April 22, 2008 at 7:36 pm · Filed under Dallas Mavericks
On the bright side, the Mavericks didn’t give up 100 points over 3 quarters. Only 99. Down 20 — it’s time to get ready for game 3. It’ll be at home for the Mavericks — they’re going to need to take the momentum back. Which they can do. It’s been done before.
Remember the 2006 NBA Finals? Miami was embarrassed and down 2-0 after Maverick dominance. And we know how that ended. Maybe they’ve learned that lesson.
And in the ultimate kick to the crotch, TNT has decided to leave the Mavericks/New Orleans game and go to the Toronto/Orlando game. Mavericks coverage dropped for Eastern Conference. My brain is going to explode.
11:00: Mavs within 16. Bass still playing well. This one isn’t over, maybe? Maybe I despaired too soon?
10:33: Shot clock violation. Mavericks finally playing some defense. Maybe TXA21 is good luck… 7-0 run. But turnover Mavs. Mavs losing turnover battle 13-7.
9:36: Mavs stay within 16 when Terry cuts to the lane, assist Dirk. What would happen if Josh Howard cut to the basket sometimes? Just curious.
8:43: Stack picks up a charge trying to find position on offense. You can clearly read his lips after the play, talking to the ref — “Don’t fall for that shit, man. He flopped. Don’t fall for that shit.”
6:36: Once again… Dampier doubles on CP3, Chandler goes in for easy lob. I’m so tired of that play.
6:29: Paul picks up 5th foul. But it might be too little, too late — Mavs down 19. And Dampier went ahead and missed a wide open layup. THROW IT DOWN, BIG MAN!
5:52: Dampier was someone one on one with CP3 at the top of the key. That’s just bad defense scheming. Plain and simple. Believe it or not, they scored on the possession.
5:20: Howard gets rebound, the first thing he’s done in the second half more or less. Kidd hits jumper after. Mavs down 112-94.
4:56: Once again, Dampier one on one with Chris Paul. FOR THE LOVE OF PETE. HOW CAN THAT HAPPEN EVER, LET ALONE TWICE IN A ROW? Paul gets an and one. Of course. Yes, Kidd was screened off. But then he and Dampier switched. YOU CAN’T MAKE THAT SWITCH! That left Kidd on Chandler. So Dirk had to help there. Then Kidd just kind of stood there and watched as Dampier got destroyed by Paul one on one. What are you doing, Kidd? I thought you were supposed to have a giant basketball IQ? How do you not go back and help Dampier, there, so he can switch back to his man? How do you just stand there and watch? WHERE IS THE BASKETBALL IQ WE KEEP HEARING ABOUT? Unreal. Mavs down 115-94.
Pick and roll defense. Basketball 101. Figure it out.
3:42: The wheels have come flying off again. Mavs down 25. New Orleans fans going absolutely apeshit.
3:25: Mavericks have waved the white flag — the starters are all out, and it’s officially trash time.
Mavs lose, 127-103.
If the Mavericks want a shot in game 3, they have to figure out how to defend the pick and roll. That’s what it comes down to. 103 points is enough to win — they need to pull that off, now.
April 22, 2008 at 7:01 pm · Filed under Site News / Other
The game isn’t over. The Mavericks can make up 16 points. But they have to knock down their open shots (I’m talking to you, here, Stack), cut down on turnovers and bad shots (talking to you, Howard), and play defense for real (I’m talking to everyone, here).
Charles Barkley at halftime says what I agree with — the idea to doubleteam is good. The execution is terrible. They’re bad doubleteams. Kenny Smith says a good point guard will keep his dribble alive. Charles disagrees, and says a good doubleteam will force the PG to pick up the dribble. And I agree with Charles. The execution of the doubleteam is bad. Kenny Smith advocates a show and go. I’m OK with trying that, too. But the current half-assed doubleteam is not working. At all.
On another note, every single House of Payne commercial convinces me to not ever watch that show.
Mavericks shooting 47%. That will get it done most of the time. But not when your opponent is shooting 62%.
11:34: Avery in the locker room told the Mavericks to score 10 points in the paint coming out of the half. Howard went to the lane hard and missed, but got his board and gave it to Dirk for a short jumper. Solidly done.
