Without saying a word, Jason Garrett has put the onus of Tony Romo's fumble on the lack of a real fullback on the roster by reversing the decision to cut Fiammetta.  The move makes some sense, despite its reactionary nature, but JG is going to make some mistakes of this sort and I expect Robinson to be back.

That, however, is not why the Cowboys lost.  They lost. because they don't know how to win.  Jason Garrett has failed to teach the team the rules essential for real success in the NFL.  I had a feeling that we were going to see a melt-down of this sort in 2011 (I did not expect it so soon) and a what better time to take a loss than an early season road game against one of the better non-conference teams.  This, as any good parent knows, is a teachable moment.  Keys lessons that the current crop of Dallas Cowboys have never been taught, lessons that have been forgotten by a once great franchise.

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Davis, Colombo, Barber, Williams and now Gurode.  Jason and the Argonauts Cowboys have been cutting the fat (in some cases literally), but only on the offensive side of the ball.  Olshansky, Newman and Brooking all fit the profile of the above players, so why are they still donning the Star?

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Imagine if you will that the CBA was not signed until August and the NFL has decided to proceed with the season as scheduled.  You are the collective Cowboys brain trust, what do you do to improve the team for 2011?

Here are the working assumptions:

1. Teams have right-of-first-refusal on their own free-agents significantly depleting the pool of available players.
   
2. Rookies are simply not ready.  However, the league has decreed that teams cannot sign players from another team's practice squads for six weeks allowing teams that time to hide their draft picks while they prepare them.

Basically, can this team be improved without a major influx of talent

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A full day in which the expectation is to spend quality time with your family, eat great food until you can't walk and watch the Cowboys on TV.  Even in the doldrums of a 3-7 season, life is good.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all.

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Let's start with what we know.  Since the change in coaching, the Dallas Cowboys have beaten a quality division opponent in a game were they made a lot of mistakes and a conference opponent that is better than their record in a game where a few bad calls went our way.  Clearly the team has responded in the short term and is playing hard for Jason Garrett, or perhaps out of embarrassment for themselves from the putrid first half of the season.  The question I have is "So What?"  Not to mean who cares, but rather what does it mean going forward for Jason Garrett as the Head Coach and the team over all.

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There are key indicators in the maturation of a team.  The Cowboys won the first few games with a strong combination of talent and luck.  However, this team failed the only real test of the season because the defense simply could not stop the New England offense.  Fortunately, we have seen a good defense become a very good defense as the season has progressed.  They continue to progress, hopefully to a championship defense by years end.  One fact that seems to have been forgotten, this is the first year of a new defensive system.

This game will tell us if our beloved Cowboys are ready to take the next step. It is one thing to win a bunch of games, it is quite another to take control of the team's destiny.  Can the 2007 Cowboys make the knockout blow?  They can essentially win the division tomorrow in New York.

Win and the NFC title will go through Dallas.

Lose and their just one of six playoff teams in the lesser of two divisions.

Brad Sham has a little tirade on ESPN's reporting of a rift between Parcells and Jones here.

I realize historically that journalist have never held up to the standard they set for themselves, but wouldn't be nice if one didn't have to dig for the truth in every news report.

This is why we all appreciate you so much Grizz.

Offense:

What happened to Johnson at FB, is that really why Polite was released and not Glymph?

In his press conference BP said he is considering changes on the Oline (Flo was not one of them, Kosier was).  Gurode played decent at C his rookie year, was decent last year,  has played well this year, but was sub-par at G inbetween.  Does BP change Kosier with Proctor, who has played very little, or move Gurode over?

Will Kosier get FB reps, he is very mobile?

Is Rivera another change? Colombo?

I have waited patiently.  Jacksonville was a good game, but the Cowboys lost.  Since then, we've had Washington who weren't smart enough to blitz Bledsoe, a bye, and Tennessee who is terrible.  I want to know: can the o-line stand up to real pressure, can Julius break the blitz and take it long, what happens when they double Glenn instead of Owens, will Gurode stick his mangled face in Vanderjagts and threaten to break the idiot kicker in half if he misses one inside 30 yd again. I am so sick of talking Cowboys, I want to watch Cowboys.  Sunday never seems to get here fast enough.

So the Cowboys have now lost to a very good Jags team, and beat a very good Skins team while destroying the J-V Titans.  The team is better than last year to be sure, but are not yet in the same class as Chicago or Indy.  As we all know, the O-line is the critical link.  The big boys up front seem to be getting better each week since getting pushed around by the Jags week 1.  By 7PM EST this Sunday, we'll know the truth.

Speaking of the Iggles, Peter King unwittingly puts his finger on how T.O. was able to single handedly take down the Eagles last year.

I asked Reid what it was like to walk into the Eagles' training facility a year ago, and what it's like to walk in there now.

"It's a different feeling,'' he said. "Things weren't quite as smooth. You had to worry about who was getting along with who, who wasn't, and who was talking to who and who wasn't. There was just a general uneasiness. Hard to describe, but you could just feel it.

Like any good manager, head coaches shouldn't involve themselves with lockerroom politics.  Compare that to BP's "if there is nothing I can do about it then it's not my problem" philosophy and you know how T.O. can work out in Dallas.

ESPN's Page 2 has it's NFC preview by Gregg Easterbrook. Here is a snippit on the Cowboys.

