28		16.2	78
John Phillips	5	65	13.0	0	24		8.1	10
Phillip Tanner	5	28	5.6	0	9		4.6	7
Martellus Bennett	3	14	4.6	0	9		1.7	2
Kealoha Pilares	2	23	11.5	0	13		7.6	13
Shaun Chapas	1	10	10.0	0	10		1.2	0
	Tackles			Sacks		Interceptions
Defense	SOLO	AST	TOT	SACK	TLOSS	PD	INT	TD
Demarcus Ware	33	25	58	8.0	19	1	2	0
Bradie James	30	25	55	1.0	13	3	0	0
Barry Church	26	16	42	1.0	6	1	1	0
Marcus Spears	23	11	34	13.0	17	0	0	0
Anthony Spencer	18	26	44	1.0	9	1	0	0
Terence Newman	18	21	39	0.0	2	10	0	0
Abram Elam	16	16	32	1.0	5	1	0	0
Orlando Scandrick	15	11	26	0.0	2	7	7	0
Sean Lee	14	18	32	1.0	0	0	0	2
Roy Williams	10	2	12	2.0	4	0	0	0
Alan Ball	10	12	22	0.0	0	4	0	0
Akwasi Owusu-Ansah	10	10	20	1.0	2	1	1	0
Keith Brooking	10	10	20	1.0	2	0	0	0
Jay Ratliff	9	14	23	5.0	7	0	1	0
Mike Jenkins	7	11	18	0.0	0	0	0	0
Gerald Sensabaugh	7	8	15	0.0	1	0	1	0
Kenyon Coleman	7	7	14	1.0	2	0	0	0
Josh Brent	4	2	6	2.0	2	0	0	0
Clifton Geathers	3	4	7	0.0	2	0	0	0
Bryan McCann	2	2	4	0.0	0	0	0	0
Rashad Carmichael	1	3	4	0.0	0	0	0	0
Bruce Carter	1	4	5	0.0	0	0	0	0
Jason Hatcher	0	1	1	0.0	0	0	0	0
Allen Bailey	0	1	1	0.0	0	0	0	0
	Kickoffs					Punts
Returning	ATT	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD	RET	AVG	TD
Demarco Murray	19	422	22.2	54	0	24	7.0	0
Bryan McCann	11	227	20.6	27	0	18	7.3	0
Kevin Ogletree	1	21	21.0	21	0	0	0.0	0
	Field Goals				Extra Points
Kicking	FGM	FGA	PCT	LONG	XPM	XPA	PCT	PTS
David Buehler	23	23	100	52	33	33	100	102
Punting	PUNTS	YDS	LONG	AVG	NET	BP	IN20	TB
Mat McBriar	31	1408	64	45.4	1137	0	10	9

Offensive Analysis: The Cowboys' identity as a running team has been clearly established over the past few weeks, and for good reason. Felix Jones currently leads the league in rushing and has already put up career-high numbers for yards and touchdowns, and he will eclipse his high-water mark in total careers very soon, assuming he stays healthy. Jason Garrett has been particularly careful not to overwork his feature back, and to that end the play of the reserve runners has been an unexpected luxury to this point. It appeared that the light was just starting to come on for rookie Demarco Murray before he dislocated his hip, and fellow rookie Phillip Tanner has been productive in his opportunities as the third-string back.

The yardage and points output of the passing game has decreased with the injury to Dez Bryant and emphasis on the run, but it's still plenty capable when need be. Tony Romo leads the league in passer rating, holding the barometer a 101 at the moment. Veterans Jason Witten and Miles Austin are emerging as Romo's favorite targets, as one might expect him to do more as the season progresses. Though Kevin Ogletree has put up solid numbers himself as well, in one game running with the ones he was a complete nonfactor. Look for rookie receiver draft choice Dwayne Harris, third-year tight end John Phillips, or rookie free agent acquisition Kealoha Pilares to get some more meaningful time in the passing game while Dez Bryant continues to recover. Martellus Bennett continues to be a nonfactor in Dallas, and it would not be surprising at all to see him elsewhere this season.

Defensive Analysis: The pass rush has really come alive in recent weeks with the sudden explosion of Marcus Spears. Spears currently leads the NFL in sacks with 13 to his name, which in turn is taking pressure off of Demarcus Ware and Jay Ratliff, allowing those two more household names to make plays. Teams have been less apt to throw at Orlando Scandrick over this most recent stretch, given his league-leading seven interceptions, but the majority of those came prior to the Cowboys' bye week. The addition of Roy Williams has added a bit of versatility and physicality to the Cowboys' secondary, and it has already paid some dividends in the form of more pressure on the quarterback.

