The Romo Friendly Offense: Week 16 @ Washington

Cowboys fans, we all got a very nice Christmas present from our ‘Boys in the form of a sweep of the Redskins, a shutout, and, most importantly, a playoff berth.  While we can’t be quite sure exactly where the Cowboys will eventually settle in the post-season picture, one thing is for certain: this series has been given an extra week of life!

All kidding aside, while a 17-0 score looks very nice, it was quite misleading.  After the game was over, I couldn’t help but feel like the offense played an awful game and the Cowboys were fortunate to cash in on an amazing defensive effort.

Was the cynical December Cowboys fan creeping up in me or do the numbers actually back up my initial reaction?  It’s time to break down the offense once again to find out.

...continue reading at DallasProSports.com

The "Romo Friendly" Offense: Week 15 @ New Orleans

I sure many Cowboys fans are asking what I have been ever since I saw the clock hit 0:00 Saturday night: “Where has THAT been all season?!”

This game was completely unlike any other we’ve seen all season.  The Cowboys not only scored on their first drive for the first time this season, but also their second drive as well as their opening drive of the second half.  Make no mistake about it, the offense put on one of their most dominate performances all season.

So what was different this time around and what has been missing the past couple of weeks?  It’s time to break this offensive performance down and find out why.

...continue reading at DallasProSports.com

Romo Friendly Offense: Week 14 vs San Diego

Cowboy fans, I hope every last one of you have braced yourselves and taken cover for the wonderful storm that has hit us all.  Another December game, another December loss and now the Cowboys can do no better than 2-2 this month, and that would mean knocking off undefeated New Orleans this Saturday.

Things do not look good.

Last week, the Cowboys feel victim to everything else besides the play by the offensive.  This game, however, the offense was most definitely a major culprit and there was simply no doubt about it.  While, yes, there were other things that went wrong in the game, it is my job to focus on what went wrong with the offense.  Sadly, I have a lot of bullets to spread around this week, so let’s get started.

...continue reading at DallasProSports.com

"Romo Friendly" Offense Catch Up, and a Quick Thanks

I haven't been doing a very good job on updating the blog for when my articles have been going up on DallasProSports.com.  Apologies for that.  However, if you feel like reviewing the last few weeks, feel free:

Week 9 @ Philly

Week 10 @ Green Bay

Week 11 vs Washington

Week 12 (Thanksgiving) vs Oakland

However, if you'd like to skip straight to the most current article, here is a preview and link for that as well:

Grading the Romo Friendly Offense – Week 13 Loss Against the G-Men

Sunday’s game is easily the most confusing and frustrating game that I have broken down all season.  Throughout the year, it has been fairly easy to point out the offensive shortcomings that have caused this team to fail in their losses.  However, as we all will soon see in this week’s breakdown, the story is not so clear at all.  The theories, axioms, and recipes for success that I have hung my hat on all season have been shaken to the core.

...Continue reading at DallasProSports.com

Also, I want to take the time to thank everyone that has been reading both my work at DallasProSports.com and here.

This month, I have had more visitors come across my site than ever before...and the number isn't even close to previous months.  The majority of visits this month have come from Liverpool fans across the Globe checking out my Open Letter to Tom Hicks.  However, visits to my regular work have also spiked beyond my wildest expectations as well.

As far as my work at DallasProSports.com goes, that also has surpassed any expectations of visitors.  Today I saw a tweet from Daniel, who runs the site, saying that quite a lot of people were visiting my bio page that was just recently posted.  He then later informed me that my page was in fact the 7th most visited page on the entire site in the past 30 days.

Both of those pieces of news have made my eyes pop out of my head, and I still can't believe it.  So thanks to everyone that regularly visits here, drops by here from my links on Facebook and/or Twitter, and also to those that spread my work around via email/forums/retweets/word of mouth.  Y'all rock and I appreciate all of the support and hope you continue to enjoy my work.

The "Romo Friendly" Offense: Week 8 vs. Seattle

As promised, I am going to keep readers of this blog in the loop on my writings on DallasProSports.com.  Also, I wanted to pop in and let everyone know that I am actually committed to regular schedule now there (shocking I know).  Every Tuesday morning, my "Romo Friendly" Offense article will appear and every Friday morning my contributions to the fantasy panel will be posted.  Each morning, I will also post a quick preview and link here as well to ensure it is well advertised.

So without further ado:

Another week has passed and has brought us yet another successful victory for the Cowboys.  The ‘Boys completely dominated on the offensive side of the ball once again and Romo seemed to have his way with the Seahawks.  Last week, I attributed similar success primarily to the great play of Romo.  So was this yet another week when the “Romo Friendly” offense became the “Romo Driven” offense?

...Continue reading at DallasProSports.com

Playing a Little Catch-Up

Folks, it is that time again to do a general catch-up post!  I figured now would be a good time to do this because to be honest, I really don't have much to say about ND's game this past Saturday against Boston College, nor do I really have much to say on a preview against Washington State to justify an entire post.  However, if that is what you came here for, feel free to skip down to the end of the post for a ND quick-hit.

There are several other things to catch up on that are of interest to me.  The Cowboys played surprisingly well this week, the Stars season is well underway, the Mavs have kicked off their season, the Evil Empire is in the World Series against the City of Brotherly Shove, and Microsoft released a little something called Windows 7.  That's quite a bit to run through, so let's just get to it.

Dallas Cowboys

You may (or likely may not) remember that I have been writing for DallasProSports.com on both a fantasy panel as well as doing a weekly article on the "Romo Friendly" offense.

Save for Twitter, I have been doing a really awful job at promoting my work. I assure you though, that I have indeed been writing my opinions on the offense.  So you can check out all my opinions on the offense there; in fact, writing those articles has been the reason I haven't bothered to say much on the 'Boys in this space.  I will be sure to actually remember to post here when my articles go up.

Beyond the offense though, I will say the defense is, thankfully, improving from the looks of things.  Ware finally seems to be getting back into the swing of things, and the secondary looked like it could actually defend something as well last week.  This trend must continue because what we all should have learned from the past couple of years is that a Cowboys team 100% reliant on Romo and the offense to bail the team out flat out doesn't work.

Dallas Mavericks

I went from being extremely excited about the new pickups of Shawn Marion and Drew Gooden to being extremely concerned after their defeat to Washington in the first game of the season.  The main reason being that I saw absolutely nothing different from the Mavs in that game than I did last season.

