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Old 09-18-2008, 02:26 PM   #1
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Default Dallas Cowboys @ Green Bay Packers (9/21/08, 7:15PM CST) - Game 3

Dallas Cowboys @ Green Bay Packers

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Originally Posted by Info
TV: NBC
Time: 7:15PM CST
Line: Dallas by 3
(STATS LLC) -- When the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys met in a much-hyped prime-time matchup last season, Aaron Rodgers wasn't expected to play, but he turned in a strong performance in defeat after an injured Brett Favre left the game.

Following Favre's departure from the Packers, Rodgers has been even better.

The first-year starter will look to build on his best game as a pro when the Cowboys and Packers try to continue their unbeaten starts Sunday night, with Dallas seeking its first win at Lambeau Field.

Both teams were 10-1 when they met at Texas Stadium on Nov. 29, and the Cowboys seized control in the race for home-field advantage in the playoffs with a 37-27 win.

That Thursday night game, though, was also memorable for the performance of Rodgers, who entered with the Packers trailing 27-10 after Favre suffered an injury to his throwing elbow. Rodgers went 18-of-26 for 201 yards and a touchdown without an interception as he helped keep Green Bay close.

Rodgers' poise in that high-pressure game may have made it easier for the Packers (2-0) to stick with him as the starter this summer when Favre announced plans to end a brief retirement. Green Bay traded the future Hall of Famer to the New York Jets, and Rodgers has made the decision look like the right one.

After an efficient performance against Minnesota in the Packers' opener, he threw for 328 yards and three touchdowns in a 48-25 win at Detroit on Sunday.

He's completed 70 percent of his throws and doesn't have an interception, connecting with receiver Greg Jennings for 258 of his passing yards.

"I think the summer only made our character stronger," Rodgers said.

Rodgers' performance last week helped Green Bay overcome an ineffective game by top running back Ryan Grant, who had 20 yards on 15 carries as he struggled with a hamstring injury.

"He's making good decisions and he's being accurate with the football," Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy said. "He hasn't taken many chances, and that's all part of good quarterback play. He needs to continue to do that."

The Packers actually trailed the Lions 25-24 in the fourth quarter, but they took the lead on a field goal and scored three touchdowns in the final four minutes, including two interception returns for scores. Green Bay totaled five sacks, including two by linebacker A.J. Hawk and 1 1/2 by defensive end Aaron Kampman.

Cornerback Charles Woodson had two interceptions, including one of the returns for a TD, despite playing with a broken toe that has been hampering the four-time Pro Bowler.

A different toe injury kept Woodson out of last year's game against the Cowboys, when Dallas' Tony Romo threw for 309 yards and four touchdowns, but McCarthy said he expects Woodson to be active -- and important -- Sunday.

"The way we defend on our defense, he's a big part of our game plan," the coach said. "... Having him this year will definitely be to our advantage because of the experience that he brings and the ability to make big plays."

Green Bay will likely need its defense at full strength against the Cowboys (2-0), as Romo has thrown for 632 yards and four scores in two games. Dallas earned a 28-10 victory at Cleveland in Week 1 and won a shootout with Philadelphia 41-37 on Monday night.

Romo lost a fumble in the end zone and threw an interception, and Dallas trailed 37-34 midway through the fourth quarter against the Eagles. He recovered to throw a 32-yard pass to Jason Witten that set up Marion Barber's go-ahead touchdown run with under five minutes to play.

"We know that no game is going to be perfect," said receiver Terrell Owens, whose two touchdown catches moved him into second place all-time behind Jerry Rice in that category.

"There's going to be interceptions, fumbles, missed assignments by everyone," Owens said. "But as a team, we came to play tonight. Offensively, defensively, I think everyone stepped up when they needed to."

Sunday's game may have extra meaning for Romo, who grew up in Burlington, Wis., and will make his first start in his home state. It remains to be seen, though, how much meaning the contest will have down the line.

Last year's late-season showdown gave Dallas a clear path to the NFC's top seed, as both teams finished 13-3 and earned first-round byes in the playoffs. Both clubs also lost at home to the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants in the postseason.

Now, Dallas and Green Bay will be looking for an early edge in this year's race, and the Cowboys will have to win for the first time at Lambeau to get it.

The Cowboys have beaten the Packers three times in Milwaukee, but they're 0-5 in Green Bay. They lost 41-20 at Lambeau in 2004 in the most recent meeting there, and each of the five losses have come by at least 18 points -- except for the 21-17 defeat in the "Ice Bowl" NFL championship game in 1967.

Green Bay has won 10 of its last 11 at home in the regular season, while the Cowboys have lost just one of their last 12 road contests.

