All Kickoff Weekend games sold out For third year in row, lifting all TV blackouts
For the third consecutive year, all 16 games of the NFL’s Kickoff Weekend have sold out in advance of the local TV blackout deadline, enabling every game to be televised in the home-team market, the NFL announced Friday.
The New Orleans at Indianapolis game on Thursday night (Sept. 6) was sold out and televised by NBC’s Indianapolis affiliate WTHR-TV.
This will be the fourth Kickoff Weekend in NFL history to have blackouts lifted for all games. They were lifted on the weekends of Sept. 6-7 in 1998; Sept. 8, 11-12 in 2005; and on Sept. 7, 10-11 last year.
The NFL blackout policy states that games sold out 72 hours prior to kickoff can be televised in the home city.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Monday, September 10, 2007
NFL SCOREBOARD WEEK 1
RAVENS 0 BENGALS 9
SAINTS 10 COLTS 41
CHIEFS 3 TEXANS 20
FALCONS 3 VIKINGS 24
EAGLES 13 PACKERS 16
BRONCOS 15 BILLS 14
DOLPHINS 13 REDSKINS 16
STEELERS 34 BROWNS 7
PATRIOTS 38 JETS 14
TITANS 13 JAGUARS 10
LIONS 36 RAIDERS 21
BUCCANEERS 6 SEAHAWKS 20
BEARS 3 CHARGERS 14
GIANTS 35 COWBOYS 45
PANTHERS 27 RAMS 13
CARDINALS 17 49ERS 20
SAINTS 10 COLTS 41
CHIEFS 3 TEXANS 20
FALCONS 3 VIKINGS 24
EAGLES 13 PACKERS 16
BRONCOS 15 BILLS 14
DOLPHINS 13 REDSKINS 16
STEELERS 34 BROWNS 7
PATRIOTS 38 JETS 14
TITANS 13 JAGUARS 10
LIONS 36 RAIDERS 21
BUCCANEERS 6 SEAHAWKS 20
BEARS 3 CHARGERS 14
GIANTS 35 COWBOYS 45
PANTHERS 27 RAMS 13
CARDINALS 17 49ERS 20
Sunday, September 9, 2007
COWBOYS WIN 45 TO 35
Wade Phillips threw a soft uppercut and smiled widely. He did it early, when his first gamble as coach of the Dallas Cowboys worked out -- then again in the closing minutes, following a touchdown that also made him let out a big sigh of relief.
Marion Barber got things rolling with an 18-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-1, Terrell Owens added two highlight-reel touchdown catches and Tony Romo made up for an interception with a 51-yard touchdown pass to Sam Hurd for a 45-35 victory over the injury-depleted New York Giants on Sunday night.
Romo threw for a career-high 345 yards and four touchdowns, plus ran for another, helping the Cowboys match the most points they ever scored in four years under Bill Parcells.
"It was good to see we were able to put up so many points and keep attacking," Romo said.
However, Phillips' supposedly improved defense gave up 438 yards and lots of big plays, turning a potential blowout into a nail-biter.
"How about my offense, huh?" Phillips said with a laugh at the start of his postgame news conference.
Eli Manning showed Tiki Barber and all his critics that he can be a leader, overcoming knee injuries that knocked out sacks leader Osi Umenyiora and new starting running back Brandon Jacobs, plus a late 16-point deficit to make things interesting in the final minutes.
Manning threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Derrick Ward with 7:20 left that got New York within 38-28. After botching a 2-point try, the Giants got the ball back on Romo's only interception. Manning followed with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress, their third connection of the night, to make it 38-35.
Hurd, getting key playing time because of Terry Glenn's injury absence, put Dallas comfortably back ahead by turning a slant into a long touchdown with 3:03 to go.
But Manning didn't return, sidelined by a bruised throwing shoulder, and the Giants were out of rallies.
Manning was 28-of-41 for 312 yards and four touchdowns with an interception. Burress caught eight passes for 144 yards.
