Final Score: Dallas 35 Rams 7

The Cowboys netted 502 yards on offense in dominating the 0-4 St. Louis Rams 35-7 Sunday afternoon. After a slow, and often stomach-churning, start to the game, Dallas came out in the second half pumped up. Tony Romo threw for 339 yards with 3 touchdowns and1 interception. Most spectacular for Romo were his runs: one a high-snap that he bobbled on the turf before finally picking it up, avoiding a huge deep yardage sack, and running at least 30 yards for a first down. It was magical to see him do it. The play is a sure sign of winning teams that dominate games. This is how Dallas played during the Super Bowl years.

Patrick Crayton had a career day. After his disappointing dropped pass in the end zone last week, he came back on a mission. He caught 7 passes for 184 yards and two touchdowns.

Jason Witten had another great game with 6 catches for 71 yards and a touchdown.

The only score for St. Louis was a punt return for a touchdown. St. Louis had opportunities early to make this game competitive longer. But horrible play calling and a bizarre replay call from Rams head coach Scott Linehan sort of tucked this game away for the Cowboys. Plus, leaving Bulger in, with the banging he took, was just awful coaching. DeMarcus Ware had a sack, and Greg Ellis had 1.5 sacks on his first game back since a bad heel injury.

The Dallas Defense continues to improve, but there were some matters to be concerned about. The run defense was questionable at times, but the D made plays when they really, really mattered. The secondary was pretty good, but it had some plays that led to big Ram plays that could have made this game a lot more competitive if Bulger was hitting all cylinders. Ken Hamlin had probably the easiest INT of his life, when the Rams were driving, already down 28-7.

Although it looked as if Dallas may fall into the trap here, they didn't. The second half was pure domination from a team that is the strongest in the NFC, better than the Green Bay Packers, who are also undefeated.

I just hope Dallas can continue this winning stride. They play Buffalo next, and then the Patriots, Vikings and Eagles. That's a tough 3-game run. And we'll still have Green Bay later down the schedule in what could be the pre-NFC Championship matchup.

Notes: Isaac Bruce, the Rams WR who guaranteed a win, had 1 single catch. Yeah, that teaches him for opening his mouth. He'll have the foot out of it some time next week.
It is going to be an exciting year. We play some great teams coming up and all of this good fortune could turn around real fast. Terence Newman was injured in the first half. Little was said about his injury. Huge problem is he is gone or injured for a long period of time, which is one week for these Cowboys already playing on this CBs.

Third Quarter

Greg Ellis gets his first sack of the year in his first game back from a season-ending injury last year, and the Dallas D starts the second half upbeat. Let's see how the offense does.

On the first series of the second half, Patrick Crayton scored on a 59-yard touchdown run. Wow. Horrible coverage defense left a wide open field for Crayton after the catch and a missed tackle. Good to see Crayton come back after that dropped TD pass last week. 21-7 Dallas

Rams get the ball back and do nothing. Rams Head Coach Linehan is a bonehead. He calls for a replay on an obvious no catch. I have a good friend who is a Rams fan and he complains all the time about the pitiful play calling and that Linehan does crap like this every game. This guy should be canned, now.

Dallas gets the ball again Crayton quickly scored another touchdown!!! I knew I should have started him!!!! Damn! The pass was perfect and Dallas leads 28-7.

Well, it becomes apparent that the Rams are awful, have poor coaching and no leaders. Why they keep Bulger in this game the way he is ailing is beyond me. So, with the Rams driving, Bulger thows a horrible pass and Hamlin has his easiest INT ever. I am going to stop with the updates and come back after the game is over.

Patrick Crayton is having a career day with 174 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Dallas leads 28-7 and driving.....

Second Quarter to Halftime Dallas Leads 14-7. Romo-Quarter!

The Rams looked as if they wouldn't capitalize on the INT until a 3rd and long throw to Isaac Bruce. That hurt. It was a breakdown by Dallas and good execution by the Rams. The INT Drive continues. On 3rd and 5, a blitz rushed a pass that went out of the end zone. Rams MISSED a short field goal, and that horrible red zone offense continues. Dallas is lucky and it is still 0-0.