The Cowboys will be without a starting member of their secondary Sunday, as safety Roy Williams is expected to miss at least three games due to a fractured right forearm.
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Old 09-18-2008, 02:55 PM   #2
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Old 09-20-2008, 09:09 PM   #3
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Just Let The Offense Do The Talking

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IRVING, Texas - This is a hard one to figure, this Cowboys-Packers at Lambeau.

Just consider:

The Cowboys played Monday night, meaning they were having their first practice of the week in pads out here on Thursday when it should have been their second.

This should have been their fourth day removed from the previous game, not just the third, sort of messing with their football clocks.

The Cowboys are coming off the emotional high of beating one of their fiercest division rivals, and on national cable television, drawing the biggest cable audience in the history of box or dish TV, with everyone acting as if they won a playoff game Monday night at Texas Stadium instead of just the Eagles.

They will be without two starters at least, safety Roy Williams suffering a fractured right forearm and fullback Deon Anderson having his knee scoped to remove a piece of lateral meniscus that was partially attached.

They have to travel to Green Bay on a short week.

They have to play an equally 2-0 team, and one who matched them at 13-3 last year for the best record in the NFC.

And . . . and . . . as if that were not all enough, they have to play the Packers at Lambeau Field, where they have never ever won a football game.

The darn stars just don't seem to be aligned for the 7:15 p.m. (CDT) game being televised nationally on NBC, the Cowboys somehow needing to figure out how to ratchet it up to face another playoff-caliber team in what promises to be yet another playoff-caliber atmosphere since the majority of the 71,000 in attendance will be getting their tailgate on right after Sunday's gospel.

How in the world can they win this one - escape this perfect storm brewing just west of Lake Michigan?

Let me tell you . . . one word.

Offense.

See, here is what is being clouded by worries over too many penalties and worries over giving up 37 points to the Eagles and worries over failing to adequately cover DeSean Jackson on that one pass and worries over injuries and worries over what in the world will the Cowboys do with Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who in two games seems to have the NFL world in the palm of his hand:

In two games, and one on the road, the Cowboys have scored 69 points - that's a 34.5 average. They are the NFL's second-ranked offense to only Denver and third-ranked passing offense to only Philadelphia and Denver.

And this is no fly-by-night bunch. This is a repeat of last year when the Cowboys averaged 28.4 points a game and only failed to score at least 24 points three times during the regular season, losing two of those but one when the starters only played a half in the final game of the season. This is the same bunch from last year to score the second-most points in franchise history, to gain the most passing yards in franchise history, to total the most touchdown passes in franchise history - and on and on and on.

This offense is damn good, and don't you forget it. And to think four of those guys were starting their first full season with the Cowboys last year and three more just their second.

You think they can even be better this season?

"Yeah, because of their offensive line," said John Madden, NBC analyst for Sunday night's game. "That to me is where it all starts. That is a very physical and impressive group. And we know you can't be a great offense and one dimensional. That line can block with power and I talked earlier about Jason Witten, and Marion Barber, he runs like he is upset all the time. You know, he's going to finish off things.

"So you start off with that part of it, the physicalness of the offensive line and the toughness of the running, and then you kind of soften them up, you got Tony Romo throwing the ball to T.O. and Patrick Crayton, and all those guys, so it has all those parts, and it's kind of their second year together and they are just kind of getting a feel for each other where they have a lot of confidence.


"Again, we can talk about all the passing and receiving, but where I think they have a real advantage is with their offensive line and their running game."

That's not me. That's John.

Remember, last year the Cowboys offense was the eraser when healthy, rubbing out any problem this team might have had, from throwing five interceptions in one game to sleepwalking through the first half in Detroit - or already this year, when gift-bagging two touchdowns for the Eagles in like a minute.

And here is a news bulletin for the Cheeseheads, who probably are feeling really good about the Packers' chances come Sunday since the game is at The House Curly Built, where they have never seen the beloved Pack lose to the Cowboys:

This is the best offense the Cowboys have brought to Lambeau Field. Ever.

Sacrilegious?

Let me tell you, I've seen four of the five games the Cowboys have played at Lambeau, and was there in person for three of them. Yeah, you're right, I wasn't there for the first one, Nov. 13, 1960, when the Cowboys were clobbered during their inaugural season, 41-7. But come on, they went 0-11-1 that season, averaging just 14.7 points a season, like half as much as they have averaged over their past 18 games (29.1).

The 1-15 version of the Cowboys to lose up there, 31-13, on Oct. 8, 1989, barely scored more that season playing four more games (204) than the '60 bunch and put up the lowest average in club history (12.7) no matter how many games were played in a season.