Romo was 15-of-24 and produced touchdowns on five of six drives, starting from Marion Barber's dazzling score in the second quarter to a 47-yarder to Owens early in the fourth quarter.
Tight end Jason Witten had six catches for 116 yards and a touchdown. Owens caught only three passes, but scored on two of them. He had 81 yards, all in the second half.
"He really picked it up in the second half, didn't he?" Romo said.
New York started strong, silencing a sellout crowd swishing "Wade's Warriors" towels when Manning threw a 60-yard touchdown pass to Burress on the game's third snap. But the Giants botched the extra point and were in trouble pretty much the rest of the game.
Dallas trailing 6-3 and facing fourth-and-1 from the New York 18, Phillips opted to go for a first down. The ball went to Barber, who led the NFC in touchdowns rushing last year, and his run was dazzling -- shaking a defender at the line, bouncing out to the right, shoving away a second defender, then diving headfirst toward the end zone from around the 5. A third defender hit Barber, flipping him over the goal line for the go-ahead score.
Cameras caught Phillips' reaction, one that would appear several more times.
There was the touchdown pass to Witten on the next drive, stretching the lead to 17-6, then Owens' first touchdown -- a diving one-hander -- to open the second half. Romo also danced in from 9 yards for the first TD rushing of his career.
Through it all, Manning kept New York fighting.
New York scored 10 points in the final 21 seconds of the first half, making it 17-16 at the break, thanks in part to a fumbled kickoff return by Dallas' Tyson Thompson. The Giants also were within 24-19 in the third quarter and kept clawing after getting down 38-22.
Michael Strahan did not start, but played plenty for the Giants only a few days after ending his long preseason holdout. He had five tackles and no sacks.
This game produced the most points in the long history of this series. Dallas also scored its most points in an opener since putting up 49 in 1971 -- the year the Cowboys won their first Super Bowl.
By JAIME ARON, AP Sports WriterSeptember 10, 2007
Marion Barber got things rolling with an 18-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-1, Terrell Owens added two highlight-reel touchdown catches and Tony Romo made up for an interception with a 51-yard touchdown pass to Sam Hurd for a 45-35 victory over the injury-depleted New York Giants on Sunday night.
Romo threw for a career-high 345 yards and four touchdowns, plus ran for another, helping the Cowboys match the most points they ever scored in four years under Bill Parcells.
"It was good to see we were able to put up so many points and keep attacking," Romo said.
However, Phillips' supposedly improved defense gave up 438 yards and lots of big plays, turning a potential blowout into a nail-biter.
"How about my offense, huh?" Phillips said with a laugh at the start of his postgame news conference.
Eli Manning showed Tiki Barber and all his critics that he can be a leader, overcoming knee injuries that knocked out sacks leader Osi Umenyiora and new starting running back Brandon Jacobs, plus a late 16-point deficit to make things interesting in the final minutes.
Manning threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Derrick Ward with 7:20 left that got New York within 38-28. After botching a 2-point try, the Giants got the ball back on Romo's only interception. Manning followed with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress, their third connection of the night, to make it 38-35.
Hurd, getting key playing time because of Terry Glenn's injury absence, put Dallas comfortably back ahead by turning a slant into a long touchdown with 3:03 to go.
But Manning didn't return, sidelined by a bruised throwing shoulder, and the Giants were out of rallies.
Manning was 28-of-41 for 312 yards and four touchdowns with an interception. Burress caught eight passes for 144 yards.
Romo was 15-of-24 and produced touchdowns on five of six drives, starting from Marion Barber's dazzling score in the second quarter to a 47-yarder to Owens early in the fourth quarter.
Tight end Jason Witten had six catches for 116 yards and a touchdown. Owens caught only three passes, but scored on two of them. He had 81 yards, all in the second half.
"He really picked it up in the second half, didn't he?" Romo said.
