Cowboys Win But Red Flags Fly: Blown Call, No Pass Rush & a Run Defense Disaster | Just Wondering

Hi. I'm Norm. Welcome again to just wondering. I have a lot of cowboy opinions this week. The Washington game was a win, but there are still loads of concerns for the cowboy coaching staff and their fans. And then we'll finish with some sports notes, including a bad weekend for some football teams in the area. And only in the mediocre America League West can the Rangers be ahead in the division. And now a word from our title sponsor. Eying retirement? We aim to turn your nest egg into a paycheck with half the amount you've been led to believe. Fluent Financial combines in house portfolio design risk management with income generating investments designed to aid your financial independence. Our goal is to develop an effective portfolio strategy to help you retire sooner and have a better lifestyle. Fluent Financial can also implement a program that allows business owners to install a cash balance plan, which may potentially reduce income tax payments. You've worked hard to become successful. Let us help develop an effective portfolio strategy that works for you. Learn more today about Fluent Financial. Retire sooner, better lifestyle. For more information or to schedule a meeting, visit fluentfinancial.com or call (972) 852-4800. In the end, in a football game, the final score is the final score. Sometimes that's a very good measurement of what happened on the field that particularly day particular day. Like last week when the Giants beat the Cowboys by eight points, it could have been even worse. But the Giants dominated sixty minutes, and the final score was very reflective of that upset. But on Sunday, Dallas beat Washington 37 to 20. That should not suggest that kind of difference between those two teams. It was a, in my mind, fairly deceiving final score. And there was a key moment in this game that an officiating mistake might have made a real difference. Washington fell behind quickly 17 to three, allowing two touchdowns and a field goal on the first three cowboy drives. But then the commanders started to dig their way out of that hole. Daniels digs touchdown pass, beat it seventeen ten. They got the ball back in the waning seconds of the first half. Got the ball to the cowboy one yard line. It was third and one. At this point, I really don't understand why Dan Quinn, the head coach, didn't kick a field goal. It would have made it seventeen three, and the commanders were getting the ball to start the second half, but he didn't. He decided to go for it, and and that's his call. Unfortunately, when the ball was snapped, the left guard for Washington stepped on the foot of Jaden Daniels. As he pirouetted around Daniels, anchored by this foot on him, started to fall. He thrust his left arm down to try to balance himself, and the left elbow dislocated. It's happened before to him. In fact, it happened last year to him. And Daniel's day was over. He had been dazzling in the first half, mesmerizing the Cowboys with runs out of the backfield, but you would think the air went totally out of the Washington balloon at that point. It really didn't. Fox reported that when Marcus Mariota would start the second half by the way, he's a veteran capable backup quarterback. When Mariota would start the second half, Washington dedicated the second half to catching and beating the Cowboys with as a tribute to Daniels. And bingo. Mariota immediately moved the commanders into Dallas territory. At the 29 yard line, where it was second down, that was the officials call. A major, I think, missed call by the officials that may have dramatically altered the game. No. Or maybe not. But from the 29, Mariota lofted a ball deep down left sideline to Diami Brown, right at the goal line. He dove, caught the ball, juggled it, but then he secured the ball. His knee came down inbounds. All you need is one knee inbounds. You don't need to. And he rolled over clutching the ball to his chest. There was never a question of possession on this play except with the officials and the replay ref. I can understand the people on field missing a call like that. It happens bang bang. Hey, the fish eating in this big is tough, but the replay guy gets to sit and study the play. He can watch different angles. I can't understand why he ruled it was now a not a touchdown. The Fox broadcasting crew on the game immediately yelped that it had been a touchdown, and I was frankly astounded that they didn't call it a touchdown. Now, as he rolled over, Brown was clutching the ball. Now the ball did move a little, but it never touched the ground. The ground never assisted in the catch, and I don't think it was ever a question of possession that would have tied the game. Washington would have dug themselves totally out of that 17 to three hole, and they would have had confidence that Mariota could help them get the job done. Listen, Dallas might very well still have won a football game. The Cowboys passing offense, I stress, passing offense was really moving the ball, and it's still very possible the Cowboys beat the Commanders here. But we'll never know, will we? But the league has always had a problem determining whether a ball was caught or not. In the seventy eight Super Bowl game, the Cowboys versus Denver, Cowboy wide receiver Butch Johnson laid out at the goal line diving to catch a ball. He got in his hands, landed me in zone. The ball popped out as Johnson rolled over. The officials called it a touchdown. I I don't think it was a touchdown, but they ruled it a touchdown. And back then, there was no replay to correct a possible mistake. Then there was the infamous Des Bryant catch or no catch versus Green Bay. At about the two yard line, Des laid out to make a stretching catch of a pass right by the sidelines and right maybe two yards from the corner of the end zone. He secured the ball. He was contacted by the defender, and a knee went down. That should have been the end of the play. But Dez struggling to reach the ball as far as possible and maybe make it to the