SB Nation User Blog: Tuna Helper

Never can say goodbye ...

Tuna Helper — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 15:59:23 -0000

All good things come to an end.

Robert Duvall wasn't in Godfather III.

The day has come, gentlemen. I will no longer be a regular front-page contributor to BTB. That honor is left to the able hands of Grizz, Raf, Jim Vance and GloryDayz88. I will continue to be a guest contributor though so you'll get to hear all about what brand of beer I'm drinking the next time a calamity strikes the 'Boys. Lord my team is hard on my liver. (Sidenote: I can't believe Tequiza has been discontinued! I'll miss consoling myself with that quirky beer).

I thank Grizz for allowing me to write for this awesome blog. I felt honored the day he chose me and I still do. He's gone out of his way to be patient while dropping nuggets of knowledge along the way. There's a reason everybody respects him.

I thank my man Brandon W for his friendship. The inclusiveness of his writing style is something to behold. He's shared an awful lot about his personal life and how the ups and downs of the season affected that. Most of all I'd like to nominate his wife for MOST AWESOME WIFE EVER for getting him tickets to a Cowboy game on his birthday. She deserves an infomercial!

I realize it's easy to take things for granted. I certainly have. It's hard to remember the days when I didn't have an outlet to express my joy, anger, frustration or passion for this team that I love. But it did exist. I've been in sports bars all over this country pulling for this team. It seems like people gravitate to Cowboys fans. I'd meet all kinds of different people: drug addicts, business men and woman, gang members, grandparents, college students, emo kids, faithful girlfriends, rednecks. All with an opinion about the 'Boys. This blog was the first place I came to that allowed me to express myself unabashedly. It was like the sports bar experience times a thousand. It's something I will always cherish about this blog.

So does this mean I'm leaving? Heck no! I'll be around to add my two cents. I'll be around to support Jim Vance and GloryDayz88. I'm particularly excited about these two guys. I think they will add a dynamic dimension to the blog. Welcome guys. I know you'll do good work. I'll be around to stick up for Bob Hayes (FAMU baby!), criticize the local Dallas media (it's a thankless job but someone has to do it), post silly youtube videos, and, most of all, sip that glistening, sparkling red Cowboy Kool-Aid.

Most of all this change will allow me to concentrate on two things: my studies and my wedding. I still have roughly about a year left to go in law school and I'm getting married in July. So if your near Orlando on July 11 feel free to come on down and kick it with the fam. We'll have plenty of Hennessey (my favorite drink) and other spirits. Just look for the group that's doing the Electric Slide at the reception. That's us.

Alright ya'll. I need to hit up IHOP for a Chicken Fajita omelette and wash it all down with some Bud Light. Stay true and blue guys.

Show me that you care on the field, Tony

Tuna Helper — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 22:22:41 -0000

I've always ignored the "Tony Romo doesn't care" talk.

Obviously he does. Remember the idiot kicker saying the same thing about Peyton Manning and Tony Dungy? Emotion is a tangible thing but desire is not. There are indicators but no definite barometer. Chuck Noll and Tom Landry were cold, distant and indifferent to some. They were leaders with steel resolve to others.

Todd Archer has a good column in the DMN on this subject, following his story on Romo vowing to be a better leader.

Romo acknowledged the 2008 season was the hardest on him physically. He fractured his pinkie and missed three games. He got kneed in the back against the Giants but didn't miss a play. He took a helmet to the chin in the season opener. He took a couple of other big shots.
He tried to play with the pinkie injury but couldn't. He played through everything else.

The notion that he doesn't care, to me, is off base.

Romo made it to the NFL by caring. You don't come from where he has come from and forget what you did to get there. He is a grinder, despite the off-field circles he runs in now. He likes the work that leads to the success.

To be honest, I really don't care if he cares, although I believe, subjectively, that he does. Does he care enough about his habits to stop them? Does he care enough about winning to curtail his habit of turning the ball over? That's what I care about. I care because that's really the only the part of his game that I have major problems with. He seems to be pretty accurate, mobile, clutch in certain situations and willing to look downfield when he scrambles. Without his turnovers, we'll in a better situation to win the Washington, Baltimore and Pittsburgh games. It's more than agonizing over losses, which he's clearly done in our recent playoff exits. It's more about connecting that pain with a habitual behavior.

Ultimately, I believe he does care and will change. But the conversation seems trival. Finding a good safety will probably provide more tangible benefit to our team than some public statement released by Romo proving he cares.

Show me that you care on the field, Tony. The postgame statements are for people working on a postgame deadline. I care about his actions on the field.

Period.

One of the things that bothers me about the Dallas media is that they seem to take pleasure in our failures while the fans our agonizing. You could almost hear JJT saying, "nyeh nyeh nyeh nyeh" as he proclaimed us the most gutless team in the history of all gutless teams. As if being a journalist and a columnist requires some type of expertise on valor. Randy Galloway and Little Balls of Hate have been yukking it up all season about our failures and this only intensified after the Philadelphia debacle (I refuse to call that game anything but that). They say we are in full crisis mode.

Fine. The players in this Cowboy drama called the 2008 season should have thick skins. Their actions deserve criticism and ridicule sometimes.

But call them out? The media? Swiftly you'll see a strange phenomenon: their skin is thinner than a teenage boy with acne. Drew Rosenhaus suddenly becomes "huffy" because he gets annoyed that a reporter asks him a question four different ways. Wade is suddenly "testy" because he doesn't want to talk to reporters, a group he should obviously bend over for. Is this the same group that's so quick to crack a joke about someone?

