SB Nation User Blog: NateMac

Put THIS on your Christmas list NOW!

NateMac — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 18:33:44 -0000

Put THIS on your Christmas list NOW!

The 3 month countdown to Christmas has begun and Cowboys fans everywhere are starting to think about what, other than a Super Bowl, they'll put on their Christmas list. How about Cowboys jerseys, caps or coffee mugs? Blasé. Cowboys BBQ grills, recliners or autographed footballs? Booooooring.

A couple of seats from Texas Stadium? Ha! THIS is what you as a Cowboys diehard want to put on your Christmas list (and give that list to a rich relative). Hey, all you need is a half mil...pocket change.

Cowboys Livin' Large on 3rd Downs

NateMac — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 17:05:18 -0000

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.

After 3 weeks, the Cowboys offense is converting 3rd downs at a jaw dropping 60%. Now keep in mind that 40% is considered very good. As a matter of fact, the next closest is Denver at 50% and the league average is 37%. That makes our 60% that much more impressive. (The defense, by the way, has held opponents to 34% on 3rd downs and that number, I think, will improve.)

We all know that Witten is our 3rd down machine but here's how our money down breaks out so far this season:

3rd Down Conversions By Air - 17
Witten - 8
Owens - 3
Crayton - 2
Austin - 2
Barber - 2

3rd Down Conversions By Ground - 6
Barber - 3
Choice - 2
Jones - 1

So next I figured a 60% conversion rate is easy when it's always 3rd and short, right? Well, guess what, the average down and distance for our 3rd down conversions is 3rd and 6. Wow. Does anyone remember a time when 3rd and long meant "McBriar go kick some into the net...keep that leg loose." I do.

A nice by product of our 60% conversions on 3rd down is McBriar can be more of a spectator. He's punted 8 times...only 3 other guys in the league have punted less. It's not helping his pro bowl chances much but hey, I can live with that.

Marion Barber Working Out

NateMac — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 20:49:29 -0000

Marion Barber Working Out

Check out those "cannons" at :17. When you've got guns like that, you can do things like this.

Bring Back The "Landry Shift"...Just Once More

NateMac — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 16:31:23 -0000

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?

For you young fans, the Landry Shift was when the entire offensive line stood straight up before dropping into their 3 point stance. As cool as the big men looked moving in unison, there was a purpose behind the shift. The idea was to briefly shield the defense from seeing the formation shifts going on in the backfield. Take a look at these highlights from Super Bowl XII and you'll see the Landry Shift...notice how the backfield changes formation while the offensive line is standing straight up.

The Landry Shift was uniquely Cowboys. No one else in the league did it and no one's done it since. And seeing it in the movie last night was like seeing an old friend you hadn't seen for a long time.

On Sunday, 12/14 we play the Giants at Texas Stadium in a nationally televised Sunday night game. Man, wouldn't it give you goose bumps to see Adams, Kosier, Gurode, Davis and Columbo give us a Landry Shift just one more time?

New Addition to WORST National Anthem Moments

NateMac — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 05:19:13 -0000

New Addition to WORST National Anthem Moments

On Monday night Kat DeLuna gave us an ear bleeding rendition of our Nation's Anthem. After that train wreck, maybe we should seriously consider following the Olympics and just stick with the instrumental because every bad version involves a singer. Kat easily landed herself in my top 5 worst:

5. Becky Simms - That'll teach you to forget the words.

4. Unknown - To bad the jets didn't fly over sooner...and slower.

3. Carl Lewis - I'd rather remember him for his Olympic accomplishments, but he made it hard to do when he started singing.

2. Kat DeLuna - At least the Cowboy's fans let her know what they thought loud and clear.

1. Roseanne Barr - Simply unforgivable.

Un-Honorable mention goes to Josh Howard who just blatantly dissed it. Man look, nothing says you have to stay if you feel that strongly about it. Maybe you can get a 4 year, $40 MIL deal playing ball in Mexico, Spain or Italy...or maybe not.

A Tale Of Two Defenses

NateMac — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 23:20:45 -0000

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?”