11:17: Avery taking my advice, and putting Howard on Paul. Howard lost the matchup but whacked him on the head. Punish him for going to the lane.
10:29: Paul drives the lane and scores without getting touched. Unacceptable. But Dirk goes the other way, drives the lane, and hook shots in an and one.
9:28: Mavs going to the paint hard. Dirk again, gets 2 shots. And Damp sent an elbow David West’s way. Atta boy. Double Ts for West and Damp. Keep up the good work, Damp.
9:06: Howard on Paul, Paul gets an and one. But I’ll take it — I like that better than Damp on him. This at least has a chance of success.
8:06: Devean George making his first appearance. I like Avery trying something different. But Peja hits back to back 3s (after George misses his). Mavs down 22. Sigh.
7:27: Kidd posts up Paul and finds George for the dunk. I ike it.
7:00: Dirk with 21, Howard with 10. Guess who isn’t showing up in the 2nd half. Forget 2nd half, he disappeared in the 2nd quarter.
6:15: Mavericks rotating a step slow. The defense on Paul is better but now Peja and Petersen are blasting the Mavs from long range. Mavs still down 22. But Chandler has 5 fouls now.
5:25: Bass blasts in for a dunk. Keep attacking the paint!
4:50: Mavs get a steal but George doesn’t lead the break well. Mavs playing better defense, the shots are contested now, but still going in for New Orleans.
3:50: Dirk misses Bass going to the basket. Paul picking up fouls now that Kidd is posting up. He has 3, all in this quarter. But Mavs down 24. They’re playing better, but the lead is only growing for New Orleans. The Mavericks aren’t doing the little things — finishing on breaks, hitting free throws, closing out on shooters.
2:31: Bass on an and one — his offense is on now. His defensive rotations aren’t great, but he’s playing with energy and emotion. I’ll take it Mavs cutting into the lead now — within 18.
1:44: That didn’t last. Hornets back up 23.
1:08: Geroge’s shot selection tonight can only be described as “WTF.” Mavs down 25.
Going to the fourth. Mavs only down 20 now, 99-79.
April 22, 2008 at 6:13 pm · Filed under Site News / Other
I’m having flashbacks to the Don Nelson defense days. Except I think those were better. The Mavericks just look confused.
12:00: Paul starts the quarter on the bench. The Mavericks need to make up about 15 points while he’s out. They’re down 10, but a 5 point cushion would be nice. 39 points for the Hornets in the first quarter. WTF. WTF, man. But, Avery looked calm in the interview between quarters. It’s a long game, they can bounce back.
11:10: Of course, the Mavs backups are in too. Stackhouse starts with an airball, which Howard almost matches in an off-balance fading-left shot. Sigh.
9:29: Next two Mavericks possessions: a Howard airball at the shot clock buzzer, then a Jason Terry turnover. Kidd quickly comes back in.
9:08: HOWARD SLICES TO THE LANE! YES! He misses the layup but Bass cleans up. DO THAT MORE, HOWARD! Mavs within 42-31!
8:13: New Orleans has only one shot made since Paul went out. But the Mavericks aren’t taking advantage.
7:21: Turnovers are BAD. Stack tries to make an impossible behind the shoulder pass, which goes straight to Bonzi Wells, and leads to a Peja 3. Mavs down 45-33.
6:25: Mavericks get a Kidd steal but turn the ball over right away when Terry fumbles the pass away. And Paul is back. Paul was on the bench for 6 minutes, and the Mavericks went from down 10 to down 11. Not good.
5:22: Damp is doubling again at the three point line. Leaving Dirk to defend both Wells and Chandler down low. Paul takes his pick of who to go to. I just don’t understand.
4:21: Paul misses a shot (his first miss) but finds Pargo for a nifty pass and layup the next time down. Oh, well.
3:09: Terry 3 brings the Mavs back within 9, 54-45.
2:53: Paul misses a 3 — two misses in a row! Maybe he is human?
2:24: Another Mavericks turnover leads to an easy Peja 3. Kidd telegraphed the pass to Howard in the post and Paul just took it away.
2:20: Great stat from TNT. Chris Paul vs. Dallas, with Devin Harris: 21ppg, 49%, 6.3ast, 2.3stl. Without him: 24ppg, 59%, 9ast, 3.8stl. Wow.
