A Couple of Thoughts on the Cowboys

First off, that was a nice win last night. But for a botched field goal and a dumb penalty by Colombo to kill a nice drive, the score probably would've been even more lopsided. The first-team offense looked great ( and Sam Hurd has fantastic hands) and there were even some sparks of genius from the likes of new backup QB John Kitna and some guy named Ogletree I've never even heard of before now. Mike Jenkins had a moment of dumb that allowed the one Titans touchdown, but otherwise they stifled the Tennessee offense for nearly the entire first half. So, a much better performance then last week.

Now, about that stadium. For one, it's utterly ridiculous that punters can routinely hit the giant videoboard. McBriar says he won't hit it, and Jerry Jones says they have to be aiming for it to hit it, but seeing as how in the very first game ever in the stadium the opposing teams punter whacked it repeatedly I'm anticipating that this is going to be a bit of a problem. Hint to Jerry Jones: fans don't want to see punts replayed on a regular basis, unless of course they're taking bets on who hits the thing. Raise it, please.

Also, I am simply amazed at how the giant videoboard dominates the view for stands in the upper decks. Obviously I'd have to be there myself to make a fair assessment, but the shot of the board from the upper deck during the game last night makes it clear that the massive screen will entirely dominate the field of view for fans at that level. Troy Aikman commented that it's probably hard to take your eyes off of it even if you want to, and I think he's right. If you're a fan in the upper decks, you're likely to spend most of the game watching the screen because a) you get a better view of the game and b) it's so big and bright you'll have trouble NOT watching it. My knee-jerk reaction is that this is completely stupid; who on Earth wants to go to a game to spend your time getting the same view of the game you could get on your TV at home? But then I thought, the biggest drawback to going to game in person is that you don't get the great view of the game that you do on your TV. So why not combine the at-the-game experience and ambiance with an even better view of the game then you get on your TV at home? Alas, I think I'm too old-school for that. The point of going to the game is to get the live at-the-game experience, and the view of the game that is afforded by being able to see the whole field and all of the players at the same time (even if you can't make them out individually.) And the point of being at home is to avoid the traffic and the experience of trying to fit into a tiny seat, or overpaying for a beer, and getting a better view of the game. Never the twain should meet.

Anyway, it was nice to flip on the TV and see the Cowboys playing again. I can almost smell Fall in the air.

Wednesday Morning Round-Up

1. Iraq is moving ahead with a referendum on the Iraq-US security agreement. Such is the perils of democracy. Though Iraqi leaders would almost certainly prefer American troops stay in the country, they can't afford to oppose the referendum in an election year.

2. The Obama administration signals that they may move away from a policy of isolation with the regime in Burma. Since that hasn't worked to date, I think it's worth trying something new.

3. The Senate is moving ahead with a bill that would give the FDA the power to regulate tobacco products.

4. A profile of the guard killed in yesterday's shooting at the Holocaust Museum in D.C. It would be interesting to ask the murderer what he thought he might accomplish with his act, though fanatics always seem to have a grander view of their place in the world than most of the rest of us do. I visited the museum when I was at law school in D.C., and was surprised at the heavy security required to enter the museum. Now I understand.

5. Some local news: Dallas County meals on wheels needs help. They don't need your money, so much as they need volunteers to deliver meals so they won't have to pay drivers to do so. If you'd like to help, more information is here. Also, local residents know about the odd series of minor earthquakes the area has experienced in recent months. Scientists at SMU hope to get to the bottom of the mystery.

6. Two mentally disabled men in Texas have (separately) been given ridiculously long sentences for molesting young children. Even the jury in Hart's case was shocked by the 100-year sentence the man, reported to have an IQ of roughly 47, received. The question I would like to ask the prosecutors in this case is, if both men are reported to have IQs themselves that are roughly equivalent to those of young children, why are they sentenced as if they were fully functioning adults? And, the Hart story points out, repeat sex offenders routinely receive shorter sentences than these men did, which raises the question of whether there is some discrimination against the mentally disabled going on here, at least in my mind.

7. Perhaps you heard about the collapse of the Cowboy's practice facility in Valley Ranch, Irving, last month that paralyzed a Cowboys scouting assistant? It appears the Cowboys knew of a similar incident involving a canopy built by the contractor they hired. While this isn't exactly proof of negligence on the Cowboys part, it sure does make it easier to add the Cowboys to the lawsuit that I'm sure is being contemplated against the contractor.

