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McCown has been not so bad. Either way it will be a tussle.

L.T. Fan said:

McCown has been not so bad. Either way it will be a tussle.

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Yup....they have scored at least 20 points in each one of his starts, so I would expect them to do about the same against us.

Briggs being ruled out is bigger than Cutler being ruled out.

Game vs. Bears was Bryant's turning point

December, 5, 2013

By Tim MacMahon | ESPNDallas.com


IRVING, Texas – Dez Bryant faced a moment of truth following the Dallas Cowboys' last meeting with the Chicago Bears.

Bryant caught eight passes for 105 yards in that loss to the Bears last season, but the numbers lie in this case. It was a miserable game for Bryant, marred by drops and mental mistakes. The most memorable moment from that Monday night was his blown route adjustment that resulted in a pick-six by Chicago cornerback Charles Tillman, who fooled Bryant into running a go instead of a slant by bailing out of a press look just before the snap.

That poor performance provided plenty of ammunition to the Dez doubters, a growing army of outsiders who questioned whether Bryant would ever make the mental strides necessary to take advantage of his immense physical gifts. It gave quarterbackTony Romo no reason to trust his most talented receiver.

It turned out to be a critical turning point for Bryant’s career.

"I had to get on top of my s---," Bryant said Thursday, days before he faces a Bears defense missing the injured Tillman. "That’s what I had to do.

"Obviously, there were some things on there that I had to clean up, sharpen up on my end, so me and 9 can be on the same page. That’s when all that trust issue stuff played a big factor. Tony needed to believe in me, and I needed to do my job to where he could do that."

Bryant said his pride wasn’t bruised by his bad night against the Bears, but it made him realize he needed to become a better professional.

This wasn’t about punctuality, an issue for Bryant earlier in his career. It was about making a commitment to firmly understanding all of his assignments and the many potential adjustments based on the defensive schemes, which meant changing the way Bryant interacted with coaches and teammates in the meeting room.

"Not that I never took my job seriously, but I paid more attention in meetings, asked more questions," Bryant said. "That’s one thing, I felt like I can’t get up and speak to a crowd or whatever, but I got out of that. I needed to open up my mouth and ask more questions. ‘What do I do if this guy comes? What do I do if this guy comes?’

"I knew the simple stuff, but as the season went on a little bit more, we were going to start to see some funny stuff. I needed to know everything, and I got it down."

Bryant emerged as an elite receiver in the second half of last season, finishing the year ranked sixth in the NFL in receiving yards (1,382) and third in touchdown catches (12). Bryant’s numbers (896 yards and nine touchdowns in 12 games) aren’t quite as impressive this season, but there’s no question about whether Romo trusts him or if he’s a long-term foundation piece for the Cowboys.

Maybe Bryant would have developed into a legitimate No. 1 receiver without his bad night against the Bears, but he benefited from that kick in the butt.

"You can either feel bad, feel sorry for yourself," Bryant said, "or get your stuff together and be the person that you think you can become."

Kiffin: Cowboys facing basketball players
December, 5, 2013

By Calvin Watkins | ESPNDallas.com

IRVING, Texas -- Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin says his defense will face a couple of basketball players in Monday night's game against the Chicago Bears.

The Bears' starting receivers are Brandon Marshall, 6-4 and 230 pounds, and Alshon Jeffery, 6-3, 216 pounds. Of course, when you add tight end Martellus Bennett, at 6-6, 265 pounds, you got a couple of power forwards.

"They're something else," Kiffin said. "It's like a NBA team getting off the bus, good gosh, all power forwards. You know they can run and jump, and I'm sure they’ve all played basketball somewhere down the line. They're really good athletes and they really do get it to them, and the quarterbacks do a great job, it doesn’t matter who's in there. They put the ball up without a doubt, a heck of a group of receivers."

Jeffery is fourth in the NFL in receiving yards (1,109), and Marshall is ninth (990). Last week, Jeffery set a franchise single-game record with 245 receiving yards in a loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

The Cowboys' tallest defensive back is safety Barry Church at 6-2. But the starting cornerbacks, Orlando Scandrick (5-10) and Brandon Carr (6-0), could have some problems.

"You just got to play the ball," Scandrick said. "When receivers are tall you can't get caught up playing the man, because most of the time when you're going to try to rip through the ball, he's going to get it at its highest point. Were going to have to stay on top of routes."

_________________________________

Good gosh.

Alot of 6-3 power forwards roaming around.