It was the same old, same old: play small and jack up threes when we trail.  Also, defense is optional.

I'm hoping that won't be the same story for the whole season.  I do believe the Mavs have improved their team this year, but until our overall attitude of how to play changes (i.e. DRIVE THE FREAKIN' LANE!), we will continue to struggle.

Dallas Stars

Well, what a difference a coach does make.  While I'm not going to say we are Cup bound, Stars hockey is a hell of a lot more fun to watch this season.  We have a lot of young kids and a very wide open style of play, meaning far more scoring than I can ever remember seeing.

I wish I could actually give more hockey insight than that, but beyond knowing the rules of the game, I am pretty much only able to give "Hockey for Dummies" type commentary.

One thing to watch this season though is the play of Marty Turco.  Last season he took a lot of abuse from fans and media about his play severely declining.  I do believe Marty is one of the better goaltenders in the NHL, but the season he had last year simply can't be repeated if we want to be a solid playoff team -- you need your goalie to be a wall.

Last year Turco turned in 2.83 GAA (goals against average), and thus far he is sitting at 2.26 GAA (just as a reference, two seasons ago, Marty finished at 2.32 GAA).  Much better to say the least thus far.  Hopefully last season will prove to be the exception and not the first warning of a declining Turco.

World Series

I'm going to be very quick on this one: I hate the Yankees.  I can't believe A-Rod is actually hitting clutch in October.  Seeing Teixiera playing in the World Series is making me sick.

Go Phillies!

Windows 7

Hey, remember those few times I actually wrote about technology in here?  Yeah me too.  It's really been a while.  Mostly that is due to the fact it is football season and it takes far too much of my attention span as far as writing goes.

However, I must say at least a little something on Windows 7 (as I'm not sure if I'll actually spin out a full-blown post during football season).  First off, it is nothing like Vista.

Let me repeat that another way: We have a new Windows Operating System that doesn't completely suck like Vista.

The first thing that popped out to me was the amount of resources the system was using at idle.  Vista was very infamous for sucking the life out of RAM (memory) and processor power by just having the so-called "great" Vista features active like Aero and Index Searching.  Windows 7 has removed whatever was severely bloating Vista as very little strain is being placed on the system in comparison.

So what does that mean?  In short, quicker performance for just about anything that you want to do.  Initial startups are quicker, opening programs takes far less time, etc.

The other great touches that I've encountered so far are the, dare I say, intuitive additions to Windows 7.  The new taskbar helps decrease what is usually extreme clutter on the desktop and allows you to get to you want even quicker than alt-tabbing.  Programs/windows open, now group to an icon on the desktop.  Say you have five Word documents open and three Windows Explorer windows open, along with whatever you are looking at on the web.  Well, simply hovering over say the Word icon will open up a small window dubbed "Aero Peek" that will show small window previews of all five documents along with their titles, allowing you to quickly and easily select the one you want to view instead of jamming on alt+tab until you finally highlight the right document you want, or trying to remember the exact window/document name from the old taskbar groupings in XP/Vista.

There are even shortcuts that use window positioning to automatically maximize, minimize, and compare windows.  Want to compare two open windows?  Drag one to the left side of the screen and it pops into place, filling the left side.  Then drag the other window to the right side of the screen, and it fills the other remaining 50% of the screen.  Want to minimize all the junk on your screen and just focus on one window?  Shake the window you want and away goes everything else.

I'm not used to Windows working like this at all -- it is almost as if they stole some Apple programmers.

Granted, I haven't had too much time to really run into many problems yet, but it is something I am keeping an eye on.  Compared to Vista though, this is a freakin' walk in the park.

Notre Dame Football

Now for the ND football talk!

The game against Boston College was just more typical Irish football this season: play to the level of your opponent and decide the game at the end.  Also, give all of ND Nation a freakin' heart attack while doing so.

Clausen and the offense played very well.  BC's game plan was the same as last season: cover the deep play, give up the short passes.  This time around, Clausen did a superb job taking exactly what BC would give him and not force the ball downfield needlessly.  While it made for a very low scoring game, it was the right way to attack them.  Credit both Clausen and Weis for this one folks.

Defense though -- oh dear Lord...what has happened?  Getting a lot of tunrovers was very nice, as was actually hitting the opposing QB for a change, but the secondary still looks awful.  Harrison Smith looked lost anytime he was dropped back as a safety, and even had coverage issues when he was lined up at LB.  The rest of the secondary (save for McCarthy) isn't exactly making major plays on a consistent basis either.

However, the best positive note on defense: Mantei Te'o -- see ball, see player with ball, hit player with ball, wash, rinse, repeat.

Final note on BC: can we punt?  Seriously, I don't think we got a punt past 35 yards.  That is flat out AWFUL, especially since this punters are on scholarship.  This isn't like Mike Leech pulled someone out of the stands after a punting competition.  Yeesh.

Now to preview the Washington State game...

...

...uh...yeah I got nothing.  Honestly, I don't even care if they are trying to dip into the ND kryptonite and starting a freshmen QB.  They are awful -- end of story.  This game shouldn't be close.  Crist should be starting in the second half and Sharpley should be the QB as time winds down.

Now will this likely happen?  Your idea is as good as mine.

Seriously, how in the world do I preview games for a team that seems to take a sick pleasure in torturing its loyal fans?  It boggles the mind.

This game should be an obvious blowout on paper.  Therefore, let's expect the game to go down the wire yet again right?

However, I will not be watching this game live.  It will sitting at home on my DVR as I will be attending a wedding of a good friend of mine (PS: you know you are a great friend if I go to your wedding on a day I had tickets to go watch ND play -- in Texas no less!).  So Saturday night, I will be throwing myself into a black hole (that may or may not include an open bar) and pretending my phone and the Internet do not exist as I want to experience the heart attack first-hand.

So if you were looking forward to any commentary via Twitter on the game, apologies, there will be none.  Nor will there be a prompt post on my postgame thoughts as well.

...oh man, prompt posts in this blog...that's a good one...

GO IRISH! BEAT COUGARS!

Some Shameless Self-Promotion: Part II

The article that I mentioned earlier today about the "Romo Friendly" offense will be split into two parts this week.  Part 1, covering week 1 against Tampa Bay, is up now.  Part 2, which will cover the disaster that was the Cowboys home opener, will be up tomorrow.