On the Cowboys first series of this quarter, the offense continued to sputter at first. But three passes in a row after a seven yard JJ run sparked some movement. Tony Romo recovered well after the INT and led Dallas to their first touchdown. He threw some great passes, chiefly one to Crayton. JJ gets his first touchdown of the year!!!! Good for him. Dallas 7 Rams 0

Rams get the ball again and they still can't move the ball. They may get one decent play, and did, but they cannot capitalize on it any further. Punt, with another penalty on the Rams.

Dallas gets the ball again. I sense a score. Did I just see that right? Two Barber stuffs in a row? I guess so. Shocking. Dallas can't move the ball and punt.

The punt was a disaster and Dante Hall scores.

Dallas 7 Rams 7

With 2:11 seconds left before half time, Dallas gets the ball back. Dallas opened the field up with some short passes. Then the center snaps the ball high over Romo's head. This leads to an amazing play by Romo, who avoids Rams players and runs for a first down. It was an amazing play, one that even made T.O. laugh. It was the highlight of the game so far. Tony Romo is for real.

Right after the Romo play, Crayton goes for 19 yards on a wide open catch. Witten gets 11 more and with 26 seconds left, we're at least in field goal distance. On 3rd and 10 and ROMO SCORES with a run, untouched, his second scoring run of the season! Dallas leads 14-7.

First Quarter Notes 0-0 score: Henry injured? Romo thows third INT for season

"And he goes nowhere."
That was the case for Julius Jones and his two carries for the Cowboys' first series. Two rushes in a row for 1 yard. Pathetic. He's is not waiting for any blocks to develop and he's being tackled too easily.

On the Rams first offensive series, a 3rd down and 6 conversion reaped no reward after a D-Ware sack left the Rams with 3rd and 19. A punt returns the ball to Dallas.

On the Cowboys second series, T.O. got his first catch, after a bomb sailed out of bounds. Julius Jones gets another 2-yard run. On 2nd and 8, Romo is sacked on a blitz. Now it's 3rd down and 16. A pass to T.O. was too high but nearly caught. Personally, T.O. should have caught that pass. Punt.

On the Rams second series, they ran the ball well. But the drive fizzled on another D-Ware tackle on a backside pursuit. Rams ran the ball on a 3rd and long, which made absolutely zero sense. Rams fans moan about the horrible playcalling, and that was one.

Cowboys third series was uneventful and an overturned T.O. catch on 3rd down killed the drive.

On the Rams third series, Anthony Henry sustained some sort of right leg injury. But the Rams go nowhere and punt.

Terence Newman makes a big mistake on the punt and leaves Dallas to start on its first yard line. Barber gets the ball and almost breaks it, and runs for 7 yards.

On the final play of the first quarter, Romo throws his third INT of the year. Rams run it back in deep into Dallas territory.

Score: 0-0

FIrst Quarter Notes 0-0 score: Henry injured? Romo thows third INT for season

"And he goes nowhere."
That was the case for Julius Jones and his two carries for the Cowboys' first series. Two rushes in a row for 1 yard. Pathetic. He's is not waiting for any blocks to develop and he's being tackled too easily.

On the Rams first offensive series, a 3rd down and 6 conversion reaped no reward after a D-Ware sack left the Rams with 3rd and 19. A punt returns the ball to Dallas.

On the Cowboys second series, T.O. got his first catch, after a bomb sailed out of bounds. Julius Jones gets another 2-yard run. On 2nd and 8, Romo is sacked on a blitz. Now it's 3rd down and 16. A pass to T.O. was too high but nearly caught. Personally, T.O. should have caught that pass. Punt.

On the Rams second series, they ran the ball well. But the drive fizzled on another D-Ware tackle on a backside pursuit. Rams ran the ball on a 3rd and long, which made absolutely zero sense. Rams fans moan about the horrible playcalling, and that was one.

Cowboys third series was uneventful and an overturned T.O. catch on 3rd down killed the drive.

On the Rams third series, Anthony Henry sustained some sort of right leg injury. But the Rams go nowhere and punt.

Terence Newman makes a big mistake on the punt and leaves Dallas to start on its first yard line. Barber gets the ball and almost breaks it, and runs for 7 yards.

On the final play of the first quarter, Romo throws his third INT of the year. Rams run it back in deep into Dallas territory.

