BRIAN MORTENSENLINDEN, NJ
I know you can only play the teams on your schedule, but I feel like this Cowboys team has greatly benefited from finishing fourth in the division last season. Does it concern anyone else that if the playoffs were to begin today, we would only have a 2-2 record against teams making a playoff appearance?
Bryan:You've beaten two of the hottest teams in the NFL on the road - Green Bay and Pittsburgh. You just held New York to 10 points and completely shut their offense down. No, I am not concerned.
David:It's nothing personal, Brian, but I hate this line of thinking so much. First of all, the difference between a first-place and fourth-place schedule is two games. If the Cowboys were playing a first-place schedule, they'd be playing an admittedly good team in Seattle and a 6-8 Carolina team. As a fourth-place team, they played an admittedly woeful San Francisco team and a Tampa team that has surged into wild card consideration. On top of that, they have wins against wild card contenders in Washington, Baltimore, Tampa and Minnesota – not to mention the wins against Pittsburgh and Green Bay. And on top of *that, *this is the NFL. So basically, no, I'm not concerned about it. The Cowboys are a good team, I promise.
DERRICK CARTRETTEGALIVANTS FERRY, SC
Sounds like Randy Gregory will be active Monday night, how much should we expect him to contribute not playing in an actual game for so long?
Bryan:Gregory has worked extremely hard to get ready for this chance. If this secondary can continue to cover - all the pass rushers will have a chance for success including him.
David:I'm going to pump the brakes on seeing him active against Detroit until I see it with my own two eyes. He hasn't practiced since June, and he hasn't played real football since last December. That's a lot of missed time to make up in just six days, so I wouldn't be surprised if they give him some time to acclimate. Whenever he does return, I would expect it's going to be a very gradual process. Hopefully, he's ready to contribute something in the playoffs.
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