It seems like Nick Eatmen from DC.com is coming from the same place I am. He looks at the Cardinals, who have the same record as us, and sees a team that's a bounce or two away from having a very similar ending to their season. Instead, they're in the Super Bowl and everybody's singing their praises. That's fine. They deserve it. But if a flawed team like that can make it to the Super Bowl -- with a 9-7 record, in a weak division and with one of it's star receivers and coaches feuding -- maybe the Cowboys season isn't the disaster the local media has painted it out to be.

The point - yes, there is a point - is that the Cardinals, win or lose, won't be the class of the NFL. It's not because of their history, it's because of this team - this year.

Was Arizona's 9-7 any better than the Cowboys 9-7? You could argue that the Cardinals defeated Dallas in a tough overtime game in Arizona back in October. I'm sure no one with the Cowboys feared a potential rematch somewhere down the road.

But based on the schedule, and certainly the division, I would bet most teams and players around the league would tell you they would be much more worried about the Cowboys than the Cardinals in a one-game scenario.

Again, the point, that's how this league works. Arizona goes 9-7, and they're in the playoffs and now the Super Bowl.

Tampa Bay goes 9-7 and fires Jon Gruden, who has won a Super Bowl with the franchise.

The Cowboys go 9-7 and the world just about comes to an end. Most fans with a loud voice want Wade Phillips to be fired as head coach.

We underachieved this year. But we didn't go 2-14 or even 5-11. We were a mediocre team. I know that's high treason in these parts. But we need to keep our season in perspective.

I get that most people don't like T.O. I also get that the people that are unsure about T.O. are consistently bomboarded by the majority to accept their premise.

Owens is a lot of things. Phenomenal athelete. Locker room cancer (as his detractors would say). Complainer. Hall of Fame receiver. Emotional. Sensitive. Bad rapper. Health nut.

But I've never heard someone say he's influential in the hiring and firing of coaches. Never heard that. That is until today.

John Czarnecki, a fixture at Foxsports.com, basically posits that T.O. had a hand in stopping Jason Garrett from securing the St. Louis Rams head coaching job. He really doesn't explain how, so, I guess we'll just have to take his word for it. He also says players respect Owens more than Romo, Jerry Jones likes Owens more than Romo and Owens made his teammates hate Jason Witten. Again, he doesn't explain how he knows this. He just does.

But the most curious thing in the article is how Owens derailed Garrett's chance at the St. Louis job.

Now, back to the Rams and where T.O. flexed his influence. During the search process, columnists and writers for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch started revealing flaws in Garrett's résumé — basically, that he's a very young coach who hasn't won a playoff game. But when the subject came to players, it was voiced that Garrett had a difficult time coaching black players. That is such a ridiculous assertion, but it gained so much steam in St. Louis that the fans accepted it as fact. On the day that Garrett thought he had a shot at becoming the head coach, the final paragraph in a Post-Dispatch news story was that hundreds of fans called the team's ticket office to complain about a Garrett hiring.

Within hours of those words hitting the newsstands, Garrett and his wife were boarding a plane for Dallas and the Rams started negotiating with current head coach Steve Spagnuolo. Somewhere in the background, T.O. had to be snickering. Mission accomplished.

I don't doubt Owens is a very persuasive person. I don't even doubt Owens is a powerful influence on our locker room.

But does he have the power to derail Garrett's job chances? Doesn't Garrett's job performance have more to do with that? Do you really think an owner or general manager is going to take Owens' influence into account when hiring a new coach? If that's the case, why does Todd Haley and Brad Childress have a job? Didn't he hate them too?

Sigh.

Maybe I'm looking at this all wrong. Maybe Owens does have this influence. Maybe he walked into Jerry Jones' office one day and said, "He's gotta go. Him or me."

And Jones said, "Can't do that. But how 'bout we fire Brian Stewart instead? I'll throw in Bruce Read too. Will that placate you?"

Maybe Owens shrugged his shoulders and said, "Alright. Just this time."

Yeah. I don't think it sounds plausible either.

Playing with the Devil and losing

Tuna Helper — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 23:47:24 -0000

I thought it made sense at the time.

For a team on the verge of the Super Bowl, maybe it was. You add a high-risk, high-reward player at a reasonable salary. If it doesn't work, he's gone. If it does, you gambled and won.

I realized the risk at the time. I acknowledged his baggage. His arrests. The naysayers. It was a Faustian deal with the Devil and I believed we'd see a championship before hellfire.

Turns out I was wrong on both counts. The Cowboys weren't on the verge of anything except implusion. And Pacman Jones was high-risk alright. But the rewards never surfaced.

Jones did play hard and he did lead the team in pass deflections. But he wasn't the punt returner we envisioned nor the impact player we gambled for.

Now, according to reports, his days as a Cowboy are over.

The Adam Jones' experiment is over.

The Cowboys will release Jones on Friday, the first day teams are allowed to waive players, severing ties with the oft-troubled player and leaving the sixth overall pick in the 2005 NFL draft without a job again.

The Cowboys acquired Jones from Tennessee last April for a fourth-round pick while he was under league suspension for multiple violations of the personal conduct policy. He was fully reinstated on Aug. 28 by the league after he was allowed to participate in the organized team activities, training camp and preseason games.

We played with the Devil and got burnt. I'm not saying Pacman is the devil. Go down to the local police department and read the police blotters and you'll see that. But we opened ourselves up to an unnecessary distraction when we should've been focused on football and it bit us in the butt. That's the Devil to me. Not being focused on the real reason we all come here: football.

I hope the burning sensation lingers a little bit.

We should learn from this.

Dallas Cowboys hire a new special teams coach

Tuna Helper — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 17:03:14 -0000

We had a lot of problems on special teams this year.

