SB Nation User Blog: John Boy

Jerry the GM

John Boy — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:47:08 -0000

Jerry has taken a lot of abuse over the years for some him moves as GM; bad drafts, questionable hires, shaky trades, etc.. But he has also made some really good moves. One of the best moves in the last 10 years, IMO, was the hiring of Joe Decamillas as Special Teams coordinator. He has take what everyone viewed as a VERY weak spot on the team and turned it into a definate strength. If it weren't for the hammy injury Rossum suffered on the opening KO against Atlanta we would be praising Jerry even more. Stop and think, Rossum would have been the one returning the punts Crayton took back for TD's and I have a hard time believing that if Crayton (the human fair catch machine) can take them back then I KNOW Rossum could have as well. I attribute that to a combination of better coaching and a renewed emphasis on ST, as witnessed by the drafting of Buehler, who leads the lague in touch backs. Both the KO and punt coverage teams are performing at levels we haven't seen in Dallas since the early 90's, and isn't it great? Now, if we can get Nick (Folkin' A) Folk back on track, stopping missing easy FG's it would be that much better.

Jeff Fischer, anyone?

John Boy — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 22:21:10 -0000

For all the Wade haters out there, and I'm NOT saying I'm not one myself, here's another name to throw into the ring, along with Holmgren, Shanahan and "Chucky". The Titans, as of this post, are down 52-0 and showing very little life. I'm not saying he's going to get fired, or even that he SHOULD get fired, but in this day and age you JUST NEVER KNOW! If he became available after the season would you rather have him over someone like Shanahan? He's more of a tough, defense minded type that Shanahan or Holmgren which might be what this team needs. But then again, Parcells was the same thing and look where that got us.

Are the coaches outhinking themselves?

John Boy — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 11:55:37 -0000

Remember 2 years ago? The Offense was explosive, big plays down the field, Romo running around making plays with his feet and mobility, making throws on the run for big gains? Yeah, me too. All you ever heard the opposing D's say was "we need to keep Romo in the pocket where he can't hurt us as badly" etc. etc.. And what did we hear during the folowing off-season? The coaches were going to work more with Tony on staying in the pocket, remaining calm, following the progressions and hitting the open guy, all in an effort to reduce some of the turnovers that came with the other way of playing. Well, since when do you intentionally try and force a player to be what he isn't, and at the same time intentionally helping out the opposition by teaching him to do exactly what they were trying to get him to do? Turn him into a pocket passer. What was the best play Romo made yesterday? The big pass to Hurd on the last drive! Romo scrambled around and found the open guy for a huge gain. What happened when they got in the Red Zone? 2 slant passes right at the D's top cover guy. I kept waiting for Romo to try some sort of sprint out to put pressure on the defenders on one side of the field, a run pass option, something, ANYTHING to let Romo be Romo. I think it's time to just let Romo be Romo, stop trying to turn him into what he isn't. Others have said the same sort of thing, you're going to have some turnovers, etc. but hell, you have that NOW, the difference is we are LOSING. At least let him do his thing and if they still lose then so be it.

The first casualty........

John Boy — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 22:38:05 -0000

........and camp hasn't even started yet. MIckey Spags is reporting over on DC.com that Robert Brewster has a torn pectoral and might be gone for the year. He're a snippet:

Third-round draft choice Robert Brewster has suffered a torn pectoral muscle while lifting weights in the post-minicamp training program, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones confirmed, and the subsequent surgery to repair the injury leaves him unavailable for the start of training camp. The Cowboys are unsure if the offensive lineman from Ball State can return in time to become active for the 2009 season.

What a bummer, we just can't seem to get any breaks with rookies on the OL. It seems like they either get hurt or just plain suck, more of the latter than the former, unfortunately.

The signings have begun

John Boy — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 19:40:46 -0000

DMN is reporting that both DeAngelo Smith and Victor Butler hav signed 4 year deals. No mention of signing bonuses. With no 1st rounder it should be pretty simple to get them al in camp on time. Hopefully once they get all the picks signed they can wrap up the DWare signing. I know every year they wait till the last minute to sign their picks, and I guess from a business point of view it doesn't make a lot of sense to do it an earlier than you have to, but still...... I wonder what Holley got? A pat on the rump and a "good Luck" I suspect.

Cowboys by the numbers

John Boy — Fri, 15 May 2009 18:57:48 -0000

With the lack of anything newsworthy realated to The Cowboys I got to thinking about the teams history. My train of thought led me eventually to ask the question, "If you put together a team comprising one player, and one player only, at each uniform number, who would you end up with?"

