As fans, nothing matches the intensity of a 3rd down. That's when you stand up, that's when you make the most noise. That's where you implore your O or plead with your D to make a play! It's where offenses are measured for their staying power, it's where defenses are measured for their stopping power.

In golf they say "Drive for show, putt for dough." Well the Cowboys offense is definitely earning their dough on 3rd down. They're livin' large.

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I was watching the movie "Invinceable" last night and there was a scene where Philly played Dallas which included the "Landry Shift". It didn't last long but it was enough to get me thinking. As we say goodbye to Texas Stadium this season. Goodbye to the place where the Dallas Cowboys transformed into America's Team. Wouldn't it be great to see the "Landry Shift" just one more time?

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I know it’s about time to move on to Green Bay but I need to get this out of my system. I’ll be the first to admit that as I watched the points pile up on Monday night, I was yelling “Come on D…stop someone, make a play!” The lead kept going back and forth and I was 100% sure that whoever had the ball last would win. That’s usually what happens with shoot outs. That’s not how it ended and we came away with the win but I remember thinking, “Why did we bring in Zach? Let Pacman become Adam with a second chance? Draft a DB instead of a WR? Give Hamlin the payday he gambled 1 season on? So that someone can hang 37 on us….at home? We shouldn’t have to score 41 points to win. What happened to our D?”

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On Saturday night I tried to stay up as long as I could. If I stayed up long enough, maybe I could sleep straight through until 3:15p on Sunday. That was the only way I felt I could keep from climbing the walls in the hours leading up to kickoff. No luck, the body (and the kids) ruled out that idea. I watched the early games and that didn't help at all. The Texans got pounded by the Steelers, Brady's season was over in 8 minutes and the Eagles straight pimp slapped the Rams like they owed the Eagles money or something. Then I caught bonus coverage just before our kickoff of Carolina stealing victory from the Chargers on the last play of the game  with zeros on the clock. My mind started going places I didn't want it to go...and I couldn't stop it.

Finally...kickoff...here we go. My 7 year old is about to start his first season of flag football so he thought this would be a great time to ask Dad questions about the game..."What's the yellow line on the field for?", "What's a first down?", "Why did he throw that yellow thing?", "Was he tryin' to hit someone?", "What's a penalty?", "What does CLE mean?", "Where's Cleveland?",  "Have we been there?", "Their helmets look like pumpkins don't they Dad?". Answering his questions actually helped keep me distracted during the Browns first drive.Then we got the ball and I honestly can't tell you anything else he said to me.

On that first drive I felt like I was in another dimension. I don't think I blinked...I don't even think I took a breath. I could hear my heart pounding in my ears, everything around me just faded...all there was was me and the TV. I had flashbacks flying through my mind's eye of everything Cowboys that had consumed my brain this off season...the articles, the blog, Hard Knocks, ESPN, DMN...everything.

The hype was so intense, engulfing just sitting there waiting to claim another victim.  I kept saying "Please back up the hype, please back up the hype." When Barber dove over the top I exhaled with a thunderous "TOUCHDOWN!", a happy dance, a round of  high fives and a double Tiger Woods fist pump hard enough to rip a bicep. This is what I had been waiting on since our season ended and it's a damn good feeling because our team didn't disappoint. I know it can't and won't always be this good all season and I can deal with that because I'm I fan.

But while so many other teams played like pre-season was 5 weeks instead of 4, while we had the national spotlight on the road, while the haters had probably already thought up their headlines, while the Cowboy faithful were ALL holding our collective breath, this team....our team...delivered a statement louder than a supersonic boom. And so it begins...

What was your "First Drive" experience?

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- With the retirement of seven-time Pro Bowl defensive end Michael Strahan, the job of repeating as Super Bowl champions was going to be difficult for the New York Giants.

Now it might be near impossible with the news that fellow Pro Bowl defensive end Osi Umenyiora is out for the season with a knee injury.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3551499

As bad as our injury bug has been lately...we haven't (you know the rest, I refuse to actually type it).

If you're one of those non HBO types or you just want to watch it again...here it is:
http://www.hbo.com/hardknocks/

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Left on vacation last week and the first stop was 6 Flags in Arlington. We got our first true look at the new stadium...WOW! All I could do was drop my jaw and stare and try not to run into the car in front of me. Took these pics while my wife held the steering wheel. Click on the links for the hi rez images.

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