We lost a crucial game to the Cards on the first and last plays of the game. Pittsburgh had a critical punt return that keyed their comeback against us. We started the Philadelphia debacle (I think that's what I'm going to call that game from now on) with a special team mistake. Our kickoffs were too short and our punt return game was stagnant.

Bruce Read lost his job because of these failures.

Now it's Joe DeCamillis' turn to rectify our struggles on this unit. The DMN Blog and DC.com are reporting DeCamillis has been hired.

Wade Phillips' first sign of change is bringing in Joe DeCamillis as his special teams coach to replace Bruce Read.

Phillips and DeCamillis were assistants together in Denver and Atlanta.

DeCamillis spent the last two years as Jacksonville's special teams' coordinator. He has run special teams' units since 1993 with the New York Giants (1993-96) and Atlanta (1997-2006) before moving on to the Jaguars.

Jacksonville led the NFL in opponents' starting position after a kickoff (24.5) in 2008. Opposing teams averaged 19.9 yards per kick return and 8.1 yards per punt return, compared to the 21.3 yards per kick return and 10.5 yards per punt return the Cowboys allowed under Read.

Jacksonville's returners averaged 22.5 yards on kicks and 9.5 yards on punts. The Cowboys' averaged 22.2 yards per kick and 6.4 per punt.

Ware finishes second behind Harrison for Defensive Player of the Year

Tuna Helper — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 18:02:13 -0000

"DeMarcus Ware was cheated out of the Defensive Player of the Year by the Associated Press, who handed the trophy to James Harrison of the Pittsburgh Steelers."

This was my immediate reaction when I heard the news. Yes it's a bit childish but it was just my raw emotions.

After further review, I'm more understanding of the Harrison choice. SportingNews.com goes into greater detail.

NEW YORK (AP) -- James Harrison slams down the current version of the Steel Curtain better than any Pittsburgh Steeler, earning him The Associated Press 2008 Defensive Player of the Year award.
The linebacker who had a career-high 16 sacks, setting a team record, and led the NFL with a career-high seven forced fumbles, beat Dallas' DeMarcus Ware in balloting by a nationwide panel of 50 sports writers and broadcasters announced Monday. Pittsburgh defense was the league's stingiest in total defense, pass defense and points allowed. Harrison was its main hammer.

"That's something that everybody in the league would love to have, to be voted the top player in the league for that year," Harrison said. "In my mind, I think I do -- and it's going to sound boring -- what the defense allows me to do and what my teammates allow me to do."

Harrison earned 22 votes to 13 for Ware.

I think they make a pretty good case for Harrison. I'm going to make the case for Ware.

Ware had 20 sacks. Think about that. Twenty sacks on a team were no other player had double-digit sacks. On a team with no other dominant defensive players. Harrison has Troy Polamulu (73 tackles, 7 INTs) and LaMarr Woodley (60 tackles, 11.5 sacks). Ed Reed has Terrell Suggs and Ray Lewis. Ware is the center of every offensive team's gameplan. Every game. And there is no other dominant defensive player on the team to alleviate some of that pressure off of him.

Also, Ware's stats are comparable if not better. He has more sacks than Harrison and one less forced fumble than Harrison's league leading seven. True Harrison does have more tackles than Ware, but Ware has more solo tackles than Harrison. And Ware is in a division filled with dominant offensive lines and offensive lineman (Tra Thomas, Chris Samuels, Chris Snee, etc). Shoot, I think there's an equally persuasive argument that Reed (40 tackles, 9 INTs) is more deserving than Harrison.

It's not that I don't think Harrison deserves the award. He's had an awesome year and the Steelers defense is the best in the league. We found that out. But I just get the feeling that Ware lost votes because of our December swoon and that's not his fault. Not only that but the Steelers defensive prowess wasn't entirely Harrison's doing. He's part of a system that features dynamic players at every level. From where I'm sitting Ware has done more with little. And that deserves recognition too.

Coming to grips with reality

Tuna Helper — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 17:46:14 -0000

I did something I haven't done in a long time Sunday.

I turned off the TV on the 'Boys.

After Pacman's ill-advised fumble on a punt return, I knew it was over. The momentum of the game had gotten out of control. We couldn't stop them. We were self-destructing and I didn't want to spend the rest of my evening watching the Eagles laugh at us. I had too many beers to consume.

The most maddening aspect of that pathetic affair Sunday was the realization that the naysayers were right about us. I spent most of this year mocking and ridiculing journalists like Jean-Jacques Taylor, Skip Brainless, Jennifer Floyd Engel, Trey Wingo, Randy Galloway and others for their extreme pessimism toward the Cowboys. They seemed to go out of their way to rub in our faces after any loss and would always dismiss any significant victory as a prelude to disaster. I still believe that there were some outrageous things written and said about us. I haven't changed my mind about that.

I've also tried to talk extremely negative fans off the ledge. You know the type. "The season is over!" "Wade sucks!" "Romo is terrible!" All of this after any loss or any bad play. C'mon on guys. Have a little more faith.

But here's the thing though. They were right about a lot of things. Not everything. But certainly their criticisms was accurate in a lot of respects. Our season was filled more with drama than resiliency. T.O.'s character flaws seemed to overwhelm his value to our team. The Pacman Jones Experiment was an unmitigated disaster. Romo, again, wilted on the biggest stages when we needed him the most.