Special Teams Analysis: The Cowboys' return game remains averagely average, but Jason Garrett continues to rely on Bryan McCann for consistency rather than switching out parts in an attempt to reach for a play; the team simply hasn't needed one. The biggest story by far with the specialists is the continued success of David Buehler, who has yet to miss a field goal on his 23 tries in the regular season. Though none of these kicks have been very high pressure, that Buehler has drastically improved his focus is very evident, even compared to where he was in the preseason when he nearly lost his job to Dan Bailey. Mat McBriar, on the other hand, is having a bit of a down season; though his average punt distance is within range of his dead on his career average, his net yards per punt of 36.6 is the lowest number since his rookie season.

Overall Impression: With their high-octane offense and opportunistic defense, Dallas remains in the driver's seat for the divisional playoff spot from the NFC East. They are not out of the woods yet, however, with Philadelphia close behind at 5-3 and getting healthy, while the Cowboys' roster is seemingly depleting weekly. If the Cowboys stay healthy, however, it's easy to see them not only qualifying for but also going deep into the playoffs.

[CM Hooe]

Matchup Preview | November 13, 2011
	@
Buffalo Bills (6-2, 3-0 Away)		Dallas Cowboys (7-1, 4-0 Home)
Offensive Stats Comparison 3661 Total Yards 4945 2579 Total Offensive Yards 3974 1979 Passing Yards 2034 600 Rushing Yards 1940 22.8 Points Per Game 37.5 16 Passing TD 10 2 Rushing TD 21 121 First Downs 159 14 Red Zone Attempts 34 8-5 Red Zone TD-FG 17-13 92.0 Red Zone Percentage 88.0 Defensive Stats Comparison 2490 Total Yards Allowed 2785 1751 Passing Yards Allowed 1889 739 Rushing Yards Allowed 896 158 Points Allowed 159 21 Sacks 39 3 Fumble Recoveries 2 9 Interceptions 11 19 Red Zone Attempts 17 10-4 Red Zone TD-FG 10-4 73.0 Red Zone Percentage 82.0 Injury Report WR Roscoe Parrish Herniated Disk / 1 week WR Dez Bryant Fractured Toe / 3 weeks LB Nick Barnett Broken Hand / 3 weeks HB Demarco Murray Dislocated Hip / 9 weeks LB Chris Kelsay Torn Quadricep / 5 weeks CB Josh Thomas Broken Forearm / IR QB Ryan Fitzpatrick Broken Collarbone / 6 weeks C Eric Wood Fractured Shoulder Blade / IR Game Notes The injury to QB Ryan Fitzpatrick could not come at a worse time for the Buffalo Bills. After a slow first game, Harvard's sole NFL representative caught fire, throwing eleven touchdowns and only two interceptions in his next six. During that sixth contest against the Washington Redskins, however, a helmet shot to the shoulder by Deangelo Hall resulted in a broken collarbone for the Bills' signal-caller, which will sideline him for a month. That said, Tyler Thigpen at looked capable of carrying the load, throwing three touchdowns himself in a Bills overtime victory over the New York Jets. Regardless of who is playing quarterback, the Cowboys will have their hands full with emerging wide receive Stevie Johnson. Playing in the final year of his rookie contract, Johnson is on pace to not only easily eclipse his numbers from his breakout season in 2009 - he already has 60 catches for 806 yards and eight scores - but he is also on pace to finish amongst the top receivers in the NFL, statistically. The most impressive part about this is that Johnson has put up the monstrous numbers he has without the aid of a consistent complimentary option; no other receiver on the Bills has more than 250 yards or two touchdowns. As the NFL season progresses, several Cowboys still find themselves at the crossroads of their tenure with the team. A particular position of interest for the team is at the linebacker spot. With Sean Lee assuming the starting duties at one of the inside linebacker spots, it appears that veteran Keith Brooking will server as a key veteran backup for the team as he rides off into the sunset, this likely being his last go-around in the NFL. For two other longtime Cowboys, however the future is not so clear. Both Bradie James and Anthony Spencer are in the last year of their contracts, and neither has been supremely impressive to this point. James has been the more consistent of the two players thus far, having recorded 55 tackles and one sack so far from his starting spot alongside Sean Lee on the inside. Spencer still has yet to live up to his first-round draft status; though he has been effective in run defense, having recorded 44 tackles so far, he only has one sack this year, and only 15.5 in his previous four years with the team. Given that the Cowboys currently lead the NFL is total sacks accumulated this season, and that Spencer has contributed so little to this cause, he could be deemed expendable by Jerry Jones if he doesn't start making more plays. A final linebacker who needs to step up is reserve outside linebacker Victor Butler. Butler was injured during the first portion of the season, but has since recovered enough to play in 101 snaps. In those snaps, he has yet to record even a single tackle. If he doesn't change his fortunes, he most definitely will not be a Cowboy next season.