New York started strong, silencing a sellout crowd swishing "Wade's Warriors" towels when Manning threw a 60-yard touchdown pass to Burress on the game's third snap. But the Giants botched the extra point and were in trouble pretty much the rest of the game.
Dallas trailing 6-3 and facing fourth-and-1 from the New York 18, Phillips opted to go for a first down. The ball went to Barber, who led the NFC in touchdowns rushing last year, and his run was dazzling -- shaking a defender at the line, bouncing out to the right, shoving away a second defender, then diving headfirst toward the end zone from around the 5. A third defender hit Barber, flipping him over the goal line for the go-ahead score.
Cameras caught Phillips' reaction, one that would appear several more times.
There was the touchdown pass to Witten on the next drive, stretching the lead to 17-6, then Owens' first touchdown -- a diving one-hander -- to open the second half. Romo also danced in from 9 yards for the first TD rushing of his career.
Through it all, Manning kept New York fighting.
New York scored 10 points in the final 21 seconds of the first half, making it 17-16 at the break, thanks in part to a fumbled kickoff return by Dallas' Tyson Thompson. The Giants also were within 24-19 in the third quarter and kept clawing after getting down 38-22.
Michael Strahan did not start, but played plenty for the Giants only a few days after ending his long preseason holdout. He had five tackles and no sacks.
This game produced the most points in the long history of this series. Dallas also scored its most points in an opener since putting up 49 in 1971 -- the year the Cowboys won their first Super Bowl.
By JAIME ARON, AP Sports WriterSeptember 10, 2007
Saturday, September 8, 2007
McNabb, Offense May Need to Carry Early Load
It's a good thing for Eagles' fans Donovan McNabb is so certain he can regain his footing relatively quickly. And that has very little to do with the fact the Eagles' star quarterback is returning from a career-threatening knee injury.
With the defense seemingly sputtering from the very first snap this exhibition season, McNabb and company are being called upon to carry much of the load until the revamped unit can find its bearings. Just when that might be remains a matter of conjecture.
Even veteran defensive coordinator Jim Johnson doesn't seem quite certain what to expect from his unit heading into the team's opener at Green Bay. “We'll see what kind of football team we are,” he told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “We'll see how our linebackers are going to do, how healthy Jevon [Kearse] and people like that are. We'll see how this comes together this week, but I think it's still a work in progress."
Enter McNabb, tailback Brian Westbrook and wideout Reggie Brown. Though each of them played only sparingly during the preseason, the trio is now primed to take center stage in Philly's plans. But it all starts with McNabb.
Over the coarse of his eight-year career in Philadelphia, the veteran quarterback has passed for averages of nearly of 2,800 yards and 17 touchdowns a season. Before being forced to the sidelines with the knee injury after ten games last season, McNabb had nearly eclipsed both marks, striking for 2,647 yards through the air and 18 scores.
The Eagles will need that can of production and more if they are to escape some of the early pratfalls that may indeed doom their defense.
http://www.football.com
With the defense seemingly sputtering from the very first snap this exhibition season, McNabb and company are being called upon to carry much of the load until the revamped unit can find its bearings. Just when that might be remains a matter of conjecture.
Even veteran defensive coordinator Jim Johnson doesn't seem quite certain what to expect from his unit heading into the team's opener at Green Bay. “We'll see what kind of football team we are,” he told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “We'll see how our linebackers are going to do, how healthy Jevon [Kearse] and people like that are. We'll see how this comes together this week, but I think it's still a work in progress."
Enter McNabb, tailback Brian Westbrook and wideout Reggie Brown. Though each of them played only sparingly during the preseason, the trio is now primed to take center stage in Philly's plans. But it all starts with McNabb.
Over the coarse of his eight-year career in Philadelphia, the veteran quarterback has passed for averages of nearly of 2,800 yards and 17 touchdowns a season. Before being forced to the sidelines with the knee injury after ten games last season, McNabb had nearly eclipsed both marks, striking for 2,647 yards through the air and 18 scores.
