SB Nation User Blog: GloryDayz88

State of the Union

GloryDayz88 — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 02:00:55 -0000

This is silly. This is silly. This is really discomforting. When we lose, the world says "I told you so". When we win, we didnt win by enough. Now all the sudden we are soft, and Wade's not a good enough coach, and Brian Stewart needs to be fired, and Tony Romo's overrated, and Terence Newman is a waste of money because he's hurt again. I'm from the hood, but this makes me wanna go Chris Crocker and make a "Leave the Cowboys Alone" youtube video.

I have never seen a team more scrutinized over every little detaill. The Cowboys are 4-1 people. 4-1!! Do we have to put up 500 yards of offense, and allow 150 every week for all the fans to be satisfied and for the team to be validated in the eyes of the media. I think Pacman put it best when he said "They get paid too." WE ARE NOT GONNA CRUSH EVERYBODY, EVERY WEEK! WE ARE NOT GONNA BE SHARP EVERY WEEK!

What do we gain by blowing out teams in week 5, or week 7? NOTHING. Do you want them to peak now? We've read that book before. Let's steamroll everything in our way until December and then fall apart. If we are still playing this way week 13, 14, I will be concerned. But for now, I think that the Cowboys being involved in meaningful, perhaps even back against the wall games in the final quarter of the season is a good thing. I even think it would be a good thing if we didnt have a first round bye, or even a home playoff game at all. The last two seasons this team has looked to be quite a bit more sharp on the road. They take on that underdog mentality and they just play tougher.

To be honest, I dont care if we beat the Bengals or Rams by 5 or 50. A win is hay in the barn. And we need to get as much hay in the barn as we can before this backloaded schedule gets into the ugly part. If we survive that gauntlet, we will be ready for the postseason.

Romo needs to cut down on the picks. The secondary needs to tighten the screws. The entire defense needs to tackle better. The special teams need to get right. And Jason Garrett needs to find a way to get the ball to T.O. in space. Sounds like a lot of problems, but we are still winning games, and we have about two months to really get our act together.

Baltic and Mediterranean

GloryDayz88 — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 00:21:07 -0000

For lack of a better analogy, an NFL schedule is sort of like a monopoly board. The Browns were just one of those regular, Pennsylvania Avenue type of properties. The Eagles and Packers were like that scary Boardwalk and Park Place section, and the way those two teams were playing heading in, they had hotels and motels and mini malls all over the place. Losing a game at home to the 'Skins was like a bad chance card where you have to pay $200 for doctor fees or something.

The Cowboys have now reached the Baltic and Mediterranean Avenue part of the schedule. When you are looking down the barrel of Boardwalk and Park Place, you just want to come out on the other side alive and not flat broke. Now is time to iron things out. To sharpen the sword and win. To win convincingly.

The Cowboys next 3 opponents have a total of 2 wins between them. Anything less than 3 consecutive convincing wins will be a disappointment. This is an opportunity to get a full head of steam before we hit the meat of our schedule. This is also the time when we must get a few things fixed.

A few things I would like to see:

1. Balance- Okay, we see what happens when Marion Barber gets 8 carries. Enough of that. If other teams stop the run early, we better make em stop it all night.

2. Tackling- Everyone else seen enough whiffs on would-be sacks and tackles in the backfield. I know we dont tackle much in camp but it is Week 5 now. Let's go.

3. Special Special Teams- The coverage units and the Kickoff return unit have been doing well, but Pacman is too special as a returner not to be getting off. He hasn't had any room whatsoever. I know they say it is a scheme thing and he doesn't follow the wall. We'll how bout we just put a hat on a hat and let him create.

4. Less Mistakes at QB- Tony Romo is better than this. I know he will come around, but I hope it is sooner than later. Let's go Antonio.

5. Takeaways- If we are not gonna stop other teams from passing on us, can we at least gamble and pick something off every once in a while? That would be nice.

Im not as negative as this post may imply. I think everything is gonna be fine, and I still think we are gonna win the Super Bowl. It's just time to tighten the screws a little bit.

Anybody else got anything?

Man....F@#! Keyshawn!!

GloryDayz88 — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 15:44:02 -0000

Dear Keyshawn,

I'm sorry that you are so obsessively jealous of Terrell Owens. I'm sorry the Cowboys let you go, then immediately signed him, but hey, he's one of the best in the game and you were gettin up there in the years. Oh wait, you guys are the same age. Anyway....I'm sorry that you never had the guts or the drive to put yourself through the borderline psychotic training Terrell Owens puts himself through that allows him to get better with age. I'm sorry that of the legendary 1996 wide receiver class that included yourself, Owens, Terry Glenn, Marvin Harrisson, Mushin Muhammad, Eric Moulds, Joe Horn, and others, you were drafted first but rank near the middle of the pack in production. I'm sorry that not even your daddy Bill Parcells invited you to camp this year.

