The Dallas Cowboys are preparing for their upcoming playoff game as the news and rumors ramp up.
Check out the latest buzz below.
Cowboys Open as Underdogs
Dallas is going to be the underdog in Green Bay, with the Packers opening the week as 6.5-point favorites.
However, Bleacher Report notes that the Cowboys could cover the spread.
“Dallas gained new life in the second half of last week’s victory against the Lions, rallying back from a double-digit deficit and holding them to only three points after the intermission. The Cowboys seem to be a team of destiny in some respects, whether you look at their success away from home or the breaks they get at AT&T Stadium, where the referees helped them beat Detroit,” it said.
“As a Wisconsin native, Dallas quarterback Tony Romo grew up a Green Bay fan and should be motivated to earn his second career win at Lambeau and first road victory in the postseason.”
But the Packers can also cover the spread.
“The NFC North-champion Packers dominated opponents at home during the regular season, averaging nearly 40 points per game. They have also gone 3-0 straight-up and ATS in the last three meetings with the Cowboys and 5-2 SU and vs. the line in their previous seven home games against NFC East opponents,” Bleacher noted.
“Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers needed the extra rest of the bye week to recover from a calf injury and should be able to take advantage of a Dallas defense that suffered some key injuries of its own in the playoff win against the Lions. Even at less than 100 percent, Rodgers helped the Packers defeat Detroit 30-20 and cover the spread as eight-point home favorites to win the division in Week 17.”
Allegiances Split in Romo’s Hometown
Allegiances to the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys are split in one Wisconsin community.
Sunday’s playoff game between the two teams has people conflicted in Burlington, a city of about 11,000 south of Milwaukee. It’s the hometown of Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo.
He’s a former All-State football and basketball player from Burlington High School, operates summer youth football camps and still has many local supporters. You'll find Romo posters at a popular downtown Burlington restaurant called Fred’s.
Owner Fred Mabson says it’s a tough call when the Packers play the Cowboys. Mabson says he’s a Packer fan, yet friends with the Romo family.
The Packers haven’t faced the Cowboys during a playoff game at Lambeau since the “Ice Bowl” in 1967.
Dallas Faces Difficult Road to Super Bowl
The Cowboys face the most difficult road to the Super Bowl they ever have, according to a new report.
“No Cowboys team has ever attempted anything as difficult as the road looming before this one,” wrote Kevin Sherrington of the Dallas News.
“First and foremost, there’s no road game as daunting as the one this week in Green Bay, where the forecast for Sunday would stop Admiral Byrd in his tracks. Ask any Ice Bowl Cowboy about Lambeau Field. For some, the numbness remains, and not just in their toes.”
And if they win, the Cowboys will likely face the Seattle Seahawks, in Seattle.
The good news is that Dallas has already won once in that stadium this season. But the Seahawks have lost there only twice in the last three seasons. But the Cowboys are 8-0 on the road.
And if the Cowboys did make it to the Super Bowl, they'll likely be facing a tough team such as the Denver Broncos or New England Patriots.
But Sherrington has hope that it can be done.
“If they somehow find themselves in Glendale, Ariz., come February, mark it down. No Cowboys team ever took a harder road,” he concluded.
Marinelli Gets Defense Forcing Turnovers
Cowboys defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli has worked hard at getting his defense to force turnovers, and the hard work has paid off--Dallas has forced a turnover in 16 consecutive games.
And the team is 10-0 when forcing at least two turnovers in a game this season.
Marinelli noted that the team should be given credit.
“You hold people to a certain standard of how we’re going to play. A lot of people give lip service in the offseason, but as the season goes on, they don’t stress it as much,” Marinelli told ESPN.
“Every day we work on stripping the ball, sprinting to the ball and tackling. We work on it every day of the year. We talk about it every day of the year, and we watch it on film. We grade effort. There’s nothing magical about it. It’s consistency in our approach.”
The Cowboys forced three turnovers in the win over the Lions.
“We’re just relentless on it. As soon as you don’t emphasize it, you don’t do it,” Marinelli said. “Sometimes, you can have a game where you don’t get any, but the strip attempts are there. I keep looking for strip attempts. If you have enough attempts, eventually you’re going to get it out. If the attempts aren’t there, there’s no way it’s coming out.”
They'll have a tough time against the Packers, who tied New England for the fewest in the league at 13. QB Aaron Rodgers hasn’t thrown an interception at Lambeau Field since 2012.
300 standing-room-only Tickets Available
The Green Bay Packers say they will make 300 standing-room-only tickets available for Sunday’s NFL divisional playoff game against the Dallas Cowboys at Lambeau Field.
Packers spokesman Aaron Popkey says details on the tickets will be released later this week. The tickets are $105 each and are located in the south end zone’s 400 level.
Seats for the playoff game are sold out, but can be purchased on the secondary market.
The website VividSeats.com has tickets in the 700 level sections of the south end for $165 to $211 each. StubHub.com listed seats in the same sections for $199 to $278 each. Seats in the 700 level cost $85 each during the regular season.
Cowboys Prepare for Cold Weather
Dallas will be at a disadvantage in Green Bay in the cold weather, but are trying to prepare for the conditions.
“They’re going to practice outdoors in 30-degree temperatures all week. I know it will be colder in Green Bay, but I’m not sure what more you can do,” noted the Dallas Cowboys mailbag team.
