Football Guys 24/7

Ode to Nick Folk

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 17:11:00 +0000

Nick Folk kicked the ball very well
Until he started missing a lot
The Cowboys got tired of it
And then they fired him
and hired sean suisham instead

Sorry, not my best "Ode" I've ever written, I must've missed a few rhymes and missed on a few syllables...oddly appropriate though.

Anyway, the ode tells all, the Cowboys have officially fired Nick Folk. I already miss him. Like I said in my last entry, I still love the guy for that Buffalo game a year or two ago. Anyway Nick, in all seriousness, you kicked well, but in the strange world of kicking, when you start missing like that, I think it's better for the team and your self esteem that we just break it off now. Nick Folk was 18-28 and had missed more field goals than any kicker in the league at the start of last game, and though he said he'd be open for a return, I think it's safe to say the Cowboys are looking to go in a different direction. We've picked up the former Redskins kicker Sean Suisham, who I am struggling to find stats for because he's been out of football and is no longer included in the NFL databases (bad sign?) Anyway, hopefully he'll be able to step up and make some field goals against his old team. More about the rivalry game this weekend after Christmas, check back later. Merry Christmas everyone!

I'm BACK!

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 04:42:00 +0000

Hiatus? Please, I just had to battle through exams, which was quite a struggle, but now, beautiful, wonderful, dear readership, I, Blake, have returned. To right the ship, to save Zion, to stop Al Capone, to bring balance to the force, or, without poetic license, to continue writing for this fantabulous blog.
So Cowboys fans...news, I suppose that's what I should write about, that's generally what you guys would like to hear yes? So news, I need news, lets see, what's been going on with the Cowboys, perhaps that Tony Romo is the new holder for the hapless Nick "can't kick the ball between two sticks" Folk (I know I know but Folk is a tough word to rhyme with if you pronounce the L, now Fok...you've got choke, croak, stuff like that, but I just don't feel good with a slant rhyme, he needs to go down with some dignity). Or that, O wait, that's right...sorry I've been outta practice on the blog for awhile...
WE JUST BEAT THE UNDEFEATED NEW ORLEANS SAINTS!!!
Ok ok I'm done being ridiculous, I'll get down to the meat and potatoes of the game, you guys can only read my obnoxious fluff for so long:
Overall impressions of the game:
The Cowboys looked like, believe it or not, a fairly well coached team tonight. The offense FINALLY played to the game plan everyone has been waiting for, the run setting up the pass gameplan with Tony being allowed to make plays while the running game ate up yardage and time, winning the time of possession battle. It was a beautiful sight. Also the defense was flying around, making tackles, creating turnovers (which is huge against a team like the Saints) and maintaining pressure on Brees all night. Not to mention the lead we had turned New Orleans into a one-dimensional passing team with early scores, which is much easier to defend then when they can dictate the game to you and maintain a balanced offense. It all fell into place for the Cowboys tonight, and we beat one of the two undefeated teams in the NFL, lets hope they keep this train a'rollin.
Offensive Perspective:
The offense looked really balanced tonight, without any turnovers. We had 145 yards rushing and 294 net yards passing. We had 36:26 minutes of possession, and we were 8/15 on 3rd down, 53% (the Saints third down percentage coming soon, stay tuned, it's Bla-key's to the win). Tony Romo played incredibly well, with the passing yards shown above and completing 22 of 34 pass attempts. Felix Jones was finally used in full drives, making it less obvious when we were going to try and turn him loose, and Marion Barber being rested with true time splitting and being able to truly push some people around, looking like the predator of old. O and thank goodness for Miles Austin. But yes, all in all a great effort.
POG: Tony Romo
FOG: Roy Williams...could use a lil' more outta ya buddy, but then again, you are a UT grad, what can we really expect.
Defensive Perspective:
The defense played great, holding one of the leagues most prolific offenses to only 17 points. The Saints had only 65 yards rushing, though they did have 271 yards passing, but they are the Saints, that's a less than average passing performance for them. They also were able to pick Drew Brees off once, were able to sack him 4 times for 27 yards, and caused 2 fumbles (thank goodness D Ware was ready for this game), and most of all, on 3rd downs the Saints were only 1 of 7. An old coach of mine once told me that to win, you have to win the 3rd down battle, if that's the case, that was utter domination tonight by our Boys. They had a slight let up when the Saints went on their run, but all in all they came up when they needed to, which hasn't happened in awhile and was nice to see.
POG: Demarcus Ware caused both fumbles, he is so very key to the Cowboys success
FOG: Poor Nick Folk, you're still a hero in my book from that Buffalo game, but I think it's time we move on, he just cannot kick any more, the confidence is gone, and that's tough for a kicker to get back.

Hiatus

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Thomas) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 05:23:00 +0000

Looks like we were the last to know we are on hiatus - BUT WE ARE!
Me and Blake will be back to our vernacular spectacular here at Dallas Football Guys in the Spring Semester, to cover the playoffs
But for all things December Swoon Related, check out other great 'Boys Blogs. Like Blogging the Boys. Or other things. See you in January

Orlando Scandrick the man, the myth...if only he was a myth

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:50:00 +0000

So I went to the Cowboys website and read an article pointing to 5 big plays that lead to the Cowboys loss. How you can point to five plays and assume we would've won is ridiculous, but that's not where I'm going with this. Where I am going is the comments made after the article. People calling for Jason Garret's head to Choice should get Felix's carries to "why does Flozell still start?" The comments were riddled with fans who complained about anything and everything they could, so in an attempt to help you, our wonderful reader, to sound like an educated person and not the idiots online, I offer you this, the top 5 things to complain about after a game like what you saw in Green Bay, along with a few high points to take away.