It hurts my heart to agree with these statements. I've spent months arguing against them. I've tried to be a pragmatist with a bent toward optimism. But that effort in that game at this time of the year has forced me to reevaluate. Don't get me wrong. I'm not jumping ship and I never will. I believe in Tony Romo, I still think T.O. can be productive in our system and I still believe Wade Phillips can turn things around. But my arguments seem hollow now. This season was a failure and an utter disappointment. Time to look in the mirror and repeat that old line from Parcells: "You are who you are."

Tony Romo is not a big-game QB and he is overrated

A tough quarterback? No question. A good quarterback? You bet. Pro-Bowl type QB? No doubt. More than 7,600 yards passing and 62 TDs in two years. Big-game QB? He's not. End of discussion. He's played well in big games but not the biggest. He's too careless with the ball. He doesn't command the respect of his teammates the way he should (but that might say as much about his teammates as anything else). This doesn't mean he won't be a Super Bowl-winning QB one day. He very well might be. And I'm certainly not giving up on him. Matt Hasselbeck seemed to mature into an efficient QB after some time. Hopefully Romo will too. But from where I sit right now the evidence is overwhelming.

T.O. was not an elite receiver this year and may never be again

It's a testament to how great his career has been that he's always compared to himself. Last year was one of the best season any receiver has ever had for our team. 81 catches, 1,355 yards, 15 TDs in 15 games. This year wasn't bad. 69 catches, 1,052 yards and 10 TDs. His statistics were solid. But he had problems with physical corners and double teams, something he's seen his whole career. One just wonders if he can ever replicate the typical All-Pro T.O. seasons. He is 35 and for the first time in a long time his drops seem to outnumber his big plays.

There were too many distractions and they did affect us

Pacman. Meeting-gate. Hard Knocks. T.O.'s interview with Stephen A. Smith. Jerry Jones speaking out of turn about MB3. I would've argued anybody up and down that these things were being blown out-of-context by the media. And they were. But players on good teams are smart enough to read the media, know their intentions and avoid the trap of the newscycle. We never learned that lesson and spent too much time talking about trivial things and not the team.

Our team was divided

Again, I hate drawing conclusions from intangibles. But if you look at the body language of our receivers during Sunday's game, they looked angry. There seemed to be a lot of complaining and not much communication. There was a lot of finger-pointing this year and not much accountability. The quotes from postgame interviews seemed to suggest our offensive playeyers lost faith in our system. Our defensive players were unhappy with their system until Phillips took hold of the playcalling in the middle of the season. We were never on the same page. Gentlemen, that's the definition of a divided team.

Phillips was not hard enough on them

Brian Stewart would have been fired on other teams. He was softly demoted on this one. Pacman couldn't get a gig on most other teams. He started for ours. Romo waived Wade Phillips off Sunday. Can you imagine him waiving off Jimmy Johnson? Cowher? Holmgren? Sigh. I like Wade and I think It's admirable that he sticks ups for everyone but one wonders when does he ever hold anyone accountable.

We were a soft team

Cincinnati gave us a run for our money and the Rams blew us out. Arizona beat us on a blocked punt in overtime. Who does that? Who loses like that? We did have big wins against the Redskins and the Giants. Duly noted. Nothing indicates how soft we were like the two backbreaking runs against the Ravens. Lorenzo Neal pancakes Bradie James. Marcus Spears is double-teamed and pushed yards out of the play. Tough teams laughed in our faces. They were offended that we were considered Super Bowl contenders and they weren't. They rose to the occasion and we were left yelling on the sideline about how open we were.

Roy E. Williams trade was ill-advised

At least in the short term. For what we gave up for RW2, we received very little in return. I still believe he can be a great player for us one day. But at the time, I thought it was a stroke of genius and would certainly give our offensive unit a jolt. It didn't happen.

What now?

So where does this leave us? Well it should lead to some self-reflection. I'm a big fan of the show "Intervention" and on that show addicts must first hit rock bottom before they can receive help. This is rock bottom for me. I thought losing at home last year to the Giants was it. No. Getting blown out in the most important game of the year is definitely it. Watching the Eagles treat us like Wisconsin in the Champs Sports Bowl is my breaking point. It doesn't get any lower than this.

There's no need to delude ourselves anymore. We need coaches that will challenge Tony Romo and not placate him. We need people with football pedigrees to be in Jerry Jones' ear and he needs to listen to them. Jones needs to defer to their judgment when it comes to bringing malcontents into our fold. We need to protect Romo and draft lineman accordingly. We need receivers that fight for him not quit on routes. We need coaches that will not accept habitual penalties (cough Flozell cough) and selfishness (cough T.O. cough). Players who violate these tenets should be benched or jettisoned. We need players who are subservient to the team, play hard and smart. We shouldn't have to compromise. Do it or move on.

We are not a player or two away from the Super Bowl. We are an attitude away from the Super Bowl. We need to change our identity and become more physical. There were glimpses of it this year. More of that please.

I still believe in the core of this team: Romo, Witten, MB3, Ware. But I'm not obsessed with the fantasy of our championship potential anymore. I'm living in the present. I'm dealing with reality. And the reality of the situation is we're a great story that entertains sports networks during the year and a cautionary tale come playoff time.

Sadly, sometimes the haters are right.

My belief system when it comes to the Cowboys

Tuna Helper — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 15:17:33 -0000

The more I think I know about the 'Boys the more I realize I don't know much guys.

This season has been full of the unexpected. We went from Super Bowl contenders, to bottom dwellers in the division, to hot team of the moment to fighting to make the playoffs.

So I'm not going to make any predictions about what's going to happen tomorrow. I have no idea. I'm obviously rooting for a Cowboy win. But I thought we'd beat the Giants, as I explained here, and I thought we'd lose to the Steelers (although I was pleasently surprised when we were on the cusp of winning that game). I also thought we'd smack the Rams and beat the Ravens (as I explained here). Yeah. Not so much.

