Dat's dem Cowboys!!!  How convincing was that win? 

• Tony Romo is officially the MAN.  For a few of us he has been the man, but I think his recent performances have silenced even the most staunch haters.
• Miles Austin is for real.  No more questions, he is our #1.
• Bench Folk.  We have Buehler.  I don't care if he misses more FG's in practice, I would rather put the game on his shoulder's than Folk's right now.
• Garret as HC?  After tonight's performance, I think Red Jesus has earned a HC spot in this league, hopefully for the Cowboys.

Sorry for the ranting, but I've polished off most of a 12-pack of beer and am still pumped.  GO COWBOYS!!!!

Like many of you, I was really impressed by the game called by Jason Garrett on Sunday.  In my mind, he was one of the causes for our disasterous outing last year.  It just seemed like he lacked the creativity to use all of the weapons he had.

I was reading this article by Bob Sturm, of Dallas area sports radio fame, and I now have a new appreciation for Red Jesus.  I know it's only the first game of the season, but from what I saw and apparently what shows on the tape that Sturm watched, Garrett has made a ton of progress this off season.  The innovations and schemes called by Garrett are pretty astounding.

A couple of interesting tidbits from the article:

How crazy is 52 plays for 462 yards? 8.9 yards per play. You may never see that again, so save the tape.

• I was impressed with the offense, but didn't realize that we were that good.

The other thing that I have learned in these last few years of my psychotic studying of Garrett’s trends is that he never falls into a pattern. He substitutes EVERY play (other than the 2 minute drill). Trust me, he does not have the same personnel Group on the field for 2 straight plays except on rare occasions. On Sunday, it took 45 plays for the Cowboys to run consecutive plays in their base offense with the same look. And, you could easily say that by that point of the game (late 4th Quarter) the Cowboys had iced away the contest and were merely trying to kill the clock.

• This explains why it looked why we were having problems getting lined up early in the game.  With so many substitutions, it's to be expected that we would have growing pains in the 1st game of the season.

He also talks a lot about the "12" offense and two tight end sets and reinforces a lot of what Rafael had to say about how much an impact Martellus Bennet had that didn't show up in his game day stats.

Another interesting bit of the article is the pass distribution list, which shows that Romo distributed the ball almost equally to Witten, Williams, and Crayton.  This is how we will make up for the loss of TO. 

Check out the article as there is all kinds of interesting facts in there.  Sturm does a good job of breaking down the film and the anatomy of plays and provides great insight.  It's kind of refreshing to have someone in the media that actually does their research.

I was checking my usual morning blog stops today when I came across an article written by Bob Sturm who is a local radio personality here in Dallas on 1310 The Ticket.  The article is one of the most succinct, well written articles on the great Romo debate.  I encourage everyone to check it out as it provides some telling stats and makes a clear argument on why Romo is one of the top 6-7 QB's in the league, though admitting that 2009 is a pivotal season in Romo's carrer as our QB.

Here's an excerpt from the article:

He is no longer a kid. They made adjustments to fit him. It is now a year for make-or-break. If he falls on his face in 2009, the Cowboys would be foolish to consider QB a position of strength.

But, it appears many in the public - yes, even Dallas fans - already have ruled him “not the guy”. He won’t ever win the big one, right? You don’t know he won’t anymore than I know he will.

I realize I have put my eggs in the Romo basket, and yes, I cringe when he appears to be a bit too “Hollywood” for my taste. But, I would like to say that I believe Tony Romo is the real deal, and while he may be a far cry from Mr. Staubach and Mr. Aikman, I would also say he is a far cry in the other direction from Quincy, Bledsoe, Vinny, Hutchinson, Henson, etc.

So I was reading this article by Mosley on his blog, and came across this gem:

Let me add this opinion on Manning to "freshen" things up a bit: I think he's hands down the best quarterback in the NFC East -- and perhaps the entire NFC.