1.) It was stunning how FEW complaints I saw directed at Orlando Scandrick. There's no stat that I could find concerning which man in coverage was thrown at the most, but my intuition and my memory states that O.S. was the weak link in the defense by a long shot. It was stunning how often Green Bay was able to find open receivers when Orlando was in coverage. My money is that he had a big hand in the loss and he blew the game for us. Plenty more had to go wrong of course, but he was the catalyst that allowed Green Bay to go on all those huge time consuming drives.

2.) Injuries are tough on a team. They practice for them, but when an offensive line loses two players in the course of a game, they will play worse. The offensive line and the teamwork and chemistry they need to have together to be successful is an extremely under-rated point in football. Also our offensive lineman are huge and strong., unfortunately that costs them in the quickness category. The pass rushers that do well against us are speed pash rushers who use quick moves to get around our linemen. Green Bay put on a clinic for that, they were our kryptonite on Sunday.

3.) This was a must win game for Green Bay. That's how they approached it and that's how they played it. We didn't play to a high enough level to compete with them. This was shown in our focus during the game. Penalties will kill a team, and though some were questionable, that was how the game was called. Tough luck. Our level of intensity and focus did not match theirs, and it cost us.

4.) Romo was unable to get into a groove. Our offense was barely on the field, and our receivers made quite a few bone head plays costing us big yardage (Roy Williams letting the ball hit him in the helmet). If the quarterback ain't happy, ain't nobody happy, and you saw that happen yesterday.

5.) Our running game is struggling big time. I'm not sure why, but it's happening. I am considering pointing the finger at Jason Garrett in that he doesn't call enough run plays, but I think on Sunday it was more that we needed to score and therefore couldn't call run plays. Still, Green Bay utilized the run to coast to a victory, I would love to see the Cowboys do that just once.

6.) Did I mention Orlando Scandrick, because I cannot stress enough how poorly he played and how much he cost this team.

Preview for the Cowboys vs those hated Eagles

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 19:22:00 +0000

Ok before I start, I feel like I have to point out that a rare something has occurred. Sam, my P.I.C., and I agree on the Roy Williams bit he just wrote. That being said, I feel like I have to make a point, and that's that both the Eagles and the Cowboys quarterbacks play infinitely better when they have players that can stretch the field. The speedy Miles Austin can do this, and the incredibly speedy DeSean Jackson does this as well. Romo really didn't play this well before Austin became the #2(#1?) receiver. The Eagles have made a career out of drafting fast receivers for this reason, that speed stretches the field, and if that happens D McNeezy (Donovan McNabb) plays infinitely better, so its spare receivers who have speed that both quarterbacks can work with. Anyway, well written Sam, now on to my preview with Blake's patented Bla-Key's to the Game.

Ahhh...Sunday night. I LOVE Sunday Night games, though maybe it's just because of the Faith Hill intros. I'm not sure. Actually I am sure. I love the Sunday night games because they just have a more exciting atmosphere, and even though it's just another regular season game, it feels like there's more on the line. This week though, that might be the case.

This is a division game, which means as far as playoff hopes for both teams are concerned, it's huge.

This is a battle for first place in the division, which makes it an even bigger deal.

This is a repeat of the game that shall not be named last year, that last one, I think we lost, not sure by how much, I try and block it from my memory.

Now that you understand the stakes, lets discuss...
Bla-Key's to the Game:
1.) Run, Run, Run. The Eagles have a good defense, and you want to know how you nullify that? You run the ball up and down the field. It'll wear em down and slow down the pass rush, opening things up downfield for the man who can run Miles (I must be like the millionth guy to make that joke, note to self, thing of a good Austin pun)

2.) Please, for the love of all things good and holy, sack Donovan McNabb. If he escapes the grasp of one more freaking Cowboys defensive lineman I might just lose my mind. D Ware, go get yourself some McNeezy.

3.) The capital of Texas needs to be the capital of our offense. There, I did it, it's done. What I mean to say is we need to attack the Eagles with Miles Austin. The kid can play, it's no fluke, now get after that Eagles secondary Miles.

4.) Tony needs to play better than his counterpart McNabb. Sam hit it on the head. They either have good games or bad games and it affects the entire team. Tony, it's your time on a big stage.

5.) Jimmy Johnson's old motto was win 2/3 of the phases of the game, defense, offense, and special teams and you'll win the game. Our special teams are rolling, and I believe our defense can stop their running and our running can stop their defense, if that happens, we'll be looking at a Cowboys victory.

There it is, the Bla-Key's to the Game. Thanks for listening, and GO COWBOYS!

Roy E. Williams, and why he does not matter

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Thomas) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:29:00 +0000

You ready for this?

Because the Cowboys don't need him. And why?

Get ready for this, because it may hurt a little.

Because Tony Romo is turning out to a little bit like the feared Donovan McNabb.

No! No, you say, it couldn't be! But its true. Romo is currently operating in a rarefied level; He alone decides how he plays. If he has a 300 yard game, its his success. If he has a 2 Int game, its on him. The emergence of Miles to go has coalesced the idea in my mind, I guess: it just doesn't matter who this guy throws to, he'll be good if hes good and bad if hes bad, no matter the receiver.