[CM Hooe]

CLEANUP ON AISLE FOUR

ARLINGTON, TX - Whatever happened at Cowboys Stadium this past Sunday between the Dallas Cowboys and the Buffalo Bills, it wasn't football.

The two teams were generally miserable in their execution, combining for eight turnovers and eleven sacks as the Cowboys out-mediocred the Bills, winning by a score of 30 to 13.

Injuries played a key role in making this game as sloppy as it was; seemingly every drive, a different player was getting hurt. Felix Jones left the game early with an injury and did not return, as did Miles Austin, Sean Lee, and later in the game Demarcus Ware. For the Bills, Stevie Johnson was hampered by dings throughout the day, and linebackers Shawne Merriman, Andra Davis, and Dhani Jones were often shuffling in and out of the lineup with various dings.

Both quarterbacks also struggled; neither completed more than half of their pass attempts and looked off throughout the contest. Tony Romo wasn't helped by what was easily the worst performance of Jason Witten's career, as the All-Pro tight end dropped no less than five passes.

Though the day belonged to Dallas, both teams will look to wash their hands of this game and play better next week.

Buffalo Bills at Dallas Cowboys
Nov 13, 2011	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Buffalo Bills (6-2)	0	7	0	6	13
Dallas Cowboys (7-1)	10	7	6	7	30

Team Stats Comparison
	BUF	DAL
Total Offense	423	377
Rushing Yards	155	147
Passing Yards	268	230
First Downs	19	17
Punt Return Yards	26	13
Kick Return Yards	13	65
Total Yards	462	455
Turnovers	5	4
3rd Down Converstion	7/20	6/19
4th Down Conversion	0/2	0/1
2-Point Conversion	0/1	0/0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	2/0	2/1
Penalties	1-5	3-20
Posession Time	29:25	30:35

Buffalo Bills PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Tyler Thigpen 22/44 302 1 4 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Fred Jackson 24 56 2.3 0 Tyler Thigpen 11 86 7.8 0 C.J. Spiller 2 13 6.5 1 Buster Davis 1 0 0.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD David Nelson 7 112 16.0 0 Shawn Nelson 5 86 17.2 1 Donald Jones 3 34 11.3 0 Buster Davis 3 34 11.3 0 Stevie Johnson 2 16 8.0 0 David Martin 1 12 12.0 0 Fred Jackson 1 8 8.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Dwan Edwards 7 1.0 0 0 Spencer Johnson 6 1.0 0 0 Marcel Dareus 5 1.0 0 0 Shawne Merriman 5 1.0 0 0 Jon Corto 1 1.0 0 0 Jairus Byrd 10 0.0 1 0 Leodis McKelvin 4 0.0 1 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Ryan Lindell 0/3 1/1 1 0 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Brian Moorman 5 213 42.6 1 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD C.J. Spiller 1 13 13.0 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Terrence McGee 3 26 8.6 0

Dallas Cowboys PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Tony Romo 18/38 237 0 2 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Phillip Tanner 20 110 5.5 1 Chris Ogbonnaya 10 20 2.0 0 Tony Romo 4 7 1.7 0 Shaun Chapas 3 5 1.6 1 Felix Jones 2 5 2.5 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Jason Witten 6 87 14.5 0 Phillip Tanner 3 39 13.0 0 Kevin Ogletree 2 24 12.0 0 Miles Austin 2 35 17.5 0 Kealoha Pilares 2 19 9.5 0 Dwayne Harris 2 22 11.0 0 Martellus Bennett 1 11 11.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Demarcus Ware 9 1.0 0 0 Akwasi Owusu-Ansah 6 1.0 1 1 Barry Church 6 1.0 0 0 Jay Ratliff 4 1.0 0 0 Marcus Spears 2 1.0 0 0 Clifton Geathers 1 1.0 0 0 Terence Newman 5 0.0 2 0 Orlando Scandrick 4 0.0 1 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG David Buehler 3/3 3/3 12 49 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Mat McBriar 7 298 42.5 2 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Dwayne Harris 1 25 25.0 0 Bryan McCann 2 40 20.0 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Bryan McCann 4 13 3.2 0