Some Shameless Self-Promotion

If you remember, recently I made a post about being a part of a fantasy football panel on DallasProSports.com, which has now gone to a weekly appearance.  Starting this week, I will be writing yet another weekly article for them as well.  My focus will be a week-by-week breakdown of the so-called "Romo Friendly" offense.  I'll be looking at the play call balance as well as how effective it seems to be working for the Cowboys and Romo.

I don't have the exact days that I will be published there as of yet; however, I will be sure to update with a link here (possibly with a more in-depth breakdown of other Cowboy happenings if I have the time).

On that same note, if you have Twitter, you can follow DallasProSports.com and get their feed of website updates (which will include my articles and fantasy panel updates) and other sports news from the Dallas area.  You can also follow my Twitter feed to get updates for this blog as well as other random things that I find amusing (as well as random commentary, especially during ND/Cowboy games).

Hopefully in some near future I will soon be able to overhaul this site and make it a little bit better than it currently stands now.  I've got a bunch of ideas; however, the free time is lacking as of now.  Considering I'm already behind on actual blog entries, I wouldn't expect to see any major changes anytime soon; however, I might have the time to plug some things in here and there.

So there you go, my shameless self-promotion for the day.  Now time to get back to work on things you might care a little bit more about like breaking down the ND/MSU game and previewing the ND/Purdue game.  Being behind is fun!

Dallas Cowboys Season Preview

This time last year, Hard Knocks was showing the Cowboys off to the world, complete with the attitude and thought that the Cowboys had a one-way ticket to the Super Bowl, and Valley Ranch was making arrangements for the shipment of their 6th Lombardy Trophy. Then just a couple months later, Pacman got into a fight, T.O. was yelling at everyone on and off the field, Romo broke his pinkie, and the Cowboys started their downfall that would leave them out of the playoff picture.

Funny how humbling a NFL season can make you.

Now on the heels of a draft that was called "dead" by Todd Archer today on the Ticket's "Ranch Report" (and for good reason, the biggest impact will be a kicker...ouch), the Cowboys go into this season trying to pick up the pieces of 2008. There are no Super Bowl projections at the Ranch this time around; in fact, things have been rather quiet all around...well save for the $1.2 billion dollar stadium that is now the Cowboys home...

So what will this season have in store for the 'Boys this time around? Will they, like Notre Dame last season, break their postseason winless streak? Or will we have yet another season of failed execution, excuses, and yet another miserable December swoon? I'll attempt to hit some of the keys for the Cowboys season as well as try to make a season prediction. And then, come January, I can link this post in another entry we can all laugh as I am dead wrong on everything.

The Circus Has Left Town

The biggest change this season has been the attitude of the team, and no, I don't mean Wade going up to the podium like an idiot, trying to be a hard-ass and saying "It's time for football!"

No, this time around Jerry has decided to remove any player that either was, or had the potential to be, a major problem and distraction for the team. Gone now are T.O. Owens, Adam "Pacman" Jones, Tank Johnson, Roy Williams (the safety), and Greg Ellis. The first three are rather obvious for either dividing the locker room (T.O.) or off the field issues (Pacman and Tank). With Williams and Ellis though, the issue was slightly different. In Williams case, not only were the Cowboys tired of seeing him about 10 yards behind a receiver, but also his blasting the media for pointing it out. Ellis has been a contract negotiating nightmare recently as he couldn't quite handle having a diminishing role with the Cowboys and made it known quite often (enjoy the Raiders buddy, also, try to avoid being pancake blocked by a QB in the future).

The message delivered this offseason has been rather simple: if you have any potential of being a headache, be one for another NFL team (or in Pacman's case CFL, or well, any league/team crazy enough to take that mess on).

While this has done wonders for training camp and the preseason not being filled with tons of ridiculous stories or questions about T.O.'s bike riding habits, the removal of potential distractions will not equal an automatic cure for the team. Mike Rhyner of the Ticket's Hardline has it right. Getting rid of distractions such as T.O. is only about 50% of what's wrong with this thing. There is something to be said for Romo being able to have an easier time commanding the huddle without the shadow of T.O. looming, as well as not needing to worry week to week whether or not Pacman will make it rain at a local strip club.

The chemistry of the team will definitely have a marked improvement; however, there are a couple of other more important keys to this season's success.

For the Love of God, BLOCK SOMEBODY

Someone needs to explain how we have a single Pro Bowl player on this line. I went into looking into some of the reasons for the infamous "December Swoon" of recent years. Romo tends to take much of the blame for this, but let's take a look at the sack numbers (with Romo in as QB) month by month:

Month	2006	2007	2008
September	DNP	6	3
October	4	5	4
November	4	5	1
December	13	8	12

Those ever so slight increases in sacks in December may just be a little bit of the problem. While 2007 wasn't as bad, you may also remember that year the 'Boys didn't do so bad themselves going 2-2. As I said before, I think I'm noticing a pattern here. It is hard to win games when your best player is on his back half the game. Keep in mind these are only the numbers of how often Romo was sacked and not how often he was hit as well.

If the Cowboys are to improve in 2009, it all starts up front. Romo has been getting sacked far too often and our running game hasn't been exactly what I'd call stellar recently either. If the line continues to be Swiss cheese, expect yet another December Swoon.

The Romo Friendly Offense

A lot has been made about there being a Romo friendly offense this time around. What does that mean exactly? Balance. Again let's use the past three years (the start of the current Phillips/Garrett era) and check out the spread of play calling in comparison to the rest of the NFL:

Year	Rushing Attempts (NFL Rank)	Passing Attempts (NFL Rank)	Percent Pass Plays Run
2006	472 (12)	506 (20)	51.7%
2007	419 (21)	531 (18)	55.9%
2008	401 (25)	547 (8)	57.7%

Saying that this team has been relying on the pass increasingly year after year is an understatement. The offense has been leaning on Romo to score points. The running game must not only improve this season, but become a more prominent part of the offense.

The term "Romo Friendly" to me is two fold. First, the offense is not dependent on Romo to try to create/force pass plays and have more balance. Second, Romo isn't forced to try to feed T.O. the ball in attempts to shut him up week after week. Like I said before, T.O. is 50% of the issue. With a more balanced offense, Romo should have a much better season as balance will keep a constant pass rush off of him and discourage teams from sitting on pass all game long.