The Eagles will need that can of production and more if they are to escape some of the early pratfalls that may indeed doom their defense.
http://www.football.com
Friday, September 7, 2007
Colts start season with a win over Saints
The Indianapolis Colts looked just as formidable on offense as they did when they won the Super Bowl last season. And even better on defense.
Shaking off a sluggish first half, the Colts outscored New Orleans 31-0 after intermission in Thursday night's NFL opener to beat the Saints 41-10.
Shaking off a sluggish first half, the Colts outscored New Orleans 31-0 after intermission in Thursday night's NFL opener to beat the Saints 41-10.
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Cowboys, 49ers back among contenders
The rivalry truly began in the early 1970s with three consecutive playoff meetings, was bolstered by Dwight Clark's legendary touchdown catch in the 1982 NFC Championship game and hit its peak a decade later when the franchises faced each other in three conference title matchups.
Such history isn't forgotten at San Francisco 49ers headquarters when the Dallas Cowboys are discussed.
"The very first t-shirt I wore to a game said 'F*** Dallas' on it," said 49ers kicker Joe Nedney, who was raised in nearby San Jose. "My mom was not happy, but I went to a 49er game as a kid and my dad got me that shirt. I was about 10.
"That's pretty much when I decided I needed to start hating the Dallas Cowboys. I didn't know why, but the shirt pretty much said it all."
But in recent years, the majority of cursing by Cowboys and 49ers fans has been aimed toward their own teams.
Ever since San Francisco's 38-28 playoff victory over Dallas en route to winning Super Bowl XXIX in January 1995, the 49ers began a gradual slide that reached bottom in 2004 with a 2-14 campaign. Dallas rebounded from that 49ers loss by winning Super Bowl XXX the following season, but the Cowboys also started slipping and are 0-4 in the playoffs since 1997.
Yet entering this season, there is more optimism surrounding both clubs since players like Jerry Rice and Troy Aikman were donning 49ers and Cowboys jerseys respectively. Dallas and Philadelphia are considered the frontrunners in the NFC East, while San Francisco appears ready to push Seattle for supremacy in the NFC West.
"When the coaches are convinced and the players are convinced, the sky is the limit," Cowboys outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware said. "We have great players on defense. We don't have any holes. On offense, it's the same way.
"Now, it's all about how it's going to jell together during the season. Are we going to be high the first part and low the second part? Teams that get there are consistent the whole way through."
Nedney is just as optimistic about San Francisco's chances.
"This is my third year here and we just keep building on it every year and haven't taken a step back," he said. "You can just kind of tell with the guys and the way we interact with players and coaching staff, there are little intangibles starting to build that you need to have a championship team.
"Having been on enough teams (eight) in the league, I can tell when there's a locker room full of guys just playing football and a locker room full of players who belong to a team. We've got that here. I believe this team is going to get back to championship status here pretty soon."
First things first, though.
San Francisco hasn't reached the playoffs or even posted a winning record since 2002, which was Steve Mariucci's final season coaching the squad. Mariucci wasn't able to win a Super Bowl like predecessors Bill Walsh and George Seifert, but he did lead San Francisco to postseason appearances in four of his six seasons.
That was much more than the brain trust of coach Dennis Erickson and general manager Terry Donahue produced in their two seasons running the 49ers. The duo will be remembered as a disaster because of San Francisco's poor on-field performance and roster decisions. Running back Kevan Barlow and cornerback Ahmad Plummer were given lucrative contract extensions that never paid dividends and first-day draft picks were wasted on such busts as wide receivers Rashaun Woods and Derek Hamilton and defensive end Andrew Williams.
49ers defensive tackle Bryant Young, who is the only remaining member of San Francisco's last Super Bowl squad, said the low point of his 14-year NFL career came in 2004 when the 49ers' only two victories came against an Arizona squad that finished a lowly 6-10.