Seriously?  Is Mosley high or does he really believe this?  I think maybe, maybe, the argument for NFC East can be made since he's the only one in the division with a ring.  But trying to set my rose colored glasses aside, I still think he is #3 in the division.  Now, you may argue that my Cowboys bias has something to do with that, but even ignoring the NFC east, I don't know that he's even in the top 5 in the conference. 

I guess Mosley just doesn't want to piss off a quarter of the readers of his blog.  What do you guys think?  What QB's in the NFC would you rank ahead of Manning?

I know this was expected, but here's the official story.  First TO and now Roy.  While I don't necessarily disagree with either move, this off season feels like we are saying forget this year, we're building for the future.  I hope neither of these decisions hurts us in the long run.  Seems like we should be looking for some help in FA otherwise we're going to be relying on a few rookies to play big roles.

Well, as the game is wrapping up I can only imagine how good this team would have been if we had been able to get rid of Witten.  I mean, that guy is totally dragging this team down. 

Now with the requisite sarcasm out of the way, I am pretty sickened by all of the negative nancies on this site.  BTB means a lot to me and I used to spend a lot of time here.  I really felt like I could come here for some solace this week with all of the crap going on in the media.  Lo and behold I see crap about getting rid of Witten and the racial break in the locker room.  Seriously? 

I don't believe that all of the stuff this week was fabricated by the media, but I have no doubt that it was seriously over blown and over exagerated.  My thoughts were that no true Cowboys fan can take all of this stuff seriously, but many that I thought were like-minded individuals seemed to lose their minds on this site.  I am pretty disappointed and now I have no peaceful, sane place to head to for respite. 

I hope the Cowboys are able to do what they need to do and win out the rest of the season.  I hope this site becomes more sane soon as I would hate to lose this place to haters and melodramatic posters.

If you don't remember, a few months ago there was a story about Romo stopping to help a couple on the side of a road who had a flat tire, after playing a game and flying home.  Well, I saw this story on the DMN blog about Tony buying a homeless guy a ticket to see a movie.

Romo, who confirmed the story but didn't want to elaborate, waved Doc over to sit by him and his buddy. Doc sheepishly mentioned that he hadn't showered in a few days.

"Don't worry about that," Romo said. "I'm used to locker rooms."

How crazy is that?  I know most people, myself included, hardly even notice these guys, let alone give them money or offer to buy them things.  Yet Tony takes the time out to pay for this guy's ticket and lets him set next to he and his buddy.  I don't know about you guys, but this makes me appreciate Tony and what he brings to this team all that much more.

I have to preface this post by saying that I got the idea from listening to the Randy Galloway radio show (yeah, I know, but he is not nearly as bad in radio form.)  They were going all of the starters this year and giving them grades on their performances this year.  There were a lot of the grades that they were giving out that I didn't agree with (big suprise) but it made me really think about what grades I would give out.  So here is my list.

• A's are given if the player has consistently met and exceeded my expectations for the majority of the first 8 games of this season.
• B's are given if the player has met expectations or exceeded expectations, but may have had several "off" games.
• C's are given if the player has been average and just barely meeting expectations.
• D's are given if the player has played poorly and not lived up to expectations at all.
• F's are given if the player hasplayed far below expectations.

OFFENSE:

• Romo- I give him a B or a B+.  I think Romo has been playing well, but has had a couple of games where he hasn't played quite to the level of last season.  However, I think that it's hard to tell how much has been Romo and how much has been the O-line.
• Barber- I would give Marion a B.  He's played pretty well, but he's had a few games where he's struggled to get yardage.  Again, not sure how much is Marion and how much is the O-line.
• Witten- A.  Need I say more?
• T.O.- At this point I would have to give him a C- or D+.  I still think that TO can be a beast, but the press coverage and double teams have been killing him this year.  He can not consistently get open.  Again, is this a product of the crappy O-line not giving the QB enough time?
• Crayton- I had a hard time grading Crayton.  Based on expectations I would give him a C.  I didn't have high expectations for him, but I don't want to give the impression that he is playing better than TO.  Still I think a C is fair.  He hasn't shown up in a lot of games, but he has had some clutch performances.
• Adams- Flozell deserves a big fat F.  He has been a human turnstile this year.  I hope that this isn't Flozell taking a break after getting his big contract, but I don't see how his game can drop off so much in such a short time frame.
• Proctor- This is another hard one to grade.  I didn't have high expectations for Proctor, but I would probably have to say a F or D-.  I think that Kosier being out is the major problem with the line.  While not everyone is coming through the line at LG, I think he has thrown off the rhythm of the entire line.
• Gurode- Probably a C or C+.  He hasn't been terrible, but he's had a few bad games and bad snaps.
• Davis- I am giving Bigg a B.  He has played pretty well overall, but I don't think anyone on the line deserves any great grades.
• Colombo- After the TB game, I am giving Colombo a B+.  While he was beaten badly in Arizona, he has played good and shown some heart on a unit that needs a leader.