1:05: Paul with a double-double in the first half.
54.8: Bass drives to the rack. Good play. Mavs down 12.
Stack misses another wide open 3, so the Mavs go into the locker room for the half down 16. 12 points, 10 assists, 0 turnovers for Paul in the first half. Outside of Dirk/David West, the Mavericks are losing their matchups at every position.
To quote John Vera: “This is why we’re the 7th seed.”
I worry.
April 22, 2008 at 5:35 pm · Filed under Site News / Other
Game 2. TNT. Mavs could use a win here on the road — and the way to that is through Chris Paul. Get rough with him — put him on his ass. Make David West regret the Dirk face-touch incident. And the way to make West regret it is through Chris Paul.
11:45: Tyson Chandler needs to get boxed out. He taps in a way-off shot from Peja Stojakovic. He has to get fewer offensive boards.
11:00: Josh Howard starts out hot. He needs to stay hot into the second half, as he often does not.
9:25: Erick Dampier is on the trap with Kidd on Paul. No, no, no! Dampier is too slow to be that far away from the basket! Use Howard on the double-trap!
7:50: Ball goes to Stackhouse in the corner after great ball movement, but Stackhouse bricks the shot. Stackhouse has to step up this game, he didn’t get it done in game 1.
7:31: Timeout Dallas after Paul abuses the Mavericks on the pick and roll for the 495th time this series. This time, the Mavericks doubled him with Kidd and Dirk. Avery! The centers are TOO SLOW to be on the perimeter on defense! You have to double with quicker players like Howard — he still has length to smother while being quicker than Dampier or Dirk. He’s not quick enough to guard him one on one (no one on the Mavericks roster is) but they can double.
6:04: Stackhouse hits a 17 footer! He needs to keep sticking that shot.
5:45: Mavs double on the post and get the turnover — pull within 16-13 after Dirk dunk on the break. New Orleans is booing Dirk every time he touches the ball. Hey, it’s not like he slapped West!
4:50: Terry with a little full court press on Paul. Make him work for everything. And Bass doubling. Bass has to stay home on the bigs — if you’re going to double you have to double with the 2 or the 3!
4:02: West hits after Paul draws the defense. This is getting repetitive. Tough times. The Mavericks need to figure this out.
3:25: I changed my mind about Bass doubling — he doubled and then Paul just lobbed it to Chandler. Bass needs to stay home — make Peja beat us, or Peterson. Chandler’s man cannot double! It has to be Howard at the 3 or Stackhouse/Jones/George at the 2! This defense is worse than in the Nellie days. I have a headache.
2:49: Better idea — let Kidd or Terry guard him one on one, and when he gets by, just punish him in the lane. I don’t care if Dampier and Bass both foul out in the 2nd quarter.
1:38: Wide open 3 for Petersen, who doesn’t hit but still. The defensive rotation is non-existent. They look confused out there. My head hurts.
0:57: Paul has 8 assists and West is 6-9 shooting. Wow. 34-26 New Orleans.
0:9: Even Pargo is hitting his threes. But Stackhouse matches. Huge Stack shot — he needs to stay hot.
0:0.8: Once again, no one really guards Paul at the end of the quarter, and he scores at the buzzer. How can you just lose track of him? I don’t understand. My head hurts. Mavs down 39-29.
April 19, 2008 at 7:46 pm · Filed under Site News / Other
Mavs start the quarter down 76-72 — Kidd’s buzzer beater did not count.
9:22: Dirk goes out for a rest, Chris Paul takes over. He’s officially schooling Jason Kidd now, doing what he wants on the pick and roll. Timeout Mavericks, they’re down 6.
8:22: George is on Chris Paul now, Kidd failing. Chandler rebounding well, gets putback - Mavericks down 8. Dirk back in, Kidd resting.
7:45: Wells bails out Howard, dribbling aimlessly near the 3pt line with the shotclock winding down. Kidd and Dampier back in the game. Wells gets 5th foul. Howard drives and misses. Mavericks officially struggling on offense.
7:01: Terry misses 3, Dirk gets offensive board but appears to be fouled with no-call. Paul drives the other way, finds West for a layup and one. 86-74 Hornets.