A balanced offense is even more crucial this season now with the departure of T.O. As much as I love to bash him, he was a TD machine and major deep threat, and now he is gone. Of course Roy Williams is supposed to fill in, but he has yet to show he can be the kind of threat that T.O. was. Plus, if Williams is doubled this season, what happens to the passing offense then? It will be just like when T.O. failed to escape the double coverage himself, leaving Witten as Romo's main option. While Witten is a great option to have, as great as he is, he won't exactly be burning the defense on a deep route very often.

The rushing attack must step up and Marion Barber and Felix Jones must have big seasons for the Cowboys to have any shot at the playoffs.

The Predictions

So with all that being said, what do I see as the end result of this season? In looking at the schedule I can see either a 9-7 or 10-6 season. At best, the Cowboys will be looking to fight for a wild card spot once again this season as I simply can't see them topping the Giants (even if they did lose Plaxico Burress) in the East with that record.

If they do make the playoffs though, I do believe this will be the year the playoff winless streak does end; however, that is all that will happen. This team is only good enough this season to take a first round victory. Beyond that, there are just simply too many teams in the NFC that will be able to beat them. Ending the streak will be enough to drive the one needed win, but after that, reality will quickly set in.

As far as this week's game against Tampa Bay goes, I am looking for the Cowboys to win. The Bucs are simply in shambles right now. When you fire your offensive coordinator before week 1, you have issues. The Cowboys are already the better team on paper -- there is literally no excuse to lose in week one.

Random Ramblings

Lot of news to catch up on, so I'm just going to bypass some form of witty (or not) introduction and just get to it.

Weis Drops Bombshells in Presser

Charlie Weis made two major announcements in his last spring ball presser.

The first of which was that Weis is petitioning the NCAA to give Brady Quinn and extra year of eligibility. This news comes somewhat on the heels of Cincinnati head coach, Brian Kelly, getting a sixth year of eligibility for DB Drew Frey and petitioned for USC transfer Vidal Hazelton to have the usual "sit out year" waved. This news, it seems, was the catalyst for this rather bold and slightly insane move by Weis:

"Well, you see the reasoning is really two fold," Weis responded, "First of, I figure that if Kelly can make up the rules as he goes along why can't I? Seems the NCAA doesn't have too much of an issue with it, so why not. Secondly, it seems there was a rather large contingent that wanted Kelly to be sitting in this chair rather than myself. So I took at look at the two of us. What does he do differently than I do? I am simply giving the fans what they want."

"Also think about it. Imagine Quinn throwing downfield to Floyd and Tate all day long. We will be unstoppable and get the National Title everyone wants to desperately."

When asked if Weis would be willing to sacrifice the integrity of the school in order to pull of such a maneuver he simply replied, "The hell is wrong with you? Do you read what people write out on NDNation.com? No one cares about academics or head coaches that keep their noses clean -- they only care about titles and that is what I am doing."

As if that wasn't enough, Weis then, in a very unprecedented move, announced the pep rally speaker for this years ND/USC game:

"I know we usually don't do this, but I feel it would be an important boost for our fans and our team for this year's game against USC. The pep rally for that game should needs to be something that can help put or team over the top because we are all sick of losing to USC. Therefore, we have invited President Barack Obama to speak at the USC weekend pep rally, which will be held in Notre Dame Stadium and he has accepted."

When asked what business Obama had at the pep rally of a Catholic institution, Weis responded, "Well, he clearly has some ideas for the BCS and there will be a Congress investigation into it, so firstly, we need to make sure we protect ND's interests in the matter. Secondly, I've been reading the Viewpoint in the past few weeks -- let me tell you, this man hasn't even said a word on campus yet and more people are calling for his head than yous guys were calling for mine after the Syracuse game. This should be a great way for everyone to completely ignore any of my faults on the football field while at the same time, getting our fans so riled up and pissed off that I can guarantee they will take it out on USC at the game."

With a smirk he concluded, "I'm killing three birds with one stone. It is a schematic advantage."

I'm not sure if Weis has completely lost his mind or if he is a complete genius. All I know is that I'm going to find it very funny as people write into the Viewpoint saying they will no longer go to a ND football game again in their lives and the 2009 season will still see a full stadium for every home game.

Brey Attempts to Explain ND's NIT Loss, Fails Miserably

Mr. No-Tie was back at it again in his post game press conference, desperately making excuses for his team that failed to show up in a horrid loss that more or less summed up the ND B-Ball season in a single game.

"Well you know, when we were seeded #2 in the NIT tournament, I thought to myself, are we really the #2 seed? I mean, take a look at the bracket we were in, we easily had the toughest possible bracket schedule in the NIT and I just knew it would be a tough road. In fact, on the plane to New York, I called my wife as we were boarding and told her '0-1', I'll be home Wednesday."

When pressed on how in God's green earth that would cause the Irish to have the worst scoring first half in Brey's tenure, he replied "Well, I mean that's what happens with a tough schedule. It finally gets to you and wears you down. Our guys just hit the limit."

Brey was also questioned about how he handled the comeback attempt -- most notably why he didn't have the Irish try to draw fouls when in the bonus with over 5 minutes to go in the game and why he called his last timeout with over a minute left and only 8 seconds on the shot clock (which turned into a shot clock violation). Brey answered "Well, we were down by 6 once we finally hit the bonus I think. At that point the answer was simple -- two threes and we are tied up. Why drive the lane? You can only get two points on those free throws if you draw the fouls. I'd clearly want to try for that extra point no matter what every time down the court. As far as the timeout goes -- we needed to take the time to plan a three point shot. We were obviously going to press a bad shot inside the arc at that point and I couldn't allow that."

...uh yeah, no real comment here.

Texas Ranger's GM John Daniels to Make "Major Changes"

Upon hearing time and time again on how the Texas Rangers by far have the best farm system in baseball, John Daniels feels now is the time to make some "major changes" that will "define his GM tenure."

"As I look at all the young talent we have in our system, I think to myself -- why are we keeping that all to ourselves?" Daniels asked. "We clearly have a lot of room to make a lot of trades here. I know we have been saying we were rebuilding for 2010, but seriously, why should we wait any longer? I am confident we can make some major changes to get solid veteran talent in here to make a pennant run this year! These trades will definitely be something that will define my GM tenure as the man that was able to turn this franchise around."