DEFENSE:

• Ratliff- The Rat has been playing lights out and definetely deserves an A.
• Spears- While Spears hasn't been playing great, he has definetely done more than I've expected.  I would have to give him a B- or C+.
• Canty- I am really disappointed in Canty this year.  After showing tons of promise last season, he has shown almost nothing this year.  He is getting a D.
• Ware- Another beast, deserving of his A.
• James- Bradie has been pretty decent overall.  I'll give him a B-.
• Thomas- Zach has been playing better than Ayodele in every facet of the game.  He seems to sometimes get pushed around in the run game, but I think he deserves a B.
• Ellis- After playing at a pro bowl level last year, he hasn't done a whole lot this year.  I'm giving him a C.
• Hamlin- He hasn't been making a lot of big plays, but has been pretty decent and our QB in the secondary.  I give him a B.
• Henry- A big fat F.  He has been a liability in the secondary this season and even once he get's healthy, I would prefer to leave one of the rookies in the starting lineup to get them meaningful playing time.

INCOMPLETES:

• F. Jones- I almost gave Felix an A for his work so far, but felt it wasn't fair as he has only seen playing time in 6 games, and one of those he didn't get any carries at RB.
• Bennett- I like what I've seen from Tellus so far and he's had a few good plays for us.  The next game should tell quite a bit because I don't see Witten playing much if at all.
• Scandrick/Jenkins- I think both of these guys have played pretty well so far and have been more impressed with Scandrick's work so far.  Again, I think this next game especially will be telling as to how they can hold up under the pressure

Well, I know that was a long winded post, but I felt like it would be interesting to put everything down on paper.  Some of the grades I gave I don't feel 100% postive about, but let me know what grades you guys feel everyone deserves.

According to Adam Schefter on NFLN, we just aquired Roy W from the Lions.  No link yet, but he did say that it was for a 1st rounder and something else, though the terms have not yet been disclosed.

Your FanPost must be at least 75 words long. Right now it's only 39 words long.  Your FanPost must be at least 75 words long. Right now it's only 39 words long.  Your FanPost must be at least 75 words long. Right now it's only 39 words long.

EDIT:

Here's the first link that I found, per PFT.

I found this post on Mosley's blog from a writer that covered Johnson during his stay in Minnesota.  I found it pretty interesting as it provides insight that you don't get by just looking at the stats.  For instance:

Let's be clear: Johnson doesn't throw as well as he did when the Vikings drafted him in 1992. But there are ways to minimize fading arm strength, and the Vikings did an excellent job of it in 2005 when Johnson won his first six starts in place of the injured Daunte Culpepper. Essentially, Vikings coach Mike Tice sat down with Johnson to learn what he was most comfortable with and worked those plays into the weekly game plan.

The following year, however, Childress was installing the fundamentals of his offense and wasn't comfortable with the idea of massaging it to fit the strengths of his quarterback. Childress believes that a quarterback should function within a scheme, as Donovan McNabb had done for him in Philadelphia, rather than the other way around.

So I think that provides a bit of encouragement for those of us that are concerned about Johnson leading the team.  Especially after seeing the following statement later in the article.