More Soccer at Jerry World

The new Dallas Cowboys stadium is on its way to becoming the Texas soccer Mecca apparently. In addition to hosting two quarter-final matches for CONCACAF's Gold Cup in July, the new stadium will also host an exhibition match between the Premiership's Chelsea and Mexico's Primera Division Club America. The events are a week a part, meaning it'll be a hellaciously awesome week of world-class soccer in the Metroplex come July.

"Luxury Strikes Out"

Or in the case of the Dallas Cowboys, throws an interception...or, something like that. Anyway, this is a good article about bad timing, at least when it comes to building massive stadiums. The inflated prices of seats and suites at the new Cowboys stadium (where by the way, nobody is in a rush to buy naming rights) are the topic of much amazement around here, so much so that the Cowboys are putting out ads trying to convince people that season tickets aren't really as expensive as they think they are (except of course they actually are.)

Owens Out

By the way, the Cowboys cut Terrell Owens yesterday. In the style of the Bush administration, the news was leaked late last night, so if you went to bed early you probably didn't hear about it until this morning. Initial thoughts: a) I was convinced that Jerry Jones wouldn't cut T.O. until T.O. duplicated the mess he made in Philadelphia; like many, I'm guilty of yet again underestimating Jones; b) while I generally am leery of squishy explanations for why teams fail, I do think divisions in the locker room greatly hampered this team last year but c) getting rid of T.O. is only the beginning of the process necessary to fix those problems; T.O. had supporters and they're not going to be happy about this. And d) as much trouble as he was T.O. was far and away the best receiver on this team, and still a top receiver in the league, and absent a break-out year from Williams or Austin or Hurd or a career year for Crayton, his productivity will be very hard to replace. So anybody who thinks that getting rid of T.O. means the Cowboys are necessarily playoff bound, should just try not to think that so much. This is a start, but this team has a lot more problems than T.O., all of which are likely to be focused on even more now.

"Hours Clause"

Well apparently Dan Reeves was put off by Jerry Jones' desire to treat him like a retail employee:

Dan Reeves said he objected to having a clause put in his contract about the amount of hours he was to work at Valley Ranch.

Thus, his employment with the Cowboys was short-lived.

Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones and Reeves agreed in principle to a multi-year deal that was supposed to start Monday, but the former Cowboys assistant coach and player did not know about the clause.

"Oh, definitely, big-time," Reeves said when asked if he was surprised by the clause. "For someone to question how I've done [my time] for a lot of years, I've never been questioned. Plus, as a coach, how can you verify that? Nobody punches a clock."

[...]

"You don't work 23 years in this business whatsoever without some kind of work ethic," Reeves said. "To me, why would you want it in there? A contract should be like a handshake anyway."

Reeves said he was going to work with all aspects of the organization – specifically with Jones, head coach Wade Phillips and the offensive coaches.

Reeves started work Monday, attended meetings and was in the process of looking at the passing game.

So that was the sticking point for Jones? A clause requiring a certain number of hours out of one of the most respected ex-coaches (and ex-Cowboys) in football? Did Jones really think that Reeves wasn't going to put in the work? By all accounts he already was, even before the contract was signed. That just seems...well, weird. What the heck is going on over there at Valley Ranch?

A New Direction!

So apparently the Dallas Cowboys have decided to hire former Cowboy and Broncos coach Dan Reeves to serve as some sort of special consultant....oh, uh, or not (a story I got to hear being broken live on The Ticket as a matter of fact.) Michael Irvin has a Cowboys-themed reality show lined up for next season's training camp. To which I say, why? The Dallas Cowboys are "reality" enough as it is; all the drama, and the same high proportion of losers to successes. 

Michael Irvin to Host Cowboys Reality Show

Because of course, no team in the NFL needs more distractions than the Dallas Cowboys.

2009 Schedule Out

For those of you looking to move on quickly after a disappointing end to the season, the Dallas Cowboys' 2009 schedule is out. Included are games against the usual suspects (the rest of the NFC East, Green Bay, Carolina, Tampa Bay) and some notable games against San Diego, Atlanta and Denver. It would be nice to predict the likely exciting match-ups ahead of time, but given the up-and-down nature of success in the NFL and the Cowboys' particular problems, it's hard to say what state anybody will be in by the time one of these games rolls around.

When It Rains, It Pours

Is it possible to, literally, fire everyone involved with this mess? Honestly, how is it possible for a team, in its most important game of the year, to turn in the absolute worst performance of the year (or of several years, for that matter?) 

