IRVING, Texas - Cowboys tight end Jason Witten called it crisis mode. Starting middle linebacker Bradie James said the team has been grounded and former first-round pick Marcus Spears felt he let down head coach Wade Phillips. However the Cowboys want to put it, losing three of the last four games has certainly lodged the team somewhere between a rock and a hard place. And with the 5-2 Tampa Bay Buccaneers coming to Texas Stadium at noon (CDT) Sunday, the struggling Cowboys need to find a way to right the ship and they need to do it quickly what with a road game against the NFC-leading Giants up next on the schedule.
What's Up?
While they were playing the 1-5 Seattle Seahawks on Sunday Night Football, the Buccaneers' 20-10 victory was nonetheless impressive. Pro Bowl quarterback Jeff Garcia completed 75 percent of his passes and threw for 310 yards and one touchdown. On the defensive side of the ball, the Monte Kiffen-led "Tampa 2" held the Seahawks offense to just 176 total yards. Garcia, who lost his starting job to Brian Griese earlier this season, has been nothing short of efficient since regaining the starting role two weeks ago. The team is now 10-6 all-time with Garcia under center.
After getting manhandled both offensively and defensively by the St. Louis Rams this past Sunday, 34-14, the Cowboys are now 4-3 and sit in third place in the NFC East. To make matters worse, injured quarterback Tony Romo still might not play this Sunday, which is bad news facing a Buccaneers defense allowing just 292.7 yards per game. If the Cowboys can't find a way to beat Tampa Bay, they will have dropped three consecutive games for the first time since 2004.
Statistical View
The Buccaneers offensive line has been one of the league's best as far as keeping its quarterbacks upright, allowing just eight sacks through seven games this season. However, against some of the league's top pass rushers - Atlanta's John Abraham, New Orleans' Charles Grant and Denver's Elvis Dumervil - the Buccaneers have allowed all three to record a sack. This is good news for the NFL's sack leader, Cowboys outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware, who is attempting to set an NFL record for most consecutive games with a sack (11) this weekend.
Haven't heard a good enough reason why the Cowboys are struggling? Well, take a good look at this. Tied for 28th in the league, the Cowboys have a minus-6 turnover differential after seven games. The team has only forced three fumbles and its two interceptions belong to pass-rushing outside linebacker Greg Ellis and free safety Ken Hamlin. With the Buccaneers at a plus-4 differential, it's easy to see why Tampa Bay is sitting atop the NFC South.
After throwing five touchdown passes the last time the Cowboys and Buccaneers squared off in Dallas (2006), it would be a shame if Pro Bowl quarterback Tony Romo couldn't play this weekend because of his injured right pinkie. Despite not playing last Sunday, Romo is fifth in the league in passing yards (1,689), second in touchdown passes (14) and first in the NFC with a 103.5 QB rating.
The Cowboys have lost three of the last four meetings to the Buccaneers, but that is a trend that just started recently. From 1977 - the two teams' first-ever meeting - to 1990, the Buccaneers could not beat the Cowboys, going 0-8 in that 13-year span. The Cowboys hold the overall series advantage against the Buccaneers, 9-3.
Chalk Talk
If the Cowboys offensive line had trouble blocking Arizona Cardinals defensive end Bertrand Berry and St. Louis Rams defensive end Leonard Little, then expect more of the same when Cowboys tackles Flozell Adams and Marc Colombo take on Buccaneers pass rusher Gaines Adams. While Adams has recorded just two sacks this season, he is by far Tampa Bay's most athletic pass rusher. The second-year defensive end out of Clemson consistently ran around Seahawks All-Pro left tackle Walter Jones on Sunday, and has even tallied two interceptions this season, including one returned for a touchdown. The Cowboys have allowed seven of their 10 sacks this year in the past three games, a troubling trend no matter who is at quarterback.
While some may say the best running back tandem in the NFL is Marion Barber and Felix Jones, the Buccaneers quietly have a solid two-headed monster at the tailback position. Running backs Warrick Dunn and Earnest Graham have combined to rush for 879 yards and five touchdowns on 183 carries. The Cowboys are giving up 100.7 rushing yards per game, and have struggled to stop good running backs this year, allowing Steven Jackson, Clinton Portis and Brian Westbrook to rush for a combined 339 yards on just 64 carries.
Connections
It's hard to imagine that just four years ago (2004) Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett was one of the backup quarterbacks for the Buccaneers . . . Speaking of backup quarterbacks, Brad Johnson won a Super Bowl with Tampa Bay in 2002 . . . Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Bryant caught 99 passes for the Cowboys from 2002-2004 . . . Tampa Bay wideout Joey Galloway had a successful, yet oft-injured, stint with the Cowboys from 2000-2003.
Miscellaneous
Since beating the Green Bay Packers last November, the Cowboys are just 6-6 including the playoff loss to the New York Giants . . . The Cowboys only have two teams left on their schedule with losing records . . . Tampa Bay head coach Jon Gruden is 3-1 all-time when facing the Cowboys, but is just 1-2 against Wade Phillips coached teams . . . Gruden and Phillips are the only active head coaches in the league to have coached three Pro Bowl quarterbacks. Gruden has found success with Rich Gannon, Brad Johnson and Jeff Garcia, while Phillips has coached John Elway, Doug Flutie and now Tony Romo . . . The Bucs are one of the few teams with the distinction of having a top 10 offense and defense in the NFL. They currently rank eighth in offense and ninth in defense. The Cowboys recently lost that distinction, falling to 11th in defense while the offense ranks third.
Home | Email | Print | Register for New Alerts | RSS