6:38: Stackhouse hits his first shot of the game, Mavs within 10. Mavericks offense in the first half was being fueled by getting to the rim and shooting free throws. The fouls aren’t getting called now, Mavericks offense has fallen apart. The free throws that were keeping them in have dried up.
5:45 Avery finally takes my suggestion and traps Chris Paul to get the ball out of his hands. The possession results in no points for New Orleans but Stackhouse gets an offensive foul for a moving screen the other way.
ESPN points out Paul has only one turnover. That’s huge.
5:25: Paul up to 31 points as he just runs around screens and knocks down an open jumper.
5:05: Dirk takes hard foul on Paul after a missed jumper, frustration. Paul thinks about bowing up then remembers he’s 6′0 and Dirk is 7′0.
4:45: Paul finally misses a shot but Chandler gets another rebound. Peja then hits a 3. Mavs down 15.
4:09: Kidd shoots three — hits the backboard, no rim. Paul finds Pargo for wide open three, misses, Dirk rebound (giving him a double-double). Stackhouse fouled on the break the other way, comes up sore. Hits both free throws, makes it 91-78.
3:37: Lisa Salters on ESPN reports Avery wants the team to drive the ball, not settle for jumpers. Good idea.
3:18: Paul schools Kidd/Dampier, then shoots acrobatic shot over Dirk for 93-78.
3:11: Stackhouse fouled by Paul and shoots free throws, while the crowd chants “MVP.” I don’t think they’re referring to Stackhouse. But his free throwns keep the game at 13.
2:49: Pargo gets into the act and schools Terry on the perimeter, forcing Dirk to foul him in the lane.
2:38: Turico points out Howard has 2 points in the second half. That hurts. Kidd drives the lane, does a fancy behind the back show and go but misses the layup for and one. He hits 1-2 free throws, Mavericks get the rebound, Terry misses quick three, loose ball foul Mavericks on the rebound. Another frustration foul by Dirk.
Hubie Brown points out Avery should have been trapping more, and has let Paul do what he wanted. Sounds like he’s putting this one on Avery.
2:17: Kidd hits wide open 3, makes it 96-84.
2:03: NOW the Mavericks are trapping, and get the stop. Foul New Orleans on West, who bows up Nowitzki, puts a finger in his face and taps him on the face. Where is the tech on West for tapping Dirk in the face? The refs saw it and quickly stepped in before Dirk retailiated. Replays show West was reacting to Dirk hitting him in the face while both West and Dirk were flailing arms fighting for position. Double tech on Dirk and West — what did Dirk do? He hits both free throws for the regular foul. Brings the Mavs to 96-86.
1:37: Mavs foul Paul, who hits both. Down 98-86. Mavericks turnover. Mavs trap Paul, who rotates the ball, finds Peja, who hits three. 101-86. This one is over.
1:17: Avery throws in the towel and puts in Lue, Juwan Howard, and George.
0:00: Terry and Stackhouse hit some trash time threes, making the final score 104-92.
I’m putting this one on Avery — the offense turned into high screen pick and pops, and the defensive scheme didn’t put enough pressure on Chris Paul, who scorched them in the second half. And I have to question him taking out Dirk and Kidd when the Hornets were gaining momentum — it’s the playoffs, unless they were totally winded they needed to play through until the game had settled down.
On to game 2.
April 19, 2008 at 7:07 pm · Filed under Site News / Other
10:28: Hubie Brown reports Howard did not step on Peja’s foot, turning his ankle. He says this while the camera shows Howard stepping on Peja’s foot, turning his ankle. Howard relaced his kicks and went to the free-throw line to knock down his freebies.
10:08: Howard’s jump shot is struggling (he’s 4-11 now, but 8-9 from the line for 17 points) and Chris Paul is getting more aggressive and is getting past Kidd. Hornets close the lead from 12 to 6. Quick timeout Mavericks. This aggressive Chris Paul worries me a lot more than the distributing Chris Paul we saw in the first half. I wonder how Avery is going to adjust — maybe a half-court trap?
8:12: Stackhouse isn’t shooting well but he’s rebounding and passing. Good pass to Dirk after a failed alley-oop. He misses his next shot to go 0-6.
