Week 13 Analysis: 11-1

Yeah, we beat the toughest competition in the NFC. Now there is no doubt we are the team to beat in the NFC. So why am I not that happy about it?

Because that was some of the sloppiest football we've played in awhile, possibly all season!

Unfortunately I couldn't watch it on TV (along with most of the nation) but I listened to it on the radio via internet. I did not like what I heard.

I know, a win is a win. I'm glad we got the win. But if we play like this in the playoffs, it won't be pretty.

Offense:
Romo went 19/30 with 309 yards, 4 TDs and an INT that was not in any way his fault (more on that later). The leading receiver was *surprise* the player. He caught 7 passes for 156 yards and 1 TD. Unfortunately, he did not have 2 TDs. But you see, Romo hit him right in the middle of his jersey in the corner of the end zone, but it rattled off of his hands/chest and into the hands of Al Harris. Romo did nothing wrong, practically bullseyed his number 81. That was a catchable ball but unfortunately the player couldn't pull it in.

If I had my way, I would change around the INT stat. I think there should be an INT to give to the QB when it is his fault. But I think they also need to create an INT stat category for receivers, when it is the receivers fault. Romo doesn't deserve that INT on his stat line. He should have had 5 TDs, not 4 TDs and 1 INT. Stupid the player.

Jason Witten had 6 for 67 yards, Crayton had 2 TDs on 3 catches, 42 yards. The other TD went to the other tight end, Anthony Fasono.

The rushing attack wasn't quite as balanced as we normally see. MB3 got significantly more carries than JuJo. MB3 had 81 yds on 17 attempts. Ju Jo only had 9 attempts and a measly 26 yards.

So, besides the player's dropped pass, what made this so sloppy? PENALTIES! During the end of the 2nd and beginning of the 3rd, there was a point where we weren't moving the ball at all. It's not that we weren't executing our plays, but that everything was being called back. Flozell Adams was a huge burden with all of his holding/false start performances. We even had a few penalties that were Romo's fault, as TWICE he took too long to snap the ball. IMO the delay of game penalty is among the most inexcusable penalties ever. Pathetic. I know I've said this before, penalties have been our kryptonite all season. We won't get to the super bowl playing sloppy football like we played last night. Dropped passes, stupid penalties, and a host number of other things we did that I don't have time to mention.

Defense:

Something wasn't right about us on the defensive side. There was kind of a "reversal of expectations". Favre (before he was hurt) played like I expect Rogers to play, Rogers played like I expect Favre to play. Seriously, what was wrong? Favre was horrible. He looked confused, made some very novice mistakes. Although these kind of games are more fun when both teams are full strength, it was probably a better game with Rogers playing.

Rogers had a strong game. He, along with all of the other teams that know how to score against Dallas, often threw it towards who ever Roy Williams is covering. How hard is it for Roy Williams to stick his hand in the air? It's always nice to have someone on your defense that lusts after contact, wanting to tackle somebody, but I wonder if someone has told Roy W. that it is better to not have to tackle the receiver? Good grief. Why don't we just put the player in at safety, since passes often bounce off of his hands.

Newman and Hamlin had an INT each. Demarcus ware had a sack. IMO, the Gameball goes to Greg Ellis, who had 2 sacks and penetrated his side of the line all night long.

Good win, but not great. We deserved to lose after that sloppy performance. We played better than this in our only loss of the season vs. the Pats. We'll need to correct a few things before January.

Detroit Lions next week...