Look at it this way though Key, at least you can fall back on your character, which you constantly remind us is so much better than Terrell Owens. You are truly a man of your word, Key. When you were a rookie, you said that you were going to play 10 years, and then get out before the game took more from you, than you were able to take from it. Like the man you are, you kept your word. Year after year, you put in countless hours of lying around on the beach, and running your mouth, staying in marginal shape, just good enough to survive the year. You put in 11 years of average effort, and now you can hang your hat on your slightly average career you former 1st overall pick you.

We'll always have memories right? Like the time when you wrote that book called Just Give Me the Damn Ball. And boy did the Jets ever oblige your request....106 times... and you got in the paint.......ONCE. You threw blue collar hero Wayne Chrebet under the bus, and did enough for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to pay you to stay home. But I know, I know, you are God and Terrell Owens is the Anti-Christ. I keep forgetting.

I guess what I'm trying to say is look at yourself in the mirror. Take your shirt off. Did you notice there ain't a muscle on your damn body? That's your fault. That same laziness is the reason you are sitting next to Chris Berman on Sunday morning instead of getting your cankles taped and getting ready to go ball.

If your only source of resolve is to talk trash about the Cowboys (particularly T.O.) and say crazy things like the Panthers are better off without Steve Smith, that's cool. But we all know where you would rather be. I hope ESPN makes you cover Terrell Owens' Hall of Fame induction.

Sincerely,

Everybody.

Baby Steps

GloryDayz88 — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 22:35:08 -0000

January 13, 2008. A Tony Romo desparation heave never reaches it's destination. Instead, the Cowboys hopes and dreams find their way into the arms of New York Giants defensive back R.W. McQuarters. The air is instantly sucked out of Texas Stadium and in the following weeks, a destiny that almost seemed to be promised to Romo and the Cowboys, was instead realized by Eli Manning and the Giants.

My first thought, after the initial shock was that this is something that every team has to go through to eventually reach its goal. That failure is a man's greatest motivator, and suffering a loss like that would only bring a team closer. Then, with the cameras in his face, waiting for a classic T.O. eruption, Terrell Owens instead tearfully defended his quarterback, and gave some evidence to my theory. To me that was the first step.

I understand that television can be edited to highlight certain ideas, but on Hard Knocks it really appeared as if the Dallas Cowboy players really truly enjoyed eachothers company. The looked to be genuinely healthy.

The Cowboys came out week one and steamrolled the AFC's sexiest playoff pick, and then, Monday night took a huge step forward.

Romo turned the ball over twice early, and just when it looked like Eagles would find a way to beat us again, the team came together, and grew up.

I saw Tony Romo standing tall and calm in the pocket. I saw an offensive line that stood up to a Jim Johnson pressure package for 4 quarters. I saw Felix Jones and Mike Jenkins strap on their big boy shoes and go ball. I saw Terrell Owens congratulating Felix Jones so overzealously it looked as if he had just ran a kick back for a TD. I saw Pacman Jones getting ever closer to picking off the short routes. And most importantly, I saw a defense finally getting stops when they absolutely had to have them.

I'm trying not to overreact after one emotionally game, but I have to saw that now I truly believe. This is our year.

And forget the NFC. I think we just saw the two best teams in the NFL last night.

One on Ones!

GloryDayz88 — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 09:00:25 -0000

Cowboys at Browns Sunday.

A couple of battles within this war have me really excited. I can't wait to see Shaun Rogers and Leonard Davis tangle a few times. I know with the Browns running a lot of 3-4, we wont see much of these two mano y mano, but you cant beat 700+ pounds of bear leaning on eachother.

I also cant wait to see if Joe Thomas is the great tackle that he has been deemed. Unless the Browns want to waste Kellen Winslow II on some passing downs, Joe Thomas will at times be left alone with the biggest measuring stick you can find around the league. That oughtta be fun.

What individual matchups have you guys excited?

Everbody Stan-Back!

GloryDayz88 — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 23:27:00 -0000

Alright haters. I'm gonna walk all the way out on the ledge, and I aint scared of fallin. Isaiah Stanback is the only healthy wideout we have after T.O. and Crayton so instead of hatin on dude, lets get behind him.