The Cowboys' decline has been strangely unemotional. Dallas has fielded three consecutive strangely unemotional coaches -- Chan Gailey, Dave Campo and Bill Parcells. All seemed unfazed by letdown after letdown; Parcells gives the impression of being annoyed that he must attend Cowboys' games. Fans have been strangely unemotional: There's been no rending of garments, no gnashing of teeth, no Texas angst. Owner Jerry Jones has been strangely unemotional, enduring disappointing season after disappointing season without tirades, seemingly not even particularly concerned.

Clearly Mr. Easterbrook has never been to this blog and is use to antics usually seen with east coast teams and perenial losers. He does, however, come somewhat close to an interesting point; Dallas still misses Micheal Irvin on the field. KJ brought a bit of that last year, but didn't bring the same on field effectuation.

Dallas seems to lack enthusiasm about football, and who would have thought that would ever be said about a Texas city? Owens isn't exactly what the doctor ordered, more like what the meshuggener ordered. Perhaps he can light the fire in Dallas, if only by making the rest of the team want to perform in order to shut him up.

What can the team do to shut the media up? How is it that the media can't see that they are to blame for all this. T.O. hasn't really said anything, they claim they are sick of hearing about T.O. and so is everyone else, and yet they keep talking.

Brett Favre has scheduled a press conference.

Could he retire?

Someone should put a suicide watch on John Madden.

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Let's assume the O-line will be Adams, Kosier, Johnson, Rivera, Pettiti; and Gurode,  Fabini (also assuming he regains his strength from the pect injury before the end of camp), Colombo, Proctor/Peterman are locks to make the team as back-ups.  That's nine O-linemen.  How many can be kept on the roster (damn that extra roster spot for a kicker)?  Should BP keep the other of Proctor/Peterman or Pat McQuistan, who despite looking very good in camp probably needs a year in the weight room but will never make it to the practice squad?

The often (rightly) criticized Pete Prisco has written a "hasn't mini-camp started yet" article listing his opinion of the NFLs current top 50 players.  The only Cowboys on the list is, you guessed it, TO at number 15.

15. Terrell Owens, WR, Cowboys: Despite his off-field issues, he's still among the top offensive threats in the game. I'd take him on my offense any day of the week.

I don't think Mr. Prisco has seen all of these players play much, but neither have I - then again I don't get paid to write about this stuff.  From a Cowboys perspective I would slide Anthony Henry in around 40.

When did safeties become better players than cornerbacks?  Four safeties in the top 50 players, none of which are Roy Williams, and one corner, hmm.  Sure, I can see Troy Polamalu, but Shawn Taylor, Ed Reed (who had a horrible year last year *fantasy team testimonial), and Adrian Wilson.

This is from the Pete McEntegart's Ten Spot on CNNSI.com.

4. There's an intriguing follow-up to an item in Monday's 10 Spot about several lawsuits alleging that baseball teams have discriminated against men in offering Mother's Day giveaways only to women over 18. Inspired by the dubious legal action, the Double A Altoona Curve will hold "Salute to Frivolous Lawsuit Night" on July 2. Among the giveaways, the first 137 men 18 and over will receive a pink tote bag; the first 137 women 18 and over will be given lukewarm coffee so "they will not burn themselves"; and the first 137 kids will be given a beach ball with a warning not to ingest it. Not even Jackie Chiles could get a lawsuit out of that.

We have learned that a number of teams, including or beloved Cowboys, are increasing two TE sets, or at least looking for players to be able to pull it off.  John Clayton has stumbed on what is probably the primary reason.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=clayton_john&id=2439793

Despite the fact that I am not personally enamored with a basic set of two TEs, prefering the I-formation, we can all feel somewhat better that Parcells is ahead of the curve.  Two TEs should cause serious matchup problems for the Dungy cover-2 defense with smaller Will backers.

Despite a pretty good set of starting wideouts, and a lot of money tied to the position, TNT is 32+.  Walker is reportedly available for a second and a third, or a second and a player before the draft.

Do you make the deal?

Sometimes one doesn't need 300 words to make a point, but must babble on and on due to Website requirements.  Little known fact, Web- as in the World Wide Web- and Web site are proper titles and should be capitalized.

Poll

Make the deal?

0%

3rd and Roy Williams

0 votes

78%

No deal

11 votes

14%

2nd and 3rd

2 votes

0%

2nd and Greg Ellis

0 votes

7%

2nd this year and next

1 votes

0%

3rd this year and 1st next year

0 votes

14 votes | Poll has closed

Assuming JJ and Co. are not going to draft a QB and Henson is not the answer; maybe Joey Harrington (who should be released soon) should be given a look.  He has improved each year despite a really bad situation in Detroit where he was wrong for the West-Coast system and treated badly by the coaches (who knew he was wrong for the system).  He may or may not supplant Bledsoe, but would be nice trade bait after some proper coaching and tutelage under Drew

Stats from DET
YEAR    G    CMP    ATT    PCT    YDS           AVG    TD    LNG    INT    RAT
2002       14    215    429    50.1    2294        5.3    12    64    16    59.9
2003       16    309    554    55.8    2880            5.2    17    72    22    63.9
2004       16    274    489    56.0    3047            6.2    19    62    12    77.5
2005       12    188    330    57.0    2021     6.1    12    86    12    72.0
Career 58    986    1802    54.7    10242    5.7    60    86    62    68.1