The Cowboys pulled out an ugly win yesterday over the Bucs, the kind of gritty, hard-fought battle that allows you to learn about yourself. For sure, they learned about their quarterback, though it’s something they already knew. Tony Romo is a tough dude. Yesterday, he was the symbol of toughness, rising again and again despite being brutalized by the Bucs defense. He was sacked and belted, hit helmet-to-helmet and flung to the ground. He kept getting up and was perfect in the fourth quarter despite all that. Teammates were impressed, and they took notice. “Some quarterbacks who take hits like that don’t want to go back,” Cowboys WR Dez Bryant said. “Not him.” The Cowboys fed off their quarterback. The […]

Has New York Jets quarterback Tim Tebow become nothing more than a gimmick to his coaches?

Week 3 is nearly in the books, how are you feeling? We still have a great Monday night game left, but let’s look back at the wek that was.

Historically, players who are featured on the cover of Madden see significant drops in their offensive production. NFL.com is tracking the performance of Calvin Johnson and the Detroit Lions over the course of the 2012 season because we believe Calvin Johnson will debunk the Madden curse. In the first two weeks of the 2012 season, Calvin Johnson recorded 14 receptions for 205 yards and 0 touchdowns. Zero. Gone are the two touchdown games and the 14+ yard receptions from last season. Memories. Let’s not digress though, new season, new week and the Detroit Lions are on the road against the Tennessee Titans. ————————————————————————————————————————————– FIRST HALF ————————————————————————————————————————————– Calvin Johnson finished the first half with one catch for six yards, while Jason […]

When you talk about the unexpected for Week 3, the conversation might start and end with the Minnesota Vikings upset win over the San Francisco 49ers. Or was it the Saints falling to 0-3? Well one thing is expected … Adam Rank is here to cover it all.

The Cowboys won ugly… unless you like defense. Then, it was pretty. Dallas took down the Bucs in a grind-it-out slugfest, leaving with a 16-10 victory at Cowboys Stadium. They did it while having 119 yards of offense after three quarters and just 38 rushing yards on the game. Oh, and QB Tony Romo was brutalized all game, looking shaky in several instances. He took a couple hits that might lighten the wallets of some Tampa Bay defenders. All he did was shake off some missed opportunities and poor execution early to drive for two fourth-quarter field goals to ice it. “This was a hard ballgame, and we made enough mistakes to lose,” owner Jerry Jones said. “But the defense […]

Each week, we’ll take a look at how Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III stack up against the 2011 breakout performance of Cam Newton. ————————————————————————————————————————————– Andrew Luck vs. Cam Newton ————————————————————————————————————————————– Reminiscent of  last week’s comeback against the Minnesota Vikings,  Andrew Luck led the Colts on a 48-yard drive in the 4th quarter to set up what many thought would be a game-winning field goal. Unfortunately the Colts’ defense could not keep the Jaguars from scoring a touchdown in the final minute of the game. Jacksonville takes the win, 22-17. Cam Comparison: Cam Newton and Andrew Luck (and RG3) are tied when comparing wins and losses, but Newton still leads Luck in total yards after Week 3, 1,012 to 846. ————————————————————————————————————————————– Robert Griffin III vs. Cam Newton ————————————————————————————————————————————– The […]

» If you’re a fantasy owner who has Carson Palmer on their roster, don’t watch his actual peformance. Just look at the numbers. To watch him, it’s constantly an uneven performance, but by fantasy standards, he’s pretty steady. Palmer just threw his third touchdown pass of the day. Even though he only has 144 passing yards, his fantasy stats are pretty respectable. » For every game like Philip Rivers had in Week 2, there are games like he had today. A lot of it had to do with the Falcons defense, but the fact remains, his 173 yards and two interceptions didn’t help anyone who started him this week. Games like that are the reason people were scared away from Rivers on […]

As we do every week, let’s take a swing around the NFL, looking at a bunch of random things… So, what’s been up? 1. The Buccaneers have a serious challenge today in facing the Cowboys, but they will have some big-time weapons to use. One of them is blue-chip receiver Vincent Jackson, a monstrously tall former Chargers star who was the prize of this free agent class. He has nine catches for 175 yards in two games, and QB Josh Freeman seems to have already built a connection with him. As Cowboys CB Brandon Carr was telling me, Freeman is already following the lead of Chargers QB Philip Rivers. “They both have the same mentality,” Carr said. “They’re going to throw […]

It was an interesting and slightly tumultuous week in Tampa Bay. Following a late loss to the Giants, one that saw them squander a big lead, Bucs coach Greg Schiano saw his end-game tactics widely debated. He was a target. How did his team respond? Were they focused. How ready are they to play the Cowboys? That’s one of the things I asked Schiano when we spoke yesterday. “I’m just honest with them,” Schiano said, answering my question about how to get the team to react properly. “I’m as disappointed as they are, but this is the National Football League. It’s not like you’re going to win every game, that doesn’t happen. We just gotta get back to work and […]

Everyone has a rule or two they wish they could change about fantasy football. Marcas Grant runs through a few of them in this week’s Social (Fantasy) Network.

Will Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte’s “out” status help the fantasy potential of other Chicago players?

If you look at the stats from the Cowboys last game at Seattle, it was ugly. Seahawks RB Marshawn Lynch ran for 122 yards on 26 carries, and the real damage was done in the second half. The Cowboys defense, one hit by a bunch of injuries, allowed two bruising touchdown drives to clinch defeat. It led some locally to view them as being bullied, and watching the game, one could easily draw that conclusion. Defensive coordinator Rob Ryan understands that inclination. He just doesn’t agree with it. “People are going to say that,” Ryan said, speaking with reporters today. “When you look at the stats, it’s 185 yards rushing, so obviously, anybody can stake their claim to that’s what […]

Ken Whisenhunt says it’s important for Ryan Williams to learn from late game fumble

The Bucs have been in the news this week, which really isn’t something you said in 2011. But with the last-second kneel-down vs. the Giants drawing a discussion, that’s reality. In fact, there will be a fascinating interview with Bucs coach Greg Schiano by Melissa Stark on Sunday morning’s First on the Field. Lost in all this is that the Bucs let a late lead slip against the Giants, losing after being up 11. Now, they’re gearing up to face the Cowboys, which is the game I’m covering Sunday. For some prep work, I spoke with Bucs DT Gerald McCoy about the week. First of all, he began the phone call with a memorable introduction: “Iaaaaannnnnnnnnnnn!!!!” McCoy said. “If you […]