95 UNTIL INFINITY

The Seattle Seahawks and the 12th Man will play host to the Dallas Cowboys this Sunday afternoon at Centurylink Field. This is Tony Romo’s 1st trip back to Seattle since his infamous botched snap in the 2006 NFC Wild Card round. Since that fateful afternoon in the Pacific Northwest, Romo has gone on to win only 1 career playoff. That’s not to say he hasn’t had a good career but when you play on possibly the most recognized pro sports team in America and haven’t had much postseason success many people will call his run as Cowboys QB a failure. Now in his 12th NFL season at age 34 he is looking to redeem himself in the eyes of Cowboys nation by leading them to their 1st Super Bowl trophy since 1995. This season started out very poorly for the Cowboys, in Week 1 they laid a gigantic egg in their home opener losing to the San Francisco 49ers 28-17. The score indicates a somewhat close game but at halftime it was 28-3. At this point the Cowboys season could have imploded but they showed determination and grit winning their next 4 games. Week 6 will show us if Dallas are contenders or pretenders when they play against the defending Super Bowl champions.

The Dallas Cowboys offense begins with DeMarco Murray. 2013 was his breakout season when he rushed 217 times for 1,121 yards and 9 TD’s, he also caught the ball 53 times for 350 yards and 1 TD. It’s safe to say he is a top 5 RB when healthy (he’s missed at least 2 games each season) due to his explosive athletic ability and the ferocity with which he runs with. The only flaw in his game is his fumbling problem. In every game this season except for one he has had a fumbled which resulted in the opposing team jumping on it. I don’t know what it is but he seems lackadaisical with his ball handling at least once a game. He’s the best RB by a good margin in the early stages of this season but his fumbleitis could come back to bite him and the Cowboys at some crucial moment.

Blocking for Murray is one of the youngest and most talented offensive line. Tyron Smith is the best Left Tackle in the NFL at age 23, his combination of size, strength and athleticism is unparalleled by any other offensive lineman in the league. For all the grief Jerry Jones takes as the Cowboys GM he has really invested in the O-Line taking Right Guard Zach Martin in 2014, Center Travis Frederick in 2013 and Left Tackle Tyron Smith in 2011. He could have gone after bigger, flashier names at the skill positions (QB, WR, RB) but he chose wisely and built this team’s offensive line first.

The running game has been the Cowboys biggest strength this season but let’s not forget how deadly their passing attack can be. This all starts with Tony Romo. After their 1st game against San Francisco I was certain this was his last season as Cowboys QB but he has battled back and actually played well. He has so many weapons at his disposal like Dez Bryant, Terrance Williams and Jason Witten which make his job easier but in reality DeMarco Murray is the biggest reason for Romo’s resurgence. Having teams worried about the running attack and bringing extra players to stop Murray helps Romo substantially, defenses focus on the RB which opens up the play-action passing game.

Their are only 2 things which could derail this season for the Cowboys, they are the defense and Tony Romo. Coming into this season many pundits thought the Dallas defense was going to be the worst in the NFL but they have actually been decent. Losing DeMarcus Ware has hurt their pass rushing ability because they have only had 5 total sacks this season. Their secondary has actually forced 6 interceptions even with the lack of a consistent pass rush but I don’t think they will be able to keep up this pace for 16 games. Tony Romo can only defeat himself, he’s not a bad QB but he has a tendency to make terrible decisions at critical moments. As long as he can rely on the running game to take some pressure off him then he shouldn’t be forced into making tough passes late in games. If both of these weakness hold up then the Cowboys should be fine and make the playoffs.

This week in Seattle the Cowboys face their toughest challenge yet. DeMarco Murray and their very talented offensive line must take on the Seahawks top ranked rush defense. Their defense led by Bobby Wagner, Brandon Mebane, and Kam Chancellor has held opposing teams to an astonishing 62.3 yards per game. This game will have one major breaking point. Will the Cowboys and Murray be able to run the ball or will the Seahawks and Wagner be able to stop the run. In my opinion Seattle will end up being victorious but both teams will meet down the road in the playoffs.