This is a fact, guys. Put it on the board.

In all his years with the Eagles, McNabb has only had one year with an elite receiver (T.O.), and it was a good year. But he had an almost as good year with the spare Donte Stallworth, and hes currently making DeSean Jackson look like the second coming of Steve Smith. Anyone remember their speedy white receiver, Kevin Curtis? Or Reggie Brown? They have both fallen to off the depth chart to the fourth and fifth spots, respectively. And these have been some of his top receivers! The thing is, no one is surprised when three guys have 800 yards for the Eagles, because people expect it. Now that T.O. is gone, his marriage to Tony Romo's success will make it more apparent that the receivers in Dallas benefit from the system and from Romo, and that none of them are really essential to Tony's game (even Witten).

Cowboys 38, Seahawks 17

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Thomas) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 21:30:00 +0000

Yeah! Cowboys! Good Job! We approve of you here at Dallas Football Guys!

Some observations:

If you thought that Miles Austin's last few games were an aberration, you learned today that you were wrong; He caught the most balls and he had the most targets, but, more importantly, he was Tony Romo's target at the goal line, and the Jason Garrett's choice as well. That says more about the team's confidence in him than anything else. Let's face it: sometimes Monmouth has better wide receivers than Texas. I guess it is just a fact.
Speaking of Romo, how about those numbers? Another 3 touchdown game, and no Tony Romo Interceptions! How about that! Our little padiwan is coming along so nicely.
DeMarcus Ware looked pretty fierce. Only one sack, but I'd say he is certainly worth the $78 million.
No picks. That is too bad
Felix Jones should be the starter. Marion "the Barbarian" Barber is a closer. Can we just remind everyone of that? He's not a 1500 yard back. He just isn't. His career average is just 4.3 yards. We know Jones hits home runs. Let him.
I love Patrick Crayton as the punt returner. Its not often a starter plays on special teams, or plays so well.
Without the fumbles, is this a different game? Maybe. The Seahawks weren't bad, in fact, Hassleback looked pretty good. And fumbles come and go.

Let's feel good about the game though. It was a thumpin'. The Seahawks last touchdown came in garbage time, and the defense looked good. So did the offense. And though they are still third in the division, they are just one win away from leading it (Though the Eagles had a fear-inspiring win against the Giants as they took control of the division. Dreaded and feared indeed.)

Cowboys vs. Seahawks: An In-Game Preview

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Thomas) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 18:12:00 +0000

Hey there Dallas Football Guys Readers, it is time now again for the weekly Cowboys Preview.
A HUGE grudge match game for the Cowboys, as they take on their ARCH rival, former Cowboys second round bust Julius Jones, who is now the current Seahawks' running back. Yep, who would have thought that vengeance would be at stake when the Cowboys take on the Seahawks? The only real problem that I have is that this game reminds me that Jerry Jones, in his infinite wisdom as general manager, decided that it wasn't worth it to take Stephen Jackson when he was on the board, because Jules was going to be just as good. Another great example of why Jerry Jones is not a good talent evaluator for the skill positions. Roy E. Williams? No. Julius Jones? No. And if you think that it was Jerry who got Miles Austin, Jason Witten, or Marion "We are contractually mandated to insert 'the Barbarian'" Barber, who were all 3rd round picks or lower, you're wrong.

Anyway.... Who will do well? Tony Romo. Is Matt Hassleback dangerous through six games? He is.

Will that matter to the train that is Miles Austin? No.

Cowboys 28, Seahawks 10

The Cowboys in the first trimester

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Thomas) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:04:00 +0000

Ahhh, the first trimester (or a little more. I know, I know, its a sixteen game season, but whatever, I'm gonna say trimester). And what have we learned about the Cowboys and, by extension, the NFC East and NFC as a whole?

Well, who are the top teams in the NFC?

1. The Saints

2. The Vikings

3. The ...????

The Cowboys? Eagles? Cardinals? Giants?

Thats the thing with the NFC, right now... the top of the Division is set, with the Vikings and Saints as the best teams by far. But after that its still up in the air, and realistically, any of the teams I just mentioned could be the third best team. But we just don't know. Its like.... its like when you're at a party, and theres a group of really hot girls there, and then there are the two who are definitely WAY hotter than the rest of their friends. But then you try to rank the rest, and its hard. Its hard to rank the rest until you dance with each of them on the dance floor.

Thats what its like. Thats exactly what its like.

So, stuff we've learned about the Cowboys.

1. Miles Austin, Greatness- Who knew? Some people, actually. Austin was rated the number one most likely player to break out by those fine folks over at Football Outsiders, and were they ever right. For some reason the big, rangy Monmouth product has become the new Jerry Rice. Actually, forget Rice. He is the new G.O.A.T. Too soon, you say? NO! NOT SOON ENOUGH. Now, you may say I had the same over-reaction to Drew Bennett's monster three game stretch from weeks 13-15 in 2004.

But this time, its for real. Honest!

2. Tony Romo, Padiwan Extrodinare- Tony has really had some good games this season. He also played the Broncos. Its still hard to say where he is in terms of big games, but hes still the loveable galoot we always knew he was. Galoot on, my young Apprentice. Galoot on.