"Going through that whole year, it was hard to see that light at the end of the tunnel," Young said. "At the time, you really had to be a pro because it was easy to pack it in and not go out and give your best."
Young said Mike Nolan immediately began to change that culture after being hired to essentially replace both Erickson and Donahue in 2005.
Trying to recapture the club's glory years, Nolan said 49ers owner John York wanted to install a coach with power over both personnel and on-field decisions a la the late Bill Walsh during the 1980s. Nolan — whose father Dick was San Francisco's head coach from 1968 to 1975 — oversees a front-office staff that has subsequently revamped San Francisco's roster with better drafts and free-agent acquisitions.
That includes a wild spending spree this off-season to net Nate Clements, who became the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history with an eight-year, $80 million contract, safety Michael Lewis and linebacker Tully Banta-Cain as well as the re-signing of standout running back Frank Gore to a four-year, $28 million extension.
Such moves could help the 49ers continue to rise in 2007 after improving from 4-12 to 7-9 in Nolan's first two seasons.
"I like to be in charge," Nolan told FOXSports.com after the team's final training camp practice. "It's not an issue of control, but you have to have control to be in charge. And although I hadn't done it before, John felt secure in offering me the job. If he envisioned what Bill had touched, I'd like to think I had the ability to touch those same areas.
"Now, it's certainly a long way to make it happen like with what Bill did. But at the same time, the structure in which we're doing things right now I would say is very similar to what he did."
The Cowboys are structured differently, with owner/general manager Jerry Jones and his staff handling front-office decisions. That helps explain why Jones was so willing to accept responsibility for Dallas' decline from being the NFL's elite franchise through the first half of the 1990s.
"The playoffs for me are not the issue," Jones told FOXSports.com during an interview at Cowboys headquarters in Irving, Texas. "I know they have to come first, but I've never thought about this team from a playoff contention standpoint. I've thought about it as a Super Bowl team.
"I've taken the risks in decision-making that give us a chance to be a Super Bowl team maybe more than what I thought another route might (entail). We haven't gotten it done and we've had some things really blow up in our face a couple of times. But the bottom line is I never thought we would be this long out of a Super Bowl."
Although the Cowboys are now on their fifth different head coach (Wade Phillips) in 11 seasons, Jones said his squad's biggest problem was establishing stability at quarterback. Jones said he expected Aikman to play "a minimum of four or five more years" before concussions and back problems forced him to retire after the 2000 season.
Since then, the Cowboys fielded eight different starters until finally settling on Tony Romo midway through the 2006 season. And even though he was voted to the Pro Bowl following a strong debut, Romo can hardly be considered a sure thing after he struggled with Dallas posting a 2-4 record in the final six games, including a 21-20 first-round playoff loss to Seattle in which he botched the hold on what would have been the game-winning field goal.
"Hopefully, we've got the kind of quarterback who can get us (to the Super Bowl)," said Jones, who has declined so far to sign Romo to a contract extension even though he is slated to become an unrestricted free agent in 2008. "It singularly doesn't get you there, but the only success I've ever known we've had a top quarterback."
At least Jones can be certain that Dallas will field a top-notch defense orchestrated by Phillips, whose unit in San Diego produced an NFL-best 61 sacks in 2006. Like with Chargers strong-side linebacker Shawne Merriman, Phillips has the services of one of the league's top young pass-rushers in Ware and arguably as much overall defensive talent to work with as he did with San Diego.
Players also are happy Phillips has instituted a more aggressive 3-4 system than the one previously used under former head coach Bill Parcells and defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer "This scheme is heavily predicated on the outside linebackers getting pressure," Cowboys inside linebacker Bradie James said. "The inside (linebackers) and D-linemen are moving around a lot more than before, so that hopefully creates negative plays in the backfield. That's what we've been missing — explosive plays on the defensive side of the ball."
