Cowboys in Good Shape Within NFC East
[picappgallerysingle id="9752879"]The Cowboys may be 1-2 and currently in last place in the NFC East, but Sunday provided a heap of optimism for America’s Team. The Giants may have beaten the Bears, but the Eagles lost to the Redskins, moving all three of Dallas’ divisional foes to 2-2. The Cowboys gained confidence in that no other NFC East squad has proven it is the team to beat. Dallas has already lost once to Washington, but has yet to face Philadelphia or New York. With the Eagles losing Michael Vick on Sunday to a rib injury and the Redskins not able to move the ball effectively, the Cowboys’ five remaining divisional games all look very winnable. A long weekend off for an early bye has left the team healthy and refreshed. The Cowboys returned to practice on Monday with all 53 players taking at least some part in practice. A home game against a perplexed Titans team might be just what the doctor ordered.
Many sports writers and analysts consider the Cowboys extremely lucky still be in the divisional race after a 1-2 start. Anyone who thinks that about any team after three games shouldn’t be allowed to speak, but for some reason, they’re the ones making big bucks. There are 16 games in the regular season and last year was proof as any that it always goes down to the last game. Fortunately, the team hasn’t fallen into that unintelligent way of thinking. “I do think it’s a break to be 1-2 and still be in the hunt in what we all thought was going to be a strong division,” tight end Jason Witten said. The Cowboys realize that “luck” has nothing to do with it and winning their remaining games is what matters. “We didn’t start out the way we wanted to start out, but we still control our own destiny, and that’s all that matters,” linebacker Keith Brooking said.
[picappgallerysingle id="9550571"]Three of Dallas’ next four games are home games, including the Giants, Jaguars, and Titans this week. New York has been the definition of inconsistent, and Tennessee has no identity. Jacksonville is coming off a big win against Indy, but they won’t get saved by a 59-yard field goal again. The only road game is at Minnesota, but the Vikings don’t look anything like the team that blew out the Cowboys in the playoffs last January. The Cowboys have done well the past three seasons following the bye week, and they are poised to post another post-bye win streak this season. The main reason is the health of the team. Offensive linemen Kyle Kosier and Marc Colombo, receivers Dez Bryant Sam Hurd, and tight ends Martellus Bennett and Witten were all limited participants in practice on Monday, but no Cowboy was out completely.
Before the Cowboys’ first win at Houston, players like cornerback Mike Jenkins went on record saying the team wasn’t focused in practice. Brooking seems to think that problem is fixed. “I felt the carryover last week,” Brooking said. “We had a couple of practices that were better than any practice we had all year, and that was on our bye week. The focus was there, the attention to detail, guys were flying around.” Guys were indeed flying around in the Cowboys’ win over the Texans, and the Dallas defense ranks 8th in the league despite the 1-2 start. Running back Tashard Choice thinks the team plays better against the odds. He felt the Houston game was a turning point in the team’s mentality. “We have to have that ‘backs against the wall’ mentality; the world is against us,” Choice said. “From (team owner) Jerry (Jones) down to the last person on the scout team, we have to keep that mentality.”
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