Rumored top interests of Daniels are Chan Ho Park, Reuben Sierra, Ricky Henderson, Kenny Lofton, and Byung-Hung Kim.

If anyone wonders why I feel so tortured as a Rangers fan -- well, there you go...

Jerry Jones Receives Naming Rights Offers for New Stadium

It looks like Jones' struggles for selling naming rights to the new Cowboy's Stadium may soon be at an end. From a recent report:

Sources within the Cowboys organization have said that Jerry Jones is now considering a few different offers for the naming rights of his new stadiums. The top bidders appear to be Tampax, Midol, and Kleenex. The front-runner right now seems to be Kleenex as they have even put together a few different ads for the stadium. We were able to get our hands on one of the proposed ads:

Oh boy can't wait...

Jerry Jones Cleans House: T.O., Williams Cut

Well the past 24 hours have been more than interesting for the Cowboys to say the least. While I'm being a complete baseball nerd and enjoying a bit of MLB: The Show 2009, I got the following text from my sister:

"We just got rid of T.O.!"

I couldn't believe it. I flew to ESPN to see if it was true. The irony of the opening sentence was quite delicious:

The Dallas Cowboys have released controversial wide receiver Terrell Owens, sources told ESPN's Michael Smith late Wednesday.

Oh yeah, more anonymous sources! For all the Cowboys spin of trying to claim such sources were only full of lies about problems with T.O. and the Cowboys, it is once again said "mysterious" sources that break the news of T.O.'s forced farewell. How fitting.

One of my friends (an Eagles fan too at that) pointed out that three years ago, I was happy with the signing of T.O. In thinking about that, I realized that there are really eight steps a fan goes through when T.O. gets involved:

1. While not on your team, you make fun of him and take pleasure in the horrible things that happen to him.
2. Your team shocks you by signing him. You don't know if you should be cheering or be pissed.
3. You begin to think: "Wait a second, this might just work!"
4. Season 1 you are singing his praises, have your popcorn ready, and you sit and think that your team found that magic "make T.O." happy formula. You are loving it!
5. Season 2 some drama creeps up. But hey, no big deal. That is just T.O.'s competitive spirit and people just can't see that right....RIGHT?!?!
6. Season 3 you see the writing on the wall. You start going back to step #1, but then you still try to mix in #4 when things actually go well.
7. Step #6 drives you mad. You want T.O.'s head on a platter and off your team's roster.
8. Once cut, you revert to step #1 in earnest and prepare to laugh your ass off at the poor bastards that will be stuck with T.O. next and watch them follow all these steps like you did.

Here's my proof of said eight steps:



A picture really is worth a thousand words.

Now, of course I am happy, but I do realize that there is a good chunk of offense walking out the door. However, despite the fact that Roy Williams may not be able to completely "replace" the production at the #1 WR receiver slot, the Cowboys have just gotten rid of the biggest crutch for failure that they have been leaning on for the past two years.

When you have the kind of drama T.O. brings, it clouds the whole situation. Why aren't things clicking? Is Romo just not a good QB? Is Garret a horrible coordinator? Is Wade Phillips just an awful coach? Do we simply just not have the talent to win? The drama T.O. stirred up made these issues secondary. Problem is, these issues are the heart of the problem and you can't win unless you fix him. On the same side of the coin, you can't look at them unless you are focused on them.

With the source of distraction gone, it is time to focus on these issues. Releasing T.O. won't be a cure-all, but we will sure as hell know what we actually have.

The excuses end today for the Cowboys offense. It is put up or shut up time for all of them.

However, if I encourage those screaming "great, now we have no WR" to look at the bigger picture. We have three supremely talented RB ready to roll for next year in Barber, Jones, and Choice. There is no reason in the world we shouldn't be running this three headed monster down everyone's throats next season. We don't have to worry about T.O. getting his touches now, time to game plan like we did in the Green Bay game last season: run their ass over and launch it over their heads when they sell out on the run.

Also keep in mind, we have one of the best TE in the NFL in Witten. He will definitely command more attention this year, but I still think he will be able to handle it. Witten is Romo's security blanket. Teams not respecting that connection will get burned.

As for Roy Williams, if he actually has some kind of a breakout, that completely spreads the ball out. Defenses won't key on him -- they will focus on Witten or the run. He'll have fimiliarity with the playbook this time around and he should have room to work. It is now or never for him to prove he is not deserving of the "bust" label he currently holds.

Worst case senario though is the Cowboys have a bad season. If that does happen though, we should have a clear picture of where we go from that point to rebuild this team. I'd rather have a crappy season and make some actual progress in fixing this thing than to deal with another T.O. drama-infested year and feel like we took 10 steps back once again.

In other Cowboys news, the other Roy Williams (the Safety), has also gotten the ax. I don't think there should be any surprises there. He wanted out and he hasn't done anything of worth for years.

The way I see it, Jerry got rid of two anchors weighing this team down and also seemed to reclaim his balls by making tough decisions, especially in the case of T.O.

Today won't fix everything, but it is definitely a step in the right direction.

The Deconstruction of the Cowboys

Well this post has been a long time coming...as well as trying to come up with a way to write it without four-letter words being scattered across it as well. Frustrating doesn't even begin to describe this past season for the Cowboys. There also isn't just one single problem on the team either -- the whole situation has become such a big joke and circus right now. Even worse, it seems like most of the problem pieces in this puzzle won't be going anywhere.

So what just what in the hell is wrong with this thing? Well, it starts up at the top...

Jerry Jones

We have been going through the same cycle since the Jimmy Johnson era: strong-minded coach comes in, wants to have his hand in the GM side to get his guys, builds a team and then Jerry tries to take it all over and do it himself and fails. In Johnson's case, he was fired and Switzer came in and won a Super Bowl with Johnson's team, which in hindsight has been the worst thing to ever happen to the 'Boys as Jerry can always delude himself into thinking he "did it himself".

What we have currently is a skeleton crew of Parcells' players. He built a team up, and once T.O. was thrown into the mix (and it is my opinion Jerry overruled the Big Tuna on that signing) he left town. Now we may not have won a playoff game with Parcells at the helm; however, he took a franchise with literally no direction and identity and built them back up.

