When Will the Cowboys Learn?

They shouldn’t wear their blue jerseys at home. Ever. Doesn’t Jerry Jones remember opponents wearing white at home (during the Tom Landry era) to force the Cowboys to wear their blue jerseys? Dallas has 2 home losses this season, to Washington and Denver. Both occurred in with the Cowboys wearing their blue jerseys in front of a national television audience. The Cowboys allowed two long TD passes to Redskins WR Santana Moss within a 120 second span in the closing minutes to lose 14-13. Against Denver on Thanksgiving, PK Billy Cundiff missed a 34-yard field goal that would have given the Cowboys the lead in the 4th quarter. Dallas needs to accept the fact it doesn’t win in its blue jerseys and should stop suffering losses to overcome a superstition.

Texas survived a battle at Texas A&M to stay on target for a Rose Bowl date with USC. They don’t know who they’re playing yet since Colorado forgot to show up for their game against Nebraska. Even a clock operator’s lazy trigger at the end of the first half couldn’t slow the Huskers. The officiating crew must have been big fans of White Sox C A.J. Pierzinski during the ALCS, allowing the participant to pass judgment.
Type/Many Weeks Ago/Season
NCAA/1-0/10-4
NFL/3-1/17-16-1
Invest/+2*/-2.7*

INVEST
*Cleveland 13 @ Minnesota 10 (under 39). Neither of these offenses is particularly good at throwing the football. Both QBs, Dilfer (Cle) and Johnson (Min) aren’t going to take chances that could result in interceptions and short fields for the opposing offense. Somehow the Vikings have rebounded from a 2-5 start, the boat party, and the loss of starting QB Daunte Culpepper to climb back into the NFC playoff race. When will they turn into the real Vikings and disappoint their fans?

SATURDAY (All Times ET)
12:30 FSN Iowa State 19 (-2 ½) Kansas 13. I don’t know a thing about either team, but the Cyclones could earn a berth in the Big 12 Championship game with a win here.

5:00 ABC Notre Dame 38 (-16 ½) Stanford 20. The Irish can lock in their first BCS appearance since 2001 and generate the revenue necessary to pay HC Charlie Weis’ contract extension. This will be Stanford Stadium’s last home game before undergoing a major renovation. Keith Jackson draws the coverage instead of Brent Cheeseburger.

SUNDAY
1:00 FOX HD Tampa Bay 20 (-3) Chicago 13. The Bucs have won 2 straight with QB Chris Simms after 2 duds. The Bears are on a roll, 7-3 with a 2 game lead in the NFC North.

1:00 CBS HD San Diego 24 (+3) Washington 20. The Chargers are on a roll, winning 3 in a row to get to 6-4 in the top heavy AFC. TE Antonio Gates left last week’s game with an injured ankle and is a game-time decision. Washington has lost 2 straight tough games to Tampa Bay and Oakland to fall behind Dallas and New York in the NFC East. Both of these teams need this game to stay near the top of the Wild Card race.

1:00 CBS HD New England 30 (+3) Kansas City 27. The Chiefs have Larry Johnson playing RB in place of an injured Priest Holmes. The Patriots will have Patrick Pass or Heath Evans playing RB in place of an injured Corey Dillon. The Chiefs’ defense started out strong but has reverted to its 2003 form. The Patriots have LB Tedy Bruschi back on the field from an off-season stroke but haven’t been much better than the Chiefs in recent weeks. Patriot QB Tom Brady is carrying more of the load this season due to all of the injuries suffered by his teammates. His clutch play tips my pick New England’s way.

4:15 FOX HD Seattle 24 (-4 ½) N.Y. Giants 17. The national audience will get a chance to view Seachickens RB Shaun Alexander. His numbers have been good, not great against NFL-caliber defenses of Dallas and Washington.

7:30 ESPN HD NFL PrimeTime 8:30 New Orleans 20 (-2) N.Y. Jets 6. This game was scheduled for prime time back in March. Both of these teams are 2-8. The Jets had Brooks Bollinger, Vinny Testaverde, and Kliff Klingsbury play QB last week in a 27-0 loss at Denver. I don’t know why, but they only ran the ball 7 times over the course of the entire game! With the 3 afore mentioned players at quarterback, I think 7 passes for the entire game would have been more appropriate.

9:00 ABC HD Indianapolis 31 (-8) Pittsburgh 21. The Colts are hitting on all cylinders while the Steelers are dealing with significant injuries. QB Ben Roethlisberger returns from knee surgery. RBs Jerome Bettis, Fast Willie Parker, and Duce Staley have all missed recent games due to injury. It looks like its Parker’s turn to play this weekend. I just can’t see the Steelers offense staying with the Colts in this one. Maybe a month from now if all of the key players are in better health.