SB Nation User Blog: 325424

What a Game! A Few Thoughts and Questions.

325424 — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 16:39:13 -0000

First, I am traveling and let me say I am so glad I ended up in a place where I could get the NFL Network. I am glad I wasn't watching that on some internet feed.

1. Something must be done about the kicking situation. We now have more kickers who can contribute in punt coverage than kickers who can consistently hit a 25 yard field goal.

2. The young guys are stepping up.

-- Class of 2009: Ogletree and Butler looked great

-- Class of 2008: Jenkins really developing. Scandrick sometimes look like he is regressing but I think its just that Jenkins is playing so well it overshadows him, am I wrong?

-- Class of 2007: Spencer is breaking out, Free is filling in nicely, can he ever move to the left?

3. Phillips looks great, has he lept over 'Tellus or has Bennet hit a pothole? I really thought the offseason conditioning program would make him a monster instead he is becoming a mystery.

4. Roy Williams is the most disappointing Cowboy since Roy Williams.

5. I like that the team didn't find a way to lose last night. In past years they would have, Maybe they are growing up. To prove that they need to play well the next two weeks.

6. Witten is quietly becoming the best TE ever. Not so much in terms of single day dominance, but his body of work could be like Emmett or Jerry Rice relative to the field.

7. I think this is the first time Garrett called a game that EVERYONE likes. I hope its contagious.

8. Does the emergence of Spencer mean this defense can finally play to it's potential? Last night seemed like the first time the defense helped itself out. Other games they have had pass rush or coverage, but it all synced up last night. I feel like I have been waiting 4 years for this to happen.

9. Romo has officially shut me up. Thank you Tony.

10. Bobby Carpenter lives!

congratulations

325424 — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:27:37 -0000

congratulations

Congratulations, you guys kicked our butts on Saturday. Mullen may be annoying, but he had your guys ready and motivated. You played well on offense, defense and special teams. You should be excited. Congratulations again.

Offseason Question

325424 — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 19:33:46 -0000

Looking at 2010, my understanding of the potential uncapped years is as follows:

If there is a CBA extension then Miles, Sensebaugh, Spears and Kitna are UFA's but with no extension and an uncapped year then we only look to risk losing Sensebaugh, Spears and Kitna. Is this correct or am I overlooking something?

Given the emergence of Miles, the team has few critical needs. A left tackle would be nice but those are scarce, a FS could help the secondary, but other than that, its sort of depth / longer term things (ILB, a third OLB, a fourth CB, a dangerous PR/KR).

Given the way the draft class is shaping up, the opportunity to take a modified best player available approach (meaning ex QB's, RB's, TE's) could pay real dividends.

Are there any other obvious threat that I am overlooking in terms of FA's?

FOLKS IN THE NEWS

325424 — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 01:08:11 -0000

FOLKS IN THE NEWS

erik folk beats usc

I have ?'s. Who has answers? Raf? Grizz? Hogs Haven?

325424 — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 17:57:05 -0000

I have a few questions about the last capped year, uncapped year, etc and how they will impact the draft.

Does anyone have the technical knowledge to answer them?

What is the impact of:

a) the last capped year
b) the uncapped year
c) rumors of a POTENTIAL end of the draft
d) the rookie pay scale

on trading into forward years for picks?

will teams want 2010 draft picks b/c it may be the last draft?

will draft picks for 2010 be at a premium b/c a rookie pay scale might make them cheap?

what are the structural and strategic considerations for trading into 2010 and 2011?

Is it just me?

325424 — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 18:17:37 -0000

I have a serious question.

Is it just me or is anyone else struggling to care this offseason?

Normally I check BTB a couple times a day in the offseason. Now I am down to once a week. Normally I consume draft info with the restraint of a crack whore. This year, I can hardly bother to look at 40 times. Normally I read up on free agents and devise a strategy so if the team needed me to run the front office in a pinch I would be comfortable doing it (certifiably insane but sadly true). This year... I have hardly looked. Normally I am counting the days to the draft, the rookie camps and training camps. This year... not so much.

I think its because last season ended so brutally I am still flat.

Maybe its because with no pick until #51 (is that right -- I am embarrassed that I am not even sure of that) and people thinking that there won't be any 2nd round grades left at that point. Maybe it's because this is the first time since Parcells took over I felt like we had more needs than the year before.

But I fear its more than that.