The Cowboys Were Awful

I make that assessment solely on what I saw in the second half, as I completely missed the first. Interceptions and penalties were the order of the day (as has become typical of this team.) But two consecutive running plays for touchdowns in the 4th to seal the game...I don't even know what to say about that. The Cowboys, on two consecutive series, inexplicably gave up first a 75-yard running TD, and then an 82-yard running TD, two of the longest running plays that have been given up in team history, completely negating the effect of two late-game scores by T.O. and Witten that (both times) put the Cowboys within two points of the Ravens. These runs came AFTER an otherwise solid defensive effort (five sacks in the first half) that held the Ravens to 16 points. Amazingly, thanks to a Tampa Bay loss, the Cowboys can actually get into the playoffs with a win over Philadelphia on Sunday, though why we would want that to happen and thus have ourselves tortured by the possibility that the Cowboys could have some success in the playoffs only to have our hopes shattered, is beyond me. Unbelievable.

Incidentally, the game was broadcast on Saturday night (??) on the NFL Network. First of all, call me old-school but pro football doesn't belong on Saturday night television. Second, the NFL Network broadcast was terrible. I've written about this twice before, and although it's better than it was last year, I don't honestly understand why they can't find better color announcers than Deion Sanders and Marshall Faulk. It just goes to show that you can't take guys who played the game for years, and ostensibly understand it's nuances, and stick them in a booth and expect them to have anything remotely intelligent to say about the game. If you are the kind of person who likes to hear men loudly scream "This is what football on the NFL Network on Saturday night is all about!" after a good play, then you will enjoy the NFL Network. If not, then you are sane and normal human being.

Also, Saturday night was the last time the Dallas Cowboys played a game at Texas Stadium. The Cowboys loss in stunning fashion probably didn't help set the mood, but nonetheless the team forged on with a closing ceremony to say goodbye to the stadium with the big hole in the roof. By all accounts the ceremony was great live. On TV...not so much. Oh well.

"The Cowboy Who Killed Those Kids"

From Richie Witt at the Dallas Observer, a heart-breaking article about former Dallas Cowboys CB Dwayne Goodrich, who was convicted in 2003 of negligent homicide for a hit-and-run that left two men dead and one man injured. The article is a depressing reminder of how lives can be destroyed by a bad decision made in the span of a few seconds. But it also serves to remind us that redemption is at least possible, no matter how low a person has fallen.

UPDATE: For those legally inclined, this link (via Sportatorium) provides an interesting explanation of a glitch in the law that mandated jail time for Goodrich. The jury chose to convict Goodrich of negligent homicide, a lesser offense than manslaughter. However, whereas probation was available for manslaughter, it wasn't available for negligent homicide. Essentially, had the jury convicted him of the more serious charge they could've given him probation, but because he was convicted on a lesser charge, he faced mandatory jail time. That glitch has since been fixed by the Texas legislature. 

Pointless Post of the Day

Wade Phillips and Robert Gates...separated at birth?

Cowboys Win

In thoroughly convincing fashion, dismantling the NY Giants 20-8. The win came mostly on the strength of the Cowboys' unstoppable pass rush, which sacked Eli Manning eight times (and which now leads the entire NLF in sacks, over even the vaunted Pittsburgh defense.) The Giants' defense played a solid game as well, nearly knocking Romo out of the game more than once, but they were unable to prevent touchdowns to Deon Anderson and Patrick Crayton, as well as a lights out touchdown late in the 4th by Tashard Choice (yeah I know...who? But for two games in a row he's looked like this team's primary running threat.) The offense looked sluggish at times, especially in the 1st and 2nd quarters when Romo's throws seemed to wanting in accuracy. The lack of a running game and the Giants' pass rush didn't help. But they looked better than the Giants, who were lucky Manning wasn't injured on any of those many sacks. The pass rush gets the credit for the dominant performance, but there were several of those sacks that came as a result of Manning having no one to throw to downfield, and Newman snagged two interceptions (one late in the game, but another where he did a fine job of jumping the route.) Overall it was a nice, quality win over a good Giants team, and exactly the sort of thing that they need going into games against Baltimore and Philadelphia.