5:50: Mavs beating the Hornets at the line. Mavs are 21-25 from the line, hornets 4-9. It’s making up for the Mavericks not shooting that well — Dirk 7-15, Howard 4-12, but both are 8 for 9 from the line.
5:25: Chandler gets right up in Dirk’s armpit (great shot of that from ESPN) then takes a cheap shot after the foul. Dick Bavetta jumps in, calls a T on Chandler (after Dirk does some acting to make sure the refs saw it).
4:20: Hornets surgeting. Dallas up 65-60 but all the momentum is on the Hornet’s side. Stackhouse still missing all his shots.
3:48: Chris Paul gets rebound goes coast to coast and puts in an acrobatic layup for an and one. The crowd has been relaxed most of the way but they’re into it now. 65-63 Mavericks. Hornets on 7-0 run.
Timeout Mavericks after a posession that doesn’t get them a good shot. The next few minute stretch could determine this game — the Hornets are on the move and are the aggressors right now. The Mavericks will have to regain their stance as the aggressor if they want to hold on to their 3 point lead. The Hornets are getting physical with Dirk and Chris Paul is running the show again. The Hornets have all the momentum.
2:19: Defensive 3 in the lane and a Wells jumper bring the Hornets even.
1:59: Terrible Mavericks turnover off a sloppy pass and Paul layup puts the Mavericks down 2.
1:25: Hornets up 4 now. They’re on a 17-3 run.
0:0: Kidd hits shot at the buzzer but it might be after the buzzer. Awfully close, but Kidd’s reaction leads to believe it was after.
April 19, 2008 at 6:13 pm · Filed under Site News / Other
Mavericks open the second quarter with Dirk and Kidd getting a rest. If the Mavericks can maintain the current lead while the second team is on, they would be doing well.
10:45: Mavericks playing great defense, but the offense is sputtering a little with Dirk and Kidd out. Eddie Jones just travelled in the backcourt. Not good.
9:25: Thunderous Bass dunk — drives the lane, no one picks him up and he highlight reels it. Mavs up 30-22. Dirk and Kidd getting a good rest and the lead is still 8.
8:24: Hornets score 5 in a row and brings the game to within 3 after a Peja 3. Mavs take timeout — and I’m certain we’ll see Dirk and Kidd back in after the break. Leads disappear fast in the NBA, have people said that before?
8:03: Dirk back in, as expected, but not Kidd. Bass hits tough turnaround jumper.
Snacking update: My mouth is healed and I’m eating more chips, but now I’m out of bean dip.
7:35: Bass still in attack mode, drives the lane and collects the foul. Bass playing very well — we haven’t seen Dampier since the middle of the first quarter, and they’re doing OK.
7:05: What a defensive series — Dirk blocks Wells in the lane, Terry blocks Pargo at the 3 point line, saves it in to George, who passes it upcourt where Peja fouls Stackhouse. Peja immediately collects another foul and is at 3. Scott leaves him in — risky.
Rangers update: Rangers tied 2-2 vs. Boston. It’s always tough to switch channels between playoff basketball and baseball. Basketball has the hectic, up and down pace and intensity overflowing. Whereas baseball is just a nice relaxing time in the park with a hotdog. Even the Boston crowd is very subdued compared to the New Orleans crowd.
5:31: ESPN just flashed up a stat that the Mavericks are 0-7 shooting threes. Luckily, the Hornets are only 2-11. Mavericks still up 8, 38-30.
2:40: Kidd double-teaming all over the court. He’s extremely active on defense and doing a spectacular job.
1:29: Ryan Bowen fouls Josh Howard. Bowen looks like he should be my accountant, not guarding Josh Howard in the NBA playoffs. But, I said that against Houston in the playoffs three years ago, and he did a great job defending Dirk. So, looks are deceiving?
0:1.4: Great rebound from Kidd leads to a three from Josh Howard, who had been shooting cold. Paul is warming up, but the Mavericks go into the half ahead 52-40.
April 19, 2008 at 5:38 pm · Filed under Dallas Mavericks
For the first time in quite a while, the Mavericks come into a series as a lower seed. Which I think is what they need right now. I think they’re going to be loose and aggressive.
