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Cotton

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Cowboys don't have time to enjoy long-awaited win

Todd Archer, ESPN Staff Writer

MIAMI – Greg Hardy was asked if he could take any time to enjoy the Dallas Cowboys’ 24-14 win against the Miami Dolphins.

He grabbed his cell phone in his locker and looked at the time. It read 4:29 p.m.

“Game’s over,” Hardy said. “Next game.”

The Cowboys lost seven straight games while Tony Romo was out with a broken collarbone. They went more than 60 days between victories.

“It was a long-ass time,” safety Barry Church said.

Couldn’t they take just a little bit of time to enjoy their win?

Not really.

Romo’s return isn’t just about winning Sunday against the Dolphins. Romo’s return now is about beating the undefeated Carolina Panthers on Thanksgiving. And if they do that, the Cowboys could be one game back should the New York Giants lose to the Washington Redskins on Nov. 29.

Sunday couldn’t have gone better for the Cowboys, with the Redskins and Philadelphia Eagles losing. They gained a half-game on the idle Giants.

“Our deal is just to focus on ourselves,” coach Jason Garrett said. “We focus on ourselves and our opportunity each day to get better and each week, and our team has done that.”

Even thinking about the NFC East standings is inappropriate at the moment.

“Can’t. I can’t. We can’t. It’s a distraction. That’s a real distraction,” wide receiver Dez Bryant said. “And we’ve just got to stay sticking together and each and every game, win, lose or draw, we’ve got to feel good about ourselves when the game is over and hold our heads up high after we went out there and gave it our all. I think that’s what we’re going to continue to keep doing. We’re going to fight strong, we’re going to practice strong, and stay together and play together.”

Taking them one game at a time is right out of the coach’s cliché handbook, but it’s absolutely necessary for the Cowboys after a seven-game losing streak. In beating the Dolphins the Cowboys were able to feel good getting on the plane for the ride back to Dallas.

By the time they returned Sunday night, players would head right to Valley Ranch for treatment. The Cowboys will hold a late-afternoon practice Monday – a walkthrough, really – to begin their prep work on the Panthers.

Romo, who took a number of hits, said he felt OK after the game.

“He’s just got to get back to work,” Garrett said. “Heat, ice, stim. And we’ve got a game at 3:30 on Thursday. The Carolina Panthers are coming to down and they’re a damn good football team.”’

The Panthers (10-0) are one of two undefeated teams in the NFL, along with the New England Patriots. They beat the Redskins 44-16, with Cam Newton throwing five touchdown passes to five different receivers. Jonathan Stewart ran for 102 yards.

In 2006, Romo and the Cowboys were able to beat an undefeated Indianapolis Colts in Week 11. They beat an undefeated New Orleans Saints in Week 15 in 2009.

Sunday’s win kept the Cowboys in the conversation for another week.

“It allows you to feel good because you believe in what you’re doing,” tight end Jason Witten said. “I know the staff believes what they’re teaching us. We believe in that work paying off. You enjoy it for a little bit and get back to it. Every week in this league is tough. I think more about resolve and the way we approach it.

“We still got a long way to go to climb out of this. Our mentality is one game at a time and that’s the way we approached last week. We have to continue to do that this week against a good opponent.”
 

Cotton

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Greg Hardy on Panthers: 'Nameless, faceless opponent'

Todd Archer, ESPN Staff Writer

MIAMI -- If the Dallas Cowboys’ next game means anything extra to Greg Hardy, he wasn’t saying after the Cowboys beat the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.

He repeated the “next game” message in just about every answer he gave. Well, the next game is against the Carolina Panthers, Hardy’s former team.

“Just a nameless, faceless opponent,” Hardy said. “Next game. Got to stay focused.”

Does he have friends on the team?

“Which team?” he said.

The Panthers.

“Nameless, faceless opponents,” Hardy said, referring to the message Jason Garrett used for each opponent.

Hardy was drafted by the Panthers in the sixth round in 2010. He was named to the Pro Bowl in 2013 when he recorded 15 sacks. He had 27 sacks in his final 32 games with the Panthers, but last season he missed 15 games because of a domestic-violence arrest that led to him being placed on the commissioner’s exempt list and suspended for the first four games this season.