New fullback says Cowboys can do everything with DeMarco Murray that Bears do with Matt Forte

The Cowboys’ new fullback, Tyler Clutts, played in Chicago one year with Matt Forte. He said DeMarco Murray and Forte are a lot alike.

“He’s very similar to Matt’s style of running, to me. Very smooth, very fluid. Sees holes well,” Clutts said Thursday after his first practice with the Cowboys. “Matt can do a lot, but so can DeMarco. Matt’s got some speed where he can get to the edge. We do, too, here. We can do all that.”

After one practice in the 37-degree cold, Clutts pronounced Murray and the Cowboys’ running game well-suited for the weather.

“Don’t worry about if it’s going to hurt or not afterwards,” he said of the key to playing in extreme cold. “It’s just really being efficient with it, not trying to do too much, being secure with the ball. Really, it’s just a matter of physicality: Who’s going to be more physical at the point of attack? It’ll definitely be the Cowboys.”

-- Carlos Mendez

Cowboys kick return specialist Dwayne Harris unsure if he’ll be able to return Monday night
By David Moore
dmoore@dallasnews.com
4:27 pm on December 5, 2013 | Permalink

Dwayne Harris said it’s too early to know whether or not he’ll be able to return Monday night against Chicago.

“We’ve just got to see how I feel,” said Harris, who missed the Oakland game and most of the game against the New York Giants with a pulled hamstring. “I can’t say I’m going to be able to go or I’m not going to be able to go. I’ve been running around and I’m feeling good. I’ll just see how I feel come game day.”

Harris ran full speed Thursday but that was off to the side. The team’s kick return specialist did not take part in practice and it’s unlikely he’ll do much Friday. He lists his status for the Bears game as questionable.

Harris ranks 2nd in the NFL in punt returns with an average of 14 yards and second in kickoff returns with an average of 31.3 yards.

“I don’t want to get out there against Chicago, pull my hammy again then be out for the rest of the season,” Harris said. “If I can go, I’ll go. If not, I’ll be back for Green Bay.

“It’s definitely a little sore. But I’m running, so that’s a good thing.”

Bears less Hollywood than Cowboys?
Updated: December 5, 2013, 7:10 PM ET
By Michael C. Wright | ESPNChicago.com

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- While complimentary overall of the Dallas Cowboys, three former members of that organization now with the Chicago Bears considered the atmosphere there "Hollywood" compared to their current locale.

Bears special teams coach and assistant head coach Joe DeCamillis spent four years with the Cowboys (2009-12) and said "there can't be two different spectrums." Two more former Cowboys -- Bears defensive tackle Jeremiah Ratliff and tight end Martellus Bennett -- agreed as the teams prepare to face each other Monday night in Soldier Field.
Asked about the biggest difference between the Bears and Cowboys, Ratliff didn't hesitate.

"Football, first-class organization," he said of the Bears. "Just to put it bluntly, and it's not a shot -- if they take it like that, so be it. Here, it is all about football. You can really just focus on your craft. Focus on what it is you do. And no matter what's going on, you never forget what you're here for. That's a good thing."

A four-time Pro-Bowler, Ratliff was picked by the Cowboys in the seventh round of the 2005 draft, but he was released by the club on Oct. 13 and signed by the Bears on Nov. 2. Ratliff made his Bears debut Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings, participating in 23 snaps, and his workload will increase Monday night against his former team.

Ratliff said earlier in the week that Monday's matchup is "just another game," but that isn't the case for DeCamillis.

"I'm not going to lie to you and say it's like Ratliff and say it's like any other game," DeCamillis said. "Anytime you leave some place you always have a little bit more juice going back against them."

As for the differences between the Bears and Cowboys organizations, DeCamillis said "there, it's a lot different from the standpoint of just the things that go on. It's a little bit more like Hollywood, and here it's a little bit more, probably a little tamer. But they're both great organizations, and both have had a lot of storied tradition and championships. That's the main thing."

A second-round pick of Dallas in 2008, Bennett spent his tenure with the Cowboys as a backup before leaving in 2011 to take a free-agent deal with the New York Giants. Coming off a breakout season in 2012, in which he caught 55 passes for 626 yards and five touchdowns, Bennett signed with the Bears in free agency.

Bennett is currently on pace to better those marks, and apparently Chicago's atmosphere is more conducive for him to do it.

