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The Dallas Cowboys were dominated by the Green Bay Packers on Sunday when they were defeated 34-24. The Cowboys were out of synch right from the start and never really had a chance to win after allowing the Packers a 24 -0 lead.
Recap
For the second week in a row Dallas has turned the ball over a few more times than their opponent, and once again came out on the losing end of the game. Don't let the score fool you, the Cowboys gained a lot of empty yards and points late in the second half.
Quarterback Dak Prescott was 27/44 for 463 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 3 INTERCEPTIONS. He also ran 4 times for 27 yards. With the Cowboys playing catch-up basically from the start, receivers Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup had big days. Cooper had his best day as a Cowboy with 11 catches for 226 yards and 1 touchdown. It was Gallup's 1st game back since injuring his knee three weeks ago. He had 7 catches for 113 yards and 1 touchdown as well.
With the team trailing all game long, Pro Bowl running back Ezekiel Elliott was kept in check by the Green Bay defense. He only had 14 touches total. Zeke carried 12 times for 62 yards, a 1 yard rushing touchdown and 2 catches for 29 yards. Without Elliott leading the way for the Cowboy offense, the Packers were able to control the game and cruise to an easy win.
Dallas now falls to (3-2) and is now tied with the Philadelphia Eagles for 1st in the NFC East.
3 Things to Watch For
1.Ezekiel Elliott (Running Back): The Cowboys need to feed Zeke the ball and not stop in order to get back to their winning ways. There is no reason he should not get less than 20 touches in every game.
2.Michael Gallup (Wide Receiver): Didn't show any signs of slowing down in his return to the field. He has caught 6 or more passes in every game he has played this season and I would expect it to keep going due to the great chemistry he has with Prescott.
3.Brett Maher (Kicker): 2nd year man had some issues in the Preseason and it looks like he hasn't fixed them. He is 4/7 on field goal attempts for the season, which is 57.1%. That is not good, that isn't even close to average.If this continues, the Cowboys are going to need to find themselves another kicker.
Coming Up
This Sunday October 13th, the Dallas Cowboys (3-2) will be going to the Big Apple to take on the New York Jets (0-4) at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford New Jersey. Kickoff is set for 3:25 pm Central time. With the Cowboys losing 2 in a row, I expect them to come out and let Zeke run over the Jets defense. A good mix of run and pass plays should allow Dallas to stay in rhythm and roll to an easy victory. The Jets #1 quarterback Sam Darnold will be back from missing a few games due to illness but he will probably not be 100 percent game shape ready.
If you have any fantasy players, the only must start players are:
Cowboys:Ezekiel Elliott (RB), Amari Cooper (WR), Dak Prescott (QB), Michael Gallup (WR)
JETS:Le'Veon Bell (RB)
For you gamblers out there, the Cowboys are currently -7.5 and the over/under is 43.5. I would only take Dallas at -7 or less would be even better but I think the over is the best play, just like last week!
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With the Astros now officially ten games under .500 for the season, manager Joe Espada is taking a lot of heat from the fanbase for the team's struggles.
While we don't agree with the sentiment, we even hear fans clamoring for the return of Dusty Baker and Martin Maldonado, thinking the Astros wouldn't be in this mess if they were still here.
Which is ridiculous. First of all, Maldonado has been awful for the White Sox, hitting .048 (even worse than Jose Abreu's .065). And for those of you that think his work with the pitching staff justifies his pathetic offense. Let me say this: Where was Maldy's game calling genius for Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, and Framber Valdez last year? All of them regressed significantly.
And as far as Baker is concerned, we have no idea how much a difference he would make, we can only speculate. Baker would also be dealing with a pitching staff ravaged with injuries. And let's not forget, Baker was the guy that refused to move Jose Abreu down in the batting order, even though he would finish the regular season with the ninth-worst OPS in baseball.
The reality of the situation is managers can only do so much in baseball. Which leads us to something else that needs to be considered. Is Espada being handcuffed by the front office? Espada and GM Dana Brown both said recently that Jon Singleton was going to get more at-bats while they give Abreu time off to try to figure things out. Yet, there Abreu was in the lineup again in the opening game of the Cubs series.
It makes us wonder how much power does Espada truly have? The Astros have some other options at first base. Yainer Diaz may only have eight games played at the position, but how much worse could he be than Abreu defensively? Abreu already has four errors, and Diaz is obviously a way better hitter. Victor Caratini isn't considered a plus offensive player, but his .276 batting average makes him look like Babe Ruth compared to Abreu. Let him catch more often and play Diaz at first. Starting Diaz at first more often could also lengthen his career long-term.
Maybe that's too wild of a move. Okay, fine. How about playing Mauricio Dubon at first base? I understand he doesn't have much experience at that position, but what's the downside of trying him there? If he can play shortstop, he can play first base. He's driving in runs at a higher rate (11 RBIs) than everyone on the team outside of Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez. And he's producing like that as part-time player right now.
The other criticism we see of Espada is his use of Jon Singleton to pinch hit late in games. Let's be real, though, who else does Espada have on the roster to go to? Batting Abreu late in games in which you're trailing should be considered malpractice. Espada can only use who he has to work with. This all really stems from the Astros poor farm system.
They don't have anyone else to turn to. The draft picks the club lost from the sign-stealing scandal are really hurting them right now. First and second rounders from 2020 and 2021 should be helping you in 2024 at the big league level.
Maybe they go to Astros prospect Joey Loperfido soon, but after a hot start he has only two hits in his last six games.
Finally, we have to talk about what seems like a committee making baseball decisions. Lost in a committee is accountability. Who gets the blame for making poor decisions?
As time continues to pass it looks like moving on from former GM James Click was a massive mistake. He's the guy that didn't sign Abreu, but did trade Myles Straw (recently DFA'd) for Yainer Diaz and Phil Maton. He also built an elite bullpen without breaking the bank, and helped the club win a World Series in 2022.
The reality of the situation is Dusty Baker and James Click are not walking back through that door. And all good runs come to an end at some point. Is this what we're witnessing?
Don't miss the video above as we hit on all the points discussed and much more!
Catch Stone Cold 'Stros (an Astros podcast) with Charlie Pallilo, Brandon Strange, and Josh Jordan. We drop two episodes every week on SportsMapHouston's YouTube channel. You can also listen on Apple Podcast, Spotifyor wherever you get your podcasts.