Johnson is close friends with Dallas offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, and the Cowboys will no doubt mold their attack to fit Johnson's skills.

I am not one of those people that thinks that Romo going down will be good for the team, though I can see some positives that could result from the situation.  I am also not one that thinks that we will play better under Johnson, though I hope we can play well enough to at least go 1-2 over the next 3 games and would be elated at 2-1.

I was just listening to Michael Irvin's show on ESPN 103.3 here in Dallas and they had TO on the show.  He mentioned that there was a death in his family this last week and that was the reason for the tears after the TD catch and for the short address to the media. 

I feel bad for this guy.  Yeah he's a little quirky and egotistical, but he is still human.  After being severely criticized and dumped on by the media after the Redskins game and then having a family member pass, I don't blame him for his emotions.  ESPN and the other mediots make him out to be some heartless monster with no emotions but for himself.  Well, I guess this is my official post saying that TO, we love you man, and you're one of us.  I'll be behind you till the end.

I want to preface this post by saying that I hate losing as much as anyone else, but seriously, the overreaction I'm seeing tonight is ridiculous.  I want everyone to repeat after me:  "It is only September." 

I'm reading the comments and seeing people say that Romo=Danny White, but no wait, at least Danny could win a playoff game.  And seeing crap like JJ should have made a play for Favre.  Seriously?  If you're frustrated by Romo's INT's, then you should watch Favre play. 

Are you guys the same people that I have seen defend Romo from all the mediots in the last 8 months?  I understand being critical of some of the decisions that he makes, but some of the stuff being said is crazy.   Maybe everyone has forgotten what life was like 2 years ago.  Or maybe a lot of you weren't around 2 years ago or in the other bad times. 

I'm looking forward to the day that some of you will have to eat crow when Romo leads us to #6.  It may not be this year, but I gaurantee it will happen.  But I do know that I freaking loss in September does not mean that the season is lost.  Relax. 

I'll admit that I was never the biggest fan of JuJo, but I kind of felt bad for him toward the end of last season.  It had become obvious that he was the 2nd best RB on the team and he was no longer getting much love.  When he got signed by the Seahawks I was even sort of happy for him.  I hoped he would be able to salvage his career somewhat.

Fast forward to last weekend.  I'm watching the recap of all the games from Sunday and lo and behold, JJ ran for 140 yards.  And then I see a highlight of his TD run and it makes me sick.  When he played for the 'Boys, at least the last 2 seasons, he would go down as soon as a defender sneezed on him.  And then I see this video of him breaking a ridiculous amout of tackles to make a huge TD run.

I don't know why he couldn't run like this for us.  I think that as fans, we were supportive of him up until the last half of the season last year.  He was our hope for the next Emmitt.  It seems like he gave up on Dallas and lost his heart.  Thanks for giving up on us Julius.

This is my first fanpost and I'd like to go ahead and apologize for the misleading title (hopefully Arkcowboy isn't looking.)  I was watching the news last night and saw a police generated sketch of a shooting suspect at a local mall here in Dallas.  Lo and behold, but it appears that Darren McFadden has traveled to Dallas to carjack some poor lady at the mall.

via llnw.image.cbslocal.com

Here's the link

Obviously that's not DMac, but it got me to thinking.  Have any of you guys had any experiences with people that you thought was a famous athlete, but turned out to be just a regular guy?  There's got to be a few good stories out there.

According to theDMN blog we have signed our first UDFA, a guy that is being compared to Wes Welker, partly because they are Texas Tech Alums.

The Cowboys didn't draft a receiver, but they have added at least one through college free agency - Texas Tech's Danny Amendola.

He had 109 catches for 1,245 yards and six touchdowns for the Red Raiders in 2007. The Cowboys would really like to see Amendola develop into another Tech receiver, Wes Welker, who lit it up last year in New England. They have similar builds - Amendola is 5-10, 183, Welker is 5-8, 185 - and excelled as slot receivers in Mike Leach's offense.

Sounds like a pretty decent pick up.  We'll see if he makes it through training camp.