3. We should just start Felix Jones- Again, Felix Jones is the Cowboys best running back right now. Seriously. He's the most complete back, and the most explosive back, and every carry we give to Marion Barber III is a carry that could be given to Felix. Another thing- Marion was a great closer a few years ago, and a great goal line back. Felix, on the other hand, starts off games as an electric, home-run hitting back. His style doesn't punish the defense; he just beats them with his athleticism.

4. The defense; what up with that?- Sure, some people have been doing well lately (DeMarcus Ware comes to mind), but the great 46.6" (Gerald Sensebaugh) has not yet become the leaping over defenders presence that I've always wanted him to be. And the Corners are "adequate". But at least were getting picks! No sacks though, and the defense as a whole is middle of the pack, coming in at number 14 in scoring defense, and number 22 in yardage defense. A very "meh" unit.

5. Jason Garrett, average- yeah I said it!

And now, for your audio recommendation of the week:

The Bugle: John Oliver and Andy Zaltzman host this program, and it is freaking hilarious. Its like getting smacked in the face with the British Equivalent of Comedy (Probably Comedre? I don't know. Crazy British)

Check that stuff out here.

And Video:

A Vodka Movie by Zach, Tim, and Eric

Zach Galifianakis joins Tim and Eric. That all you need to know to know its awesome. Theres three parts, I'll just embed the first part:

Miles Austin: Man or God? And John Mattone

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Thomas) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:52:00 +0000

Miles Austin went to Monmouth University. Besides the obvious "whatever happens at Monmouth stays in Monmouth" jokes (they are so cliche now (as is, strangely, that phrase)). Now, I know what you are thinking. Monmouth? But listen, Monmouth has famous alumni, according to Wikipedia; besides Mr. Austin, these laudatory figures were listed

Stephanie LaGrossa, reality show contestant was featured on Survivor: Palau and Survivor: Guatemala

Katie Gallagher, reality show contestant runner up on Survivor: Palau

John Mattone, RVP of Enterprise Rent-A-Car

You know your college has hit it big time when your most famous alumni is Miles Austin, and your other famous alumni are two -- TWO -- survivor contestants and one John, Mattone, a REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENT AT ENTERPRISE RENT-A-CAR.

What does Mr. Mattone do? HE WRITES PEER REVIEWS ON LINKEDiN!

And he donated $200 to the PAC of Enterprise Rent-a-car.

This raises some interesting questions:

1. Enterprise has a PAC? What the hell? Really? What do they lobby for? Laws that require other car companies to specify that they will not be picking you up?

2. Who is this Tiffany, and where can I hire her? She sounds so hard working.

Actually, according to that PAC statement, he no longer works for Enterprise. WIKIPEDIA IS WRONG AGAIN!

Also, those survivor girls?

One of these is not a girl. Also, not bad, Monmouth.

So what have we learned about Monmouth, and, by extension, the Savior-that-is-Miles-Austin?
Some hot girls went there. So did John Mattone. And if I have to hear anyone else say "Miles to go before you sleep" again, I'll freaking kill somebody.

And just because I love you, and I've been talking about Death Proof:

Dallas Cowboys vs Atlanta Falcons

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 06:46:00 +0000

I'm going to make this short and sweet:
Keys to victory
1) The Cowboys need to establish the run.
2) They need to pressure Matt Ryan.
3) They need to stop Michael Turner.
Keys to a loss
1) Poor special teams play.
2) Let the Falcons run all over them.
3) Force Romo to make too many plays.

The Cowboys say bye to a lack of leadership

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 22:28:00 +0000

First of all, let me say I'm sorry for not writing a post til now. I'm not sure what Sam's excuse is (I'm sure it's a good one), but things have been tough in the life of Blake, and with the Cowboys sitting on a bye this week, I thought I would take one too. That said, it's time to dust off the keyboard, buckle down, and write some football gold for my wonderful readers.

Part 1.) People have been asking me, Blake, what's wrong with the Cowboys, Romo? coaching? We barely inched out a win against Kansas City, please Blake, please tell us so that we can rest easy at night instead of tossing and turning trying to determine the answer to this great puzzle.

Well, readers, without further ado, the problem with the Cowboys is, like I said the last time I discussed it, their lack of an identity. I have a theory that when the chips are down, a teams identity will shine through. If it doesn't, they don't know what it is. The way you can recognize this is simply watching a team at the end of a close game. What(who) do they turn to? What player or group of players understands that it's time to step up, defense, offense? Then the coaches need to recognize that these players can take the heat, and they need to call their numbers. Don't believe me? What do the Colt's do? The Patriots? You think the Vikings would hesitate in handing the ball off to Peterson? Does Ray Lewis shy away from pressure for the Ravens? These teams know their identity, and they win games because of it. I'm still not sure the Cowboys know what they do. The unfortunate thing is this takes games, it's not something you can learn in practice, the fortunate thing is we have a few really excellent options. A stud running game, a good quarterback (I promise), and a defense that has some blossoming leaders. Which will arise? My money is the running game supplemented by the other two, but only time will tell.

Part 2.) What leadership do you see being addressed during the bye?