I do believe certain things will take place though. I do believe there are certain inescapable realities all Cowboy fans are aware of. I've watched this team all year. I'm well aware of our strengths and weaknesses. I just don't know how we'll balance that dynamic from game-to-game. Will the things we do well carry us to victory? Or will our mistakes doom us to another heartbreak? We had penalties on the road against the Redskins, but Romo's playmaking and MB3's toughness overwhelmed those mistakes. Our defense played valiantly against the Steelers but our disconnect on offense was the deciding factor in that game.

These are the 10 things I believe will happen regardless of the outcome Sunday:

I believe Jason Witten will play and make plays

He's our most reliable receiver and always has been. He's just a tough-as-nails SOB. He's dealt with a myriad of injuries yet he keeps coming back.

I believe Romo will make plays and give us a chance to win

He always does. He plays well on the road and he's 8-4 as the starter this year. He was heating up toward the end of the Ravens game and I believe it will continue Sunday.

I believe Romo will throw an interception or otherwise have a turnover

He's one of the leaders in interceptions thrown this year. One of his few flaws is his proclivity to fumble or throw maddening picks. He's done it all year. It will continue

I believe Tashard Choice will have more than 100 yards in total offense

This guy continues to thrive against the best defenses in the league. He was oh-so-close from breaking a few runs against the Ravens.

I believe DeMarcus Ware will have a sack

This guy will find a way to get to the QB. He has all year and I don't see it stopping now.

I believe Flozell Adams will have a false start penalty and it will be critical

Talented guy that's overcome a lot in his career. But this is almost a given.

I believe we will have more penalties than the Eagles

We are one of the most penalized teams in the league. Hopefully it won't cost us a playoff spot.

I believe someone will be injured in this game

We're like the walking wounded. Everybody's dealing with injuries: Romo, Witten, MB3, Hamlin, KD, RW2 and the list goes on and on. I'm certain the injury Gods will forsake us again

Nick Folk will nail any critical FG

This guy's a stud and kept us in many games this year. If the game is on the line, so sorry for you Eagles fans. That's a wrap.

Our offensive line will allow pressure on Romo

We've had problems all year. There were definite problems in the Steelers, Ravens and Giants game. Some rushers will come free and Romo will have to make the play regardless.

Our season changed for the better once we started getting after the QB, something I wrote about here. This week is no different. If we put McNabb on his butt enough times we will be in the playoffs. We all know who's the best man for that job.

IRVING — DeMarcus Ware looks at Sunday’s game at Philadelphia with only getting to the playoffs on his mind.

Personally, though, Ware has plenty at stake.

Ware is three sacks from the single-season NFL record. And one more solid defensive performance also could help him cement the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award.

He doesn’t want to talk about the individual stuff, but it will greatly impact the team’s opportunity to make the playoffs. If the Dallas Cowboys are able to knock off the Eagles, Ware will likely need his fingerprints all over the performance.

So an individual goal could help reach a team goal.

"It will be really nice [to do both]," Ware said. "If you do one, the other one will follow."

Video version of Jerry Jones' diatribe just in case you haven't seen it (which I doubt). Rafael elaborates on the subject here. I don't know why the media refuses to believe this man (on a sidenote did you see Spags behind Jones? I'm starting to play the Where's Spags game during all Dallas pressers). He's pretty much said this all year. So we've had months of stories about Wade being on the hot seat and that has all been based on speculation.

I will say this. Tom Coughlin, who's team just won a Super Bowl, had a tumultuous and, I would argue, less successful start with the Giants than Wade has had with the 'Boys. He went 6-10 his first year and watched his team lose six out of its last seven games (due to rookie Eli Manning's struggles). He lost a home playoff game the following year and then dealt with Tiki Barber's criticism of his playcalling. The next year his team lost seven of their last nine games, which included going 2-3 in December. The media would also call the team "divided" due to Barber's antics. The next year he'd win the Super Bowl.

The fans and the media had been calling for Coughlin's head for years. I've seen the moniker "DieCoughlinDie" on many Giant fan blogs. They were talented but inconsistent, personalities seemed to clash in the lockerroom and they struggled at times in December. Sound familiar? Despite this general manager Ernie Accorsi and then Jerry Reese stuck with Coughlin, giving him the opportunity to finally prove he could do it.

Maybe Jerry's on to something.

Marcellus Wiley yells "Joe Juraszek! Off with his head!"

DeSean Jackson is fast, explosive (but not incendiary), brash and has dealt with the dropsies on more than one occassion. He deserves our attention because he's their best receiver (which is saying something) and he played well against us earlier this year.

The Jackson File
Strengths: Playmaker who possesses breakaway speed and is a dangerous deep threat. Also potential to be an elite NFL return man.

Weaknesses: Drops and brashness. He had four drops last week in the loss to Washington, including a potential game-tying touchdown catch in the final minute.

Season: Rookie

Size: 5-foot-10, 175 pounds

College: California

Who has to stop him? The Cowboys could employ a past strategy of using cornerback Terence Newman to shadown the opponent's top speed threat all over the field. Newman did that against Washington’s Santana Moss and Pittsburgh’s Santonio Holmes.

I hate to go back to the Ravens game but I'm still dumbfounded that Anthony Henry couldn't cover a one-armed man or that Marcus Spears could get pushed so far out of the play that he'd take out Bradie James. Or that James would get pancaked by a fullback. I won't even talk about Hamlin.

Sorry. I had to vent on that one.