[CM Hooe]

AROUND THE SHIELD

Sunday's Games

Raiders 28, Chargers 23

Saints 22, Falcons 24

Lions 31, Bears 28

Jaguars 16, Colts 28

Broncos 24, Chiefs 12

Steelers 17, Bengals 10

Titans 20, Panthers 31

Texans 16, Buccaneers 12

Redskins 9, Dolphins 20

Rams 24, Browns 31

Bills 13, Cowboys 30

Cardinals 19, Eagles 10

Ravens 14, Seahawks 17

Giants 17, 49ers 14

Patriots 29, Jets 22

Monday's Games

Vikings 15, Packers 21

One of the surprising teams thus far this season that continues to impress is the Oakland Raiders. Despite enduring two season-ending injuries to two key defensive cogs linebacker Kamerion Wimbley and safety Hiram Eugene, the silver-and-black find themselves on top of the AFC West with a 7-2 record, tied for best in the AFC. Led by eighth-ranked rushing attack spearheaded by the running back tandem of Darren McFadden and Michael Bush, and complimented by the efficient 16-5 touchdown-interception ratio of Jason Campbell, Oakland commands an offense which scores 27.2 points a game, good for fourth-best in the league. The defense, while giving up significant yardage in the air, has been plenty opportunistic; they've recorded 15 takeaways on the season. The combination of a well-executed smashmouth offense and a disruptive defense has Oakland at a +7 turnover margin, tied for third-best in the league.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, the New York Jets find themselves at wholly disappointing 2-7. The Jets have struggled mightily on the road thus far, having dropped all four of their road contests thus far. Quarterback Mark Sanchez continues to struggle to become a leader of his team's offense; he has only completed 51 percent of his passes to this point, and has only thrown seven touchdown passes. The running game isn't much more effective; Ladainian Tomlinson won the starting role at tailback from Shonn Green in the preseason, but hasn't shown the same burst he has in seasons' past; he's averaging only 3.3 yards per carry on his way to 515 yards and only three touchdowns on the ground. On defense, opposing offenses have targeted Antonio Cromartie with great success; the Florida State product has recorded only four passes defensed, no interceptions, and has generally been a whipping boy in coverage. Even after allowing the catch, Cromartie continues to struggle; he's only recorded ten solo tackles on the year. Cromartie would presumably have gotten the hook from an obviously-agitated Rex Ryan already, but an injury to nickel back Kyle Wilson returned Cromartie to the lineup. His play in particular must pick up if the Jets are to turn their season around in any capacity.

A resurgent season for Vikings quarterback Donovan McNabb has come to an abrupt end. The thirteen-year veteran was sideline midway through the team's loss against the Packers on Monday Night Football when he landed awkwardly on his shoulder and was removed from the game in obvious pain. Further tests on Tuesday revealed McNabb suffered a torn pectoral muscle, and he was promptly placed on injured reserve. The Vikings, now at 5-4, will now be forced to rely on rookie Christian Ponder to guide them through the rest of the season in hopes of catching Green Bay for the division lead or, if they can't do that, maintaining their position as the top wild-card team.

[CM Hooe]

MEDIC!

VALLEY RANCH, TX - In the heart of the NFL regular season, the 8-1 Dallas Cowboys suddenly find themselves to be not a very healthy team.

Entering last week, the team had lost rookie defensive back Josh Thomas for the season to a broken forearm, and then just as he was showing promise, rookie running back Demarco Murray suffered a dislocated hip, which will sideline him for the rest of the regular season, at least. Budding star receiver Dez Bryant has also been hobbled as of late with a broken toe. While these injuries were inconvenient, they were by no means insurmountable.

