The Dallas Cowboys | Return of the Lone Star State [M16 Franchise]

[Noestar]

Alfred Morris steamrolls Saints en route to a 35-28 Cowboys victory.

Dallas Cowboys at New Orleans Saints
Jan 1,	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Dallas Cowboys (3-1)	14	7	14	0	35
New Orleans Saints (2-2)	0	7	0	21	28

Team Stats Comparison
	DAL	NOR
Total Offense	433	438
Rushing Yards	171	84
Passing Yards	262	354
First Downs	19	20
Punt Return Yards	14	32
Kick Return Yards	93	0
Total Yards	540	470
Turnovers	0	3
3rd Down Converstion	6	3
4th Down Conversion	0	0
2-Point Conversion	0	0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	3	4
Penalties	0	0
Posession Time	28:37	19:23

Dallas Cowboys PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Tony Romo 18/22 262 2 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Alfred Morris 24 127 5.3 3 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Jason Witten 5 64 13.4 1 Dez Bryant 5 67 13.4 0 Terrance Williams 4 104 26 1 Alfred Morris 3 22 7.3 0 Brice Butler 1 5 5.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Barry Church 9 0 0 0 Myles Jack 3 0 0 0 Byron Jones 9 0 0 0 Kevin Dodd 2 .5 0 1 Sean Lee 7 0 0 0 Demarcus Lawrence 2 .5 0 1

New Orleans Saints PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Drew Brees 26/34 363 3 2 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD CJ Spiller 10 62 6.2 0 Toben Opurum 2 22 11.0 1 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Brandin Cooks 7 131 18.7 0 Coby Fleener 7 72 10.3 0 Willie Snead 6 91 15.2 1 Toben Opurum 4 46 11.5 1 Brandon Coleman 1 14 14 1 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Kenny Vaccaro 12 0 0 0 Jarius Byrd 12 0 0[b] 1 Dannell Ellerbe 10 0 0 1 Senquez Golson 9 0 0 0

You know that old saying, never take your foot off the gas when you're beating another team? Well the Cowboys did and it almost came back to bite them in the butt. The Cowboys led 35-7 going into the fourth quarter, and decided to rely on their run game to close out the game, and the Saints used this to vault themselves right back into it. The Saints scored 21 straight points in the fourth quarter, which turned garbage time into something a little more serious.

Romo started off the game strong, throwing his 250th touchdown pass of his career to who else but Jason Witten, and followed it up with a strong drive down the field and a huge 49 yard touchdown pass to Terrance Williams. Williams absolutely dominated the jump ball game today, he came into the game with 132 yards on the season through 3 games, a finished this game with 102 yards on 4 catches and a touchdown. Every pass that Romo through up to him he came down with, and late into the game there wasn't much worth in risking those passes.

The real star of the game was Alfred Morris. I know what you're thinking, Alfred "2.5 ypc" Morris? Every game this season Alfred Morris has averaged a higher yards per carry and total rushing yards, and the trend continued going into this game. Coming into this game he had 146 yards rushing, and no touchdowns. Today he almost matched that gaining 127 yards on the ground, and amassing 3 touchdowns on 23 carries. Not known for his speed, he broke a couple tackles on the way to his longest run of the year for 35 yards and a touchdown. Obviously this kind of game to game improvement isn't sustainable but it gives the Cowboys some hope after dismal start.

The bad news of this game was that the Cowboys pass defense got absolutely shredded by Drew Brees and company. When you play Drew Brees at home you expect to see some gaudy numbers, but the Cowboys did not look prepared for the air attack. Without a pass rush Drew Brees was able to take his time and dissect the defense, especially with the trouble TE's have been giving Dallas lately. Randy Gregory comes back next week, and the Cowboys will need him against the 2-1 Tom Brady led Patriots.

[Noestar]

Cowboys Quarter Season Update



Dallas Cowboys Press Conference

Starr: So I promised Ol' Jerry Jones and Jason Garrett that I'd hold a press conference once every four weeks to update the media and the fans on the status of the team. So here I am, go ahead and fire away.

Q: Coach Starr, the Cowboys are 3-1, but they've come dangerously close to losing a couple games in the fourth quarter, is it because of coaching? Do you have comments on that?

Starr: I'd say it's a combination of things, but I'm going to take most of the blame here. We all know that playing prevent defense, and playing not to lose is the worst way to win, and I've been guilty of it. Our offense is really starting to click now though, we're becoming a real efficient unit out there. If I had to say one thing about it, I'd say that we have to do a better job finishing the game strong for sure. We're not taking enough risks, and next time we're up in the fourth, you better believe we'll try and run up the score.