To address the title, Keith Brooking is slowly becoming the heart of this team. At 34, and after playing all his ball in Georgia, he's finally come to Texas, and his leadership is shining through. He called the team out before the Kansas City game saying they need to be "desperate", and has been performing too. From making a huge stop against I think the Broncos and headbutting the coach about it, to running the length of the sidelines with Miles Austin during his game winning touchdown catch against Kansas City, mention Keith, and a smile is sure to follow from any Cowboy. Mark my words, if this team has a turnaround, and things start to go the Cowboys way, Keith will be at the middle of it. Next game, keep your eye on him and what he does for the team, and you'll be smiling too. More about Keith coming soon, but I wanted to call to your attention his greatness, and hopefully get you excited for next weeks game against the Falcons, I promise you he's excited (he played his whole career for them until now). Signing off, I'm Blake, and have a wonderful day.

Cowboys pregame show

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 06:37:00 +0000

The Cowboys are playing the 0-4 Chiefs tomorrow. I could break down plenty of things. The Cowboys receiving corps, the Chiefs inability to win, I could go on and on and on breaking down a football game before its played and try and explain why one team should win over another, but that would be a waste of time when the obvious needs to be said. The truth is the Cowboys NEED to win the game tomorrow, they need to play desperate, and they need to find whatever way they can to do it. Cowboys, please, o please, win tomorrow, or I will lose a great deal of faith in you. What I'm trying to say is, the Cowboys need to find a way to win, this is something they've failed to do in recent weeks. They need to take the bull by the horns and force a win out of the game tomorrow. No matter what happens, run, pass, defense, or special teams, we're better then the Chiefs, and we need to realize that and win. Please o please Cowboys win.

NFL predictions- Blake

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 06:15:00 +0000

Cleveland at Buffalo-- Buffalo
--A battle of teams that really are struggling this season, Buffalo will win simply on talent, even if that talent is wildly underutilized. Advantage Buffalo.
Dallas at Kansas City-- Dallas
--I wouldn't be much of a Cowboys blogger if I chose Kansas City, but they've also gone 0-4 this season, please o please Cowboys, win this game.
Minnesota at St. Louis-- Minnesota
--Adrian Peterson? Chil' please.
Oakland at New York Giants-- Giants
--Oakland perpetually sucks, and even though E. Manning has a "hurt" heel, he'll be fine and so will the team, congrats NY, you've got two pretty good teams right now.
Tampa Bay at Philadelphia-- Philadelphia
--Maybe the best managed franchise in the NFL, the Eagles injuries affect them maybe least of any team in the NFL, the Raiders might be the worst managed franchise movie in the NFL, the Eagles win this game easy.
Pittsburgh at Detroit-- Pittsburgh
--HAHHAAHAHAH Detroit? HAHAHAHAHAHA....no seriously though, Pittsburgh's winning big time.
Washington at Carolina-- Washington
--This is tough, because both teams are struggling this season. Washington will win though, because they're slightly better organized then those Panthers, congrats Washington, go get yourselves a win.
Cincinnati at Baltimore-- Baltimore
--Though Cincy is throwing down some sweet upsets, Baltimore is just too explosive. Baltimore wins this game with easy.
Atlanta at San Francisco-- Atlanta
--Holly says Atlanta will win, and although San Fran will throw down a sweet defensive struggle, the Falcons will put up a strong offensive showing to lead them to a win.
Jacksonville at Seattle-- Jacksonville
--Jacksonville has a strong running game, Seattle has a weak running game. Jacksonville is going to win this game because of that.
Houston at Arizona-- Houston
--Houston has a surprisingly explosive offense that will have a good showing Sunday. Expect what I consider an upset with Houston putting up somewhere around a 3 point win.
New England at Denver-- New England
--Tom Brady+Randy Moss finally equals success again. Expect a fun game this weekend, but not a huge win. The Pats win by a small margin, but win nonetheless.
Indianapolis at Tennessee-- Indianapolis
--The Colts have Peyton Manning. Game, Colts.
NY Jets at Miami-- Miami
--Those poor Dolphins have had too many unfortunate losses recently, they'll just squeak out a win on Monday night, sorry Jets, I love you but its not your week.

Will the real Cowboys please show up

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 16:31:00 +0000

So we lost to the Broncos yesterday, and this is the first time I was really disturbed by the play I saw on the field. The first three weeks, they had two wins and a loss, and I felt o.k., I kept feeling like the Cowboys would get it together. Four weeks into the season though, and the excuses are dwindling. You can nitpick and argue the play calling sucked, you can say we didn't have Felix Jones, arguably our biggest play guy, and you can say Tony made some pretty poor throws yesterday. Each of those statements have merit, and we could argue about them for a long time, but I think the biggest problem the Cowboys face is that honestly, they don't know whats wrong with them. Football is a team game, and right now, this team lacks confidence.
1.) What exactly are the Cowboys? When the chips are down, what do they do?
I don't know.
2.) Do they rely on their defense?
I wish I could say yes because they played a pretty good game, but no, the defense was unable to make a big stop when it counted. Inconsistent play hurt us.
3.) Do they rely on the run?
Honestly, no. We run the ball extremely well, but we don't look like a running team. The Steelers are a running team, the Giants are a running team, we don't utilize the run like they do, so I don't believe we are a running team.
4.) Do we give the ball to Tony and ask him to win the game?
He can't seem to do that, he seems to be too inconsistent, and throwing at Champ Bailey twice when you need a touchdown is just idiotic. He probably gave the receiver the inside release simply to bait Tony into throwing his way twice so he could ensure that the Cowboys wouldn't score, he's that good.

