NFL GridIron Gab Daily Digest

In a game that the Cowboys simply had to have on the road against an undefeated Saints team, Tony Romo and the Boys came up huge, pulling out a huge 24-17 win to move to 9-5 on the season and send the Saints to 13-1. DeMarcus Ware, who just a week ago seemed to be on the verge of missing the rest of season with a neck injury, came back and played lights out, making the nail in the coffin play on the last drive to sack Drew Brees to force a fumble and end the last Saints threat.

“The Lord really blessed me,” Ware said. “When I told the team I was playing tonight, everybody’s eyes lit up, and as you can see the scoreboard lit up to.”

The key to the win was the start of the game and the start of the third quarter. Dallas played solid defense and held New Orleans in check early as they forced the Saints to go scoreless in their first two possessions. While the D did their part, the offense came out led by Romo and put two touchdowns on the board to build a 14-0 lead before 10 minutes were off the first quarter clock.

After a Garrett Hartley 34-yard field goal to close the Cowboys lead to 14-3, the Cowboys again came up big on defense as Ware forced a fumble that Anthony Spencer recovered at the Saints 27. With :04 left in the half, Nick Folk nailed a 44-yard field goal to make it a 17-3 Dallas lead in the half.

Again the Cowboys came up big at the start of the second half, as they took 7 minutes off the clock and went from their own 26 to the Saints end zone as Marion Barber went in for his second TD of the game, this time from two yards out to make it a 24-3 game and put the Saints in a desperate position.

That of course is when Brees went to work. The Saints scored on a Mike Bell one-yard run with 12:35 left to cut the lead to 24-10, then after a Dallas three-and-out the Saints went 70 yards as Brees hit Lance Moore with a 7-yard score to cut the lead to 24-17 with 8 minutes left.

With their backs against the wall, the Cowboys came up with what could have been their drive of the year. With a big 3rd-and-7 from their 23, Romo hit Miles Austin with a 32-yard gain to give the team some breathing room. They kept the ball all the way till the 2:16 mark down to the Saints 6. With a chance to put the game away, Folk bounced a 24-yard field goal off the upright, giving the Saints new life.

New Orlenas with no timeouts left, drove to the Cowboys 42 with six seconds left, and that’s when Ware came around end and got to Brees, ending the final New Orleans threat and ending their perfect season.

It was the first road win in December for the Cowboys since they beat Carolina back in 2007. Romo had a big night, going 22-for-34 for 312 yards with a touchdown. The defense, led by Ware with two sacks and two forced fumbles, got to Brees four times total.

The Cowboys also held the ball for 36:26, keeping Brees and the Saints off the field. Now they will come home on Sunday night December 27th to take on the Redskins.

Remember the last time the Steelers won a game? Yeah, it’s been awhile. The last time this team won they beat the Denver Broncos on a Monday night to move to 6-2. Since then the season has been a complete disaster, losing five in a row and basically ending their season with losses to lightweights like the Chiefs, Raiders and Browns.

Sunday at home they have a chance to put a positive spin on this awful run, as they take on former coordinator Dom Capers and the Green Bay Packers. The Packers come in with a very solid group, and they are playing pretty good football, going 9-4 on the season. They have a solid defense led by Capers, and on offense, QB Aaron Rodgers is about as good as they get.

So can the Steelers finally end this awful losing streak and turn things around for the final three weeks of the regular season? Or will the poor play and streak of losing games continue? Here are a couple of keys as to what the Steelers need to do to walk out of their home stadium with a win on Sunday:

1. Commit to the run – Cold and snow is in the forecast for Sunday in the Steel City, and unlike the poor planning for the weather in Cleveland 10 days ago, the team should simply run, run and run some more. Rashard Mendenhall and Willie Parker should combine to see the ball at least 40 times and Ben Roethlisberger should not be in the shotgun on many third and one’s like he was on the first series vs the Browns. Let this O-line which was beat up early and often vs Cleveland have a good day run blocking.

2. Keep the heat on Rodgers – Rodgers has been sacked a league-high 47 times, but just four over the last three games. The Packers O-line has done a better job, but the Steelers need to throw some blitzes and him, and make sure he doesn’t have a ton of time to sit back in the pocket and throw. The Steelers D even made Brady Quinn look like a decent QB in the last game vs Cleveland. And Rodgers is way better than Quinn, and that’s scary.

3. Don’t Give the Packers Easy Chances – The Packers have forced 33 turnovers, including nine interceptions over the last three games, to rank second in the league behind New Orleans. In order to beat them, they are going to have to have sustained drives and not give the Packers easy chances with short fields. Even in defeat last week the Steelers didn’t turn the ball over, and they can’t do it here either.