How does he keep the Panthers as a nameless, faceless opponent?

“Just stay in the game with my teammates,” Hardy said. “Got a great bunch of guys. And focus on the next game.”

Hardy was credited with two tackles and half a sack Sunday, and the Cowboys had three sacks of Ryan Tannehill. Hardy has 4.5 sacks in six games since returning from a suspension.

“We feel like [the pass rush] has gotten better since training camp,” Hardy said. “Every day we get better and we work on that next game. It sounds simple. It sounds redundant. It sounds like I’m joking, but it’s really not. It’s a process. Do your history. Go back and look. That’s how I’ve always done it from before. Just the next game.”
 

Cotton

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dallen

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Vegas just knows how much stupid fans love to bet on the Cowboys - especially on Thanksgiving.
 

dallen

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If there is a bright spot to Romo being out, he hopefully won't be too banged up after a single game back before a short week. He was also hopefully taking some extra time to study the defenses he would be up against.
 

Cowboysrock55

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Vegas just knows how much stupid fans love to bet on the Cowboys - especially on Thanksgiving.
Honestly, with a healthy Romo this game should be about even odds anyway. If Romo was healthy all year we would probably be talking about the 9-1 Cowboys playing the Panthers.
 

L.T. Fan

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I think the key to the game is whether the defense can corral Newton. Romo will be his usual self.
 

Genghis Khan

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I think the biggest key to this game, is to avoid turnovers and let Carolina set up on short field. I think if we force their offense to drive the length of the field all day, I think we have a really good chance.

Both Romo's INTs yesterday were boneheaded mistakes and we can't get away with it against Carolina.
 

dallen

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boozeman

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10-0 Panthers are underdogs, and their coach doesn’t like it

Posted by Mike Florio on November 23, 2015, 4:26 PM EST



The Panthers have won every game they’ve played this year. On Thursday, they head to Dallas with a 10-record — and a 14-game regular-season winning streak. And yet the oddsmakers have installed the Cowboys as one-point favorites.

Carolina coach Ron Rivera doesn’t like that. Via Steve Reed of the Associated Press, Rivera told reporters that its “a little disrespectful” to his team.

He may be right, but betting lines typically aren’t about respect. They reflect an assessment of team performance and betting trends and all sorts of factors. In many cases, the goal is to encourage equal betting on both teams; the point spread in those cases is a reflection of the public’s assessment of the two teams.

Either way, the Cowboys has no responsibility for the betting line. But if there’s a way that the Panthers can use that perceived disrespect to guard against complacency and/or to give the team extra motivation to make the most of the national stage on which they’ll be playing, so be it.
 

Cotton

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10-0 Panthers are underdogs, and their coach doesn’t like it

Posted by Mike Florio on November 23, 2015, 4:26 PM EST



The Panthers have won every game they’ve played this year. On Thursday, they head to Dallas with a 10-record — and a 14-game regular-season winning streak. And yet the oddsmakers have installed the Cowboys as one-point favorites.

Carolina coach Ron Rivera doesn’t like that. Via Steve Reed of the Associated Press, Rivera told reporters that its “a little disrespectful” to his team.

He may be right, but betting lines typically aren’t about respect. They reflect an assessment of team performance and betting trends and all sorts of factors. In many cases, the goal is to encourage equal betting on both teams; the point spread in those cases is a reflection of the public’s assessment of the two teams.

Either way, the Cowboys has no responsibility for the betting line. But if there’s a way that the Panthers can use that perceived disrespect to guard against complacency and/or to give the team extra motivation to make the most of the national stage on which they’ll be playing, so be it.
:lol

Vegas doesn't set its odds out of respect. GTFO of here.
 

boozeman

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:lol

Vegas doesn't set its odds out of respect. GTFO of here.
I found it kind of odd that he reacted this way.

But he's found ways to motivate his team before.

You know, like a real head coach, with like, emotion.
 

boozeman

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For the record, I think we make a game of it, but we eventually crumble.

But, I can be convinced.

Romo has beaten two undefeated teams before, which I am sure will be pointed out in the next day or so.
 

boozeman

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Ah man, the local yokels are all screamin' mad. All the local quotes have is them loading up to stop the run.
 

Cowboysrock55

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For the record, I think we make a game of it, but we eventually crumble.