Q: You say the offense has been running more efficiently, but you've had struggles in the run game between Alfred Morris and McFadden. If Morris regresses again will he be benched?

Starr: I think Morris is only getting stronger as the season goes on. He just needed to take some time to learn the offense. McFadden is the perfect compliment to him, he's still a fast back, and has good hands. I won't be benching Morris barring something drastic, you can't lose faith in your players that quickly. I'm going to keep giving him the rock until he tells me he doesn't want it, and that won't be soon.

Q: Looking at the way your team is performing now, what position do you think would be your top priority in the draft?

Starr: Wow that's so far away, it's a tough question. I think a shut down corner would help take this team to the next level. It's easy to say something like an elite running back or something like that. If it came down to it, either a shutdown corner, a tackle to take the torch from Doug Free eventually, or a receiver if Terrance Williams decides he wants to take off for greener pastures.
That's all the time I have for today though, thank you!

Storylines and Stats!

Draft Stories!

-Georgia WR Demarcus Farrell is the son of a former Olympian who competed in the 100M and 200M dash, and he looks just as fast.
-6'4", 226 lbs, B+ Spectacular catch, B CIT, B- Catching

-UCLA LB Mason Morgan has been a terror in the run game lately, no team that's played against UCLA has been able to amass more than 50 rush yards
-6'2", 243 lbs, A Pursuit, A- Tackle, B Hit Power

- TE Buck Edwards from Rhode Island is forced to quit football after being diagnosed with a staph infection.
-N/A

NFL Storylines:

NFL Rookie QB's dominating.

A couple of teams might have found their franchise QB's, as the top three quarterbacks in the draft have combined for 23 touchdowns, and 5 touchdowns through their first four games. Paxton Lynch, rookie QB out of Memphis leads the list with 9 touchdowns, 2 interceptions and 1048 yards. He's led the Jets to an impressive 3 and 1 record, with one win over the Patriots.

Right behind him is Jared Goff out of California, with 7 touchdowns and 1 interception. His 49ers have not been as successful though, sitting near the bottom of the standings with a 1-3 record. He's seem to found his favorite receiver in Braxton Miller rookie WR out of Ohio State, who is in the top ten for receptions and yards this season.

Last but not least, the Los Angeles Rams and Carson Wentz. Wentz is no slouch, throwing 7 touchdowns and 2 interceptions in a tough NFC West division with Goff. He has the Rams sitting at 2-2, and with his number one option being Kenny Britt with 14 receptions, you can't help but be impressed.

Super Bowl Champions faltering

After winning a super bowl with an elite defense, the Broncos were confident enough that they did not need to overpay Brock Osweiler and that they would be able to make due. They are now sitting at 0-4 and have moved on from Mark Sanchez, they are now starting rookie QB Connor Cook, as they hope that they have found another gem in this stellar rookie class. Will Connor Cook provide the spark they need?

Stats:

NFL League Leaders - Updated: Jan 1,
Passing Touchdowns		TD/INT	Passing yards		YARDS
	1. Aaron Rodgers GB	16/2		1. Aaron Rodgers GB	1250
	2. Matt Ryan	11/2		2. Matt Stafford	1126
	3. Drew Brees	9/4		3. Matt Ryan	1109
	4. Tony Romo	9/3		4. Jared Goff	1098
	5. Paxton Lynch	9/2		5. Andy Dalton	1094
Rushing Yards		YARDS	Rush TDs		TDs
	1. Le'Veon Bell	432		1. Le'Veon Bell	5
	2. Darren Sproles	403		2. Matt Jones	5
	3. Danny Woodhead	385		3. Ameer Abdullah	5
	4. Matt Forte	367		4. Deangelo Williams	4
	5. Gio Bernard	351		5. Isaiah Crowell	4
Receiving Yards/Receptions		REC	Tackles		TAK
	1. Marvin Jones	486/30		1. Brandon Marshall	52
	2. Jordy Nelson	421/30		2. Brandon Spikes	48
	3. Keenan Allen	416/21		3. Demario Davis	48
	4. Demaryius Thomas	398/20		4. Erin Henderson	47
	5. Larry Fitzgerald	395/23		5. Kwon Alexander	46
Sacks		SACK	Interceptions		INT
	1. Cameron Wake	7		1. Darius Slay	3
	2. Joey Bosa	5.5		2. Desmond Trufant	2
	3. Everson Griffen	4.5		3. Jasper Brinkley	2
	4. Clay Matthews	4.5		4. Landon Collins	2
	5. Melvin Ingram	4.0		5. Kevin Johnson	2

Any surprises? Anything jump out to you?