So Parcells leaves and Jerry hires a "player's coach" in Wade Phillips. He then looks at his T.O. experiment and thinks "hey this worked out rather well" and in come Tank Johnson and Pacman Jones to the mix. You also have several dangerous decisions with current personel and our draft picks. With a rather unproven Romo, the decision is made in the 2007 draft to pass on Brady Quinn and trade that pick to the Browns. While this alone could be called a calculated risk, saying that Brad freakin' Johnson is a suitable backup in case all hell breaks loose is just inexcusable. I can't predict how good Quinn will be, but I guarantee you that I would've taken him over Johnson as a backup in a heartbeat. Finally, you have the trade for Detroit WR Roy Williams and give up, yet more draft picks. Now this is obviously a move for the future, but that future is sure in doubt as the biggest impact Williams has had is bitching along with T.O. and the other WR in the locker room.

So now you have left yourself somewhat handcuffed on draft possibilities, little cap room, and Jerry himself claims that he has suffered "the most embarrassing" moments this year as a Cowboys owner. So the response? Everything will likely stay in place.

Are you kidding me?

To quote Peanut (via comedian-ventriloquist, Jeff Dunham) "you can polish a turd and it's still a turd!" Where in this mess is the solution to the problem? Where is the move that will jar life into the team? It hasn't been anywhere. Jerry gave his vote of confidence to his coaching staff, which includes a coach that very few (if any) in the area think has the stones to be head coach and an offensive coordinator that two of the worst teams in the NFL don't want any part of. But hey, we fired our defensive coordinator, so everything is good there right?

There is only one other team in the NFL that has had a longer span with no playoff wins -- the Detroit Lions. Last I checked, that GM is no longer employed. If the Cowboys are serious about Super Bowls and post-season wins being the goal, every season without a playoff win is just like a 0-16 season -- inexcusable. Yet our front office stubbornly stays in place.

To end this section, here is a where are they now for the Cowboys: Bill Parcells (run out by Jerry and the T.O. move) rebuilds the Dolphins in one year (taking many former Cowboys' players and coaches with him) and they make the playoffs, Tony Sparano is one of the former Cowboys' coaches now employed by Parcells (and is a solid coach of the year candidate), and Todd Haley whom was fired as our WR coach will be on the sidelines this Sunday at the Super Bowl as the OC for the Arizona Cardinals.

Great moves Jerry!

Wade Phillips

Two words should tell you all you need to know about why Wade is currently in a failing situation in Dallas: "Camp Cupcake". Yes, in those crucial moments of training camp, you know the time in which the team really works on become together, everything is a joke. There are very few practices with pads, zero discipline of note by the head coach, and that tone carries into the season to no one's surprise.

Here is another telling situation: last game of the season, Cowboys fail a 3rd down conversion and end up with 4th and short. Wade decides to punt -- Tony Romo clearly doesn't agree. So what happens here usually? The QB points and gestures we should go for it, coach rolls his eyes and tells him to sit down right? Well not here. Romo stands on the fields, tells the offense to huddle and waves the punt team to the sidelines as Wade stands dumbfounded and jaw hanging.

He has zero respect from the players. I don't care who you are, coaches just do not allow their players to override their decisions. You can't command respect in the room if you let this pass, yet he did.

Wade simply can't control the egos on the Cowboys and he now commands a group of individuals that do their own thing. At season's end, there was no pride, no sense of loss -- just complete numbness.

But it is OK, Wade is going to change! Really? So when Wade turns over that first table in the locker room, how many players are going to start dying out laughing? You are what you are, and Wade can't flip a switch and expect his players to respect the "new" coach in the room.

But hey, Jerry gave him his vote of confidence...before coaches like Shannahon and Gruden were fired...neither of those could possibly be better than what we have now right?

Jason Garrett

I'm not going to spend much time here. I'd just like to point out that the wonder-boy was turned down by the Detroit Lions, Denver Broncos, and St. Louis Rams. Two of those teams are the bottom feeders in the NFL. They said no to our "coach-in-waiting".

I'm not sure what Garret is doing, but it isn't working. Ray Lewis said before the BAL/DAL game that we have "the simplest offense in the league" and I'll be damned if Lewis wasn't sitting there pointing exactly where the ball was going to go and watching BAL knock the crap out of us for the majority of the game.

Also Garret was one of the biggest supporters of Brad Johnson as the QB backup as well. Great eye for talent Jason, seriously.

The "Team" Dynamic

Before I start getting into individual players, let's just take a snapshot of this team. Again, let's head to the Philly game at season's end because that is easily the lowest point of the Cowboys and true character comes out in the lowest moments.

So everything is starting to go right down the tubes. So we have people up and down the sidelines rallying the troops together right? Nope.

Romo is pouting on the bench by himself after a fumble. T.O, Williams, and Crayton are talking to each other off to the side. Offense and defense are completely separated. Tank Johnson is also letting everyone know that he is now a free agent. The coaches are doing God knows what as well on the sidelines as they are just letting this all happen.

Calling the Cowboys a "team" is a disgrace to the term and the idea.

Take this situation from the movie Miracle when Herb Brooks selects his roster for the eventual "Marcile on Ice" Team USA:

Herb Brooks: Take a look at this.
Craig Patrick: What's this?
Herb Brooks: Twenty-six names.
[pause]
Herb Brooks: The tough part will be getting it down to twenty before the opening ceremonies.
Craig Patrick: This is the final roster? You're kidding me, right? This is our first day, Herb. We've got a week of this. What about the advisory staff? Aren't they supposed to have a say in this?
Herb Brooks: Not technically.
Craig Patrick: You're missing some of the best players.
Herb Brooks: I'm not looking for the best players, Craig. I'm looking for the right ones.
Craig Patrick: You have Jim Craig to back up Janisack?
Herb Brooks: Other way around.
Craig Patrick: Other way around? I'm sorry didn't Janisack just win you a national championship?
Herb Brooks: Janny is a solid goal tender, but we're not playing for the national championship here, Craig.
Craig Patrick: You know people I speak to say that Craig's game has been off since his mom died.
Herb Brooks: They ever see him when his game's on?

Before he ever selects the team:

Herb Brooks: All-star teams fail because they rely solely on the individual's talent. The Soviets win because they take that talent and use it inside a system that's designed for the betterment of the team. My goal is to beat 'em at their own game.