Football analysts always talk about, "what is this team? What's their identity?" and I used to shrug my shoulders, chuckle, and say, "a football team, why does identity matter?" I was young and foolish then (and apparently someone who talked to the t.v.). Your identity is who you are, and football teams have them just like people, and without them, you're lost. This team cannot make sense of what it is they're supposed to do well, and it has everyone running around like they're chickens with their heads cut off. When the chips are down, the Cowboys fail to make plays. That's their identity right now. Don't believe me? Ask Roy Williams.
Even Roy Williams doesn't know what they do.
"I do not know what my role is. I’m just trying to help this team win, whether it’s catching the ball, whether it’s blocking down field, whether it’s whatever. I’m just trying to win. Whatever the game is calling for at that point and time," Williams said. "My role is to make plays whether it’s in the run or pass game."
"Whatever the game is calling for at that point and time..."
Instead of the Cowboys dictating what they want to do in the game, they let the game dictate their play, that to me shows a huge lack of confidence.

Finally, and most importantly, a good read on what a teams identity is is seeing what they do on 3rd down and 3-5 yards. Any less and it's almost always a run, any more and it's almost always a pass, but in that down and distance it's what the team does the best, what they can do in their sleep, what they can do with success almost every time.
What do the Cowboys do when they NEED those few yards?
I don't know, and I don't think they do either, and we're going to keep losing until they find that out.

Instant Reaction Broncos 17 Cowboys 10

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Thomas) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:11:00 +0000

There is, as always, a few lessons to be learned after a loss.

Lesson One:

Lesson 2: Roland "Champ" Bailey should not be thrown at, ever. He and Nnamdi Asomugha should never be thrown at. Period.

Lesson 3: Tony Romo will have to win games this season, and maybe he can't. The end.

More reactions tomorrow...

Cowboys 21 - Panthers 7

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:23:00 +0000

Ladies and gentlemen, we got ourselves a win in the death star, and what a win it was. I saw three things in this game I really liked, and I'll share them with you now, along with the return of the awesomeness scale.
Layout: #1 discusses the turnovers, #2 discusses the offense, #3 discusses the defense, and then the awesomeness scale.
1.) The Cowboys had ZERO turnovers. We caused three on a struggling Panthers offense, but a +3 turnover margin is good against any team, any day. Tony also threw a pass to a spot he struggled to last week (over the corner and under the safety at the sidelines), and made a play scrambling where he protected the ball while people were swatting at him. That was one of his big problems last year. Both of these plays can be seen at NFL.com on the link underneath, and you cannot underestimate the importance of these plays. This is Tony recognizing problems and fixing them. It seems to be forgotten all the time that this is only his third year being the full time starter, and he still has issues that need to be fixed. An article was written last week that Romo struggles without Bill Parcells because his work ethic dropped off. I disagree. He improved mightily between last week and this week, and improved mightily between last year and this year. Tony Romo is a good quarterback, and people need to realize that.
This is the link, the third quarter houses the plays I'm talking about.
http://www.nfl.com/videos/dallas-cowboys/09000d5d81302c9c/WK-3-Tony-Romo-highlights
2.) The Cowboys offense rushed for 212 yards and passed for 237 yards. Tell me that's not a balanced offense. We decimated the Panthers defense with a huge showing on the offensive side of the ball. We also rushed, on average, 6.6 yards per rush. That's incredible. What does 2 rush plays equal? Not 13.2 yards, it equals a first down. That is incredible. We ran all over that team. Well done Cowboys. Oh and did I mention? As of week three, the Cowboys are the number one rushing team in the league, and the third best offense in the league.
3.) The Cowboys defense finally remembered how to play. The coverage improved mightily, they were able to stop the run, and this was the first game in a long time where I felt the Cowboys were outsmarting the opposing team with defensive play calling. Trust me, Wade Phillips will do great things with this team if he's the defensive coordinator. Also a small note, Butler, the linebacker that came in at the end of the game and had 2 sacks and caused the fumble that put my fantasy team over the top (thanks bro) had a great deal of pressure on the Panthers. This guy entered the game and it was like a lightning bolt hit the Cowboys D. I predict him getting more playing time on third downs, and that he will be a big reason that the Cowboys sack totals will improve.
Awesomeness Scale
Offense - Wildly unbelievably awesome in the 2nd half, meh in the first half. This was a tale of 2 halves, thankfully we didn't get burned in the first half and were able to explode in the second. That needs to improve next week.
Defense - Pretty freakin awesome. It continues to improve, coverage did well, but our young little coverage guys (Jenkins and Scandrick) are still struggling, though I think they struggled a little less this week. The defense did get much better though, and that should have you smiling.
Special Teams - Solidly awesome. The special teams did very well, the new coach is having a great impact, and I'm excited to see some touchbacks, well done special teams.
Note: Felix Jones will be out next week, but Barber should be back, tailbacks, ATTACK!

26th, baby!

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Thomas) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 02:34:00 +0000

I am making this commitment now- if I win this thing, I will give away the other ticket on the blog to someone of my choice, you know, a contest for my liking you. I really, really can't believe how much I apparently own at this college thing- maybe I have a true calling?

Also, I am sorry that I didn't write anything this weekend. I had a frisbee tournament and now a Spanish test tomorrow, so expect a post perhaps tomorrow afternoon...

Also, we beat A&M in this tournament. Just saying.