"I mean, I'm a Hollywood person. I would agree with [DeCamillis and Ratliff]," Bennett said. "Since I've been born, I've been meant to be on Disney. But they don't really like to take too many kids from the 'hood and put them on Disney nowadays. But for the most part, it's different. Everything here is based on football, and [there's] just a different type of chemistry with this team. Everybody is just about football all the time. We have our relationships and we have fun; there's not really any cliques or anything. It's just a bunch of guys who come together every week, play football, and tell jokes."

Iamtdg said:

New fullback says Cowboys can do everything with DeMarco Murray that Bears do with Matt Forte

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Expect Matt Forte to nearly break the NFL single-game rushing record Monday Night.

More people who say Dallas is too Hollywood.

Nothing new about that label and it didn't start with Jerry Jones. The Hollywoodeske atmosphere began early on with the organization.

L.T. Fan said:

Nothing new about that label and it didn't start with Jerry Jones. The Hollywoodeske atmosphere began early on with the organization.

Click to expand...

Movies have been made and books have been written about this for nearly 40 years.

Double Coverage: Cowboys at Bears
December, 6, 2013

By Michael C. Wright and Todd Archer | ESPN.com

The month of December, along with the Dallas Cowboys, has defined "collapse" the past two seasons.

But Dallas finds itself in an advantageous position at 7-5 with the NFC East title in its sights. And on Monday night, the Cowboys will face a 6-6 Chicago Bears team with rapidly fleeting postseason aspirations.

ESPN.com Chicago Bears reporter Michael C. Wright and Cowboys reporter Todd Archer break down the matchup.

Michael C. Wright: What’s the real deal with this whole Jeremiah (I know you guys call him Jay) Ratliff situation? Based on Jerry Jones’ remarks from his radio show, there seems to be a little underlying tension there, and Ratliff has been really reluctant to go too far into detail about went wrong out there.

Which team will win this matchup?

Todd Archer: There’s some inside the organization who feel they were duped by Ratliff when he said that he could not play football this year because of his health. There’s a lot of "he said, he said" stuff going on. When he underwent surgery last year for the sports hernia, the Cowboys did not place him on injured reserve hoping he could return for a playoff run that ultimately never happened. After he was cut, his agent, Mark Slough, said the injury was far more severe than a sports hernia and he would need a year to recover. It seems like a dubious claim because the Cowboys never put him on IR last December, restructured his contract in the offseason in a way that made cutting him more costly, did not draft a defensive lineman or go after anybody in free agency. If the team felt Ratliff needed 12 months to recover, would it have done any of those things? I know Jerry Jones isn’t considered the best general manager, but even he would have done some things differently. Ratliff was always something of a loner here. He always felt trouble lurked around every corner. He was not very trusting of anybody. But the Cowboys and Jerry could have avoided this deal by just cutting him after he got in the owner’s face in the locker room after a game. At that point they could have claimed “conduct detrimental to the team,” and gotten some money back. Now they’re really kind of stuck.

Since you asked about Jeremiah Ratliff, let me repay the favor. What are the Bears' expectations for Ratliff? Seems like a lot of former Cowboys have not had much success up there after leaving here.

Wright: Boy, you’re absolutely correct about the former Cowboys coming to Chicago (I’ll point out however, that Martellus Bennett has been a good addition). But Ratliff’s situation here could turn out to be different. The Bears went into the situation the right way: with no expectations. In fact, when the club first signed Ratliff, the move was such a low-risk acquisition (no picks given up, low salary) the Bears were prepared for the possibility the defensive tackle would have been unable to play this season. The Bears had already lost defensive tackles Henry Melton and Nate Collins for the year, and they’ve had to learn to utilize the little depth they have and switch players to other positions just to survive the majority of this season. So when they signed Ratliff, they weren’t looking for him to come in and be a savior. They also made it a point to exercise extreme patience with Ratliff in his recovery. Ratliff played just 23 snaps last week in his Bears debut, and the only expectation the team has for him moving forward is to be able to handle a slightly increased workload. Ratliff went from being someone the Cowboys depended heavily on to just a guy in Chicago.

The Cowboys haven’t run the ball especially well, and the Bears can’t stop the run. Something has to give here. What does Dallas need to do to get the run game popping against Chicago’s porous run D?

Archer: The running game has been better here the last couple of games. Not great by any stretch but better. Losing Lance Dunbar hurts because he brought a change of pace from DeMarco Murray. But this is Murray’s running game. He is the workhorse and will get even more work now. The Cowboys run better out of three-wide receiver sets when teams go to their nickel defense. They need to spread the Bears out. The Cowboys don’t have an overpowering-type line or scheme. It’s more built on zone schemes and finding creases. Dunbar was good at finding creases. Murray takes a little more time to hit them. The commitment to the run from coach Jason Garrett and offensive coordinator Bill Callahan sometimes wanes, especially on the road if things don’t go well early. With the cold weather and I’m guessing windy conditions, then Murray will have to be a huge factor.