So when I look at the Cowboys, I see nothing more than a glorified All-Star team. A bunch of talent that is supposed to beat the hell out of everyone on paper, but just can't bring it together as a unit when it counts.

When the going gets tough, they complain and point fingers. T.O. is the best teammate in the world--when the Cowboys are winning. If not, the problem is clear: "I'm not getting the ball." Williams and Crayton have taken T.O.'s wonderful example and are quickly falling in line against Romo and Garret.

The situation in the locker room gets so bad that "sources" start to tell reporters just how horrible everything is. The Cowboys can try to spin it that the media is lying, but I'm sorry there is no avoiding the fact these unnamed sources are telling the truth. When there is no concept of team and unity, the rule of "what is said here stays here" goes right out the window -- why be a teammate to people that obviously don't care.

The stories have been numerous and have been flooding out of Valley Ranch. Carter flights are late to away games due to players being late (although the Cowboys swear it was due to mechanical issues). Players are corincally late for meetings. Romo laughs during a film session when T.O. attempts to point out when he is open. And they go on and on and on.

You can have the best talent in the world, but this "team" that such talent has created just won't cut it. They will always fall apart in the clutch because they can't come together as a unit. And it will continue to happen until the personnel is more suited for a team.

The solution? As far as the players go, either the ones I list below need to go or pull their heads out and try to lead this team.

Tony Romo

Holy crap! I'm not starting with T.O. I must be losing my mind right?

I started this post by pointing out the problems at the top. As far as the players on this team goes, Romo is the top of the food chain. We all know T.O. is a pain in the ass already and his current behavior is not surprising; however, as far as Romo goes there has been a transformation that is going the exact opposite direction of what this team needs.

Now obviously Romo isn't going anywhere, but his attitude needs to change as far as leadership goes. Sitting on the bench and hanging your head is not leadership, one-upping your coach is not leadership, pointing fingers publicly at your OC is not leadership, going to Mexico before a playoff game is not leadership, and saying publicly that losing isn't the worst thing that can happen to you is not leadership.

Look, I know you are doing fine. You have your superstar blond girlfriend, big contract, huge house, etc. However, you don't publicly ever say such things. Parcells said it many times in his commandments for QBs, "Don't be a celebrity QB." Romo is failing miserably in this.

What is worse is that there are rumors surfacing that Romo doesn't practice well and that Romo has also claimed he doesn't know where any of his WR will be on a given play.

This needs to stop and fast. Even if your WR are the biggest jerks in the world, you need to communicate with them when things break down. If they are wrong, tell them, let them be the ones to dig their own graves. Ignoring the problem won't make it go away.

You can't point fingers in public. Spread them around in the locker room if you have to, but when the heat comes down you take it. A leader takes the heat and takes the blame on the public front. This shows your teammates you have their backs when the media starts firing and in return you better bust your ass because he just covered yours.

Parcells leaving was one of the worst things that could happen to Romo. He clearly needs a stronger hand guiding him on being the leader of a team. Wade's approach has failed and the only result so far seems to be that Romo has a case of big head.

It's time to buckle down, stop the jet-setting, and other assorted crap that has been allowing this team to be dragged further and further down. Attitude reflects leadership -- there currently is none and the QB should be the first one filling the void.

T.O.

Was this season really a surprise? Every Cowboys fan knew this could happen if things started to go sour, T.O. would be...well T.O.

The big issue this season was that, in the absence of vocal leaders, T.O. was being a voice. However, he knows only one way to do this: self-promotion. There is no doubt he practices and works out like a fiend; however, when he talks, the subject goes back to him. He can't avoid it, he doesn't know how to, and he can't keep his mouth shut to save his own skin.

So will cutting him solve all your problems? No, but it sure wouldn't hurt either. If you find yourself in the situation of well, the problem is either T.O. or Romo, T.O. is the easier cut without a doubt from any angle. However, I don't expect this to happen.

One way or another someone from inside the organization needs to sit down with T.O. and get things straight and stick to whatever is agreed on. Romo, obviously would be a good candidate here, but Garret should also consider doing so as well (as that relationship is becoming a problem as well). The message in such a meeting needs to be clear: get on the same page or get out. If this isn't done, expect the divide to grow further in the locker room.

DeMarcus Ware and Jason Witten

Wait WHAT? What have these two done wrong you ask? Well it isn't what they have done, but rather what they have not done.

What you have here are two EXTREMELY talented players that are far too soft spoken. Yeah, yeah, lead by example, but the problem is no one is watching right now. Someone needs to snap them back to attention on both sides of the football.

You cannot question the toughness of these two players. You can't question how hard they work and they do not cause problems (unless you believe the rumor Witten is unnamed source that started this mess). They do all the right things, but they need to take that next step and get in some faces when people start to mope on the sidelines.

While it is good to speak softly and carry a big stick, there are situations were you have to yell in someones face like a drill sergeant to wake them up.

The Media Circus

I'm not talking about beat writers and press conferences. I mean the Hard Knocks, T.O.'s new reality show, and Michael Irvin's new reality show (which will literally give some random guy a training camp invite). These need to go. All these do is serve to make a bigger joke of this organization when everything is said and done.

The focus needs to be on football and not cameras. You'll get your due attention if you win, there is no need to force the issue with these ridiculous endeavors.

------------

And there you have it, my long rambling of what is wrong with the Cowboys. I don't even have much of a conclusion...right now I am just hoping that something within the Cowboys changes, otherwise I think I will be looking to another frustrating and sickening season.

Goodbye Texas Stadium, Sorry for the Last Memory

I was close to making a Cowboy's post after their impressive win against the Giants a week ago and now I am glad that I didn't. I would've likely taken everything I said in that post and then come back this week and rip it to shreds.

Watching Saturday's game felt like watching a Notre Dame game. Flat offense, no sense of urgency, absent minded coaching, stupid penalties, horrible QB play, and a joke of an O-Line. Except this team was supposed to be the clear cut Super Bowl favorites when the season started and people were ready to put the crown back on their heads after last week as well. It is amazing how another week can give you such a different perspective.