Im gonna go ahead and say that not only will Stanback be solid, but he will show enough electricity to push Austin and Hurd. Call me crazy but Stanback is the best athlete on this team not named Owens or Ware. I know it takes more than athleticism, but contrary to popular blog belief, Stanback is an intelligent guy. You dont play QB for 3 years in big boy football without being sharp.

Anybody else who would harness up a bum shoulder for the sake of the greater good would be called a hero so give dude a little credit.

Over the course of the next month Isaiah Stanback will justify the hype that has surrounded his name since last years draft.

Who will be the 6th WR?

GloryDayz88 — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 16:51:29 -0000

Who will be the Cowboys 6th wide out?

We can all pretty much bet the mortgage on Terrell Owens, Patrick Crayton, Miles Austin, Sam Hurd, and Isaiah Stanback making the regular season roster. Before the preseason began, many of us were also pretty sure that if the Cowboys kept 6 WR's, Danny Amendola would fill the final spot.

While Amendola has made some positive plays in the preseason, he has made two turnover causing plays in two preseason games.

Now I'm not getting excited about the two catches that Todd Lowber made against the Broncos scrubs, but the fact that he got some burn this week means that the staff at least wants to get a better look. There are really two questions that need to be answered.

Is Lowber's potential more valuable than Amendola's polish and added value in the return game, considering that neither player will play a big role this season anyway?

And secondly, do the Cowboys believe that they can sneak Lowber through waivers and onto the practice squad considering all of the exposure he has gotten on Hard Knocks.

Who makes the cut?

Eric Parker anyone?

GloryDayz88 — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:10:02 -0000

Nothing to get excited about, but I saw that San Diego released Eric Parker the other day. In the event that the Terry Glenn issue ends in his release, do you guys think Eric Parker makes any sense.

He oughta be cheap and he is an experienced speed guy at least somewhat similar to Glenn. Even though it seems like he's been around forever, he's 29 so it's not like one of those desperate Joe Horn type of moves.

I would still much rather trade for a top level dude if thats still possible, even if it costs us a #1 next year. But I do think Parker would make sense if Glenn is released.

Is Crayton that bad?

GloryDayz88 — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 20:30:43 -0000

As im sure a lot of you did, I went a little sour on Patrick Crayton after those miscues in the playoff game. Yes, he came up short in a big spot, and yes his mouth is sometimes a bit big for his britches. But is he really that inadequate as a #2?

A lot of people would point to the numbers of second options like Anquan Boldin or T.J. Houshmandzadeh in comparison to Crayton. Granted Crayton is not in the class of these two, but would their numbers not decrease if they had to share receptions with an impact tight end? Jason Witten caught 96 balls last season. If we had some run of the mill tight end catching 35 balls, maybe Crayton squeezes out 20 more catches. Then he's in that 70 catch, 850-900 yard territory.

It wasnt that long ago that we were all praising his hands and his route running. And when he re-signed we were all relieved. I think we've been a little unfair because of that final image we have of him.

He's not Boldin or Housh, but he's good enough. Maybe he takes another step forward this season as he has in each of his previous years and suprises us. And let's keep in mind, he's our #2 wideout, but he still only has to be the third option.

Romo Gone Wild?

GloryDayz88 — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 17:47:46 -0000

First of all let me apologize for breaking this weeks obvious and warranted obsession with the NFL Draft, but something has come to my attention that may be of interest to all of you as well.

I must shamefully admit that my wife subscribes to Star Magazine, and also that I occasionally thumb through it when on the porcelain. In Star's April 28 edition there is an article called "Falling Apart" about their concern about Jessica Simpson's out of control partying and drinking with boyfriend Tony Romo. To summarize the article, basically everytime the cameras catch up to Tony and Jessica, they are hammered. Los Angeles, Hawaii (Pro Bowl), Bobby Carpenter's wedding. Apparently Jessica was hospitalized on a recent vacation for trying to match drinks with Tony.

Now, obviously we must take everything we read in tabloids with a grain of salt. But the pictures sure seem to support the articles. Maybe things have been blown out of proportion. Maybe a lot of players do this in the offseason. Maybe this is what happens when a nameless nobody suddenly becomes the quarterback of America's team, bags a celebrity, and gets handed damn near $70 million. Maybe it's April and this is no big deal.

My question to my Cowboys bretheren is... Should we be worried about our quarterback?

Heres a link to a shorter version of the story. Not sure where to find the pictures on line.

http://www.starmagazine.com/news/14094