Dallas and San Francisco aren't scheduled to play in the regular season. But the thought of meeting in the playoffs would bring the Cowboys-49ers feud into another generation.
"Growing up, that was the game you always looked forward to seeing," said 49ers fullback Moran Norris, a Houston native. "You've got two teams that have won a lot of Super Bowls, have a lot of history behind them and have had a lot of Pro Bowlers.
"If we keep it going, I'm sure it will be a game like it used to be back in the day."
Alex Marvez FOXSports.com
Such history isn't forgotten at San Francisco 49ers headquarters when the Dallas Cowboys are discussed.
"The very first t-shirt I wore to a game said 'F*** Dallas' on it," said 49ers kicker Joe Nedney, who was raised in nearby San Jose. "My mom was not happy, but I went to a 49er game as a kid and my dad got me that shirt. I was about 10.
"That's pretty much when I decided I needed to start hating the Dallas Cowboys. I didn't know why, but the shirt pretty much said it all."
But in recent years, the majority of cursing by Cowboys and 49ers fans has been aimed toward their own teams.
Ever since San Francisco's 38-28 playoff victory over Dallas en route to winning Super Bowl XXIX in January 1995, the 49ers began a gradual slide that reached bottom in 2004 with a 2-14 campaign. Dallas rebounded from that 49ers loss by winning Super Bowl XXX the following season, but the Cowboys also started slipping and are 0-4 in the playoffs since 1997.
Yet entering this season, there is more optimism surrounding both clubs since players like Jerry Rice and Troy Aikman were donning 49ers and Cowboys jerseys respectively. Dallas and Philadelphia are considered the frontrunners in the NFC East, while San Francisco appears ready to push Seattle for supremacy in the NFC West.
"When the coaches are convinced and the players are convinced, the sky is the limit," Cowboys outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware said. "We have great players on defense. We don't have any holes. On offense, it's the same way.
"Now, it's all about how it's going to jell together during the season. Are we going to be high the first part and low the second part? Teams that get there are consistent the whole way through."
Nedney is just as optimistic about San Francisco's chances.
"This is my third year here and we just keep building on it every year and haven't taken a step back," he said. "You can just kind of tell with the guys and the way we interact with players and coaching staff, there are little intangibles starting to build that you need to have a championship team.
"Having been on enough teams (eight) in the league, I can tell when there's a locker room full of guys just playing football and a locker room full of players who belong to a team. We've got that here. I believe this team is going to get back to championship status here pretty soon."
First things first, though.
San Francisco hasn't reached the playoffs or even posted a winning record since 2002, which was Steve Mariucci's final season coaching the squad. Mariucci wasn't able to win a Super Bowl like predecessors Bill Walsh and George Seifert, but he did lead San Francisco to postseason appearances in four of his six seasons.
That was much more than the brain trust of coach Dennis Erickson and general manager Terry Donahue produced in their two seasons running the 49ers. The duo will be remembered as a disaster because of San Francisco's poor on-field performance and roster decisions. Running back Kevan Barlow and cornerback Ahmad Plummer were given lucrative contract extensions that never paid dividends and first-day draft picks were wasted on such busts as wide receivers Rashaun Woods and Derek Hamilton and defensive end Andrew Williams.
49ers defensive tackle Bryant Young, who is the only remaining member of San Francisco's last Super Bowl squad, said the low point of his 14-year NFL career came in 2004 when the 49ers' only two victories came against an Arizona squad that finished a lowly 6-10.
"Going through that whole year, it was hard to see that light at the end of the tunnel," Young said. "At the time, you really had to be a pro because it was easy to pack it in and not go out and give your best."
Young said Mike Nolan immediately began to change that culture after being hired to essentially replace both Erickson and Donahue in 2005.
Trying to recapture the club's glory years, Nolan said 49ers owner John York wanted to install a coach with power over both personnel and on-field decisions a la the late Bill Walsh during the 1980s. Nolan — whose father Dick was San Francisco's head coach from 1968 to 1975 — oversees a front-office staff that has subsequently revamped San Francisco's roster with better drafts and free-agent acquisitions.
