Sunday, September 5, 2010

Are the Cowboys ready to go?

I think that they are ready to go for sure. But I expect them to perhaps be a little flat offensively to start out(I hope that I'm wrong ofcourse) I also expect the Redskin offense to come out a little bit sluggish as well to start. I think the first half will be low scoring, a punting exhibition. There is no question who the better team is ofcourse. But this is a game to get past for sure. The good news is that the Cowboys have, as I've mentioned before, always performed well on the Sunday Night NBC telecast. So that's the good news. The last time these two met was on that same Sunday Night stage, Dec. 26 of last year, at Fed EX field. Dallas , coming off their win at New Orleans the previous week, recorded a 17-0 shutout over the Redskins to clinch a playoff spot. And then they shut out the Eagles at home the next week in the season finale to win the NFC East Division for the second time in two years. Since then, the Redskins have gotten a new look, namely Quarterback Donavon McNabb from those Eagles, and former Broncos head man Mike Shanahan as their new coach. So you know that alone makes the Redskins a better team than the one we last faced. Any team with McNabb on there can beat you. The Cowboys, however, are also better than they were then, just over 8 months ago, at least on paper. This team, the Cowboys, are the best team in the NFL, if they have their ducks in order. But that needs to happen sooner rather than later. They certainly want to be ready to go from the outset, and not be giving any early games away to teams that they can beat. They definitely want to avoid another 2-2 stumble out of the gate like last year. Another note; they traded WR Patrick Crayton to San Diego for a sixth round pick for next season. That officially paves the way for the rookie (potentially) sensation Dez Bryant, who will play on opening night against Washington. He didn't play in the five game preseason(Cowboys went 3-2) Some real good news also is David Buehler, the PK. Buehler, the second year man out of USC, handled the kickoffs last year for the Cowboys, while Nick Folk was the PK before he kicked himself out of Dallas after going in a slump in the 2nd half of last year. Folk is now with the Jets. Buehler is now our place kicker as well and he nailed 4 FGs in the preseason finale against Miami, including a 51 yarder right before the half and the game winner as time expired. So we, (HOPEFULLY, keep your fingers crossed Cowboy Nation) have found ourselves a PK. He's already among the league leaders in touchbacks on kickoffs as well. Fingers crossed. Fingers crossed. And finally, there is speculation as to whether or not Donavon McNabb will play on that Sunday Night. He injured his ankle in the Redskins second preseason game. I expect to see him. What? Rex Grossman(Redskins 2nd string QB)? I'm not going to kid myself on that one. I expect to see McNabb, just probably less than 100%. Ill make an early prediction: The Cowboys, after a somewhat sluggish start, leading 7-3 at the half, get it going on offense in the second half for a 24-13 win.

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