Josh McCown has done a nice job, but what have the Bears missed in not having Jay Cutler and what's the sense you get on Cutler being a long-term answer?

Wright: The Bears miss two things without Cutler in the lineup: that cannon of an arm, and his gunslinger mentality. McCown has been productive and efficient, and has moved Chicago’s offense well. But you can see in games there are throws McCown doesn’t make as well as Cutler, throws he won’t even try. I think that’s part of the reason that although the Bears are averaging more yards with McCown at quarterback than Cutler, the club is also averaging fewer points. McCown simply doesn’t take chances, which has translated into a high quarterback rating (103.6). Cutler, meanwhile, is a lot like Tony Romo in that he’ll gamble on occasion, and a part of that is he’s confident in his arm. But Cutler also possesses uncanny chemistry with his receivers to where he can go off script on occasion and still make big plays.

Now I’m still not sure about whether the team views Cutler as the long-term answer. After eight years in the NFL, you are what you are. That’s not to say Cutler isn’t a good quarterback. He is. But the financial resources the Bears would have to sink into him to keep him around, in my mind, don’t match up with the production. Cutler owns an 84.4 career passer rating, and he’s thrown 149 touchdowns to 108 interceptions. I’m not sure that’s worth $16 million-plus per year. General manager Phil Emery doesn’t seem to be inclined to use the franchise tag on Cutler. So it’ll be interesting to see whether the sides can come to a long-term agreement that’s acceptable to both parties.

With Dallas eyeing a potential division title, Romo seems to be catching a lot of flak about his record during games in December. How much of it is on Romo, and how much does the rest of the team have to do with the quarterback’s struggles during the month of December?

Archer: Some of it is on Romo, but more of it is on the rest of the team. Would you be surprised if I told you Romo has 28 touchdowns and seven interceptions in 15 December/January regular-season games since 2009? Or that he has seven 300-yard games? Or 10 games with a passer rating of better than 100? He has two four-touchdown games -- with no picks -- and the Cowboys have lost them both. Ultimately, however, the record falls on the quarterback. Overall he is 11-15 in December and 7-8 since 2009. He has put the Cowboys in position to compete for the playoffs the past two seasons and lost in Week 17 both times. Without Romo the Cowboys are not sniffing playoff contention. I can’t say he has to play better because 28 TDs and seven picks are pretty ridiculous, but he has to play better. The defense is something of a mess, even with Sean Lee returning and guys getting healthy. The run game is still hit or miss. If the Cowboys do make it to the playoffs, it will be because of Romo and the passing game.

I can see what kind of a difference Rod Marinelli has made here. How much have the Bears missed their former defensive coordinator?

Wright: Tons. On the same day Marc Trestman was first introduced as the new head coach, all the assistants from the old staff were holed up in their offices at Halas Hall awaiting their fates as Trestman spoke to the media. The new head coach knew it was imperative to bring back Marinelli, which is why he tried to convince him to come back as soon as the news conference was over. But out of loyalty to former coach and close friend Lovie Smith, Marinelli declined the offer. The Bears have struggled ever since. Obviously, the team’s rash of injuries is the most significant factor in the defense’s slide. But Marinelli was revered among Chicago’s players. They’d run through a wall for him. Marinelli is an excellent motivator and nobody knows Chicago’s scheme better. His attention to detail, and the ability to relay the importance of those small details to the players, is what the Bears miss. Marinelli liked to break down players and make them focus on every single nuance from a technical standpoint. Marinelli was also a master of simplifying the most complicated aspects of a scheme or game plan for players. In fact, I think second-year defensive end Shea McClellin would be blossoming right now the way Corey Wootton is had Marinelli stayed.

Nice dig, Jerry.

Garrett hopes Cowboys draw on cold weather experience from Giants victory in prep for frigid Chicago

The Cowboys are bracing for probably the coldest regular season game in franchise history when they face the Bears Monday night in Chicago.

Game-time temperatures are expected to be 12 degrees. The previous low was 16 degrees in St. Louis in 1963.

The coldest game the team ever played in was the famed Ice Bowl in 1967 when the game-time temperature was 13 below zero.

The coldest game the Cowboys played this season was against the Giants on Nov. 24 when the temperature was 25 degrees at game time with a wind chill of 18.