That includes a wild spending spree this off-season to net Nate Clements, who became the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history with an eight-year, $80 million contract, safety Michael Lewis and linebacker Tully Banta-Cain as well as the re-signing of standout running back Frank Gore to a four-year, $28 million extension.
Such moves could help the 49ers continue to rise in 2007 after improving from 4-12 to 7-9 in Nolan's first two seasons.
"I like to be in charge," Nolan told FOXSports.com after the team's final training camp practice. "It's not an issue of control, but you have to have control to be in charge. And although I hadn't done it before, John felt secure in offering me the job. If he envisioned what Bill had touched, I'd like to think I had the ability to touch those same areas.
"Now, it's certainly a long way to make it happen like with what Bill did. But at the same time, the structure in which we're doing things right now I would say is very similar to what he did."
The Cowboys are structured differently, with owner/general manager Jerry Jones and his staff handling front-office decisions. That helps explain why Jones was so willing to accept responsibility for Dallas' decline from being the NFL's elite franchise through the first half of the 1990s.
"The playoffs for me are not the issue," Jones told FOXSports.com during an interview at Cowboys headquarters in Irving, Texas. "I know they have to come first, but I've never thought about this team from a playoff contention standpoint. I've thought about it as a Super Bowl team.
"I've taken the risks in decision-making that give us a chance to be a Super Bowl team maybe more than what I thought another route might (entail). We haven't gotten it done and we've had some things really blow up in our face a couple of times. But the bottom line is I never thought we would be this long out of a Super Bowl."
Although the Cowboys are now on their fifth different head coach (Wade Phillips) in 11 seasons, Jones said his squad's biggest problem was establishing stability at quarterback. Jones said he expected Aikman to play "a minimum of four or five more years" before concussions and back problems forced him to retire after the 2000 season.
Since then, the Cowboys fielded eight different starters until finally settling on Tony Romo midway through the 2006 season. And even though he was voted to the Pro Bowl following a strong debut, Romo can hardly be considered a sure thing after he struggled with Dallas posting a 2-4 record in the final six games, including a 21-20 first-round playoff loss to Seattle in which he botched the hold on what would have been the game-winning field goal.
"Hopefully, we've got the kind of quarterback who can get us (to the Super Bowl)," said Jones, who has declined so far to sign Romo to a contract extension even though he is slated to become an unrestricted free agent in 2008. "It singularly doesn't get you there, but the only success I've ever known we've had a top quarterback."
At least Jones can be certain that Dallas will field a top-notch defense orchestrated by Phillips, whose unit in San Diego produced an NFL-best 61 sacks in 2006. Like with Chargers strong-side linebacker Shawne Merriman, Phillips has the services of one of the league's top young pass-rushers in Ware and arguably as much overall defensive talent to work with as he did with San Diego.
Players also are happy Phillips has instituted a more aggressive 3-4 system than the one previously used under former head coach Bill Parcells and defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer "This scheme is heavily predicated on the outside linebackers getting pressure," Cowboys inside linebacker Bradie James said. "The inside (linebackers) and D-linemen are moving around a lot more than before, so that hopefully creates negative plays in the backfield. That's what we've been missing — explosive plays on the defensive side of the ball."
Dallas and San Francisco aren't scheduled to play in the regular season. But the thought of meeting in the playoffs would bring the Cowboys-49ers feud into another generation.
"Growing up, that was the game you always looked forward to seeing," said 49ers fullback Moran Norris, a Houston native. "You've got two teams that have won a lot of Super Bowls, have a lot of history behind them and have had a lot of Pro Bowlers.
"If we keep it going, I'm sure it will be a game like it used to be back in the day."