I fear I that this year exposed the team as a three ring circus:

RING 1: 58 guys more focussed on what they say to the media than winning. Guys trying to get other guys cut or traded. Guys who break down into factions, a group that at times seems on the brink of a race riot. Players more willing to call out unnamed teammates in the press than to take on a ball carrier. Parcells used to have a sign that said "Losers come together in groups to gripe about coaching and playing time. Winners come together as a team." I sometimes wonder if he has pictures of the 2007 and 2008 Cowboys around the borders of that sign.

RING 2: The coaches. I started to say "Led by Wade Phillips" but that may not be correct. To be conservative, I will just say the Nominal Head Coach appears to be a eunuch with the motto "I'm just glad to be here." Assisting him (and I am I use that term lightly) is our very own Boy Genius, the highest paid assistant in the league who has devised the most predictable offense seen in years. In his defense, its hard to game plan when you are focussed on undermining the head coach and tossing your players under the bus. When did Garrett turn into a less effective Mike Martz with freckles? Coordinating the defense? No one, heck who needs a DC. Especially in this economy with a lockout coming -- why spend $ on coaches you might have to pay through a lockout if you just bought the world's first 240 foot long HD TV?

THE THIRD (AKA THE CENTER) RING: Our very own Arkansas born megalo maniac. Some see him as the only owner in the league with a radio show. Others see him as the GM who has gone the longest without a playoff win. But he doesn't care -- that's right Jerry is just glad people are talking about him. He LUVS to win. The only thing he loves more is to be in charge. What a shame it is becoming increasingly apparent those two things may mutually exclusive.

How we got here (or a not so brief history of my love affair with this team)...

THE FIRST FOOTBALL GAME I REMEMBER WAS SUPER BOWL XIII. I was 4 3/4. My grandfather (who is an Annapolis grad) explained that we pulled for the team with stars on their helmets because Roger Staubach was a Navy grad. We lost. I remained a Cowboys fan. By the time I was old enough to follow the game on my own it was the early 80's (The Cacth is the first game I remember actual plays from). We were the team that almost made it. We had a run like the Eagles. But I left each season thinking we would be better next year -- maybe I was just too young to know better.

THEN WE LOST TO THE RAMS 20-0. It was clear even to me we were on the decline. The next three years were bad. Steve Pelleur bad. But once we went 3-13 we had to be getting better. After all, we still had Tom Landry. Oops.

JONES BOUGHT THE TEAM. Tom was fired. I was crushed. I hoped the NFL owners would not approve the deal. They did. I was devastated... But we got Troy. And Steve? Huh? At least things weren't boring. I became a draftnik. Our Coach / GM Jimmy Johnson got enough draft picks to make it full time job. We were on the upswing. We became dominant. Drafts became a bit less interesting, but Jimmy's wheeling and dealing kept things interesting -- until he flew to close to the sun.

IN THE TIME IT TOOK TO SAY DYNASTY, THINGS CAME CRASHING DOWN. Jimmy out Barry in. Wow. Jerry became GM. Noooooo. We went from having a coach who got in Steve Young's head to a coach who bumped officials. We went from a guy who made the difference to a guy who cost us games. Things spun apart S L O W L Y. It was like watching Tyson come unglued after he fired Rooney. Still, we always had a puncher's shot and the offseason mattered. I still can feel the waves of shock at passing on Randy Moss. He reminded of that by ending our season in 1999 and letting us know our run was over.

THEN CAMPO GOT HIS CHANCE. Things got so bad so fast that it was easy to watch the offseason. Parity was sinking in. Teams made big swings and we had high draft picks -- three years in a row.

PARCELLS TOOK OVER. After 9 years of steady decline under the rule of JJ - GM his control was compromised. The team got younger. The team got better. The draft was important because we were rebuilding. It was important because we had a great eye for talent churning the roster. It was exciting because we were getting close.

WADE TOOK OVER. Jerry got more involved. After making Parcells the second coach since Landry who could hire and fire assistants, JJ hired Garrett as HC or OC (he wasn't sure) then kept interviewing to see if he could find a HC to sit over him (as much as a boss can command people he can't hire or fire). Jerry went about building the best staff he could (provided he hired former Dallas Assistants). Houck and Campo "came home". But we got better, I pretended things would be ok. Last offseason was fascinating because we had a few holes to plug. The team looked like a fantasy lineup. WE WERE GETTING CLOSE.