Score: 0-0

Week 4 Predictions

Well, he we are in Week 4 of the NFL season. Here's my predictions:

Houston vs Atlanta
I am not sure why several people are picking Atlanta to win and several fantasy experts are telling me to sit Matt Schaub. Why? Atlanta is not good. They will win probably just three games this year. With that said, Houston is a much-improved team. They look good but one important factor in this improved season is the play of WR Andre Johnson, who has a bum shoulder. So, the game will be closer. Houston 14 Atlanta 10

Jets vs Buffalo
It's hard to believe the Bills are 0-3 after almost beating the Broncos in Week 1. It's the defense, which has just been bad for the Bills this year. Losing rookie linebacker Posluszny doesn't help. The Bills have won three of the last five against the J-J-Jets. But they won't win today. Expect Jets TE Chris Baker to get another TD, sending the fantasy freaks in a frenzy to grab him, and a win for the Jets 21 Buffalo 14.

Baltimore vs Cleveland
Baltimore is one of the worst 2-1 teams in the NFL. Their offense is crap and Steve McNair only has 1 touchdown. Meanwhile, every Cowboys fan on Earth is hoping the Cleveland Browns lose every single game left because we have their first round pick. So, to remain consistent, the Ravens are going to win this game, and let's hope McNair's leg doesn't fall off.
Baltimore 24 Cleveland 10

Chicago vs Detroit
I think the big Dallas win last week really hurt the Bears. Their defense is in shambles with all of the key injuries. But the quarterback change with Griese could spark a fire underneath this offense. Highly unlikely, but it could. Then there is Detroit, with magic man John Kitna, who sustained a concussion this year only to return in the final quarter to win the game. If Detroit wins, they stay a game behind the Packers. If they lose, they fall two games behind, as will the Bears. I think the Lions pull this out only because of the Bears injuries on defense. Detroit 28 Chicago 20

Oakland vs Miami
With Trent Green at the helm, not many figured Miami would be this bad. But they are. Oakland, however, looks slightly improved, but not great. So you would think this game is a toss up. It is. I say pick the team with the most rushing yards, and that would be the Raiders. Jordan has a 5.1 yards per carry with 350 yards so far this season. Ronnie Brown has 177 yards. Yuck.
Oakland 28 Miami 24

Green Bay vs Minnesota
Does Green Bay finally got a loss this week? The Packers don't seem to have much of a running game, so if the Vikings concentrate on Favre and the passing game, they very well may get crushed with the running game that the Packers don't seem to have. The Packers have won three of the last four games in Minnesota. Will they make it four? Well, I know Favre will break the all-time touchdown record. But he'll also throw a couple of interceptions. And the Vikings defense likes to score. In fact, I predict the Viking defense scores to win this game. Green Bay 24 Minnesota 27.

Tampa Bay vs Carolina
David Carr gets his first start for Carolina. Both teams are fighting for the division lead in what might be the worst division in the NFL. Both the Saints and Falcons stink. I suspect the Panthers will give the ball a lot to Deshaun Foster, who will increase his 5.2 yards per carry with a decent game. Sit Cadillac Williams; he won't get much. The running game will be key in this matchup, and the Panthers win it. Tampa Bay 17 Carolina 31

San Fran vs Seattle
San Fran has to win this game if they are going to do anything this year. The Seahawks have dominated this division for the past few years and it appears they could do it again if the 49ers don't pick it up. Frank Gore has been unspectacular this year, and Shaun Alexander has a bad wrist. It's hard to run and carry the football when your wrist is broken. But I still have a hard time picking the 49ers right now. Alex Smith is barely passing above .500 and Hasselback is solid. Seattle 24 San Fran 20

Pittsburgh vs Arizona
Pittsburgh has been a big surprise this year. Arizona has not. In comes old-timer Kurt Warner to see if he can better utilize what looks like on paper as an amazing corp of receivers for the Cardinals. Willie Parker is going to get the ball to slow this game down a bit. But the Steelers haven't gone 4-0 since 1979 and that's a long, long time ago. Steelers 41 Cardinals 21

Denver vs Indianapolis
If Denver is any good, you'd figure they'll have to beat the Colts. Are they any good? It's hard to say. But when you compare Jay Cutler to Peyton Manning you can't help but want to pick the Colts. Addai is looking solid again and yet Travis Henry has a 5 yard per carry stat right now. But the Colts still have Adam Vinatieri, a clutch kicker who won the game for the Colts last year. He'll do it again. Denver 34 Colts 37


