This upcoming week is going to be a lot more difficult than a lot of people think. Coming off the bye week, we all know that the extra week to prepare for the Dez Bryant and Tony Romo-less Cowboys has been nothing but beneficial, as well as giving some well-deserved resting time for the players, but this game is not going to be a cake walk. Brandon Weeden is not as bad as his career has played out and they have a top offensive line in football. And for as good as Dez Bryant is for that team, and he certainly is a huge loss, but the Cowboys have a bunch of other guys who are more than capable of stepping up and making plays. Jason Witten is already having another pro bowl worthy season, coming into the game with 25 catches for 238 touchdowns and 2 touchdowns. With guys like Gronk and Jimmy Graham playing in the NFL and revolutionizing the tight end position, most people forget how good Jason Witten is. He has Hall of Fame worthy career stats and is a guy that teams would kill to have, and build around. The running game is also going to be very interesting. With the lack of success Demarco Murray is having up in Philadelphia, we can see how valuable the Dallas offensive line was. Joseph Randle was a nobody last year and he has grown into a very good back in this league (and my fantasy team). He and Darren McFadden have been getting the bulk of the carries for the Cowboys this season and the offensive line has done a tremendous job opening lanes for them to get to the next level of the defense and make plays. With that success comes a great passing game as well and it opens up passing lanes downfield because the defense has to defend the run first and foremost. Defensively it will be a challenge as well for TB12 because of the weapons (no pun intended) that the Cowboys defense has. Greg Hardy has not played a snap this season and has already put up some completely unnecessary bulletin board material for the Patriots. When he was asked about Tom Brady he simply didn’t even acknowledge the question and simply said he hoped that Gisele and her sister would be in attendance because of how beautiful they are. Granted, that statement is true, but for a guy coming off a four game suspension because he “allegedly” threw his girlfriend onto a couch covered in assault rifles, and threatened to kill her, it probably was a little too soon to say comments objectifying women, let alone the wife of the quarterback you are about to face. But unfortunately, despite being one of the biggest pieces of trash in a league full of guys with questionable character, he’s a great defensive lineman and it’ll be interesting to see how the Patriots offensive line handles him and rookie Randy Gregory on the edge. Also, it just was announced today that the Cowboys leading tackler Sean Lee cleared concussion protocol and will be wearing his number 50 jersey in the middle of the defense on Sunday. He comes into the game with a team high 36 tackles, including 25 solo, and will try and disrupt Dion Lewis and the rest of the running game for New England. One thing to look out for is the Matt Cassel trade from a couple of weeks ago. The former Patriot was Tyrod Taylor’s backup up in Buffalo before the Cowboys traded for him following the Romo injury. He is an established quarterback in this league and has been successful as a starter, so I would not be surprised if Cowboys coach Jason Garrett called his number if Weeden starts to struggle early. Another thing to look for is for Danny Amendola to have a big game. Most people forget this, but Dallas was the first stop for Amendola. Before he was a great receiver for the St. Louis Rams, he was just another rookie trying to make an NFL team. He was an undrafted free agent out of Texas Tech (as if he and Wes Welker weren’t compared enough) and his first shot was with the Cowboys in 2008. He was heavily featured on the HBO show Hard Knocks and really turned some heads, but he was cut from the Cowboys following training camp. Danny is the type of guy who plays with a chip on his shoulder and I can pretty much guarantee that if he has a chance to stick it to Dallas for not sticking with him, he will take full advantage. My prediction of the game is New England 45-24. Why so lopsided you might ask? This is another “in your face” game for Tom Brady as Jerry Jones basically told him to just take his deflategate suspension and move on. For as ridiculous of a statement that is, it’s safe to say that Tommy will come out “guns a blazin,” (no, not you Greg Hardy) and be fired up to play. And as good as this Cowboys team is when they are healthy, they are not nearly the same team without Romo and Dez Bryant.
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Pat O'Hearne
Just a kid from Boston trying his luck in Cleveland Archives
March 2017
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