Some numbers were plainly a cake walk, #8, Troy of course. #12, Roger, #74, Lilly. But what about #22? Emmitt or Bullet Bob? #79, Big E Williams or Harvey Martin. #54, Chuck Howley or The Manster? I think the hardest might be #88, Drew or Michael. Or maybe Antonio Bryant :-) ? Or how about #21? Prime Time or Doug Dennison :-)? Ron Springs or Mel Renfro for #20?

Does tenure on the team have any part of the decision? #26 was Herb Adderly and Kevin Smith, but Adderly wasn't around that many years. On the other hand, they won their 1st SB with him. Tough decisions!

Someone straighten me out, because I'm confused.

John Boy — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 02:13:27 -0000

If Mike Mayock is right and this draft is one of the worst in recent years, and if Jerruh is right and they could line up and play right now, and if they really ony have a couple of spots open for competition, then WHY IN THE HECK do we trade DOWN for more picks to use on players who probably wont make the team? Let me see, if the draft is weak we trade down to get more of the players at the BOTTOM of a WEAK draft? I understand the concept of slotting players, and I understand players having a grade for a certain round, and I cedrtainly understand not wanting to pay a player more than he should get based on his grades, but this makes little or no sense based on the talent already on the roster. I'm sure they will use some of the ELEVEN picks they have on day 2 to move around, etc, but they could have used some of those picks to go up and get a player how may have a chance at at least PLAYING. Eveyone has said that this draft is neither DEEP or TALENTED, let's get MORE of those types in camp! What a freakin' joke.

I'm just frustrated that they sat on their arse's and essentially PUNTED!!!

A late round flyer?

John Boy — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 12:27:14 -0000

I think the team should consider Mike Goodson from Texas A&M as a late round pick or priority FA. He's never going to be an every down back, but he's explosive, quick, has great hands and though he was never a return guy in college the potential is there to become a good one in the pro's. So why isn't he rated higher? The old bugaboo of "Character" issues. He's supposedly very self-centered and not a good team guy. plus he's pretty slight and there are durability issues, hence the likelyhood that he'll be available late.

Anyone else concerned about CB?

John Boy — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 00:50:25 -0000

All of the off-season talk has been about NT, ILB, S and OL as positions of need in the upcoming draft. But with the trade of Henry, and with the additions of the recent FA's that have been signed I'm starting to think that maybe CB might become a higher priority by the time the draft rolls around. Henry had lost a step and was no longer the ball hawk he was in his younger days, but he was still a decent starter, allowing younger guys to fill other rolls. But if our assumptions are correct that Newman and Jenkins will be the starters we are one injury away (TNew's groin again?) from having Alan Ball or worse manning the slot with Scandrick manning the other starters spot. That scares me! ANd Newman is already over 30. We went through many years dealing with that sort of thing, and it was no fun. The problem is that this is a week draft for CB's, any one capable of coming and and contributing even a little will be long gone by the 51st pick rolls around.

If we can pick up a cheap, serviceable veteran FA that could fill in if disaster strikes that would ease the pain of an unexpected injury.

Grasping at straws!

John Boy — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 20:44:21 -0000

I consider myself to be a pretty positive individual, especially when it comes to the Cowboys, so in that light I'm positive that I have no idea what to think. To quote Vince Lombardi in that famous sideline shot we see all the time, "What the hell's going on out here!!" Each off season I can usually find something to get me excited about the coming season, a new player added, a coach added, psoitive strides made the previous season, etc etc. So far, the only thing that even came close to getting me a LITTLE excited was Dan Reeves coming on board, and then THAT fell through with a resounding CLUNK!!!! We have TE's doing profane rap "songs" on You Tube wearing their helmets, the QB is supposedly cheating on the girl who got him in trouble in the first place (if anyone believes a rag like STAR, which I don't). Our star RB is leaving everyone to wonder if his late season swoon is due to his heavy workload as a starter, and is it a sign of things to come? Apparently we have a rat in the locker room (maybe the star TE), ar at least most of the team things there is which is the same thing, perception being reality in their eyes. I keep grasping at straws, looking for something to hold on to. We have a terrific pass rusher, but he's due a huge pay increase. We have a very good/great WR, but he's getting long in the tooth. The TE is terrific also, but as noted he may be a rat and have lost the rerspect of his teammates. The HC is a really nicve guy and the players love him, but he's either too soft or too laid back and holds no authority, depending on who you listen to. So, where is the Silver lining? Heck if I know. Any ideas?