The hottest, trendiest dish in Dallas these days is Seared Wade.

The recipe is simple: Take one maligned coach, add some spice, and turn the burners on super high.

Before his season-ending arm injury, Dallas safety Roy Williams gets a look at Steven Jackson familar to Cowboys defenders. (AP)

The smell is awful.

Wade is Dallas Cowboys coach Wade Phillips, whose team was blown out Sunday by the St. Louis Rams.

Playing without injured quarterback Tony Romo, the Cowboys were still expected to go into St. Louis and win. Instead, the Rams beat them down 34-14 and never seemed to be in the game.

This was more than just about playing without Romo. He doesn't tackle.

Neither did the Cowboys on this day. Steven Jackson ran for 160 yards and three touchdowns as the Rams did what they wanted to on the ground.

Pacman was lucky. He wasn't around to see it.

The Cowboys were warned about playing with 40-year-old quarterback Brad Johnson. His arm isn't strong enough and the Rams showed how he's easily defended because of it.

I sure do wish I could hear sports-talk radio in Dallas on Monday.

There were many fans and media members who wanted Phillips out after last season when the Cowboys choked away home-field advantage in the playoffs. Now this. They are 4-3 and have lost consecutive games to the Cardinals and Rams and their quarterback has the most-watched pinkie since Tony Soprano drank his sambuca pinky up.

The quarterback excuse doesn't apply when you're a 9-point favorite on the road. Somebody thought Dallas was the better team.

Offensive coordinator Jason Garrett is believed to be the coach in waiting, but he hasn't exactly excelled as a play-caller this season.

For their dreadful performance in St. Louis, the Cowboys get a giant F in our grades this week.

If things don't change, Phillips will be getting an F for the season. How do you want you your Wade, fried or seared?