Alex Marvez FOXSports.com
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Kickoff
The NFL will kick off the 2007 season on Thursday, Sep. 6 when the New Orleans Saints travel to Indianapolis to take on the defending Super Bowl champion Colts. Kickoff is at 8:30 p.m. ET on NBC.
The NFL's free kickoff event, featuring performances from Faith Hill, Kelly Clarkson and Hinder is located at Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis on Thursday, Sept. 6. Gates will open at 3 p.m. John Mellencamp will perform later from the RCA Dome.
On NFL Network
Kickoff Week on NFL Network:
» Peyton Manning finally wins the big one with an MVP performance and you can watch the Super Bowl XLI encore on NFL Network on Tuesday, Sept. 4 at 8 p.m. ET. The telecast also includes Prince's performance in the Super Bowl XLI halftime show.
» The 2006 Indianapolis Colts will be profiled on America's Game on Wednesday, Sept. 5 at 9 p.m. ET on NFL Network. The story of the 2006 Colts is told through the eyes of Tony Dungy, Peyton Manning and Jeff Saturday, narrated by Emmy Award-winning actor Donald Sutherland.
» The NFL's free kickoff event, featuring performances from Faith Hill, Kelly Clarkson, the rock band Hinder and John Mellencamp will be simulcast live on NFL Network on Thursday, Sept. 6 at 8 p.m. ET, preceding the Saints and Colts Kickoff game.
Live games on the NFL Network:
Indianapols at Atlanta, Thurs., Nov. 22 (8:15 p.m.)
Green Bay at Dallas, Thurs., Nov. 29 (8:15 p.m.)
Chicago at Washington, Thurs., Dec. 6 (8:15 p.m.)
Denver at Houston, Thurs., Dec. 13 (8:15 p.m.)
Cincinnati at San Francisco, Sat., Dec. 15 (8:15 p.m.)
Pittsburgh at St. Louis, Thurs., Dec. 20 (8:15 p.m.)
Dallas at Carolina, Sat., Dec. 22 (8:15 p.m.)
New England at New York Giants, Thurs., Dec. 29 (8:15 p.m.)
http://www.nfl.com
The NFL's free kickoff event, featuring performances from Faith Hill, Kelly Clarkson and Hinder is located at Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis on Thursday, Sept. 6. Gates will open at 3 p.m. John Mellencamp will perform later from the RCA Dome.
On NFL Network
Kickoff Week on NFL Network:
» Peyton Manning finally wins the big one with an MVP performance and you can watch the Super Bowl XLI encore on NFL Network on Tuesday, Sept. 4 at 8 p.m. ET. The telecast also includes Prince's performance in the Super Bowl XLI halftime show.
» The 2006 Indianapolis Colts will be profiled on America's Game on Wednesday, Sept. 5 at 9 p.m. ET on NFL Network. The story of the 2006 Colts is told through the eyes of Tony Dungy, Peyton Manning and Jeff Saturday, narrated by Emmy Award-winning actor Donald Sutherland.
» The NFL's free kickoff event, featuring performances from Faith Hill, Kelly Clarkson, the rock band Hinder and John Mellencamp will be simulcast live on NFL Network on Thursday, Sept. 6 at 8 p.m. ET, preceding the Saints and Colts Kickoff game.
Live games on the NFL Network:
Indianapols at Atlanta, Thurs., Nov. 22 (8:15 p.m.)
Green Bay at Dallas, Thurs., Nov. 29 (8:15 p.m.)
Chicago at Washington, Thurs., Dec. 6 (8:15 p.m.)
Denver at Houston, Thurs., Dec. 13 (8:15 p.m.)
Cincinnati at San Francisco, Sat., Dec. 15 (8:15 p.m.)
Pittsburgh at St. Louis, Thurs., Dec. 20 (8:15 p.m.)
Dallas at Carolina, Sat., Dec. 22 (8:15 p.m.)
New England at New York Giants, Thurs., Dec. 29 (8:15 p.m.)
http://www.nfl.com
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