goal line, then dropped the ball. The officials ruled no catch. The ball bounced into the end zone, and it actually ruled a catch and a fumble. The ball bounced into the end zone and out of the end zone, it became a touchback. It became Green Bay's ball. There went a possible playoff win and an advancement in the playoffs, which the Cowboys haven't done lately. At the end of the day, I believe the Bryant was a catch. It would have been a catch in the seventies. It would be a catch today. But the league keeps tinkering with these rules. And the bottom line is you can't write a rule that covers every situation. At some point, reason has to take over. Not, well, I wonder if this violates rule 38 subsection q. Hey, D'Amy Brown caught the ball. He got in the inbounds. He landed. The ball did not touch the ground in any part of this. He had the ball to his chest. Does the ball move a little bit? That happens tons in receptions, of course. As the man has the secured ball, he lays, the ball's gonna move a little, but it wasn't a touchdown. It wasn't a seventeen seventeen game. And the Cowboys, their credit, went on extended lead, and Washington never got even in the game again. Next, yes, it was a win, but there's still lots to worry about for the Cowboys coaching staff and their fans. What do you want from your favorite restaurant? Fantastic personal service, a cheery, welcoming, spotless atmosphere, and of course, great food. The primest of beef, Wagyu, and lamb, incredibly fresh seafood, lobster, salmon, shrimp, Hall of Fame food from a hall of fame restaurant, two locations of Bob's Steak and Chop House, the original Bob's on Lemon Avenue, and the gorgeous new Bob's at Craig Ranch McKinney. Do you bet on football? I'm Norm Hitskas, and I've been handicapping sports for the last five decades. And what an incredible last two years we've had picking games. For all of our college and pro football selections, plus the NCAA basketball tournament, we've posted a wonderful five twenty seven winners and four thirty four losers. After subtracting the juice, If you're a $200 a game player, that's a tidy profit of right at $10,000. And unlike those big betting services, we don't cost an arm and a leg $200. That's it. $200 for the entire package of football and basketball picks. Email right to you every week. Sign up by clicking on the link below, and let's have another solid profitable year. The Sunday victory against the Commanders was good. Anytime you get a win in the NFL, that's good, and this one was absolutely necessary. You the Cowboys could not have gone down to an o two hole to start this season. One and one is bad enough when you consider that when you look at the season on the whole, these were two of the most winnable games on the schedule. These two to start the season, but there are things for the Cowboy coaching staff and Cowboy Nation to to be concerned about. After two games, Dallas has one sack, one, and that was for a loss of one yard against the Giants. They had none yesterday, none against a team whose offensive line is considered just so so. Dallas had no sacks when Washington attempted 36 passes and the Cowboys only recorded six quarterback pressures on those 36 passing attempts. You can do that math. Right now, the lack of a pass rush is a massive problem, especially with the secondary now facing some real injury problems. Safety Malik Hooker was out yesterday after suffering a forearm injury against the Giants. His replacement PJ Locke hurt a foot early in the game, left, and didn't return. Starting cornerback Kobe Durant had a hamstring injury. It was also a gruesome looking piece of footage where someone stepped on his behind, but he left the game and didn't return. That's three of this team's best six defensive backs. Next, the Cowboys cannot stop the run. Last week against the Giants, they allowed 165 yards on the ground. That's not good at all. Sunday, Washington gashed them for 182 rushing yards. In two weeks, the Cowboys have permitted 347 yards on the ground on just 69 opponent carries. That's right. Opponents get five yards every time they run the ball. That is a bright shining light to any cowboy opponents coming up in the near future. Run the ball against them. And right now, Dallas is thirtieth in yards rushing allowed per game. That that's awful. Next on the worry list, Dallas has recorded exactly one turnover this season. It's a fumble recovery early in the third quarter on Sunday. They still don't have an interception, which is pretty understandable since they don't have a pass rush to force quarterbacks to hurry their throws. And, oh, yes, there's more. Through two games, the defense is allowing opponents 48 yards per drive. 48 yards every time they take possession of the ball, they're gonna gain 48 yards on an average. So how does that compare to the last year's ultra miserable Dallas defense? I'm glad you asked. Last year, Dallas surrendered 36 yards every time the opposition took possession of the ball. 36 last year, 48 yards this year. Sunday, Washington did score only 20 points, but they missed two wide open receivers that would have been touchdown passes. They had another touchdown taken away by that officiating call, and they missed a field goal. Might Washington have scored 35, 38, 40 points in the game? Yeah, they could very well have. After not two after two games, it's it's not impossible to feel just a bit panicked about this defense. It's showing no improvement over the defense from last year and and that sad sack group was awful and remember the first two games this year have been against opponents that would be considered mediocre. Oh, let's let's not leave out the offense in this worry list. Dallas is managing only three and a half yards every time they run the ball, and they totaled 67 yards per game rushing. By the way, the three and a half yards per rush, that's twenty sixth in league. The 67 yards per game rushing, that is thirtieth in the league, and the schedule now toughens dramatically. Going forward this week, it's Baltimore where the Cowboys will be the boys from