THEN REALITY HIT. There is a reason teams don't build fantasy lineups. This may look like an All Star team, but it plays like a group of All Stars with no concept of team. The flaws seem real. It's hard to tell who the good guys are - Ware, Ratliff, anyone, Beuler? Beuler? Some of our best guys MAY be problem guys: Flo, Newman, James, Romo, maybe even Witten. The potential problem players are signed to long-term contracts. The team seems to hate each other.

I FEAR THERE IS NO QUICK FIX. A coaching change / transfer of control could work wonders but isn't a near-term reality. Meanwhile the team has gone from young to not so young. Give Jerry/Wade 09 and then hire another coach and give hime a year to make changes and it's 2011 before we can hope to be great. The team can do it, but it won't be a young team ready to make a run, it will be an older team that hasn't had a pick in the top half of the draft for seven years. What looked like a potential dynasty may be lucky to get to one superbowl. We are no longer young (and aging), we are signing old players, we are giving up draft picks, we are making decisions reserved for teams that must win now but we have a locker room that can't win. We are locking those guys into long term contracts. Meanwhile Pittsburgh beats us to six by being a well run organization.

AS DEPRESSING AS IT IS, I THINK THE OUTLOOK FOR THE TEAM IS AS BLEAK AS THE OUTLOOK FOR THE ECONOMY. I hope I irrationally depressed. I hope I am selling the lows. I hope the team plays to its talent, but this feels like the first step of a multi year decline. I fear I am looking forward to years of watching frustrating games. I just can't get psyched up for the offseason because I feel like the organization is covering rust with spray paint.

Is anyone else this un-enthused?

Look Who Became a Celebrity QB

325424 — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 16:39:32 -0000

Parcells famously gave Romo a list of commandments to follow as an NFL QB. Notable among them, "Don't become a celebrity QB." Some have argued his social life and paparazzi following means he has violated this. Others say as QB of the Dallas Cowboys you get more attention than most.

Calvin Watkins adds some color to this debate:

According to five sources, several offensive players lost respect for Garrett for his failure to corral quarterback Tony Romo in practice. Romo, sources said, often forced throws in practice and often did not treat practice work consistently.

The quarterback's practice habits were so bad, sources said, that they affected the way he played in games and could have factored into the offense's problems.

So we have a QB who doesn't like to practice. Perhaps even though he loves the game, he doesn't really like to practice. Ugh.

Romo, according to a source, was also personally offended when Garrett was critical of his play late in the season.

If this is true, we may be looking at a future with an extremely talented, somewhat lazy, prima donna. Ugh.

Say it ain't so Romo.

link

And to those of us who thought the team was more disciplined under Parcells, but weren't sure how much, well the answer may be 50-120 times more undisciplined. Late to a Parcells' meting it cost you $5k, miss a session in the training room - you are out $12k. Under Wade it's only a C-note. Oh well, as Jerry points out, you can't fine the guys - they need to talk to the media!

I think this team may have to stink for anther year or two before Jerry want's to win badly enough that he gets out of the way for the third time.

Ugh.

questions

325424 — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 01:00:58 -0000

1. can you name a well coached team that lost an important game by 38 points?

2. don't good offensive coordinators with pro bowl qb's, wr's, rb's and te's get in the end zone against division opponents?

3. other than ken hamlin, didn't players underperform in accordance with how much money JJ gave them in the last 12 months: romo, newman, flo, roy, barber??

4. isnt that a bad sign about the instincts of the guy who bought the team 19 years ago and has been gm for 15 years now?

5. is it a coincidence that a that our 11 years w/out a playoff win overlaps with JJ's 15 years as a GM?

6. the only player who stepped was nick folk, how bad is it that an nfl team needs the kiker to be the man in the locker room.?

7. what does it mean that our qb of the future is a turnover machine?

8. jj seems to suggest he wants to keep wade b/c there will be a work stoppage, as a fan why shouldn't we believe management is giving up (at least for a few years)?

9. wade why didnt you challenge that 3rd down conversion? and if wade got a quicky lobotomy midgame, do you really think you could tell?

10. zach arent you livid?

5 Things That Make Me Smile

325424 — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 22:17:46 -0000

1. The Defense is peaking at the right time. Defense wins championships and the play on that side of the ball is better than anything I can remember seeing Dallas do. Even under JJ the defense never felt this intimidating. They were fast and suffocating, but this is an overwhelming D.

