SB Nation User Blog: Leon

Sites that will stream the game?

Leon — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 13:41:15 -0000

Sites that will stream the game?

What sites are streaming todays game? I found one link, but I usually need back ups.

Change we can believe in

Leon — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 22:26:58 -0000

So what we have is a fine mess, different from previous messes only in intensity. The results are pretty much the same, as is the guy at the top, namely one Jerral Jones; and the owner's intense loyalty to this team's head coach continues to send up red flags. Conventional wisdom states that Our Boy Jerral would never fire the GM, just as it stated for many years that he would never hire a coach like Bill Parcells; but Jerry wants to win, so we give him the benefit of the doubt, hoping that something will change the fortunes of our Cowboys.

Our franchise players are at each other's throats. Discipline has degenerated at a rate inverse to the increase in this team's talent. And the players are talented, but they lack guidance and discipline.

Jerry Jones pays some very smart people to work for him, and perhaps someone has already told him that the Tough Wade experiment won't work. An established disciplinarian can always relax and become everyone's friend when it serves the team, but the coach who never instills discipline cannot suddenly rein in the individuals in a locker room and make them a team.

Bill understood this, and it's one of the things that made him great. He understood that he had to be unquestionable as coach. There could be no going over his head, and he understood that Jerry was undercutting him. He had to be the guy in charge, because he is ultimately accountable for team discipline and unity.

Wade cannot be that guy. In fact, because Jerry has been so hands-on and established himself as a figurehead in the football operations of this organization, he can't be the football guy anymore either. I don't necessarily think either of them are incompetent, but they can't achieve their goals with this team, with these players. Jerry could certainly hire a new coach, but he is so entrenched that some players will never buy in. If Jerry wants to demonstrate his commitment to winning and wants this team to realize its potential, he must step back from it, at least for awhile.

If Jerry is unwilling to break up the roster and begin rebuilding, finding takers for Owens, Witten, Newman, Ellis, and/ or Romo, he must make changes at the top. Honestly, he needs to put down whatever is in his peace pipe and open his checkbook for Scott Pioli. He needs to call Jim Schwartz (This guy seems brilliant--I don't know why I haven't heard his name around here). I'm throwing these names out because someone else will want to win this bad. The owners of the NFL want to win, and all but a handful (five or six) have won a playoff game in the last decade. I can't even name the other teams that haven't won, but I know the Dallas Cowboys are one of them. And that is not right.

I don't think the draft is broken, and I don't think our Cowboys' problems boil down to just X's and O's. The Cowboys' problems involve trust, respect, discipline, guidance, accountability, and self-awareness. I think it can be fixed, but I think without major changes we will see more 5-11 seasons before we see another Lombardi Trophy. This is no reflection of the talent of this team, its scheme, or the tactical and strategic philosophies they employ: we will see some first round exits, and lots of draft picks at or around #20. But we won't win without discipline, and we won't have it without changes at the top and changes above the top, namely a new head coach, and a new GM. Jerry can stay on as CEO, and maybe he can sell popcorn at one of the concessions stands. He's always been more of a popcorn guy.

Did we get fleeced?

Leon — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 14:37:10 -0000

Fans in Detroit and most sports writers seem to feel like Detroit got the better of the Roy Williams trade. General consensus among these types seems to be that three draft picks is too steep of a price to pay. I don't know if it's been done elsewhere, but this got me thinking about the occasionally vaunted draft trade value chart and I used that to analyze the value of the trade.

Roy Williams was the seventh selection in the 2004 draft, and Detroit selected him by trading with Cleveland to move up in the first round. The seventh overall selection, via the aforementioned draft value chart is worth 1500 points. Although Millen gave additional picks (and hence a greater point value) to move into the position to draft Williams, a number seven overall pick is a number seven overall pick.

We sent Detroit our 2009 first, third, and sixth rounders. In addition, we get a seventh in 2010. Assuming we draft at 22 in this draft (God forbid), the picks we send to Detroit are worth 780, 160, and 18.6 points respectively. The total value of those picks is 958.6 points, roughly the point value of the #17 overall pick. If we advance in the playoffs, those picks are worth less; while if we slide, those picks are worth more. We'd have to slide to the 15th pick in the draft in order to "break even", if we go by this draft chart and value Roy as the #7 pick.

So what is that lucky #7 pick really worth? The seventh overall pick in the drafts immediately before and after Roy was drafted were Troy Williamson and Byron Leftwich. Those are busts, dude; and the whole draft thing is a crap shoot.

We don't need to play dice with our roster. We are loading up for a playoff run, so a developed, talented WR is more valuable to us; and Detroit is rebuilding, so of course draft picks are worth more to them. At the trade deadline players are always worth more than picks; and at the draft, picks are always worth more than players. However, the fact is that any player we could have drafted with our 2009 first round pick would have trouble getting on the field with the squad we have, and we still have draft picks in every successive round of the 2009 draft to build our depth.

Football is a violent, chaotic sport, and anything can happen. I don't know if Roy is worth the seventh overall pick or the seventeenth, but I do believe he's the right player for us right now. I do know that he's been to a Pro Bowl and led the conference in receiving. He's a ready fit, having developed into a polished veteran receiver. I'd say the odds of him flourishing in Dallas, winning games, and perhaps helping the team advance are very good. I'm going to dodge the conventional wisdom on this one and call this acquisition a solid win.

Uncapped year

Leon — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 20:20:32 -0000

I've been trying to figure out the implications of the so-called "uncapped" year(s) that may or may not happen in the next few years. I yet to read a good explantation/ analysis of what it will mean to the league, but I have to assume it will be a good thing for the Boys.

So if there is an "uncapped" year, does that mean that JJ could restructure contracts and shift huge amounts of contracts to bonuses to be paid in that year? Can they simply account for money in this way, similar to language in the rules that allow for the proration of bonuses, etc? Is there a way to recover part of said bonus should a player not complete their contract for some reason, and if so, would this money be refunded to a capped year? Does an "uncapped" year nullify prior contracts or change their terms?

Does anyone here know what this will mean for our team?

Cowboys Best in League

Leon — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 17:06:25 -0000

Per Scouts, Inc.

Take this with a grain of salt, but Scouts, Inc. has evaluated the Cowboys as the best playoff team (by a nose).

Scouts, Inc. has broken down the playoff field at various key positions, essentially corps by corps. Their method ranked players at individual positions, from 1 (best) to 12 (worst). Then they added the scores to determine each unit's rankings. Follow the links for position by position analysis and complete rankings.

Offensively, my Boys are ranked one point behind the Pats and Colts, who are tied for first, with a rating of 11. Our offensive rating (12) is followed by the Bolts at 21 (the nearest competition). The Pack is rated 26, Gints 31, Raljon Racists 35, and Bucs 38. By their reckoning, we have the fourth best quarterback, third best backs and receivers, and second best offensive line.

Defensively, my Boys are tied with Green Bay for the top spot in the ratings at 12. San Diego is close behind at 13, with New England at 14. The Seahawks are the next team in our bracket at 18, with the Bucs (24), Gints (25), and Foreskins (30) rounding out the field. We have the top linebacking corps, fifth best defensive line, and sixth best secondary.

If you follow their ratings to their possibly-logical conclusion, your Dallas Cowboys have the best aggregate score in their ranking system (24), followed closely by the Pats at 25, then the Colts at 29. The Pack is our closest competition in the senior conference at 38. Of course, Scouts, Inc. and ESPN didn't rank the field with an aggregate score, but that's not stopping me from posting about it here.