Blake's predictions for this week in the NFL

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 04:30:00 +0000

Washington and Detroit - Detroit
--Detroit breaks the streak this week. Their offense is doing alright, but their defense is struggling. Thankfully they're playing the extremely stagnant Washingon, it's the perfect storm for Detroit and Matthew Stafford to get a win.
Green Bay at St. Louis - Green Bay
--Green Bay has a new 3-4 defense that looks really good, they're offense is just better, and Green Bay is just the better team. Go Pack Go.
San Francisco at Minnesota - San Francisco
--These teams are incredibly well matched, but I'm going to side with what I believe to be an upset by the well run 'niners with Singletary at the helm. Granted I'm partial to linebackers, and he's one of the greatest, but I still believe the hard hitting San Fran with Frank Gore will come out on top.
Atlanta at New England - Atlanta
--Sorry Tom, you're not quite all there yet, and your receivers aren't quite sure whats going on with you. Plus your new, "young" defense is struggling and is very normal, and against this Atlanta team which is brewing with confidence, you will lose!
Tennessee at NY Jets - NY Jets
--The Jets have a defense that is being run by one of my favorite defensive coordinators in football, Rex Ryan. His teams are cocky, roll with swagger, and don't take anything from anyone. Expect them to dish out some pain on a Tennessee team that I'm not that impressed with. Sorry Chris Johnson, no ridiculous fantasy points this week, you're going down.
Kansas City at Philadelphia - Philadelphia
--Kansas City is a bad team, and Philadelphia is a good team, thus I expect the good team to win.
NY Giants at Tampa Bay - NY Giants
--The Giants are, unfortunately, a very good team. I don't expect a team like Tampa Bay to change that. I hate to say it, but the Giants are winning...again.
Cleveland at Baltimore - Baltimore
Baltimore is going to win this team because they have a great...offense? they're defense has lost its mojo, but they're offense is stepping up, and against a Cleveland team that just generally doesn't perform at a high level, Baltimore walks out with a win.
Jacksonville at Houston - Houston
Houston beats a team with its explosive offense, and Jacksonville doesn't really have anything that can match it. Houston wins at home, congrats, other team in Texas.
New Orleans at Buffalo - New Orleans
I don't care who you are, unless you can stop this New Orleans offense, you won't be beating them. Buffalo cannot stop this offense, advantage New Orleans.
Chicago at Seattle - Chicago
Chicago is a good team, even without Urlacher, and Seattle doesn't have Hassleback, or at least he's very hurt. Chicago wins this game.
Miami at San Diego - Miami
Miami has a lot of spunk, and with Bill Parcells at the GM, they don't really make mistakes. San Diego on the other hand, underachieves. LT is hurt and probably won't play and Rivers will probably have a key turnover late in the game. Expect Miami to pull out a victory.
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati - Cincinnati
Cincy will pull off a huge upset at home over the Steelers. They actually have a pretty impressive offense right now, and Pittsburgh won't be able to batten down the hatches during this onslaught. Pittsburgh has been struggling, now its time for them to look human now.
Denver at Oakland - Oakland
Oakland wins this game because of a good defense and a decent offense. Denver loses because they have Kyle Orton and he's going to get hit a lot, expect a gross and uneventful game that Oakland wins.
Indianapolis at Arizona - Indianapolis
Indianapolis wins this game because they're wildly clutch and Arizona hasn't found its mojo yet. Also Arizona doesn't have a good enough defense to stop the Colts. Go Peyton, win this game in a big way like I know you will.
Carolina at Dallas - Dallas
Expect the Cowboys to answer all your questions. Sacks, touchdowns, and Felix Jones will shine for the boys, and maybe, just maybe, an interception. Carolina might run the ball a bit, but don't expect much else from a team thats really just not very good, thanks Jake Delhomme, in advance.

Cowboys Lingerie and other assorted atrocities

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Thomas) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 20:23:00 +0000

Because nothing says I love you like a thong.

Think about it, and shut your mouth

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 16:15:00 +0000

Did anybody watch the Monday Night Football game? Tiger Woods was there, doesn't he know he has a huge tournament this week starting thursday? Shouldn't he be practicing, learning the course, hitting on the driving range? Why is Tiger screwing around with football games? He shouldn't have a life. He should focus on his sport 24/7 every day of every year until he retires, right?

Gross...

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 02:25:00 +0000

Tony Romo, a few quick thoughts-- quarterbacks have bad games, but watch this video before you call for his head like these two idiots who were saying we should've gotten Michael Vick. That is all about him for now, I'll write more later. This video helped me though.
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-films-sound-efx/09000d5d812ac38e/Sound-FX-Romo-mic-d-up