My call? Mavs in 6. Too much inexperience for New Orleans, and the Mavericks are ramping up and peaking late rather than early. Of course, this all hinges on Dirk’s ankle holding up.
We’re watching the game on ESPN, with Hubie Brown and Mike Tirico on the call.
First surprise — Jerry Stackhouse getting the start instead of being a spark off the bench. Looks like Avery Johnson is going to use Jason Terry as the off the bench spark.
Love the first play - screen for Dirk, buries the jumper. Sets the tone.
10:46: Peja Stojakovic looks nervous. Throwing up airballs. Kidd threw the ball away when Howard wasn’t ready for the pass… that’s going to be big, turnovers. Mavericks HAVE to cut back on the turnovers to win this series. Dirk is 2-2 and Howard hit a nice jumper.
10:00: Hard foul from West when Dirk got open on the break. Dirk is grabbing his wrist, used his hand to break his fall. Good way to break a wrist. Missed his first free throw. ESPN reports Dirk tried to go without his ankle brace last game, but came back to it. And Mike Tirico just dissed Zoolander. We’re not friends anymore.
9:08: Stackhouse 0 for 2. He needs to hit. Both shots were open looks.
8:31: Stackhouse 0 for 3. Bad trend.
8:04: Dirk is running beautifully. Kidd finds him on the break. Dirk is getting easy looks, thank you Jason Kidd.
6:52: Dirk blocks Chandler from behind. Mavericks playing solid defense so far. But he has missed his last 2 shots. Offense needs to stay consistent, and keep getting good looks on the fast break. Howard needs to stay involved and not fade out of the game as he has a tendency to do.
6:07: Another turnover, this time from Howard. Mavs have to protect the ball and get good posessions.
4:59: Injury update — I ate a chip the wrong way and it stabbed me in the gums where I’m missing a molar. We have some bleeding. Situation.
4:15: Great steal from Kidd leads to points from Howard. It always comes down to defense.
3:05: Hornets try to trap Terry, but he finds Brandon Bass for a baseline jumper. Bass is going to be big in this series.
Commercial update: Vitamin Water with a great commercial that features Shaquille O’Neal as a jockey. Features some really funny faces from Shaq. Good chuckle. Acura MDX car says it knows where the sun is shining and adjusts temperature in the car accordingly. Huh? Why? I’d rather do that manually. I don’t want my cars outthinking me.
2:06: Jason Kidd knocks down his first three attempt. Jason Kidd and his three-point shooting is another key to this series. Mavs up 20-13.
1:16: Mental mistake from Peja Stojakovic. Fouls Josh Howard shooting a three. If I’m the Hornets, Howard is one guy I want taking threes.
0:46: Kidd doing a great job defensively on Paul. Paul only has 5 points so far. I can deal with a 20 point night from Paul.
0:2.8: Flurry at the end of the quarter. Shots from Paul and Pargo, Mavericks counter with a Dirk drive where he’s fouled and hits both free throws.
0:0.5: Baseball pass to Paul, who beats Howard and Dirk down and hits an off balance jumper. Makes the quarter score 26-19, Mavericks up.
January 6, 2007 at 10:32 pm · Filed under Dallas Cowboys, Site News / Other
Unbelievable finish. I feel bad for Romo. I feel bad for the team. It slipped away — literally. Not a single botched field goal snap all year, until the worst possible moment for one.
January 6, 2007 at 10:18 pm · Filed under Dallas Cowboys, Site News / Other
- 6 truck commercials. Still our country.
- Huge play on Seattle’s first play after the punt — Newman knocks the ball away from the receiver and taps it to Roy Williams for the interception. But Williams might not have been able to keep his right foot in bounds. Seattle has challenged the play. The referees have given Seattle the calls thus far — this would be a huge one to go Dallas’ way. Roy should have been able to stay in bounds, Newman was the one going out of bounds faster. Hopefully that right foot stayed in — I didn’t see an angle that definitively had his foot out of bounds. But it’s awfully close.
- The Cowboys finally get a call their way! The digital zoom in showed Roy’s foot right along the sideline — a super close call. But it’s Dallas ball. Good job by Roy Williams, and great job by Newman.