But, I can be convinced.

Romo has beaten two undefeated teams before, which I am sure will be pointed out in the next day or so.
To be fair I don't really think of the Panthers as a great undefeated team either. Maybe it's just Cam Newton who doesn't inspire confidence in me but I think they are a team that isn't nearly as good as their record may have you believe.
 

boozeman

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To be fair I don't really think of the Panthers as a great undefeated team either. Maybe it's just Cam Newton who doesn't inspire confidence in me but I think they are a team that isn't nearly as good as their record may have you believe.
They are a well coached team that does the basics and they stick to the plan.

Their deal is that they have not been challenged yet by an aggressive team. They are fundamentally sound, extremely so. And that is good enough to beat most teams in the NFL.

If we win this, it better be like we did against the Saints a few years ago. Be very very aggressive. Get a lead and force Newton to actually think.

Otherwise, as soon as they fall into a comfort zone, they are so solid, they lull you to sleep.
 

boozeman

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Not a big deal for them.
 

boozeman

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Posted by Clark Judge on November 23, 2015 at 11:00 am

The forgotten man behind Panthers’ biggest, boldest moves

The Carolina Panthers not only haven’t lost this season; they haven’t lost in their last 14 regular-season games. And there’s a reason.

They’re talented, they’re balanced and they’re deep.

They can run. They can tackle. They have an MVP candidate in quarterback Cam Newton, and they have a Coach-of-the-Year candidate in Ron Rivera.

So how did all it happen? For an answer, we went to the source for an answer, talking to the man behind the biggest and boldest moves by the Panthers. GM Dave Gettleman? Nope. We went to his predecessor, Marty Hurney, who drafted Newton, Luke Kuechly, Thomas Davis, James Stewart and Josh Norman and chose Rivera as his head coach.

Hurney was fired in the middle of the 2012 season after the Panthers lost five of their first six, but his fingerprints are all over this team. And, as he told The Talk of Fame Network on our latest broadcast, he feels a measure of satisfaction – as he should — with what’s going on now.

“I do,” he said, “but it’s not satisfaction as much as I know all those guys. And Dave Gettleman has done a great job. Look at how deep this roster is now. And look at the acquisitions of (defensive linemen) Star (Lotulelei) and Kawann Short. It’s the ultimate team game, and everybody makes everybody better. I root for them every Sunday. I still talk to people over there on a frequent basis.

“I love Dave Gettleman … I think Dave’s done a great job. It’s just so many people have to be good to be successful in the NFL. And to get to (10-0). That’s incredible. That’s so hard to do. And there are so many people involved in it. I’m so happy to see them have the success.”

Hurney was also the guy who found Greg Hardy in the sixth round of the 2010 draft, and that worked out fine for awhile – with Hardy setting the Panthers’ franchise sack record with 15 in 2013. But after Hurney left, Hardy got in such deep trouble with a domestic violence case that the Panthers cut him — with Dallas stepping in to sign him.

Result: The Panthers are 10-0 without him this season, and the Cowboys are 1-5 with him. So the question: Why take a chance on Hardy in the first place?

“He was a first-or-second round pass rusher who was there in the sixth round,” said Hurney. “Antonio Brown was there in that same round, (and) he had more coach-ability-type questions. And we loved him as well. But we took Greg Hardy because he had such great pass-rushing skills. And when you looked at it he did have questions. They had questions at Ole Miss about reliability.

“He was a little different. He was a different personality. Anybody you talked to would tell you that. But I remember the first time we met with him was at the East-West game, and he came up for a 15-minute interview in a suite we had. And 45 minutes later he left, and you did shake your head. Because it was a different interview than we normally had.

“But his talent as a pass rusher was so great, and he hadn’t gotten into any major off-the-field problems. He was a different personality. But he didn’t have any real legal issues. And we just thought it was a risk/reward thing.

“When I was there, we didn’t have any off-the-field issues with him. He rode his motorcycle in July. He slid on it and missed some time. He hurt his leg and missed practice time. But there were never any real off-the-field issues with us … There weren’t any legal issues or any off-the-field type issues that we found that would prevent us from taking him. And we thought he was worth the risk in the sixth round…

“The first three years it looked like a good decision. Then, obviously, he ran into problems.”
 
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