Kansas City vs San Diego
San Diego will pick it up for this game and defeat one of the worst teams in football. LT needs to have a good, no a great, game this week. Maybe it will boost this team and catapult them to stardom again. It's hard to believe how bad the Chargers look right now. The Chiefs are hopeless.
Kansas City 17 San Diego 34

Giants vs Eagles
Was Donovan McNabb amazing last week or what? I think he found his groove after a season-ending injury last year. Meanwhile, the Giants have somehow been able to remain competitive, and they beat the Redskins last week. But the Giants have too many injuries this week, with Burress and backup RB Ward hurt. That's too much for the Giants to win. Eagles 35 Giants 14

New England vs Cincinnati
The Patriots got a breath of new life with the smart pick up of Randy Moss in the off season. He's performed like his Viking days. A majority of folks is picking the Patriots to win it all, but it is way too early. We know Cinci is not going to win anything. They just can't get a rushing attack going. New England has one. Just too many weapons. Patriots 38 Bengals 17

Cowboys vs Rams
Ahh, yes. Isaac Bruce guaranteed a win in this game. In three hours we'll find out what this guy is made of. Listen, the Rams won't win this game. Although their defense is ranked 7th in the league, that doesn't mean a whole lot when you look at whom they've played. The Cowboys offense is potent and the Rams haven't faced players like this yet. Then, on the Rams offense, QB Marc Bulger has two broken ribs and RB Steven Jackson is not playing with a bad groin. How in the world will the Rams win this game? Only if the Dallas secondary has a complete fall out. It won't.
Dallas 38 Rams 21

Rams Coach likes Witten. So do we.

Rams head coach Scott Linehan says here that Jason Witten is "one of the best weapons in football."

Jason Witten, a five-year veteran, is on his way to attaining career highs in all stats. He has 14 catches for 233 yards and 16.6 yards per catch, which is incredible.

Tony Romo and the Dallas offense has been able to use Witten miraculously well. We haven't had a tight end perform like this since Jay Novacek. I couldn't agree more with Linehan's assessment. Witten is a great weapon on the Dallas offense.

Here is a comparison of Novacek's and Witten's stats:

Witten

Career Stats					Receiving										Rushing							Fumbles
Season	Team	G			Rec	Yds	Y/G	Avg	Lng	YAC	1stD	TD			Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD			Fum	FumL
2003	Dallas	15			35	347	23.1	9.9	36	3.1	18	1			0	0	0.0	0.0	0			0	0
2004	Dallas	16			87	980	61.3	11.3	42	4.0	44	6			0	0	0.0	0.0	0			2	1
2005	Dallas	16			66	757	47.3	11.5	34	4.4	40	6			0	0	0.0	0.0	0			0	0
2006	Dallas	16			64	754	47.1	11.8	42	4.1	37	1			0	0	0.0	0.0	0			0	0
2007	Dallas	3			14	233	77.7	16.6	38	6.1	12	2			0	0	0.0	0.0	0			0	0
Career		66			266	3071	46.5	11.5	42	4.1	151	16			0	0	0.0	0.0	0			2	1

Novacek

Year  TM |   G |   Rec  Yards   Y/R   TD |
+----------+-----+-------------------------+
| 1985 stl |  16 |     1      4   4.0    0 |
| 1986 stl |   8 |     1      2   2.0    0 |
| 1987 stl |   7 |    20    254  12.7    3 |
| 1988 pho |  16 |    38    569  15.0    4 |
| 1989 pho |  16 |    23    225   9.8    1 |
| 1990 dal |  16 |    59    657  11.1    4 |
| 1991 dal |  16 |    59    664  11.3    4 |
| 1992 dal |  16 |    68    630   9.3    6 |
| 1993 dal |  16 |    44    445  10.1    1 |
| 1994 dal |  16 |    47    475  10.1    1 |
| 1995 dal |  15 |    62    705  11.4    5 |
+----------+-----+-------------------------+
|  TOTAL   | 158 |   422   4630  11.0   29 |

Witten's stats are much stronger than Novacek's. What made Novacek so great was how he always made catches in the clutch, and he was a great third-down receiver. Teams still double covered Irvin, and it allowed Novacek to find seams in the defense.

I just visited Witten's Myspace page. His song playing is by Terrell Owens. Yes, I said T.O. I didn't know he's a rapper. "And I've got to say WOW boy."