- So much for the Cowboys catching breaks — another penalty against them. 1st and 20 after illegal hands to the face. Glenn catches a ball in the seam and gets the Cowboys in range — 2nd and 4, which leads to a Jones first down.
- Jones with another good strong run — he needs to take over the fourth quarter.
- The refs finally call a penalty on Seattle — defensive holding. Big first down. But they all are at this point. The reffing is evening out in this quarter. Cowboys handing it to Jones a lot — chewing the clock and picking up solid yardage.
- 3rd and inches — good spot for a Romo sneak. But they give it Barber, who comes up short. Gramatica kicks the 29yarder to give the Cowboys a 7 point lead.
- VERY QUESTIONABLE call against Newman, who got beat for 36 yards on the previous play. Refs back in Seattle’s pocket. Newman given up a solid 70 yards over two plays, after outstanding play through the first three quarters.
- Big challenge here for the defense to get a big stop and hold Seattle to a field goal.
- Ware stops Alexander in the backfield on first down, and Marcus Spears pressures Hasselback into a bad throw on 2nd down. Big third and goal from the 9 or so.
- Pass complete to the two. 4th and goal, Seattle going for it. Huge, huge play.
- Cowboys hold up! Hasselback screams for a penalty but doesn’t get it. Turnover on downs, great play by Ware.
- Cute commercial with Tony Dungee coaching a kid with an Indy helmet trying to put the moves on a chick in the car. I laughed out loud when he hit her in the face with his helmet facemask going in for the kiss. Much better than truck commercials.
- Glenn fumble into the endzone, touchdown Seattle. Tons going on. Confused.
- OK, first of all, Glenn didn’t catch the ball! Then the ball went out of bounds I think. Then the player that finally recovered didn’t get two feet in, I don’t think. I think it’s an incomplete pass, Cowboys ball. I hope, hope hope hope hope.
- Referees call a safety. Not much of a break for the Cowboys. Now, it’s Seattle ball, and a touchdown takes the lead for Seattle. 20-15 Dallas — that play could be a game changer. The onus is on the defense, now.
- I’m still reeling over the Glenn fumble. The Cowboys will be really challenged to overcome this — it’s all on the defense. The defense will have to win this game.
- … Roy Williams comes flying in on the run blitz, and whiffs on Alexander. Williams would have made a huge play if he could have come up with the tackle. As it stands, first down at the Cowboy 40.
- Once again, Roy Williams is beat in the seam, and Stevens scores for a 35 yard touchdown. James was on coverage, Williams was late to arrive on the cover 2 zone. He needs to arrive earlier, Bradie James can’t be expected to cover a top notch tight end 30 yards downfield. Seattle goes for 2, and fails — 21-20 Seattle.
- The onus being on the defense didn’t go so well — so now it’s up to the offense. 4:24 to play — ideally, the Cowboys will use all 4:24 and win at the buzzer. Ideally.
- After an Owens catch, Cowboys run a bit of a trick play — play action the opposite way. Romo fakes the pass, hands the ball to Jones for 30 yards.
- Jones runs for no gain, two minute warning. Cowboys at the Seattle 10 — well within field goal range. At this point, you need to score a touchdown but use the clock — force Seattle to start chewing through their timeouts.
- Huge play — Romo to Witten in traffic, who gets the first down but not the touchdown (pending review). If the spot stands, it’s first and goal, with Seattle with one timeout. Official review — very close call on the spot. Again, the refs are going to have to make a huge call here.
- OH NO! Call overturned. 4th down Dallas. The referees are really playing too big a part in this game. Seattle just used their last timeout — Gramatica to kick what’s more or less an extra point. A field goal would win it for Seattle — but they have no timeouts.
- Romo fumbles the snap, picks up the ball and runs for the endzone.. and is stopped short.
- …
- Romo has held on every field goal all year, without a hitch, but the ball slips out of hands. Perfect snap. The play is on Romo.
- Alexander takes the ball out of the endzone for 20 yards — comes up gimpy but puts the game more or less out of reach in the process, as Romo hangs his head on the sideline.
- “This just has to be a nightmare for Romo,” Madden says.
- Unbelievable stomach-punch game, to use a Bill Simmons saying.
- Hail mary play is incomplete, and the Cowboys lose.
Next entries »