The Cowboys won 24-21 on a 35-yard field goal by Dan Bailey as the clock expired.

Coach Jason Garrett wants his team to draw on that experience against the Giants Monday night against the Bears. He has instructed them to take their time and get their gear ready so they won't be thinking about weather. He wants no excuses.

"It's just the conditions that we're playing in," Garrett said. "That was a good experience for our team to go up there and function the way we did and kinda draw on that experience. But this will be a new experience Monday night and you've got to be mentally tough enough to focus on the task at hand and deal with the elements in the game."



Clarence Hill

Terrance Williams looking for redemption
December, 6, 2013

By Todd Archer | ESPNDallas.com

IRVING, Texas -- With Dwayne Harris questionable at best to play Monday against the Chicago Bears, the Dallas Cowboys are preparing to use Terrance Williams as their kick returner for the second straight game.

It can’t go worse than his first game as the full-time returner when he fumbled the opening kickoff against the Oakland Raiders and saw it returned for a touchdown.

“It was frustrating that I had to sit back and wait, and it’s one of those things if something bad happens you’ve got to clear it, and when your chance comes again you’ve got to make the most of it,” Williams said. “That’s what I tried to do. Throughout the whole game I was just trying to make up for giving them seven points.”

He had only one more kickoff return in the game, but he had three catches for 23 yards and two led to third-down conversions.

"That's really telling about who he is, the kind of character he has just to come back, because the nature of this game is you're going to have things that go against you, and how you respond to it is critical,” coach Jason Garrett said. “He did a good job of that [against the Raiders].”

Harris talked with Williams after the fumbled kickoff and offered advice.

“Now when I go I’m just going to go full-go,” Williams said. “I didn’t think about it, but when it’s time for me to cover up the ball, I’ll just cover up the ball more.”

Scandrick says Cowboys have some things 'gameplan-wise' to deal with Bears' height advantage at receiver

Orlando Scandrick understands the size advantage the Bears’ Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery will have Monday night against the Cowboys’ cornerbacks. It reminds him of the game against the Raiders on Thanksgiving.

“Obviously they’re going to catch passes. But we need to limit their big plays and keep them from getting on top of the defense,” Scandrick said. “I feel like last week there were a couple of times where the Raiders got on top of our defense, and we can’t let that happen. I also feel like in the second half we did a much better job. I feel like we’re going to have some things gameplan-wise that will help us out.”

Marshall is 6-foot-4. Jeffery is 6-3.

The Cowboys’ tallest corner is 6-foot Brandon Carr.

“We have faced good guys that go up,” Scandrick said. “But I don’t know if we’ve faced two guys that go up and get the ball like these guys.”

Scandrick said there are no tricks to make up the size disadvantage. It still comes down to fundamentals for him.

“Most of the time, when you’re trying to rip through his hand and rip the ball out, he’s going to go get it at its highest point,” he said. “We’re going to have to go and stay on top of the route, turn around and play the ball.

I just play the ball. You don’t want to get caught up in thinking how tall he is. You just try to go play the ball, and hopefully you come down with it.”

-- Carlos Mendez

Iamtdg said:

Scandrick says Cowboys have some things 'gameplan-wise' to deal with Bears' height advantage at receiver

Orlando Scandrick understands the size advantage the Bears’ Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery will have Monday night against the Cowboys’ cornerbacks. It reminds him of the game against the Raiders on Thanksgiving.

“Obviously they’re going to catch passes. But we need to limit their big plays and keep them from getting on top of the defense,” Scandrick said. “I feel like last week there were a couple of times where the Raiders got on top of our defense, and we can’t let that happen. I also feel like in the second half we did a much better job. I feel like we’re going to have some things gameplan-wise that will help us out.”

Marshall is 6-foot-4. Jeffery is 6-3.

The Cowboys’ tallest corner is 6-foot Brandon Carr.

“We have faced good guys that go up,” Scandrick said. “But I don’t know if we’ve faced two guys that go up and get the ball like these guys.”

Scandrick said there are no tricks to make up the size disadvantage. It still comes down to fundamentals for him.

“Most of the time, when you’re trying to rip through his hand and rip the ball out, he’s going to go get it at its highest point,” he said. “We’re going to have to go and stay on top of the route, turn around and play the ball.

I just play the ball. You don’t want to get caught up in thinking how tall he is. You just try to go play the ball, and hopefully you come down with it.”

-- Carlos Mendez

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Hope it is not the same plan as they had for Calvin Johnson.