Tuesday, February 7th, 2012
Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys will hit the highway for an NFC East clash with their rival the Washington Redskins on Sunday fight NFL football.
This pro football game will kick off from Fed Ex Field in Washington D.C. at 8:20PM Eastern Time with national television coverage provided by NBC.
The point spread opened up in this NFL game with the road team Dallas Cowboys lined as a 3 point favorite with an over under of 43.
The early money from the bettors has been Cowboys money as Dallas is now favored by 4 points. The total saw movement under to a current number of 40 ½.
Money line bettors taking the favored Dallas Cowboys will lay -210 odds with the home underdog Washington Redskins bringing back +175 to pull off the week 1 upset victory with the point spread no factor in the outcome of the bet.
The Cowboys went a perfect 2-0 last season against the Redskins with a 7-6 home victory as an 11 point favorite and a 17-0 victory at Washington as a 7 point road favorite.
Eight year veteran Tony Romo had a solid season for the Cowboys last season. He completed 63.1% of his passes for 4483 yards with 26 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. A positive to build on in 2010 is the fact Romo was able to improve his decision making and he finally led the Cowboys to a playoff victory. He was outstanding down the stretch leading the team to three straight wins to close out the regular season.
His second meeting against the Redskins in 2009 was much better than the first. In their second divisional game which was played at Washington the signal caller was able to hit on 25 of 38 passes for 286 yards 1 touchdown and 1 pick.
The Cowboys have a three headed running attack behind Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice. Barber saw his production increase last season with a 4.4 yards per rush average following only 3.7 in 2008.
Felix Jones is a big play threat for Dallas with a 5.9 yards per rush average in 2009 with 3 touchdowns. Tashard Choice contributed with a 5.5 yards per carry average last year on 64 carries.
When you factor efficient backs with the Cowboys receivers you have opposing defensive coordinators pulling out their hair to figure how to defend them.
Wide out Miles Austin had a break out year with 81 catches for 11 touchdowns and an impressive 16.3 yards per carry average. Tight end Jason Witten led the club with 94 catches in 2009. The Cowboys welcome first round pick Dez Bryant from Oklahoma St to their crew and have traded veteran Patrick Crayton to the San Diego Chargers.
The question in 2010 is whether the Cowboys offensive line can block and protect Tony Romo. The Cowboys line did not look good in the preseason as Cowboys quarterbacks faced heavy pressure. Starting left tackle Flozell Adams was released and the team will be without tackle Marc Colombo who is sporting a knee injury.
Expect opposing defenses to bring heavy pressure and for the Cowboys to adjust with quick outs.
Defensively the Cowboys were the #2 scoring defense allowing only 17 points per game. Dallas was tough to run on as opposing teams averaged only 90 yards rushing ranking the Cowboys fourth in the league.
An injury concern for Dallas on defense is defensive end Marcus Spears who is listed as probable with a knee ailment.
This will mark the regular season debut of head coach Mike Shanahan and possibly quarterback Donovan McNabb with the Washington Redskins.
Donovan McNabb was hurt in the preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens and missed games due to a sprained ankle. The club is optimistic about McNabb being able to start on Sunday and has been listed as probable for the game with the Cowboys.
With Philadelphia last season McNabb hit on only 60.3% of his passes for 3553 yards 22 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. With receiving talent surrounding McNabb in Philadelphia the Eagles would have liked McNabb to be more accurate as a passer.
In his two regular season games against the Cowboys in 2009 McNabb completed 36 of 66 passes for 550 yards with 1 touchdowns and two interceptions. The Eagles played Dallas three times which included their playoff game and the Eagles lost all three games averaging just 10 points per game.
The Redskins are an old team in their backfield and are led by 9 year veteran Clinton Portis who produced only a 4.0 yards per carry average and 1 rushing touchdown in 2009. His backup is 30 year old Larry Johnson who was cut from Kansas City during last season and the back produced a miserable 3.3 yards per carry average last season.
The Redskins will line up out wide with Santana Moss and Joey Galloway with tight end Chris Cooley back healthy. Moss had 70 receptions in 2009 for 902 yards and 3 touchdowns. Galloway is a 16 year veteran who produced just 7 catches for 67 yards in 2009. The Redskins look weak in the receiver position and it may be a reason why Donovan McNabb after being signed by Washington hinted that he wouldn’t mind playing with Terrell Owens again.
The Redskins finished 10th in total defense in 2009 allowing just 319 yards per game. The team is very talented in their secondary as the club finished 8th against the pass allowing just 207 yards a game.
Defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth has been a distraction in preseason and to the team with his attitude problem about switching to a new defense.
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NFL Trend: Washington Redskins are 7-3 ATS in their past 10 meetings
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