I have to say, as exciting as touchdowns can be, to me nothing is more exhilarating than a fantastic defensive effort. It's one thing to outgun your opponent, and quite another to frustrate his every attempt to move the ball. Nothing is more demoralizing than completely shutting down the opponent's ability to move the ball consistently, and force his defense to come out to the field time and time again until your offense eventually wears them down. And nothing covers mistakes or sloppy play like a fine defensive effort. It wasn't enough last week against Pittsburgh (you can only make up for so many interceptions) but it was more than enough last night. And if this defense plays like that week in and week out, there's absolutely no reason this team can't make a late run deep into the playoffs.

All in all it was a fine game, and I'm quite excited to see them against Baltimore this Saturday night.

Trouble With Those Cowboys

Beyond being 8-5 and on the cusp of not making the playoffs that is. I think we know how this story is going to play out, this being the third time around for this sort of nonsense with T.O. I didn't like the idea of him coming on board originally, but I'd mostly come around thanks to his performance and marginally good behavior. But I'm thinking the welcome has now mostly been worn out.

Solid Sports Weekend

The Dallas Mavericks may have righted the ship, finally getting their first win at home Friday night against Memphis and extending their winning streak to four. They've looked pretty solid the last four games, and perhaps are interested now in playing up to their potential (that being perhaps a 50 win season and spot in the playoffs.)

The Cowboys have also stayed in the playoff hunt, defeating San Francisco handily  (though not as convincingly as a team of their caliber should) and going to 7-4. They play Seattle on Thanksgiving and given Seattle's miserable season, they are in a decent position to win this game and go 7-4. Given how the Cowboys are essentially playing for a wild card spot in a tight NFC, they really should be looking to win another three of their remaining five games, though given that three of those games are against Pittsburgh, the Giants and Baltimore, the Cowboys might also want to hope that the Redkins or someone else stumbles.

Back On Track

The Dallas Cowboys rescued themselves from complete ignominy last night by grinding out a 14-10 win against the Redskins in Washington. They were very iffy at the outset of the game, spending about 1 1/2 quarters just trying to shake off the rust. The Cowboys of the second half looked more like the team we saw early this season, with the defense, thanks to a solid pass rush and the stellar play from Terrance Newman, preventing the Redkins from getting more than a field goal after an initial score. The entire team, Romo included, appeared to gain confidence as the game went on, and a Terrance Newman swat that ended the Redkins drive in the 4th, followed by clock-eating runs from Marion Barber and a solid 4th down conversion to deny the Redkins the ball, ended the game in convincing fashion. There was much speculation in advance of this game that this win would put the Cowboys back on track to a post-season appearance. I prefer to exercise a little caution though; I strongly protest any assumptions that the Cowboys will easily handle San Francisco or Seattle at home in the next two weeks, given the ridiculous performance against St. Louis earlier this season. The Cowboys staved off what would virtually have been playoff elimination, but actually making the playoffs will require better performances than what we witnessed last night.

The Blue Star

Ta-Nehisi Coates is now one of my favorite bloggers, the reasons for which will become obvious when you read this.

Change T.O. Can Believe In

 Cowboys WR Terrell Owens on the election, with a message that I'm pretty sure all of us, left and right, can get behind:

"Very emotional and historical moment. There was a change and hopefully that can trickle on down to our season."

On the odds that the Cowboys will make the playoffs, I propose adopting the Obama catchphrase "Yes we can!" 

Another Loss

If you're a Cowboys fan, today feels less like Christmas eve and more like the day after a funeral. The Giants buried the Cowboys yesterday, winning comfortably 35-14, and while the playoffs are not out of the question, the Cowboys now occupy the cellar of the NFC East and are looking at needing to win five out of the remaining seven games to even make the playoffs, and that stretch includes games against the Redkins, the Eagles, the Giants, Pittsburgh and Baltimore, any or all of those games being potential losses given how the team looks now. Clearly, whatever ailed this team going into last year's playoffs has not been cured by the off-season, or by convincing wins at the outset of this season. Things got so bad yesterday that Brad Johnson, who you may recall won a freaking Super Bowl with the Buccaneers, was pulled in favor of third-stringer Brooks Bollinger (to sadly predictable effect.) A defense which secured the win last week with a spectacular fourth down stand despite numerous injuries, was was effective at slowing down Manning but couldn't stop the run. Overall, the Giants looked like Super Bowl champions, and the Cowboys looked like a team that will be lucky to finish .500. At the beginning of the season the only real question seemed to be whether this team could succeed in the playoffs like it has in the regular season. Now we are forced to wonder whether they will even make the playoffs at all, and it's hard to imagine the fury and disappointment that will follow any such failing.