2. We have a clutch kicker. A stifling defense and a clutch kicker can take us far.

3. (knock on wood) It seems like the injury report is moving the right way now. (knock on wood). It seems like more guys are getting healthy than getting hurt and while we are thin at safety, I think having Henry play FS and Hamlin at SS might be the best secondary line up we can field. With Pac back and Jenkins getting better than is possible.

4. The offense (though overshadowed by the D) is still explosive. Tashard choice is giving us some newfound energy and a never say die attitude and we still have enough weapons to hold our own in a shoot out.

5. The press is still skeptical. After the win some one on ESPN said "Dallas delayed their implosion." Peter King's comment after the Giant win was that we couldnt afford to lose to Pittsburgh. This team has seemed to do the exact opposite of what the pundits expect and they seem to expect an implosion.

Ok... I've Waited 24 Hours

325424 — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 23:22:47 -0000

After 24 hours, I am still in a funk but I am slowly gaining some perspective and here are my takeaways.

1) Wade may not be a great head coach but he is a great Defensive Coordinator. I was excited when Jerry hired Wade b/c I envisioned a young hungry defense flying at the QB from all angles. It didn't happen until Wade pushed Stewart aside, but it's great to watch now. I have no idea what took him so long (or why he let Stewart do a bad job for 18 months until he took th) but I like what I am seeing - especially since Ware was hurt, TNew looks hurt, Jenkins is out and Pac is not at full speed. Draft a young LB and a safety and this defense could be special.

2) TNew may be hurt, or may not have the heart to play now that he got a huge contract, but he has not been a special player this year. I like him a lot, so I make excuses for him, but he has not been good.

3) Ratliff gets better every game. It really is a pleasure to watch.

4) A first and a third is a lot to pay for a WR you aren't going to use.

5) Calling Ralph Cramden! Someone needs to teach Tony Romo to be a busdriver. There are times when you throw caution to the wind, and there are times when you use caution before throwing the ball into the wind. I am not ready to say Tony can't be great, but last night was the first time I really have questioned his big game ability. He is reminding me of Favre in the bad way. I think he needs to watch Aikman, Brady and Montana and learn that sometimes you just manage the game. It would have been nice to have Parcells on the sideline tearing him in half last night. Maybe John Garrett can take his "high and tight Martellus" intensity and put pressure on Romo. He has tons of talent, and manages the team (and egos) well, but he need better discipline with the ball. The real winners don't create unnecessary turnovers. for all the talk about big games etc, what really matter is will Romo learn to play mistake free when it matters. It certainly isn't too late for him to do it. I see no reason why he can't do it. But at some point he needs to learn to make safe plays instead of big plays.

6) Scandrick really looks like a player.

7) Tashard Choice just reminded us why we should never draft a RB in the first round or sign one to a contract extension again. I love Felix, but I would have rather had Slaton and kept my first rounder. I love MB3 but I would have rather kept him for one more year and had the cap space. I also loved TChoice's moxia all game.

8) As frustrated as I am with the season, the team hasn't done that badly given the injuries. Kosier, Felix, Hurd, some Autin and some Romo and then Roy Williams, Watkins, some Jenkins, some Henry, some Newman and of course McBriar.

9) Boy did I miss McBriar last night. His leg would have helped mightily in the field position game.

10) Did Jerry really throw MB3 under the bus? That seems lousy. By all accounts MB3 is a respectful, hard-working guy who plays hard and shuns attention. He won't appreciate that at all.

11) Why did they give the ball to Cricket on 4th and short? I like Anderson, but I am not sure I like him running the ball.

12) I can't wait to see 'Tellus next year. I think an offseason in the conditioning program and increased familiarity with Tony will make him an absolute beast.

13) Can we gag Troy? Aikman is one of my alltime favorites, but he sure cursed when he said "this is what an offense looks like when they are completely lost." I think the game turned within six seconds of him saying it. Ugh.

14) What's up with left handed passes this year? Eli has thrown a few this season, now Romo is getting in the mix... I can't recall seeing a pro QB throw it with his non dominant hand in a game before this year (although I am sure Favre lieks to do it the 4th Q of playoff games).

15) Who woke Marcus Spears up? And can they speak to Canty? Have Canty, Spears and Hatcher ever played well on the same day? Sometimes it feels like there is a really good defensive end on this team and every week he puts on either a 96, 97 or 99 jersey and on then puts the other 2 jerseys on guys he finds on the side of the road then switches the numbers around the next week.