My dog Hazel and I were watching the Dallas Cowboys kick some major Philadelphia bootay last night when Eagles backup quarterback (and convicted canine killer) Michael Vick appeared on TV.
Hazel suddenly bolted upright from her pillow and barked. Coincidence? Methinks not.
Vick is scary to dogs (check out the look on this dog’s face), but the disgraced QB is pretty harmless on a football field these days.
Not so for Eagles QB Donavan McNabb, who’s been a Cowboys killer for much of his career. But even he was rattled by a swarming defense led by Jay Ratliff and DeMarcus Ware. Although did you notice that Ware was manhandled in the first quarter by Eagles left tackle Jason Peters? After Peters injured his ankle and left the game, Ware ran wild against a substitute. Later, Peters re-entered the game on a gimpy leg and continued his dominance over Ware. By then the rest of the D was swarming the Eagirls.
Tony Romo displayed savvy in dissecting an Eagles D that was double-teaming WR Miles Austin and shutting down the running game. Romo got WR Roy Williams involved in the passing game but the QB still shows a tendency to throw high and outside to Williams for some reason. Those two need to figure out their disconnect.
Of course, Austin stole the show again, busting loose from double coverage to score the game-winning TD.
Before the game, Romo was interviewed while wearing an odd looking cap and said he was covering up his hair because it was getting long. Seems Romo vowed not to cut his hair during the team’s winning streak (four weeks already).
Here’s hoping he soon looks like this and not this.
Big Jimbo, my football fanatic friend from East Texas, called during the game and was ranting about broadcasters Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth and their excessive pandering and drooling over Eagles coach Andy Reid. “They’re ready to put him in the Hall of Fame next to Vince Lombardi, George Halas and Tom Landry,” he hollered. “It’s making me want to puke!”
Jimbo got the last laugh. Reid crumbled late in the game, blew his challenges leaving him with no timeouts when the team needed them in the fourth quarter, and inexplicably chose to kick a field goal late in the game when the Eagles needed a touchdown to tie.
By game’s end, Hazel was sound asleep on the floor. Her little legs began jerking back and forth and, after she awoke, I asked if she’d dreamed about chasing rabbits. She said no and explained that this is what she’d been dreaming about.
Game Ball on offense goes to Austin for being patient until he could figure out how to shuck coverage for another game-winning catch.
Game Ball on defense goes to Victor Butler, the unheralded rookie who made a shoestring tackle on a scrambling McNabb late in the game. It was third and 10 and McNabb was leading the Eagles toward a game-tying touchdown when Butler saved the day.
Bench The Bum Award – Nobody screwed up enough to earn this award this week, although Marc Colombo is suddenly attempting to replace Flozell Adams as the most fidgety offensive lineman in team history. Wonder if Colombo is wired. After all, he’s a hard metal animal with Free Reign.
Separated At Birth Award – Michael Vick and this other dog killer.
Wait until December. Romo will fold as usual.