The Cowboys lost their final season game against the Redskins, 27-6 and while most Cowboys fans did not expect a win, I think it's safe to say that the Cowboys have raised a lot of questions about their readiness for the upcoming playoffs.  I'm not sure how critical I should be given the following circumstances:  the Cowboys did not need to win for the playoffs, the Cowboys chose to rest several starters for the playoffs, it was an away game against a bitter division rival and, finally, the Redskins needed  this game to ensure a playoff spot.

Having listed all of the excuses, I have to say that the Cowboys simply looked bad, particularly on offense and special teams, and were dominated by the Redskins throughout the game.  Congratulations to the Redskins, you have to give them credit - they simply were the better team today - they out-hustled and out-performed the Cowboys all game.  The goal of the Cowboys was to allow some offensive stars to achieve some individual and team "stat" goals (partial check) and to get the offense back on track - (not done!) and, of course, no injuries - also not achieved!  The running game had it's worst result in recent team history, if I'm not mistaken, with something like 1 total yard!  Not only did the Cowboys not generate ANY momentum heading into the playoffs, they now have two weeks to listen to the numerous critics about the state of the team.  Not good.

On defense, I thought Demarcus Ware, Tank Johnson and Bradie James all had a good game, pressuring Todd Collins and creating turn-overs.  The Redskins really took advantage of Jacques "Toast" Reeves in the secondary and certainly highlighted Terence Newman's absence today.  For the most part, I thought there was a lot of poor tacking, (i.e. Roy Williams) as evidenced by the fact that Clinton Portis had over a 100 yrds. rushing - the first time all season that an opposing running back has run for 100 yds. against the Cowboy defense. 

On offensive, it was a disaster for most of the day and there are few people to single out for having done a good job.  I thought Sam Hurd had a decent 1st half, including a nice catch that Wade Philips challenged the ruling on and reversed the decision in the Cowboys favor.  Miles Austin had a good 2nd half with a long kick-off return and some nice catches - although he dropped two passes that might both have been touchdowns!  Terry Glenn made his first appearance all season and you knew things weren't going to go well when the first ball Romo threw to Glenn was picked off.  We didn't see much of Glenn after that and I don't remember seeing him catch a single ball today.  Finally, the running game was absolutely pathetic - both Julius Jones and Marion Barber were completely ineffective and the offensive line did little to try and control the line of scrimmage.  Tyson Thompson made an appearance toward the end of the game and promptly slips and falls down on his only carry.  I was hoping to see more of Isaiah Stanback today but I guess he is still inactive due to earlier injuries. 

Several of the Redskins were impressive and had an excellent game:  Chris Cooley, Chris Samuels, Clinton Portis, Santana Moss and Todd Collins on offense and Chris Wilson, Shawn Springs on defense.  Todd Collins was particularly surprising given how little he's played over the past 10 yrs.  Clearly, his timing with the Redskins receivers was excellent today and I would think that most Redskins fans are happier knowing that Collins will be running the show in the playoffs vs. a young Jason Campbell. 

The Cowboys brain trust should be extremely concerned about the apparent weakness in the offensive game and the lack of momentum heading into the playoffs.  In addition, Keith Davis, captain of the special teams and a contributor on defense, came off of the field limping - not sure to what extent his injury is but it's obviously not good to lose anyone to injury at this point.  In my opinion, this loss was big because the Cowboys were not able to achieve anything positive - no production or a decent evaluation of Terry Glenn, no correction for Romo and the offense, no momentum for the playoffs.  Just a lot of questions and criticism at a time when you want to be firing on all cylinders.  They have two weeks to get their act together or else a 13-3 regular season record will essentially mean nothing. 

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!!  First post ever on my first blog ever - hope you will find this enjoyable and informative.  Credentials?  No formal experience but I've been a dedicated fan of the Cowboys all of my life and can remember watching games with my family since the 1970 season or so.  The goal here is to use this blog as an outlet for me to express my thoughts, opinions, joys, frustrations and everything in between about the Cowboys season.

Thoughts on recent developments:

1)  I was surprised to see the Packers "cave-in" so easily to the Bears this past weekend!  An early Christmas present for the Cowboys, gift wrapping the home field advantage for the playoffs.  I, for one, am glad that the Cowboys won't be playing in Lambeau to try and get to the Super Bowl - a huge advantage for the Cowboys.

2)  Not too worried about TO's high ankle sprain - I believe three weeks will be enough to get him back to 80% or so, which should allow for enough production from TO to help win the first playoff game.  I'm not sold on Patrick Crayton, Miles Austin and Sam Hurd having enough talent to get the job done. 

3)  Can't wait to see what Terry Glenn can offer this weekend and I certainly hope that he will be able to use the Redskins game as a chance to get ready for the playoffs.  Also interested to see if the Cowboys will activate Isaiah Stanback and Tyson Thompson for the Redskins game.   I think Stanback has potential but he hasn't show much in the way of durability thus far in his short career. 

4)  Despite my life-long hatred of the Redskins, I'm not expecting a win this weekend.  Far more important that the Cowboys rest key players, allow injuries to continue to heal, etc. than to try and win against an NFC East opponent.  The Redskins will need to win this game to keep their playoff hopes alive and the game is away at FedEx Field.  Still, I do hate the Redskins and their fans, it would be great to see the Cowboys win a game they don't need and knock the Redskins out of the playoffs, in the process. 

5)  Finally, I'm concerned about the offense production over the past few weeks and hope that the coaches and players will get in synch for the playoffs.  Opposing teams seem to have figured out how to disrupt Romo's passing rhythm and the running game, although Barber had a good game against the Panthers.  Hope the bye week will help the team get back to the mid-season form that produced a ton of points and yards. 

That's it for now - nothing too controversial or outrageous but simply my initial thoughts on the Cowboys for this week.  By the way, I'm in the Philadelphia area for Christmas and it's been great to listen to all of my Eagles friends admit that the Cowboys are the better team this year.  Of course, they say it with gritted teeth and the usual venom but I'm enjoying the hell out of this season's turnaround!  Most Eagles fans I know still can't believe that the Cowboys are a serious contender for the Super Bowl - I love the denial that's inherent in all Eagles fans.  Good luck to the Cowboys this week, hope to post something again next week.