Brazil. And then at Houston, home to Tampa, at Green Bay, at Philly, that's the next five. The Dallas passing game has been terrific, but it cannot and should not be counted on to carry this team every week in and week out. That looks exactly like last year's team that went seven nine and one. There's much better teams starting to show up on the schedule, and this becomes a now moment. This defense must get better now. And if it doesn't, Dallas will be in real trouble. And I think the Cowboys, coaches, and the players fully understand that. Next, some finishing note notes. Bad weekend for some Texas football teams, and the first place Texas Rangers? Dolan Water Media is making a move. After two plus years, it's time to change and keep up with our growth. You can continue to view all eight of our podcasts on our Patreon pages. But now you can get all episodes at www.stolenwatermedia.com. This is a developing story, but you can begin by watching and listening right now at www.stolenwatermedia.com. Continue to find all audio wherever you find your favorite podcasts, and some you may not have heard of, but I think will enjoy. Are you just wondering where your next spectacular vacation will be? Relax. Feel the sun on your body. 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But if Houston should draw even in record with the Rangers, the championship of the American League West and the playoff berth that comes along with it will go to Houston by virtue of them having the tiebreaker. They won the regular season series against the Rangers. Imagine if you can, imagine the mediocrity of the five teams the American League West through twenty five weeks of the season entering play this week. No team was over 500. Hence, the rangers leading division at exactly 500, 78, and 78. The five teams in the American League West are a combined 82 games under 500, and they have been outscored this season. Every team in the West has been outscored, by the way. Even the Rangers with their 500 record, they started the week on minus 34. But the five teams in the American League West starting the week had been outscored this year by a whopping 459 runs. Good evidence. Yuck. Yuck. But hey, somebody's gotta win this division. Somebody's gotta go into the playoffs as the champion of this division. Why not Texas? Right? Next. This was a hard weekend for some Texas football teams, particularly some in the area. A and M, SMU, and North Texas, all lost their games by double figures. And there was a common thread. The defense was very poor in those games. North Texas played at Texas State, and they simply couldn't stop them. Texas State scored seven touchdowns in the game. A and M allowed 31 points at home to Kentucky. The Wildcats, if you watch the game, that's a little bit deceiving because the Wildcats simply hammered them on the ground. Just hammered them on the ground in the trenches. Kentucky was the better football team without question. And the Aggies quarterback, Marcel Reed, he wasn't very good. Now, A and M must travel to LSU this weekend. Another team hurting after a 42 to 34 loss to Ole Miss. And whoever loses that game, Saturday in Baton Rouge, LSU or A and M, will have any playoff hopes on life support. And SMU was hoping to make it into the top 12, but they laid an egg losing to Louisville forty one thirty one. Mistake after mistake by SMU. They failed on two critical fourth and two situations. But it simply must be asked, why would coach Rhett Lashley go for it fourth and two from his own 33 yard line with the score tied seven seven. Why take that chance? But anyway, and there's the quarterback Kevin Jennings. He's a good player. Kevin Jennings is turnover prone, and he had three more in the game against Louisville. And the defense simply couldn't stop Louisville from hammering them on the ground, And that decided the game. Three teams, all in winnable games, North Texas only a three point underdog, SMU only a one point underdog, and A and M a whopping 17 favorite. Now all three gotta get their act together because the season and the dreams of the season are hanging in the balance after these performances. And finally, a quick look at the NFL. If you have a cat or a dog and you know what it looks like, if that cat or dog eats something it shouldn't. Well, it's called puke, and that's what the dolphins look like right now, puke. But you know what? They've got some solid, very young players, and they could get their quarterback of the dreams in the next draft. Cincinnati's always been held back by a terrible defense, but that defense through two games has surrendered only 33 points. Look out. The Steelers look miserable against New England. Aaron Rodgers looked over the hill. Can the Steelers' stout defense carry this team for the season? Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, everybody just likes him in Cleveland, but he was very good against Tampa. Does this mean Deshaun Watson's gonna be the starting quarterback there for the rest of the year? And finally, through two games, Seattle's defense has surrendered only 17 total points. San Francisco's out support outscored their opponents 62 to 20. And then, of course, in the same division, there's the Rams. The Cowboys can thank their lucky silver and blue stars. They're not in the NFC West. And now a word from our title sponsor. Today's episode has been brought to you by Fluent Financial, retire earlier, live better, And by Bob's Steak and Chophouse on Lemon in Dallas and in Craig Ranch in McKinney. Bob's, a Dallas tradition for more than thirty years. If you've enjoyed just wondering, please hit follow and a fresh new episode will land in your mailbox early every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning. Should you know a sports fan who might like our work? Please share our contact information with that person. Thanks for listening to today's episode of Just Wondering. I'm Norm Hitschkes, and know that every day I'll be just wondering about something. And I'm Mary Hitchkiss, and I'll just be wondering too. This is a Stolen Water Media production.