“This team has played in some pretty cold places – last season’s game in Chicago comes to mind. Not to mention, a whole bunch of these guys – Tony Romo, Travis Frederick, Zack Martin, Nick Hayden, Barry Church, Anthony Hitchens, Brandon Carr, just to name a few – are from the Midwest and should be plenty familiar with cold weather games. I think they'll be fine in that regard.”
The team also noted that coaches were handling Dez Bryant’s incident, when the fifth-year veteran went out onto the field during a heated moment.
“Jason Garrett said Monday that he has addressed Dez and the entire team about that, but it’s a good point. Dez is a fifth-year veteran, and it’s pretty ridiculous that he couldn’t do a better job of keeping his cool in that situation,” they said.
“Of course, it was also his first-ever playoff game, but still. I kind of got the sense from listening to Dez after the game that he knew he got away with one, so hopefully for his sake it was a valuable learning experience.”
Christie’s Support of Dallas Drawing Attention
Chris Christie loves the Dallas Cowboys. Not only is he not ashamed of it, he wants you to know it.
Tossing any risks of political offense aside, the potential Republican candidate for president doesn’t bother to cheer for any of the teams that would make more sense for the governor of New Jersey.
No, he’s an over-the-top, awkward-hugging, lucky-sweater-wearing and sports-talk-show-calling fan of the self-proclaimed “America’s Team.” And he might just be scoring political points by sticking with his ‘Boys rather than sailing fairer winds by pretending to care about the New York Giants or the Philadelphia Eagles.
“I think, if anything, it shows he’s authentic — him standing by his team,” said Matt Moore, the chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party, who acknowledged owning a Cowboys jersey and helmet as a kid.
“True sports fans know what it’s like to stand on couches and shout at the TV. We all get caught up in the moment,” Moore said. “I don’t know if it’s anything more than being a super fan, but Gov. Christie’s love of the Cowboys is definitely smart politics.”
Christie’s fanboy ways were again on display Sunday, when he was spotted gleefully celebrating the team’s comeback win against the Detroit Lions in the NFL playoffs. He was hard to miss in owner Jerry Jones’ box, wearing his sure-to-be-noticed orange good luck sweater, bouncing around and looking for a hug after the Cowboys’ 24-20 wild-card victory.
It wasn’t the first time Christie has shown up in Jones’ box, nor the first time his display of affection for the team and its owner has drawn withering fire on social media and among radio talkers. Christie’s high-five of Jones after the Cowboys beat the Philadelphia Eagles last month was seen by some in South Jersey and elsewhere as rubbing it in.
There’s also the question of where Christie chooses to sit — namely, with Jones, the billionaire owner of the Cowboys, who supplied the governor with transportation via private jet and a ticket to the game in his suite, raising questions about state ethics rules. It’s the third time Christie has seen the game on Jones’ tab, according to a Christie spokesman.
That left The Weekly Standard’s Bill Kristol to predict that when Dallas travels to Green Bay for their next playoff game, against the Packers on Sunday, he'd miss Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who is sure to sit in “the cheap seats & freeze with the common people” at Lambeau Field.
But the guy who fell in love with the Cowboys watching Hall of Fame quarterback Roger Staubach does not care about your taunts.
His team, after all, is winning.
“I call it as I see it,” Christie declared in mid-December on a South Jersey sports-talk station. “And I’m not going to be one of these politicians who changes their sports team loyalties just to score political points.”
He added Monday morning: “Just because I’m governor of New Jersey doesn’t mean that I change who I root for. That’s it.”
Didn’t his antics risk votes in Michigan, home of the Lions and a state he'll likely need to carry to win the White House, should he win his party’s nomination?
Perhaps, but Christie appears to be doubling down on his straight-talker image, making a calculated play that embracing his love of his team is a better way to win over votes than pandering to fans at home.
“Iowa has a lot of Cowboys fans,” said Tim Albrecht, a Republican strategist from the first-to-vote state, “and I am sure they will look forward to hearing about the game as well as his vision for the country next time he visits here.”
Steve Duprey, the Republican National Committeeman for New Hampshire and a former senior adviser to John McCain, said it’s getting harder and harder for candidates to break through to voters and said Christie’s sports allegiance could actually be a useful tool.
“You have to do things that let the public get to know a little bit of who you are,” he said, drawing a comparison to George W. Bush’s penchant for bass fishing and McCain’s appreciation for hiking.
Texas is also a Republican-leaning state, with 38 electoral college votes in presidential elections — more than any state besides California.
Christie’s chief political adviser, Mike DuHaime, said politics had nothing to do with it. “He is who he is. He is a Cowboys fan and always has been. There is zero political calculation. If there was, he probably wouldn’t be a Mets fan too, and certainly not a Rangers fan.”
Christie has made repeat appearances on sports radio shows after Cowboys wins, he posts aboutDallas on his official Twitter and Facebook pages, and his staffers have touted his fandom in government press releases that list all the games he’s attended in person.
Among the tidbits noted Monday in two releases: Christie has worn the same orange sweater to each of the five games he’s attended this season.
The Cowboys, by the way, won them all.
“For all the flak I get on my orange sweater, it’s now a perfect 5-0 @dallascowboys games. I’m not breaking that Karma,” Christie tweeted Monday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