Video of the Cowboys season, with an emphasis on more of our struggles than our successes. There has been ups and downs that's for sure. Hopefully we can end it on a high note.

Do we bring Tank Johnson back?

Romo's on everyone's mind: turnovers, pressure and getting RW2 involved

Tuna Helper — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 23:28:27 -0000

A lot of stories on Romo lately. He is always a magnet for criticism.

Here comes JJT to jump on the bandwagon. Like Grizz, I enjoy JJT's style of writing for the most part. But sometimes he veers off the reservation.

This story is one of the stories where he takes an inference and stretches it to limit. He said T.O. didn't know his plays based on scant evidence. He said T.O. was washed up based on declining numbers this year (then he looked like a fool the following week). Now he's saying Romo doesn't understand the advantage of taking care of the ball because of a comment he made after Saturday's loss.

I'd argue that Romo turns the ball over too much and any inference that comes with that. But he doesn't understand that throwing picks is a bad thing? Really?

Sigh. Again, this is an argument over a subjective thing. How do you know that? Have you crawled into his mind? Again, stick to the objective tangible things. He turns the ball over too much. That's fair. He doesn't understand turnovers are bad. Unfair.

Ok. I got one. JJT doesn't know the difference between football and flatulence. Numerous unnamed sources confirm this. Plus, we've never seen him explain the difference between the two. So it must be true.

In this video Emmitt Smith says goodbye to the stadium he broke records in. And in this video Steve Sabol gives us a proper send-off.

It wasn't the largest stadium or the loudest. But Sabol makes a good point: it was a symbol. A powerful symbol just like the star in the middle of the field. A symbol that defined a successful franchise and a proud state.

I'm gonna miss it.

If you ever need concrete evidence that some analysts do indeed hate the Dallas Cowboys, and this is not just a made-up conspiracy theory created by a legion of homers, feast your eyes on Cris "All-I-Do-Is-Catch-Touchdowns-and-Make-a-Fool-Out-of-Myself" Carter and his handiwork here.

"I'm gonna tell you something: If Dallas goes on a run like that, it's a discredit to team sports, it's a discredit to team unity," Carter said on ESPN Radio this morning. "I mean, it's a discredit to all the things that we sacrifice when we put together a football team.

One of my favorite movies is "Sling Blade" and this is one of the funniest scenes from the movie. I don't think it's intentionally meant to be funny. But it just is. Doyle, the movie's villian, is yelling and screaming. He assaults one of his friends and then he eventually gets beat up by a child.

Anyways, after an embarrassing, drunk diatribe, Doyle (played by country music star and Bakersfield adopted-son Dwight Yoakam) tries to explain himself. The signature line in this scene to me is Doyle saying "I'm hurtin', Linda." As if that's an excuse for acting like a jackass.

Well, gentlemen, we're hurtin'. We've got a lot of injuries. But that's no excuse to play as bad as we did in such a historic game Saturday. But it is the truth.

IRVING, Texas - Six days from the biggest game of their season, the Dallas Cowboys are as beat-up as ever. Facing an early playoff game, the Cowboys will need to get the most out of their injured players this week.

For some, that may mean continued rest during practice. Coach Wade Phillips said he wouldn't rethink holding certain banged-up players, like Ken Hamlin (foot) or Marion Barber (toe), out of practice simply because of the increased stakes. Barber didn't participate in any practices last week, and Hamlin was only listed as limited on Friday. The Cowboys entered Saturday's game against Baltimore with 13 players on the injury report, and none experienced any miraculous recovery over the weekend.

"I hold them out if they can't practice," Phillips said. "Certain guys get rest if they need rest to get their legs back, but we've had guys who can't practice."

While the Cowboys came out of the game with no new players hurt, some of the existing injuries may have gotten worse. Jason Witten hurt his ankle again on his touchdown catch near the end of the game, and the beating quarterback Tony Romo took throughout the contest couldn't have been good for his back. Barber came in for a series during the first half, but never returned.

Is there too much pressure on Tony Romo? Well, yeah. But it comes with the job. You knew this before you took it. Everyone knows this.

ROSS ROSE, MEMPHIS, TN: I hear people complaining about Tony Romo's poor play all the time. I think Romo has the potential to be the best quarterback this franchise has ever had. I just think too much is expected of him this early in his career. Your thoughts?

Nick: I would agree with that. Expectations are very high for him, but that goes along with being the quarterback of America's team and getting $67 million contracts. You're expected to play at a Pro Bowl level. I think for the most part, he does that. He's the reason the Cowboys have had so much success here lately. And even in the losses, he seems to get his team in a position to win the game. That's about all you can really ask for.

Mickey: Not sure how many more times we have to answer this. Peyton Manning, the No. 1 pick in the 1998 draft, did not win his first playoff game until his sixth season, having started 96 regular-season games. Romo will now start his 39th Sunday against the Eagles.

One of things I've noticed about our offense is that Romo really isn't in sync with the receivers. Either the ball is overthrown or underthrown. Or the receiver quits on the play (cough T.O. cough). Or there's a miscommunication on the route. Romo really doesn't seem to be on the same page with anybody not named Jason Witten. Injuries certainly have something to do with this as well as his bad pinkie. But it's still something that has hindered us and will continue to unless we do something about it.

I can see why this would frustrate the receivers. But it's no reason to not finish the route or drop the ball when it is thrown your way.

Roy Williams (RW2) seems to be trying. And although he's hurt, we know he can make plays. We paid a lot of money to get him. He seemed way too excited when we actually threw him the ball Saturday. He even seemed to motion toward Jason Garrett after one catch. This shows me he's frustrated that he's not more involved in the offense but he doesn't need to talk to Stephen A. Smith to express it. I like that.