However, the sidelined players are now piling up. One such injury that the Cowboys could not afford, was that which Miles Austin suffered; tests after the Buffalo game revealed that the Pro Bowl receiver has suffered a torn shoulder labrum and he'll be sidelined for at least two weeks. This leaves the Cowboys' with Kevin Ogletree, Dwayne Harris, and Kealoha Pilares as the team's top receivers. To that end, the team did make a roster adjustment today, adding receiver Brooks Foster to the roster; cornerback Bryan McCann was dropped to make space on the roster for the fourth-year receiver out of North Carolina. The offensive line also has a concern as well, as David Arkin left the Bills game with a minor arm injury. He is questionable for this week, and if he can't go he will be replaced by fellow rookie Bill Nagy.

The injuries haven't been limited to the offensive side of the ball, however. Linebacker Sean Lee has struggled to stay in the lineup as of late with various bumps and bruises, which hasn't kept him from starting any games he would have otherwise but have seen veteran Keith Brooking getting significantly more playing time than was planned. Backup defensive tackle Josh Brent suffered a very similar injury to that of Miles Austin in the same game, and he'll be out for a few games as well. Even star pass rusher Demarcus Ware suffered a significant ding, as it appears he suffered a partial meniscus tear during the contest with the Bills; his status for this week's game against the Washington Redskins is doubtful.

Though it's understood that injuries are a reality in the NFL, the bug hadn't really started to bite Dallas until this week. The Cowboys will have to make it through the next couple weeks without some key players, starting with this week's contest in Landover, MD against Washington.

[CM Hooe]

Matchup Preview | November 20, 2011
	@
Dallas Cowboys (8-1, 3-1 Away)		Washington Redskins (4-5, 2-2 Home)
Offensive Stats Comparison 5400 Total Yards 4203 4351 Total Offensive Yards 2920 2264 Passing Yards 1979 2087 Rushing Yards 941 36.6 Points Per Game 19.8 10 Passing TD 15 23 Rushing TD 4 176 First Downs 127 38 Red Zone Attempts 17 19-14 Red Zone TD-FG 9-5 86.0 Red Zone Percentage 82.0 Defensive Stats Comparison 3208 Total Yards Allowed 2937 2157 Passing Yards Allowed 1861 1051 Rushing Yards Allowed 1076 172 Points Allowed 218 45 Sacks 19 3 Fumble Recoveries 3 15 Interceptions 2 20 Red Zone Attempts 19 12-4 Red Zone TD-FG 10-7 80.0 Red Zone Percentage 89.0 Injury Report LB Demarcus Ware Meniscus Tear / Doubtful LB David Bowens Broken Thumb / 2 weeks WR Dez Bryant Fractured Toe / 2 weeks HB Ryan Torain Fractured Foot / 2 weeks DT Josh Brent Torn Shoulder Labrum / 2 weeks QB Rex Grossman Broken Hand / 9 weeks WR Miles Austin Torn Shoulder Labrum / 3 weeks S LaRon Landry Torn Pectoral Muscle / IR HB Demarco Murray Dislocated Hip / 8 weeks Game Notes Neither team enters this game particularly healthy, with nine total players on both teams' rosters ruled out, and with Demarcus Ware likely to be a tenth; Ware will test his knee on Sunday during warm-ups to see if he can go, however. As to how the injuries will affect each team, look for both teams to emphasize the running game. Tony Romo will be without two of his top three receivers, with Dez Bryant and Miles Austin both sitting this one out and leaving Jason Witten likely to face all sorts of different coverages. The Redskins will feature John Beck under center, which means that running backs Tim Hightower and Roy Helu are expected to get plenty of work through the afternoon. The Redskins have indeed been coping with the injury to Ryan Torain's foot since the first week of the season, and his replacements have largely succeeded in carrying the load. Runner Tim Hightower has totaled 720 yards on 183 carries, good for a solid 80 yards per game, while Roy Helu has been especially effective as a change-of-pace back, picking up 6.8 yards a carry in limited action while accumulating 179 yards to his credit. The one thing the tandem has not been able to replicate, however, is Torain's power; between Hightower and Helu, the Redskins have scored only four rushing touchdowns to this point. While much of the focus will be on Demarcus Ware's knee, Washington has a pass rusher of their own who will play and is ascending to the top tier of elite defenders. Linebacker Brian Orakpo has racked up ten sacks so far this season to go along with his 61 tackles, good for fifth in the league and actually one more than Ware has to this point. The Texas native has turned it on in the past three weeks in particular, having racked up four quarterback takedowns in games against Buffalo, San Francisco, and Miami. Look for Orakpo to be the primary focus of Cowboys' pass protection schemes throughout the afternoon.