4. Come out with some Emotion - For whatever reason with the season on the line this team came out totally flat vs Cleveland last Thursday. How about in front of your home crowd give them an early Christmas gift with some Steeler football by coming out and scoring quickly, and playing the type of championship football that we all saw last season? While it’s not likely, this team actually still has a shot at the postseason, so play like it.

Prediction:

Despite the awful five weeks of football, the Steelers still have one shot to turn it around. With a lot of time off to think about it, they get things turned around, at least for one week at home vs a Packers team that comes in after a big win last week vs the Bears – Pittsburgh 24 Green Bay 16

It’s Saturday here in New Orleans and downtown is fast filling with tailgaters and partygoers getting ready for tonight’s Saints game. It’s amazing to see so many  happy people come together and celebrate sports and a team that is deeply New Orleans. In fact, Louisiana was recently named the happiest state in America in a recent CDC study.

The Saints story this year is much more than wins and losses. It’s the story of a celebration of all that is New Orleans. Hard to imagine, but the city almost lost the team after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The Superdome was in such disrepair that it was going to be torn down.

With the wins comes a lot of media exposure. I don’t know about you, but I’ve read a lot of misconceptions about this team and this post-Katrina city and it’s relationship. ESPN did a wonderful article on this relationship. It’s well worth the read.

So my questions to you Saints fans, media members, Saintsgab readers, what do the Saints mean to you and to New Orleans? What do you think is their relationship to a post-Katrina New Orleans?

Please click the comments link at the bottom of this post to leave your comments. I’ll give you my take soon. Let the debate begin!

It appears that despite the Chicago Bears’ woeful season, John Mullin of CSNChicago.com is reporting that a pair of highly placed sources within the Bears’ hierarchy have indicated that there will not be a change at the top of the on-field organizational chart, perhaps due to the possibility of a player strike/lockout. In other words, head coach Lovie Smith will return to the Bears next season.

Expect more clarity down the road in terms to Smith and his return; however, I think that Lovie will return to the Windy City for the 2010 NFL regular season.

Three days later, Bengal nation is still in shock over the loss of WR Chris Henry.  I know I am.  The fact is that I cannot get it out of my head.  I am preoccupied with what exactly happened, and for God's sake, why?

The details regarding what motivated the actions of Henry and his fiancée, Loleini Tonga, are understandably still being investigated.  It will likely be weeks, even agonizing months, before the whole story comes out.  Whether criminal acts were committed or if charges will be filed remains to be seen.  For now, there is the swirling carnival of fan conjecture, news stories and media speculation.

Meanwhile, for those who knew the man they called "Slim" there is but grief and reflection.

Individuals throughout the league offered their condolences, their insights, and formal press releases. The extended families of the Bengals and the NFL sorrowfully reacted to the news.  Bengal players talked openly about the kind hearted, soft spoken teammate and human being they knew.  Owner Mike Brown restated his well-documented "fondness" for Henry.  Head Coach Marvin Lewis described the hard work and effort he saw in him over the last several months. Carson Palmer quite eloquently ruminated on the good soul that was so tragically misunderstood by the outside world.  And Chad Ochocinco wept.

While most see this as the most appropriate reaction, others are careful to remind us of the numerous past transgressions of the man one judge called "a one man crime wave."  As they recite the rap sheet to us they wish to reiterate that Henry was far from perfect in life and should not be made a saint in death. They tend to stress perspective. Indeed, Henry made many poor decisions over the last few years.  Who knows what others he may have made in his last few fleeting moments on the earth?

I could join in and review in this space the arrests, the convictions and the league suspensions.  Or I could take the other side of the argument, and write a few paragraphs about his renewed commitment and his apparent desire to preserve the last chance at salvaging his life and career.

I could discuss the career itself; after all, he had enormous talent and limitless athletic ability.  I could fill several pages with memories of how he struck fear into defensive backs around the league with his speed, jumping ability, and uncanny nose for the end zone.  This is certainly worth memorializing, and will be difficult to replace.

Pragmatically, perhaps I should review what this tragedy does to the Bengals psyche as they head to the west coast for a tough tilt with a red-hot San Diego team with huge playoff implications hanging in the balance.  After all, life goes on.

But that doesn't feel right.  At this moment, none of that matters.  What matters is that a man's life was snuffed out in the blossom of youth and unlimited promise.  What matters is that a loving family grieves; a fiancée is widowed before she is married, and beautiful children awoke this morning fatherless. These things transcend football.

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