So Romo could you do me this one solid? Get RW2 the ball. Please.

There is the built-in excuse that Tony Romo hasn't had much practice time with Williams.

"That's usually the case," Phillips said when asked whether the comfort level between QB and WR would significantly improve after a training camp together. "But we're going to try to utilize him. We certainly saw the best of him in the Tampa game when we threw it to him before the half for a touchdown. That was a big, big play for us in our season. He can make plays for us. We've just got to utilize him."

Amen.

Nevermore: Will Tony Romo deliver against the Ravens' D?

Tuna Helper — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 16:40:30 -0000

The spotlight is on Tony Romo. It always has been. But especially this year. The NFL Network crew looks at whether he's ready or not in this video. Rich Eisen, Sterling Sharpe and Warren Sapp provide analysis. Sharpe thinks he's ready. Sapp isn't so sure. He's also not ready to call our defense dominate just yet.

Shout out to rioplayer7 for his fanpost here.

Brad Sham gives his top three memories of Texas Stadium. Gotta love Brad. Tells it just like it is. If the 'Boys are playing like dogs, he says it. If we're playing well, he says that too without being too much of a homer. I wish I could hear his voice tonight for the last game.

TH's favorite Texas Stadium moment? My first and last time there. Watching grown man cry during this historic event. I actually got in trouble at my job for going to this game. But boy was it worth it.

There are so many subplots to this game it feels like a Quentin Tarantino movie. We've got the Ravens D v. the Cowboy O. We've got Tony Romo v. Joe Flacco. We've got DeMarcus Ware and the sack record. We've got the last game at Texas Stadium. And so much more.

DC.com does a good job of running down the line of all the major characters in this game with huge playoff implications.

BIG ISSUE: The Cowboys can clinch a playoff spot this week, as much of a long shot as that is, but they can't do it all by themselves. First, though, they need to beat the Ravens, who have never played at Texas Stadium. Then, they need one of the following scenarios to occur - a Philadelphia loss or tie against Washington, a Chicago loss or tie against Green Bay and an Atlanta loss at Minnesota; a Philadelphia loss or tie and a Chicago loss or tie and a Tampa Bay loss against San Diego; a Chicago loss or tie and a Tampa Bay loss and an Atlanta loss; or a Philadelphia loss or tie and an Atlanta loss and if Dallas clinches strength of victory tiebreaker over Chicago. If none of that happens, the Cowboys will still hold firmly onto a wild-card spot with a win, but will need a victory in Week 17 to clinch. Lose, and it's anybody's game, so this is a must-win for Dallas - again. Add in the extra motivation that comes along with playing the final game at Texas Stadium, and the Cowboys should be revved up for this one.

The Ravens are also fighting for a wild-card spot. Right now, Baltimore owns the sixth and final playoff spot in the AFC, holding tiebreakers over two other 9-5 teams - the Patriots and the Dolphins. The Jets, also at 9-5, may factor into the wild-card race if they lose the division lead. If the Ravens lose Saturday and those three teams win, it will be nigh impossible to gain a playoff spot with a week left in the season. If all those teams win, Baltimore would still have the head-to-head tiebreaker over Miami (which plays Kansans City), the strength of victory tiebreaker over the Jets (who play Seattle) and the conference record tiebreaker over the Patriots (who play the Cardinals).

I can't wait.

Uh oh, ladies and gentlemen. Do we have a fracas on our hands?

Seems like Clarence E. Hill got a little snippy when Randy Galloway called him out in his column. Galloway's main point was that T.O. should apologize to Ed Werder for calling him a liar (I still don't get that, Galloway says Marshall Faulk doesn't live in Dallas, the local media does, so we should believe the local media, but T.O. was in the meeting, Werder wasn't, so we should totally believe Werder, hunh?) Galloway basically gets on Hill for standing up for Owens, which is an unpardonable sin in his book.

But this is where it gets interesting: Hill blasts back at him (in his typical passive-aggressive way).

Now maybe we are playing the semantics game. But I think in the column I supported reasons why Owens might be bothered by the idea that Witten is the team's leading receiver. But jealous has a different connotation. You can have a problem with someone and I suppose be bothered by their success. But that doesn't mean you are jealous.
He also suggested that because I didn't attack Werder's information that I totally agreed with it. Well, if truth be told no other writer on the beat wrote articles supporting Werder's information either. Usually, when a story breaks, news organizations will try to get sources to get their own story on the issue. Now we were the first one's to report that Owens and receivers Patrick Crayton and Roy Williams had meetings with offensive coordinator Jason Garrett about their belief that quarterback Tony Romo was throwing too much to Witten and not looking for the open receiver.

But no one from the Star-Telegram or the DMN followed Werder's "jealous" and "team divided" angle. The only story we followed was the controversy the initial story caused and the team angle that it was overblown. So should we draw any conclusion from that?

Lordy Lord I've been waiting for someone to say that. The news in the story was the meeting not the jealous angle. Jealousy is an intangible subjective thing while reporting is supposed to recount objective tangibles. How do you know someone's jealous? Particularly if you were not there?

Hill is a nice guy so he tries to play peacemaker in the end. But I'm glad he stood up to Galloway.

ESPN stops their over-the-top T.O.-bashing for a second to preview today's game. In this video Trent Dilfer, a cautionary tale to most quarterbacks and a disgrace to bus drivers everywhere, does the analysis with Mike Golic, who both think the Cowboys will win. Matthew Bery tells you to bench Jason Witten because the Ravens defend well against tight ends (I say, at this point in the season, play your studs regardless, just my personal philosophy).

