Jason Garrett and the Cowboys need a big second half. Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images
The Dallas Cowboys enter Week 9 of the 2018 NFL season with a record of 3-4 and in third place of the NFC East. They are one game behind the Philadelphia Eagles (4-4) and two games behind the first place Washington Redskins (5-2).
The Cowboys three wins have come at home and they have not had a record over .500 all year. Luckily, they are coming off a bye week and they will be taking on the Tennessee Titans (3-4) at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX.
Currently, Dallas is the No. 1 defense in the league in terms of total yards allowed (2196) and points allowed (123). Their bye week has come at a good time which has given their best defensive player Sean Lee an extra week to heal his injured hamstring although he did play against Washington. In his absence rookie linebacker Leighton Vander Esch and second year linebacker Jaylon Smith have really stepped up and combined for 111 tackles and 3 sacks. If they can keep it going along with Lee, the Cowboys defense could become elite before the end of the year.
With the Dallas defense playing well and not allowing opposing teams to score much, the Cowboys offense has been what has held them back from winning a few other games. Head coach Jason Garrett and the front office have made some moves since the Cowboys last played. Garrett made his first ever in season coaching change by firing offensive line coach Paul Alexander. They have named former Cowboy offensive lineman Marc Colombo as the new OL coach; he was an assistant under Alexander.
The biggest change the Cowboys made was the acquisition of two time Pro Bowl wide receiver Amari Cooper. Dallas traded their 2019 first-round pick to the Oakland Raiders for Cooper. Many have said that they paid too high a price for him because he hasn’t had a good season since 2016. In reality, it’s not that bad of a trade. The Cowboys are the 30th best passing offense in the league and should instantly improve. Cooper is a big play threat and with him on the field, it helps fill their need for a No. 1 receiver. He is only 24 years old and has already proven he can play in the NFL. He had a 1,000 yard seasons in both 2015 and 2016. There are no superstar receivers entering the draft next year and Dallas would probably be picking somewhere between 15 and 20.
Dallas has nine games left to play this season; five of them are currently against teams with losing records.
Players to Watch
Amari Cooper (wide receiver): Has had a little less than two weeks to get accustomed to the play book and create some chemistry with quarterback Dak Prescott. His 2018 stats of 22 catches for 280 yards and 1 touchdown already make him the second best receiver on the team.
Ezekiel Elliott (running back): It is going to be interesting to see how defenses adjust now that they can’t key on Zeke with Cooper there to stretch the field. He should have more running lanes to hit.
Sean Lee (linebacker): The defensive leader should be able to help keep pressure on the opposing quarterback Marcus Mariota who is very mobile and can run if he has to.
Coming up
Monday Night Nov. 5 at 7:15 p.m. Central time, the Cowboys will be hosting the Tennessee Titans. This is a perfect opportunity for Dallas to get back to .500 at 4-4. Tennessee is second to last in total offense and has no offensive superstars. The Cowboy defense should be able to capitalize on this, which in turn will allow the Dallas offense to control the ball with super star running back Elliott and Prescott’s new weapon Cooper.
If you have any fantasy players, the only must start players are:
Cowboys: Ezekiel Elliott (RB), Cowboys (Defense). Only play Cooper if you have to, I am going to wait and see how they use him before starting him.
Titans: Dion Lewis (RB), only if you have no other option.
For you gamblers out there, the Cowboys are -6.5 and the over/under is 41. That seems like a lot of points to give but if I had to play it, I would go with Cowboys -6.5 and the over of 41.
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I left for vacation on April 14. Came back home on April 24. Eleven days in England and Germany.
Astros first baseman Jose Abreu went 0 for my vacation.
The last time Abreu reached base via a real-life hit was April 13 when he got two hits (fully half of his season total) and his batting average soared to a robust .122.
Since then, while I was dining on shepherd’s pie and schnitzel, Abreu has gone hitless in 21 at bats and his batting average has plunged to a squinty .065.
There’s an expression in baseball when a player is having a horrible, dreadful season: “He ain’t hitting his weight.”
Abreu ain’t hitting his uniform number. If you’re keeping score at home, Abreu weighs 250 pounds and wears number 79.
Abreu is chasing history. The record for suckiest single-season batting average for a player with enough plate appearances (502) to qualify for the batting title is held by former Orioles slugger Chris Davis.
In 2018, Davis batted .168. Despite being in the middle of a wildly overpaid 7-year, $161 million contract, the Orioles essentially fired Davis and his career was over in 2020.
Abreu is in the middle year of a guaranteed 3-year, $58.5 million, money down the toilet contract. Will he be an Astro next year when owner Jim Crane chokes on signing yet another $19.5 million paycheck for Abreu? Unlikely.
Other modern era batters have turned in disastrous single-season averages. Dan Uggla batted an unattractive .179 for the Braves in 2013. Rob Deer was a deer in the headlights swatting .179 for the Tigers in 1991.
Abreu is turning futility into an art form. If he continues his .065 pace he will obliterate every record for crummiest season in baseball history.
He has appeared in 19 games and has 4 hits in 62 at bats, with no home runs and one measly RBI. He had his latest oh-fer Tuesday night against the Cubs.
Fans are clamoring for Astros manager Joe Espada to open his eyes, stop looking at the back of Abreu’s baseball and bench the flailing, failing first baseman.
I say the opposite. In fact move him back to fifth in the batting order. If Abreu stays focused on doing what he does best this season - striking out with runners in scoring position - fans can witness the worst batting stats anybody’s ever had.
Oh, by the way, Abreu is a horrible fielding first baseman. We don’t know if he’s a good base runner. He’d have to get on base for us to tell.
Abreu is on pace to get 502 plate appearances. So this counts.
There actually is a player who’s having worse time at the plate than Abreu., though.
Abreu’s meager stats look positively Ruthian compared to what former Astro catcher Martin Maldonado is putting up for the White Sox. Maldy has 2 hits in 42 at bats for a subterranean .048 batting average with no homers and no RBI in 15 games. Maldonado won’t get to 502 plate appearances, however.
Who will end 2024 with a lower batting average: Abreu or Maldonado? This epic battle could go down to the final game of the season.