In the Nov. 23, 1997, loss up there to the Packers, 45-17, the one Cowboys safety Darren Woodson would say of afterwards, "They came out and flat kicked our ass," the Cowboys offense was becoming fractured, and really was permanently put in the deep freeze by the 13-below wind chill that late afternoon. They would average just 19 points in '97, Emmitt rushing for his fewest yards (1,074) in seven seasons and Troy Aikman's QB rating (78.0) his lowest during a nine-year stretch. In fact, the Cowboys would not win another game that year (6-10), their first losing season since 1990, costing head coach Barry Switzer his job.

"This team is much better than the team we took to Green Bay," former Cowboys special teams coach Joe Avezzano said without hesitation. "Much better."

And 2004? Please. You remember that mess, the Cowboys having to rely on cajillion-year-old Vinny Testaverde to start that year after cutting Quincy Carter early in training camp? They averaged only 18.3 points a game, with Vinny finishing with more interceptions (20) than touchdown passes (17) and a QB rating of 76.4

Yuck, yuck, yuck and yuck.

Now we can argue about the Ice Bowl, the only time the Cowboys have gone up there - so far - with a worthy team and a capable offense. Why, the Cowboys averaged 24.5 points a game that 1967 season. Six times they scored at least 24 points going 9-5, and even put up 52 in the Eastern Conference Championship game to advance to the NFL Championship.

Too bad Lambeau on New Year's Eve was frozen solid by the 13-below temperatures and the overnight snowstorm. Too bad the underground heaters didn't work (we think). Too bad more guys than naught suffered frostbite. Because neither team's offense had a snowball's chance in Hattie to function, especially the boys from down South.

But you know, even at that, Cowboys quarterback Don Meredith only put up a 68.6 QB rating in 1967, throwing as many touchdown passes (16) as times he was intercepted (16), which went for backup Craig Morton (10 and 10), too. So you know, good but not great.

If form holds, the Cowboys should continue to score a bundle come Sunday night. Let's remember, for all the talk of what Rodgers did last year at Texas Stadium in the second half, the Cowboys did score 37 points against the Packers. And for all the talk about the Cowboys giving up 37 points to the Eagles Monday night, they did score 41 points themselves.

So yeah, the Cowboys have never won a game at Lambeau, but they have never gone up there with a team as good as this one and certainly never with an offense as electrifying as this one.

"Wade always said to us, 'If we play our best football, we are talented enough to win,'" said tight end Jason Witten. "The best trait on offense is to take what the defense gives you, and one of the best things our offense does is change by the way the game is going."

You don't want the Cowboys to run, they'll pass. You don't want the Cowboys to throw to Terrell Owens, they'll throw to Jason Witten. You don't want the Cowboys to throw to Witten, they'll throw to Crayton. You want to start doubling Owens and Witten, they'll run past your man coverage with either Miles Austin or Isaiah Stanback.

And to think, rookie Felix Jones has barely been fit into the offensive equation.

Said Cowboys defensive line coach Todd Grantham, the one-time Cleveland defensive coordinator who is glad he didn't have that season-opening headache this year, "They are not one-dimensional."

By no means, so this will be the first time since Dec. 31, 1967, the Packers and their fans should feel threatened by the Cowboys' presence at Lambeau. And unlike that game played on the frozen tundra, the temperatures promise to be in the low 60's Sunday at game time.

Look, this Cowboys team does not figure to be a winless team or a one-win team or one with a losing record, which has a way of making the presumed mystique the Packers have held over the Cowboys at Lambeau far less mystic.

As for the mental and emotional part come Sunday night, I'm no psychologist, but I do know the Cowboys reeled off seven consecutive wins at one point last year, and had won 12 of 13 before throwing down that clunker against the Eagles, losing 10-6. And, at one point they did beat Philadelphia, the Giants and Washington - the first two on the road - all in a row. So they have a history of being consistent, no matter if they are playing Sunday afternoon, Sunday night, Monday night, Thursday afternoon, Thursday night or Saturday night.

And while much has been made of how the Giants were such road warriors last year, did you realize the Cowboys had won seven straight on the road until throwing down the half-hearted, sub-laden performance at Washington in the final, meaningless game of the season? That means going back to the 2006 season, and including this year's season opener, the Cowboys have won 11 of their last 12 regular-season road games.

So hey, maybe this Lambeau storm the Cowboys are fixn' to run into isn't as perfect as you think.
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Old 09-22-2008, 12:30 AM   #4
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Old 09-22-2008, 08:07 AM   #5
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