The NFL Network also previews the game in this video. Eisen and Sharpe are joined by Adam Schefter. Apparently there will be cameras following T.O., Romo, Ray Lewis, Joe Flacco and Ware. A game full of stars needs extra facetime, I guess. The topic of discussion was the Ravens D (of course) and Romo. Will the Ravens D -- after being outplayed in its five losses -- finally shut down a big-play offense? Will Tony Romo finally prove he can win a big game? I guess this game and this game and this game don't count.

D-Ware has got to be licking his chops with the Ravens' O-line problems. Don't look at me for any sympathy. I've been holding candlelight vigils for Montrae Holland all week.

We are NOT the Giants ...

Tuna Helper — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 15:26:59 -0000

Columnist Adam Schein goes where I think a lot of people will go in the near future. This year's Cowboys are a replica of last's year's Giants.

1. Dallas = New York

The Dallas Cowboys could be the Giants from a year ago.

That's right.

The Cowboys, assuming they are done fighting amongst each other, can still go to the Super Bowl because of their defense and star power on offense.

That is, of course, if they make the playoffs.

Dallas' defense is finally clicking. DeMarcus Ware had three of the eight sacks against Eli Manning on Sunday night. Fellow linebackers Greg Ellis, Bradie James and Zach Thomas have been playing great ball. Terrence Newman is back and playing at a Pro Bowl level. Jay Ratliff is the most underrated defensive tackle in the game.

I see the argument. We have a defense with a fierce pass rush, a much-maligned quarterback, an emerging rushing attack and a coach on the hot seat supposedly.

But I just don't think football karma works like that. We definitely have a shot. Four wildcard teams have won the Super Bowl since 1998. But if we do I don't think it will resemble the Giants Super Bowl run. No Super Bowl run is a template. They're all unique, hair-raising, lucky in some respects and special. It takes a talented team with commitment and heart. We can do it. But it won't be like the Giants.

I say this because we don't win like the Giants. I wish we did. Eli Manning is best when he doesn't make mistakes and their defense creates pressure and causes turnovers. Last year they beat up teams with their running game and pass rush and then made enough plays to win it in the end. They won their last three playoff games by a combined 10 points. This year they've been more explosive (except, say, a few days ago, when they were manhandled by the 'Boys!)

If we have a Super Bowl run, it will not be like that. Romo isn't a bus driver. He makes plays but he also gives up plays. Our offense, even on a bad day, can put up a lot of points on opposing defenses. If MB3 can't shake this injury, our running game goes from punishing and powerful to quick, deceptive and effective with Tashard Choice.

So give it a rest, guys. I get it. A lot of times journalism is about spotting trends. Situation A looks like Situation B thus what happened in A will happen to B. It's textbook. Many times it's very effective and I appreciate it. I realize it's a compliment.

But this time I'm going to have to take a pass. We are our own team with our own qualities, quirks, strengths and weaknesses. Let us make our own mark before you tranpose someone else's accomplishments on us.

Let us win this thing our own way.

NFL Films does us all a favor and features the Cowboys and the Giants in the Game of the Week video. Complete with dramatic music and spliced commentary. Beautiful stuff.

Shout out to MrMinority and his fanpost here.

Great video on how the Cowboys exploited matchups to attack the Giants' vaunted offensive line.

Our defense is like Firefly Beach in Negril: it's turning heads and making a name for itself. Similar to the type of attention these girls get everywhere they go.

"If we can continue to play like we've been playing, we feel like it's enough to get us where we want to be," said defensive end Marcus Spears, himself a big reason the Cowboys have been so successful shutting down the run, which they've done so well in the recent turnaround. "We always felt we were a big part of what we do here as a team. You can't get into a situation where you feel you can get lax because your offense can score points . . . We want to be the best. That's the bottom line."

The win over Tampa showed how dominant the Cowboys can be when they stop opposing running games, as they held Bucs running back Earnest Graham to just 42 yards on 17 carries. The next week, New York's Brandon Jacobs went for 117 yards on the ground, and the Cowboys went into their bye week with a chance to re-prioritize.

Since then, they've held each opponent's top runner in check.

Pro Bowler Clinton Portis had just 68 yards, Frank Gore only 26, Julius Jones 37, Willie Parker just 25 and Derrick Ward had 64. Nothing special there.

"Once you realize they are not going to be able to run the football on you, you can take more chances," Phillips said. "You can attack more, you can go up the field more, you can make calls where (you) are pass rushing and reacting to the run rather than just the regular run recognition and recognizing pass."

The Baltimore offense? Well, their kind of like if your Dad went to the beach with nothing but a towel. Not. Pretty.

Wade and Romo talk to the Baltimore media.

T.O. and Roy Williams in this video talking about the Pro Bowl and the last game at Texas Stadium. If you look close you can see Calvin Watkins of the DMN, Clarence E. Hill of the Star-Telegram and Spags. Man. Spags is short!

If you enjoy ... You know what. I was going to try and write something witty about Galloway and JFE and this video but I just can't. Straight up. It's just a video of them full of a hatred. That's pretty much it. Wade can't coach, T.O. is evil (seriously) and everybody is clueless but them. I'm sure somebody appreciates their schtick. Yeah. Um. Not me. Reminds me of this song.

If you forgot that DeMarcus Ware is from Alabama, here's a good video to remind you. This video shows him during the Seattle game and his having so much fun you can just here the country boy coming out. Reminds me of this.

Apologize to Uneasy Ed Werder? Yeah. That ain't happening. Reminds me of this. I can hear T.O. playing this song on his IPod whenever Werder comes close