So a few quick thoughts on the Cowboys game, though for the first time in a long time I think I agree with Sam on almost every point he made in his post.
-I think one of our biggest problems is coaching. Not Wade mind you, I think he's an excellent coach, and extremely under-rated by the typical Cowboys fan. My issues are with Jason Garrett and Dave Campo, and I'll tell you why.
--Jason Garrett was a quarterback for the Cowboys when we had Troy Aikman, so basically he never, ever played. Now he's an offensive coordinator with a chip on his shoulder. My issue with him is being a quarterback, naturally he thinks you win football games through the air. This Cowboys team cannot do that. We are a strong, in your face running team with a great quarterback and possession receivers in support, not the other way around. Jason Garrett does not play to these strengths nearly enough, and it's disappointing.
--Steve Smith and some other Giants receiver whos name I don't want to look up (Cunningham?), lest I have to go to their website and see their front page and throw up, had 20 receptions for 290 yards and two touchdowns. Now I was in the endzone in the game and I watched our coverage. It wasn't play calling that was the issue here, it was poor technique play and poor positioning. Enter Dave Campo, the spritely little defensive backs coach. I promise you with a better coach for the secondary we'd be twice if not three times as good. These players are not that bad, they just struggle because their coach cannot see the issues and correct them. He needs to be fired.
--The defense played the run great (Demarcus Ware played incredibly well). This is the same defense that got skewered last week by the Buc's running game. Wade saw the issue and corrected it, and I have to believe he's going to take more of a role in the coaching of the defensive backs. The problem was they were just on the field for too long and by the end of the game they were gassed. 4 turnovers will do that to a defense. They really did play solid up until that point though, and I was proud of them. Also the Giants didn't exploit cutback lanes, almost all the good running plays against the Cowboys have been cutbacks, teams will see this and use the information, the Cowboys need to address this before they play the very quick Carolina team, though thank goodness for Jake Delhomme, maybe we'll get a sack and, lord willing, an interception.
I don't want to do my usual pregame wrap up because at this point it truly is too painful, but I wanted to share these thoughts to get them out on the interweb for all to see. I'll hopefully do a more formal wrap up later this week, with POGs and the awesomeness scale and what not, but for now, I don't want to think about it anymore. That is all brethren, it was just one game, more will come, lets hope never again like this though.

The Day After

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Thomas) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 19:26:00 +0000

So, friends, to recap:

I lost all of my bets, every single one on my three line parlay. And not just by like a touchdown- by a lot. So, the lesson, again, is that I am not to be trusted.

On the bright side, I am now in the 99.8% on ESPN's College Football Challenge, where you basically pick a college fantasy team and then if you win, you get tickets. I am like 55th out of 100,000 in... actually, I'll just link you. Scroll down to 55, baby! So, I'm not a complete failure.

Anyway, my reaction to the Cowboys loss:

Tony Romo will always throw interceptions- that is inevitable. And the Defense, when defending the short field, played admirably. But if the Cowboys are going to win close games this year, they need to play defense in the final two minutes. I mean, it was atrocious, especially considering Dallas had all of its time outs- if there is a personel mismatch, it is always in the advantage of the defense to call a timeout and try to get set. And yet on the game winning drive, they didn't call any timeouts- a huge mistake. On the icing play, Mike Jenkins was out of position, and one of the safeties saw this, but instead of calling a time out, he let the play happen. First down inside the 25, game over.

The Cowboys have been pretty vulnerable to two minute offenses these first two games, and they need to step it up.

Otherwise... a fluke interception, a misread, and a mistake- honestly though, that safety on the last interception was so deep that- geeze, he was like 30 yards from the line. And the Witten throw- bad play, bad throw, unlucky on the pick. But these games will happen with Tony Romo at quarterback- if anything, he is consistently unable to play turnover free offense. A great quarterback, sure, but the coaches should plan on at least on ToRINT (pronounced tor-RENT (for Tony Romo INTerception)) a game.

Around the NFC East-

Giants, of course, look good. They are 2-0 in the division, and if they can beat the eagles, they have basically wrapped that stuff up.

The Eagles will struggle without McNabb- but their defense didn't do them any favors either.

Jason Campbell and the Redskins continue to fail to impress. The Rams are still pretty awful, and that win does nothing for me.

Looking ahead, the Cowboys have a tough road. The Panthers aren't push-overs, and neither are the Broncos. That said, the Cowboys should win those games. Let's hope they do.

Sam's Ill Advised Gambling Decisions of the Week

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Thomas) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 17:15:00 +0000

First, the crazy:

Three Game Parlay:

Patriots (-4) over JETS
Panthers (-6.5) over FALCONS
EAGLES (+2.5) over Saints

The logic is thus-

Patriots can prove
that they are a legit team
Brady is a tool

Delhomme is awesome
As long as he passes well
No interceptions

Kolb is Golden Boy
McWho? I don't remember
Was he a punter?

And that's how I made my picks. You watch, friends. Twill happen.

Prepare dear friends, for a battle is at hand

noreply@blogger.com (Blake) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 15:13:00 +0000

Ladies and gentleman, today we embark upon the great crusade for which we have looked forward to for these many months, it will be one small step for man, but one giant leap for mankind, and tonight is the night I get to ask not what the Cowboys can do for me, but what I can do for MY COWBOYS!!! It's the home opener, Sunday night, in the Death Star, and the Giants are in for a rude awakening when they get there. This blogpost is here to state simply this. Watch and love your Cowboys tonight, for they will love you back. Send positive vibes towards that towering behemoth in Arlington, and the results will be on the screen tonight. Toss up a prayer, whatever you need to do, all of Cowboys fandom should do every stupid pregame ritual, ensure every superstition you hold is accounted for, and then simply turn on the game and watch the fireworks. Dear readership, this evening I will be on the front lines, loving the Cowboys will sound and spirit, in mind and heart, cheering for each and every last one of you to help our boys to victory. So I ask you, can you do this, can you watch the game and enjoy every minute of that monstrous stadium? I believe you can and you will, and I applaud you. Tonight, the Cowboys destroy those foolish Giants, and I can't wait to cheer from the first whistle to the last. Farewell readership, when you hear from me next I shall be a changed man, but for now, go Cowboys, fight hard, and lets go get us a win against those Giants tonight!