KC showed up & delivered against a hobbled Rivers in a must win for SD. Chase Daniel made the throws he needed to while Charles & Davis provided the focus to help him succeed. Both the NYG & ATL “D”s were atrocious in coverage putting a damper on an otherwise good day for me. Dalton was below avg on primetime per the norm, & DAL cruised into PO’s w/a drubbing @ WAS. Onto WC weekend.
2014 Season: POW 10-7, Teasers 8-9, Overall 46-39-1
DAL (-6 1/2 @ -115) absolutely cruised into the PO’s avg over 40 ppg in their last 4 gms to end the yr. Murray has been the story this yr running away w/rushing title & Emmitt Smith’s team record. As always though, it is the oline that is the reason for success. Idiot owner Jerry Jones rued not taking Manziel over Zack Martin in this yr’s draft, but fortunately for him common sense ruled resulting in a rookie Pro Bowler @ RG. Most know about LT Tyron Smith who is arguably the best tackle in the whole NFL, but C Travis Frederick was also selected to PB after having a great yr. All of a sudden, Romo is in the MVP talks w/the best comp % & QB rating in NFL, & Garrett is in consideration for COY. What a difference a yr makes. Oline is definitely a large reason for DAL’s turnaround, but bringing in Rod Marinelli to replace the fossil Monte Kiffen has paid immediate dividends. W/a lot of injuries, plus the loss of Ware to DEN, many expected DAL’s “D” to be even worse than it was last yr (dead last in yds allowed). Marinelli has brought accountability & obviously tackling fundamentals to make a no-name DAL “D” 19[SUP]th[/SUP] in the league, w/a top 10 run “D” to boot. This spells trouble for DET who needs balance in order to free up their receivers. Most know Stafford’s 0-16 SU record on the rd vs winning teams, but DET this yr has been 2-6 ATS on the rd by more than 3 ppg against the number. Those 2 wins were @ NYJ & MIN. Take out those 2 cupcakes, & DET was negative 8 ppg ATS. Stafford’s comp % goes down on the rd, but he’s much more functional indoors where Tate & Bush can use their speed & cuts more effectively. But, DET has issues on the oline where Raiola comes back from suspension, which moves rookie C Swanson next to rookie RT Lucas, if RG Warford is unavailable (knee injury). DAL doesn’t get a lot of pressure on QBs, so this is critical. GB exposed the middle of DET’s secondary, so I see Bryant, Witten & Beasley having great success there off play-action. W/suspension of Suh, Murray & Randle should be running like crazy which makes play-action all the more deadly. DET was fortunate w/Rodgers getting hurt, Lacy’s fumble, & a tap on Stafford’s helmet that led to their 1[SUP]st[/SUP] TD. That gm was a lot closer than it should’ve been. In last yr’s tilt between these 2, DAL was w/out Murray, their “D” was a sieve, it was @ DET, Megatron went ballistic w/329 yds, & DET needed a QB sneak TD w/12 sec remaining to win by 1 pt. And that was w/Suh & Fairley. This shouldn’t be close.
DET 17
DAL 30
5 Units
Wanted to get this one out early, as the line should go up w/Suh’s suspension. Will have more later in the wk.
2014 Season: POW 10-7, Teasers 8-9, Overall 46-39-1
DAL (-6 1/2 @ -115) absolutely cruised into the PO’s avg over 40 ppg in their last 4 gms to end the yr. Murray has been the story this yr running away w/rushing title & Emmitt Smith’s team record. As always though, it is the oline that is the reason for success. Idiot owner Jerry Jones rued not taking Manziel over Zack Martin in this yr’s draft, but fortunately for him common sense ruled resulting in a rookie Pro Bowler @ RG. Most know about LT Tyron Smith who is arguably the best tackle in the whole NFL, but C Travis Frederick was also selected to PB after having a great yr. All of a sudden, Romo is in the MVP talks w/the best comp % & QB rating in NFL, & Garrett is in consideration for COY. What a difference a yr makes. Oline is definitely a large reason for DAL’s turnaround, but bringing in Rod Marinelli to replace the fossil Monte Kiffen has paid immediate dividends. W/a lot of injuries, plus the loss of Ware to DEN, many expected DAL’s “D” to be even worse than it was last yr (dead last in yds allowed). Marinelli has brought accountability & obviously tackling fundamentals to make a no-name DAL “D” 19[SUP]th[/SUP] in the league, w/a top 10 run “D” to boot. This spells trouble for DET who needs balance in order to free up their receivers. Most know Stafford’s 0-16 SU record on the rd vs winning teams, but DET this yr has been 2-6 ATS on the rd by more than 3 ppg against the number. Those 2 wins were @ NYJ & MIN. Take out those 2 cupcakes, & DET was negative 8 ppg ATS. Stafford’s comp % goes down on the rd, but he’s much more functional indoors where Tate & Bush can use their speed & cuts more effectively. But, DET has issues on the oline where Raiola comes back from suspension, which moves rookie C Swanson next to rookie RT Lucas, if RG Warford is unavailable (knee injury). DAL doesn’t get a lot of pressure on QBs, so this is critical. GB exposed the middle of DET’s secondary, so I see Bryant, Witten & Beasley having great success there off play-action. W/suspension of Suh, Murray & Randle should be running like crazy which makes play-action all the more deadly. DET was fortunate w/Rodgers getting hurt, Lacy’s fumble, & a tap on Stafford’s helmet that led to their 1[SUP]st[/SUP] TD. That gm was a lot closer than it should’ve been. In last yr’s tilt between these 2, DAL was w/out Murray, their “D” was a sieve, it was @ DET, Megatron went ballistic w/329 yds, & DET needed a QB sneak TD w/12 sec remaining to win by 1 pt. And that was w/Suh & Fairley. This shouldn’t be close.
DET 17
DAL 30
5 Units
Wanted to get this one out early, as the line should go up w/Suh’s suspension. Will have more later in the wk.