The Cowboys said farewell to Texas Stadium by putting up an uninspired and lackluster performance in a 33-24 loss. Despite all the hoopla about the post-game closing ceremonies, Ray Lewis and Co. were able to dance around the sidelines with the last words as far as the game went. TV viewers were treated to such memorable quotes as "Turn the lights out, they done!" and my favorite "Close this bitch down!" after Jameel McCalin set a Texas Stadium record with a 82 yard rushing TD, the longest ever by a Cowboys opponent, which broke the previous record set minutes earlier by Willis McGahee's 77 yard TD run.

If that wasn't a big enough kick to the junk, anyone that actually remained to try and watch the historic closing ceremony was treated to the worst feed ever by The 33. The game was in high definition, but either the Cowboys or The 33 couldn't shell out the money/time/equipment for that to happen. Although that is forgivable, the audio feed wasn't. The 33 claimed they had no control over the piped-in stadium PA, so my ears were assaulted by constant feedback in the system, a barely audible Brad Sham, no crowd noise, a random flat-line beep in the middle of the ceremony, and also T.O.'s post game press conference for no reason. The 33 also lost the feed on several different occasions and everyone was treated to either a black screen or frozen image, accompanied sometimes with or without "sound". We were also "treated" to the worst camera angles imaginable and also got jumbotron images filling the entire screen of the wrong player that was being introduced.

Needless to say Saturday night was painful on all accounts. Despite it all, thanks to Tampa Bay failing against the San Diego Chargers (at home no less), the Cowboys' playoff hopes are still not only alive, but once again control of their playoff destiny is in their hands again. A win in Philly will send the Cowboys to the playoffs -- no more, no less.

However, despite such wonderful news, I can't help but be incredibly pessimistic about our playoff chances based on the Cowboys usual December Swoon. The NFL network managed to actually mention something useful last night, and that was that the Cowboys have the worst post-November record in the past few years since the Saint's of the 70s, whom, to put it bluntly, were just God awful. That is just horrid.

Nothing went right Saturday. Sure, certain individual pieces came together at different parts of the game, but as far as being able to put it all together, the Cowboys failed on all accounts. At the start of the game, Tony Romo throws a horrible lame-duck interception that would even make Brett Farve as Romo what in the hell was he thinking. Following that though, the defense (read: Demarcus Ware) bails him out, sacking Falco and recovering a fumble right by the endzone.

Then with solid defensive play for the reaminder of the half, the offense continued to sputter. Romo threw another awful INT, T.O. couldn't figure out where the ball was on another pass (and it ended up landing right in front of him), Romo missed a streaking and wide open Miles Austin on a pass that was easily a TD, and the O-Line couldn't buy any time for Romo in the pocket.

To compound issues, things just started getting beyond goofy. The defense forces a fumble, recovers it, and litterally hands the ball back off to Baltimore during the recovery. Then you have Baltimore easily fake a field goal soon after because the Cowboys load up one side of the line to block the kick which lead to a TD.

In the 4th quarter, the offense finally wakes up starts a comeback. Romo finally hits a big pass to Witten (finally) and later throws a TD pass to T.O. to bring the score to 19-17 with over three minutes left. Then the defense falls apart, failing to get the 3 and out and instead gives up the aforementioned 77 yard TD run immediately (and that was after the Ravens fumbled the kickoff return and Dallas failed to recover). Witten comes up big again with a nice TD catch, but again, the defense fails to hold the Ravens and again immediately give up a 85 yard TD run.

Words don't even do it justice, you can watch the awe-inspiring "highlights" for yourself if you missed it.

It just leads me to wonder just how a team can allow this to happen, and to do this no less with your playoff lives on the line. Our "high-powered" offense has just been horrible as of late. A line that was once called the best in the league was letting their QB get hit right and left and even, at one point, let him take a shot on a two man rush. Romo has been horribly inaccurate as well. If he connects earlier in the game, the Ravens aren't even in this game to begin with. I can't even begin to explain how our defense folds at literally the most important moment of the season as well, not once, but twice when all the Ravens are trying to do is get a first down.

There is no leadership on this team either. The only sliver that I saw was Roy Williams catching a simple 10 yard route for a first down and immediately getting up and trying to pump up the sidelines. When was the last time any player did that? Romo just trots to the sideline and says nothing. Witten is silent as well -- which I wish he wasn't, he is playing so banged up it boggles my mind how his teammates can't rally around his performance. T.O. is the only one that will yell on the sidelines, but most often that is because he doesn't feel he is getting enough passes his way.

What we have instead is a lot of individual talent just goes about their own personal business and checking their own stat sheet. There isn't anyone rallying the team together at all. It sure isn't coming from the head coach either, as he just stands there dumbfounded during the game and then makes every excuse in the book for his players come press conference time. Anyone that could be considered a potential leader on the team is far to silent to be the vocal kick in the ass that the team needs (people like Ware and Witten come to mind).

No instead we have a bunch of great individual talent that every now and then will go to the Pro Bowl (and we have one "Pro Bowl" center that can't even figure out when to snap the ball at the right time). Come crunch time this team eventually folds. They didn't rally together when Romo went down; instead, we finally had T.O. do an interview to complain that he wasn't being used well enough even though our O-Line was allowing our statue of a backup QB get throttled. Even with Romo playing hurt, there is no urgency in the O-Line to do whatever it takes to protect him. I really wish I could find a video of that two man rush in which 3 linemen just stand there as Romo takes a hit.

There is no discipline either. Flozell Adams simply can't go a game without having a false start penalty. We take a stupid late hit penalty. We have a delay of game during in hurry-up mode. Romo has been throwing the ball up for grabs far too often. And the list goes on and on and on.

Now you are left with a team hoping they can pull it together just one more time to sneak into the playoffs. Wade Phillips might not be worried about his job security, but I can assure you Jerry Jones will go with his "get butts in the seats" and/or "we should be winning a Super Bowl" mentality for his new stadium and fire him if he fails to get in the playoffs (and I wouldn't be surprised if this doesn't extend to a playoff win).

Even if the Cowboys manage to win this Sunday, just how far is this "team" going in a playoff run? Unless everyone happens to have a good game, everyone is healthy, the wind is blowing from the East, and it is a full moon, this team just can't pull it together, especially late in the season. If they are hoping to make any kind of serious push, it is time to check the egos/superstar girlfriends/stats at the door and start playing like a team. They did it against the Giants and look what happened. If they don't do it again, they are simply destined for mediocrity and yet another fired head coach.