If you felt the same way, that’s completely understandable. But it’s been almost 3 days now. There’s been plenty of time to digest, analyze and break down all aspects of this instant classic and there’s something that’s been bugging the crap out of me... after ALL the dissecting of this game, it seems like very few outside of the family (and some in the family) want to give our D props. They see 37 points as an automatic sign of no defense. Heck, Peter King actually gave props to the Philly D…and they gave up 41! Look, 37 IS a big number but I’m telling you…something happened in that locker room at half time. Something clicked. Something came together. Something lit a fire. Veterans stepped up. Rookies grew up. I don’t exactly know. What I do know is that the D that went into that locker room at the half wasn’t the same one that came back out. And that 2nd half D made the difference in our win. If you can look past the number 37 for just a bit, I’ll tell you what I mean.

Now, I’ll give Philly the 7 points on the Romo fumble, the 3 points on the opening KO that went OB and 3 more points on the Romo pick. I’ll give them the 108 yards worth of penalties we had that extended their drives. I’ll even give them the points from horribly bad officiating. I’ll pin all these points and advantages on the defensive side of the ledger because it makes my point THAT much stronger…something happened in that locker room at half time. It had to. Here we go…

Philly hung 37 points on us. Yeah, yeah BUT 30 of those came in the first half. In the second half they only scored 7 points and were shut out for the entire 3rd quarter and the first 5 minutes of the 4th quarter. Something happened in that locker room.

In the first half, Westbrook, arguably the league’s most dangerous back, had 45 yards on 13 carries. In the second half…he only had 13 yards on 5 carries. As a team the Eagles had 56 yards rushing in the first half. In the second half they had just 22. It was still a close game after the half but for some reason, Philly chose to abandon the run. Why? Something happened in that locker room at half time. Philly saw a different defense and they knew it.

Philly had 181 yards passing in the first half. But in the second half, our D cut that number to 100 yards. This was AFTER Philly abandoned the run to attack us through the air. As a matter of fact, Philly had 222 yards of total offense in the first half compared to only 115 yards in the second half. Something happened in that locker room at half time and our D came out and cut Philly’s offensive production off at the knees…on the ground AND in the air.

Throughout the game, the MNF announcers were gushing about McNabb’s mobility/escape ability and his strength to carry linebackers and linemen on his back without going down. They even drooled over his “Favre like” underhanded flip to Westbrook (where he was past the LOS by the way). Well you know what? McNabb wasn’t playing Houdini / Hercules back there because he WANTED to, he did it because he HAD to! Why? Pressure…especially in the second half. Something happened in that locker room at half time, I’m telling you.

Time of possession for the whole game was separated by about 2 minutes in favor of the Eagles BUT if you look at it by halves, Philly held the ball for 18:30 to our 11:30 in the first half. In the second half, flip the script. We held the ball for 17:32, Philly had it for 12:28. Our D got off the field and got the ball to our O and they controlled the clock when it mattered.

Last one. The Eagles were in our Red Zone 5 times during the game… 4 of those came in the first half. They only sniffed our Red Zone 1 time in the entire second half.

Good teams can come out and impose their wills on the opposition but I think that great teams are the ones that can also make the adjustments during the game that take their opponents out of their game. This is clearly what we saw on Monday night in the second half. Something happened in that locker room at half time and looking back now, past the emotion and excitement of the first half, past the Romo wrecks, past the 37 points on the score board, the second half D that showed up, the “other” D, is a big reason for our win. How you start isn’t nearly as important as how you finish and finish is EXACTLY what they did on Monday night. Let’s give the defense their props because they sure as hell earned it. Props to you D, thanks.

Nuff said…onto Lambeau Field.

I don't remember breathing...

NateMac — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 04:01:24 -0000

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?

Larry Allen Back Home...To Play or Retire? You Decide.

NateMac — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 23:11:44 -0000

Larry Allen Back Home...To Play or Retire? You Decide.

Kevin Lynch of SFgate.com reports that veteran offensive lineman Larry Allen will sign a contract with the Cowboys.

It’s unclear whether Allen intends to actually play, or whether it will be a ceremonial one-day retirement deal.

His page on NFL.com actually shows him as an active player, and as a member of the Cowboys.

Allen spent 12 years in Dallas and the past two with the 49ers.

Giants' Umenyiora out for season

NateMac — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 12:07:09 -0000

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).

Watch Hard Knocks Episode 1 Online!

NateMac — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 14:22:16 -0000

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/

I enjoyed it but I agree with Grizz...they could have done a better job picking a few of the storylines. Two of the guys that they featured have about as much of a chance of making the final roster as my 7 year old but hey ANY show that has guys running around with stars on helmets is a good show in my book.