Dallas Cowboys Talk

Q:  Why are the Cowboys always one of the teams that are playing on Thanksgiving?

A: The Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers played each other on Thanksgiving day for many years. In the mid 1960′s, as the NFL grew bigger and gained more national media attention, they wanted to add a second game to their Thanksgiving day schedule.

No other NFL teams had interest in playing a mid-week game near the end of the season. However, Tex Schram the Cowboys’ GM at the time, saw it as a chance to put his 5 year old team in the national spotlight. So, on November 24, 1966 the Cowboys played the Cleveland Browns  and came away with their first Thanksgiving Day victory.

It worked out so well that the Dallas Cowboys have become a big part of many football fans holiday celebration and it certainly hasn’t hurt the Cowboys desire to become America’s Team.

Tashard Choice fumbled on the last play of the first half to give the Redskins a 10-0 lead, just enough to defeat the Cowboys in Game 1 of the 2010 season.

In a decision by Wade Philips that will be second guessed for the rest of this year, Choice became the goat of the game. In reality, with only 4 seconds left and the ball on their own 35 yard line, Dallas should have kneeled on the ball and gone to the locker room trailing only 3-0. The head coach thought otherwise and it cost them a touchdown and probably the game.

The Cowboys were able to keep the game close in the second half however, and almost won on the last play of the game. A holding call against Alex Barron nullified the game winning touchdown pass from Tony Romo to Roy Williams, leaving the Cowboys shocked.

It was a game where they had plenty of chances to take the game over, but mistakes were the downfall for the offense. In order to beat the Bears next week, Dallas will need to be more consistent and find a way to get the ball in the end zone. Maybe easier said than done.

Any Cowboys fan who didn’t know who wears the number 7 jersey, knows now! Stephen McGee took advantage of his extended playing time tonight against the Miami Dolphins and led the Cowboys to a 27-25 victory.

David Buehler, the Cowboys kicker, also came up huge in the preseason finale. He kicked field goals of 51, 45 and 41 yards, and then sealed the victory with a 31 yarder as time expired. Thank you Chris Boniol!

McGee probably won’t jump over Jon Kitna for the backup quarterback position with his performance tonight, 27-42 for 304 yards and a TD, but you can be sure the Cowboys will keep him around. So, all you A&M fans, take a break from your usual activities of reading about the team, watching films or playing partypoker and go ahead and buy your number 7 jerseys now!?

In a preseason filled with disappointment the Cowboys finally have something to smile about as they head into their regular season opener at Washington on September 12th.

Right now though, Wade Phillips, Jerry Jones and Stephen Jones have some tough decisions as they cull their roster down to 53 players this Saturday.