Sorry guys, work has been nuts the past few weeks. End of the year and all of that stuff, but I'm here to bang out this week's Saints/Cowboys preview. Well I know you all are pretty down after last week's effort that just came up short and honestly I'm discouraged about it too. This week I thought we'd do something a little different as we take two different viewpoints on this week's game.
First we take a look at the Pessimists view:
The pessimist Cowboy fan in me says there is no way this is a winnable game. First off we are still in the month of December and we know how the Cowboys do in the last month of the year. The Boys are also on the road in a rowdy stadium against an undefeated team wielding all everything QB Drew Brees. This team has been scoring points at will and putting on an air show that would rival that of any US Airforce base. I've been saying The Cowboys are the better team alot of weeks and now I can't say I truly believe that anymore. This team simply just does not have it and whether it be the Quarterback, the Offensive Coordinator, or the Head Coach they simply just don't make plays when it comes down to it. Not only that but did I mention we are going into this game without our best defenisve playmaker? This Saints team leads the league in passing TD's, Yards per game, and and points per game while the Dallas defense has had to shoulder a lot of the load this year.
The Saints also have a few big play wide receivers in Meachum, Lance Moore, Devery Henderson, and Marques Colston. The secondary has been spotty this year and as I mentioned before there is no pass rushing threat without DeMarcus Ware. Pierre Thomas has been amazing and given running game to the Saints potent passing offense. It's going to be another mediocre December and another mediocre season which will only yield one good result and that is the firing of Wade Phillips. Jerry Jones is too hands on with this team and until we see another Bill Parcells type we will fall victim to many more mediocre seasons. This team is going nowhere and the sooner we all realize this the better off we'll all be.
Now for the guy who has already paid his playoff deposit we take a look at the Optimist view:
This team is incredibly beatable. Sure they are undefeated but they haven't played a whole lot of good teams. Thus far they've only played 4 teams with records above .500 and they've been in some real dog fights. They practically gave the game to the Redskins and were behind early to The Dolphins. This is the NFL and any team can be beaten any week. The Saints have an oppurtunistic defense but not an overly good one. There's no real playmaking threat and their secondary has been put together with band aids and super glue. Romo should be able to light them up and it should be a fun high scoring game to watch. This is a time to rally and I believe we can rally against all odds this saturday. We are better than we have played in the past few weeks and we have a lot of talent on this roster. This team has the makings to rise up out of the ashes and resurrect this season. This will be a landmark win for The Cowboys and believe you me we will finally rise to the occasion when it means the most and up end the top team in the NFC.
So where do the optimist and pessimist come together?
I believe things are not near as bad as they seem, but I also believe this team may not be as good as I've thought. I have a hard time seeing the Cowboys rise to the occasion because they just never have. This has all the makings of an ambush game for the Saints, but with all of that we've seen the past few weeks I just can't bring myself to think the Cowboys will suprise me. I might be wrong and I hope I am but my prediction is 34-23 Saints.
So which are you pessimist or optimist?
Also don't forget we'll have a live game blog up Saturday night so please stop by and chat with us.
Cowboys take on Saints in the Big Easy