Sunday, Oct. 19, 2008
St. Louis Rams 34, Dallas Cowboys 14		Prev. Grade	GPA
A+	Rams: Give this one to the defense and Steven Jackson. The defense totally shut down Dallas, especially the passing game. It was made easier with no Tony Romo, but they got it done. Getting three takeaways in the first half was huge. Jackson ran for 160 and three scores.	A+	1.78
F	Cowboys: Yeah, yeah. The offense will be the same with Johnson. No, it isn't. They have no threat down the field with Johnson in the game. The turnovers were killers. This isn't a good time in Dallas.	C	2.57
NY Giants 29, San Francisco 49ers 17		Prev. Grade	GPA
A	Giants: The key was the suffocating defense. They limited Frank Gore to 11 yards on 11 carries, had six sacks and forced four turnovers. That will win a lot of games when the offense isn't clicking.	F	2.95
C-	49ers: They haven't been taking care of the football, and it's killing them. J.T. O'Sullivan needs to work on ball security. You can't win many games with 35 yards rushing. The defense actually played OK.	C-	2.20
Baltimore Ravens 27, Miami Dolphins 13		Prev. Grade	GPA
B+	Ravens: The no-huddle really helped rookie Joe Flacco get into a groove. He seemed more relaxed playing that way. The big play was Terrell Suggs' pick for a touchdown. This was a big victory coming on the second leg of back-to-back road games.	F	2.17
C	Dolphins: They couldn't run the ball at all. How about that Wildcat formation now? The defense couldn't contain Willis McGahee, who averaged 5.5 per carry.	C	2.28
Tennessee Titans 34, Kansas City Chiefs 10		Prev. Grade	GPA
A	Titans: They did whatever they wanted on the ground. Chris Johnson and LenDale White ran wild, rushing for a combined 317 yards. The defense was suffocating. That's how you come off a bye week.	B	3.38
F	Chiefs: This is a bad football team. And now they've lost their starting quarterback. On this day, the defense couldn't tackle and the offense couldn't move it. That's a bad combination.	F	1.28
Pittsburgh Steelers 38, Cincinnati Bengals 10		Prev. Grade	GPA
B+	Steelers: The defense limited the Bengals to 212 yards and had seven sacks. Mewelde Moore had 121 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Not bad for a third-team back.	B+	2.93
D	Bengals: Ryan Fitzpatrick just isn't good enough to beat a defense like Pittsburgh's, especially getting sacked seven times. Not getting the running game going didn't help. The defense had trouble getting off the field.	C-	1.54
Chicago Bears 48, Minnesota Vikings 41		Prev. Grade	GPA
B	Bears: They won this by taking the ball away and with two special-teams scores. Kyle Orton was good again at quarterback. The defense remains a worry. That isn't the Bears defense we expect to see.	B+	2.96
C	Vikings: The offense moved the ball all day, but they turned it over five times and allowed two special-teams touchdowns. You won't win many games that way.	B-	2.30
Carolina Panthers 30, New Orleans Saints 7		Prev. Grade	GPA
A	Panthers: Give this one to the defense. They dominated the Saints' offense. The secondary really had a good game. The running game did its job in moving the chains.	D	2.94
D	Saints: They just never got it going on offense. Drew Brees was just average for the first time this season. The defense had problems getting the Panthers off the field.	B+	2.39
Buffalo Bills 23, San Diego Chargers 14		Prev. Grade	GPA
B+	Bills: Trent Edwards came up big, missing just five passes in 30 attempts. He also threw a touchdown pass. The defense limited San Diego to 72 yards rushing, only 41 for LaDainian Tomlinson.	D	2.82
C-	Chargers: They just couldn't get it going on offense. When they did, Philip Rivers was picked off in the end zone as they tried to take the lead late. The pass defense struggled again.	A	2.28
Houston Texans 28, Detroit Lions 21		Prev. Grade	GPA
B	Texans: Matt Schaub continued his hot play in leading the Texans to a 21-0 lead. He threw two touchdown passes to Owen Daniels. The defense let down late, which did make it interesting.	B-	1.62
C-	Lions: They got blitzed early, but they do get credit for not quitting. Dan Orlovsky made some nice plays in the second half, which could be a good thing for the future. The pass defense didn't play well again.	C	1.23
Washington Redskins 14, Cleveland Browns 11		Prev. Grade	GPA
B-	Redskins: The defense limited the Browns to 236 yards, which is a heck of a day. Clinton Portis keyed the offense with 175 yards rushing, but his fumble late almost allowed the Browns to steal one.	F	2.63
C	Browns: The offense was nonexistent until the fourth quarter. That has to stop. The passing game went back to where it was before last Monday night's victory over the Giants. The defense held Washington without a point in the first half, which went to waste.	A	1.95
Oakland Raiders 16, NY Jets 13		Prev. Grade	GPA
B	Raiders: It wasn't pretty, but they'll take it. JaMarcus Russell made two big throws in overtime to lead to the game-winning field goal. The defense was solid all day and forced two punts in overtime.	F	1.67
C	Jets: They have to find a way to win on the road. They seemed to be scrambling all day long to get anything going. Brett Favre couldn't work his magic in overtime. Thomas Jones had a nice day running it.	B-	2.34
Green Bay Packers 34, Indianapolis Colts 14		Prev. Grade	GPA
A	Packers: They had two picks for scores, which blew open the game in the second half. The defense was special in this one. Aaron Rodgers had a better day than Peyton Manning.	A	2.63
F	Colts: Peyton Manning had one of those days. The Colts couldn't move the football and he had those two picks for scores. The defense didn't play that well either.	A	2.17
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20, Seattle Seahawks 10		Prev. Grade	GPA
B+	Buccaneers: Jeff Garcia had a big game throwing the football. But this was the defense's game. They shut down an undermanned Seattle offense.	A	2.81
C-	Seahawks: Without Matt Hasselbeck they are so limited on offense. Seneca Wallace doesn't throw it well enough. The pass defense struggled again.	C-	1.68
Monday, Oct. 20, 2008
New England Patriots 41, Denver Broncos 7		Prev. Grade	GPA
A	Patriots: There was no doubt Bill Belichick would get his team to bounce back. They did in grand fashion. They ran it all over the Denver defense, with Sammy Morris coming up big with 138 yards. The defense was dominant.	C-	2.62
F	Broncos: Four first-half turnovers killed them. It didn't help that Jay Cutler hurt his finger or that the defense didn't tackle. What a terrible night all the way around it was for the Broncos.	C	2.34